Dragstrip was the first Stunticon and one of the first Decepticons to be released in the Combiner Wars line, alongside a bunch of Aerialbots and Optimus Prime. Since the first wave is always the one to set a standard for the rest of the line, Dragstrip had a big responsibility. So did he give off a good first impression for what the Decepticons in this line would be like? Let's take a look
Ala his Generation One counterpart, Combiner Wars Dragstrip transforms into an F1 Race Car, although he ditches the ridiculous looking 6-wheeled vehicle for a more modern, more realistic looking 4-wheeled race car. It's a very solid looking vehicle mode, with a nice contrast between the yellow and the maroon
He's got a few 5mm pegs and ports on his vehicle mode that you can attach his weapons to when he's in vehicle mode, but honestly, the complete lack of integration just makes it look ridiculous. As a result, I typically leave his weapons to the side when I have him in vehicle mode
Moving on to his robot mode, I kind of feel like it's the weaker of the two - well, technically four - modes. I'll start off with the positives though. I do really like his head sculpt, especially how his visor looks like it bleeds into his face. I also like his legs for some reason, though I'm not quite sure why. The sliding mechanism for the transformation is definitely something nice, and something I wish Hasbro had used on the Aerialbots inside of that collapsing thing they did
However, I'm not overly fond of his torso, as it looks really bland. And it doesn't help the rest of his robot mode either. The rest of the Stunticons have panels to cover the combiner port, and the Aerialbots and Protectobots all have molding to at least make the chest - combiner peg included - look interesting, despite the combiner peg being smack bang in the middle of it. Dragstrip, however, gets neither of these treatments. He's just flat. It's understandable, given his transformation, but it definitely brings down the look of his robot mode
However, I'm not overly fond of his torso, as it looks really bland. And it doesn't help the rest of his robot mode either. The rest of the Stunticons have panels to cover the combiner port, and the Aerialbots and Protectobots all have molding to at least make the chest - combiner peg included - look interesting, despite the combiner peg being smack bang in the middle of it. Dragstrip, however, gets neither of these treatments. He's just flat. It's understandable, given his transformation, but it definitely brings down the look of his robot mode
The weapons, which I mentioned earlier, are a sword/dagger/machete/thing and his combiner hand piece. The combiner hand can be held like a gun, or pegged into his shoulder to act as some kind of shield. I typically don't use it outside of the combined mode
I do like his little dagger though. Dragstrip, being super competitive, is someone I could see maybe shanking a fellow athlete before a race, or perhaps even ambushing Autobots with it. The Stunticons aren't honorable warriors or competent soldiers. They're a group of a thugs, and their weapons help to establish that
I do like his little dagger though. Dragstrip, being super competitive, is someone I could see maybe shanking a fellow athlete before a race, or perhaps even ambushing Autobots with it. The Stunticons aren't honorable warriors or competent soldiers. They're a group of a thugs, and their weapons help to establish that
As far as pose-ability goes though, Dragstrip does pretty well. He's got a ball jointed neck, shoulders, and hips, swivels in his biceps, waist, and thighs, and hinges in his elbows, wrists, and knees. He's definitely not the epitome of pose-ability, none of the Combiner Wars figures are, but you can still get some pretty decent poses out of him without much extra support
And of course, as a Combiner Wars deluxe figure, Dragstrip can form an arm or a leg to be pegged on to any Combiner Wars voyager figure as part of a combiner. Personally, I prefer him as a leg, as there isn't really anywhere for his arms to peg in in arm mode, at least not without restricting the pose-ability severely, so they tend to just sit somewhere awkwardly
Overall, while Dragstrip isn't the weakest Stunticon, for me at least, he's definitely the weakest of the wave one figures that I've had in hand. He does a lot right, but there's also a lot that could have been done to make him a bit better. He's worth picking up though, especially for those looking to complete Menasor
6/10
Thanks for reading! Check out some comparison photos in the gallery below
6/10
Thanks for reading! Check out some comparison photos in the gallery below