Dragstrip was released in the first wave of deluxe class Combiner Wars figures, and he was the lone Stunticon in the assortment, flanked by several Aerialbots. It was an interesting pack-out, and one that may have contributed to Dragstrip’s being something of an early peg warmer, at least in my neck of the woods. If you wanted to build the Aerialbot combiner Superion, Dragstrip could have been used as one of his limbs, which is weird from a Transformers narrative standpoint, but it reinforces the idea that the combiner teams in this line can be mixed and matched, so some imagination and creativity are encouraged. But as a standalone figure, Dragstrip did look a little iffy in the packaging, but once freed, he is actually a pretty decent Stunticon figure. Let’s take a look!
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The packaging for this first wave was pretty sparse. It’s just a simple card with a plastic bubble that houses the figure. There’s no comic pack-in, but there is a “collector card” that is literally just a picture of the character, so don’t look for any information there. And the way his shoulders are positioned in the bubble make him look a bit wonky, so that may have affected his shelf appeal. The good news for Dragstrip, however, is that if you want the original Stunticon crew to form Menasor, he’s pretty much a necessity, so if he is peg-warming, he shouldn’t for very long.
Once Dragstrip’s shoulders are correctly positioned, he looks much better. My fondness for the figure went from a 3 to a 10 as soon as I got him out of the package. His proportions are solid and his paint apps are clean and tight, so he actually is a pretty nice-looking figure. Even the kibble on his back isn’t very obtrusive at all, so, for me, he’s actually one of the stronger offerings among the Stunticons — that’s a very nice surprise. The only downside is the screws. The four screws that hold the mold together kind of ruin the illusion and make him look like a, err, toy.
The sculpt and paint on his face sculpt make him look singularly cool, with eyes that kind of “bleed” down his cheek. For accessories, he comes with the standard combiner piece and a sword that looks as though it can also be held as a rifle. Pretty standard for this line.
His articulation is every bit as good as the other Stunticons and his range of motion is great. Poses are easy to achieve, so he is pure hand candy in ‘bot mode, just like the majority of his teammates.
Dragstrip’s alt mode is a race car that looks like it would be, well, more at home on the kiddie track at the fair than at the race track, but it’s still pretty nice-looking despite that. The lines are sleek and smooth, and everything pegs and tabs together nicely to create a solid alt mode. His transformation is on the simple side, but that is not an issue for me at all because overly complex transformations became something of a bear a few years ago, so I appreciate Hasbro’s streamlining the process.
As part of Menasor, Dragstrip was the right arm in the G1 days, so it’s difficult to not associate him with that role here. He forms a decent-looking arm even though his own arms are positioned somewhat randomly, but they’re not a distraction and do actually aid in creating the illusion.
Overall, Dragstrip is a much stronger offering than I first thought he’d be, and I’m happy to have him with his crew. If you can snag him for a decent price, then I’d certainly recommend picking him up.
Thanks to Hasbro for sending along this sample. Next week we’ll be taking a look at the final two members of the Stunticon team — Motormaster and Blackjack, and then we’ll take a good, thorough look at Menasor! Be sure to check back soon!
Dragstrip can be purchased here: