Combiner Wars deluxe Dragstrip (2015) Pictorial Review

So, I bought Dragstrip here to do a little *ahem* research...




Packaging

Nothing we haven't seen before, with nice, bright charming colours. Ya know, among wave 1 of the CW figures
I think Dragstrip is the eye-catcher of the lot.

The funny thing that struck me was how pixellated the package art is. Some one at the office must have emailed the wrong files.

Nine transformation steps.







Bot mode

Drags here comes with a dagger and combiner appendage. The latter can be folded up to form a hefty blaster
with the fingers folding away neatly. Can't say the same for the thumb. It sticks out like a sore...thing that likes sticking out.

The bot mode feels solid with kibble in all the right places. His backpack pegs down neatly and is not egregious at all.
There's articulation in his neck, shoulder shrug, shoulders, bicep swivel, elbows. Waist, hips, knees. Thigh swivels. All joints
feel solid except his lower legs feel shaky because of their nesting construction.

No wrist swivels. No foot movement nor ankle tilts. He balances satisfactorily on two legs, but no judo kicks for him.

No light piping.

These combiner limbs have finally bucked the trend and has retained a respectable scale. He's even taller than his predecessor
as well as being more solidly built. He stands 14cm tall or 5 1/2".














His sword has a 'thing' sticking out of its side. I'd think it's a 5mm peg so it can be held as a gun but it don't seem
to like 5mm ports very much. I tried test fitting it and it caused stress marks to appear on the peg hole.

It might have a function in combiner form but I'll let your honourable people explore that possibility yourselves.




Alt mode

Dragstrip's alt mode is serviceable. Transformation is simpler than most deluxes (simpler than Classics Dragstrip anyway)
which is understandable given he's a combiner limb. I prefer his shade of yellow compared to Classics,
but I find his burgundy a little dull.

The rear of his lower legs are casted in burgundy with yellow painted over it. I found the difference in yellow shades jarring
and I much rather they did it the opposite way (burgundy paint on yellow) like they did on his forearms. More consistency that
way.

You can mount his combiner appendage on top his alt mode, but the connection is loose. And he looks a little dumb like that.

Edit: O, and I can't find a spot on alt mode that can store his sword. Unless I'm missing something...












Combiner Limb modes

His arm mode is pretty sweet. It's poseable, his bot head is hidden and his arms even lock in place, which is an improvement
over his FOC cousins. His combiner hand, though, don't feel right. It looks too chunky and stiff. Someone on Shapeways or third party, please...come up with alternatives?

Note: I realised after taking these photos that his foot section can actually swivel up to reveal a second combiner socket
underneath, which allows you to shorten his combiner forearm or lower leg.

So, I don't actually have a combiner torso in hand at the moment, but I expect fellow fans to be able to help out with
this part of the review in a couple of weeks! From what I feel though, Dragstrip's combiner joint feels solid and clicky,
as satisfying as the Energon combiners of old.








Conclusion

I guess I can give Dragstrip here a passing grade. He's an ok looking bot, not as dynamic as his predecessor but he's
solid and hefty. His transformation is straightforward and all of his joints feel sturdy. The lack of ankle tilts kills him, however.

I'll love to give him a more suitable weapon (like a small hand blaster) though I understand the large purple cannon-thing is
actually a G1 homage.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!
Oh, he comes with a sweet card.


​

 

Holy #$%^ I didn't think I could be more excited for CW than I already am.

Dragstrip scales nicely with the classics Mirage mold for way back.

Great review.

You got any more incoming?

 

That alt mode man, i promise i would wait for the gift set but that looks great!

 

Awesome review...I just gave my SE Drag Strip his two weeks notice...

 

Dude. I cannot thank you enough for taking pictures of Drag Strip with other common toys. Not to downplay the rest because you revealed good new stuff about it, but that's the single most valuable bit of info you've provided here. THANK YOU.

 

This so much.

I've been wanting to see some comparisons for ages. I'm glad to see Drag Strip is a decent size. This bodes well for decent sized combined modes.

 

Silly question: can you measure the dimensions of the combiner peg please ? Both the square end and the dip a little further back?

 

Hmm..it's 15mm x 15mm x 12.5mm. The dip is 7.5mm in from the edge, is 2mm wide and 2mm deep.

Always a pleasure. I personally felt knowing their relative sizes were important so it also bugged me all previous posts didn't provide the info.

Anyway, regarding the combiner torsos Superion looks sized like a regular voyager, but Optimus on the other hand looks like he's on 'roids.

I still like SE DS because of his design, but CW DS is so much more playable.

  Doubledip?
(I wonder if there be a Mirage repaint...)

Prices were raised so I'm holding back for now. Dragstrip and Bombshell are the only ones worth paying full price.
I hope they will release Motormaster soon. That's the next one on the list I'm eager for.

 

Ooooooo!

I don't suppose you've got a Galaxy Force Convoy/Cybertron Optimus or a Megatron/Galvatron from the same range to hand? Those dimensions are very close to the arm extension sockets for those toys and I'm wondering if the limbs will work there too.....

 

Alas, I don't have any  

 

ooh he is big. i love it.

i like how his collector card has a totally different head...

 

That card shows a completely different figure altogether, they printed the wrong art almost certainly.

 

Welp. I'm officially excited.

Great job buddy!

 

the biocard art looks just like fp's drag strip lol

 

Freaking sold, thanks man.

 

Overall Dragstrip looks good and its about time that Hasbro got their head out of their ass about this combiners since the 3rd parties is taking overall and only now Hasbro is finally coming up with something.

One questions though, why does Dragstrip come the Arialbots?

 

Because a full wave of nothing but aerial vehicles of which three are nearly identical would be a bit hard to sell.

 

After transforming once to vehicle mode, the dark red paint on the upper thighs was rubbed off at the edges. Now I hesitate to transform him again.

Also, mine has got a droopy right shoulder.

Do you have the same issues?

 

Paint rubs are part and parcel of toys, especially TFs so I'm not too concerned. But yeah, the thigh pieces should have been casted in purple.

My shoulders are alright. You can try tightening the chest screw?