Following on from the recent news story about the Transformers: Robots in Disguise Warrior class wave 2 being sighted in stores, TFW2005 boards member KingStyle is here to bring us out first in-hand look at that wave’s Warrior class Drift. He provides some photos as well as giving his thoughts on the figure.
Check it out, and be sure to keep an eye out for both Drift and his wave-mate Optimus in your stores!
SaberPrime
Not sure if there's another thread for this or if I can just post it here. I have a Drift but it's the Alpine Strike repaint. If there's another thread for this particular version of the figure just get a moderator to move this post.
Vehicle Mode: With the mostly white paint job except for a few red lines on the hood and doors it kinda reminds me of a tron car. I'm looking at an image of the original Drift this color scheme is based on right now and that one had smoother flowing lines with Japanese symbols on it. It looked more natural where as this version has very sharp very thin lines like Tron lines. I like it but it's not really doing a very good job of replicating the look of the original Drift.
Transformation: I've actually done this a couple of times now. Going from vehicle to robot is really easy. Going from robot to vehicle however, it's kind of a pain in the aft getting everything to line up and lock into place. The arms are the most frustrating part because there isn't really a whole lot of clearance. Surprisingly after having a hard time with the left arm I was expecting the right to be even worse but some how it was actually easier. The reason being that the sword holsters on that side so I was expecting them to get in my way but instead they ended up acting like a guide to line up the tabs. And yes I'm aware the holsters are on the left not the right but you have to swivel the waist around as part of transformation so the right arm ends up on the side with the holsters.
Robot Mode: I kind of wish he got a new head sculpt with this paint job so that he actually looks like IDW Drift. Instead we're stuck with the same Samurai head he's had since appearing in Age of Extinction. That head sculpt is really the only reason I've avoided this figure for so long. At least the paint job on this version makes the whole Samurai thing a little less obvious… except for that head.
Articulation: He can swivel his head left and right but not all the way around. I don't know why you would want to do the exorcist twist anyway, he has as much range as I would really want. Bicep swivel. There are two joints at the elbow, one is strictly for transformation. The left arm works just fine but the right arm the elbow joint is tighter than that transformation joint which mean when I straighten his arm, it bends at that transformation joint instead of at the elbow. There's also wrist articulation so you can bend them inward. That joint has nothing to do with the transformation so this inward bend is actually intended to be a point of articulation but what would I ever use this for? I don't understand the purpose of this joint. Waist swivel due to transformation, this is also really helpful for any pose where you want him to be reaching for his swords while they're in the holsters. His right arm doesn't reach that far but if you twist the waist to bring it closer then you can make it work. The hip skirts are articulated so they won't get in the way of the hips. There's a ball joint at the hip itself. Thigh swivel. A knee which is surprisingly not hindered at all despite a large chunk of the vehicle mode being on the back of the legs. And I suppose you could use the transformation joint as a forward and back ankle tilt but it makes his legs look broken. Absolutely no side to side ankles.
Now you've probably noticed that I skipped the shoulders. He does have shoulders but these are some weird shoulders. I don't think I've ever seen this before on any other figure I own. Inside the torso there's a ball joint which mostly only allows for forward and back movement. There's a little bit of up and down but with how big the shoulders are that hinders the ball joint. To make up for that though there is a second joint inside the shoulders themselves, this is just a hinge for an outward bend. That's not the weird par though. The weird part is that the piece that connects the shoulder to the torso is shaped like an L. So at the bottom of this L is the ball joint and the outward hinge is at the top of the L. This kinda makes the shoulders a little bit weird to use. It's not as intuitive as it would be on a straight piece cause it doesn't bend where I would normally think it should bend. They do work but that's going to take some getting use to.
One minor nit pick I have is that I wish the holsters were made to allow the swords to be carried at an angle rather than having them pointed perfectly straight back. It's kind of annoying that they can't be stored at a more natural angle like Windblade's sword. Because of this I prefer to just have him holding the swords.
Also after looking it up it seems that Takara released a figure called Drift Origin which has the more curved lines of the original rather than tron lines and the new head based on his original IDW design… I got this version because it reminded me of IDW Drift totally not knowing there's another version of this figure that looks even more like IDW Drift. Of course that other version seems to be Takara only so this is the closest you're going to get the IDW color scheme from Hasbro. They may call it Alpine Strike Drift but that should be white and blue not white and red, the red makes this more of an IDW inspired paint job.
amd098
anyone know if his head is interchangeable with aoe drifts?
Dinobot Snarl
Would have like nicer swords, that's my only real complaint.
Mine fit dangerously tight in the side armor.
microclone
My drift head popped off, it was screwed on, its not something you can screw back on because the head doesn't turn 360, you have to unscrew the torso to fix that but it is glued and seems impossible to open, if your drift loses its head it is impossible to fix without destroying the torso, my poor drift is now in the garbage can! I didn't realize Hasbro glued pieces together!
Between this and grimlock's breaking elbows Hasbro are using some weird and impractical techniques for their current transformers, they really making some garbage quality toys at the moment.
EightiesKid
Nice review man, I'm a Drift fan as well, though I haven't gotten the newer Drift toys. I still love my Generations Drift from the Blurr mold. Good stuff.
megatronski
With the Primes having such a large role in the second half of RID season 1, I bet we'll be seeing Alpha Trion down the road, and hey, maybe he'll have a Drift-esque body that could be repainted/retooled from this figure?
I picked up this guy today and he's great. He's got so many cool little bits about him, from the sheathes to the Tabi looking feet, he's a winner, 10 times better than the mediocre AOE Drift. Only nitpick being, he likely won't have his minicon buddies, as the deployer figures don't look to be compatible at all, and will likely be too big.
Liege Prime
Found him at retail just last night. He's a good, well rounded figure and probably the best from the line.
EKSOBITION
Drift DEFINITELY is awesome. Bring on Jazz and Sideswipe!
Optimus Prime
I finally saw this in the local Walmart and I am extremely satisfied with RiD Drift. Until Drift, I've been unimpressed the RiD line; simplistic, cheap-looking toys and too much focus on minimalist, limited-transformation designs has largely turned me away from the line. I bought Steeljaw because of his unique wolf-like robot mode and Bumblebee just for the heck of it and both are (in my opinion) disappointing and not worth the purchase.
Enter Drift, who exceeded my expectations enormously. I really like his alt mode: draws upon the design of the Bugatti Veyron and comes in the striking black and orange colors that AoE Drift had in the concept art, which is pretty cool. I like the smoke-colored translucent windows that are so much more appealing than the typical translucent blue plastic or (even worse) black paint. I also like that the car is a pretty decent size as opposed to the new seemingly smaller standard. My favorite detail of his alt mode, which I didn't notice right away, is that his helmet crest design is also on the hood of the car.
Robot mode is where Drift shines for me, though. Where the rest of the RiD Warriors are marred by limited articulation and poseability, excessive kibble, or poor visual appeal, Drift is one of my new favorite Transformers in this size range. Again, I really like the black and orange deco, even if the colors aren't quite show-accurate. His poseability is great; he can actually stand, which Steeljaw and Bumblebee have trouble with. Thanks to his hinged wrists, he can also pull off some great sword poses. On the subject of swords, I always appreciate a melee-weapon Transformer and it's even better when they're dual-wielding katana. The "sheaths," like RotF Bludgeon's, are a great design touch. His overall samurai-inspired design is great, from the kabuto-esque headsculpt to the hip armor and even the foot sculpt that suggests split-toed tabi boots/socks.
I could keep on writing about how much I like RiD Drift but you get the point. He's an absolutely fantastic Transformer and, in my opinion, one of the best Deluxe-sized toys we've gotten in a while (surpassing all other RiD and Combiner Wars figures). Great visual appeal, cool design elements, good poseability, well worth the purchase. My singular nitpick about this toy is that the "facial hair" comes unpainted, but that's easy enough to fix with a Sharpie.
megatroptimus
Finally showed up a retail here. Kinda looks like Unicron, I like it.
Maximo Prime
She rolled her eyes and laughed at me. In a nice way.
Just noticed his feet have the divide between what would be his big toe and the other toes similar to the footwear that I've seen samurai wear in the past, or at least in media representation of them. That's really awesome.
WhiteMocha
Love this guy. Fun, streamlined, simple, and with a great aesthetic design. No annoying gimmicks, no glaring QC concerns. Barely any kibble, since the roof pieces do double-duty as heels. Love the proportions and the poofy legs with their tabi shoes. He also has that solid, dense plastic feel and bright coloration that I feel like I haven't seen since the Cybertron line. Really happy with this toy.
Philister
For more pics, click on the image above
Robot Mode: Drift has gone through several different color schemes by now. The first Drift (from the IDW comics) was white. Then followed the Age of Extinction Drift, who was blue. And now we have a Drift in Robots in Disguise 2.0, who is orange. What hasn’t changed, though, is that he is a Samurai-type guy with the traditional two swords and a strong Japanese influence on his design. Much like his Age of Extinction forebear he has a head resembling a medieval Samurai helmet and his face includes a sculpted (but sadly not painted) beard in Japanese styling as well. His robot mode feet are formed to resemble Tabi, those Japanese socks with the separated big toe. And finally he has a kind of armored skirt around his hip, too, completing his Samurai look.
Drift’s proportions are a bit strange, as he has huge lower legs, feet and shoulders, while his torso and head are relatively tiny. It works, though, especially with the more stylized approach of the new RID series. No complaints about the articulation, Drift can pose with the best of them. He lacks twisting wrists, which I always prefer on a sword-wielding bot, but he makes up for it with double elbow-joints, so he can pull off a few sword-slashing poses without problem. When he needs his hands free, he can sheathe his swords at his left hip (not mentioned in the instructions).
Overall Drift looks very cool in robot mode and I have no complaints about his articulation or detailing, either. So thumbs up for this mode.
Alternate Mode: Drift retains the same car model for his alternate mode as he had in Age of Extinction, a Bugatti. Not sure about the exact model, but it’s a great-looking car. Detailing isn’t exactly plentiful, but it has blue headlights, the red symbol up front resembling Drift’s head-crest from the robot mode, and the black-tinted windows look good, too. Sure, there could have been a bit more here, but I like what we got. The two swords can be stored underneath the car (again, not mentioned in the instructions). So bottom line: a good car mode.
Remarks: Drift has yet to appear in the new RID cartoon as I write this review, so I have no idea what role he will play there (apart from Samurai). Hopefully he will get a bit more depth than he did in Age of Extinction, where he got none (except Samurai). As far as the toy goes, though, it might just be my favorite RID 2.0 toy yet. Sure, it’s on the small side of a Deluxe-class figure and could do with a bit more detailing, but overall I like it very much. Drift appeared in droves in German Kaufhof branches, sole representative of the Warrior-class there so far, and I snatched him up during a lunch break. Don’t regret it in the least. Recommended to everyone who isn’t completely turned off by the somewhat simplified RID 2.0 aesthetic.
Rating: B+
You own this figure? Rate it on TFU!
Murasame
What was her answer?
Maximo Prime
My wife said it's weird for a samurai bot to have such a futuristic car mode. I asked her if she thought drift should turn into a rickshaw or something
Kraken
I was quite excited when I spotted Drift on the shelf, I've been looking forward to him.
Five minutes out of the pack and I thought he was horrible.
Bit more fiddling and he's just a bit bleh now. It's his torso. I can live with everything else but his trunk is just too short and it buggers everything else up. Might try and do something with it, because I actually think this will make a better base figure for MTME Rodimus then RID Bee does once a few issues are sorted.
Pravus Prime
Got him today. Really like it. Drift seems likely to be my favorite figure from the line.
Basilisk
Ugh his feet look so ugly.
Might have to sand them down into a better shape when I get him.
Slingshot
This, we've been needing one for awhile.
Purple Heart
I'd rather see an Alpha Trion repaint first.