Transformers Legacy Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. F2990 No. F3020 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:2 blasters Action Feature:Transforms from robot to car Retail:$24.99 Availability: March 2022 Other: A little cartoon, a little toy, and a lot cheaper than the Combiner Wars one
If you can believe it, there used to be a time when G1 remakes were in short supply. This Dragstrip is one of many transforming versions of the character in recent years, with the last new yellow combiner limb version hitting in very late 2014. At this point it seems you can pretty much set your watch to a new "classic" version of "A" and "B" characters nearly every 5-7 years.
The toy's box makes mention of this being a part of a combiner, but it's subtle. The instructions don't tell you how to make him a combiner arm, but I can! There's a little yellow tab you need to push in to separate the front of the car from the back, and they peg on to Menasor's arm as "armor." This means there's no limb kibble in this set - it's just a car that can change into a robot, with two blasters. Efficient - all the combiner stuff is in the Motormaster box.
This figure is closer to the cartoon models than the original toy, and the 2014 Dragstrip [FOTD #1,171] was a nifty reimagining of the character. Many of the Dragstrip toys are surprisingly different - one is a really good Mirage repaint, another was an Arcee repaint. This one is a completely new mold with 22 points of articulation. I was surprised to see no wrist joints on this one, but you get plenty of ankle movement and a preposterous amount of unbroken yellow.
Despite being a combiner, the robot mode has articulation on par with just about any normal figure with a great range of motion. Since the combiner limb is just a car split in two, this makes sense - there's no reason it has to make a lot of concessions to have that extra functionality, so you get a nice robot. There's just not much to him, with some stripes on the elbow and mustard around the silver engine on his chest. The head is modeled after the cartoon model - not the toy - which should make it a compelling release to track downs for fans of the Sunbow designs.
His accessories are two blasters that can combine. They're the same blaster - so push two together, and you get a double-barreled blaster. They have a little bit of paint, and also can be mounted in car mode.
Other than the lack of color variety, Dragstrip is as good as any non-combining deluxe toy in most recent lines. He stands, he can be posed nicely, and he has absolutely no way to use C.O.M.B.A.T. fireblast accessories anymore. It would have been nice if they just kept 3mm barrel tips on his blasters, but it was not meant to be.
Transformation is a lot of fun. The original toy had big 4-wheel shoulder pylons, this one has wheels that just fold back in robot mode. The legs twist around, the thighs tuck in the shins, and there are a lot of satisfying panels to twist around. So many of the toys have difficult parts that require a bit extra force, but this one is pretty smooth sailing. I enjoy futzing with it.
The race car looks a lot like the original - six wheels, for some reason, and a lot of yellow. Sadly there's no chrome, so the mushroom peg wheels look extra bland. It's just a peg through a black circle, with no shine or special detail. They roll, but not in a way you may find impressive. Even thought his sounds like a series of complaints, it's still a good vehicle that copies the original 1986 design quite well. It's by no means a perfect 1:1 copy, but for fans of that old cartoon I assume it's going to match the imagination.
But is it worth it? $25 for a deluxe is a lot to ask, moreso as a combiner limb since you've got three more to buy and a $90 core figure. This guy is roughly on par with most deluxe toys since Siege and matches what you will imagine for the character, but that means it's also a little light. There's not a lot of paint. The two blasters aren't a lot of gear, and there's no clear Energon accessory like the rest of the wave. A bonus accessory would do wonders to make this a real winner, but as it is it'll probably sell just fine as a combiner limb. It wasn't that long ago when $20 got us a big toy with gimmicks and electronics, but that piece count got shifted to tilting ankles and multiple joints per limb instead of two. This is what the era of appealing to adult fans gets us, but it's still pretty neat and it may scratch the itch for that Masterpiece Edition set that could be years off. I like this figure enough to recommend it on its own merits, and if it ever goes on clearance I'd say buy an extra to leave as a Menasor limb permanently.
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