Dragstor
must be middle-aged, because boy – look at that spare tire!
HEYO!
It
was stated from the beginning that these figures would not have the
action features of the original line, but I feel like both Dragstor
and Rio Blast should have been exceptions to this rule. I would have
paid extra.
So
the wheel was out. Once you’re past the wheel thing you have to
look at the rest of the figure and decide if Dragstor is a worthy,
well-executed update that fits in with the rest of the Masters of the
Universe Classics line. Which is what I’m going to do now.
I
never had the original toy:
So
I wasn’t sure what to expect outside of a wheel in his belly. I
remember him from when I was a kid, but typically action figures with
gimmicks as extravagant as a tummy tire were shit propositions. All
of the focus was on the gimmick and not the rest of the figure. This
doesn’t appear to have been the case with Dragstor. The original
appears to have had functioning arms and legs and to be pretty much a
good action figure regardless of having a wheeled torso. That’s
really my gauge for how good a gimmick is – does it work and does
the figure still function as a figure? It looks like the original
Dragstor accomplished both of those things, so good for him. Or
Mattel’s design team, I suppose.
FIRST
GLANCE
This
is one of the most terrifying heads I’ve seen in the Classics line.
A
lot of Dragstor’s design looks like it could have come straight
from Mad
Max.
Heck, with just a few tweaks and some muted colors he could easily be
an extra from any of those movies. With that concept in mind, I like
Dragstor a lot more than I thought that I would.
PACKAGING
The
MOTUC blister card never disappoints.
I’m
not wild about Dragstor’s bio, but at least his real name isn’t
utterly stupid. I don’t know what I think would have been better as
far as a backstory. I suppose it fits with the theme of Hordak being
sort of a deranged Mr. Roarke from Fantasy
Island.
LOOKS
Here’s
another guy like Saurod
whose face is partially concealed. For some reason, though, Dragstor
doesn’t bother me as much. I think t’s because what we do see of
his face is much more toy-like and somewhat less interesting than
Saurod’s. I imagine there’s just a wide, frowny mouth under
there.
The
head design is great and the sculpt is good. I like that the helmet
is somewhat unremarkable. It’s a racing helmet and doesn’t need a
bunch of detail. His Immortan Joe-like breathing apparatus – the
design of which predates Fury
Road,
by the way – looks great and is different from any other Classics
figures. Even guys with similar setups like the aforementioned Saurod
and Karatti. It looks like race car stuff. His exposed reptilian face
is sculpted well, but looks plain. A dark wash would have helped.
Also, his pupils are painted down onto his cheeks, which looks like
shit.
The
fact that Dragstor doesn’t have goggles makes my eyes hurt just
thinking about it, but it’s true to the original design, so what
are you gonna do?
The
same goes for his color scheme. It’s pretty awful. He would look so
much cooler if he were all black and red or a darker blue, but we’re
stuck with his 80s “this needs to be bright for kids” look. If I
had the time or patience or cared enough to customize figures, this
guy would get a paint job. At least those orange gloves would have to
go.
The
torso is pretty awesome. The wheel looks fine for what it is, but
everything else is very impressive. The first thing worth noting is
how low-profile the piece is. This thing could have been monstrously
bulky and made Dragstor look like a real idiot, but the design team
managed to create something that is relatively sleek and yet still
looks like a cyborg nightmare (I mean that in a good way). I’m
always happy to see a Horde crest and this one looks good surrounded
by trim and hoses.
Dragstor’s
“backpack” is a pile of exhaust pipes and car things that look
great but honestly could have been so much greater with a little
paint. It’s not bad by any means, but some detailing would have
looked really killer. There’s a loop at the top to store his unique
crossbow. I’ll discuss that in a bit.
Dragstor
has what I’m pretty sure are unique boots, but I can’t keep track
anymore. They look good and almost seem like they could serve a
specific function for a guy that turns into a… wheeled guy. The
same goes for those weird things affixed to his thighs. My guess is
that that’s his braking system. They’d look so much better if his
legs were grey or black.
ACCESSORIES
Dragstor
comes with a crossbow and an… ax whip?
The
crossbow is fantastic. I love the unique crossbows that the Four
Horsemen have been designing for the Horde members in this line.
Obviously this one is perfect for Dragstor. It plugs into the loop at
the top of his engine or backpack or whatever:
The
result is pretty unwieldy and ridiculous, but I like it.
Speaking
of unwieldy and ridiculous, the ax whip isn’t designed how I would
have designed it. In a bizarre turn, unlike most weapons in this line
it is made out of hard plastic(!). This means that it is stuck in
that odd, unnatural curving position forever and won’t ever look
like it is actually in any sort of whip-like motion. So one of the
few weapons in the entire line that should
have rubber parts doesn’t.
Oh,
and this thing is meant to represent the ripcord that was used to
propel the original toy. It does a fine job of that.
Aside
from the materials used, this weapon does look great. The ax head
design is somewhat evocative of an automotive sort of thing and the
whip portion looks wicked with that serrated edge. I just don’t
care for the shape the thing is sculpted in.
FUN
As
far as poseability goes, Dragstor is your standard MOTUC release.
If
you consider trying to figure out how to pose a figure so that he
looks like he’s driving around on his tummy fun, then this is the
guy for you. That aspect of this review did take a little more time
and provided me more reason to handle this guy than most other
Classics figures, so I suppose I’d call that a win.
I
do have to admit that he looks pretty okay in the “driving”
position. Heck, better than any Superman figure that I own looks in a
flying pose.
OVERALL
I
like Dragstor a
lot
more than I thought I would. His colors are awful and his wheel is
useless, but those are both within the parameters of the design
mission of the Classics line. So I can’t very well deduct points
there. Design-wise he’s pretty cool and is an excellent update on
the original figure. I’m happy to have him on the shelf.
He’s
a solid four that could have been a five pretty easily with just a
bit more paint and thought.
4
out of 5
Buy
one from Amazon and help Needless Things pay the bills!:
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