Drift's Bugatti Veyron alternate mode looks fantastic all-around, with the proportions very much spot-on-- as you'd expect for a Transformer with a licensed alt mode. Other than the swords visible through the transparent windows (the other robot bits inside said windows are blue enough where they don't really stick out), there isn't any robot mode bits visible in this mode as well, which is always a plus. Drift's color scheme is recreated fairly faithfully from the movie here, with dark blue being the main color, with a nice metallic teal surrounding the car mode around the bottom rim. As good as these two colors complement and contrast against each other, though, I do have a minor beef with them-- for one, the dark blue isn't a metallic or semi-metallic color, just a flat dark blue, which doesn't work as well on a car as it doesn't look like a car's "finish". The metallic teal is also a bit duller/darker than on most other toys of AoE Drift, which means it doesn't stick out/contrast as much. Again, it still looks good, just not AS good. The transparent dark blue used for the windows is a nice shade of the color-- it's dark enough where most of the robot bits inside can't be seen (again, excepting the swords). If you're going to make the windows transparent without the room for a detailed interior, this is the way to go. There's also silver headlights and taillights (surprisingly on the latter, given how much those get overlooked), silver wheel rims, and the Bugatti Veyron-signature grill, all looking quite good and contrasting with the other colors nicely. The black does blend in with the dark blue a bit if Drift isn't under strong light, but it's not used all that much beyond the back end and is a minor quibble. The only detailing I wish was painted is the rather intricate detailing on the engine/venting behind the rear window; this is left dark blue, sadly. A shame, given how little mold detailing is otherwise on the Drift toy in this mode (though this is accurate to how sleek the Bugatti Veyron looks, of course).
    For the most part, Drift's transformation is fairly straightforward-- as with many movie car TFs, the hood parts fold back and compress a bit, while the arms and legs merely fold out from the car mode. There's a few extra surprise bits for this deluxe version, though, with the car doors folding up on the upper arms to look like the teal-armored bits Drift has up there on the movie model; the car bits on the sides of the lower legs angle back some and lock in at a slightly diagonal angle to increase the visual interest there and more obviously breakup the actual leg from the vehicle kibble; and the car hood and front bumper on the back actually rotate around and peg in securely behind Drift's upper back. Despite this, I will say that the roof behind Drift's back is my chief issue with the toy-- it doesn't get in the way of articulation, but it does stick out a bit from Drift's otherwise somewhat slim (for a male TF) main body and chest. The front bumper behind his butt looks particularly bad. As far as the core robot proportions go, Drift's robot arms are a bit skinny, but other than that he looks pretty solid. He's got nice, fairly bulky legs that are molded to look like they have that armor plating on the upper portion, the partially fake chest is actually pretty convincing (the grill carries over from the vehicle mode, but nothing else), and his relatively large feet make him nice and stable. The mold detailing for this mode is also great, with all sorts of little bits and bobs on the robot mode parts-- beyond just the aforementioned plating, a careful look can pick out springs, hinges, and even fake folded-up car bits on the abdomen and arms. The headsculpt is also spot-on, fitting Drift's obviously samurai-inspired headsculpt perfectly-- and he's actually got the movie-accurate gold paint on his face this time, as opposed to the inaccurate silver paint on most of his other AoE toys! Yee-haw! He's also got a fairly cheery expression, reflecting the "calm, at peace" attitude he tries to put forth during most of the movie. As far as the colors go, the increased amount of teal helps make this mode look more visually interesting, as does the gold head and the brownish-gold plastic used for his swords. In a VERY neat extra touch, all four of his swords can store behind his back in "fan"-like manner, just like on his movie model-- not only does this look nice, it calls to mind his other alt mode not replicated here-- his helicopter mode, what with the "fan blades" and all. To look their best, the two shorter blades store further behind his back in this mode, the longer two blades in front of them, right behind Drift's back proper. (In car mode, the longer swords store on the underside, while the shorter blades store where the longer blades do in this mode.) Of course, Drift can hold any two of these swords in his hands. For articulation, Drift can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at two points), hips (at three points), knees, and forward a bit at the ankles. There's no reason other than budgetary reasons he's missing a waist joint, so I kinda lament the inability of him to move there, but otherwise he's got great poseability.
    AoE deluxe Drift is a quite nice adaptation of his movie model. The Bugatti Veyron mode looks absolutely stellar, and his robot mode has a great, unique look to it with some excellent weapon placement, some nice molded/painted details with the teal armor, and pretty good proportions (skinny arms aside). He does have a few moderate kibble issues, like the roof/bumper behind his robot back and the bits on the sides of his lower legs, but overall he's a worthy and recommended addition to any movie collector's repertoire.

Review by Beastbot

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