Drag Strip's alternate mode is a F1 racing car, and given both his alt mode and general coloring, he's definitely a "light" homage to the G1 Stunticon of the same name. The proportions are actually pretty good for a race car, and unlike many F1 race car Transformers he's actually proportioned just right to fit a human pilot inside (as, obviously, is the gimmick of this whole subline). The only real robot mode extras are minimal, and are just his hips on the back end being a bit apparent (more because of their non-yellow color than anything else). The extra fins on the front and back actually enhance the look of the mode, I think, going a bit beyond simply "sleek" and "decorative" to being a bit crazy, which is something a Decepticon allied with a human would probably do just to prove to his brethren that he's still a force to be reckoned with (though I'm probably thinking this through a bit too much). The color scheme is mostly orangish-yellow and black, which is not a color scheme I'm particularly fond of, but isn't that bad, either. He's got a fair amount of that ugly light milky gray plastic as well, though thankfully it's mostly limited being visible in his other modes. He's not just a color-clone of Bumblebee, though; he's got a fair amount of a rather nice shade of metallic purple on him, mostly on fade apps on his front spikes and on two pieces that serve as the bottom for most of this mode. This color is definitely my favorite part of the scheme, and contrasts excellently against all of the other colors-- I wish there was more of it. The meaning of the "phoenix" emblems on the front and left side of this mode are a bit of a head-scratcher, but they do look rather cool and give Drag Strip a bit more individuality. That said, though he's generally painted well enough, a bit on his rear spoiler would've helped a bit. As for Drag Strip's partner Master Disaster, it's your typical Human Alliance human figurine but fully in a racing suit. Add this "inhuman" look to the fact that he's made of transparent plastic, and it looks like he's a "hologram"-- so is this Human Alliance really a Human Alliance?
    Drag Strip's weapon mode is a shield, and like most Human Alliance weapon modes is unfortunately quite poor. It's basically his race car mode with the metallic purple bits slid out and the large spikes on the front attached to the front of said purple bits. The actual "side claw" look of those purple/yellow bits is pretty cool, but that's about the extent of anything good about this mode. As a shield, it fails utterly; there's a huge hole in the middle of it, for one thing (where the driver sits in vehicle mode), and the handle for a larger robot to hold him is on the BOTTOM of the vehicle mode, meaning that if it's being held it's even more obvious that the larger robot is simply holding a race car out in front of him. The rear spoiler fans out a bit too, but it doesn't really look like anything. If you want to use anything from this mode at all, I'd recommend just bringing out the purple bits and attaching the yellow spikes to the front of them in a sort of "half-way" transformation so that it looks like Drag Strip's getting ready to sideswipe and take out other cars in a race.
    Drag Strip's robot mode is unique-looking and LOOKS menacing, for the most part. His headsculpt is really evil-looking and just exudes a "mean" personality, and the metallic purple bits frame his silouhette quite well. His mold detailing is also particularly excellent in this mode, with all the "robot parts" detailed to the point of almost being overly so, with little pistons, fins, and the like molded in everywhere. Unfortunately, this is pretty much where the good sides of his robot mode end. His arms are horribly awkward, being made of the front third or so of his race car mode and simply having the hands molded in on the bottom (though at least they're painted silver). The large purple/yellow spikes don't really do anything in this mode but hang off his lower arms, and the shoulder connection is absolutely horrible-- it doesn't stay very secure to his chest at all since the pegs are too small/shallow, and his elbows are also awkwardly articulated, only moving inwards towards his body if you have his hand pieces posed naturally. There's a big obvious pit in his chest that's made from his head folding out of it, and his rear spoiler bits (again) just sort of sit behind his lower body as ugly kibble. His legs look decent enough, but the bottom halves are hollow, and his feet have no heels, so he's not as stable as I'd like. As for articluation, he can move slightly at the neck (though it interferes with his metallic purple plates if you do so), as well as at the shoulders (at two points), elbows, hips (at two points), knees (at two points), and slightly at the ankles. Given his unstable his shoulder connections are, his awkward elbows, and his slight back-heaviness, though, he can't get into nearly as many cool poses as you'd think.
    The poor Human Alliance deluxe Decepticons just can't catch a break. Although his vehicle mode looks rather cool, Drag Strip's other two modes range from bad to awful. He's my least favorite of the Human Alliance deluxe molds, and only recommended for completists of the subline.

Review by Beastbot

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