Drift's vehicle mode
is replicated fairly well for this one-step changer form, at least for
the most part. The proportions are pretty spot-on, and all the major details
are on the mold, such as the angular front hood, the "head crest" on the
front, and the like. However, the back half or so-- particularly on the
top-- is a bit TOO smooth, even for Drift, and even for a RID2015 toy.
There's basically nothing there beyond a very shallow (unpainted) indentation
for the rear window and a tiny little spoiler. From a straight-on side
view, you can see a black block sticking out a bit from under the rear
end, not quite fitting the sleek form of this mode, but this is a VERY
minor extra at best-- it's really nothing from practically any "normal"
angle. Drift's color scheme is his usual orange and black, though the black
is a charcoal shade, and I feel a more "pure" version of the color would
have looked better. The orange plastic is great, though, with a bit of
glitter in it to make it look semi-metallic. It's also a bit milky, as
well-- at least when it comes to the plastic. The paint is a shade or two
lighter, but it's not super-noticeable. The color breakup is a bit off,
though, with only the back section of the car doors being black and a weird
patch-work of orange and black on the front hood. They should've made the
color scheme look a bit more unified, there. Beyond simply the orange and
black, there's also some nice dark red on the crest on the front hood,
as well as some moderately dark blue on the headlights. Unfortunately there's
no paint on the back end at all-- heck, there's almost no details on the
back end period, with only the slightest hint of square taillights back
there.
Drift's transformation
is identical to the initial one-step version
of Bumblebee-- that is, you take the black pieces at each end of the
car mode and push them together, and the rest of the toy transforms automatically.
Unfortunately, this means the robot mode really has some weird proportions,
with the entire bottom half of the toy being one huge "uni-leg"; an overly
large chest (especially since Drift has a flat chest in the show); and
arms that are a bit too small proportionally. There's also a flap of part
of the hood sticking up behind the upper back, but compared to the other
issues with this mode that's pretty minor, especially for a one-step changer.
The major details of Drift's robot mode are all replicated fairly faithfully
here on the legs and arms, although they can be a bit "squashed and stretched"
because of the proportions. He's got the shoulder details (waaay undersized),
"bump" details that look like his two Mini-Cons attached to his forearms,
the "armor skirt" on the hips, somewhat curvy details on the lower legs--
there isn't really any actual feet, though, which is kinda weird. (Because
of the large black blocks on the bottom, though, he's still stable.) His
head is detailed a bit oddly as well, with the actual face a bit undersized
compared to his headcrest and "armor". He does have a silver face, though,
along with blue eyes, black lines down the sides of his head, and some
black on the lower legs. Beyond those and the chest paint apps, though,
everything else is orange, which really just looks cheap, especially on
the arms where that detailing is just BEGGING for some paint (and to a
lesser extent on the hips, as well). For articulation, Drift can only move
back-and-forth at the shoulders-- he's not very poseable, but this is pretty
standard for one-step changers.
This first version of
RID2015 Drift as a one-step changer is his worst toy, to be blunt. The
vehicle mode is pretty decent, though under-detailed in the back, but this
transformation scheme that he shares with Bumblebee just makes for an awful
robot mode with horrible, overly chunky proportions. If you want a toy
of him that has a simple transformation, go for ANY of the other simple
toys-- the Legion class, the 3-step changer, the other one-step changer
mold that came out in 2017... just not this version.
Review by Beastbot