“He’s more than a warrior – He’s a monstrous speed machine too!.” – Hordak, about Dragstor, Masters of the Universe Mini-Comic “The Warrior Machine” (1986)
When I was trying to get caught up on MOTU Classics reviews last week, another one showed up! That’s what happens with these damn subscriptions. Truth is, I wasn’t really caught up – I’ve got a big ol’ MO2K Week coming up, but I figure I’d pop out a review on Dragstor here before December’s stuff shows up.
I never had Dragstor as a kid and I’m still not the biggest fan of the Evil Horde (I know, I’m like the only one), so this release isn’t as heralded for me as it by some others. It does pique my curiosity about the old figure and how well the action feature worked. I might have to snag a vintage one if I run across it.
I was looking forward to him as part of the “Botched Research Experiments” group for sure. Dragstor is yet another poor sap that fell prey to either Man-At-Arms’, Tri-Klops’, or Hordak’s machinations. Dragstor is a little more tragic than the rest, having been a close friend of other botched research experiment Extendar. Extendar was able to break free of Hordak; Dragstor was not.
The reason I find it his back story so interesting and his vintage figure intriguing is probably because I’m strangely underwhelmed by his Classics figure. On its merits, everything should be fine. The sculpt is fine. I like the chunky boots the new thighs get some vintage details in there, and the head sculpt is good. The breathing apparatus is a little soft, but it’s a good sculpt overall. The main get up though is where things get kinda lackluster. The individual parts are great – the motor backpack looks fantastic, the tire is well-done as is the vestigial slot for the ripcord, and the hoses and ribbing all look good too. It just doesn’t ever really come together.
And it’s not about not getting the action feature. That ship sailed years ago. As cool as just being able to spin that tire in his gut would be, I don’t hold not being able to do it against the figure. And I do like the smart layering. Part of the engine block is on the undies while the tire is part of the add-on armor. This preserves the waist articulation and reduces some of the bulk (as does the armor being cut out on the sides). It’s not about the action feature and the sculpt is more or less infallible except for some soft spots. But there’s just something I can’t put my finger on that I’m not feeling. I’ll likely get over it if I can’t explain it.
One huge upside of how this figure was constructed is that most of the articulation is retained and un-obstructed (the old figure can’t say that). The arms and legs work as you’d expect (thank you, boot swivel), the neck has decent range (hold that thought!) and as I mentioned the waist is unfettered. There’s no bulk under the arms so that’s another plus while the ab crunch is more or less locked away. On the head, the range is good, but it’s a shame that no consideration was given to Dragstor being able to look forward in “vehicle mode”, i.e. when he lays down on his tum-tum. Continue to Page 2…
Great review!
Dragstor closes an important chapter in the MOTUC book for me. He is the last vintage figure that I had as a kid to finally be made into Classics. Sure, technically the Laser figures coming out later this month are the “last” of the vintage, since I never had them nor were they ever for sale in the United States I don’t count them.
There’s just something I can’t quite put my finger on that prevents me from saying Dragstor is “perfect”. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve waited what, like seven years for him and thus the expectations were pretty high? If I was going to nitpick, the worst thing I can think to say is that he doesn’t have the “elbow pads”. Even comparing them side to side they got everything right. Maybe it’s just unrealistic expectations/buildup.
That being said, I am satisfied with Dragstor and glad to add him to my shelf and complete the Horde.
Speaking of last vintage figures, I always think there’s still one missing entry – Evil Robot! Yes, it was an unreleased prototype, but so were Mara and Darius and they still made it into Classics.
It got some pictures on promotional catalogues in the 80s and, although it didn’t look that exciting, I hope Mattel will give it a chance.
Ha. BREAST.
I still say he needs a cup.
Aas for the lack of belly wheel, I’m disappointed and pretty much expected it. ah well.
I vaguely remember seeing the original advertised, but I had long since moved on, concentrating on GIJoe+TFs. It was still interesting to see what goofy “stunt feature” they came up with.
Nice use of Snout Spout’s nose to censor Rio’s wonky chest 😉
Dragstor was one of the first few He-man figures I owned. Overall I think this figure looks really good. But I recall the vintage body being the same colour as the arms and legs.
Excellent review and comics, as always!
Well, the Vintage Dragstor was pretty cool when I was 12. Like this one, he couldn’t look up, either, he had just 5 point of articulation, but if you pulled that ripcord right and set him down with some forward motion, man, he went zooming.
Like many, I lament the lack of spinning ab-wheel. All the other wheels in the line roll; I was hoping this one would as well.