Apparently, Down Force is the second member of the
Intimidator group to be released, not Last Chance, to correct a previous
mistake. No matter; regardless of release order, Down Force is the FansProject
stand-in for Dragstrip, the loveable psychotic six-wheeled race car member of
the Stunticons.
Down Force is the most stylized figure in the set, which on
the whole is one that takes some liberties at times while playing it totally
safe at others. But Down Force is a real and absolute departure not only from
the original character or toy looks, but also from the rest of his teammates. The
shoulder pads come together via the folding of front end car parts, and the
shoulder mounted headlights are an interesting look. Not a totally uncommon or
unique one, but a real touch of sophistication that one does not generally
expect from a Stunticon, which, while all cool looking cares, are not the most
stylish of robots, generally speaking. This great difference of Down Force
caused a little bit of a stir when the set was seeing its original release, as
at the time the Third Party scene was trying far more than it currently is to
produce figures that were obviously inspired by official product and
characters, but were different enough to make a claim of “we weren’t trying to
copy your IP” seem relatively legit if push came to legal shove. Compare that
approach to the almost stunning proximity Third Party figures occupy to
official designs these days, and it does seem odd that a company would go as
far as FansProject did with Down Force to cook up a totally new appearance. Back
when, many collectors didn’t take too quickly to what is sometimes described as
being the more anime influenced look of this figure, and some felt that, along
with Last Chance, Down Force did not fit well enough with the more standardized
Car Crash and eventual repaint mold mate T-Bone, or the fairly restrained team
leader Diesel.
But the difference works for some and doesn’t for others.
While nowadays, there are several companies producing versions of the same
characters or teams, at the dawn of the scene there were only a few companies
that were in operation at all, and the choices amongst products were a little
less extensive. Feels strange to say that now, as there are two or three Third
Party Menasors either on or coming to the market.
In robot mode, Down Force is a good looking fella,
reminiscent of the Cybertron era of
Hasbro figures, visually at least. The chest looks very Cybertron Scout class figure-ish, which is a fine aesthetic. This is
kind of an interesting aesthetic choice, as FansProject as a company got their
start making add-ons for Hasbro figures, really making a splash with their
Blast Off and Swindle figures for Hasbro’s Energon
Bruticus, so out of necessity working with that general look. Down Force is the
only figure on the Intimidator team that leans into that look, which make him
stand out amongst his peers as well. Last Chance does somewhat delve into this
overall scheme, but not nearly as much as Down Force.
The robot feet are small, narrow purple planks which often
have difficulty supporting the figure. Balance is achieved via the rest of the bottom
of the leg, but the feet don’t help at all. Once the legs are arranged in a
fashion that makes them support a standing pose, there’s not much of an issue,
but they are something of an afterthought to the design. The head is pretty
cool, again different from the head of the G1 character, but it works very well
for this incarnation. The blaster is, as they all are for the set, a fairly
nondescript little plastic block, again working well enough but not anything to
get charged up over. Overall, posability is fine, but the shoulder pads are a
bit fiddly and so require adjustment after moving the arms so as to keep the
shoulder together and looking good. A tab or something to secure the pieces would
have been nice. In terms of the paint, Down Force seems to be more orange than
yellow, which gives a little separation between he and the original as well, as
G1 Dragstrip was a more solid yellow.
Transformation is easy but a little fidgety, again due to
the shoulder parts, which make up the front end of the car in a pretty
futuristic sports car way. Bearing some similarity to a real world car like the
Prowler, it’s an interesting car design, and contributes to this aura the
figure has of being the “interesting one” in the set. That’s a very nebulous
concept, but you know what it means. Every set of figures has that one that
just seems more intriguing than the others, and that makes that figure the one
that is harder to put down or get your mind off of than the others, no matter
how good those others are, or whether the “interesting one” is the best of the
group or not. Down Force just kind of has IT.
The car mode itself is very cool, eliciting a real concept
car vibe. If the front end parts do not line up and tab together just right,
the car will be uneven and all four wheels won’t touch the surface the toy is
placed on. It’s not hard to get things to plug together fully, it’s just
touchy, as the tabs have a tendency to pop out of their slots and the wheel
guard parts come unfixed at nearly any provocation. But if all is lined up
correctly, Down Force is a stunningly cool vehicle. The idea behind the concept
car alt mode here may be related to the notion that the original Dragstrip, the
six wheeled race car, was itself some kind of experimental or concept race car,
which would make Down Force follow a similar path; although if that sounds like
too much of a reach to be true or believable, that’s fine as well. It seems
like one of those things that superfans or someone trying to find meaning where
there’s not really anything solid would piece together, making sense but not always
fitting into the parameters of what some of us would consider plausible. For
the record, it is an idea that does find some degree of support around these
parts, but if it turned out to be untrue, no feelings would be hurt or counterarguments
would be launched. The translucent blue plastic of the cockpit is really eye catching, too.
This was the first figure of the set that got any attention
when the set was obtained, so there may be some bias to consider there, but
Down Force is a good figure, and probably the personal favorite of the group.
He’s not the best one, not due to faults or flaws but to the truly outstanding
nature of the Car Crash/T-Bone mold. Nevertheless, Down Force is a strong and
cool entry in the group, and despite being pretty old and limited by the
current standard of 3P figures, a worthy addition to a collection.
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