RID 2015 Drift

Robot Mode: Drift has gone through several different color schemes by now. The first Drift (from the IDW comics) was white. Then followed the Age of Extinction Drift, who was blue. And now we have a Drift in Robots in Disguise 2.0, who is orange. What hasn’t changed, though, is that he is a Samurai-type guy with the traditional two swords and a strong Japanese influence on his design. Much like his Age of Extinction forebear he has a head resembling a medieval Samurai helmet and his face includes a sculpted (but sadly not painted) beard in Japanese styling as well. His robot mode feet are formed to resemble Tabi, those Japanese socks with the separated big toe. And finally he has a kind of armored skirt around his hip, too, completing his Samurai look.

Drift’s proportions are a bit strange, as he has huge lower legs, feet and shoulders, while his torso and head are relatively tiny. It works, though, especially with the more stylized approach of the new RID series. No complaints about the articulation, Drift can pose with the best of them. He lacks twisting wrists, which I always prefer on a sword-wielding bot, but he makes up for it with double elbow-joints, so he can pull off a few sword-slashing poses without problem. When he needs his hands free, he can sheathe his swords at his left hip (not mentioned in the instructions).

Overall Drift looks very cool in robot mode and I have no complaints about his articulation or detailing, either. So thumbs up for this mode.

Alternate Mode: Drift retains the same car model for his alternate mode as he had in Age of Extinction, a Bugatti. Not sure about the exact model, but it’s a great-looking car. Detailing isn’t exactly plentiful, but it has blue headlights, the red symbol up front resembling Drift’s head-crest from the robot mode, and the black-tinted windows look good, too. Sure, there could have been a bit more here, but I like what we got. The two swords can be stored underneath the car (again, not mentioned in the instructions). So bottom line: a good car mode.

Modification: As I mentioned above, Drift's Japanese-style beard is sculpted into his face, but sadly unpainted. Thankfully that is easily remedied (see last two pictures in the gallery).

Remarks: Drift has yet to appear in the new RID cartoon as I write this review, so I have no idea what role he will play there (apart from Samurai). Hopefully he will get a bit more depth than he did in Age of Extinction, where he got none (except Samurai). As far as the toy goes, though, it might just be my favorite RID 2.0 toy yet. Sure, it’s on the small side of a Deluxe-class figure and could do with a bit more detailing, but overall I like it very much. Drift appeared in droves in German Kaufhof branches, sole representative of the Warrior-class there so far, and I snatched him up during a lunch break. Don’t regret it in the least. Recommended to everyone who isn’t completely turned off by the somewhat simplified RID 2.0 aesthetic.

Rating: B+