Master Back Draft MK. III
Master Back Draft MK. III (henceforth known as Back Draft) comes from the sub-line of a subline of Tomica. The Drive Head series is a sub-line of the Hyper Rescue line, which is an offshoot of the whole Tomica line, which includes die-cast cars and plastic trains. The whole line works together, and if I had the room, I would have a whole area set up just for those. They super fun and super playable, and are sturdy enough for kids, but have designs that collectors can appreciate.
Back Draft is not the main mecha, but I think it’s the coolest looking of the three Drive Head mecha. Each goes through a bunch of revisions in the series, so this one is Mk. III. It’s worth noting that in both Drive Head and Hyper Rescue, there are usually two main color groups – Police (Blue) Rescue (Red and white), with a third color being black or yellow. As such, there are also appropriately colored support mecha for each one.
Master Back Draft arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan
The box is large and sturdy, with colorful graphics all over. Inside there is a clear tray, with clear bands holding each in place. Why do we need those additional bands all over when: 1. it’s in a box and 2. The plastic snaps the parts into place? I have no idea.
The set includes a sticker sheet with high-quality glossy stickers. The toy looks fine (maybe better) without them, but for the sake of this review, I applied them. I love applying stickers as part of the opening process.
The Drive Head line is based around cars that become the heads of mecha suits, hence the name. The toy is super well made – I can’t stress enough how impressed I am with the quality.
First off, notice all the times it has the characters name on the toy. The box has it spelled with two words “Back Draft” but the stickers have it as one “Backdraft”. It has the name printed on the figure six times, if you add the stickers. So if you find that annoying, don’t add the stickers.
The toy does need assembly out of the box, and it does not need to be taken apart for transformation, but I think the modular aspect comes into play when you begin to add accessory sets. The red lights on the shoulders are actually buttons that when pressed release the arms. The same action applies to the guars on the knees.
Master Back Draft stands about 7 inches tall. He’s great.
Every joint clicks and is sturdy. It’s very poseable, but the head and waist do not turn, so it is somewhat limited. But it’s a kid’s toy, and you don’t always get that.
The core figure alone looks great, but when you add the accessories and weapons it really comes alive. There are various connection points on the figure where you can mix and match how they attach.
The large drills on the back consist of four separate components, and they can be rearranged in various ways. Some are true to the character as it appears on the show, and others are up to your imagination.
There’s something very Brave Series, or Gurren Lagaan like with the drills. Drills on robots are awesome.
The essence of the toy is the car that sits in the chest of the robot. It’s not your typical Tomica car, as it’s all plastic, but it’s about the same size. The car seems patterned after an American muscle car, sort of a combination between a Mustang and a Camaro. Car people would know better than me, but I can’t find an exact match.
Transformation of the suit into vehicle mode is simple, and everything clicks into place. There are tabs all over that make sure that the vehicle stays together for play. The car sits in the same place once transformed. You don’t actually have to remove it for transformation, but I took it out to show you.
The result is a sort of rescue battle wagon. It’s a cool looking vehicle, if not impractical. You can also attach the additional armor and weapons in this mode too.
Overall this thing is super fun, well-built, and a great value. I’m so into it, and I wish these would come to the states. It’s got a cartoon to support it, so why not? Tomica deserves to make real inroads in the US.