Review: #103
Name: Arcee
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Prime - First Edition
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Deluxe (First Edition Wave 1)
Variations: there is a pink repaint as an SDCC 2011 exclusive
VEHICLE MODE:
Arcee transforms into a fairly clean motorbike. There's a kickstand on the left side, but if you've got the blades on, the kickstand is unnecessary.
The bike rolls (as expected) and there's a lot of sculpted details. It's a visually striking bike.
There's molded handlebars, exhaust pipes, silver rims and the like. It's very solid and stays together very well.
For a sleeker look, you can detach the blades, although this exposes her robot legs, it's not that obvious, and in my opinion, looks much better and more like a normal motorbike.
Motorbike alternate modes have gotten better and better over the years, but I still don't think any has topped Animated Prowl yet. The major flaw Arcee has here is that the arms, along with the cowlings, jut out more than a normal bike should. Still, it's a really good effort.
Downside of being a motorbike is that it'll always be smaller than other Deluxes which transform into cars or jets, as evidenced in the photo above.
Being a First Edition toy, Arcee comes with a cardboard stand.
Arcee is thin enough such that you can display her as a bike here. A really good bike mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
Arcee shines a lot in this area, her transformation is fantastic. You'll have a lot of fun transforming between the modes, it's the right mix of complexity and intuitiveness, very impressive. The rear wheels are a clever design, splitting in half (and still managing to roll in bike mode...) to form the two distinct wheel components in each leg, ingenious. The kibble was well dealt with, splitting the two front pieces of the bike and folding it down onto her chest can be somewhat tricky at first. A very nicely engineered figure (worth watching a video review of her just for the transformation if you don't have the mold).
ROBOT MODE:
A very screen accurate robot (as all the First Edition toys are), well, apart from the black forearms but that's understandable.
She wears some kibble on her back (part of the front of the bike and the front wheel) but it sits really close to her body, and is nowhere near the mess the Robots in Disguise mold is.
As mentioned, Arcee has her two distinctive blades, they are a bit oversized but nicely sculpted and painted in silver to boot.
They peg under each arm, just like the show. If you're wondering, she cannot hold them in her hands (even if she can, it'll look fairly odd).
Don't like your Arcee to be armed? No worries, the designer had you covered. You can attach the blades onto the sides of her legs (where they're usually stored in bike mode) and they actually look good there too.
There's the high quality head sculpt as you'd expect from Prime First Edition toys, however, it doesn't look too much like Arcee, it just seems to be missing something.
As mentioned earlier, the legs are well formed, I feel they're a bit too large, if they were smaller, it'll benefit both modes.
Arcee 'expands' a lot in the process of conversion (but not to the point of mass changing), growing to the height of a normal Deluxe, albeit skinnier (being a motorbike, she's small, but it's even worse when the figure's a female since naturally, she'll be less bulky).
The articulation is great, she has a waist swivel although that only serves transformation and it locks somewhat in robot mode. Her shoulder kibble gets in the way of the range of arm motion, and it gets annoying at times (you just have to shift it to overcome it).
There's no other gimmicks to speak off, Arcee just focuses on being a good Transformer (the correct focus mind you).
Arcee's stable in a range of poses, however, her feet doesn't move and is static, that's the only negative I can find in her articulation (a minor fault really).
A great robot mode, and will most likely be the mode you'll display her in.
OVERALL:
As you can probably guess, this is a very good and solid Transformer. Two great modes and a really nice transformation between them. It's been said that the First Edition line is more collector focused, and I can see that here, there's no obtrusive gimmick that compromises the whole figure, it's a piece of engineering marvel that's everything you'd want in a Transformer. Unless you have any problems with the aesthetics, this is one sure fire toy to get.
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