Review: #554
Name: Blackwidow (Blackarachnia)
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Predacon
Line: Masterpiece
Year of Release: 2019
Size Class: Masterpiece
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
Blackarachnia is the 46th mainline offering in the high-end Transformers Masterpiece line.
Like the rest, she comes in a black matte cardboard box that looks really nice.
She comes with a collector's card.
Blackarachnia is one of the figures that come with a heftier amount of accessories including a display stand, two faces, two weapons and four pieces that connect to form a web.
SPIDER MODE:
Blackarachnia transforms into a black and gold black widow spider. All eight legs are individually joints at the base and in the middle.
In order to give us an accurate robot mode, the spider mode had to take a few compromises. The biggest of which is the unsightly kibble that forms the body of the spider. It's a bit better in person but still not great.
The kibble really shows when looking from the side, and how it it in an unnatural shape as well as showing off the robot parts.
The mandibles are individually jointed and can open and close. The figure itself is lavishly painted and looks amazing.
Despite the price tag, Blackarachnia has really small mass, and is barely bigger than a Deluxe.
While the legs may look thin and fragile, they actually do a great job at supporting the figure's weight.
By attaching a plastic piece, you can plug the spider mode onto the stand and pose it however you wish.
The robot weapon pegs underneath the spider's body but it is a terrible design. It relies on two thin tabs on joints that aren't actually pegged into place, so it's hard to get the weapon to securely stay in place.
Once you got the weapon pegged on properly, you can then use that as a connector to the web display and the results are definitely worth the struggle.
Finally, there is an alternate weapon with string attached and you can use that to simulate Blackarachnia dangling creepily from above.
An amazing spider mode that doesn't disappoint, despite the bulky kibble.
TRANSFORMATION:
Considering how different the robot mode is to the spider, Blackarachnia doesn't actually have an excessively complicated transformation scheme. The back with all the kibble unfolds to form the legs. The arms unfold from the bottom and that's pretty much it. There are some clever bits to help smooth out and hide away some parts, on the whole, this is a perfect balance between complexity and fun.
ROBOT MODE:
Robot mode has always been the focus of the Masterpiece line and Blackarachnia is no exception. She is crazily screen accurate and looks stunning.
Since it the spider mode that was compromised, this means that the robot mode is almost kibble free.
The headsculpt is fantastic and perfectly captures the character.
She comes with two additional faces, the first is a screaming face.
The second is very similar to the original, but has a slight smile. This is pretty much a waste of plastic since it is way too similar to tell the difference.
Blackarachnia is a little bit taller than an average Deluxe, but you have to keep in mind how skinny she is.
Blackarachnia has crazy amounts of articulation. She also has double jointed elbows, while her claw hands can open and close.
Her heelspurs does a great job at keeping her balanced in most poses. The figure is also beautifully painted, the metallic layer perfectly mimics the TV show.
Her spider legs looks like it could get in the way but they don't.
In order to attach her to the web, you need to use the second adapter which will then peg onto her back.
She comes with a gun where you can slot it into her hands, and there is a peg to keep it in place.
If you want to display her on the stand without the web, that is possible as well and it pegs directly into her back.
The last gimmick is a visor that clips over her eyes, it looks pretty cool actually.
You can fold the spider legs forward to form the machine guns she used in the TV show, although some effects parts would go a long way to helping the illusion.
The figure feels premium, which helps alleviate some of the pain of her extremely high price.
The range of articulation is impressive too since her knees can be almost 180 degrees. A wonderful robot mode.
OVERALL:
Blackarachnia is a very nice figure. She is expensive for her small size, but she does come with numerous accessories (of which the stand and web you would use more than once), and has an accurate and beautiful color scheme. Whether she is worth it will depend on if you are a fan of the character but at the very least, this is a solid figure that is at least not fragile at all.
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