Sunday, July 31, 2022

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Arcee (Bumblebee) (Deluxe)


Review: 
#728
Name:  Arcee
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2022
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 16)
Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:


Arcee transforms into a Cybertronian motorbike, but it's a unique looking bike, especially the double front wheels.


The bike looks pretty good overall but fails a bit at the back where the robot hands are exposed.  You can plug the robot guns on the side on or in her hands, to act as twin exhausts.


As per usual with a Transformer that has a bike alternate mode, they're usually pretty small and Arcee is no exception here.  Above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee.


The only play value here is that she can roll on a flat surface.  The front wheels roll, while there are small plastic wheels at the back (the bigger "wheel" is faux).


A good vehicle mode that suits Arcee, and also differentiates her quite a bit from past Arcee toys.

TRANSFORMATION:

Unlike some of the other Bumblebee movie inspired figures, Arcee doesn't overcomplicate things and as a result, she has an interesting and enjoyable transformation.  The front and most of the underside splits to form her legs.  While the back are where her arms is.  The top compacts into a backpack.

ROBOT MODE:


Based upon her appearance in the intro of the Bumblebee movie, Arcee looks awesome here, having some bulk but still retaining a feminine shape.


The backpack isn't too big and evokes the G1 incarnation's backpack.  The biggest problem with it though is that the two outer panels don't actually have anywhere to lock in so it shuffles around when you handle the figure.


The head sculpt is basically the G1 head done in a movie-style, but it's one of the worse implementations as it looks really unnatural and weird.


In terms of size, she's slim and slender, so yes, with the size shrinkages coupled with price rises, and it makes these figures less and less value for money.



As part of the Studio Series line, she comes with a cardboard stand, depicting war torn Cybertron.


Her articulation is great, as you'd expect.  She has joints for her head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.


Despite being so slender, she feels solid and apart from the backpack panels as mentioned earlier, there are no other floppy bits just hanging off and getting in the way.


She comes with two small guns as weapons.


She can hold the weapons in both hands.


Those guns can store in her backpack, although they don't exactly look great there.


The front wheels behind her feet act as natural heel spurs, so she is extremely stable however you pose her.


A strong robot mode that looks good, and poses well.

OVERALL:

Arcee is a fun figure, with two solid modes and a fun transformation in between.  The biggest negative, and this is prevalent across the whole Transformers line now, is the small size and poor value for money.  At least her engineering is good and has a rock solid robot mode.

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page and this page.

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