Review #56: "Classics" Arcee (Place Holder Version)
Customized Transformers Animated Arcee
Arcee was a very prominent character in the 1986 Transformers film and the seasons of the television series that followed. Yet she never got a toy! She almost got one multiple times, but these efforts never made it past the prototype phase. I suppose Hasbro, in their infinite (lack of) wisdom, just figured boys wouldn't want to buy a girl character. Especially one who transformed into a pink car! It is common toy wisdom, alas, as in most any toy line aimed at boys, even these days you can be lucky to get toys of the female characters. And when you do, they're often shortpacked.
Thus did the fandom suffer a drought of Arcee toys.
She did eventually get a few token toys, such as a convention exclusive that had her for some strange reason turning into a spider. (It was a repaint of a character named Blackarachnia.) She also got a representation in the Binaltech line, again as a repaint of a very obviously not-Arcee toy.
But anyone wanting a decent representation of her G1 character, tough luck!
In 2008 there was a new Transformers cartoon called Transformers Animated. I can't say I was into it myself, but it was apparently quite well received. Although featuring a rather distinctive art style, many of the characters had modes that payed homage to the classic G1 characters as seen through the prism of this art style.
Transformers Animated eventually included the character of Arcee, and she had an alt mode not entirely unlike the G1 version of Arcee! Hey, think we'll get a toy of her? Maybe! Oh, but it looks like she is going to suffer the fate of many toys that are supposed to come out towards the end of a toy line, and I guess we won't see her after all... Pity.
But no! Toys "Я" Us to the rescue! In 2010, as an exclusive to that retailer, a few otherwise canceled Animated toys that fans were eager to have were able to see the light of day, and one of those was Arcee. Even Transformers fans who were not specifically into Animated were happy to see her release, as desperate as they were for an Arcee that would even vaguely resemble her G1 self.
I was one of them! So shall we see how she looks?
Thus did the fandom suffer a drought of Arcee toys.
She did eventually get a few token toys, such as a convention exclusive that had her for some strange reason turning into a spider. (It was a repaint of a character named Blackarachnia.) She also got a representation in the Binaltech line, again as a repaint of a very obviously not-Arcee toy.
But anyone wanting a decent representation of her G1 character, tough luck!
In 2008 there was a new Transformers cartoon called Transformers Animated. I can't say I was into it myself, but it was apparently quite well received. Although featuring a rather distinctive art style, many of the characters had modes that payed homage to the classic G1 characters as seen through the prism of this art style.
Transformers Animated eventually included the character of Arcee, and she had an alt mode not entirely unlike the G1 version of Arcee! Hey, think we'll get a toy of her? Maybe! Oh, but it looks like she is going to suffer the fate of many toys that are supposed to come out towards the end of a toy line, and I guess we won't see her after all... Pity.
But no! Toys "Я" Us to the rescue! In 2010, as an exclusive to that retailer, a few otherwise canceled Animated toys that fans were eager to have were able to see the light of day, and one of those was Arcee. Even Transformers fans who were not specifically into Animated were happy to see her release, as desperate as they were for an Arcee that would even vaguely resemble her G1 self.
I was one of them! So shall we see how she looks?
Well, here she is! I have to admit that my Arcee is not completely stock, something we'll mainly see in robot mode. The main effect to the vehicle mode is that there is something left off. Out of the package, she has two large white plastic pieces that form a spoiler. It is a rather distinctive feature of the Animated Arcee, but leaving them off helps her look a wee bit more G1. Not, I'll admit, that she is the model of G1 fidelity even without the spoiler... but she is a recognizable Arcee. Certainly well within the range of how some other characters have been reimagined when making "Classics" versions of them.
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In addition to the removed spoiler, there is some silver Sharpie work. I colored the otherwise unpainted nubs that the spoiler pieces attached to, and I also covered up some yellow paint on the front end. The yellow I am sure was faithful to Animated Arcee, but looked a bit out of place when trying to use her as a representation of G1 Arcee. (The silver Sharpie covers up the yellow very well to the naked eye, but the yellow bleeds through a bit in photographs.)
Finally, there is a Reprolabel on her cockpit giving her a faction symbol, placed over the painted-on faction symbol that was just a white outline over the clear plastic.
There seems to be a bit of fake robot kibble visible, as you can see what looks like her hands sticking out on her front end. I am sure this is faithful to her Animated model, and fortunately it doesn't stick out too much. It is a bit amusing, however, since when looking at her back end you can see her actual rather poorly hidden hands! (You can also, even more amusingly, see her head quite clearly. Obviously, Arcee wants to see where she's come from! More on that head when we get to robot mode...)
Finally, there is a Reprolabel on her cockpit giving her a faction symbol, placed over the painted-on faction symbol that was just a white outline over the clear plastic.
There seems to be a bit of fake robot kibble visible, as you can see what looks like her hands sticking out on her front end. I am sure this is faithful to her Animated model, and fortunately it doesn't stick out too much. It is a bit amusing, however, since when looking at her back end you can see her actual rather poorly hidden hands! (You can also, even more amusingly, see her head quite clearly. Obviously, Arcee wants to see where she's come from! More on that head when we get to robot mode...)
Onto robot mode we go! And here we see a big difference from how Animated Arcee normally looks. I mentioned that Transformers Animated had a distinctive art style, and one of the places where this was most apparent was the distinctive head and face designs that characters in that continuity sported. Her original head can be seen to the left (thanks to a pic swiped from TFU.info) and looks completely out of place if trying to put this figure into a G1-inspired Classics collection. Fortunately, on the Seibertron.com forums, I came across a member who had done some extensive modification to his own Animated Arcee to make her more G1-like, including giving her a new head and a pair of custom guns. And the person who had done this was kind enough to offer his head and gun to other interested forum members for a small fee. So, of course, I had to have them!
In addition to the head and guns, there are also a few stickers added to her robot mode. She spots another Reprolabels faction symbol on her chest, covering up a painted on plain silver one. Also, I was surprised when photographing her for this review to notice a rubsign on her back! It must have come from another toy, likely in the Reveal the Shield subline, who after getting his own full set of Reprolabels didn't have a convenient place to relocate the rubsign to on himself. And so Arcee evidently ended up with it instead. (I cannot remember who this rubsign donor might have been!) Her articulation is excellent! The head is on a ball joint on top of a long slender neck, and has a remarkable range of motion. The shoulders have two joints, a pivot and a ball joint. The elbows are ball jointed in a way that gives them an excellent bend, and can also emulate an upper arm swivel. Technically the wrists are static, but a lower arm swivel does the same job as if there was a joint in the wrists. There's a swivel in the waist, the hips are ball jointed, there's an upper leg swivel, and the knees can bend. There are no ankle joints, but the front of the feet can be manipulated (on joints mostly there for transformation) in ways that help them to look flat to the ground when the legs are angled. Officially, Arcee comes with two clear blue plastic swords for weapons. As mentioned, the new head also comes with a pair of guns. The person who made the new parts somehow modded their Arcee to fit the guns in the holes meant for sword storage, but the swords will not fit in those holes unmodded. Thus, they do have anyplace to store in vehicle mode. Still, they are nice guns and a good addition to the figure. |
There is, alas, a bit of a flaw in the figure. I've never been a big fan of Transformers with open hands that are still intended to hold things, and Arcee is a perfect illustration of why I dislike such things. The hand needs to have friction in it to hold things, yet the long slender thumb that such hands have almost seem to beg to be snapped off. Indeed, if you look at the photo to the left, you will be able to see a stress mark in the plastic near the base of the thumb. It has been about four years that I've had this figure, and to its credit it has not broken, but the fear of this happening is still present. That the custom guns are extra tight in the hands and do not help this fear, but the stress mark was present even when all I had was her stock swords.
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I'm going to digress for a moment. I talked at the beginning of this review how for the longest time, there were no official toys that came close to resembling G1 Arcee (or a "Classics" version of her). I would be remiss if I didn't say that third party companies haven't made an effort over the years. Indeed, around the time that this figure came out, there were at least two figures from third party companies also coming out that were intended to be a "Classics" Arcee. And there's even another one (much more inspired by how she looks in IDW comic books) coming out very soon. But those earlier third party efforts just didn't quite do it for me. After looking at them and seeing other reviews of them, those earlier third party ones didn't quite seem up to par. The upcoming one? If I didn't already have what I felt was an adequate Arcee, I might think about it... But I do, so I won't.
I'd also mention that there was also a more mass produced third party head and guns for this figure. I even briefly had a pre-order for them! But frankly, the look and cost of the one I am featuring here won me over, and so that pre-order was canceled.
I'd also mention that there was also a more mass produced third party head and guns for this figure. I even briefly had a pre-order for them! But frankly, the look and cost of the one I am featuring here won me over, and so that pre-order was canceled.
Well, time to sum up, so here's the standard photo showing her with a DVD case, to offer a sense of her size.
So, is this a figure worth having? Well, if you are a collector of things related to Transformers Animated, you'd probably be very happy to own this figure as she comes stock. How about for your Classics collection? Perhaps not... For you see, there is a reason I am doing this review now, and that reason is because this figure is about to become obsolete. Now, I said this figure was adequate enough where I wouldn't seek out a new third party Arcee, but what if Hasbro did what everyone never thought they would, and actually made a G1-looking Classics style Arcee? Well, pigs must be flying somewhere, because there is one scheduled for release not too far in the future as part of the current Generations line. And from the photos I've seen of her, she looks like she'll be quite good! (This is why this review has been titled with the modifier of, "Place Holder Version.") But for a good four years, this figure filled a very important place in my collection. Her time may be soon passing, but when it was her time she certainly shined. So for current Classics collectors, I would definitely say you're better off waiting for the new figure. But for the years of enjoyment I did get out of this figure, I felt it was worth paying her her due by giving her this review. |
Review added 23 July 2014 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed! As a post script, here's a few photos of an unmodded Animated Arcee figure, like the earlier head photo swiped from TFU.info: