First Edition Arcee

Robot Mode: When it comes to female Transformers, the designers often either ignore the fact that the figures are supposed to be female (BW Airrazor might as well be a dude) or completely overdo it (BW TM2 Blackarachnia and her metal bikini). In the case of Prime Arcee, though, they found a good middle ground. A tall, slender robot with a somewhat curvy look. It does have breasts and high heels, but neither is overdone. You can easily tell it’s supposed to be a girl, but not the kind that will cause fanboys to get rid of their Megan Fox posters. So that’s a big plus in my mind.

Girly look aside Arcee is a very good figure, highly articulated and nicely detailed. The resemblance to the TV character is very good, the differences are miniscule. Arcee’s got a bit of a rucksack, but it’s not a problem. You can either pose the wheel on her back sideways (as the instructions say) or have it stand out a bit (as the TV figure has it), doesn’t make a big difference either way. Arcee’s head looks great, the spitting image of the one on TV, and she has nicely sculpted hands, too.

Only two slight drawbacks as far as I’m concerned. Arcee can be put into all manner of poses, but with her tiny feet she does have some balance issues. The picture with the kung-fu kick above? Only works when you hold her up, she can’t balance on one foot. Not a big thing, just something I thought to mention. The other thing: her weapons. Don’t get me wrong, they look great. I love blade weapons. But to me they are a bit too big compared to the figure wielding them, both when mounted on the forearms or stored on the legs. I think about two thirds of their current size would have easily sufficed.

Apart from that, though, a great robot mode, faithfully depicting a great character. Thumbs up!

Alternate Mode: While the difference in size between robot and motorcycle isn’t quite as impressive here as it is on screen (Arcee’s robot mode being about five times the size of a human being despite being a normal-sized bike), Arcee still manages to compress into a fairly compact vehicle mode that looks tiny beside her robot mode. I don’t think this is any specific type of motorcycle, but I’m not an expert there. Suffice to say that it’s easily recognizable as a motorcycle, which is the important thing.

The bike looks pretty realistic to my untrained eye with no visible traces of the robot hidden inside. It might be a tad too wide for a person to actually sit comfortably on it, but that’s about the only flaw I can see. It has a stand, it has exhaust pipes, and you can store Arcee’s battle blades on the sides, too, though doing so causes the pedals to disappear. Then again, Arcee can drive herself, so that isn’t a big problem. So all in all a good motorcycle mode, no serious complaints.

Remarks: For the first time since the third season of the original Transformers cartoon we have an Arcee as part of the main cast. Despite showing up in Energon, Animated and Revenge of the Fallen, the most famous female Autobot hasn’t really been center stage in a long, long time. In Prime, though, she is in just about every episode and, to me at least, the most interesting character so far. Embittered over losing her partner Cliffjumper right at the start of the series, she forges a friendship with human Jack Darby, gets some payback on enemies Airrachnid and Starscream, and generally kicks a lot of ass. Arcee is easily my favourite Prime character so far.

There is very little to complain about when it comes to the toy, either. The blades are a bit big, the bike mode is a bit wide, but that’s about the extent of it. So the bottom line here is: Prime’s best character has gotten a very good toy. Owning both this version and the pink-and-white NYCC version, I find myself liking the blue-and-black a bit better, but that’s just a matter of taste. So to sum it up: buy an Arcee! Do it now!

Rating: A-