Takara Transformers Generations Legends Arcee

This was supposed to be a Combiner Wars Breakdown review, but then the Postman bought Arcee to my door much sooner than I was expecting.

Boy, is she pretty in  Pink. Ha, right now that one is finally out of my system, ahem, here we go with Takaras take on Generations Arcee,
Whilst Arcee has had copious figures over the years, non of them were of her Generation incarnation which despite featuring prominently in the Movie and 3rd season of the cartoon, never received an toy.

When Hasbro announced this toy, it felt like a near 30 itch had finally been scratched, so why did I go for the Takara version and not the much cheaper Hasbro toy?
Any time someone buys a Takara figure it always comes back to the paint job, right?

The Hasbro figure had some extra black bits, to try and tie it in with IDW (I think?), and the ones on her side made he look like she was carrying a walkman with the headphone cable running up her side.

Arcees figure is so G1 it hurts, so when pictures of Takaras try surfaced, complete with super accurate G1 colour scheme - I knew that was the version I was buying.

But was it worth breaking my own strict rules on how much I will spend on a deluxe figure? Hit the button below to see the full Transformers Legends Arcee review.




Car Mode

Legends Arcee's G1 alt mode has been very faithfully recreated, in that 50's retro futuristic sci-fi style that Arcee seemed to have been designed in mind with.

Really nice curves bring to mind 50's cars, or even Bruce Timm's Batman Animated series designs.

The pointy bit on top only serves to strengthen that look.

The pink strawberry milkshake colour goes well with the white, and where Hasbro opted to add Black, Takara has gone with G1 accuracy. 

Only one thing bugs me, and it is so petty I cannot believe I am typing it, but Takara have again used the live action movie Autobot faction symbol. If they are going to go to such loving lengths of G1 accuracy - why blow it with the wrong symbol?

Nerd rage, back in your box.

Something that will strike you in this mode, is how thin Arcees wheels are. They don't feel fragile, but they are quite loose on their pegs.

One of the few recent era toys to feature a sculpted interior, Arcee comes complete with retro style TV monitors. The molding here is really nicely detailed, and fits perfectly. 

The only slightly sad part is that there is no foot well, so you cannot slot that tiny Daniel Witwicky figure in there.

Plenty of storage options are included for Arcees many weapons. The large Pink blaster has a slot on the underside of the rear of the car, whilst the small grey pistol slots between her hands in a somewhat dodgy place.

Just sayin.

There are also peg holes on the top and sides for her swords if you so wish her to look like a crazed loonymobile.

Overall this is a fantastic mode, which hits all the G1 markers in a way no other Classics toy really ever has done. It is not an update, just a straight up representation of the 1986 movie design.

Robot Mode

Having gotten a lot of the Combiner Wars figures so far (see:all),this feels like it is from a different planet in terms of the transformation. 

Whilst it is not radically tough, it is way more complex than Hasbro's current fare, and you are essentially folding her outwards like she is a Russian gymnast.

The transformation does not really do much for her car mode, she is more of a folded up robot under a car. So you do end up with massive car kibble on the back.

Just look at her from the front only, and all of this just melts away into a pink, milk shaky figure of joy.

Arcee's robot mode does look incredible, and is something pretty special to behold. If you are old enough to have been around when the Transformers cartoon was on, and saw the movie at that time, then you will understand just how amazing it is to have a figure like this in your hand.

Hasbro normally go for updated versions of characters in their Generations line, but this is the only one I can think of that instead goes for extreme screen accuracy.
There is no modernising or updating on this mold, just straight up ripped from the screen goodness.

The head sculpt looks great, and no it does not transform into a tiny Exo Suited Daniel.

Whilst all of the new characters introduced in the 86 movie were more rounded human like than their predecessors - Arcee takes that to a whole different level.

If it is not the lipstick, you having the bust and detail lines to accentuate that, then the tiny waist, big thighs and thin arms to scream feminine if the Pin paint job had not already alerted you that already.

But it works as a product of its time, and especially Japan. I love the idea, that a man back in 1985 was tasked with creating a female robot, and went for the most stereotypical ideas he could think of.

Transformers legends Arcee comes with two swords derived from her appearances as a psycho in IDW's comics. They feel at odds here, as this Arcee is clearly not that one, but the Princess Leia hairstyle copying G1 character.

The details on the swords are far more techy and futuristic and clash with the retro future style of this design.

Arcee also comes with two guns, one of which is the grey one she wields in the original movie. The other is a larger Pink rifle, that I can only assume must have been from the show.

These and the swords all suffer the same problem, which is Arcee having the revised hands. The first version of this mold has closed fists with peg holes for the weapons to slide through. A running change was implemented by Hasbro whereby she got open hands (clearly molded as if she is pulling a trigger), but late in the game someone clearly decided they were not strong enough, so added an extra bit of molded plastic. Takara released their Arcee with this revision, much to everyone's (well, mine) annoyance.
Nice that they were thinking of how to avoid people breaking their shiny new figures, but the extra bit of molding blocks the weapon handles from inserting into the hands properly - so they stick out and look silly.

There is a fix, where you can scrape away the excess plastic, but knowing my luck I would cut the arms off with them, or something equally daft.

Her swords are not so badly affected, because of the hand guards on them, so the problem is not so visible. But her guns? Sadly, back in the box they shall go.

Articulation fans have been well catered for, as Arcee has it in spades. The shoulders are ball jointed and tight enough to hold some great poses.

The head is also on a ball joint, so you can tilt her head into all manner of disapproving looks.

Her thighs have a hinge to swing the legs out a bit to get much better range, which combined with the swivel above the knee and ankle tilt (only forward/backwards)means Arcee can knock around in some awesome dynamic poses. She is also pretty well balanced, despite the kibbletastic backpack.

I don't actually mind that I broke (or more aptly - smashed) my own restrictions on what I pay for a Deluxe figure, to get this.

It is the perfect G1 Arcee I have always wanted. The Takara paint job does wonders for it, where even the Hasbro attempt was pretty good and perfectly serviceable.

But this? It just pops that bit more as the animation model come to life.

It is expensive, and the weapons don't fit in those ridiculous hands, but there is so much to love here that those complaints vanish into her smoke.


Please like our page on Facebook where you can get updates and the like here

You can also follow this blog on Twitter @ToyboxSoapbox . Or press the +1 button on this page to follow it on Google Plus.

You can find my own rambles, mostly about football here