General Information: Images:
*Images and text from Hasbrotoyshop.com: Roll out against DECEPTICON forces as you stage your own battles with this CYBER PURSUIT ARCEE figure. Fire a launching power missile accessory in robot mode and quickly maneuver for robot-to-vehicle conversion into speedy motorcycle vehicle mode! Add this warrior to your collection and give the bad guys the fight of their lives! Ages 4 and up.
Robot Mode: Arcee's upper body design is partly asymmetrical in design. While she has a regular head and chest, the arms are completely different from each other. The left arm is made up of a side panel from the vehicle and the front of the motorcycle mode with a thin arm attached to it. The right arm is made up of the other side panel from the vehicle form along with the middle to rear section of the motorycle. While their size differs, each arm has thin robot arm pieces and three fingered hands. Each arm may be small, but they also have layered designs indicating armor in addition to the vehicle mode panels. The right arm has the vehicle's twin exhaust pipes in it, which act as cannon barrels in this mode. For the purposes of this figure, pressing the black seat piece launches the exhaust pipes as a missile. It's a funky appearance, with the right arm significantly longer and bulkier than the left arm, but such wacky designs are hardly outside the realm of the movie designs. The robot head and chest are perhaps much more traditional and "normal" looking parts. The robot head has a very pointed and angled design, very similar to deluxe Chromia's. Her chin comes to a point and the helmet section has several layers of detail that sweeps backward. It's a very intricate design and it looks appropriately alien. While G1 Arcee definitely played up traditional feminine facial details down to pouty lips, this Arcee has a very sleek and almost dangerous looking face, as if she's ready for battle and is on the hunt. The chest design is made up of part of the top, middle section of the motorcycle. Unlike the CGI model however, it is one solid piece of armor instead of being broken up to reveal machinery underneath. One detail that I found cool and kind of creepy at the same time are spine like details sculpted into the back underneath the head. Not only do they give a bit of a functional look at the machinery behind Arcee, but they also fit in with the strange aesthetic of the movie Transformers. Concept drawings of "Revenge of the Fallen" Arcee indicated that the character had an "off center" design, where the upper body was offset to the right a bit compared to the wheeled leg section. This figure reflects that slightly, but the central hinge's offset is very minor. I'm a fan of the wheeled leg design as it is one that isn't often utilized in the Transformers line and it shows a diversity of designs among the Cybertronians that we didn't always see in other incarnations of the Transformers such as G1 or Cybertron. The way the wheeled design is done here, both wheels connect together to form the lower legs, and a panel swings down on each wheel allowing the figure to stand up but appear to be on the wheels. If you want to roll her along the ground you can swing the panels back, which I think is a fantastic touch. Considering how funky the design is, it's nice to see a design element put into place to increase its play factor. Arcee is cast in light red, black and translucent black plastic. The black plastic makes up her arms and the lower body. The red plastic is found on the robot head and most of the vehicle mode parts that carry over into this form. The translucent black plastic is found on the windshield on the left arm. Four colors are used for paint applications: red, silver, light blue and gunmetal. The red covers the most area, making up part of the right arm towards the end and the sides of the wheels. Silver is found most prominantly on the chest where it is used for line details and an Autobot symbol. Red and silver are also found on the arms, coloring in small details. Staying with tradition, Arcee's eyes are painted light blue, indicating her affiliatoin. A part of her forehead is painted silver while the area from her nose to chin is gunmetal. It's a nice color pattern overall that fits the character. In this form, Arcee has seven points of articulation. This includes ball joints at each shoulder and the waist being able to turn. Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Vehicle Mode:
Where Arcee differs from the on screen vehicle are in some of the finer details. For instance, the top section of motorcycle right behind the windshield has some mechanical details on the sides where the on screen version had none. The angled armor panels on the sides here have several raised lines set at an angle sweeping back. On the movie the vehicle only had an indentation in that spot. Also, while Fast Action Battler Arcee has five curved spokes in each wheel, the on screen vehicle had five spokes that each branched out into a "Y" shape. What's good is that these are elements that actually add detail to the vehicle instead of taking details away. Look carefully and you'll see the side view mirrors are different as well, they have a layered design that matches the design of the sides of Arcee's robot mode head. I like that bit of design continuity. Arcee's colors don't change in this form, but two significant details become more prominant, namely Cybertronian symbols on either side of the figure. The symbols are different and painted in black, set against a silver background. The symbol on the right is very close to the one actually used on the on screen vehicle with only minor differences, which is really nice to see. The headlights are also painted silver.
Final Thoughts:
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The character of Arcee was originally meant to appear in the first Transformers film, but her size presented some story telling issues so Ironhide was put into the film in her place. The character did not go ignored however. She had a couple action figures dedicated to her in the toy line for the first film, and the comic book prequels have featured the character as well. In "Revenge of the Fallen", the character finally makes it on screen in a different form than her 2007 incarnation. Part of the late 2009 assortment of Fast Action Battlers is an interpretation of the character in a simplified form representing her appearance in "Revenge of the Fallen".
