I had almost immediate buyer’s remorse when I grabbed the Earthrise Arcee figure. While the figure’s problems were glaring, I thought this was going to be the only crack at Arcee for years. Thankfully, Hasbro decided Arcee was important enough of a character to warrant a superior version as part of The Transformers The Movie Studio Series 86 line.
Now that I understand the situation, let’s see if the SS Arcee is indeed a marked improvement over the Earthrise/Kingdom figure.
Packaging: For the Transformers line, Hasbro is going with the same setup as before with the exception of ditching the plastic window for an open space and multiple twisty ties to keep the figure and accessories in place.
It’s better than some options although you really need to know what accessories should be included otherwise you might not be able to catch swaps.
I love the animated style artwork on the front and side. The tiny bio doesn’t explain much about Arcee only discussing what she does when the Decepticons invade Autobot City.
On the back, we get a shot of Arcee in both bot and alt mode and a look at her package insert backdrop.
Likeness: The Earthrise version of Arcee looked OK in a well this is as good as we’ll get kind of manner, but the Studio Series version looks more like Arcee’s movie/cartoon appearances.
Hasbro repurposed much of the Generations 30 deluxe mold for this take on Arcee with the appropriate alterations as necessary for a more Movie-style appearance.
An impressive amount of the Studio Series/War for Cybertron figures are able to conceal most of the alt mode pieces as the Hasbro team adapts more methods from the Masterpiece line.
Due to the nature of her transformation, Arcee can’t swap out her car hood for a more streamlined backpack. It looks less blocky than the Earthrise version, but it’s not a massive improvement.
That’s saved for areas like the head sculpt, torso and legs. I really like Arcee’s head sculpt as it captures her calm demeanor throughout the movie.
Alt Mode: Arcee came around during the futuristic era of the Autobots so she’s more of a Cybertron inspired alt mode instead of a pink car.
Arcee’s alt mode is actually one of my favorites. It’s got the streamlined look of the other figures and resembles “future cars” we tend to see in sci-fi films like I, Robot.
Transformation: Arcee’s transformation is slightly more complex than the Earthrise version as now it takes 18 steps to complete instead of 15. She’s relatively intuitive to transform and it makes sense beyond a hinge that you might forget to pull out transforming to either mode.
Scale: The Earthrise figure looked tiny next to the other TF: The Movie figures. Hasbro gave Arcee a tad more height and widened her chassis making her about half a head taller than the previous version.
She doesn’t look so delicate and frail, so she fits in slightly better with characters like Hot Rod and Kup though she’s still going to look pint-sized next to Ultra Magnus.
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Paint: Arcee’s Earthrise figure had a vibrant almost hot pink. It was fine, but the more toned-down Studio Series shade of pink is accurate to the cartoon/movie.
I also appreciate the vibrant shade of blue used for Arcee’s eyes, which make them look more alive than too many of the Autobots.
The paint applications are very clean on my figure.
Articulation: Arcee moves very well though she loses the double-jointed knee articulation and hinged wrists of the Earthrise figure. That’s balanced out by the addition of ankle tilts, which help improve her foundation for poses.
Her torso hinge joint has a pesky habit of releasing a bit too often when I tried to pose her. It fits back in place easily enough, but it’s still a little annoying when posing her.
I was able to get some dynamic angles for her and her hands are wide enough that she can support her aiming arm when taking deep stance shots.
Arcee has:
- neck
- bicep
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbows
- wrists
- torso
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees
- ankles
Accessories: Arcee comes with her blaster from the Generations 30 figure. This is an improvement over the Earthrise one that was cast in an almost translucent light grey.
This one is done in a darker grey so you can appreciate all of the detailed sculpting.
Worth it? You can grab Arcee for $17, which is a good price for a figure that started at $24.99.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Beyond the nagging torso hinge point and her slightly too short scale, I really like how Arcee turned out as this is a big improvement over her previous release fitting in more with The Transformers The Movie aesthetic.
Where to get it? You can still find Arcee at Target and Walmart shelves. If not, give Amazon or Entertainment Earth a try.
As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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