by typh0id » Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:22 am
The topic of this thread initially made me laugh because there are hardly more than five Arcee figures to begin with, certainly not ones worth talking about. That said:
Titan's Return Arcee - I stand with this figure's supporters/defenders. This used to be my least favorite Arcee because she wasn't "traditional G1"-looking enough. I also don't generally favor repaints, I don't care much for Headmasters as a concept, and I don't think the Titan's Return deluxe-class figures on the whole were very good. But over time, I have come to really appreciate this figure and now it has actually become my favorite Arcee. In spite of being a repaint/retool of Blurr, he is already a fairly slender/lithe character so this sculpt actually already looks vaguely feminine without looking like an overtly curvy human woman wearing armor. I feel like if there has to be gendered Transformers (which still doesn't make a ton of sense, other than for variety reasons), this is a good stab at what a "female" robot would or should look like.
Generations Arcee - I like a lot of things about this one. Particularly that she is one of the few Arcees that isn't just a complete shell-former. I like that her robot form at least somewhat contributes to her alt mode and the rest still transforms enough to feel satisfying. I don't really love her head sculpt and her belly-section creeps me the hell out (absolutely no reason for a robot to an abdomen that human-looking), but her back kibble is passable. Her alt-mode is kind of a mess but also looks kind of cool. I feel pretty 50/50 on that one.
Earthrise Arcee - Yikes. Whoever designed this should be ashamed. I fully admit that she is one of the best looking Arcees in robot-mode, but if I wanted a statue of Arcee's robot mode I would just get one. As a Transformer, this figure is abysmal. Exactly 0% of her robot form contributes to her alt mode. She is a robot with a car for a backpack, or a car with a robot crammed up underneath it. The alt-mode itself is pretty awful too. Just a bunch of barely-sculpted matte-pink plastic that looks like a McDonalds toy. You'd think, being a convertible, they'd sculpt out the cockpit in a way that looks like somebody could actually sit in it. But nope, just seat backs with no seats, barely a dashboard, and no semblance of depth for legs whatsoever. And I have really not liked this trend with the WFC figures, where instead of engineering ways to manage the extra kibble, they simply have you take half of it off and pretend like that's some sort of "play feature" (eg. a "shield" or "hoverboard"). It's lazy as hell and doesn't fool anyone. Yes she looks better with half of her backpack removed, but you really, really shouldn't have to do that. It's just one more example of how cheap Hasbro has gotten with their products.
Cyberverse Arcee - This figure is barely better than the Earthrise one. The alt-mode at least looks a little better but the whole thing still just sits on her back, even more egregiously than the others. At least her arms become the sides of the car. That's barely anything but it's something. I also don't like the lighter-pink color in place of the white parts. Ends up being way too much pink with nothing to break it up. All-in-all this figure isn't really any better than Earthrise but doesn't even have the classic G1-asthetic to save it.
Animated Arcee - I haven't owned this figure in a long time but I remember liking it well enough. I didn't really like the gray fins but they were removeable and not necessary for either mode. I think this is one of the better Arcee figure if you don't mind the "Animated" aesthetic.
Energon Arcee - Not much to this one but I always liked it a lot. Just a fun, simple little Arcee that, much like Titan's Return Arcee, doesn't rely to heavily on trying to look overly feminine.
Masterpiece Arcee - I unfortunately haven't gotten my hands on this one yet but I like the pictures and the transformation videos I've watched seem cool. It seems like the most G1-accurate figure in both modes and has a decent transformation. I might feel differently if I actually owned it though.
So Titan's Return wins all around for me. Earthrise is a good display piece and absolutely nothing else.
Last edited by
typh0id on Tue Mar 16, 2021 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Reality doesn't care if you believe it..."----------
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