Deluxe-class Autobot Arcee
Review by EVA_Unit_4A
The origins of the character Arcee in the fan-termed ‘Bayformers’ universe is conflicting. Toy maker Hasbro says that Arcee is a proficient hunter in finding and deactivating Decepticons, and was given a “strike team” of similar-shaped/-thinking fembots. However, in the continuity of the film itself, Arcee is established as the leader of three parts of three different characters. Each of the three female Autobots actually share the same mind and personality, with them all being considered “Arcee” and not having individual names or unique actions, but neither are two of them drones which are under the command of the ‘main’ pink fembot, Arcee. (Their holographic riders in vehicle mode look the same as well.) For the sake of the toys, they go by individual names, but in the film’s pre-production artwork, they were called the “Arcee triplets” or the “Bike Group”. (Granted, this can be confusing in the film by the fact that the Autobot brothers Mudflap and Skids are indeed twins, but have different minds and personalities, and it isn’t made entirely clear that the three females do indeed have the same mind despite having different bodies.) …or is that the other way around? I don’t know- I’m confused! Regardless, for the sake of preserving my own sanity (and not, specifically, in protest of how she is portrayed in the film), I shall treat Arcee as a unique individual while writing this review. As a smaller-sized Autobot, Arcee is frequently deployed as a scout or decoy- her speed and smaller profile allowing her to sneak past Decepticon sensors with little notice. And since she is not expected to engage the enemy directly, the single rapid-fire machine gun in her right arm isn’t as strong as larger Autobots’, but her agility and deftness on her unicycle leg- in coordination with her sisters, Chromia and Flareup- can easily overwhelm similar- or even larger-sized Decepticons, cutting away at their armor with her retractable knife. In “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen”, Arcee is performed by voice-actress Grey DeLisle who has worked in numerous cartoons, video games, and dubbing for anime. However, her holographic rider (and thus, those of all three Autobot sisters) is portrayed by model and actress Erin Nass- this is her feature film debut, though [the only other significant reference I can find is that] she served as one of the suitcase-carrying models on the American game show “Deal Or No Deal” (2007-08 season-only).
Vehicle Mode
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Arcee’s Vehicle Mode is based on the real 2008 Ducati 848 sport motorcycle.
Though really present for use in her Robot Mode (see below), Arcee can have a flattened sidecar to the left side of her back wheel. It is completely hollow, and features two non-moving machine guns.
But, if desired, Arcee has her own functional kickstand which can hold her up without the sidecar.
The main gimmick for all of the fully-transformable figures from the 2007 “Transformers” toy line was Automorph Technology™: as one part of the toy was being moved, another section would activate and move by itself via internal gears, springs, and levers. (Usually this applied only going in one direction for transformation but not the other.) For the 2009 “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen” toy line, the Automorph feature has been replaced with Mech Alive, which is not involved in transforming the toys. Rather it is a gimmick that functions only in robot mode to better imitate, in some fashion, the intricate movements and mechanics of the immensely-more complex CGI character(s). Some figures are being reissued from the 2007 line since no significant changes were made to the character in that time-span, and will still include their original Automorph feature, but not the newer Mech Alive feature because they were manufactured two years previously. Since this is a brand new toy which was not released in 2007, the “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen” Deluxe-class Autobot Arcee has the Mech Alive feature, but not an Automorph Technology feature.
Robot Mode
Since Arcee has a unicycle design and cannot possibly hold herself upright as a toy, the sidecar from Vehicle Mode is actually used as a display stand, comfortably fitting under her wheels and keeping her standing vertically.
Arcee has functional light piping in her blue eyes. (Oddly, the windscreen in Vehicle Mode- which should obviously be!- is the only part aside from the eyes and headlights that isn’t transparent.)
She has a light blue knife which springs-out lightly from inside the blaster barrel on her right arm. It cannot be removed from the barrel.
Mech Alive is a special feature included in almost all transformable figures from “Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen”. In robot mode, specific parts of the figure’s body can be animated beyond simply posing it- panels shift, gears spin, and in some cases there is light-and sound tied in. This brings out a new level of detail to try matching-up against the immensely-complex designs of the computer-generated characters seen in the movie. For the Deluxe-class Autobot Arcee toy, it has one Mech Alive feature:
- Between the pinks armor sections on her chest, her neck is tied into a small black cylindrical gear. While her head is mounted on an independently-functional ball-and-socket joint, her neck can be tilted forward a good deal, and the cylinder in her chest will twist in the opposite direction accordingly.
Why alien robots should have genders which mimic the stereotypes of human females is not known at this time, and most past TV series leave this unaddressed. (Indeed, Arcee was written into the first film, but her final size in robot mode compared to the larger robots around her, and introducing the gender issue too early in the franchise, ended up having her replaced with Ironhide.) So, there must be markers to distinguish her from her fellow ‘male’ robots, meh, which would be identifiable as such to our eyes. Does Arcee do this? Yes and no. While the S-bend unicycle leg completely throws her appearance off, only her torso comes anywhere near being identifiably ‘female’. The width of her shoulders- for a Deluxe-class figure, that is- is certainly part of it, and I suppose that her ‘waist’ could be considered thin enough as well. The rounded fuel tank in Vehicle Mode becomes the front of her torso, and so makes her perhaps the most-curvy of the three very-oddly-shaped toy sisters! I laugh at the idea that we have to look into her obscenely-plunging neckline in order to see her Mech Alive. (Ulterior motives by the toy maker, or just a coincidence…? I don’t see where else a movable-armor feature could have gone on the toy otherwise.) Her face, though, is too angular and small in toy form to suggest she’s female either.
Actually, now that I compare her with her drone/sister Chromia, I found that- aside from coloring- her head is of the exact same design! While the lamia parallel is now undeniable, that “S”-bend is really not easy to work with, and you spend a lot of time in Robot Mode trying to compromise with yourself on how far off-center you want her torso to be. The official artwork above shows her torso twisted to one side which the toy can easily recreate, but we have never encountered a Transformer with such an asymmetrical design, and so it’s difficult to accept that she is not 100% upright. But, again, this is a feature of how the character appears in the movie, so I won’t blame TakaraTomy and Hasbro for that. I will say, though, that just about all surface details are very well designed and executed, with a lot of screen-accuracy involved. Also like the toy of Chromia, she has a similar un-used bar on her back which is not utilized in either mode or during the transformation. Additionally, there’s an extra hole on the bottom of the sidecar that isn’t use either. And, the nose of the motorcycle can open up further beyond being a simple arm. Perhaps the release of the final purple sister/drone, Elita-One, will give us some answers at last…? The biggest inconsistencies in Robot Mode is the large panels enveloping her left arm (which cover her non-functional hand), and how the exhaust pipes & rider’s seat become just this huge lower right arm. While for the right arm it would have been difficult to collapse down further even though that’s how it is in the movie, the left arm could have has one-or-two more joints in it to fold up that pink plastic a bit more. (Man- the trigger on that forearm cannon is annoyingly sensitive!) The Robot Mode feels a little limited in paint apps, particularly on the S-bend, and it would have been nice to see some more silver paint than just on her face. Despite the highly-awkward & -unorthodox design of the character, and somewhat-questionable posing, the Deluxe-class Autobot Arcee set is still awesome to look at and gives us a good representation of what we see on-screen. Recommended for those who can laugh at alien robot cleavage.
Posted 24 January, 2010 - 04:02 by EVA_Unit_4A |
Comments
33 comments postedIf we want a very alien-looking robot, then perhaps she is a good choice indeed :) I can't wait to see Flareup to see their combined mode. I wonder if it's just one gestalt mode or will it be like the Tornado System from RID Landfill, like their plugs suggest.
Well, first of all, she's gonna be called Elita-One. (They officially changed it away from Flareup months ago.)
I don't know the Tornado System since I never saw RiD.
However, in one of the DVD documentaries on the two-disc of RotF, there is an animatic of the three sisters combining and moving- 'running' on a pinwheel of three legs running down the center of the body (a la Demolishor), but the designs are obviously not the ones we see in the movie itself.
And yes I too can't wait to see how it turns out. Unfortunately, I get the feeling it's gonna be a POS...
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CollectionDX Staff
heres the biggest question that always come out when ever i see arcee... i now elite one and optimus has a relationship but is it true that arcee and iron hide are 2gether or is it... bumblebee or hot rod i cant remember i remembered back that arcee has a relationship with a another transformer but who is it?
IIRC, Arcee debuted in TF:TM, which means she was in the second wave of TF toys. Therefor, Ironhide was killed before they saw each other on Earth. It is possible, though, that they kknew each other beforehand.
But I haven't seen TF:TM yet.
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CollectionDX Staff
This design looked kind of cool in the movie,but it's a terrible looking toy. I mean,it transforms from a bike to a twisted up mess.
I always see references online to the fact that the three bikes all have one mind,but did it really say this in the movie? I don't remember,but I only watched it once,and I'll probably never see it again.
In the Marvel comics,it was stated that the girl TFs were just so the TFs could better relate to humans,their gender didn't serve any function.
In the IDW comics,Arcee was a dude but Jhiaxus turned him into a girl for a fun experiment,and then Arcee went insane. The IDW comics are kind of messed up.
It's all too confusing to keep track of...
The writers said the three were a hive mind, all under the name Arcee.
Michael Bay purportedly had them as the same mind inside of three separate bodies.
Hasbro portrays them as individuals.
But, of course, the movie doesn't outright say which it is, so technically it's up for debate.
I think of them as sisters with separate minds but who can coordinate well between themselves telepathically, much like the Twins.
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CollectionDX Staff
you could say that arcee was a male in IDW, but if you take into account that gender was introduced with the creation of arcee (as she appears now), transformers were neither male nor female, which raises even more eyebrows.
in regards to the whole relationship thing, Arcee was most seen with springer during TF:tM, and i remember during the series rodimus and springer had a friendly (if not oft highlighted) rivalry over arcees affections.
during the G1 cartoon chromia and ironhide had a thing, much the same with Prime and Elita-One, and the Chromia-Ironhide thing is mentioned in Chromias RotF toy bio. Hope that helps!
thanks for the in-depth review (as always) Eva!
dude theres a reason why they made arcee like that worm with hands thing and scary face maybe its the budget cuts or bay just dont like a girl transformer with legs or maybe for some fans including me it kinda looks.. well... hot? hehe i now its ugly and kinda look like a decepticon type but shes cute if u look her in the side..
"...shes cute if u look her in the side"
LoL
You sound like Peter Griffin- "Look at that side-boob."
I seriously doubt Arcee's look was due to "budget cuts" since RotF got an extra $6 million compared to the first one. Besides, who says all Bayformer Cybertronians need feet to walk on? Some of them actually work out well- Sideswipe, Demolishor, etc.
Arcee has been a motorcycle for some time, so having her as one for Bayformers-2 wasn't unprecedented.
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CollectionDX Staff
"dude theres a reason why they made arcee like that worm with hands thing and scary face maybe its the budget cuts or bay just dont like a girl transformer with legs or maybe for some fans including me it kinda looks.. well... hot? hehe i now its ugly and kinda look like a decepticon type but shes cute if u look her in the side.."
Uhhhhhhh?
Errrrrr?
Uhmmmmmm?
You seeeeee?
I guesssssss?
Hmmmmmmmmmm?
You have to understand....etc?
HUH?
What the heck are you babbling about man? What's more to understand? Your reasons aren't very confident b/c they're just random sick leave notes w/ no doctor's signature in plainsight. Just admit the facts. This toy, this design is as silly, clumsy, unbelievable, distorting & convoluted as this franchise.
-R78
LoL
Good ol' R78- never lets his guard down, and always catches ya on your faults... no matter how painful they are. ^_^
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CollectionDX Staff
What can I say dude? It's an adversative job but somebody's gotta do it. ;)
-R78
Only things really bad about RotF Arcee was:
1- not enough screen-time
2- she (and Elita-One) was killed before we got to know her
3- she has that weird S-bend in her waist, WTH
Now, for the toy, I wish the panels on her left coulda folded up differently, and had her S-bend more articulate in Robot Mode.
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CollectionDX Staff
Some people hate the Bayfomers' aesthetic, and some (like myself) think it's fine.
(*shrugs*) There's no accounting for personal taste.
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CollectionDX Staff
This is one of the WORST toys in recent memory.
No, it is certainly not the best. But, I don't think it's the worst either. The S-bend is certainly unusual, but that's about it.
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CollectionDX Staff
lol i didnt know this toy was such a source of rage among the fans. generally people dont take to change very well and this is a VERY different iteration of any transforers character, but i do think its a step in the right direction that arcee gets a toy at all. i have to admit that i would prefer a more G1 accurate humanoid looking toy, but i own this toy and think its fun to play with. im not a fan of mister Bays monsterformers, but this line was a fun experiment in creating new ways to transform an object. hopefully future lines implement what was learned here in terms of transformation and detail, and what does and doesnt work in the aesthetic department!
"...generally people dont take to change very well..."
That's an understatement...
Oh, I think Trans-fans are still upset that every single incarnation of Arcee has had a toy except the G1 character, and they hold that against all subsequent releases. [This is my first Arcee as well (by choice), with TFAnimated's to follow soon...]
"Monsterformers", eh...? I like that. XD
I think the Bayformers-2 toyline is a general upgrade from the first line as far as how things transform, surface details, and features/gimmicks. I think there's more animosity towards the toys because of how poorly-made the movie itself was.
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CollectionDX Staff
After a long trial of denial, I think I'm gonna add the RotF Deluxe-class Decepticon Sideways to my collection [and review it].
Like Autobot Jolt, I think he may get a bad rap for his little screen-time, and it's affecting sales/opinions of him.
Any opinions either way?
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CollectionDX Staff
It has nothing to do with being unable to accept change,or the quality of the movie,or anything else. This is garbage. It turns from a motorcycle into a broken motorcycle.
I hate how there's such a huge base of online fans willing to give Hasbro a pass on EVERYTHING because,hey,ya gotta accept change,amirite? Even if a good thing changes into a bad thing?
I liked the first movie,I enjoyed the second. I picked up a couple figures from each. I'm not one of the people who has to go into a rant every time the movie or the newer toys are brought up. But in all seriousness,this looks like a dog ate one of your toys and pooped it back out.
@EVA_Unit_4A
Sideways is a pretty good toy. Excellent car mode, cool transformation, and a nice looking bot mode. It would be one of the best RotF toys, imo, save for the tiny feet can't support him well at all, and the rather plain looking arms, which needed some paint apps in a bad way.
Re:Arcee, the design is just too out there for me, just like that of Demolishor. It was passable on screen but this toy is a horrendous, ugly mess in robot mode, and thus I had zero desire to buy it.
People hate RotF Arcee so much that I have to wonder if they would have been more satisfied if she had come with a miniskirt, smooth thin legs, and high-heels?
I see it as this: these are all traits of human females rather than an alien life-form which has no connection to us other than being generally of our physical shape most of the time, and they have no practicality in combat She is an alien- why the hell should she conform to our societal standards of what looks normal just to make an interesting toy? Be fortunate, all, that she even has just a light bust and female-sounding voice...
Now, I don't care for the S-bend either, but I really don't see the problems people have with her. I don't think she's a detractor to the legacy of Transformers at all... since every other series and character after G1 seems to be automatically labeled "ruined FOREVER" anyways.
(Although- now that I think about it- I suppose that would accurately reflect my own opinion of Macross...)
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CollectionDX Staff
Are you seriously trying to use "science" to defend these toy/movie designs? Wow.
They're robots from space. They don't need to transform into ANYTHING. They can nuke us from orbit, assassinate all the world's leader, or otherwise erradicate humanity in any number of ways.
But they don't. Because that makes for crappy entertainment. Y'know what makes for non-crappy entertainment? Cool vehicles that transform into sweet-ass giant robots.
This toy looks like even more of a pile of pooh than your average Bay-former. I'm kinda surprised the discussion has gone on this long...
--
Sanjeev
Oh, I said nothing about the toys and how they were designed. (I actually disliked a lot of them.) They are based on what you see in the movie, but I'm not holding that debate. I guess I'm trying to defend the Bayformers' aesthetic more than anything else here.
I asked in an earlier comment in another review which would have been preferable for big screen Transformers- big chunks of armor which are brightly decorated (a la a toy), streamlined fluid armor like a skin-tight suit, fractured parts like they have now, or something else- but no one answered.
According to Bayformers, the Decepticons are a nasty bunch, but they have no real interest in humans or our planet. So the three examples you gave us would be irrelevant.
If I were to bring extraterrestrial biological science into this (which I'm not mind you), then why in the hell do they have two eyes, a mouth, a brow, two arms, a compact torso, and two legs on average if they are aliens? They wouldn't.
What Bayformers does is break that trend and give us something slightly alien (transforming, fractured skin surface, language) while remaining familiarly humanoid (Insecticons-and-the-like notwithstanding).
While RotF is not a good movie for a lot of reasons, I like the somewhat-hard-sci-fi motif that the Cybertronians have for the movies thus-far and have/will embrace it.
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CollectionDX Staff
"People hate RotF Arcee so much that I have to wonder if they would have been more satisfied if she had come with a miniskirt, smooth thin legs, and high-heels?"
Curtly, yes.
You hated leader class Jetfire but you liked this? It looks like an extremely unpleasant avant garde desk lamp from 1991 when everything was neon pink.
I hated that Jetfire toy because of what was done with the toy, not how he appeared in the movie (which is a different argument altogether). He was far from screen-accurate, he was difficult to transform, and the combo with Optimus was bull.
Now, the transformation & posing on the toy of Arcee here is challenging because of the S-bend, yes. But appearance- & function-wise, I have no real problem with her aside from the panel on her left arm. And, of what we saw in the movie (and the concept painting above) I have no major problem. If- like a lamia, or RotF Rampage- she had been able to straighten out that S-bend, then she would have been just fine, but she couldn't, so I have one problem with her as seen in the movie.
Deluxe-class Chromia is more-or-less the same IMO, and only suffers from a weak connection peg in her chest and a poorly-integrated 'leg' assembly in the toy form... both of which are completely separate from my opinion on how she looks and functions in the movie.
Rest assured, I do not add to my collection unless several factors match up- some of those being screen-accuracy and functionality.
Jetfire [and several other things I've covered for CDX] was an obligation for me because I was covering it for CDX, not because I wanted him to begin with; I never had any interest whatsoever in getting him.
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CollectionDX Staff
"People hate RotF Arcee so much that I have to wonder if they would have been more satisfied if she had come with a miniskirt, smooth thin legs, and high-heels?"
I would be happy with ANY LEGS AT ALL.
How would a girl robot having a skirt and high heels not fit in with a movie where-
robots urinate from roughly where human genitals would be
robots fart
smart robots wear glasses
robots from another planet all speak with accents from various regions of earth
robots say phrases like "my bad"
"black" robots have gold teeth
Do I need to go on? Are any of these things somehow more plausible than a robot having legs? Espescially when ALL THE OTHER ROBOTS DO.
Again,not to sound like a broken record,I liked the movies. But you have to admit,they were more cartoonish than the actual cartoon show.
It absolutely blows my mind that you would use the phrase "hard sci-fi" to refer to a movie where a robot humps a girl's leg. That's hard science fiction? Really?
No- that is certainly not hard sci-fi, I completely agree there. More I was referring to the somewhat versatile variety of body design we get from alien robots.
And, again, I like most of the movie, but certainly not all of it.
. . .
"smart robots wear glasses"
Huh?
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CollectionDX Staff
Doesn't the German doctor Decepticon have little spectacles on?
Oh- right! Thought you meant Jazz or somethin'. ^^
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CollectionDX Staff