Originally intended as a mass retail figure that was to be included with one of the last waves of the Animated line in 2009, she was eventually put on hold to make room for the Revenge of the Fallen toys to coincide with the movie release. The future of this figure looked as if it were going to face the same fate as her G1 counterpart and never make it into production. Released in early 2010 as a Toys-R-Us exclusive, this is probably one of the most sought after figures in the Animated line. The fact that this is a store exclusive coupled with the high anticipation for this figure, has made Arcee almost impossible to find at retail.
While this is not the fist toy release for Arcee it is if by far the version that is most accurate to her animation in the original 80 ′s cartoon, which is surprising considering the highly stylized aesthetic of the Animated line as a whole. Animated Arcee looks a lot like the adolescent version of her grown G1 counterpart.
Overall I really like the robot mode. IMO this is probably the best-looking Arcee figure Hasbro has produced. Most of the time, Arcee is either a character that is conjured up by the show creators without a toy (G1 Movie and season 3+), or an afterthought added to a toyline in which she did not appear (Michael Bay movies). For these reasons, most of the time, the Arcee toys doesnr’t look quite right, or we simply don/’t have a basis to gauge the toy=’s accuracy. This is not the case with Animated. The character appears to be properly planned and a toy accurately produced. The look and feel of this Arcee is a great representation of the character. I think with a little modification, this toy can even pass for G1 Arcee. I would love to see a TF customizer attempt this.
Transformers Animated ended last year, but there were several original sculpts in the line that did not see a mass release before the show's demise. Among them is Arcee. Based on the Generation One character of the same name, this is a figure long time Transformers fans have been waiting to get for the better part of two decades now. When Arcee was first introducd in 1986, she was portrayed as a female Autobot who was white and pink and transformed into a futuristic sports car. This interpretation of the character has never made into an official, fully transformable figure despite prototypes being made in the 80's and several statues, motorcycle incarnations and so on. Because of this, fans have been clamoring for this sculpt. It is the first time an Arcee toy has been made where she is an original, transformable, Cybertronian/futuristic car (not a motorcycle or licensed Earth vehicle) and uses a color scheme influenced by her pink and white G1 counterpart.
