The Robot Enhanced Design line of Transformers figures should seem like a really cool take on the franchise's robots in disguise, yet I never really cared too much about it if I'm being honest. I was already NOT interested in the G1 characters because I own versions of them that do transform and they're pretty much everywhere at this point, but when I saw Cheetor and especially Arcee, I was tempted as hell to get them. As someone who's tired as hell over the G1 fatigue and someone who was a MASSIVE Prime fan, Arcee was one I really wanted to buy the moment I saw it in person. And even if I got both the First-Edition and PRID versions of the character, I got this figure because the character is one of my favorites of all time; some would say that it's because of her sexy design, but that's the cherry on top of a well-written character that stands out from her backstory as well as the development she received with seeing Team Prime as a family. But now let's take a look at the figure in the review!
Here we have Arcee in-hand, beautifully capturing her CGI model without looking like a transforming toy. The proportions, sculptwork, and coloring are accurate to the character model, though they could be al little more metallic (also mine has a small scuff on her upper chest. The bronze on her should be pink, but it does have a somewhat pink tint to it...almost like a rose gold. I don't really think anything is missing on this figure, and we even get details that Hasbro normally doesn't do with the transforming figures like the nicely sculpted wings, the wheel being in her spine, and the bikini bottom not having a wasp tail from part of the bike mode. It's everything I'd want an Arcee toy to have if she could transform with better engineering, though this one doesn't do it. In terms of the feel, I am disappointed that the R.E.D Series figures have a bit of a cheaper feel than they really should at $20. If the Marvel Legends, Black Series, Lightning Collection, and every other 6 inch figure line made by Hasbro can feel good in-hand, why can't the Transformers equivalent? I'm not expecting the solid build quality of a Deluxe, but the figures just feel cheaper and not up to the current standards of the line, and Arcee is sadly no exception thanks to her somewhat wobbly knee swivels.
Head sculpt is perfect to the figure, with all of the paint apps applied nicely and resulting in a fairly crisp look to her head. There are even some details that I normally wouldn't find on her like the ear circles. The eyes pop beautifully compared to the prior light-piped eyes from her Deluxe counterparts, though I don't remember her having lipstick since her lips were the same color as her face. Her articulation is mostly good, though I will admit is mostly similar to the Deluxe toys: Head can look left and right but barely looks up and down, shoulders move front and back, in and out, the arms swivel at the elbow as well as have the forearms swivel at the armor base, the wrists swivel as well as hinge in and out, the figure can ab-crunch yet refuses to click in different points, hips move front and back as well as in and out while the bikini bottom can be lifted to allow the hips to move, the thighs swivel, the knees bend while the lower legs swivel, and the front of the foot can hinge as well as pivot.
In terms of the accessories included with her, we have two effect pieces, two open hands with trigger fingers (which are completely useless without any guns for her to hold), the arm blades, the ion blasters, and a Dark Energon cube. The final accessory makes sense since Dark Energon was a thing in the Prime line, but it certainly is no shard that you'd see Megatron use.
Before we go over the accessories (except for the hands), there is one thing worth mentioning: her chest can come off to reveal her inner workings. While some would probably get a kick out of Transmetal Blackarachnia's removable bra, this is a pretty useless feature. While it surprises me that not many TF fans have lost their shit over it (not even any of the shitty ass journos who claim to be progressive), I'd rather trade the feature for sturdier plastic. That being said, it's great to have her go with the arm blades despite them being flat gray. The effect pieces are another worthless aspect of the toy. Why go with them if they're in the same flat gray that her blades are in? If they were blue and looked more like swoosh effects, then I'd be happier with them. As it stands, they suck.
My favorite thing about this figure are the guns. They are the proper designs and replace her hands as they did in the Prime series. Generally speaking, you can have her either with the thumbs facing upwards or upside down.
Here is Arcee sandwiched in-between her Deluxe counterparts; those two definitely look inaccurate compared to her sleek and sexy body, especially when she doesn't need to transform into a motorcycle at a Deluxe size. That being said, I prefer the plastic quality of the Deluxes more than this one. And as for my final verdict, Arcee's kind of a mixed-positive figure in the line; she looks amazing and has none of the G1 snore factor crap pulling her back, but she does fall short on the articulation as well as the accessories. Had she been able do bend her elbows and knees deeper while having more range of motion, I'd be happier with the base figure. Then stuff like the plastic quality feeling somewhat flimsy takes off some points, and half of her accessories are worthless. I'd trade the removable chest feature as well as the trigger hands and the effect pieces for a flight stand, a Jack minifigure, karate chop hands and/or blast effect pieces for her guns. While I do recommend her since she is the only R.E.D character without a current toy in the Generations line (again, we have boring ass G1 having lamer toys that are pointless compared to the WFC trilogy line), I do feel Cheetor is the stronger of not just their wave but the entire line so far.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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