Transformers Legacy Velocitron Speedia 500 Road Rocket review

If you recall the first wave of Legacy reviews, you may notice that apart from the already reviewed Hot Rod, Blaster, and Galvatron, the only other toys missing were TFP Arcee and Laser Optimus Prime. Why did I skip them? In the case of Arcee, I just didn't like the Geewunification of the character. The original design looked great, with a sleek and feminine build that is complimented with boot-like feet to make powerful kicks and spiked knees that can give some Vehicons the damage they'll have to deal with. Some will think that's like the time Tucker Carlson got upset over the Green M&M, but in this case, Hasbro practically sucked out the visual personality of a character into a flatter design meant for repaints and the like. Luckily, this figure got to be repainted into a different character, which means it'll fit them better than it does Arcee. Let's find out!

Here we have Road Rocket in her vehicle mode. It's a fairly decent take on the alternate mode that Prime Arcee is known for, albeit with the front having a more generic look to it that probably comes from it being more fitting for different repaints rather than it being altered for licensing reasons (the original design was not based on a specific altmode to begin with). The red looks nice on the vehicle mode, even if it reminds me of some of the standard red motorbikes common in Transformers. Her original G2 counterpart was a little more genericized, which probably explains why the figure was made to be in mind with Prime Arcee as well as a female reimagining of the Laser Rod come ninja courtesy of one of the TakaraTomy designers. I'll even like the blue plastic and the paint applied onto the wheels as well as the metallic blue paint. It's not a perfect alt mode, though. The thighs are exposed more than they were in the prior figures, as is the crotch plate. It's due to the figure transforming in a backward method from the way the figure normally transforms. I'll explain that in a moment, but apart from the kickstand, there is weapon storage on the back which looks okay.

Transformation is pretty similar but not exactly like the way it's been done with the First Edition and PRID versions of Prime Arcee. While Arcee typically transforms with the vehicle mode being parallel with the robot part layout, this figure does the reverse. The arms are now made from the back of the vehicle mode instead of being tucked into the sides of the motorcycle mode, while the legs wrap around the motorcycle instead of merely being folded into the bike mode with deep knee bends. And the figure doesn't have the front of the motorcycle facing upside down. The robot mode certainly has the Geewunification of the Prime Arcee design, which may not fit that character specifically, but it fits Road Rocket fine. The more generic character trait that the G2 guy and Legacy gal were known for makes this easier to stomach than seeing this in blue and a less interesting version of an iconic interpretation of Arcee. The torso feels like a simpler version of the traditional design while the arms have new design traits added. I like the color layout we have with the figure, and while the legs themselves look mostly alright, I can't say I'm a fan of the wheel halves slapped on the sides of the lower legs. They clash with the design and make it look pretty clunky. The backpack also looks clunky, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Head sculpt is pretty solid and has a nice use of metallic blue paint for the mouthplate and nose as well as some light piping on the back like in the good old days. It's definitely a nice upgrade from the old toy and feels very refined. It also somehow has more personality than the Prime Arcee head! As for her articulation, the head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back, in and out, biceps swivel, elbows bend, wrists swivel, there is a ball joint for the waist, hips move front and back, in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend, and ankles pivot.

The weapons she comes with are so-so. The arm blades look slapped on compared to the way the proper arm blades work on the series. You could probably add the R.E.D ones in the slots underneath the armor, but 1) there won't be the right amount of aesthetic synergy between the simpler Legacy figure and the Prime design of the R.E.D figure, and 2) the PVC materials probably won't fit with the ABS of this figure. You can make a shield out of them with a ninja star painted on it, but again, we still have weapon problems because you can remove the front tire and split it in half to form some sort of...gun? It looks more like a drone without the linework paint apps that Arcee got, but hey there is gunmetal gray painted on the front to make it look like a goofy ahh face. It looks pretty impractical, and I'd rather Hasbro not use that as a weapon.

There is a good use for it, and that's to complete the look Road Rocket had in G2, so now she can have the tires on the back. It's much better done than on the old toy, and while you can argue it'd be great to have it be done as such without requiring you to remove it, at least it looks better like that.

As far as reuses are concerned, we ironically begin with the version of the mold that hasn't been obtained due to my preference. This is Prime Arcee. Yeah, she's not offensive as a toy, but I just don't think the Geewunification works for her. It worked with Bulkhead because he has a new, impressive altmode and a robot design that is different enough to be a G1 Bulkhead in a collection while I can still have my Prime Bulkhead stay with my Prime toys. Knock-Out's a weird in-between where he both does and doesn't wear the G1 style. This feels more like when they try to add a modern character into a Sunbow style, and it doesn't really work for her...

...but that being said, there is always a second chance at winning me over in the case of repaints, and here we have that instance with Shattered Glass Collection's Flamewar! The color scheme works much better on her than it ever did on Arcee, and I can definitely say that this is what we should have had. She even has a Battlemaster that likely raises the price of these already expensive repaints but hey, Hasbro gotta get more money.

The Road Rocket tooling saw another use, this time as part of the Toxitron Collection's line-up of canceled G2 repaints. The Laser Cycle may be a generic name, yes, but it is basically a toy intended for Jazz even though he has a figure present in a previous wave. He reminds me of the Twister popsicle that promoted a game most famously covered by Joel from Vinesauce.

For a heavier retool, this is Erial (clever spelling of Ariel) from the War Dawn 2-pack, depicting her as the pre-Elita-1 design we saw for one episode. She came with a Dion figure, who he himself was a retool of SS86 Kup like Orion Pax was.

And here she is with the original Prime Arcee design represented in the PRID figure. I'll say it again that the Legacy figure isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination; I just don't like it as Arcee. There was a great amount of personality Arcee had in the Deluxe figures from 10 years ago and the R.E.D figure does the same, but the Legacy counterpart feels flat and uninspiring by comparison. That being said, if you want to get a version of this mold, I can definitely say get it as Road Rocket or wait for Flamewar! It's a decent toy and one you can mess around with for the display options.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐