Transformers Studio Series Arcee, Chromia, Elita-1 review

Many fans should be familiar from a time an Arcee figure was made for MV1, where she was a Deluxe toy that used the finalized yet scrapped design of the character meant for the movie. I once owned it and liked it but later sold it because it was incomplete. Sucks too because I do love the design of the figure now after rewatching the movies again and feeling that the Arcee triplet designs would work best as either drones or as an experiment made to link three minds with three similar-looking robots (while their normal bodies would be kept somewhere safe until the triplet forms go offline and their sparks return to their proper selves). Sure, they Arcee triplets looked cool in the movie, but their action figures were pretty sucky. The Deluxes had a so-so Chromia and an awful Arcee with no proper mold for Elita-1, the Human Alliance figures gave the Twins incorrectly colored Chromia and Arcee figures as well as not including an Elita-1 that wasn't a repaint, and the Legends line didn't even give any attention to the other gals. So my original plan was to just buy the Tiny Turbo Changer Arcee and call it a day, but the Studio Series line announced it's making all three sisters. I was genuinely curious to see if Hasbro would either improve on these three or repeat the same mistakes done previously. Well, let's first say the set is a mixed bag.

Here is their backdrop, set in the Shanghai battle, where the three triplets chase after Sideways after the Decepticon Demolishor causes mayhem. We've yet to get Sideways, and while the Arcee triplets do fit decently, you obviously can't put them in dynamic poses due to the obvious limitations of cardboard.

Here we have the Arcee triplets in their bike modes. These are the stronger of the two modes when it comes to the Arcee triplets. Arcee is the pink Ducati 848 sportbike, Chromia is the blue Suzuki B-King, and Elita-1 is the purple MV Agusta F4. I like how they've FINALLY gotten the proper details right for each of the bike gals. Seriously, either it was no new mold for Elita-1 or Arcee and Chromia got the wrong bodies. Thankfully, the triplets have their distinct alt mode details, with Chromia having the most amount of differences compared to the other two. Each bike also has a fair amount of molded details to make them look less cheap than they would be at this size, though the paint department is a little inconsistent. While the bikes do have nice, vibrant colors going for them, the use of silver or gunmetal gray tends to be a little inconsistent, as some parts of each bike doesn't use parts of the paint elsewhere, and it'll get even worse in robot mode. But for now, the bikes look pretty good without looking like accessories meant for a Leader Class Transformer.

Here they are next to 2020 wave mate Bumblebee, and they scale pretty well next to each other. Would probably be interesting to see how a shrunken human would look if he was to stand next to this Camaro and the bikes.

Their accessories can't be stored in the bike modes whatsoever. Neither the stands, weapons, or shoulder piece have any proper places to be stored in. It's fairly understandable when it comes to the size of these figures, though it would be important to keep track of these things.

Their transformations are complicated even at this scale, which is expected given how their designs work, but they still carry over the annoying nature of getting things placed right. It's kind of hard to tell how they're supposed to look without making them even wonkier or limiting what little articulation they have. It also doesn't help that parts of the figures are likely to pop off due too their small size heavily contrasting the size of an average fan's hands. I'm going to assume this is how they're supposed to look, though really, any slightly different transformation wouldn't really improve or worsen the looks of the robots. Of course, the robot modes are accurate to how they're supposed to look, and the designs are at least different from one another beyond the redeco nature of each toy, but they sadly fall apart due to the lack of silver paint for the gray parts. They don't really benefit the colors used for the other bike figures. I personally feel that the smaller size would have helped them get a much nicer paint job to better help justify the price for these things. They look close to what they're supposed to from the front...

...they look okayish from the sides...

...and they look extremely wonky from this side. Arcee at least has some pink for her back and Elita-1 does have a bit of color from the front of the motorbike behind her head, but Chromia looks pretty bare from this view. Certainly the most fragile-looking of the three.

Articulation is about the same for each one. Heads can move around despite the tiny sizes, shoulders and elbows are on ball joints, and their torsos have ball joints that help them turn and flex while they have swivels above the parts holding the wheels.

Here they are with Bumblebee, Kreon Cyclonus, and a minifigure of Water Pokemon trainer Misty (who I once had a crush on when I saw bits of the original anime years ago). I do appreciate them remaining in scale as tiny figures when standing next to, say, Bumblebee, though it's not quite easy to say that they look nice with Bee because, well, Bee's a much more complete figure whereas the Arcee triplets look drone-like in comparison.

Now here's the thing people are kind of conflicted on when it comes to these figures: the way they're supposed to combine. There is no official method for the combination, but this might be the most official one, right? Well, as official as intended, but the end result is...not too hot. I appreciate the fact that there was an attempt to make the combination happen, but Hasbro's negligence of it makes me feel that it doesn't really have much going for it. And honestly, I can see why there was no official acknowledgment of it. The tabs meant for the combinations are easy to miss, and there's no real way to have this thing stand up properly (unless one of the remaining stands are used). Tell you the truth, I don't think this is all too hot. At least it's better than the Deluxe versions, which don't utilize a new mold meant for Elita-1. Plus, it's pretty messy as a figure and as a design. What's it supposed to be, a bigger version of their robot mode?

Here we have the combined mode next to a confused Bumblebee. I should mention that this mode does use the weapons and extra shoulder pad, though those can be used in the normal modes if you want. So...you already know where this is going to go: the Studio Series versions of Arcee's triplets suck. While the bike modes look neat, and I do appreciate their distinct robot modes and attempts at scale and combining the three figures, the lack of storage of any kind for the accessories, the annoyance with transforming them at such a small size, the gray plastic clashing with the vibrant colors, and the resulting combined mode (along with its negligence) makes the Arcee triplets the worst offering in the Studio Series line. Helicopter Dropkick looked terrible, WWII Bumblebee and Hot Rod had awful backpacks and were inaccurate in altmode, and car Shatter had bad hip articulation along with some other embarrassing design choices, but at least they didn't feel frustrating to transform, nor did they have gimmicks that felt like afterthoughts. Honestly, some could say I'm objectively speaking because I don't like these versions of the fembots. Arcee, especially, deserves a more humanoid robot mode given how much of a prominent character she is in Transformers media...

...okay, maybe not to this extent...

...this is the perfect look for a Movie Arcee that's still humanoid yet doesn't entirely evoke G1. If you just cleaned up the tire kibble on her or made her face a little more feminine, you'd have a pretty good take on Arcee for the Movieverse. I'd go as far as to make her height a little taller so she can at least be around the same height as TFP Arcee (so she would look about as tall as Jazz or Bumblebee). I know some comics depicted her like this, but I would love to see an animated Transformers series based on the movies so we can have her in action (along with filling in some of the events that took place between each movie). As for the Studio Series Arcee triplets, you can only get them if you're interested in completing the line or if you like the designs. Otherwise, don't bother.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐