DSC_4210
Fresh from the postal service, the ThreeZero DLX Arcee from The Bumblebee Movie, which sadly, still remains the highlight of the live action TF series from the last decade or so.
ThreeZero is veyr much the defacto company to go when you wnt some highly articulated robotic godness (can't say the same about their 1/6 offerings) and the Arcee figure is another reminder why it cab be worth it to go premium.
The set comes with two heads, some extra hands, pair of guns, and the Base/Stand.
So, there are two heads because the original head apparently didn't make people happy. I, to be honest, barely even remember what the face looks like, having watched the movie one time and even then, Arcee was in the movie for like an incredibly short amount of time. The best way of describing the newer head is some sort of transistional stage between the first and second movie, the latter of which featured Arcee more prominently and as such probably had an actual budget allocated to character design.
So one of the first (and to be fair, only real) frustrating parts of the figure is presented as soon as you open the box - the stupid antenna. The instructions call for you to unscrew the top of the head and secure it that way, but I soon found out (as the screw doesn't really hold it in place) that you can use friction connect the part using the provided tabs. These antenna are quite small though, and I'm considering just packing mine away when she goes on the shelf.
As with most TrheeZero robotic offerings, there's some good heft due to the use of die cast metal. like with the other figures I own, some use of the material is very obvious (feet, hips) but a good portion of it is used for the supporting structure.
The actual figure is a beautiful work of mas manufactured art. LEDs I didn't test due to lack of batteries. Proportions aren't perfect of course, and some changes to the design had to made to allow for articulation and in the case of the feet, stability, but all in all it's very impressive. Perhaps most odd are the random missing paint applications.
The body itself is highly articulated, with tricks like shifting panel and extending parts to maximize range of motion. The exposed mechanical bits that these live action designs are famous are are of course well represented and can be observed all over the figure.
While knees are double jointed, elbows are single jointed only The figure features ab crunch but no back arch, and it's neat seeing the panels on the lower spine move to compensate for the change in body position Upper torso both pivots and rotates, but I think it's on two separate joints. Both neck and head articulation are present, and the boosters on the back feature some articulation for positioning purposes.
The design of the forearm panels is such that you'll never actually have them in the right position unless the arms are basically unbent. Butterfly joints are present, though they serve to make forward arm motion more natural and not reaching back. General bulk, of course, gets in the way articulation.
Paint and Build are both exquisitely done. A few spots of colour are lacking but what is actually applied to this figure is exceptionally well handled. I don't think there's any actual unpainted surfaces on the figure. Parts finished beautifully in terms of sanding of parts and the paint finish itself. No poor masking or weak panel lining. Parts fit together well, and proper use of materials in regards to pliability. Joints can be stiff to manipulate, though I suspect it has to do with the tight tolerances of the diecast parts.
DSC_4210
Fresh from the postal service, the ThreeZero DLX Arcee from The Bumblebee Movie, which sadly, still remains the highlight of the live action TF series from the last decade or so.
ThreeZero is veyr much the defacto company to go when you wnt some highly articulated robotic godness (can't say the same about their 1/6 offerings) and the Arcee figure is another reminder why it cab be worth it to go premium.
The set comes with two heads, some extra hands, pair of guns, and the Base/Stand.
So, there are two heads because the original head apparently didn't make people happy. I, to be honest, barely even remember what the face looks like, having watched the movie one time and even then, Arcee was in the movie for like an incredibly short amount of time. The best way of describing the newer head is some sort of transistional stage between the first and second movie, the latter of which featured Arcee more prominently and as such probably had an actual budget allocated to character design.
So one of the first (and to be fair, only real) frustrating parts of the figure is presented as soon as you open the box - the stupid antenna. The instructions call for you to unscrew the top of the head and secure it that way, but I soon found out (as the screw doesn't really hold it in place) that you can use friction connect the part using the provided tabs. These antenna are quite small though, and I'm considering just packing mine away when she goes on the shelf.
As with most TrheeZero robotic offerings, there's some good heft due to the use of die cast metal. like with the other figures I own, some use of the material is very obvious (feet, hips) but a good portion of it is used for the supporting structure.
The actual figure is a beautiful work of mas manufactured art. LEDs I didn't test due to lack of batteries. Proportions aren't perfect of course, and some changes to the design had to made to allow for articulation and in the case of the feet, stability, but all in all it's very impressive. Perhaps most odd are the random missing paint applications.
The body itself is highly articulated, with tricks like shifting panel and extending parts to maximize range of motion. The exposed mechanical bits that these live action designs are famous are are of course well represented and can be observed all over the figure.
While knees are double jointed, elbows are single jointed only The figure features ab crunch but no back arch, and it's neat seeing the panels on the lower spine move to compensate for the change in body position Upper torso both pivots and rotates, but I think it's on two separate joints. Both neck and head articulation are present, and the boosters on the back feature some articulation for positioning purposes.
The design of the forearm panels is such that you'll never actually have them in the right position unless the arms are basically unbent. Butterfly joints are present, though they serve to make forward arm motion more natural and not reaching back. General bulk, of course, gets in the way articulation.
Paint and Build are both exquisitely done. A few spots of colour are lacking but what is actually applied to this figure is exceptionally well handled. I don't think there's any actual unpainted surfaces on the figure. Parts finished beautifully in terms of sanding of parts and the paint finish itself. No poor masking or weak panel lining. Parts fit together well, and proper use of materials in regards to pliability. Joints can be stiff to manipulate, though I suspect it has to do with the tight tolerances of the diecast parts.