We’re back for an extended look at the latest Masterpiece release to capture everyone’s hearts (and incite their inner critics) – it’s Mp-51 Arcee! In part 1, we took that vehicle form for a spin and ascertained that it is comfortably the definitive representation of the car half of the character in toy form thus far.

Well, now we’re moving onto the bit that’s caused all kinds of controversy since this toy was first unveiled – the robot form! Of course in order to get there, we first need to take the toy through transformation, which fortunately in this case is not a particularly complicated process.

Much has been made of the shift toward more intricate conversions in the official Masterpiece line in recent years, but in many ways I’m pleased to say MP-51 bucks the trend to some degree. In truth it’s just no more complicated than it needs to be in order to achieve the end result, but it’s worth acknowledging that there’s nothing here to really challenge anyone already familiar with such toys. Most of the work required lies in the backpack, which does take a little bit of wrangling to get right on first attempt, but once you know what you’re doing, I’d say this is a breezy effort all round.

And just look at what it gives you, eh? In truth it’s hard to know where to start with this toy in robot form, especially as so much has been said about it already (and often with quite peculiar levels of attention being paid to certain aspects in particular). However I do think it’s worth stepping back for a moment and appreciating the whole picture, and I will say that I think this thing looks pretty spectacular, holistically-speaking.

Certainly when you take into account everything this toy does, good and bad, I think it looks pretty damn great on the whole. As I already mentioned in regards the car mode, the colour scheme is absolutely gorgeous, and there’s a continued attention to detail here that really does make you feel like this is a figure with a lot of love gone into it.

True, there are some quirks. Some quite obvious quirks, to be frank, and I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge a slight feeling of disappointment when I first transformed Arcee to this form (during my recent unboxing vid) and they became almost immediately apparent. There’s no getting around that backpack, for example – it’s pretty sizeable and will most definitely capture your attention to begin with.

Visually it is a bit of an oddity, especially as the rest of the robot form is so clean that the backpack sort of looks a bit tacked-on somehow. It doesn’t help that you can clearly see some of the car kibble on the sides, either, with elements such as the wheel arches being altogether too prominent for my tastes.

And look, we may as well get to it right away – that chest section is frankly ridiculous in many ways, isn’t it? Much was made about this online from the moment the toy was first unveiled, and perhaps understandably so. I mean, even I had to question whether it was mistransformed to begin with, which was a debate that continued in some quarters right up until Arcee finally made it into collectors hands.

Here’s the thing – it does look like it should just fold up somehow, right? It’s only when you notice that the white section at the bottom of the chest sits flush next to the sides of the robot mode than it visually makes a bit more sense, but even then it is a real oddity, no doubt. I think what’s even more baffling is that although the chest is formed from the very front of the car mode (in an unusual twist, given that most attempts at this character rely on fake parts to achieve the same result), there’s really nothing to suggest that it had to be designed as it is, and that we couldn’t have had a more accurate representation of this area for the robot form.

But you know what? If you can get past those two grumbles, then the rest of what’s going on here is pretty much all solid gold Masterpiece goodness. In fact, Arcee is so enjoyable to pick up, play with and pose that, dare I say it, any concerns about the look of the chest and the size of the backpack seem to quickly diminish.

I won’t say they outright disappear, as in all honesty who wouldn’t want this thing to look absolutely perfect? However, it must also be acknowledged that whilst those quibbles remain, they seem far, far less dramatic when viewed in the context of everything that’s great about this toy. Honestly, it’s one of those that needs to be experienced in hand to perhaps fully appreciate.

When you do finally get chance to see what Arcee can do though, boy… it’s really something…

…after all…

…can we take a moment to acknowledge…

…that not every toy…

…can do THIS!

Seriously now, this thing poses like no other Transformers release I can think of, and has a degree of balance and fluidity that is unmatched even in the official Masterpiece line (let alone any third party equivalent).

There’s also a sense of graceful and smoothly-executed engineering that can again only really be appreciated by cranking Arcee through any number of weird and wonderful poses. When you really dare to push the boundaries of what she can achieve, all that stuff about big backpacks and weird chests suddenly seems terribly insignificant compared to how beautifully she actually displays.

It would not be hyperbole of any kind to say that MP-51 represents the most fun I have had taking photos of any one single toy for some time (and I love taking photos of toys!).

There’s just a remarkable amount of enjoyment to be had from messing around and finding new ways to pose her, and its at this point that the toy somehow comes alive and represents the character so well.

I did not get the same sense of joy from any of the promotional pictures I saw, and it’s perhaps no surprise that she looked so awkward considering how she was often displayed at the conventions where she was first glimpsed. In hand, she’s an absolute marvel, pure and simple.

Again, none of that is to say that nitpicks such as the chest have entirely gone away – of course they haven’t. They’ve just been overshadowed by everything good this toy can do, and that really is quite a lot.

I also think that there are elements of this release I was most definitely unsure about prior to having her in hand, but now I’m more sold on. One of those is the oddly-curved waist area, which is definitely a bit of a departure from the character’s more “boxy” appearance on-screen.

Another is the face, which is no doubt very stylised versus the animation, but somehow still looks really good, in my opinion. My favourite of the four faces available is still the slight smile option, which I think captures the feel of the character rather wonderfully. I love those vibrant blue eyes, too!

In truth, some of the other faces are a bit nondescript, making it slightly hard to discern exactly what they’re going for, but I suspect this one is “smile with an open mouth”.

Again, this one could be representing any number of options, but it does at least still look good in photos!

And finally there’s this, which is probably my least favourite despite not really registering as anything starkly different from the other options on offer! It would have been good to have been given some more variance with these, but at least they’re something.

In terms of other accessories, there are plenty. First up we have her pink hand blaster, which slots into her palm very securely and can be held in quite a convincing manner. You can even position it with the finger on the trigger, in a neat touch.

There’s then the holster accessory which can be pegged to her hip, and the pink gun stored inside. I noted a few people thought this was an odd inclusion, but it’s a direct reference to the cartoon and in my opinion works really well.

Next we have the larger rifle, which I really like. It can be held double or single-handed and looks suitably imposing either way.

You can also just about achieve a sniper pose. It’s a bit tricky to get her positioned this way, but it’s always a fun one to try!

Then there are several blast effect pieces which can be used quite effectively for display.

And finally you also have a tiny hand pistol, which is a recreation of the one Arcee wields inside Unicron at the end of the 1986 movie, and again comes with its own blast effect piece. It’s a little too small for my tastes, but it looks nice enough otherwise.

Oh, and of course there’s a built-in gimmick too, with her helmet containing a flip-down visor to recreate another scene from the movie. It’s a bit fiddly but the results look marvellous.

So, that’s quite the arsenal, eh? Oh, and did I mention how much fun it is to pose her with her guns?

I didn’t?

Because it is.

A lot of fun.

OK, I’m just showing off now, I admit. Honestly though, I just had way, way too much fun taking all of these photos not to cram them in as best as possible! Sometimes words will only get you so far, after all, and you just have to let the pictures do the talking!

Anyway look, I’m not saying this toy is perfect – in fact, it’s definitely not. The quibbles about the backpack are real. The concern about the chest looking odd is valid. However, there’s so much more to it all than that, meaning that whenever I see someone dismissing this toy purely on account of those things I can’t help but think they’re missing out a bit.

I say that truthfully as someone who has found themselves entirely occupied by this toy since it arrived. There’s just so much about her that works so well.

She also looks terrific versus any number of other Masterpiece-styled toys, both official and non, even if she does represent a bit of a stylistic shift from some of her predecessors in many ways.

And what of those various third party options? Well, I’m not one to make snap decisions, but right now I can honestly see MP-51 having a long tenure in my collection. As much as the unofficial versions do a lot of stuff right, this figure feels like Arcee and proves to be the most fun in hand, without question.

There are, after all, worse ways than spending a whole afternoon with something as fantastic as Masterpiece Arcee, just seeing what she can do.

The Masterpiece cycle continues, then. From initial outrage and griping about every perceived flaw, all the way through to a positive experience in hand. It won’t be the last time it happens, but let’s hope when next it does, it turns out as well as this one.

WHAT’S HOT? Amazing car mode, exceptional robot mode to pose, and a generally wel-made and fluid toy with nice gimmicks. Excellent.

WHAT’S NOT? You already know what I’m going to say, but there’s a large backpack and a weird-looking chest. Everything else is top notch.

TTFN