Transformers Missing Link Arcee

Ask me a year ago about impossible things that could never, ever happen, and the release of a retro 1986 inspired Transformers Arcee toy would certainly be on that list. Prototyped but never released, not least because conventional wisdom of the time dictated that boys don't buy toys of girls.

Arcee was a major part of the 1986 Transformers movie, a film that contained many firsts - it was the first 80's cartoon series to kill not only the leads, but also many of the supporting cast. It also contained the first appearance of Arcee, a character added by screenwriter Flint Dille at the request of his daughter who wanted to see a female Autobot - Arcee was written before the fembots showcased in season 2, making her first conceived and second (fifth?) to appear on-screen.

A tough, no-nonsense fighter to her enemies, a sensible, warm and compassionate 'bot to her friends, Arcee was generally well received by fans and became a regular from series 3 of the cartoon. Her design went through several changes before the movie started production and the toys were infamously based on these initial concepts rather than the refined designs that would be used later. 

Arcee's original design by Floro Dery and concept toy/colours. The updated design most notably moved the bulk of her shoulders to her back.

Fast forward to 2025 and Takara have finally taken these concepts to fruition and released a toy in their Missing Link line - and if you read this site often you'll know I'm already a fan!

The new (old?) Arcee toy based on these concepts is available two colour schemes - prototype pink/orange and screen accurate pink/white. Instinctively I prefer the traditional colour scheme and opted for two of those, though I will concede that the proto-coloured toy has a better gun (small and grey rather than a small pink rifle) and a sharper head sculpt. I'm reliably informed that it's stunning in-hand, so if the orange and pink appeals, you'll be well served.

For me, it's all about that strawberry and cream look, it just pops generally and feels iconic at this point. Happily the paint on this figure is pin-sharp with no errors. The shoulder pods and feet are die-cast, giving the toy an authentic 80's feel, especially in car-mode where those shoulders make up half the front-end. 

Speaking of the car, what an absolute beauty! The original toys always prioritised the alt-mode and here, Arcee is incredibly svelte. It's arguably the best representation of her futuristic two-seater sports car mode that I've ever seen, and let me tell you I've seen a few! It has less bloat than the Masterpiece figure, which looks inflated, and not as pinched in the nose and flared at the lights as the recent Studio Series mainline toy. It's low, sharp and aggressive looking. I'm very taken with it.

Sleek and poised, this is an Arcee alt-mode I can get behind

Transformation is a breeze too - her legs store under the mid-section, a bar running through the center of the body folding to lengthen/shorten as required, her knees buckle to make the legs even shorter while the bonnet just swings over her head to make the chest. A small rear section of the car folds up/down to cover the rear of her legs, and that's really the only kibble on the entire figure. Her arms clip into the sides and that's basically it bar a few folds on the windscreen, heels and hip joint. As such, the figure flips between modes quickly and intuitively, a welcome change from many over-complicated transformations for modern Transformers that often require video instructions to work out. This feels, in the best way, like a toy.

Masterpiece Arcee and her Missing Link sister - you can see the design changes with the pauldrons moved to the back on the Masterpiece.

So, we can safely say it's a fantastic toy and a chance to own a piece of alternative history in your vintage movie collection. That's not to say there aren't minor nits that require picking. The flat cut to the back of her head isn't flattering from the side, but at most angled you don't see it (see my numerous photos) and it is actually required for transformation so that gets a pass. What doesn't is the egregious hollowness of her forearms. It's not required for the transformation and it ruins the overall look - you have to pick between hollow arms or grey panels when posing her and neither are flattering. Of all the places to cut corners, this makes no sense whatsoever. Now I'm going to have to see if someone creates a filler kit so I can fix it and add another £15 to the price. Ugh.

Now, let's talk about price.

Back in 1986, you're average car Transformer sold for around £7.99 (including VAT at 15%) - we know this from many of the price stickers on classic boxes for Kup, Hot Rod and Blurr. In today's money that's about £26 adjusted for inflation. Missing Link Arcee is £72. That's quite the jump.

True, VAT is 20% now, it's probably a much lower run than a mainline TF in the 80's so economies of scale might be a factor, but nearly three times the price is a bitter pill to swallow. 

While there have been rumblings of discontent (it's not like anything in the Missing Link line is in any way cheap) I think Takara has at least been smart in their choices for the line so far. We've had Prime of course, he's a no-brainer. The Cliffjumper & Bumblebee minibots were quaint and an exercise in showing how the ML line could translate to anything. Sunstreaker was the very first Transformer who also suffers from loss of the original mould, plus you could repaint him to get police-colours Diaclone Cordon into the Transformers line for the very first time. Arcee is, of course, a first entirely.

There's less a feeling of Takara doing a redux of the whole G1 line and more creating a showcase of innovation and brand archaeology that adds a genuine excitement when you consider what might come next. So far, they haven't disappointed. Hell, with just a few small alterations to the shoulders I can see how you could move those pauldrons to her back and leave the arms  at the shoulder (simple hinge at the top to open the panel to clear the arms, then a hinge joint to swing them to the back with the top joint closed again) and it would be mostly screen accurate. I'd love to see a third party tackle it, but that's just 'cos I like to keep dreaming when it comes to my robots. 

Arcee and Hot Rod together at last - perfect retro-future styling

Whether the price of entry is worth it to you or not, there's no doubting that the final toy is a gratifyingly authentic take on a figure that could have been released at the time, enhanced with the extra joints and pose-ability that is Missing Link's signature feature. She has oodles of charm, great build quality and really pops among the similarly colour-coded main cast of the 86 toys. But she's not a cheap date, especially if you're double-dipping either for alt-mode or alt-colours.