Arcee Upgrade Dr Wu TP07 Courageous

Presenting TP 07 Courageous, the unofficial third party Transformers Prime Arcee's upgrade from Dr Wu.

I really, really love the First Editon Transformers Prime Arcee. Not just because it's a robot with chimichangas, but because she really is a wonder of engineering. Here we have a transformers that is solid, possesses incredible articulation (Relatively if you forgive the limitations of her shoulder pauldrons), and looks really good - kinda hot actually.

So when I saw that Dr Wu - a 3rd party (read as: illegal or frowned upon by Hasbro) Transformers accessories creator had an upgrade for her - the TP-07 Courageous, I just had to get the upgrade - even if Arcee isn't a primary collection item in the Dungeon.

The diminutive package containing Dr Wu's TP07 Courageous Arcee upgrades contains what you see here: a pair of alternate forearm blades, a pair of blasters and an instruction card that doubles as a trading card with a nice piece of artwork bearing the image of Transformer Prime's Arcee.

What's to like about the DR WU TP07 Courageous Upgrade for Arcee?

The uber coolness factor. Here's an image of the original Transofrmers Prime Arcee's forearm blades in comparison with the sleeker - and dare I say - sexier - Dr Wu upgrades.

The original forearm blades - now in hindsight - are indeed waaay to large to be of practical use. Can you imagine how much they must weigh? They look impressive from a manga point of view where bigger is better, but I now feel the practical deadliness of these larger blades is severely diminished. Instead of sleek fighting, you'd have someone trying to land bone-breaking chops - as can be seen when Arcee fought Starscream (Also, no way do blades that big come from her forearms)

The new Dr Wu ugrades allows Arcee to get up close and personal - which I honestly feel she prefers. Arcee's strikes would have to become faster, more accurate.

I also like the fact that if they were bigger you could use the Dr Wu TP07 Courageous forearm blades to open mail. They are sharp. Not for kids.

The result is a more cartoon accurate looking close-in-fighter:

Next up are her blasters. None of the Transformers Prime Arcees come with her ability to transform her forearms into energy blasters. Dr Wu's TP07 Courageous is the first accessory that provides her with cartoon accurate blaster extensions that cover/replace her hands.

I have to admit that it did feel weird to have to remove the grips of her energy pistols, but then I did remember that in the cartoons, Arcee did not grip her pistols, her hands transformed into them. So we should note that Arcee cannot actually grasp the grips of her pistols. They're too large. We'll talk about what they are for later. 

However, the grips can be used as studs to attach the energy pistols to Arcee's forearms instead - replacing her forearm blades. I'm not really a fan of this idea, but you can do it if you want to. 

The energy pistols can also be mounted in the rear of her shoulder pauldrons. These make them appear like jets or exhaust pipes on her back It is quite cool to look at actually.

I really like the look. I think it makes her look.... more technological and speedier. The Dr Wu TP07 Courageous Arcee laser pistol upgrades can also be mounted as exhausts (boosters) in her motorcycle mode:

There is literature to suggest that the forearm blades can also be added to her motorcycle mode, but I have not figured out how this is done and don't really believe it's possible.

Another really great thing about Dr Wu's TP07 Courageous Arcee upgrades is that its use is not limited to the First Editon Transformers Prime Arcee. You can also give them as upgrades to her younger sister, the Robots In Disguise (RID) Arcee:

There are only two major differences between the two: RID Arcee can't pivot at the waist, trading off with; RID Arcee's shoulders are not encumbered by her pauldrons, allowing for some really nice poses.

First with the Forearm blades:

Then with the energy pistols. Note that the RID Arcee CAN grasp the grips of the energy pistols, so you can opt to treat them like hand weapons instead of actual "hand" weapons:

What's NOT to like about the DR WU TP07 Courageous Upgrade for Arcee?

Unfortunately the material used by Dr Wu in the construction of the TP07 Courageous Arcee Upgrade is flimsy. I have no doubt that if I continue to play with these upgrades that - aside from me getting really injured by the sharpness of the blades - that both the blades and the energy pistols have the possibility of breaking or snapping.

So these should be treated as display pieces only - and not given to kids.

Other than that, they're wonderful additions to the First Editon Transformers Prime Arcee - and a must have if you're a really, really big fan of hers or of the action figures.

The Dr Wu TP07 Courageous Arcee Upgrade was purchased from the GreatToysOnline physical store in Festival Mall and set me back PhP 850 (Roughly US$ 19.31)

I personally like it, but I think the price is a tad bit too steep.