The first concerns what happened when she was released. Late in her development cycle - possibly even after a small number were in the wild - someone spotted that TM2 BA's chest looked like she'd gone topless. As a result an extra bit of plastic was added to the toy delaying the release, limiting the number sold and driving the price up....
..... flash forward to early 2001 when TM2 BA is doing about £30 UK on the secondary market with none officially released in the UK I quote from the email sent to TMUK-Chat:
"Some of you (those who I trade with regularly) will have heard this already but I think I have some spare now so can share with the rest of you....
It happened like this: I had Monday off and went out looking for some TFs for a few people who'd asked me if I could find anything. Generally a no joy day. So I came home and went swimming. On the way back from the pool I took a short (warm !) cut through a local dept store that was busy tidying up it's sale stock following the close of the sale the previous Saturday. In the midst of one of the remaining piles I spot a familiar looking box. Several in fact. Now I'm not normally a bulk buy man - but I'll make an exception for sales stock and seeing as this had survived the final day of reductions in a busy shopping centre *and* seeing as it was about to disappear into the depths of the stock room destined who knows where I considered it an open target and (after confirming I could still buy them even though the sale had ended) took them home with me.
Transmetal 2 Blackarachnias. 17 of them in fact. US Boxes, Chinese Stickering. "
Blackarachnia keeps her spider form from her previous version but has it enlarged to Megs size. Body is mostly covered in pinky/purple chrome over a layer of purple plastic. The Spark is mounted on the base of the abdomen. If you fold the back of the abdomen down it allows you to turn the spark round making her either a Maximal (green) or a Predacon (pink) The pincers at the front of the mouth are attached to a piece which detaches from the main toy and stretches out on a line. When the line is extended the pincers can open and close. The line is spring loaded to retract. The eight legs are all ball jointed at body and knee. The pincers beneath the mouth have not a lot of flexibility in this mode.
As with Cybershark there's hints of a vehicle mode - twin exhaust pipes can be folded back from under the abdomen which in turn reveal; a pair of wheels in the abdomen. Perhaps some dragster mode was intended ?
TF: Fold the pipes out from under the back of the abdomen. Fold the abdomen back slightly allowing you to fold out to the sides the halves of the abdomen's shell. Raise the robot head out the back of the abdomen. Pull the robot legs out to the side and then fold both forward at once flipping the robot body forward which folds up into the robot's chest. Fold the pincers under the spider's mouth out to the sides to form the robot arms. Remove the pincers in front of the mouth & the winding mechanism behind them. Fold the robot arms so they point back along where the beast would have been. Fold the beast body up so it locks onto the robot body as the back - the jointed strut is folded up inside the back. Push the robot head and upper chest down to lock the body in place. The three highest legs on each side are joined to a panel and not the chromed body - fold this up so it's behind the shoulders and pose the legs over the shoulders. Straighten the robot legs, twist so they are the right way round, fold the feet out and attempt to stand. Pincer weapon pegs into her hand.
Resulting robot is the first I can think of in high heels - which doesn't help her balance. She bends at the ankle & knee, swivels between knee & hip, ball jointed hips, waist joint, ball jointed shoulders & elbows, bending wrist and turning head. You're meant to be able to rotate her waist and push down on the head as some sort of kicking gimmick but it doesn't work too well on mine ! Faceplate, waits and knees are highlighted in yellow.
Like TM Airazor she has an armour mode - the halves of the abdomen now serving as shoulder pads fold down to cover the chest. What is it with Hasbro feeling their female TFs need extra armour to defend themselves ?
Overall: Decent spider mode, ok if unstable robot. Worth getting if you're a BW cartoon fan.
TM2 Blackarachnia was released in Japan as Beast Wars metals toy C-49
Nice repaint !
Arcee was a Botcon exclusive in 2001