This is pretty much what I got from the new pics, as well. Those robot shoulders probably fold up under the midsection, "Dat butt" stretches back with the robot legs more horizontal. The spider legs appear to be on a rotating section.
I am still holding judgment for actual stock photos, but am cautiously optimistic.

I'm also noticing that unlike the bot mode, that beast mode *appears* to not be a painted prototype, but closer to final production figure?

 

See I think the same. The arms for sure can’t just be underneath.

 

The thing is, this ISN't a problem of lack of kibble from robot mode. It's not about robot mode not having enough space to hide everything. This is ENTIRELY about things being in the right place. All the pieces exist, they just need to be moved to the right spot. I cannot imagine that Takara got THIS far and then just stopped.

Currently the robot legs and other robot parts are sitting at a vertical diagonal. If they could get that robot junk more horizontal, then the spider panels will be able to move further back and sit more horizontally on top of it, wrapping around behind. The hourglass will sit at the middle of the abdomen like it should, and the panel behind it will end up on the belly. That will expose more of the beast head/body. The arms will fit underneath better, getting the spider-legs to be coming from the middle, hiding the robot arms better under the belly panel that I mentioned before.

There will still be robot parts exposed, but It will at least look clean and more spider-shaped. I honestly think it's going to look great, but the person who handled it has never seen a transformer before.

If I'm wrong, I will be really shocked, because I KNOW takara can do better. Again, all the pieces they need are there, just in the wrong place.

 

Exactly. Takara isn’t this dumb. Someone just doesn’t understand the vision.

 

I call it creepy as fuck.

 

Personally my biggest problem with the spider mode now, is the knees and the shins are clearly visible from the front and their bright colors are very distracting among the black; and make the abdomen look like a completely unfinished mess.

Not sure if there's room underneath the black back panels but I sure hope if this display sample is indeed mistransformed, the correct transformation can make the legs sit closer to each other underneath these panels so you won't see the orange/bright yellow head on.

 

See I could accept the legs. But those arms underneath are just too much.

 

I think that like with Dinobot who was sometimes shown in beast mode with his shoulder pads fully exposed even though you can rotate them to the point that they’re far less noticeable- we’ll be able to angle a few parts differently to make a world of difference.

I’d be happy enough just by rotating BA’s robot forearms downwards a bit more so her spider face has some empty space under it. She’d be more elevated but I think that would give her whole head section and pulps room to stand out and shine.

Now where are the size comparison shots? Megatron is right next to her and it looks like her whole beast mode is barely bigger than his foot!

 

That\'s a real turn-off.

 

earlier i mentioned that I'm not a beast wars fan, but appreciate them doing MP BW figures cause the BW community is super devoted. Because of my lack of knowledge on the topic i asked if there was anything glaringly wrong or worrying about the figure...

After the images of the alt mode... i don't have to be a beast wars fan to know that spider mode looks rough.

I dont know how else they really could have done it aside from making her entire spider bum a shell though? And i feel 9/10 people are going to keep her in bot mode for their displays, so this isn't a massive concern i feel. They put in the detail work and commitment to the right mode. If one had to suffer I'm very glad its not the bot mode, but man the back of that spider looks like a mess.

 

Perhaps.

 

My devotion to Beast Wars is too irrational to be objective on this. Most likely going to cave on this one.

 

I hope we see official images of the properly transformed beast mode soon. I appreciate some of the other posters putting their Photoshop skills to work imagining how it's supposed to look, but I'm withholding my optimism for now.

People were doing that with MP-45's backpack too, digitally "fixing" it how it seemed to make the most sense; but in the official photography, it ended up being the same messy turtle shell of car parts as it was on first reveal.

 

This. A whole lot of assuming this is mistransformed. I would be shocked if that would explain away the mess of parts.

 

I never imagined this figure could exist. I love every detail. The bot-mode is 100% accurate to the cartoon. About the spider mode, you can plainly see the legs are not as tight as they could be. I’m going to preorder.

 

I most likely will buy her.

I knew it was a very tall order; First Season Beast Wars have some of the most impossible and incompatible modes.

Yes, Blackarachnia's beast mode (though at least a little mis-transformed) is quite unsightly, but the 'bot mode is spot on (obviously).

Therein lies the rub (for me, anyway): 4+ releases in, it's crystal clear that the robot mode is all to the design team, with the beast mode being "do the best you can". I'd prefer it - at least for the original style releases (organic beast mode, robot inside) - that there be a little compromise with both modes, instead of beast mode always making severe sacrifices for the team.

 

I have almost no idea how Blackarachnia transforms...

And that's my favorite kind of Transformer.

And I can't even imagine where her head is stored...

She looks far from perfect in these shots, but that bot mode is so spot on...

 

I can deal with some imperfections in the beast mode. This looks pretty damn great to me and I’ll be preordering day one.

 

Literally two comments later <3