yogore's Full Review: Hasbro Transformers Movie Deluxe: Bumblebee
Before I saw Michael Bay's Transformers, I didn't have much interest in the toys. Upon seeing the film, however, my interest grew, to the point where I now have at least one version of pretty much every character - though not the "main" release of any of them. For instance, I passed on Bumblebee in both his '70s Camaro and concept car versions, in favor of the non-movie Stealth Bumblebee.
With pictures of him all over the internet in robot and vehicle mode, Bumblebee began to feel a little bit uncomfortable. People recognized him everywhere. More importantly new Decepticons arriving on Earth found him easily, which put Sam and others in danger. With Mikaela's help, he picked out a new color scheme for his armor plating that made him harder to spot, and also made it easier to sneak up on any Decepticons that wandered into the range of his plasma cannon.
This version of Bumblebee is billed as an "'08 Camaro." After fleeing from the Decepticon Barricade with his new friends Sam Witwicky and Mikaela, the latter ultra-hot chick insulted Bumblebee's crappy vehicle mode, at which point the robot took it upon himself to scan a passing car that might better suit the taste of his human companions. Coincidentally, the car he scans is also a Camaro... kinda.
You see, Bumblebee's second mode isn't exactly a Camaro. It's a Camaro concept car, occasionally optimistically referred to as a 2009 model. Either way it wouldn't technically be found driving in traffic for Bumblebee to scan, unless the movie takes place sometime in the future.
It's still a bit of a stretch to call the car a Camaro. Retired in 2002 due to slow sales, muscle car buffs blew a gasket when Chevrolet reintroduced the American icon in concept form in early 2006. But the car has been in a kind of limbo since then, and it's unlikely that it'll be available by the projected '09 date applied to Bumblebee's model. The version seen in the film isn't really even a true Camaro. It's something of a kit car, built by automaker/tuner Saleen, made to look like Chevy's concept Camaro. Saleen, best known for its work on Fords - and not Chevys - was given a nod in the film in the form of Barricade, whose vehicle mode is a Saleen Mustang police car.
So how's the figure? Well, in vehicle mode, he's pretty nice, and in scale with the other Deluxe-class Transformer cars like Barricade and Jazz. There isn't much kibble visible, since most of it is located in what would be the car's interior and undercarriage. Thankfully, the windows are transparent blue plastic instead of opaque, although there isn't any facsimile of an interior like there is on Jazz's movie figure.
Transformation is a little tricky at first, but after a few transformations you'll get the hang of it. It basically entails opening the doors, pulling the rear part of the car behind the hood in half, flipping the arms around, pulling the hood down to become his chest, and stretching the legs out fully. Like most TF movie figures, Bumblebee features "auto-morphing" technology, which involves pieces moving by themselves during transformation. For example, when you pull Bumblebee's legs to stretch them out, various pieces will rotate into place. His chest emblem is also supposed to flip up into place, but it doesn't work as well. Overall, the auto-morphing is a forgettable gimmick that only serves to make the figure more difficult to get back into vehicle mode.
The robot mode is surprisingly true to Bumblebee's onscreen appearance. Of course it's not exact, but it's about as close as a 6" figure, bound by the constraints of physical space, can be. There's even a faux bent license plate near the waist area, although the vehicle mode doesn't have a license plate. The doors pop out of the shoulders like wings, and the grill splits into multiple sections, just like in the movie.
Bumblebee is highly articulated, though what can truly be considered a point of articulation becomes fishy; some parts move simply for transformation purposes. He's got a balljoint at the neck, balljoints in the shoulders, peg biceps, hinged elbows, balljoints in the wrist, a balljoint in the waist (which is unfortunately rather loose), balljoints in the hips, multiple hinges in the knee area, hinged ankles, and hinged toes. Not too shabby by any means, although the looseness of the waist is a shame and interferes with posing.
For accessories, Bumblebee gets a gun that vaguely resembles his cannon from the film. It fits nicely in his hand, and stows between the legs in vehicle mode. It can be split apart and "auto morphed" into a transparent blue blade, which is cool but extraneous. It can be somewhat difficult to extricate from Bumblebee's vice-like grip, so be careful.
Fans had been waiting for this figure ever since its existence was revealed in the January '08 Previews catalog. It's just a repaint of the Camaro Concept mold, but then, so was Cliffjumper. And this one doesn't even have the benefit of being a fan-friendly retro callback. Why the excitement? Because this is the first Bumblebee to come with his "battle mask."
In the movie, when BB got in a major fight, a few panels from the top of his head slid forward - probably to protect his optics or something. And until now, the only merchandise with the mask was one of the little Robot Heroes figures. Fans expected that the $90 Ultimate Bumblebee would at least have this simple feature, but were met with disappointment. The mask is detailed nicely, it's just a shame we had to wait for a non-movie variant to get it.
Bumblebee is now black with yellow highlights, rather than yellow with black highlights. It makes for a very sharp appearance in both modes. His windows are still translucent blue, and he's even got the same cannon/stinger combo weapon (which is based off a scrapped design from the movie, not just something the designers pulled out of thin air). The robot limbs are grey, instead of black, and that makes them stand out well. And man, does the car ever look cool in "reverse" colors!
If you want the armored head but you don't like the Stealth Bumblebee color scheme, never fear: it's also available on the "Premium Series" Bumblebee, which is the name for the things that are supposed to be the most movie-accurate, or something. Usually it just means a few extra paint apps, and in a few cases they're anything but accurate. But the point is, an armored head on a yellow body is something you can get without doing your own headswap... but Stealth Bumblebee is pretty cool anyway.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 9.99 Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: Other
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