Review: #61
Name: Bumblebee
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: 2007 Movie
Year of Release: 2007
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 4)
Variations: repainted into Movie 2007 Cliffjumper, retooled into Movie 2007 Stealth Bumblebee and Premium Bumblebee (actually, just have a look at this page), retooled into ROTF Preview Bumblebee and Cannon Bumblebee, repainted into DOTM Walmart Bumblebee (plus probably countless others I forgot)
VEHICLE MODE:
Bumblebee transforms into the 2009 concept version of the Chevrolet Camaro, and it is an awesome design. The mold is great, nailing down all the details. Quite a few seams on the bonnet (even some holes) due to transformation though.
I liked how they bothered to add some paint at the rear instead of just focusing completely on the front. There are red taillights and silver exhausts, too bad the license plate is only molded in and not painted. The racing stripes also continues on.
You can see the Bumblebee squished into the car mode by peering underneath,and you'll realise that the vehicle mode is comprised of a bit shell.
The grill is well detailed, just the overall vehicle is excellent in terms of paint apps. However, that's also where some of the problem lies, the yellow plastic and the yellow paint on the transparent plastic bits (part of hood, part of back, and the doors) are mismatched. Granted, its very hard to for them to blend perfectly, but it's even more obvious here than on Cliffjumper.
I don't know if I'm used to it by now or what, but this time around, on Bumblebee, the visible heel pieces when viewed from the rear doesn't stand out as much.
Obviously, being a car, he rolls, and he rolls very well (better than my Cliffjumper in fact), but due to the fact that there is low clearance on his rear wheels (due to the way the feet are formed), it can be a bit rough rolling over carpet.
Size is decent, but has a hollow feel to it (due to the limbs not being bulky and blocky like the Classics line). It's a great car mode, and one that looks great on display. It's super realistic and one of the best vehicle modes on a Transformer.
TRANSFORMATION:
A bit complex and fiddly with a lot of panel shifting. However, the chest automorph breaks up the hood in a pretty cool manner, while the leg automorph is my favourite. By just pulling the leg down, the gears automatically form the leg, and it's really fun activating it. As with a lot of Transformers, going from vehicle to robot is easier than the reverse, since you would have to align everything correctly. The weapon storage is excellent and quite smart, and it doesn't impact the robot mode either. There are a lot of panels that are manipulated though, making it feels a tad bit like a shellformer (but it's not major).
ROBOT MODE:
Bumblebee's robot mode is excellent, and one of the best in the Movie line. Perhaps what's most surprising is that while the designer was restrained with the intention to mimick the complex CG design, they had done a great job. It's very accurate and replicates many of the intricate details of the design.
Considering how most of the robot is tucked into the car mode shell, and that Bumblebee has a lot of it hanging off his limbs, it's pretty good how the back is not too cluttered. It's probably because so many of the panels break up and fold upon each other.
They bothered to paint the license plate in robot mode (while it was blank in vehicle mode), as well as many other details on the figure.
Bumblebee's weapon can switch between a cannon or a blade. The blade has gears so that when you open each half, the blade extends out. My one actually had the gears stuffed up due to some extra plastic flash and I had to strip the gears. Anyway, this is a nice gimmick that they didn't need to add.
The gun is quite big, and it looks like Bumblebee is holding it instead of his hand morphing into it, it's just a super minor qualm and personal preference. The black plastic on Bumblebee looks really really nice, and it works well with the yellow.
There is a lot of paint highlighting molded details, which helped break up the black. Due to the automorph, the shins are hollow and at certain angles, you can see through them.
The head is accurate to to the design, but doesn't capture the essence of the character. It's still great but the black obscures many of the detail. The lightpiping doesn't work as well as you'd expect either.
The poseability is excellent, Bumblebee is only missing swivels in his legs, sporting only a knee hinge. Otherwise, he has 'rare' joints such as a waist balljoint, ankle hinge and wrist joints.
Bumblebee is tall for a deluxe (offset by his skinniness), and scales well with other characters.
A worthy robot mode for one of the most popular (and overdone now) characters of the movies.
OVERALL:
An awesome toy. The character may be overdone and overrated, but this toy is great and personally, no other Bumblebee toy produced in the latter movies are better than this one. This is a solid figure, with two great modes, good transformation (albeit a bit fiddly to get into robot mode) and fantastic weaponry. Highly recommended.
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