The Walmart Netflix line seemed like it'd be pretty needless when it comes to the repaints. Apart from Scrapface being a unique redeco of Reflector/Refraktor, Mirage being a Decepticon disguise, Megatron having a silver shine to him along with some Battlemasters, and Hotlink representing another unique Seeker, all you had was just battle-damaged versions of Sideswipe, Hound, Chromia, and Magnus, some of which were already shelfwarming on prior shelves. Wave 2 brought in the repaints yet again with Wheeljack losing his sponsors, Impactor being show-accurate yet still having an Autobot insignia, and Red Alert getting damage, it wasn't until we get to the likes of Bumblebee, Elita-1, and Soundwave where things get a little more interesting. Sadly, not everyone will find it easy to get any of these characters at the same time, so be ready to have Walmarts stuck with the straight redecoes. Thankfully, I got these guys, and it's time to see what this trio of Walmart dudes have to offer!
Transformation is the same as with Arcee, and the robot mode works the same as before. The colors of the figure are not only made specifically for her, but the figure is also retooled around the chest, shoulders, waist, and head. The backpack retains the same functions as the Arcee figure, including getting removed and becomes a hoverboard.
Here we have Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. He is an actual Volkswagen Beetle and one that is officially licensed. That's right, aside from being officially labeled as a Beetle in the recent G1 reissue, both Masterpieces, and the 2018 movie, this figure is one of the rarest instances where a Generations figure based on a G1 Transformer has the honor to use a license from another brand. This guy looks very good in vehicle mode, the coloring of the yellow is rich, the paint apps are nicely picked out, and the clear blue windows look beautiful! While I'm someone that prefers muscle cars and exotics, this is a vehicle I have a soft spot for, what with me liking Beetles more than other small cars as well as me seeing the old car once in a while whether it's in my city or when I visited Mexico.
It's a pretty nice take of the guy, and I think it's great that Hasbro went with making Bumblebee a VW Beetle rather than using a genericized hatchback or using the same body with Cliffjumper! The tabs are slightly longer and do leave some crevices, but it's still a gorgeous car mode.
He can still do the same sort of ski mode that Cliffjumper did. I think it makes sense for CJ given how he handled the task, but Bumblebee makes it work for a different reason: it's got that quirky character attribute I'd expect from Herbie the Love Bug or Bumblebee himself.
Here he is next to Titans Return Bumblebee from 2016. That figure wasn't terrible for what it was, and I did paint the rims to make it feel more complete like the Legends version, but the WFC Netflix Bumblebee feels more like what G1 Bumblebee would take the form of. That Titans Return figure does look like it's mimicking the Classics Deluxe (which is a pretty cool toy and still better than either figure in some ways), but it looks a little too much like a Hot Wheels car while the Siege figure feels more convincing for Bee's altmode given how he's portrayed as a nice guy with adventure in mind.
Here he is next to the figure he was retooled from, that being Cliffjumper. These two are definitely great to own, but what's surprising is the fact that Cliffjumper's the first figure to come out of the line while Bumblebee was the later reuse! Still, it's great to see that they have different vehicles from one another, especially when one would expect Bumblebee to be the one to come first and not have the Beetle mode.
Their functionality's mostly the same, though while CJ has a 5mm hole on the top, Bumblebee does not, meaning that he's able to instead use an alternate method of weapon integration. What you use is detach the back, use the arms to hinge them up, and slide the cannon in. It's not too great, but it does make sense for Bumblebee's quirks.
Here he is next to Studio Series VW Bumblebee from the 2018 lineup. Do note that my Bee's got sharpie for the windows to hide the car parts...not the best look but it was something I did at the time (I'll be sure to not do that with the version with rusty paint apps and leave this one in vehicle mode.
Transformation is the same as Cliffjumper's, which is not a bad thing in my mind. The robot mode itself also brings Bumblebee in his G1 design much closer than before. I know some will say that the proportions aren't 100% perfect to the G1 cartoon and all that shit, but I like how this guy looks overall. He's so much leaner and refined by comparison, but one thing that feels missing is the Autobot insignia on his chest. I didn't mind it so much with Cliffjumper because he already had one that'd clash with the one in vehicle mode on the hood, but this one's pretty much in need of more details to break it up. Beyond that, he's more than just a color swap of Cliffjumper and he looks the part overall!
Head sculpt is undoubtedly Bumblebee, and while he may have a stern face on him (still better than the face he has in WFC), this may very well be the best G1 Bumblebee face of all time!...that is unless you bring in the Classics one which I think looks even better. The articulation is the same as with Cliffjumper, which includes the wrist swivels, waist swivel, and ankle pivots not found on past Legends-sized figures. His arm cannon is also the same in terms of functionality, meaning you can break up the pieces and have him either have two cannons with ammo or a baton of sorts.
Here he is with Cliffjumper for a robot mode comparison. While the arms and legs have the same tooling, the entire vehicle mode shell is different from one another as well as having unique heads from one another. While one would find the head designs the same at a first glance, Hasbro was smart enough to give CJ the more refined head and Bumblebee the more chubby head. Also interesting that Cliffjumper has red shoulders and a black groin while Bumblebee has black shoulders and a yellow groin.
It's kind of funny how Bumblebee's back is flat while his chest is bigger, which is the vice and versa for Cliffjumper.
The cannons are the same in terms of sculpting, though Bee's cannon is slightly darker and he lacks the silver on the back.
Here is Bumblebee next to the other versions of the character. They consist of the Classics Deluxe, both MP versions of the characters, and the Universe Legends figure. Bumblebee's old Deluxe is pretty awesome if you ask me, especially considering how it reinvented the old character in a design that's pretty badass, and his size and price at the time made him have quite the value for money. Both MPs may fit in nicely with the other figures from the same line, but the first MP's may have had some slightly odd proportions for the robot mode. The new MP Bee may have a closer design to the cartoon, but man does it have a poor attempt at hiding kibble! The Universe Legends figure is neat for what it is.
Comparing these two guys is night and day. Titans Return Bumblebee may have been pretty great to own for the size, but the Netflix figure has much more engineering in mind as well as a better design overall. Plus I like the yellow on him better.
Still, this guy works way better than the old figure, though I'd keep the Legends figure just for a different display.
And after seemingly only having a one-shot use, we finally got a Goldbug out of the Beetle retool! The vehicle mode is coated in a beautiful shade of golden paint, while he has the Shattered Glass head with the appropriate blue visor. Even the windows are cast in a darker color to compliment the car. He's included in the Buzzworthy Bumblebee Creatures Collide 4-pack with Ransack (Legacy Kickback retool), Skywasp (Waspinator recolor with new robot head), and Scorponok (toy color redeco with mutant mask head). Once again, the Autobot is outnumbered.
Now here he is with a handful of Autobots in the team, with three other Earthrise guys and two Siege guys. Bumblebee is a great figure to own in the line even if the price tag is still a little too high for him. I've made piece with the problems I had with Cliffjumper because of what they offer, they're great additions to the line if you ask me. Still, try and find him at your Walmart rather than go on eBay and get in bidding wars.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And finally, it's Soundwave! This guy's back in his tape player mode, which may seem a little out of place compared to all the cars, vans, trucks, jets, tanks, etc. Still, it works for him because if he's going to keep the design he's known for in G1, might as well keep his altmode. The figure has some nice details from the paint apps, such as the right and left speakers, the buttons on the bottom, the gold and blue paint, the silver around most of it, and it looks the part! I do wish that the bottom part and what covers the feet are painted silver, but it's still good nonetheless! I think this guy and the G1 version would mostly look identical.
The back has nothing much to write home about, but it does allow you to store the weapons. Still not as neat like how the G1 toy did it.
The tape deck can be opened with a spring-loaded button, and you can add your Cassetticons in there!
You can place Ravage on the top with the 5mm hole he has, but it's only because he has nowhere else to go unless this was like Soundblaster.
Here he is with his Siege form, which is yet another night and day scenario. I mean, their alt modes are obviously different from one another, and honestly, I'm fine that Soundwave's in his tape-player mode because they're not going to make the design work with a new altmode unless his design was compromised. At least with Tank Megatron, the design in the WFC line (and even Combiner Wars as well as Titans Return) still looks great with the tank mode!
You can sort-of create a tape-player mode for Soundwave, though it's moreso a Cybertronian boombox with no dedicated tabs. Also doesn't convey as much of a refined look as the Netflix figure.
Transforming Soundwave is somewhat different from the Siege figure, as the new pieces like the actual button layout from the previous mode are now placed in the back, the arms attach differently, there are no pieces from the back that make a backpack like with the Siege figure, etc. Some may find that the new Generations figures are nothing but G1 with knees, but in the case of Soundwave, I think it works in his favor because if he can't work in any other way, might as well make him be in his old design but with a few more modern traits in terms of toy-engineering. The robot mode may not be in the same exact proportions of the MP figure, but he's still a pretty good take on the mini-MP approach that Generations is making. He's clean compared to most of the WFC line, he's faithful to the old design, and he's got everything I'd want for a good Soundwave that's meant to be a new take on the old toy.
Head sculpt looks on-point to Soundwave, though I do question how the paint apps turned out with the scuffs on it. Also, his eyes are red instead of yellow like in the Siege version. The articulation is the same as the Siege figure and pretty much every WFC figure made. His accessories can help complete the G1 look he has, though he retains the same gun that looks like it's part of Megatron yet again.
Here we have Laserbeak and Ravage. I was going to cover them in a separate review, but I thought why not do it here. Laserbeak appears to just have more paint apps than the Siege form, but Ravage has been retooled to give him a more cassette look to him. Also is it me, or do the Decepticon insignia and the MC 60 A decal appear to be stickers?
Transformations for them are more-or-less the same as with the G1 guys, but no partsforming is needed. Laserbeak looks pretty solid overall, but Ravage ends up looking a lot chunkier and undefined than he should be. Quite the opposite of the G1 toy being flat as hell.
Here they are next to the Siege versions. Only Laserbeak has a new head and new paint apps while Ravage seems to have new parts to him. Their heads aren't that noticeably different from one another, though.
A reuse of this toy finally exists in the form of the shattered Glass line. Replacing the Netflix retools for Laserbeak and Ravage are the Siege versions. Be sure to keep your Soundwave away from the sun or else it'll yellow!!!
Here we have Netflix Soundwave next to his Siege form. As far as reused parts go, only the waist flaps, forearms, and weapons are the same as on the Siege version; everything else is significantly different from one another and it makes the toy stand out a whole lot more than you'd think! It also gives me a new appreciation for the G1 with knees approach for this guy because at least he doesn't have as much clutter on him as the Siegewave guy did. His torso could be a little less wide, but I can live with it.
And here is Soundwave in-between Megatron and Starscream from the Earthrise line. I'm pretty happy to have two versions of the main G1 Decepticon trio, because man do these three look good with one another! Even as someone who's not a big G1 fan, I do like that these three feel like they belong in the same line, which before then, Classics Megatron had the big wings and Nerf design while Starscream was too small; as for Soundwave, he had no Classics figure and instead had to resort with the Music Label toy that was far too expensive for what it offered. I wouldn't mind getting Combiner Wars Starscream and Titans Return Soundwave to go with CW Megs, but I'm happy with what Siege and Earthrise offered. I bet we'll get a Soundwave to go with Starscream and Megatron for the Core guys.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And that covers my look at these three! Obviously, Elita-1 was already going to be weak, but Bumblebee and Soundwave end up being awesome overall! I'm quite happy with at least giving attention to the Walmart line, but now it's time to wonder what's to come in the near future in terms of good repaints and big surprises.
Wait you want more Netflix repaints? Here's Mirage, who's pretty cool for a repaint. The figure was already cool, but having him in a Decepticon redeco that's worth buying compared to most of the WFC line is pretty awesome!
Compared to the regular version, he's opaque, war-driven, and is certainly sus among the Decepticons.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here is Hotlink, who I already covered in the Earthrise Seeker review but I shall retcon that and make Skywarp be in that review via time-travel! He's a Skywarp-esque repaint that can somewhat help you justify owning him and not getting Skywarp, and hell, you can paint him to be closer to Warpy, but he certainly doesn't have that exact feel nonetheless. Along with the Null-Rays, but his Battlemasters Heartburn and Heatscorch can accompany him and help him recreate his flamethrower from G1.
Here are the Battlemasters mentioned previously. Yes, they're similar to one another in terms of coloring, but hey, they can look good as guns or a flamethrower.
Here are the gun modes. They're repainted from Blowpipe and were reused into Trenchfoot, Aimless, and Shrute (the latter two having different barrels).
Here is the comparison between the two black and purple jets. Yeah, I'm ready to obtain the primary-colored seekers in the form of Red Wing and the Rainmakers.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here is Optimus Prime, a reuse of the Earthrise figure that has darker blues, maybe slightly altered reds, and gray clear parts. The robot mode looks better with the eyes and the middle yellow crotch piece, and the parts that connect to each other in the robot legs blend in much better! The blue shoulder, elbow, and hip joints look out of place, but what does suck is that the gun's bent at the barrel! Why?!
Anyways that's okay because he's got these two partners! Meet Enerax (reuse of Pteraxadon and Terror-Daxtyl) and Sheeldron (reuse of Soundbarrier). Their colors are bright yellow, but the clear parts work so well and help them pop among the darker colors of Optimus Prime!
Here are the weapon modes, giving us, as their names implies, an ax and a shield! (Enerax can also be a blaster while Sheeldron can connect to ramps
They look pretty cool, and they pop nicely among the rest of Prime! It also helps that he's known to use an ax from time to time as well as a shield every less once in a while. Compared to the regular Earthrise Optimus Prime, I like the colors on the Netflix version better as well as the more prominent eyes, but if you don't feel content with paying 55 dollars for an Optimus Prime that has a trailer that feels underwhelming, this version is a great alternative!
Here he is next to the Generations Selects G2 Megatron, which made me consider having the Netflix Prime be my G2 Optimus in a way (though I expect Hasbro to make a Leader Class G2 Optimus Prime with the black trailer and proper guns).
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And here is the entire collection of Walmart repaints I own. I don't own Scrapface, the Leaders, and the battle-damaged Deluxes, though I do want to get Megatron because he was one I always wanted so I can then repurpose the regular Siege figure as the miner version a la IDW. It is neat to have the Walmart line get acknowledged in some capacity, but it is a sign that I only obsess with the more distinct repaints.
Overall Ranking of the Walmart line: ⭐⭐⭐.6 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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