Here is Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. It's a very nicely done vehicle mode with all of the benefits that make for a real-life vehicle translated into an alternate mode that's done up very well. While Bumblebee being a Beetle is an obvious callback to G1, I will at least say that the altmode makes sense for when he's a younger scout before we saw him in his tall, blonde, and gorgeous days as a Camaro. And while we have seen tons of Beetles in the toyline after 2014, it was great that the first MP figure made one and also looked accurate to the proportions of the Beetle. That, along with the entirety of the Bumblebee movie Beetles, and the Earthrise Netflix Deluxe were able to make the most out of having VW-accurate Beetles overall.
Thankfully, unlike the Studio Series version, it has more paint apps to complete its look in addition to having both the wheels complete overall, and the blue-tinted windows hide the robot kibble that is present in the original toy. I don't like how the fade effect for the back of the vehicle isn't consistent with the rest of the vehicle, specifically the part that connects to the rear arch.
The weapon storage of this figure isn't as elegant as what Camarobee has, as this figure has you attach the gatling gun, blade, and mask in a single clump of parts that peg onto the rear bumper. Nowhere near as cool as the original Camaro toy's weapon storage from underneath.
For a size comparison, I think these two look great together, showing Bumblebee in his youth before we see him in his older age 2 decades later. I think it'll be a more effective display if the Classic Camaro was put next to this guy, both in reference to the transition of vehicles Bee had from beginning to end in his solo movie and him eventually slapping it with his door after being frustrated with how limited his altmode felt. Either way, these two look great in vehicle mode, with one b being a very classy Beetle while the other is a badass Camaro.
Transformation is very complex, just as much, if not moreso, as his Camaro counterpart. Some of the details end up deviating themselves entirely from what the on-screen model would have for its own CGI design. For example, the doors are prominent from the back, and the tires stick out even more than they did on the CGI model. The leg transformation is especially precise with where parts have to go, and it also takes a few similar cues from the way the previous MPM worked. In fact, this guy's pretty much similar in terms of how the Camarobee transformed, but without as many clever trucks as some of the steps do feel closer to the Studio Series toy, mainly with the chest and backpack. As for the robot mode...I'mma be honest and say that it's a mixed bag. Bumblebee's design is fairly rounded in the movie, as it goes for a smoother look compared to his Camaro design, but the kibble placement does make things a little inaccurate. To his credit, his legs clean up better than the Studio Series figure, but his back transforms almost identically to it without the frustrating lack of clearance. Annoyingly, the wheels stick out from the back even more than on either version, and it doesn't help that they obscure the door wings! The chest being faux in the middle is fine, though it is a little odd how the bumper pieces on the pecs are also faux when they weren't on the Studio Series toy. Also is it me or does he feel flat from the front? It looks better in-hand than in-person, but it's still weird.
Head sculpt is pretty close to how Bumblebee would look in the movie, but I can't deny that the details look a little soft-focused. In fact, the headsculpt as a whole feels off. It's almost like they upscaled the head of the Deluxe toy and added some minor light-piping. It doesn't even make the Autobot insigniar look properly embossed. The outline for the helmet being in gunmetal is appreciative, but it's a little too thick and it looks like someone used the wrong size Gundam marker.Even the face doesn't feel like it's painted all the way, seeing how it stops between the front of it and the cheek guards. The face also has some smoother details on it, which would look better on a Deluxe than here. All in all, a strange head sculpt. The articulation is a strong part of this toy, though. His head is on a hinge and ball joint, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, a bicep swivel on an elbow that is actually single-jointed and not double-jointed. His hands can swivel somewhat while the finger articulation has a thumb swivel, a hinge for one knuckle, and the three fingers have the trigger finger as more articulated while the middle and pinky are individually articulated yet have have the same grasping pose. His waist can swivel, his hips are on ratchets front and back as well as hinge in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees have two points, and the ankles can pivot while the front of the feet can hinge up slightly.
The accessories of this figure are definitely plentiful than on the original Camarobee, seeing how he has his stinger blaster with an impressive size and paint apps applied onto it in addition to his arm blade looking badass in length in addition to how the arm opens up. The latter pegs on normally while the former has you attach the weapon from the inner side of the forearm while the fingers slide into the barrel. His cranium can be replaced with a battle mask, something I definitely don't approve because you'll lose them both if you're not careful! Oh and he has a feature similar to the G1 Seekers where his chest can open up and reveal missile pods that were missing in the movie unlike the yesmanisms of Travis Knight. It's a random accessory but at least they're painted.
For weapon storage, the craniums can peg onto the doors while the inner wings have tabs meant for the weapons as they hide under the wheel arches of the vehicle mode.
For a size comparison, here he is with his Camaro self, a form he'll receive 20 years later. I love the original MPM Bumblebee for how much it improved on the Bumblebee formula that was already there with the Human Alliance and HFTD figures, making a sleeker, refined toy that captured the CGI model beautifully. After tons of previous iterations of limited accuracy and then the budget cuts of 2011-4, it felt great to not just have the best Bumblebee from the movies, but to see its engineering passed on to the TLK Deluxe and the Studio Series line. The VW guy at least tries to be a creative toy, but honestly, with how nonsensicle the VW Bumblebee transformed in terms of what parts go where, and the fact that it didn't really look like it was rigged for transformation in mind, so it's no surprise that the MPM Beetle guy falls short to many. That being said, I like posing and transforming him, even if Camarobee manages to be the stronger release. It also doesn't help that he's gotten trial and error compared to VW Bee. At least the size between the two makes sense.
Overall, this figure is a decent addition in the MPM line, not being as good as Camarobee but still being solid as far as engineering and accuracy are concerned. He's a toy I'd recommend if you never got any of the othe Beetle boys from third party companies.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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