Transformers Studio Series Gamer Edition Bumblebee review

Bumblebee's role in the High Moon Studios Cybertron games is pretty big at first glance, but the fact that we'd later see him get a smaller role starting with Fall of Cybertron and later in Rise of the Dark Spark, a major contrast to his prominent in all of the TV shows we've seen from Prime, RID15, and the two Rescue Bots shows. I guess it's a tendency for Hasbro to reduce the guy's prominence after fans hated his oversaturation. Luckily, they realized their mistakes and began making fewer but better quality figures of the character in the Generations line, allowing us to get legitimate iterations of the guy in Studio Series, the WFC Trilogy, and even a proper Goldbug for Legacy. We'd also see the High Moon design make a return as a new figure after the 2010 Deluxe from the first ever wave of Generations Deluxes as well as it being made 10 years after the similarly-designed Thrilling 30 Legends toy. Let's see if this Bee is as good as Optimus or as bad as Barricade.

Here is Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. It's a Tron-cycle on all fours, and in a shape of a guacamole in a way. I love this altmode so much; it's got a very futuristic and alien look to it that feels like what I'd expect Bumblebee to turn into on Cybertron, moreso than his saucer mode. I love the linework combined with the red accents to go with the golden yellow and black paint apps. If you remember the altmode that Bumblebee had in his solo movie back on Cybertron, that was inspired by this alternate mode. And honestly, I love this one so much more. That design in the movie felt like it was made last-minute and had to go with the equally last-minute Cybertron setting while this altmode is a much stronger design overall. It feels more complete and refined, all while looking badass and adorable.

The general design of this guy is a win in my book, especially with the inclusion of pinned wheels that most transformers lack nowadays. And while the sides may seem like they're missing paint, that is not the case for this toy, which makes it kind of ironic that a figure that looks like it'd need those paint apps filled in in certain areas doesn't actually need them because of the source material.

The weapon storage on the back is pretty wonky, as it just has you slapping the bigger gun on tip while the smaller gun and dagger store on the back.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here is Bumblebee sandwiched in-between the last two Gamer Edition figures we covered previously, making him shorter than both Optimus Prime and Barricade. Their altmodes were already slam dunks, as they were pretty faithful to the CG models in spite of Optimus's visible fists and Barricade's...well, engineering, but you see what I mean with how great they all look!

Transformation is different from the original Deluxe made back in 2010, being somewhat easier to work with by comparison to the original's somewhat shellformer approach. This guy at least tries to integrate some of the vehicle into the robot mode, though it might end up making the design a little less accurate than I'd like. I should mention that the arms being on ball joints might make them come off as easily as the thighs on the original toy. What we end up with does look like WFC Bumblebee, but I can't help but feel the torso area is worse on this guy than on the original. While I do like that the front area still becomes the chest, it sticks out more and makes him look fatter than he already seemed. The beer gut that was perfect for Leadfoot in Dark of the Moon looks rather out of place on this guy, and it doesn't help by the fact that the design, already having a stylized appearance with lankier legs and arms that gain bulk below the elbows thanks to the wheels, attempts to avoid this issue. At the very least, the backpack is less prominent from the front, but I should say that I wish the lower legs would tab in more securely

His head is well-sculpted and captures his more stylized take on the G1 look, making it look somewhat modern without being too Evergreen and making it look like it'd either sound like Johnny Yong Bosch or remain mute in the sequel, Fall of Cybertron. Luckily, there is no light-piping that gets neutered because of the painted eyes. His articulation consists of ball joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips, swivels at the biceps and thighs, hinges at the elbows, knees, and slightly for the ankles.

His accessories are plentiful for display options, with a dagger that is sort of like the blades he had on the old toy, but rather than come with a pistol, he has two alternate arm cannons that can be swapped out to represent the weapon-swapping gimmick seen in the game whenever you're altering between different forms of firepower. One is an Energon battle pistol with a narrow barrel, while the other is a meaty plasma cannon; both are blast-effect compatible.

Already, we got a reuse for this guy, and it's Cliffjumper. While he doesn't have the inverted red and yellow coloring from Bumblebee (apart from the Autobot insignia), he does gain a retooled head this time around, which is neither a G1 head or a RedBee noggin, but instead the design inspired by his appearance in Transformers Prime! AKA the best Cliffjumper head of all time! And it's cool how you don't have to swap it with any CJ head as it's already accurate to the aesthetics!

Here we have Bumblebee in-between the same characters again but in robot mode. He may be the first Gamer Edition figure, but so far, I'd rank him in second place. He's not as good as Optimus Prime, but he's still better than Barricade. If he was a little more sturdy and his torso better modified, I'd like it more than I currently do.

His original figure was probably one that would still be held with such regard, and I can see why with the engineering and features it has. I wouldn't mind getting him to scale with some Planet X guys if I ever decide to get those guys, but we'll see. For now, Gamer Edition Bumblebee's a decent figure that could use a few more improvements.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐