Transformers Legacy Evolution Bombshell review

Last year, Kickback rebooted the Insecticon trio for the Deluxe scale after the Prime Wars (with the previous Thrilling 30 line) making Legends-scale versions of them. Earlier in the year, Shrapnel got to complete the second third of the team. Rather than wait for United to complete the Insecticons, Bombshell only popped up in the second wave made after Shrapnel's. It's not only great to finally have this trio completed, but it is interesting to see how fast it took to obtain him. Character-wise, not much else to say about this guy beyond his cerebro-shell ability. But moving on from that, let's review Bombshell!

Here is Bombshell in his insect mode. We've got him as a rhinoceros beetle as one would expect with the silver horn, the vaguely yellow eyes, stubby legs, and how rounded the body looks overall. The extra insect legs are left on the bottom as they should, and they are a little more synergized than what we got with Shrapnel.

In general, this is a pretty faithful take on the old bug bot, down to the paint app representing the sticker. Oh and the gun can be stored on the abdomen but not in the bottom compared to Shrapnel and Kickback..

For a bug mode size comparison, here he is between Shrapnel and Kickback. Obviously, we first had the more unique grasshopper alt mode that Kickback is known for, while Shrapnel and Bombshell both turn into beetles (one stag-themed, the other rhinoceros-themed). And perhaps the fact that Shrap and Bomb are both beetles led Hasbro to heavily retool the former into the latter, or rather, develop both of them simultaneously while the legs remain made for both characters. Just swap the paint apps around and the plastic colors for a slightly different effect. It's not like Breakdown where he had been significantly less retooling from Wildrider when he should, so I don't mind how it's done here. Especially since the upper bodies were going to be different anyhow.

Transformation is mostly the same as with Shrapnel for the lower legs, but the arms hinge forwards while the bug horn hinges and opens to reveal the robot face. The rest of the figure is pretty spot-on to the character model, down to the color scheme and the short horn that was prominent for the cartoon. There is a flap on the back, but that is meant to likely stop the horn from going all the way back. Apparently, the chest is supposed to be gray like in the cartoon, but that was physically impossible anyhow and who cares, the purple looks better.

Head sculpt is the most distinct out of the three, with the knight helmet grille mouthplate almost making a devious grin with the shape of his eyes. If you pull the helmet all the way back, it does look comedically incomplete and makes him look bald. Also appreciate the golden yellow paint app on the helmet thing. His articulation is a neck swivel, shoulders that move front and back, in and out (with the insect legs hinging out of the way), bicep swivels, elbow bends, slight wrist curling due to transformation, waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, double-jointed knees, and ankle pivots. He can hold his gun in his hand as expected.

For a robot mode comparison, here he is (showcasing the Evo-Fusion gimmick) with Shrapnel and Kickback once again. We finally got a complete set of Insecticons! Glad that's over with because while they aren't ground-breaking characters as G1 is pretty much a massive toy commercial, but it is great to see these get the Deluxe treatment similarly to the G1 Minibots (apart from Wheelie), so this will be a great way to wrap up these perfectly serviceable Minibots.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐