Here we have Bumblebee in his vehicle mode, loosely inspired by old G1 media's chibi proportions of a Volkswagen Beetle. While not licensed to look almost like the Volkswagen Beetle we saw from the G1 toy, it's easier to say that the front resembles the vehicle mode decently well, while the roof and back section don't. Those latter details better resemble the Mazda Familia better associated with Bumper, a random Minibot who was a slightly different altmode from Cliffjumper but was yellow like Bumblebee. At least here, we have a bit of a Beetle influence for the front section to help it match the character model, and I'm sure we can get third-party upgrades to turn this into either a full-on Beetle or a Mazda Familia. The sculpted details are on the stylized side this time around, but I do like the slightly gold headlights and the red Autobot insignia on the hood to go with the silver rims.
Overall, the vehicle mode is not as detailed as an actual Beetle, but it looks the part fairly well. That being said, I know Hasbro Pulse talked about the fact that the windows are black because some parts are made on the same sprue as the parts that are actually molded black. While I know this will cause some OCD problems for anyone who prefers the cartoon baby blue windows, the black still looks good given how it a look from the old toy, and yellow and black fit perfectly. Duh. That being said, the molded yellow in-between the windows, and the painted yellow areas on the windshield, do not match the rest of the alt mode that well. At least the wheels are pinned.
There isn't a wheel on the back to complete the look, but there is part to store the gun on the back if you vaguely want him to shoot at anyone on the right side from behind.
For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is in between the Netflix version and the Buzzworthy Core Class versions we previously had. Surprisingly, he's slightly taller than the Netflix version, even though he is shorter than the other two. I do prefer the shade of yellow associated with this Bumblebee than on the Netflix version, whose honey yellow works much better on Bayverse Bee instead. The resemblance to Bumper's Mazda Familia on the Core Class version is stronger than on the SS86 version, making the most recent toy feel like a happy marriage between both altmode types.
Transformation is thankfully without partsforming for the back section AND does not borrow any parts or engineering from the Netflix version whatsoever. No requirement for waist rotation, the vehicle parts holding the arms hinge downwards rather than upwards for transformation, and the legs transform similarly but not identically to the original Netflix version. The resulting robot mode is fairly close to the classic character model, albeit with proportion deviations like the size of the feet as well as the tires remaining exposed. Regardless, I love how the design turned out for the bot mode, especially given how he doesn't look as wide as the Netflix version. In fact, I'm not super against how the size of the feet look here since they at least remind me of the boot-like feet he had in Transformers Devastation, aka the last good game we got. He could use a spare tire on the back but the rest of the body works well.
His head sculpt looks good, and I like the slightly larger eyes. I do wish his expression was a little happier than it currently is, though. His articulation consists of ball joints at the neck and shoulders, swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, and universal joints for the hips as well as rockers for the ankles. This grants him some pretty effective posing potential despite the ankle joints being higher up.
Here he is with some other Bumblebees in the past that we got. My Netflix Bee has the Autobot insignia placed on the chest since it never had it originally. I like the new version better given how it captures the character model much better this time around, especially since the Netflix version came off as being a little wider while the Core Class version is amusingly just there. I didn't want to retire the Netflix version right away because of the alt mode being a proper Beetle...
...and that led to the realization I got while bringing out Legacy Buzzworthy Goldbug! While I could use the new SS86 version as regular Bumblebee, the original tooling can instead be reserved for the upgraded design he'd later get near the end of Season 3! It's a good thing I have the back kibble over the head like this since it captures the Throttlebot aesthetics pretty well. I think this is how these two will be depicted on my G1 CHUG display.
And here he is with the other Season 1 Minibots we got so far, minus Windcharger because he never had an updated toy since 2019. He scales pretty well with everyone else, and while he could be seen as comparable to some next to Cliffjumper, I do find the whole single pistol approach of the accessories compared to Cliffjumper's customizable bazooka to not quite justify the price you'd normally pay for this guy. Like fellow A-Level Optimus Prime (from Transformers One), he doesn't really seem that worth the so-called affordability Hasbro boasted about given how lacking he can be in some areas compared to others. He is a good figure, but not $25 good. If he came with a non-poseable minifigure of Spike and a spare wheel to go on the back, I think he'd be a little easier to justify rather than just coming with the generic Autobot gun.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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