Here we have Laserbeak in his vehicle mode. Though he obviously never transformed into a Camaro in the movie with the disguise, may as well do it as a Minicon if he could turn into a tiny car. The altmode itself deviates from Bumblebee's modifications for the prop car, with the rims almost matching the proper ones yet they should be more gunmetal, the inside of the logo should be gold, embossed CAMARO SS on the sides that should be left blank, and the race car window nets that are out of place for this car. The stripes are not accurate since they use the Movie the Best layout instead of the proper DOTM ones. Laserbeak's shade of pink looks good, though he does suffer from the middle portion where the logo is molded having some mismatching thanks to the black plastic.
He has a cannon that can peg on top of the roof with a concealable weapon port, and the rear windows have Stealth Force blasters that are decently hidden away.
For a Camaro comparison, here we have the cheap knockoff vs the original. I wonder how Bumblebee felt about Laserbeak copying him before Stinger did? Anyways, it feels amusing to see the iconic Camaro in a color that is neither yellow nor black.
Transformation is about the same as the HFTD version, though the abs transform differently to simulate the new torso he has in the movie, the windows flip out since he had the nets in altmode (and no, snipping them won't help since the doors don't close), and the lower legs have no additional joint. Robot mode is standard for Bumblebee figures made during the original Bayverse trilogy, though with the many retools done to the Camaro Concept mold we got as far back as 2007, combined with the new molds for Human Alliance and Battle Blade, does this figure add anything new to the mix? Not entirely. Transformation is nothing new, and while the abs matching his tweaked look combined with the thinner forearms may be different, it isn't that much of a leap from what we got between 2007 and 2010. Not terrible, but I wouldn't blame you if you got the Battle Blade version and skipped this mold. I do wish he had the DOTM stripes to better match the movie.
His head sculpt is a bit simpler than the HFTD version with no battle mask, but the light-piping is good and arguably better than on Battle Blade Bumblebee! The articulation is the same as we previously got but the thumbs barely move. His cannon can peg on the forearms, though clearly he could use a proper blaster instead of an unpainted Leadfoot gun.
As far as his prior uses go, they're all Bumblebees. The common DOTM version is fine, though he could use some paint in addition to tighter joints for a hunk of MechTech weaponry like that. He also needs more paint or proper color break up in the shins.
Cyberfire Bumblebee one of the coolest Bumblebee repaints we've seen Hasbro make, and I would have loved getting this in a different mold just to have some DOTM nostalgia. The Murderbee concept beats the typical inverted colors Hasbro uses, and giving him a battle mask would make him a Shattered Glass Bayverse Goldbug.
Streetside Bot Brawl gives Bee lighter gray plastic, evil clear plastics, battle damage, and Skids's weapon. He was included with a damaged Prime and a gray Shockwave.
Neo-Scanning Bumblebee paints most of his parts with gunmetal and casts his yellow in rally yellow instead of the typical honey yellow most of his toys are known for.the stripes are now different from the norm of DOTM Bees.
The Movie the Best version gives the Neo Scanning version the proper shade of yellow, an Autobot insignia on the forehead, and paint apps on the shins. That's it. Sadly, Laserbeak lacks these paint apps. Not even the silver on the gun.
As for the ones you probably never get, we got a special silver chrome Bee for Asian contests, Tritanium Bumblebee courtesy of TakaraTomy, and a canceled Movie Trilogy repaint that never got the Movie Advanced treatment. Probably for the best since Takara gave us a metallic Battle Blade Bumblebee.
Speaking of Battle Blade, he's shorter than even him! It's chalked up to the longer neck and the downscaling of Transformers during this time. The forearm guards look better, but that's only because he lacks weapon integration. The smaller head on DOTM Bee does seem like a response to the previous toy's head popping off too easily, but it looks a bit undersized on him than with the older Deluxe. Generally speaking, if you got the Battle Blade Bumblebee, you don't need the DOTM version.
As for those who want Laserbeak instead, here he is with the Core Class version! While the smaller dude is meant to go with your Studio Series toys, how about the Deluxe version?
My solution is this: put him in your 1/12 scale collection! It's not perfect, but it at least makes for an unofficial but fun way to do crossovers with a version of Soundwave's deadly vulture. So while you're not going to need another Bee if you're happy with Studio Series, MPM, or Battle Blade (unless you're a Beehive completionist), Laserbeak makes for a cool one-off repaint that justified getting a fairly common mold. The pink gives him that identity, and he should be fairly easy to get online. Just be ready to pay more than what Deluxes today go for since he's niche.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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