Hey, readers! I do apologize for not using this site as much as I intended, but I feel that it's time to delve into some action figure reviews that I wanted to discuss here, especially if social media like Twitter or Instagram may not be the best way to share my thoughts on what I bought recently.
The Transformers films have seen multiple Bumblebee figures for more than 10 years, and a lot of them tend to be repainted frequently. Fans have shown their frustration with the constant variants of the yellow character unless it's a new mold, but Bumblebee's yellow saturation for the past couple of toylines made it hard to get excited for him. Yes, he's a kid-appeal character, and yes there has been less Bumblebee toys over time, but given the release of his solo movie and the broader kid appeal focus he had in Cyberverse than in Robots in Disguise 2015, one can see where fans are making their point. The movie toys are very well known for having up to 5 Bumblebees in the mix, but in terms of the Studio Series line, Hasbro opted to make them (mostly) stick in the movie appearances for the most part than repaint them in all shades of yellow and black. And the figure we'll be taking a look at is Transformers Studio Series Bumblebee!
The Studio Series version of Bumblebee takes us back to 2007, where we see him in the initially prominent Classic Camaro alt mode that Sam bought at Bobby Bolivia's car shop. As far as the alt mode details go, it's accurate to the alt mode that he had initially, but the deco is a lot cleaner.
While not a dealbreaker for fans that want a cleaner alt mode for the Bumblebee movie, Bumblebee was supposed to look worn out, or as Sam and Bobby called it in the movie, have custom faded paint. Both TakaraTomy's Lucky Draw Bumblebee and the Clunker Bumblebee will bring in the damaged deco in their own ways, though some will feel the first Bumblebee should have had it sooner.
The included arm cannon plugs into the rear bumper of the alt mode, which is strange to see since it doesn't look that effective for a display option.
Compared to the original Classic Camaro mold, we have opaque windows yet these windows are not tinted enough to hide the robot parts. The battle damage deco isn't as apparent on the original version but is at least there, unlike the Studio Series version. The grill is black on the original but silver on the Studio Series version. The silver looks nice yet isn't accurate. The rims are also different on the original version due to the front tires using the 5mm posts with the missile launchers; the Studio Series version is much more accurate. Also, the original version was a larger toy than the Studio Series version, a common aspect of older figures compared to modern ones.
It should be noted that reviewers complained about early copies of the figure, who said that they had quality control issues with the loose joints or floppy backpack. My copy and a majority of reviews made after the initial orders of Wave 1 point out that the toy had no quality control problems whatsoever. While some reviewers were legitimate on their quality control (considering that this is a general retail toy), I felt that some reviewers exaggerated the tolerances of the toy. Not every reviewer is like that, but there are some that have dug deep into the third party market for too long but bash general retail toys unfairly. Bumblebee did get better quality control in later releases, but the Clunker repaint came with a pin for the rooftop.
The robot mode looks pretty good in terms of screen accuracy, with a much better appearance in mind than before, especially considering this is the second time Hasbro made a classic Camaro Bumblebee in history. The chest is more proportionate, the limbs aren't toyish, and the wings aren't as tiny as before. I do wish the shoulders had more yellow paint to make them feel more complete, and I also wish that there was less drab gray plastic.
Here is a comparison between the original toy (left), Studio Series Deluxe (center), and the character art (right). For a Deluxe figure that's smaller than usual, the accuracy of the toy looks much better than the original one, even though the torso's not as broad and the head should be a bit bigger. The faux robot grill is solid black this time, though I would love to see some added yellow paint to distinguish it from the rest of the plastic.
The side profile of the robot mode is the typical backpack Bumblebee figures have, which consists of the hood, front windshield, and rear windshield, though at least it does fold up well enough. The wings are farther back than they should be, owing to how the toy transforms within its budget. The toy looks good from the back, though the grill does obscure the back of the robot head. Also compared to most Bumblebees, the rear portion of the vehicle mode rotates 90 degrees instead of hinging upward like on previous Bumblebees, once again a feature introduced on the TLK Deluxe. It is a neat way to make the legs look different, though the stripes aren't parallel with the ones on the hood.
The face sculpt is amazing. We've seen the faces improve for years, and I feel this is the best-made Bumblebee face yet in the movieverse. All the little details that make a Movie Transformer what they are are present, and the use of sharp silver paint makes the face look amazing.
Here is a comparison between several versions of Bumblebee from over the years. From left to right, top to bottom: Classic Camaro Bumblebee, Camaro Concept Bumblebee (both 2007), Revenge of the Fallen Bumblebee (retool of the Camaro Concept mold), Hunt for the Decepticons Battle Blade Bumblebee, Dark of the Moon Bumblebee, Nitro Bumblebee, High Octane Bumblebee (Takara version), and finally, the Studio Series Bumblebee.
Articulation is standard for both a Deluxe and a Bumblebee. The head is on a ball joint. The shoulders move on ball joints, and the elbows have swivel and hinge joints, while hands move inward for transformation. Waist articulation is present, and the hips are on ball joints. There are thigh swivels, a good bend in the knees, and while there is no ankle pivot, the feet can hinge forward and backward due to the transformation.
Whereas the original Bumblebee came with two shoulder cannons that can double as handheld blasters, Studio Series Bumblebee comes with his plasma cannon/stinger blaster that can be swapped with a peg, which was carried over from the TLK version of Bumblebee. However, whereas the original TLK Bumblebee had the arms swapped with the mushroom joint, the Studio Series mold used a peg that lets the arms swap in a way similar to alternate hand pegs used in Marvel Legends and other collector figures.
The arm cannon may not match up with the gray plastic since its yellow plastic with silver paint but it does look cool. I do feel it would better match the arms of the TLK release instead, but so far there has been no attempt by anyone (as far as I know) that can prove the compatibility.
Either arm can be stored on the...butt...of the figure, though likely due to how it's also a carryover of the flight stand port.
There are a handful of repaints that I should cover since I mentioned the custom kit version while also knowing I may not cover them in full:
1. Chinese Giveaway
This version was a giveaway with the damaged deco that should have been in this Bumblebee.
2. Highway Freedom Bumblebee
This set is a stripeless Bumblebee that also loses paint apps on the feet and abdomen, has a black grill, and comes with alternate pieces and stickers for you to add to the toy (which allows the use of the rectangular pegs and slots that were already there from the start). They're either alternate stripe details or Tron-like lines. He also came with a Charlie figurine that's posed with arms crossed and her left leg bent. Almost all of the pieces can't remain attached to the toy if you want to transform it into robot mode. This is a set that I'd consider getting for the sake of completing the line...
...but then Hasbro made a Bumblebee with the 15 number designation, added the pin included with the Clunker figure as well as the original stripes, and even kept the Charlie figure! It's in this Buzzworthy Bumblebee subline of figures consisting of the titular Autobot as well as some other characters associated with him.
3. SDCC Bumblebee Vol. 1 Retro Rock Garage
This set consists of a gold repaint of the mold, and he also came with Japanese Mini-Cassettes Dairu and Uruaz. It pains me that they gave him a number to further drive completionists mad, but if I can get the VW version at a great price, then I can get him, too. Still wish the gold would be nicer.
3. Clunker Bumblebee
This is a repaint I do plan to get, though IDK if it's 100% worth reviewing the figure again when the only differences are the damaged deco (which remove select paint apps), an all silver cannon, a black grille, and a pin that keeps the backpack inside.
Overall, Bumblebee is a strong start for a line that brought back Movie toy magic lacking since HFTD. Not that DOTM, AOE, or TLK were bad, but those three lines did have some issues worth mentioning. Dark of the Moon had more Bees and unnecessarily large weapons while not giving us more necessary characters. Age of Extinction severely lacked Decepticon toys and far too many repaints of Evasion Prime and the Dinobots. The Last Knight, while better in some aspects, still had some pointless repaints of select Dinobots and both Wave 1 Bumblebee and Leader Optimus after having better toys in The Last Knight.
As a figure, Bumblebee's a great recreation of his Classic Camaro form in plastic, which feels long overdue considering how it was a mode briefly seen in the first movie and then at the end of the Bumblebee movie. Despite how the paint job is more plain than usual and how the proportions aren't 100% perfect, this is still worth having in your collection.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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