Transformers Studio Series VW Bumblebee

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the Bumblebee movie. It's bland, feels like something I've seen before, and takes away the charm of the Michael Bay movies. Despite the blatant nostalgia filter with the 80s setting and the robots looking more Geewun than ever, it doesn't even feel like an episode of G1 since Bumblebee doesn't act like a puppy who can suddenly get his eyes red in the cartoon. I'd rather believe that Bumblebee was at one point in WWII than believe that he once acted like a copy-paste of The Iron Giant. That said, movie suck does not translate into toy suck (yeah, I stole Thew's comment from his Mixmaster review and put it here), so perhaps the Studio Series version of Bumblebee's Volkswagon Beetle form could work better than it does now, right? Let's find out!

Here we have Bumblebee in his Beetle mode. It's the first time Bumblebee becomes the car in the movies, but this is the second version toy to have the proper proportions of the altmode, as G1 Bee has a more chibi look in his altmode while the other Bumblebee toys in the movie's line varied from either looking toyish or accurately proportioned. While I've gotten more used to the muscle cars that he's become in recent media, this is a nice altmode to have in the licensed side of car modes.

It's a nice looking car that's sadly ruined by the issues it has with lining up. There are some small gaps that look noticeable here than on the other Bumblebees, and I don't like how the front rims don't match up with the rear rims. One or the other, guys! Also, is it me, or does the yellow not really match up nicely? Finally, I wish the windows aren't this clear, as they kind of ruin the look of the altmode. Some darker tint or blue clear plastic would work better.

Here's an interesting aspect of this toy, and it's another officially licensed product from Volkswagon itself, which may not seem like much, but it's been rough for Hasbro to get approval from the car manufacturer. Still, it's nice that they're getting the approval to use the car, though on a model that's now way out of date (though I heard Mexico has kept these old Beetle models in production).

For weapon storage, the alternate face, blade, and arm cannon can be placed as such in the image below. Actually pretty nice storage in my opinion! Nothing sticks out weirdly from the outside of the car, and there's no gun attached to the roof. It's nice and compact like it should be.

Here he is for a vehicle comparison next to the Studio Series and TLK versions of Bumblebee. The car sizes are pretty nice, though I feel the Beetle should be smaller than it is right now.

This is the size that both cars have in the first movie. Beetle's rooftop should at least be the same height as the Camaro's. And no, you can't quite recreate this scene since Bumblebee's doors aren't easy to open.

Bumblebee transforms somewhat like his other forms, but there are a couple of new additions this time. This guy's transformation is a bit more annoying than the Camaro Bumblebees, all because of the even smaller parts that could be detached or how very little space there is to work with. Also, the backpack is annoying overall.

In robot mode, Bumblebee is the shortest Deluxe figure in the line so far, being shorter than even Jazz from Wave 2. The design looks pretty good, and while I'm not a 100% big fan of this robot design, I feel that it at least captures the spirit of the character's design from the previous films. The wings being present is something I like more than if they were absent; they complete the look for the robot mode and make him feel more like he transforms compared to the final CG model. The robot mode from the waist up looks good, but waist down, it starts to get awkward. The tires being near the knees look a bit weird, and the shins don't look lined up well with the thighs.

The rest of the bot mode fares well enough, though from the side, Bumblebee has even bigger car parts on the back of his lower legs, and the backpack looks even bigger than on previous Bees.

Bumblebee's face sculpt looks accurate to the movie design (apologize for the image quality). The head is one of the aspects of the design that's carried over from the 2007 design, though it's more simplified and a bit chibi than actual chibi styled Bumblebee toys. Some silver paint is missing on the face, though.

The articulation is pretty good, though about the same as every other Bumblebee. Head is on a ball joint, the shoulders move on ball joints, and the elbows have swivel and hinge joints, while the hands move inward for transformation. Waist articulation is present, the hips are on ball joints, there are thigh swivels, a good bend in the knees, but instead of a foot hinge, there is an ankle pivot.

Let's get back to those accessories. The first accessory is the arm cannon that swaps out much like the first Studio Series Bumblebee did. It looks pretty good, though not quite as big as it is in the movie. The other weapon Bumblebee has is the arm blade that mounts on the left arm, a melee weapon Bumblebee has in some toys but never seen in the other movies. Finally, Bumblebee has a battle mask that kind of gives me Kamen Rider vibes due to the insect theme.

For weapon storage in robot mode, Bumblebee can store an arm on the butt. He can also store a face on one of the wings. Yeah, it's awkward as hell.

For a size comparison, here he is next to his other counterparts. He's shorter than either version of the character, though I feel that Bumblebee does need to be much shorter than the other versions of the characters.

This is the official size comparison between the characters' heights. While Bumblebee was bigger than he should be in the Camaro design, you can explain that there was more put in him than the Beetle version of the character. The Speed Series version of the character may be in better scale with the Deluxe Camaro Bee.

This is the shared retail exclusive version of the character, and it does look reminiscent of the G2 Bumblebee toy, though not as shiny. Seriously, the gold looks really dull in person. Uriad and Zauru come available with this toy, much like the other Bumblebee had Dairu and Uruaz. Not worth getting unless you want the cassettes, or if you are a Bumblebee completionist.

The Then & Now 2-pack has a Bumblebee that comes with some rust paint apps on the doors, and the feet lack silver paint. It's barely noticeable for this release and isn't really worth hunting down unless you never had this and the 2016 Camaro Bumblebee.

And now we're going all the way back to this mold again with a Premium Finish version of this guy! This is the most accurate version of the character to date, what with the faded yellow, more accurate eyes, and the like. Much like with the WFC Optimus Prime based on his Netflix appearance, I do want to get this guy...if it weren't for the price tag! A Deluxe usually goes up to $22 when you add tax, and when you're paying $35-39, you're essentially doubling it up for more than you need. I'd rather wait for a sale than pay for this repaint at full price, especially when it's a decent but not mindblowing Deluxe.

Overall, despite my opinions on the Bumblebee movie, this is an alright figure. Some aspects of the toy don't work well; some other parts do. Even if I prefer the bigger energy vibes of the Camaro version of Bumblebee, this toy's not horrible. I'd say it's serviceable at best, and in some ways looks better than the 2018 Masterpiece toy. Still, things should get better from here in terms of Studio Series Beewun toys, right?

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