Transformers Studio Series Arcee, Chromia, Elita-1 review

Many fans should be familiar from a time an Arcee figure was made for MV1, where she was a Deluxe toy that used the finalized yet scrapped design of the character meant for the movie. I once owned it and liked it but later sold it because it was incomplete. Sucks too because I do love the design of the figure now after rewatching the movies again and feeling that the Arcee triplet designs would work best as either drones or as an experiment made to link three minds with three similar-looking robots (while their normal bodies would be kept somewhere safe until the triplet forms go offline and their sparks return to their proper selves). Sure, they Arcee triplets looked cool in the movie, but their action figures were pretty sucky. The Deluxes had a so-so Chromia and an awful Arcee with no proper mold for Elita-1, the Human Alliance figures gave the Twins incorrectly colored Chromia and Arcee figures as well as not including an Elita-1 that wasn't a repaint, and the Legends line didn't even give any attention to the other gals. So my original plan was to just buy the Tiny Turbo Changer Arcee and call it a day, but the Studio Series line announced it's making all three sisters. I was genuinely curious to see if Hasbro would either improve on these three or repeat the same mistakes done previously. Well, let's first say the set is a mixed bag.

Here is their backdrop, set in the Shanghai battle, where the three triplets chase after Sideways after the Decepticon Demolishor causes mayhem. We've yet to get Sideways, and while the Arcee triplets do fit decently, you obviously can't put them in dynamic poses due to the obvious limitations of cardboard.

Here we have the Arcee triplets in their bike modes. These are the stronger of the two modes when it comes to the Arcee triplets. Arcee is the pink Ducati 848 sportbike, Chromia is the blue Suzuki B-King, and Elita-1 is the purple MV Agusta F4. I like how they've FINALLY gotten the proper details right for each of the bike gals. Seriously, either it was no new mold for Elita-1 or Arcee and Chromia got the wrong bodies. Thankfully, the triplets have their distinct alt mode details, with Chromia having the most amount of differences compared to the other two. Each bike also has a fair amount of molded details to make them look less cheap than they would be at this size, though the paint department is a little inconsistent. While the bikes do have nice, vibrant colors going for them, the use of silver or gunmetal gray tends to be a little inconsistent, as some parts of each bike doesn't use parts of the paint elsewhere, and it'll get even worse in robot mode. But for now, the bikes look pretty good without looking like accessories meant for a Leader Class Transformer.

Here they are next to 2020 wave mate Bumblebee, and they scale pretty well next to each other. Would probably be interesting to see how a shrunken human would look if he was to stand next to this Camaro and the bikes.

Their accessories can't be stored in the bike modes whatsoever. Neither the stands, weapons, or shoulder piece have any proper places to be stored in. It's fairly understandable when it comes to the size of these figures, though it would be important to keep track of these things.

Their transformations are complicated even at this scale, which is expected given how their designs work, but they still carry over the annoying nature of getting things placed right. It's kind of hard to tell how they're supposed to look without making them even wonkier or limiting what little articulation they have. It also doesn't help that parts of the figures are likely to pop off due too their small size heavily contrasting the size of an average fan's hands. I'm going to assume this is how they're supposed to look, though really, any slightly different transformation wouldn't really improve or worsen the looks of the robots. Of course, the robot modes are accurate to how they're supposed to look, and the designs are at least different from one another beyond the redeco nature of each toy, but they sadly fall apart due to the lack of silver paint for the gray parts. They don't really benefit the colors used for the other bike figures. I personally feel that the smaller size would have helped them get a much nicer paint job to better help justify the price for these things. They look close to what they're supposed to from the front...

...they look okayish from the sides...

...and they look extremely wonky from this side. Arcee at least has some pink for her back and Elita-1 does have a bit of color from the front of the motorbike behind her head, but Chromia looks pretty bare from this view. Certainly the most fragile-looking of the three.

Articulation is about the same for each one. Heads can move around despite the tiny sizes, shoulders and elbows are on ball joints, and their torsos have ball joints that help them turn and flex while they have swivels above the parts holding the wheels.

Here they are with Bumblebee, Kreon Cyclonus, and a minifigure of Water Pokemon trainer Misty (who I once had a crush on when I saw bits of the original anime years ago). I do appreciate them remaining in scale as tiny figures when standing next to, say, Bumblebee, though it's not quite easy to say that they look nice with Bee because, well, Bee's a much more complete figure whereas the Arcee triplets look drone-like in comparison.

Now here's the thing people are kind of conflicted on when it comes to these figures: the way they're supposed to combine. There is no official method for the combination, but this might be the most official one, right? Well, as official as intended, but the end result is...not too hot. I appreciate the fact that there was an attempt to make the combination happen, but Hasbro's negligence of it makes me feel that it doesn't really have much going for it. And honestly, I can see why there was no official acknowledgment of it. The tabs meant for the combinations are easy to miss, and there's no real way to have this thing stand up properly (unless one of the remaining stands are used). Tell you the truth, I don't think this is all too hot. At least it's better than the Deluxe versions, which don't utilize a new mold meant for Elita-1. Plus, it's pretty messy as a figure and as a design. What's it supposed to be, a bigger version of their robot mode?

Here we have the combined mode next to a confused Bumblebee. I should mention that this mode does use the weapons and extra shoulder pad, though those can be used in the normal modes if you want. So...you already know where this is going to go: the Studio Series versions of Arcee's triplets suck. While the bike modes look neat, and I do appreciate their distinct robot modes and attempts at scale and combining the three figures, the lack of storage of any kind for the accessories, the annoyance with transforming them at such a small size, the gray plastic clashing with the vibrant colors, and the resulting combined mode (along with its negligence) makes the Arcee triplets the worst offering in the Studio Series line. Helicopter Dropkick looked terrible, WWII Bumblebee and Hot Rod had awful backpacks and were inaccurate in altmode, and car Shatter had bad hip articulation along with some other embarrassing design choices, but at least they didn't feel frustrating to transform, nor did they have gimmicks that felt like afterthoughts. Honestly, some could say I'm objectively speaking because I don't like these versions of the fembots. Arcee, especially, deserves a more humanoid robot mode given how much of a prominent character she is in Transformers media...

...okay, maybe not to this extent...

...this is the perfect look for a Movie Arcee that's still humanoid yet doesn't entirely evoke G1. If you just cleaned up the tire kibble on her or made her face a little more feminine, you'd have a pretty good take on Arcee for the Movieverse. I'd go as far as to make her height a little taller so she can at least be around the same height as TFP Arcee (so she would look about as tall as Jazz or Bumblebee). I know some comics depicted her like this, but I would love to see an animated Transformers series based on the movies so we can have her in action (along with filling in some of the events that took place between each movie). As for the Studio Series Arcee triplets, you can only get them if you're interested in completing the line or if you like the designs. Otherwise, don't bother.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Soundwave review

Soundwave may have not done much in the movie universe, but I always loved seeing him as an observer across Earth for the Decepticons to help in ROTF. His role wasn't quite as cool in Dark of the Moon since he let Laserbeak do more work than he did with Ravage. Still, it was neat to see him adopt an Earth mode, and while he did die in DOTM, him holding the Autobots hostage was pretty emotional, especially considering how everyone in the theater thought the Autobots would lose once again (since we had the Xantium blow up and everyone also thought they wouldn't make it). Soundwave taking form of an Earth mode does seem a little odd, especially when it's yet another silver car, but it does give him more mobility than a tape deck (he can always do what Cybertron Sideways did and own a mini tape deck in the G1 likeness). Sadly, 2011's Deluxe and Human Alliance offerings were canceled in 2012 (along with Que and Deluxe Leadfoot). While Takara released the Deluxe in the Movie Trilogy deco for their Advanced line and then gave a coat of silver paint for the Human Alliance version in the Movie the Best line, Hasbro later made a new mold a year before the 10th anniversary of DOTM. Does this new figure live up to the long wait?

Here is Soundwave's backdrop, set in the small camp where Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave met in Namibia, Africa. The background appears to be the same in detail like with the backdrop that came with Leader Class Megatron. I think the size of Meg's backdrop would work well for a display consisting of the three Decepticons given how big it is. Of course, you can have Soundwave in his background if you so desire.

Here is Soundwave in his vehicle mode, the Mercedes Benz SLS-AMG he took form of in the movie. Right off the bat, this figure's deco is coated in nice, silver paint, as we previously got with Jazz, Sideswipe, and Cogman. Like with Cogman, the tires need no alterations, unlike Jazz and Sideswipe. The proportions are generally accurate to the real-life vehicle, and the molded details are thankfully present, such as the vents, car emblem, and the mirrors. They may not look visible, but the headlights are painted in a faint white to stand out a bit more from the rest of the toy's silver. The windshield does reveal some robot kibble, but it's nothing too prominent.

From this view, you can see the hubcap along with the taillights. All in all, a job well done with the altmode.

You can then ruin the look of the alt mode by letting Laserbeak take a ride on the roof instead of having him sit inside like a good bird of prey (not that he could given it's a Deluxe with little interior room).

Here's Laserbeak, done up with some nice sculpting for the design; it certainly captures the predatory look of the character that sadly gets lost with a lack of a wash. I don't mind that he's not really functional, but something else other than the eyes would be great to make this accessory look even better.

Here is Soundwave with the other silver car Transformers, Jazz from MV1, Sideswipe from DOTM (though he did debut in ROTF with a roof), and Cogman from TLK. I think ROTF needs Sideways, I don't remember any silver cars that were in Age of Extinction (unless they were the KSI Sentries) and Bumblebee obviously doesn't have any silver cars. I find it interesting how Jazz's silver and Soundwave's silver look different from the other two, as Jazz has a bit of a blue tint to it thanks to his clear plastic while Soundwave looks a little darker than either Sideswipe or Cogman.

Also from this image is an increase in size, with Jazz being the smallest and shortest, Sideswipe getting a little longer (would be around Jazz's height with the roof), Soundwave barely getting bigger than Sideswipe, and Cogman having the longer size for his transtector.

Transforming Soundwave is generally involved, though the only thing I really hate about this figure is how the headlights tend to detach when they need to move in robot mode position. Otherwise, the rest of the transformation goes fairly smoothly so long as the rest of the toy doesn't face any chipping issues; it also does have some of the traditional feats, such as the front of the car becoming the chest and the rear becoming the lower legs. The shoulder pads can hinge down so they won't look as though they're sticking out too much like on the initial stock images.

The robot mode certainly captures the look Soundwave had in the movie, and I couldn't be happier. Next to the old Deluxe figure, the proportions are a lot more accurate, the colors work better, and the use of a real chest instead of a faux one is even better. Ironically, regular DOTM Soundwave has a silver head while the Studio Series version is in the bare plastic as with the parts of the toy. It's sort of a similar thing that Sideswipe and Jazz had, where parts of their figures were missing their paint, but at least Soundwave's darker gray plastic works better.

The side of the toy looks pretty good, though the shoulders do stick out from the back more than I expected, and the back has the typical hood chest and windshield stuck on his back. At least the rear windshield doesn't awkwardly stick down too much.

The headsculpt is done well for the most part, though he does sadly not come with the proper silver paint that the rest of his body has. Thankfully, a wash is applied to accentuate the details, but my guess as to why he doesn't have silver paint for the head is due to the plastic it's made from. It's a slightly flexible material that does help in making the head sharper but won't have the same density as with normal TF heads.

Articulation is pretty good for this bulky guy. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back, in and out, and the biceps can swivel while the elbows below them can bend. Hips are on ball joints and consist of great range except for the back, the thighs swivel (with the ball sockets hidden by the thighs), and the knees bend. He sadly doesn't come with a gun but does let Laserbeak clip on his arm with a C joint, a common feature seen in late-ROTF, HFTD, Reveal the Shield, Generations, Dark of the Moon (used both on Mechtech and Cyberverse sublines), and the Tiny Turbo Changers. Now he can tell his friend to kill them all like the vast, predatory bird he is (pink Bumblebee not included!)

Here is Soundwave in between the larger Decepticons, Starscream and Megatron. Yes, Starscream looks naked without the tattoos, but I do plan on getting the ROTF version of the character, trust me. Anyways, Soundwave being shorter than everyone else makes sense, but the problem comes from the fact that he's probably a little too short. I know he's a car and is generally supposed to be shorter than everyone else, but perhaps he could go for a height increase by at least one inch. Still, this figure manages to be the best toy of the first wave of 2020 Deluxes so far. The only things I wish would be fixed in this toy is the inclusion of a gun, Laserbeak getting a wash, and maybe getting a little taller. Beyond that, I highly recommend this toy, as we finally get a Soundwave that doesn't require paying three time more than you should. Oh, and Hasbro, please don't repeat the same mistake you did in DOTM next time.

Final ranking: 

Transformers Studio Series WWII Hot Rod review

Hot Rod is a character people got mad at in G1 because he indirectly got Optimus killed, and in TLK for not looking like the same character that indirectly got Optimus Prime killed. Yeah, his name doesn't make sense since he doesn't come with a Hot Rod, and while he may be more of a French bot that doesn't hold a charm to the less-commonly seen but still cooler Italian Autobot Dino, there's something I like about TLK Hot Rod, even if he was either seen as an Autobot version of Lockdown (yes, I know he's designed differently) or was not quite like the G1 guy. Then again, what are the excuses for Armada Wheeljack and Animated Prowl? (I like both of these characters, btw) As for action figures, Hot Rod got a hard to find Deluxe figure that was pretty sweet in alt mode but betrayed his sleek design by being a retool of that flat AOE Lockdown Deluxe. Sucks that the one fans first got was a neat-in-concept-but-off-in-execution retool. Hasbro decided to give this guy another go, this time for the Studio Series. Instead of a Lamborghini, he is in his WWII design, yet remains as a retool of another figure (Bumblebee, this time). Let's see if Hot Rod either manages to be decent, be exactly as bad as the WWII Bumblebee, or rank worse than WWII Bumblebee.

Here is Hot Rod's backdrop. This scene depicts the character as he and Bumblebee kill all Nazis in sight, which makes me wish we got a Transformers movie that took place in the time period of WWII (even though I'd rather not get prequel films and stick with moving forward in current-day films). The figure works well with the display, but good luck wanting to combine backdrops with Bumblebee.

Here we have Hot Rod in his vehicle mode. It's still a Humber Light Reconnaissance Car rather than a Steyr-Daimler-Puch 2000 truck (the altmode Hot Rod took form of in the flashback). Once again, this really isn't accurate to the movie, and it doesn't help that it was already a problem with Bumblebee. The details are about the same with the Bumblebee, with the only differences being the coloring, door sculpting, and the weapon. The gun does slide in the spot where the hammer handle of Bumblebee used to fit, which is a neat method of weapon storage (same can't be said for the turret used for Bumblebee.

The deco does have a bit of fade from top to bottom, which goes from the gray to midnight black (that thankfully gets a bit broken up with some nice silver). Certainly does look a bit neater than the solid military green of Bumblebee (and does feel slightly better in hand, too).

Next to Bumblebee, Hot Rod does look a bit nicer in terms of coloring and also attempts to look a little different with the new gun, but is otherwise about the same as Bumblebee in terms of look.

Aside from the colors and weapons, this is the only newly molded part of the toy in vehicle mode. Doesn't seem like much, but perhaps the robot mode will have new parts of its own, right?

The transformation is the same as with the original figure, so if you're familiar with that, then you should be aware of the slight issues with the shoulders tabbing in and the backpack strapped in the back. Hot Rod's robot mode is thankfully retooled differently from Bumblebee, but don't expect it to be at the same level as going from Dropkick to Drift. Only the head, shoulders chest, and waist are retooled differently. The arms look like they're retooled from Bumblebee, but they're only painted differently. I do appreciate the more traditional military gray of this figure, along with the added orange and silver, but this toy still has the same issues that plague Bumblebee. There's still a massive shell on his back, and the lower legs have kibble that sticks out more than they should. From the back, he looks like he's almost like a gray Bumblebee.

The head sculpt is sort of like a French Bumblebee, in that he reminds me why I don't want Bee's mouth to be exposed when he has his Movie face. There's a nice amount of sculpted detail and paint applied on the figure, with the signature orange over parts of the silver. The eyes are Autobot optic red, as expected.

Articulation is the same with Bumblebee, only the waist has a bit of limited ranger thanks to the newly molded midriff. Bumblebee at least had a waist that would move a bit more freely. Here, it's not as effective...ouch. The gun does hold decently on his hand if he wants to, though the handle does look a little too short. Weirdly, he comes with one gun when he had two in the box art and in the movie.

Here he is next to WWII Bumblebee, brother in arms and mold mate in arms. I guess it's neat that Hot Rod is more than just a repaint with a new head. While I do appreciate the retooled parts and new weapon, it's got the same issues that were already present with WWII Bumblebee. If you already got Bumblebee, or if you are a completionist, you can certainly get that toy to complete the duo and the line. If not, then you could probably do without this figure and get one of the third-party offerings.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Bumblebee (Camaro Concept) review

You and I already know about Bumblebee at this point. He's one of the finest scouts in the Autobot faction, he's generally friendly with humans, and you can always expect him to get in and get out from a battle with him standing and his opponent down. Honestly, describing Bumblebee is like describing something you already know about. It was certainly something that would annoy collectors and reviewers if they bought any of the more unnecessary repaints from the older Movie lines. All they'd ever talk about is the difference in deco between each release, and at this point, I'm glad we've moved on from making tons of repaints for the guy. I'll always love Bumblebee, especially his Movie incarnation, but I and so many other fans want repaints to be creative rather than be one yellow character with altered paint apps. Still, when a new mold is announced, I'm always up for it, and this new version of the yellow scout is no exception.

This is something I haven't done for the past two years worth of Studio Series image galleries: taking a look at their backdrops! From here on out, I'll be covering each backdrop that comes with its respective figure. This backdrop depicts the scene where Bumblebee scans the Camaro Concept that coincidentally had his same paint job after Mikaela asked Sam on why Bee would be an advanced robot yet take the form of an old car. I like the inclusion of the other Camaro in the background, but you really can't recreate the scene because of obvious printed-image-on-cardboard-backdrop reasons. Also, Bumblebee doesn't really fit too well in car mode (since the backdrops were made for the robot modes), but of course, Bumblebee didn't transform until the other robots met. Worthy of note with each Studio Series figure's backdrop also includes the new Generations and Authentic labels seen since 2014 while the base has the name of the movie they're from, so in the case of Bumblebee, it says "Transformers".

Here we have Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. Finally, we get a 2007 Camaro to go along with the other Autobots in the team. It may sound a bit weird to say since he'll eventually switch forms in Revenge of the Fallen-onwards while Jazz dies, but it's still great to get this guy two years after the release of the Classic Camaro Bumblebee. This figure and the Masterpiece make me happy to see the "default" look for Movie Bumblebee after the single stripe of the AOE Bee and the blacktop and hood of TLK Bee both replaced the iconic stripes. Thankfully, this figure also doesn't get any details wrong, as the hood isn't the ROTF one while the stripes aren't the DOTM ones. Rims are also accurate to the vehicle seen in the movie, and they're also painted silver unlike the Masterpiece's. Of course, you get both a nice amount of paint apps on the grill and headlights along with a bit of small but helpful molded details, including the little turn signals close to the headlights, the door handles, the built-in antenna for the radio, and the rear-view mirrors.

While there is a lot to love about this version of Bumblebee, I have to admit that some of the panel-lines do get a little ugly. I also don't like how the yellow gets a little inconsistent here and there, between the yellow plastic, the clear plastic painted yellow, and the plastic used for the hinges. I kind of wish the clear plastic was made in a darker tint like with the Masterpiece so the windows wouldn't look like they're exposing any robot kibble from the inside. At least the yellow does look more accurate than the Masterpiece version, which had a brighter shade that wasn't really fitting for the character.

Much like with the first Studio Series Bumblebee, you can store the gun in the back with some tabs if you so choose. Also love how there are taillights painted nicely. The bottom section doesn't have paint, though.

Here he is next to the other Autobots, consisting of three other Studio Series figures and HFTD Ironhide (who is not a Studio Series figure, though this Deluxe figure better scales with the other Transformers). It's so neat to have a full team of Autobots in a pretty good scale, and in my collection, no less. All it needs are some color modifications for Optimus's blue (should have gotten DOTM Prime for his gold face) while painting parts of Ironhide black.

Here he is next to the other Bumblebees in the same line (sort of with TLK Bee). While the scale between the old and new Camaros doesn't look too bad, you can tell just how small they each look next to the TLK version. Not a bad thing since I do see Bumblebee as getting a little bigger when he gets older. Also, I should probably get Clunkerbee at some point, right?

The transformation is a mix between the TLK/Classic Camaro version of Bumblebee and the Volkswagen Beetle version of the character while also having steps of its own. Obviously, the front tires do open up to go behind the shoulders, a faux chest behind the vehicle mode's chest, and the arms come from underneath the altmode, as do most Bumblebee toys in recent years. However, this guy has a few tricks up his sleeves. The arms are part of the inner pieces of the toy rather than the front of the altmode, the stomach guard is part of the waist rather than attached to the front of the car, and the doors are on double hinges rather than on one hinge. The faux chest does not consist of being behind the real grill with hinges that slant the lights in the deformed look that make the figure accurate; the lights swivel 180 degrees downwards to match up with the new faux chest, resulting in a thinner appearance than other Bees. The waist swivel's use in the transformation is carried over from the VW version of Bumblebee, but the legs trans similarly to the TLK/SS-01 Bee. The shins are not on hinges but are instead on ball-joints, which leads to them swiveling down in robot mode position. The result of the waist swivel and the swiveling thighs used for the transformation means the tires face out and the rear windshield halves face the inside. Also, the wings and front wheels hinge upward, while the hand hinges are replaced with arm guards that help bulk the robot mode's arms, and the high guards hinge in place rather than have a slight swivel and a hinge.

The robot mode is certainly accurate to his appearance in MV1. The arms look a lot more proportionate of the character thanks to the forearms not looking thin while the shoulder pads have some nicely sculpted details complemented with paint (compared to the first Deluxe's shoulders). The chest is now proportioned correctly, without being too wide as seen with the previous Deluxes. There are also no signs of real paint discrepancies in this mode when it comes to the yellow parts aside from the feet's yellow paint on black plastic. The torso also includes some of the collar pieces that no other Bumblebee toy ever had aside from the Masterpiece version (albeit these are unpainted gray). The oddities with the toy's upper torso include the wheels sticking out a little too much and the real car grille sticking out even more than with either Bumblebee. I also wish the elbow ball joints won't stick out too much, though painting them would be a little too tight (while making them gray would have to make the yellow painted on). The legs, on the other hand, are much thinner than with Classic Camaro and TLK Bumblebee. Not a terrible thing for an agile scout, but it does leave him in a state of skipping leg day. The legs do look bulky from the sides, and seeing the wheels face out may not be accurate, but it was a thing most Bumblebees did until the new AOE figure-onwards (at least these wheels don't stick out badly). Also from the side, the stomach guard is noticeably far back compared to the chest, and a bit more than other versions of the character. The back has an even bigger backpack than it was with other Bumblebees, though at least the wings look properly angled. This Bee's headsculpt is decently executed, though it does mean being a molded head doesn't let you reveal a proper face. At least the eye guards are nicely sculpted, and the paint isn't blobby either. The Autobot insignia looks fairly crisp, though looking up close, the Autobot insignia does look more like the normal one rather than the proper "angry eyes" Movie version. Some extra paint is needed, but everything else works well.

Articulation is about the same as with the other Bumblebees, with a few differences here and there. Head is on a ball joint, letting him look around fairly well. Shoulders are on ball joints, and even with the bigger shoulder pads, they have the same range as normal Bumblebees. The ball-jointed elbow means the forearm can both bend and swivel with it. No wrist hinges are included, a first for this line. Waist can swivel, though it's noticeably tighter than normal, and the spine piece holding the parts of this toy feels thinner than the other Bumblebees, to the point where it feels like it'll slightly bend. I've never had any Bumblebee figure do something like that in the Studio Series line, and that flexing spine worries me. It's bad enough the SS-01 Bee had problems with the clear tabs used to (barely) hold the roof to the hood (with one of the pieces also snapping off and forcing me to glue it), but this kind of makes me question making Bumblebee at the size he is (as in height, not being a Deluxe). Ball joints are used for the hips, thigh swivels above the knees, which bend a little higher than they normally do. The ankles don't hinge up and down like on the previous Camaro Bees, but you can have them pivot sideways.

The gun can be held by his hand as opposed to switching the right forearms. This does mean that your figure will still remain complete even without the cannon, though the arm cannon now doesn't have that "transformed out of his forearm" look. For example, the hand is exposed!

The gun can also be stored on his back, though it looks more amateur compared to the other plasma cannons of the Camaro Bumblebees seen in TLK and Classic Camaro.

In terms of reuses, Bumblebee only has a version with the ROTF tooling. This guy looks pretty solid in car mode, but his robot mode looks a bit worst due to the gray plastic looking more like it's prototype-esque and inconsistent than with the original. Also, he's got a Sam Witwicky figurine made in a running pose. I got him because he's easy to get and it'd justify getting another form of Bumblebee.

Another version of the character popped up in 2022, now based on his appearance in DOTM with some new tooling for not just the rims and front section, but also the inner chest, the hood, and the rear section, especially with the spoiler. His gunmetal gray plastic looks great, but I wish his head had the Autobot insignia, at least. This is the first version of the mold to not feature the battle mask.

And rounding off the 15th anniversary 5-pack in terms of figure ID number, Bumblebee is kind of the weakest figure in the set due to the removed paint apps, light grey plastic on the rims and gun, and the quality control being rough as hell in terms of his loose hips. The darker windows look nice, but if he had a bit more polish, I'd like him more than the regular one.

Here we have Bumblebee next to the other Autobots that costarred with him in Transformers. Finally, after not having the original toys since 2007 and trying some attempt at making a scale with the ROTF and DOTM toys, I finally have the MV1 team in an accurate scale. Some may say it's not 100% perfect, as Ironhide should be a little shorter and Optimus a little taller, but for the most part, it works very well.

All this crew needs is a small amount of customizing skills to make them look even better.

Here we have Bumblebee next to some of the other Studio Series Bumblebees I own. Yes, TLK Bumblebee isn't really a Studio Series figure, but he was reused in the line, so I'm counting him. I also play on getting the Bumblejeep figure in the line, (even if I hate the solo flick, I love the Jeep design he takes form of). Bee's about the same height as the Classic Camaro version, both are taller than the Beetle version, and they're all shorter than either the WWII version and the TLK figure. I kind of wonder how the other versions of the character will work in this line, assuming we'll get ROTF Bee and DOTM Bee in the near future (don't forget High Octane and a 2014 Camaro retool of Stinger). While I do like the proportions of the new Bumblebee, I have to admit I wish he was as tall as the TLK version.

Finally, you can actually swap out the heads between Classic and Concept Bee. I actually want to get Clunkerbee so he can have his normal head (as he has never deployed his mask during the movie in this mode). You can definitely tell how different the engineering is between both figures, what with the way their chests work, what's used for their arms, and the configurations for the legs. 2020 Bumblebee's honestly a good take on the character, though I will say that it's not without its faults. The toy's altmode looks great despite the slight color discrepancies. The spine piece flexing slightly should not happen on a toy like this. I also wish the wheels wouldn't stick out like they do now. Finally, the gun looks less effective when held by his hand. The bright spots include the accurate proportions for the chest and arms, the accuracy of the alt mode, the new head (and the ability to swap it), the way the wings work, and the unaffected nature of the articulation. I recommend this guy to add to your MV1 display, even if there are some things that bother me.

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