Transformers Prime RID Revealers Bumblebee review

2011-2012 was a rough time for Transformers fans when it comes to the Dark of the Moon and Prime lines. Most stores tend to have Bumblebees warming pegs due to Hasbro believing at the time that kids would really want a version of the character, so they provided plenty of repaints, versions of the character that aren't really needed, and it not only caused some characters to get hard to find, but it also led to the last bits of the DOTM line to be canceled in the US. The First Edition line didn't fare any better, as retailers didn't want to have the Prime toys until the DOTM series was over, and when they did, people would only find Wave 1's Deluxes, but no Voyagers or the 2-pack; even then, Bumblebee's the more prominent entry in the wave. To make matters worse, the Robots in Disguise subline showed up, and fans were disappointed in seeing the remaining glut of DOTM Bees next to First Edition Bees and now the PRID Bees taking over toy shelves. Also, fans would do bash Hasbro for bringing out a figure they found inferior to the First Edition and give the PRID line a lot more flak than they've ever given a mainline. But honestly...is the PRID Deluxe really that bad?

Here is Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. It's basically a cartoon-style Camaro, but it's actually got a name in-universe, that being the Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world; it will transform it. Anyways, it's more than just an unlicensed version of the Camaro; it changes the stripe layout from the normal parallel motif to a more splayed out approach, the design is a little boxer than the somewhat rounded edges of the Camaro, the grille and headlights are a lot different from a Camaro, and the engine is exposed. It's neat car design, though the yellow shades are somewhat inconsistent with the yellow plastic used for the articulation, the yellow plastic meant for the aesthetics, and the yellow paint applied on the clear blue plastic. The silver applied to the rims is my doing because the toy doesn't have any nicely painted rims at all.

The side view of the car mode is totally "cartoony", as the rear wheels are bigger than the front wheels, and the proportions are not really like a Camaro would. You can also tell the discrepancies between the shades of yellow.

The hot rod engine can mount its guns on the back, which does give me vibes of G1 Hot Rod's Targetmaster plugging on his engine.

The transformation is pretty basic and has the typical hood-chest/door wings/trunk legs motif. It's seen on Movie Bumblebee, G1 Jazz, etc. Thankfully, it's not exactly as boring as one would expect, as the torso actually transforms with an Automorph gimmick (which is why it's called a Revealer). It's cool, though it does leave the head raised up a little more than I'd like. otherwise, the rest of the transformation is not too involved.

The robot mode is pretty much a version of TFP Bumblebee. You have every detail needed for this toy, but I have to say that the torso is pretty wonky. In terms of proportions, the chest is a little too big and sinks down a little more than I'd like, while the arms are at an angle that makes them look like they're supposed to go back more, but they don't. The legs are pretty basic, and almost have Jazz's leg design (minus the rear windshield on the legs). The waist is especially small and almost looks frail compared to the rest of his body. Next to the First Edition, he does look like a mistransformed toy compared to the FE mold, which is a shame because some PRID figures like Arcee and Starscream don't actually look too bad. I especially hate how the middle part of the car grille is sticking out.

The side view looks pretty okay save for the small gap from the side, and the back is basic. The red taillights are my own doing.

The headsculpt is normal but it could really go for some added details aside from the silver face. I added some black to the eyebrows and the middle part of his head, which makes me want to add some paint to the mouthplate.

Articulation is basic for a Deluxe figure. Head is on a ball joint, the shoulders are move front and back on mushroom pegs while they move in and out on hinges. The elbows swivel and bend, but there's no wrist articulation. Hips move freely on ball joints, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and the ankles hinge up and down.

The arms can use the mounted arm cannons in a way similar to Hot Rod's pipes, which is a little bit of a departure from Movie Bumblebee's Plasma Cannon/Stinger Blaster.

Let's go over the reuses of this mold. This is the Arms Micron version. This figure has almost every paint app replaced with stickers, which includes his stripes (which are a little more accurate yet are prone to get messed up by the door hinges); said stripe stickers are not too great when you have the Micron ports break up the ones on the doors, and speaking of breaking, opening the doors will ruin the stickers applied on them. Definitely not worth getting an Arms Micron version of this mold.

Here is his Arms Micron, B.2, who is almost like the love child of a Rock Lord and a Mega Man enemy. He turns into one oversized version of Bee's arm cannon. He's cast in gold-plastic, so pray he doesn't crumble to dust.

Here is the Shadow Strike version of Bumblebee. This guy may look like he's an inverted color swap of Bumblebee, but he's actually gray, he's got different paint apps, his front has yellow added, and his head is molded in gray plastic but has the cranium painted in yellow. This guy makes for a decent but not exact stand-in for the Season 3 version of Bee's deco. The arm cannons being yellow is distracting.

This is the Terrorcon version of Bumblebee. This guy's in a slick black and metallic purple color scheme, though the Allspark blue's also distracting. He comes with a purple version of Zori, who belonged to Soundwave. While it's not really a show-accurate repaint, he's pretty cool nonetheless.

This is the Dark Energon version of Bumblebee, who coincidentally was sold alongside yesterday's review focus, that being Starscream. His gold is clear plastic, and he's totally similar to Goldbug. The blue head looks too weird in blue and almost makes me think of a fucking Boobah instead of the "cute" yet confident Autobot scout. Still one of the interesting repaints of this mold.

Here is the heavy retool of the Beast Hunters line. This guy is heavily retooled with spikes everywhere, and he also has a new cannon that is called the Eagleshot Bow, which launches missiles. It's pretty cool, but be sure to keep all these missiles so you don't lose them. He still has the arm cannons but in lighter gray plastic.

Here is the Takara version of the mold, which is...about the same a the Hasbro version, but with a slightly darker shade of orange, black panels instead of silver ones, and shinier headlights. Yeah, you don't need this one.

Here is the Night Shadow version of Bumblebee, who has painted rims for once! Otherwise, he's yet another black repaint of the mold, but this time is actually black with bits of gold here and there. I still worry for the gold plastic.

Here is the Predacons Rising version of Bumblebee, with the Nova Blast moniker. He has a bit more blue in this version of the mold but is otherwise not too necessary.

And here is the only reuse of this mold that belongs to a different character. I'm going to be honest and say that this version of the mold isn't doing it for me. While I'm glad Hot Shot's not a repaint of Bumblebee by having a new head and replacing the gray with red, this figure kind of makes Hot Shot feel a lot more second-rate than he should be. At least he has a new head (with flip-down goggles that make him look like TLK Hot Rod) and flames, but the latter ironically makes him look like Tracks. I'm going to say this, but I prefer Rescue Bots Academy Hot Shot for having his own look and manages to have a new altmode to further make him look different from Bumblebee.

Here he is with the rest of Team Prime. He fits in well with the rest of the line, even if he's the weakest figure in this group shot. Still...

...does that make this toy bad? I don't think he's 100% perfect, but that doesn't mean he's an awful toy just because it's not as good as the First Edition. He's got a few things to like about him, like the car mode and the Automorph feature. If you do want this guy, get him for cheap like I did, when I got him at $7. Still, if you want to get the First Edition figure, stick with looking for it at conventions or toy shops.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐