The Bumblebee movie might have one thing going for it: giving the yellow Autobot scout the most amount of design changes within a movie, and probably moreso than the slight cosmetic alterations of his main design from the other movies. While Bee did get entirely new designs, it wasn't quite as repetitive as what he once did in 1987, where he would go from a Cybertronian design to another Earth design with the Willys Jeep and then turn into a VW Beetle before going into the Camaro design to possibly keep continuity from getting slightly less broken than it already is. Anyways, this Jeep design is so underrated IMO, and one that I wish he stayed with rather than turn into a VW Beetle-OH WAIT it wouldn't keep the Movie haters happy with this "new direction". Bleh, let's go back to reviewing this figure; perhaps it might be better than the VW version of Bumblebee!
Here is his backdrop, which depicts him in the battle against the Sector Seven soldiers before a particular jet shows up to go battle him. The way it's done up here makes Bumblebee look like he's on their side and are either unaware said jet is after them or they're making an unexpected attack.
Here we have Bumblebee in his Willys Jeep mode. While the vehicle mode may lead to some fans in thinking it's more suitable for Hound or Swindle, I think it's perfect for Bumblebee in some ways! It's more unique than either being a hatchback or a muscle car, but it also gives Bee some potential in taking less traditional alt modes in my opinion! It's done up quite well, I'd say, especially when it comes to how it's an altmode that hasn't been done in the Movie continuity IIRC. The only issues I have with it are that the pegs used for the tires are yellow instead of the brownish-gray used on the back. I also don't like how there's one part of yellow plastic that doesn't match up with the other shades of the same color. Otherwise, this is a nicely done take on what Bumblebee could turn into.
There's also a bit of a cockpit when you look at it from the side as well as a spare tire. Those that are obsessed with what goes under an altmode may find the arms annoying.
There's even a dashboard as well as a steering wheel! The steering wheel doesn't rotate, but it can be adjusted somewhat (though it's mainly for transformation); this feature is a pretty neat form of attention to detail, even if no human figures can interact with it.
In terms of weapon storage, the cannon can slide into some small slots in-between the legs, which is a nicer way of keeping it hidden than leaving it on the back or something.
Here is a comparison with his Volkswagon Beetle counterpart. While the two-vehicle modes in question are entirely different from one another, I do appreciate that the Jeep does at least maintain that Bumblebee feel seen from either being a hatchback or a muscle car. It's also interesting to think that perhaps Bee adopted this form in the intended story when his WWII altform was slower than the Willys Jeep. I suppose all that's left is a version of Bumblebee based on his Cybertronian appearance (I'll stick with the original Classic Camaro version of the character, fuck that Beewun rendition of the design).
For a random comparison with another Jeep type of Transformer. Siege Hound's included just to show how different their altmodes are as well as the irony that Hound, despite having a G1 design and was also in the other movies, did not show up on Cybertron. Funny how that works, but I bet fans are turning this toy into a version of Hound or Swindle (the latter seems cooler IMO)
Transformation is fairly involved in this toy, which isn't a bad thing! The legs thankfully have a more meaningful method of repositioning parts than the VW version, and the torso, despite using faux parts, does look convincing and doesn't feel too misproportioned or stylized in its attempt to look like it actually transformed. The head's way of transforming is a little odd since it's on a few more hinges than normal, but we end up with a nicely done robot mode that suits the look of the character quite well! It's certainly different from what was usually seen, but it works for this guy because it's based on a vehicle mode that Bumblebee's not generally known for. Plus, the design is nicely translated as accurately as a 2020 Deluxe toy could. I also find no issue with the proportions compared to the 2018 Beetle figure. While the hands could be a little less toyish and the back kibble could look a little less bland, it does at least look flat and doesn't otherwise take away from the look (unlike the WWII figure).
Head sculpt is accurate to what it should look like in the movie. While the details are softer than hte previous figure and the eyes don't seem to go close to the top portion of the holes, it looks the part to what Bumblebee was like in the movie.
Articulation is still good and fits in well with the Siege line! Head is on a ball joint (though the neck hinge does need to be raised up somewhat), shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, they swivel above the elbow and bend at the elbow. There is no wrist swivel on either arm but the waist does swivel. Hips move front and back as well as in and out while the thighs swivel and the knees bend (though there is a noticeable gap due to the fact that what look like the knees are faux parts of the toy). The ankles are on ball joints so they can pretty much pivot, hinge up and down, or even be splayed out. He only comes with one weapon, that being the arm cannon he regularly uses in the movie; he does not come with either an alternate face or a blade like the original figure did, but more on that in a little bit.
For a direct reuse of this figure (rather than a straight repaint), this is NEST Bumblebee. At first, I was annoyed that we got a repaint of this figure since I'd prefer getting a Bumblebee we saw on-screen, but I grew to like it because this mold is awesome after all, and it does give fans both a chance to get the mold in a unique deco and maybe pretend it's Centurion! Oh, I'll never forget the time some people in a Google Plus Transformers community got mad over my headcanon that the Transformers in the Bumblebee movie were not the same guys from the Bayverse but rather experiments by Shockwave. Also included is a Sam Witwicky figurine that first came with the ROTF version of the Autobot.
Here is a size comparison with his VW self. He's actually a little bigger than the VW self, which is kind of unexpected since the scale chart claims that Bumblebee's VW and Jeep designs are supposed to be at the same height. Here, that's not the case. You may also notice that Offroad Bee's gray colors are more on the side of the same brownish gray or dark gray seen on the vehicle mode whereas VW Bee had more silver or gray plastic. Still, I do appreciate that there is still some form of consistency between these two figures, even if Offroad BB is a better-done toy than the VW one.
There are a couple of noteworthy aspects of this toy: their heads may look the same yet the Offroad figure has a new sculpt compared to the 2018 figure, which has different sculpting compared to the other version (and the side vents weren't originally painted, btw). The fact that Hasbro didn't even need to make a new head yet they made one anyways is a neat touch!
In terms of how the neck hinges work, VW Bee does have a normal ball joint whereas Offroad Bee had a hinge on the back of his head meant for the transformation, though it does look a little off when used for some articulation.
Their cannons are also different, with the new Bee (lol) having a larger design to it that gives it the look of it transforming into a weapon compared to the tiny barrel of the VW version. Still wish it had some extra paint. Also, the new weapon simply goes over the hand whereas the old figure had you swap out the arms. The weapon integration Offroad BB has was similarly done with the previous Bumblebee based on his Camaro Concept form (whereas VW Bee's arm-swapping method was instead borrowed from Classic Camaro Bee, who improved the method introduced by TLK Bee).
Here is Bumblebee next to Hound for a random comparison again. You can tell how much smaller this figure is compared to Siege Hound, even if that toy felt somewhat short. I bet some fans will turn this into a Beewun-style Swindle or Hound.
Now, remember when I said that I'd cover his lack of an alternate face or blade accessory? That can be rectified if you do swap parts with this toy. VW Bee's arm blade can easily be attached to the left hand of the toy while the heads can still be swapped because of their ball joint sizes remaining the same. You will have to remove the standard faceplate before attaching the back portion of the head and later giving it the battle mask. The end result works a lot better than I expected, and I don't think this was done by other fans yet (I'm sure it has, but I've yet to see that). The head does slightly sit up higher, but it otherwise works.
The alternate head sculpt better depicts how this figure looked in the battle between him and a peculiar Jetformer in the movie, which was probably the only scene I liked before the rest of the movie started to be a drag. And no, that's not the exact Jetformer that I referred to, but he does look similar.
Here he is next to a couple of other Bumblebee figures in the Studio Series line! Aside from his VW counterpart, we have stuff like his Classic Camaro self, his Camaro Concept form, the WWII version of the character, and the not-quite-Studio-Series-at-first-but-later-released-in-Studio-Series TLK figure. Quite the beehive we have, eh? I will say that it's funny how WWII Bee stands out the most given his vehicle mode and color scheme.
And now it's time they sacrifice cheap a knock off to please their Bumble Gods! As for Offroad Bumblebee himself, or Bumblejeep, or B-127, or Jeep Bumblebee, I think he's the second-best figure in the Studio Series line to be based on the Bumblebee movie, which is kind of ironic that I would even mention that given my hatred for that film! It's at least good to see that the figures can be enjoyable even if their Beewun source material sucks balls. I like the design of the figure, the use of a Willys Jeep surprisingly works for Bumblebee, and he also has some great articulation! I should mention that some points were taken off for having loose joints out of the packaging as well as the lack of some accessories, but he is otherwise good to go. Optimus Prime remains the best figure in the line, but Offroad Bumblebee trumps Car Dropkick as the new second favorite, with the other ranks putting Car Dropkick in third, VW Bee in fourth, Car Shatter in fifth, and Chopper Dropkick in sixth for being a piece of slag. We'll see how Jet Shatter holds up later in the week, but I recommend you get Offroad Bumblebee while you still can!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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