100 Studio Series figures...and the fact that we got ourselves Bumblebee starting the line back in 2018 before we make our way to 2023 for a new Transformers movie as well as a new addition to the Studio Series line coming soon in the form of the Gamer(s Rise Up) Edition of War for Cybertron video game characters. Now it's funny how Bumblebee kickstarted the line as a Classic Camaro. That much is fairly known due to the way the figure initially had mixed reception to the figure, with some people having bad QC and criticizing it (or even being an animal on-screen like Baltmatrix), but we've seen better iterations of that mold pop up since, and now it combines the classic Baybee look with the rounded proportions that the VW design has. Let's see if our 100th Studio Series figure wins fans over!
Here is Bumblebee in his Classic Camaro form, this time modified to have offroad tires, a rollbar, and a bumper protector to make the vehicle look ready for all of the rough-terrain adventures Bumblebee is set to explore throughout the movie. While Bee's vehicle mode updates are generally cosmetics to line-up with the latest version of the Camaro, or in the case of the solo movie, the character not being decisive with what kind of mode he wants as much as the actual movie is with either being a prequel or reboot, this makes sense for Bee to utilize. It's still the same iconic alt mode but with all of the parts that make him more effective in traveling through various areas that aren't a standard city road. I do wish that the rollbar had some paint apps for the foglights, but I do appreciate that we get a familiar yet altered altmode that gives Bumblebee an actual reason to change altmodes beyond the usual Camaro update.
In general, I feel this works perfectly for Bumblebee, balancing the familiar with the new context of an entirely different mission he's going to explore, but I don't like how abruptly the black trim ends between the arches above the wheels. There's supposed to be black paint near where the front and back ends of the car are already painted black, and the door and the portion of the car near the front wheels also need black paint. The spoiler should also use a bit of black paint to compliment the back of the car's black rear. You can see the arms underneath, but that's the least of the car's worries.
Like a lot of Bumblebee figures in the past, the weapon storage involves you pegging the gun on the back and the blade underneath the car. And yeah, they're both cast in yellow plastic. I like that the gun is painted, even if the barrel isn't, but the blade being solid yellow is stupid as fuck, come on Hasbro.
For a vehicle mode comparison, here he is in-between regular VW Bee and Clunkerbee. I like this form of evolution depicting the Baybeebeetle nad the more traditional Camaro he'll stick with up until before the Arrival to Earth for the Autobots. It's funny how fans were so desperate in screeching Knightverse and the like yet this Bee is a bit of a sign that they aren't getting a true Bumblebee 2 anytime soon.
Transformation is similar to the way Bumblebees transformed in the past, though it's simplified to be much easier to work with than either the Beetle version of the guy or the Clunker iteration. The upper body transforms the same yet we don't have mini wings to go with the door, and the leg transformation is simpler to give us the leg design he has in the film. It's amusing how these legs end up being accurate compared to the VW version's junky legs and tiny feet. The resulting robot mode continues combining the aesthetics of his younger and older forms to make an intermediate design that makes him quite appealing as the missing link that a dumbass top swap from the end of the movie would never do right. We have chunkier legs yet the upper body has the broken up torso and wings that scream Bumblebee. While his legs have wheels slapped on them, they are going to be accurate to the movie, and if we look in the back, the doors may not have the mini wings, but at least the doors are not cast in clear plastic. See, that wasn't so hard, Hasbro.
Head sculpt is mostly good, but the lighter shade of yellow plastic, softer sculpt work on the parts that are unpainted, and the limited deco severely lets it down. If the figure was cast in a darker shade of yellow and had sharper sculptwork, then it'd probably be easier to stomach without the shallow silver paint not even going all the way around the face (even if the parts of the cheeks slightly below the eyes need to remain yellow). It's just as bad as the unpainted blade. His articulation consists of a loose ball jointed head, shoulders on tighter ball joints, elbows that bend as well as swivel above the hinge, a swivel for the waist, hips that are on ball joints, thigh swivels, the knees bend, and the ankles can swivel as well as pivot. You can have him hold the gun in one hand and attach the blade on the other, which makes it look even worse when attached to him.
This isn't the only Deluxe Bumblebee to pop up in time for the newest movie; this is the mainline Deluxe Bumblebee figure, and while some fans would point out how needlessly similar the two toys are, the two toys are entirely different from one another. The proportions of the mainline figure not only makes him taller but also closer to the proportions of the original Bumblebee design he had in 2007. There are no parts reused between figures, the right arm has a flip-out cannon, the bumper becomes two daggers, there are more yellow-shade discrepancies between parts of the figure, and the funny part about the toy is how it does all this while having one nice trick with the wheels going to the back of the car while the wheels are better integrated onto the lower legs. Otherwise, this guy needs some tweaking to be better.
As for a robot mode size comparison, it's great to have this guy continue as the missing link between his Beetle and MV1 design iterations with the design traits of both figures, and it's nice to see this guy come back to the more iconic Camaro while remaining as chunky as his younger Beetle self. That said, it is interesting how he has the more standard shade of yellow one would find from G1 Bee while the other Bees have the more standard shade of yellow that one would expect in the movies.
Overall, this guy is nearly close to trumping Offroad Bumblebee. I like the mashup of iterations of Bee's life, I like the smoother transformation, and I like how we get a Camarobee with an armblade, which hadn't been done outside of the toy-only melee weapons that were in the older movie toys. I just wish he had better paint apps to make the figure look less cheap, which is somewhat fixed by having the figure in lighting that makes the toy looks more professional than it currently is. Regardless, I'm he is worth getting for the engineering and design traits available, but be ready to paint him up.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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