Here are the three figures in their altmodes. Two cars and a giant bird. I feel Bumblebee's vehicle mode is his best mode, yet it has issues of its own, mostly with the inconsistent shades of yellow for the molded plastic and the clear parts painted in the same color. Bumblebee toys have had this issue in recent times, but this is the worst example of it yet. At the very least, his wheels are pinned, but that robot kibble will lead to some clearance issues. Airazor is not too bad in terms of her beast mode, but it is neat that despite having her legs become wings, they manage to work well enough and not look too clunky than one would expect. It can be tricky to get her to stand because her arms become the bird legs, though. But this is based more on concept art and isn't screen-accurate. Mirage's vehicle mode isn't a licensed Porsche but manages to remain faithful enough apart from the paint not being silver. I also don't like how the tires aren't painted while the rims are. Makes no sense.
Here is Bumblebee next to his Studio Series counterpart, which manages to be the overall better toy. Having the figure reduce the use of clear plastic for the doors and instead make them separate pieces was a smart decision. I also like that the Studio Series version looks more complete in terms of detailing, with the headlights being more prominent and the stripes not being broken by thr
If you wanted, you could display this guy without the accessories, but while the windshield looks fine, the bumper looks like its mustache got shaved off and looks.worse without jt
Transforming this guy is no different from the average Bumblebee since 2007. But I will say that I like how the wheels go behind Bumblebee's head rather than stay in front of the doors like before, though the leg transformation and backpacks looks like it's back to parts hinging onto each other rather than folding inwards to be more flush. The resulting robot mode looks like a mashup of the design we have from ROTB mixed with the proportions he'd have in 2007. It's a weird mix that feels like it's trying to mimic his Classic Camaro design he briefly had in the first movie, yet it doesn't go well with the simpler design traits. He thankfully is closer to the aesthetics of the main 5 movies for Rise of the Beasts, but it just doesn't really fit that well for the accurate design, especially with how it wasn't meant to be lean. That and he has his cheat with the pecs parallel rather than angled like Bumblebees generally are. He is also REALLY lacking in paint for some areas, mostly the thighs, feet, and the arms.
His head sculpt is bot too bad, and I guess it does a better job at doing the unique yellow detail around the cheeks better with how it doesn't look too cheap. He also doesn't have an Autobot insignia on his forehead, which is explained by Scourge taking it from him briefly. His articulation consists of ball joints for the neck, shoulders, and hips, swivels above the elbows as well as the left hand, waist and thighs, hinges at the elbows, knees, and both the ankles below the knees and as well as pivoting side to side. His bumper can become a pair of daggers, which do a decent job at passing off as such despite being partsformed weaponry. Better than the windshield guard being a shield; why does Hasbro make vehicle parts with holes as shields on Transformers? His right hand can flip around to become a blaster, which is reminiscent of his AOE Camaro Concept Deluxe counterpart's gimmick. And no, my copy doesn't have issues with the torso not tabbing in. I was able to resolve that by hinging the torso upwards where it stays properly. The head doesn't really feel secure, though.
For a comparison with his Studio Series counterpart, you can tell which figure got more attention put towards it than the other, as I feel the mainline Deluxe was made before the Studio Series version was even put in production, what with a difference in concept art and the movie being delayed by a year. Studio Series makes for a much stronger mold by comparison, feeling refined and not as half-baked as the mainline version.
If you lived in the countries that sold these Deluxes individually rather than in 3-packs, then you could easily skip mold if you need to. By comparison, getting Mirage and Airazor in the US means you have to get Bumblebee as well. I mean, you could sell him, but it would be odd to go from the well-made Studio Series toy to this.
Up next, here is Airazor next to her Studio Series counterpart. Obviously, neither figure is accurate to the movie, as the design has more feathers and us a darker color overall, but both figures do bird modes quite well enough. One is basically a moviefied Kingdom Deluxe while the other resembles the old Basic figure if I'm honest.
And here she is along with her fellow Maximals. Their beast modes don't match the CGI models that well apart from maybe Primal, but they make good designs regardless, and it makes me wish we had tbe rest of the Season 1 team, and by extension, the Predacons.
Transformation is more original than the Studio Series figure, as it goes for its own sequence rather than copying an existing figure. We already mentioned how the wings become legs and the bird legs become robot arms, but the way the bird rotates upside-down to be in bot mode position while the head rotated to remain in the traditional animal head chest position makes this figure more creative than what the Studio Series version is. The robot mode definitely is a different style from the movies, looking more like a TFP version of the character than a movie Airazor. I kind of like it, as a fan of both the movies, TFP, and Beast Wars. The colors are also much nicer here, nowhere near as washed out as on the Studio Series. The wings are smaller but they don't make her hard to remain standing on some surfaces.
Head sculpt looks very non-movie with how smooth it is, which once again makes me think of this figure as more of a TFP take on her. Didn't the series intend on having Maximals in addition to the Predacons before the budget issues rose up? Anyways, her articulation is about the same as Bumblebee's, but she lacks ant wrist articulation of any kind while her waist is static and her ankles do not pivot. The two blades stored on her wings can peg onto her hands, and I like these on her with the wings deployed.
For a robot mode comparison with her Studio Series counterpart, neither is accurate once again as Airazor remained in beast mode the whole time, but I will say that the mainline figure impressed me more than the Studio Series version, though I will criticize its elbows being loose.
And here she is with the Maximals. I like that the mainline figures differentiate themselves from the Studio Series versions by choosing to be accurate to Beast Wars Season 1 while the final designs resemble Beast Machines by comparison. And that covers the Maximals as their team is complete (there is no Apelinq toy yet).
And finally, we have Mirage next to the Battle Changer that I got before the Deluxe. While the cheaper toy isn't too bad in altmode, I will admit that a somewhat shinier gray plastic and the extra paint apps on the Deluxe make it more definitive, though the gray tires still look stupid.
His weapon can store on the back, and not in a really convenient way as it looks slapped on there. At the very least, this guy will look good with the rest of the ROTB figures, seen here with mainline Wheeljack and the Studio Series versions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Arcee.
Transforming Mirage is somewhat concerning due to the fragility of clear plastic on recent Transformers, and my copy has a crack near the hinge in vehicle mode, sadly. That being said, apart from the use of faux parts, this guy manages to be fairly faithful to the CG model than the Studio Series version. Yeah, he has a backpack, and the shoulder kibble looks off when it sticks forwards (on top of him looking like a good guy Recon Barricade), he doesn't look like a shellformwr thr way the Studio Series figure does. And hey, unlike a lot of figures from the mid-2010s, you can still see his hands from the sides since they're separate pieces! One criticism I do have is how blocky the colors look on him. With some color break-up to make him match the CG model, I'm sure he could pop better.
His head is noteworthy for how inaccurate it is to Mirage's character design. Only the promo art has this masked look, as the final model not only gave him a exposed face, but he also had a lot more blue than this toy does. I kind of want to give it a head swap and paint this guy up badly. Oh, and his articulation is the same as the others, but his wrists curl inwards while there is no ankle articulation.
For some size comparisons, here he is next to the Battle Changer to showcase that maybe adding some extra coloring helps make a toy look less drab as is the case with the lower-tier Mirage. And next to the other ROTB mainline Autobots, he honestly ranks in third place while Wheeljack is in second and Bumblebee falls in fourth place. Being a Voyager makes Optimus in 1st place, of course.
And that covers the second Jungle Mission 2-pack! Honestly, this set kind of falls a bit short than the first set. While Nightbird was a bit mediocre, Hasbro did a good job with Cheetor and especially Wheeljack, as those two were equally good in my opinion. This set has a really good Nightbird, a decent Mirage, and a weak Bumblebee. Once again, I'd recommend getting Airazor and Mirage if they were individually sold in the US, but you're stuck getting them as a set sold exclusively at Target. Otherwise, it's still worth getting as it isn't overly expensive because you're not paying nearly $80, and Target tends to have deals often, so maybe wait for it to go on sale if you think Bumblebee holds the set back?
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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