Oh wow, a new Transformers Prime review in so long that isn't from Legacy?! Anyways, I gotta be honest and say that of all the attempts to make Bumblebee more like the Movie iteration to an extent, Prime's definitely went out of its way to embrace it, contrasting how the Evergreen-influenced Cyberverse and Earthspark versions tried to add G1 influences. Of course, this was because Transformers Prime was meant to be a mashup of the movies and Animated, as part of the Aligned continuity that is meant to be the mashup of all mashups. This version of Bumblebee at least was able to add a spin of his own to the design so he wouldn't just be seen as a 1:1 cartoon version of his movie design. And hey, he did eventually get to have a more original design when he got older and Leader-like in Robots in Disguise 2015. But back to TFP, the First Edition line had toys I always wanted but never got. I never found a chance to get this Bumblebee, but I did get the PRID version on clearance and reviewed it in 2020 where I said it was alright for what it is. Now that I own the First Edition, we shall see what I missed out on all these years ago.
Here we have First Edition Bumblebee in his vehicle mode, depicted as the Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It will transform it. Anyways, this car isn't just a cartoonified Camaro, as it goes for a luxury approach rather than being more like a traditional muscle car. It's somewhat boxier proportions help give it that extra bit of identity that doesn't just make him a blatant copy of Movie Bumblebee's design. But this is the same car you might be familiar with if you remember the PRID version, which we'll get to. I should mention that my copy does have some sharpie here and there as well as some paint rub on the stripes due to this belonging to a previous owner, so I do apologize for that.
The only issue that is moreso at the fault of HasTak and not the previous owner is the misalignment of the stripes on the doors and the front and back fenders. But beyond that, this car mode is hard not to love as someone who grew up with the TFP series. Believe me, this was a nostalgic dream come true.
For a vehicle mode comparison, here we have the First Edition next to the PRID version released a year later. Now mine has painted rims that were originally not present. Those were some of the more successful Sharpie detailings I added because the other ones weren't as successful. I like the shade of blue for the clear plastic, but the two of them are equally good for the altmode.
Transformation is very involved for this guy, and moreso than even some recent Deluxes in the Studio Series line. Between the way the figure aims to not have much of a backpack, and the approach it has towards making a more compact chest, it results in a lot more devotion towards the transformation scheme that is normally not seen on a 2020s-era Deluxe. The robot mode is much closer to the CG model than expected, with the aforementioned chest and the broad upper body that makes the arms more integrated than with his later-released counterpart. His torso is skinnier than expected and the legs are still very similar to G1 Jazz's, but this is undoubtedly the best that Bumblebee's ever looked in the TFP design, at least from an official toy form. One annoyance is that the arms and wings are in permanent angles, and the pecs can disconnect from the hooks they lock into loosely. A minor nitpick is the light gray plastic color used on the ball joints. Other than that, astonishing figure!
His head sculpt is the cartoonified movie design that he initially had before he regained his voice in the end of Season 3. Certainly reliant on a specific iteration from the past, then again, so was the WFC version. And of course, we got a more original design in RID15. My copy still has the sharpie paint that was added from the previous owner. Anyways, the head is on a ball joint while the shoulders swivel at one part while they hinge in and out due to the connection they have with the wheels. The elbows are on ball joints and the forearms can swivel. The wrists can somewhat curl inwards. There is a bit of a waist swivel while the hips are on ball joints, thighs swivel, knees bend, and the ankles can hinge somewhat. My copy is missing his cannon, sorry.
As far as reuses are concerned, this is the NYCC version of Bumblebee, recolored to look like a taxi in addition to having more opaque windows. His yellow is more cheddary than the regular version of Bumblebee. He came with a G1-colored Arcee and minifigures of Jack Darby and Raf Esquivel wearing "I 💓 NY" shirts.
And this is the PRID 2-pack repaint that came with a Dark Energon-influenced Starscream. His yellow is much more faded, he has his stripes fade from black to blue for some reason, and not only has the same yellow waist of the NYCC toy but also has some paint apps missing on the torso.
And finally, the figure was a victim of canceled repaints that Hasbro should have made. Released in a 2-pack with the original Generations WFC Bumblebee, these two canceled repaints received battle damaged paint apps (the FE guy trading some of his existing deco details in favor of battle damage) and two uniquely colored Scraplets were to have been included, alluding to the episode "Scrapheap" in the Transformers Prime series. This was probably canceled since Hasbro probably felt held back by the budget of more expensive toys, hence all the downsizing...even though this would have been the perfect store exclusive for the holiday season. I'm surprised Hasbro didn't release this since they had a huge obsession with making Bumblebee repaints back then.
For a figure comparison, here we have the First Edition with the PRID version...what a night and day difference. The PRID version was fine for what it was. But it clearly was meant to be the cheaper substitute for the more impressive First Edition guy. Admittedly, his wings are at the angle I'd want, but the First Edition figure is much better in terms of plastic quality, robot mode accuracy, and more value for money.
This guy beats the PRID version so much, he's taking those twin cannons away from him while the PRID version will go on a shelf of figures that I'd call "The Misfit Bots", filled with figures that have nowhere else to go either because of lack of continuity rep or figures that were replaced.
And here we have the canyon trio that fought in the episode "Masters and Students". Bumblebee and Optimus look great together, but Skyquake is surprisingly able to blend in with both of them in spite of being a bit G1-influence in terms of blockiness. Either way, I love owning First Edition Bumblebee. He reminds me of a time when I was excited to have a new Transformers series that felt like The Clone Wars, and it was a shame I could never get it easily. Thankfully, he and Prime were bought for nearly $50. And hey, I got a free Legacy Galvatron, too! I do hope APC Toys makes a bootleg First Edition Bumblebee someday. And while they're at it, can we get one in the Beast Hunters stealth colors with an option to swap the head out for an unmasked face like in the end of "Deadlock" and in Predacons Rising?
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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