TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

Blackjack's review: Legends Animated Bumblebee

Name: Bumblebee
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Espionage Causing trouble for Autobots, Babysitter, Kid-appeal
Series: Universe Animated

Bumblebee has always been one of my favourite characters. With him being yellow and all. Bumblebee has been my favourite kid-appeal character. I mean, who else? Cheetor? Wheelie? Nightscream? Hot Shot? Jolt?

Transformers Animated heralds a new Bumblebee, a successor to the G1 and Movie versions of the character. Like Ratchet, Bumblebee has only appeared outside G1 (including Classics, G2 et al) in the Movie and Animated series. Taking cues from Cheetor and Hot Shot, this version of Bumblebee is more brash and has a need for speed. He also likes to tease others. In a way, this characterization is a slightly more interesting interpretation than G1 Cartoon Bumblebee.

Bumblebee appears as one of the main five Autobots, and essentially is the brash and jovial kid-friendly character, at times putting him at odds with the silent and collected Prowl. BB is often partnered with Bulkhead and the human Sari. Oh, and did I mention he's yellow?

For some reason his legends toy is packaged in Universe packaging. In fact, all four Legends molds are in the Universe line. Ah well.

ROBOT MODE

The first legends class figures I saw were those from the Movie line. And to be blunt, they are crap. Sure, Bonecrusher and Megatron were adequate toys, but the Legends class doesn't really do the Movie designs justice. Then came the Universe Legends. Those were wonderful, and I like especially the new original molds for the G1 characters. I was mildly surprised that Animated characters get thrown into the mix, but then, Hasbro had done similar things before. Like, lest we forget, the G1 robot heroes being released in the movie line.

Anyway, we're here to review the toy. Bumblebee is packaged in robot mode. Charming in his own little way, Bumblebee is an excellent representation of his animated self. His robot mode sports a faux car top as the chest.

Articulation is rather nice as well. The legs have knee and waist joints, while the arms have shoulder joints. The articulation is not up to that of Legends Prowl, but then, it's understandable. Bumblebee's arms, molded into the car doors, actually work, unlike his movie counterpart in legends class.

Oh, and his neck even has articulation. Chin up!

Bumblebee's paint job is mainly yellow, with black and hints of blue and gray playing around. His eyes are baby blue. Bumblebee's face sculpt is excellent, being mainly silver and with a slightly arrogantly-poised mouth, which is a bit more than a gash.

There's not really much to say about Bumblebee, but it's sufficient to say that it's an excellent toy and very cute at that.

ALTERNATE MODE

Bumblebee's alternate mode is Captain Fanzone's undercover police car. It is a nice update, being similar to his G1 Volkswagen mode but not being anachronistic. In a way it is a stylized mode of his Classics alt mode with a black racing stripe. Hey, the stripe's customized.

Bumblebee's alternate mode rolls rather well on the ground, and the little red police bulb is a cute detail. The vehicle alternate mode is a very charming, cute, and is very well-done.

Now, most of the legends class figures, most notably the Movie line, sacrifice the robot mode for the vehicle mode, or vice versa. But Bumblebee, like Universe Hound and Jazz, does both in excellence.

Now, my Bumblebee suffers from slightly sloppy painting, with the gaps in the windshield being particularly visible. I don't know whether it's only on mine or on most of the Bumblebees.

There's not much to say about him. Regardless, he's a fantastic toy. Highly recommended.

Marks out of ten for the following:

DURABILITY 10/10 Bumblebee is a very solid toy. The only problem you might encounter is loose shoulder/hip joints or paint wear. Heck, mine survived a two-storey fall. No, really.
PRICE 8/10 The perks of being a wee TF lover.
TRANSFORMATION 2/10 for hardness, 9/10 for design.
FUN 9/10 For me he's an easy 9 or 10. He's cute and small, fits in your pocket, and nearly the same size as the original BB. But for those who like bigger transformers or not into Animated designs its probably a 5/10.
OVERALL 8/10 Well? What else is bad from this toy? He's durable, looks nice, show-accurate, and I just like Bumblebee. Also, as the kitbashers in this forum presented, opens many pathways for kitbashing. And, well... I just can't resist any legends Bumblebee.