General Information: Images:
Mech Tech Weapon: Is this disappointing? Absolutely. However, it must be stressed that this seems to only apply to the deluxe wave one so far. Larger figures do have weapons that can "stay" transformed and who knows? A future deluxe wave may have figures that can stay in their alternate form. Also please note that in my photos, I had to use various tricks to make the weapon stay in its alternate form (including liberal use of paper and paper clips to keep them in place). Bumblebee's weapon is a "Blaster" with a thick base, a hammer on the back and a small barrel in the front that looks more like the front end of a rifle or machine gun. It's definitely a formidable looking weapon with lots of cool sculpted detail including ridges on the safety, bolts on the sides and several layers of mechanical greebles. When you pull on the hammer, the weapon transforms by extending its length. The small barrel in the front folds out to reveal a significantly larger barrel that resembles the one Bumblebee transforms his arm into in the films. In a final detail, the top reveals a targeting scope as the weapon transforms. It's a very dramatic and cool transformation that is very reminscent of what we have seen in the feature films. The Mech Tech weapon is completely cast in grey plastic, with no other colors or paint applications. That's probably the only visual drawback since some black highlights or perhaps a bright color inside the larger barrel would have given it a bit more "life".
Vehicle Mode:
Overall, Bumblebee looks cool and I like a lot of the modifications added on. I'm only a tiny bit iffy on the spoiler, but I think it will grow on me. The detail level is very well done including the aforementioned air intakes on the hood, the Chevrolet logos on the front and back along with the words "Camaro SS" sculpted into the sides of the vehicle. Bumblebee is cast in the same deep yellow plastic color as the previous iterations of this character. The other plastic colors used are black and translucent blue. The black is used for his wheels and spoiler while the translucent blue is found on the windshield. Black, red and silver paint are used for the deco. Bumblebee of course has his characteristic black stripes running from the hood to the back of the vehicle. His front grille areas are painted black along with the extended piece on the bottom under the headlights. Silver is found on the front end where the Chevrolet logo and headlights are painted. The sides of the wheels are painted silver too. What surprised me is that the silver was used even more. Usually the wheels and the headlights are it, and everything else that could be silver is left unpainted. Instead, Bumblebee has silver Autobot symbols on both sides of the vehicle right under the "Camaro SS" logo. On the back, the license plate and Chevrolet logo are also painted silver, a big surprise as these details are usually sculpted but left unpainted. The rear lights are painted red, which looks great with the silver detailing. No doubt about it, Bumblebee is one fun and fierce looking Camaro! I should also mention a couple spots of yellow paint on the front end of the car on several panels including the one right above the Chevrolet logo. On the top of Bumblebee's vehicle mode, you'll notice a small circle in the middle of the cabin section. You can attach any Mech Tech weapon to that hole, and I really like the way the designers didn't just leave an open hole there but rather made sure it was covered up when the weapon is not inserted. Bumblebee's doors can also swing out to add a bit of "real life" functionality to the figure. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode:
This Bumblebee is not an exact clone of previous releases however. Several elements of this design are distinct:
Overall, this figure looks great. Fans may be a bit fatigued on the design at this point and I wouldn't blame them. However, I give credit where it's due and this Bumblebee looks cool and is super detailed. This mdoe reveals a lot of grey plastic. You'll see it on his waist, thighs, arms and ankles. Black palstic is used for smaller parts such as his hands. The other parts such as the head, armor and lower legs are cast in yellow, matching the color from the vehicle mode. The paint applications for this figure are focused on the head. It's sculpted in yellow with translucent blue light piping, but the face is silver along with some touches on the top. At first I was a bit surprised by this. Sure the decos from the vehicle mode front end carry over to the chest, but then I remembered that he had more paint apps in vehicle mode than normal, so my guess is the decision was made to focus on the vehicle mode (the form seein package) and leave some out on the robot mode. That said, I think it's a safe bet to say this sculpt will be given at least two to three redecos during the course of "Dark of the Moon" so I wouldn't be surprised if a version came out later with more paint applications in robot mode. Bumblebee has twenty two points of articulation in this mode, which is quite a bit for a deluxe class figure. His arms are the primary connection points for Mech Tech weapons and C clip weapons. I really appreciate the way the Mech Tech weapon was designed to have a resemblance to the cannon he transforms his arm into in the movies.
Final Thoughts:
 |
|||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|
Bumblebee is back! Like his previous appearances, Bumblebee has taken on an upgraded version of his previous Chevrolet Camaro modes. With that new vehicle mode comes a whole new sculpt with a Mech Tech weapon to boot!
