Name: Bumblebee
Series: Universe
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Sports Car
CAR MODE
Height: 2.5cm Length: 6.5cm Width: 3.5cm
A yellow hatchback with black tyres and metallic blue windows, Bumblebee is a hatchback but is distinctly not a VW Beetle due to licensing issues. Despite this, he is a representation of G1 Bumblebee. The headlights are sky blue while there's a red stamped Autobot logo on his roof. The colour scheme is simple yet effective, as on the original toy.
This is a fairly lowriding hatch, Bumblebee is more of a sports car than a functional car (like say, the VW Beetle), and in this respect looks like Animated Bumblebee, although there is also a Legends toy of that character. It's a decent car mode, at any rate, and has a Universe/Classics feel about it. As you'd expect of a Legends car the play value doesn't go beyond the wheels.
A simple car with a focused paint job which is more detailed than is often the case at this size. I would have liked a shape closer to the original Beetle, but this is close enough to sell the character, so I'm not complaining.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Pull the front down and forward to become his legs, pulling the groin into place. Fold up and split the feet, straighten the legs. Pull the rear fenders out to the sides, fold the rear down behind to form his back - and reveal the face - the fenders will swing down to form arms, swing the arms into place and you're done.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 7.5cm Width: 4.5cm
A yellow robot with black upper arms, fists, legs and a black groin. Bumblebee has a silver face and the red Autobot logo is on his lower torso. The windshield is on his waist and the grille and headlights on his feet, rounding out a colour scheme which is simple and effective. It's Bumblebee to the ground, and clearly based on Bumblebee as we saw in the cartoon, with the yellow forearms and a black groin (something the original toy lacked all together).
From the colours to the well sculpted face to the little horns on his head, there is Bumblebee all over this robot mode - far more than the car mode. The transformation is fairly similar, too, although with tweaks that allow for a groin and a shorter chest to match. The arms sit inside the yellow rear fenders, but this is the only car kibble here, and he sports the front as feet and roof as chest which are hallmarks of the character.
As you'd expect of this size class, there are no gimmicks here. His poseability is limited but then this robot mode is more about tribute than articulation. His arms swing at the shoulders and his hips are ball jointed. His ankles are hinged but the feet are blocky so there's not a lot of actual poseability in his legs, but it's more than the Minibot, at least.
A very displayable Bumblebee robot with a good paint job and colour layout providing a very strong tribute, as well as some updates to the bodyshape compared to the original toy. The poseability is lacking compared to most legends, so he's not as playable as some might like. Still, this is a rewarding robot mode.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. Takara released this mould in red as Cliffjumper. There's also a Goldbug repaint (although it was sold as Bumblebee).
OVERALL
A good Legends toy with a very strong tribute in robot mode and a solid vehicle mode which departs from the VW Beetle a little more than I'd like. The robot mode and transformation are nice updates on the Minibot at a similar size. The play value is minimal but he displays quite well. One for the G1 fans - 7/10
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