Name: Bumblebee
Series: Generations
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Cybertronian Car
CAR MODE
Height: 5cm Length: 10.5cm Width: 7.5cm
A yellow car with smoky transparent windows, black plastic tyres & neon red pinstripes. His taillights and front grille are neon red, along with an Autobot logo stamped on his hood. The hubcaps are yellow with transparent red on their fringes. It's very much Bumblebee, although the yellow here has a metallic sheen not usually seen on Bumblebee toys.
There's a Tron like feel to the curved car mode. The shape is actually broadly that of VW Beetle, but the styling reminds me more of the modern Nissan Micra. The sculpt is quite good, with a diamond latticed grille and textures on the taillights and rear licence plate area. There's an awkward gap on the roof, well three of them linked together. At a glance it might seem like Bumblebee's just loose, but the gaps can't be closed, the pieces don't line up.
There's little play value here, which is to be expected really. His wheels roll, and they do so quite well - although he wont necessarily roll straight, since he doesn't have axles. There are no weapons here.
While this is generally a good mode, the gaps on the roof are difficult to overlook. The overall look works well and it's an interesting concept. A good mould but one that's held back by a significant flaw.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
A complex transformation with a _lot_ of panel movement & twists, so I'll summarise. The legs are hidden under the rear of the roof, the head is under the hood, which becomes his chest. The arms are concealed within the front fenders. Much of the roof ends up tucked away on his back. The rears tyres end up as his ankles and there's a gun tucked away behind the rear bumper.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 14.5cm Width: 13.5cm
A yellow robot with black feet, thighs, hands and elbows. Bumblebee has a black waist, silver face and blue eyes. Again there are neon red painted details - including the red grille & Autobot logo on his chest. There are gold painted panels on the outsides of his ankles. While the gold is a little left-field, this is a good colour scheme which again fits Bumblebee well.
Even with the kibble of the roof shell on his back, Bumblebee has a good body shape here. The front fenders - complete with tyres - sit on his forearms as features. One aspect which I really like here is how the torso protrudes - in a very G1 kind of way (think Jazz). His limbs are actually kind of lanky, but there's enough bulk in his yellow boots and the fenders on his arms that he doesn't look scrawny. The head sculpt is pure Bumblebee, with the rounded horns on either side.
There aren't any gimmicks here as such, but Bumblebee can hold his black and yellow gun in either hand. There are transparent red blades which can fold out from underneath his forearms, giving Bumblebee rather cool melee weapons. He has great poseability, with ball joints in his neck, shoulders and wrists (although the latter are quite restricted). His elbows are hinged with rotators while his waist turns. The hips swing and lift out to the side, The knees bend and have rotators. His ankles are fixed, but he stands fairly well thanks to his large flat feet.
A good robot mode without any real flaws. The only negative here is the chunk of kibble on his back, but that's far from a deal breaker. The poseability is very good and his weapons, while simple, work very well. The character of Bumblebee is clearly represented here.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. Cliffjumper is a retool of Bumblebee.
OVERALL
A good Transformer despite a significant flaw in vehicle mode. He's visually appealing in both modes, with a sleek car mode and a well-proportioned robot mode with a very G1 chest. The colours work well and the robot mode's weapons are well thought out. The transformation is intricate, and while he's something of a shellformer, it's not a trivial transformation. I'd recommend this toy if you're a fan of the Classics/Generations (etc) toys - 7.5/10
|
