Next up in our series of galleries looking at the Transformers Generations Wave 5 is Bumblebee! This version of the beloved yellow Autobot is based on the rebuilt body Bumblebee received at the end of his miniseries early in the Mike Costa era and that he then retained for the remainder of the ongoing. It is best described visually as a hybrid of classic and movie Bumblebee designs, giving Bumblebee a look which is both modern in respect of the resemblance to the Movie and Prime musclecar Bumblebees, but also retro with some of the nods to the original Bumblebee – in particular the headsculpt, which is a Bumblebee face very strongly based on the Generation 1 look that you can almost see Dan Gilvezan providing the voice of.
That being said, while Bumblebee has a great look, he falls far short of the other new toys in this assortment. Unlike Trailcutter, Megatron and Orion Pax, there are some vehicle mode parts left hanging off of the robot mode, in particular the whole roof of the car. But Bumblebee also falls short technically, with his elbow movement restricted by hard plastic notches, a shade of yellow plastic that may not please everyone, and the sliding panels on the lower leg feeling tight to the point you worry you might break them. On my Bumblebee also the legs, which are purely friction joints – not balljoints or even pin joints – were a bit loose at the knees. It is a pity, because there are a lot of good ideas that went into the Bumblebee design – but I was left feeling that Bumblebee perhaps should have been put back a wave to let his design be polished to the level of Megatron, Trailcutter or Orion Pax.
Overall, Bumblebee is not terrible – he’s the weakest of the four, but still looks nice when displayed. The Goldbug / Goldfire version might be the one to look toward though, for being an official Classics style Goldbug as well as being in a generally nicer looking deco.
Check out the gallery of Bumblebee at the link below:
SHADDO
While I realize this post is pretty late in coming, I wanted to offer some input anyway.
While I have never been a huge fan, or even a mediocre fan, of Bumblebee in general, I REALLY started to hate the character more and more as numerous versions of the figure have appeared on shelves…and then STAYED there, clogging up the pegs at retail because Hasbro foolishly believed that heavy packing such a boring character was a good sales idea. I know, I know…he has kid appeal, and that IS true…but he doesn't have as much kid appeal as Hasbro wants to believe…nor as much as they want us to believe either, as adult collectors.
I loved the DotM alt style BB, but I loathe and detest ALL of the Bayformers' bot modes, pure and simple, so I didn't have to bother with any of the movie stuff, except for the occasional Generations figure that got tossed in here and there. TF Prime was an improvement over the horrible Bayformer bots by far, but still took me awhile to get warmed up to them because they carried over that stupidly inane beeping/chirping R2-D2esque non-speaking BB from the movies. I actually don't mind the new muscle car alt mode BB has gotten, as even a gimpy character would want a cool alt mode eventually…right? If for no other reason than to try and make the bad guys a little less sure about kicking his yellow @$$. Still after a few million years, he was bound to pick up at least some battle savvy along the way.
At any rate, I got so tired of seeing yellow peg warmers in every store and never being able to get new waves of figures because "PegwarmerBee" was taking up all the space and blocking reorders, I began to hate the character. It also made me feel like we never needed another BB…and ESPECIALLY in the Generations line. Besides which we already had at least 3 of them in Deluxe Class: Classics Bee Wave 1(?), (which suited him well vehicle-wise at least), then the WfCybertron version, (which I passed on for suckiness factors that also got passed along to recast WfC Cliffjumper), and then the RtS movie style repaint of Classics Bee, (which I actually liked more than the actual Classics version, because he looked like a bee with the new color scheme). So, to find out that we were getting YET another BB…well, I wasn't thrilled. I felt it was a waste of a perfectly good mold, even moreso considering that we were almost immediately getting a remolded Goldfire (aka Goldbug) out of the deal.
Now, I totally get that there are collectors and fans who have been waiting, or at least hoping for a Generations Goldbug to come along and this was (sort of) the moment that they'd been awaiting. I get it and have zero problem with that. As a matter of fact, if the Goldfire version was the initial offering of the mold and then we ended up with another character down the line…like the upcoming Nightbeat (though he should come with his companion figure instead of these stupid "intake cannons"…yet AGAIN…!), that would have been great. WE get two new figures without cheap looking Bee popping up again. Yes, we now have THREE figures rather than two, but as I said (and others as well), he looks and feels uber cheapo…just like the Animated BB did.
What makes it worse that we have this BB, is the poor design/sculpt aspects that make it feel even cheaper:
1) The issue of the rear windows not locking together properly. (Goldfire does, BB doesn't…)
2) The weirdness of the backpack…sadly too reminiscent of those shoddy Bayformers… that hangs down and really didn't need to. The little point that goes between the feet should have just been designed as part of the foot section and would have greatly improved the look.
3) The mismatched paint apps on his arms…along with the cheap looking plastic…
4) Those big stabilizers extending out the backs of his feet just look goofy…I think something else could have been done to help him stand and not look so bad.
5) Lack of hand articulation and ball jointed head is a negative also.
6) In alt mode, his chest plate drags the ground and actually prevents his front wheels from even touching the ground in vehicle mode…(This holds true for Goldfire as well, even though the rear window issue was resolved by his release). Not an easy fix to make either, so I am going to have to do some work to determine how to approach that one…
So, while the figure overall isn't exactly horrible for a BB figure, there is quite a bit about it that isn't very good either…ESPECIALLY those stupid@$$#d vehicle mounted "Intake Cannons"!! Talk about a ******ed looking weapon and totally unwieldy…it's just ridiculous and extremely lame…so I chucked every one of them in the trash and found weapons that actually LOOK like weapons. Worth picking up? Sure…especially for fans of BB and completist collectors…for everyone else, maybe skip him and go with Goldfire unless you are also sick of those movie version Bayformers, but would like a nice Generations style bot mode with the cool alt mode reminiscent of the Prime cartoon…and yes, the movies too. I do advise ditching the lame gun things though…stupid looking and a waste of plastic.
With all that being said, and yes, I am wrapping up soon, I feel that while Hasbro delivered on a pretty cool version of Goldbug for Classics fans with the new (updated?) Goldfire…flaws and all, they missed a golden opportunity (no pun intended) to give us two figures that we sort of got cheated on previously. In my opinion, I think Hasbro would have had a great opportunity to present us with Generations Tailgate and Windcharger using this mold (with some slight fixes to the mold itself)…although, I'm sure that the TFCC will take the opportunity to charge an inane amount of money for those as club figures, as they did with Runabout and Runamuck using the Wheeljack/Tracks mold, since Hasbro didn't capitalize on it initially. I can't justify paying such a hefty sum for what we should have gotten as $13.00 figures, so I picked up an extra of each for customization into those two characters. With that being said, anyone done a sculpt of a Deluxe scale Generations Tailgate head that I could buy? Already snagged a sweet Windcharger head.
My thoughts on the matter.
Infosaur
I'm sick of Yellow Menace, but I actually kinda like this mold. Car looks pretty sharp to me.
If I see the "Goldbug" redeco I might pick it up.
bellpeppers
I have returned to his mold, and found it not as bad the second tiime around. However this will not replace my Classics Bee.
I will still nab the Goldbug redeco, and at best this will be an expendable one on my shelf.
Rockdown
Classics Bumblebee is the definitive Bumblebee; this thing is so inferior it hurts.
VE Telus
Question: When this is released, would it take over Classic Bumblebee's place on your Classics shelf?
I like to have only one definitive Classics character out, and as many different molds as possible. Given that Renderform essentially gave us a wonderful Goldbug head on a Henkei body, is anyone else considering replacing Classics BB with this? That would leave Hubcap and Bumblejumper using the Classics molds on my shelf, which is not bad at all. Thoughts?
Obliterator999
Wow, he's underwhelming, isn't he? I don't dislike to mold, but damn that paint job looks so lackluster. And the arms… Who thought painting yellow on top of BLACK would look good…?
Any japanese version of this figure?
Stryker055
I flip between hating this toy and kinda liking it. I think Goldbug will no doubt look a ton better, assuming the gold plastic doesn't look as cheap as the yellow. Because good Lord, that yellow plastic is trash.
Autovolt 127
I've been waiting for this design to get a toy since I read International Incident (yeah i know it's awful, but this design is cool).
The paint seems lacking though.
General Magnus
I don´t have really any interest in characters like Bumblebee unless they can fend of for themselves in battle or characters who aren´t hardened by battle. And what you define as "pseudo" is in fact the reality of conflict, those who don´t adapt or learn to fight are more likely to get a bullet between the eyes. I already have to suspend my suspension of disbelief for transforming robots in a lot of crap, the fact that characters like BB exist is something that nearly kills it for me.
And I really don´t care or even like the "underdog" myth that has been done in fiction ad nauseum, that dynamic is old as shit and to me is completely uninteresting. It is refreshing to see the good guys standing on equal footing or even surpassing for the bad guys.
grunge
i … eagerly await the goldfire edition.
um … g1 bumblebee shot megatron in the face point blank more than once i believe. that was in the sunbow cartoon but even so … shot. megatron. in the face. he may not be strong, but hes quick on his feet. fight and flee. im not saying bee is totally awesome, but he wasnt a total dead man walking on the battle field either.
… oh noes! i defended bumblebee!
DeathsHead
It's not harsh, it's simply a pointless justification for making all the characters similar and boring. Reality be damned – if we are going to tread the path of 'realism' in Transformers then we may as well give up now. The series needs a mix of 'old' and 'young', weak and strong to keep it interesting. Even the tech specs on the old boxes try and create a colossal difference in attitudes and abilities amongst the various protagonists.
I'm no huge fan of the cartoon, but I always enjoyed comic strip Bumblebee for being a bit different to the 'warrior robot' caste. Ditto Rachet, who isn't written as grizzled veteran, but instead as a youthful idealist and pacifist. A medical man driven to do things he finds hard to resolve. This is a MUCH more interesting character than anything created by arguing psuedo 'facts' that suggest all the Autobots must – by now – be trained killers. It also reminds an audience that the thing the Autobots strive to protect – a peaceful way of life – is not completely extinguished by making everyone hardened soldiers. Against the Decepticons, who are killers to the last man, they are at a disadvantage – and that is a great dynamic!!! It also allows characters like The Wreckers who are an elite fighting force for good, to shine in those rolls.
The 'millenium war' aspect was a plot device to justify the Transformers long dormancy on Earth and the destruction of their homeworld. Unfortunately it doesn't sit well with notions of 'age' and 'experience' for the characters in either the cartoon or the comics if your 'realism' logic is applied. If you see what I mean.
Seeker
The old classics BB is still good enough for me. How about a new Huffer or Gears instead of another version of this character? Great pics!
Chaos Muffin
I guess since he's the most kid friendly, they feel the need to use the happiest of yellows for Bee.
I wish they'd use the same yellow from Sandstorm, that darker yellow looks really good.
harrismonkey
The idea and the toy this thing is trying to be is fantastic. I just feel like something went wrong in the execution. I can't quite decide if it's just bad choice of plastic color and a serious lack if paint or if something much more serious is wrong here.
The lack of a neck ball joint definetly isn't helping, especially since the chose to have him looking down.
RatTrap1985
It is just a body upgrade bumblebee received in the current comic. It makes sense in the context of the comic, and even with this body he is still smaller than most of the other bots.
General Magnus
Ah yes, the useless character that by all rights and logic should not be alive to being with.
This may sound harsh, but in a war that lasted MILLENIA, EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE by the point TFs come to Earth should be a badass super-soldier in his own right. Usually wars tend to cull out those inept for fighting first, and in a war like the Autobot/Decetpicon conflict a small, weak runt like BB should not be alive to begin with unless he´s competent fighter on his own (that or the Transformers are completely inept at the whole "war" thing).
Considering how long Transformers live, even the weakest of them could and should have enough fighting experience on their own that makes the likes of Symmon Haya pale in comparison. And let´s face it, G1 Bumblebwee if we go by the G1 incarnation has none of that. He´s just there to be "kid friendly".
edgs2099
I am in the minority, but I think this guy is great. He's a nice melding of Movie, Classics, and I feel a little bit of Animated. My Classics Bee might get moved to the "Cool, but not main display" shelf.
Starfire22
I like the look of it. Definite buy.
TFanTex
I have to disagree with some of the comments this figure is receiving. I know we've seen our share of Bumblebee figures over the past few years, but this one is actually a standout IMO. The transformation is rock solid and yes, it's mildly irritating with the way the backpack folds, but it's not a deal-breaker. I was pleasantly surprised by how good this figure really is and it's actually Megatron, unfortunately, who is the weakest of the bunch. From the hollowed out legs on Megs all the way to the softer plastic, it just feels cheap. Orion Pax is easily the best of the four, with Trailcutter coming in second.
RatTrap1985
Yellow dick? If it is hanging from the back isn't that a tail?
I like your idea about taking the yellow off of the forearms, I'm going to give that a go as well.