Toy Review - Studio Series 26 Bumblebee (WWII)

[GoktimusPrime]

WWII BUMBLEBEE
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 5
Released here - January 2019
Approximate Retail Price - $29
Approximate Size - 12cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Humber Light Reconnaissance "Ironside" car
Main Features/Gimmicks - rotatable turret
Main Colours - green
Main Accessories - hammer, pistol

Vehicle Mode

https://i.ibb.co/x1DtYyf/ss2601.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/kmTh0Jt/ss2602.jpg

Robot Mode

https://i.ibb.co/y6PXGSL/ss2603.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/89L9yqh/ss2603a.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/09x2YLq/ss2605.jpg

Overall Thoughts

PROS:
+ Realistic looking vehicle mode with armoured faux kibble on the robot mode
+ 16 points of articulation
+ The hammer and pistol accessories are very nice and used in both modes

CONS:
- Shellformer much
- Backpack kibble interferes with leg articulation and blocks the stand-hole
- Nigh impossible to get all of the vehicle panels to sit flush, especially the roof panel
- The pistol fits so loosely on the roof hole that it can swing about on its own, rendering the rotating base gimmick pointless

Not an awful toy per se, but certainly the most disappointing Studio Series Bumblebee toy yet. Furthermore, the alt mode isn't movie accurate... although the movie model is also weird. In The Last Knight WWII Bumblebee transforms into a Mercedes Benz car but has the alt mode kibble of a Humber Scout car in robot mode. Either way, he was never a Humber Ironside. But honestly that doesn't bug me - the biggest let down is how impossible it is to get that bloody roof panel to sit flush. This is due to the hammer head causing the roof panel to bulge out, but you also need the hammer in place to form the turret, so it's part of the alt mode.
https://i.ibb.co/QJGhyt7/jaam-whymyshouldershurt.jpg

[BigTransformerTrev]

Maybe if they redid him as Bulldog (https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bulldog_(TLK)) I may pick one up, though the altmode wont be properly accurate there either :rolleyes:

[GoktimusPrime]

Ja... the current figure as Bumblebee, while not movie scene accurate, is at least period accurate as the Ironside was in production and use from 1943-45 if memory serves me well. Bulldog I think transforms into a World War I era (1917?) tank so it would've been obsolete by WWII.

So here's the thing... this toy is accurate to WWII Bumblebee's robot mode, which does feature armoured Humbert kibble. But it's inaccurate to the Mercedes Benz alt mode. It points out a visual continuity flaw in TLK where Bumblebee can be seen transforming from a Mercedes convertible car into a robot with armoured Humbert kibble, which of course makes no sense. This toy has a consistently correct alt mode that matches the robot mode kibble.
https://i.ibb.co/LpvP1hB/ww2.jpg
Of course, the counterargument to my point is that since they already made it a bloody shellformer then why not just go ahead and make him a Mercedes Benz car? We have all the disadvantage of having a shellformer without the advantage of greater movie accuracy. Where's the cost-benefit? Unless Hasbro's clever plan is to release a retool of this toy later with the Mercedes alt mode. It's basically a quasi-Pretender so... wouldn't be implausible.

[TaZZerath]

The Bayverse clearly needs a Deadpool 2-style post-credits scene to tidy up all these loose ends :D

[KingGrimlock]

Really love the color on this guy, the eyes pop nicely as well. Loads of detail in the robot mode but as mentioned the fact that it is a shell former comes with the giant shell back kibble which really gets in the way of the legs. The transformation is fun however that hammer is a pain, mine was assembled incorrectly and I had to remove the pin and rotate the handle so that it could fold flush to sit in the vehicle.

Really torn on this one, I like the idea behind it (nazi killing bumblebee? Yes please!) I love the color, the vehicle the transformation and the style. But damn, that backpack really drags the figure down.

[snaketales]

I can't get mine to stand up in a neutral pose. He can hold action poses fine, weirdly enough.
I found the panels too thin for them to click together sufficiently for vehicle mode.
Biggest seller for me was the oddity of the vehicle mode.

[shockNwave]

The vehicle mode is a letdown especially when trying place the hammer inside it because it throws the vehicle panels more out of whack.

The robot mode on the other hand looks good on it's own and on the cardboard stand especially alongside HFTD Firetrap and on that note would be more worthy lined up in a row with other vintage alt. mode TFs such as Powerdive (Generations), Hubcap (HFTD) and Divebomb (ROTF) as well as Bulldog. All displayed in both modes.:)

[Butcher31]

I was struggling to get the roof flush but then saw a review or two where they noticeably clicked the arms down into place for vehicle mode. Before I was just resting the tab in the slot, but it properly locks in.

Little finds like that are very exciting.

[GoktimusPrime]

Link please?

[Butcher31]

Link please?

I found out through Emgo's Just Transform It video (around the 2:10 mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBaO0582Ads&t=303s

Sorry if it's something you're already doing, but it helped me.