Toy Review - HFTD Battle Blade Bumblebee

[griffin]

Toy Review - Battle Blade Bumblebee

Series - Transformers
Sub-line - Hunt for the Decepticons
Size - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - 1
Released here - June 2010
Approximate Retail Price - $25-30
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Camaro
Main Features/Gimmicks -
Main Colours - Yellow, grey, black
Main Accessories -

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/hftd09.jpg

[PascTF]

By far the best deluxe version of Bumblebee, only a few paint apps away from perfection. Black hands and yellow cannon have to go.

[Tiby]

The Definitive Movie Bumblebee!!! This is not just another Bumblebee!

The split chest (including lower vent), battle mask, deployable gun and axe, split heels, working thumbs, hidden Autobot symbol that is revealed when transformed, "wings" that look good, and a very clever transformation make him my favourite movie Bumblebee. All of the others had some let down, like the bits that fell off the first one, the separate gun/knife thing, the solid chest for Cannon Bumblebee, etc. This one takes the best of them all!

It's a shame it took three years for them to get him right.

In the pic above, you need to stand him up straight (legs are sort of crouched), fold in the panel behind his head and fold out the panels on his thighs so they show a bit at the front. Also fold out the split heels.

Well done Hasbro!

[SkyWarp91]

This is the Bumblebee I've been longin' for. Damn South Aussie TRUs I haven't seen any of these around yet!

[jaydisc]

Foiled by the lack of a rotator cuff below the elbow. Same problem as Cannon Bumblebee and Long Haul. It's thus impossible to bend at the elbow without the palm facing the sky, which just looks silly. The double jointed shoulders are quite helpful though.

I still find the original concept Bumblebee's transformation to be the most gratifying, and I Battlefield Bumblebee is my favorite, because it has a proper battle mask and I'm very partial to the battle-mask-and-shoulder-rockets look.

All in all, still pretty good.

[jaina85]

mine was defective! the little screw that isn't a screw that was behind the left swivelley black part on his chest was loose, and fell out! i had to return him for a replacement :(

apart from that, and the fact his face looks a little too much like a skull - best bumblebee ever!

[jaydisc]

After further analysis and breaking out a few of his predecessors, I too concede this is the best Bumblebee ever. The articulation is fantastic. If he had rotatable wrists, he'd be perfect.

[Stompy]

Wow. I didn't realize this was pretty much a brand new mold. I thought it was just a touch up of the old mold but this is totally new.

I must agree that this is the best movie Bumblebee. The detail is fantastic, the weapons incorporated into the arms is awesome, especially for a deluxe. The proportions are perfect with this mold and both modes look accurate enough. There's some robot kibble on the back of the car and also car kibble on the beck of the robot. But its no biggie. The chest is exactly how I wanted this bumblebee to have and sadly eclipses the Human Alliance version which was marred by its silly human on robot configuration sacrifices. The clear windows are put on the right spots and the yellow pain on the clear plastic is in places that can go unnoticed.

This is one awesome figure!

After the deluxe Ratchet and Ironhide and this, I say bring on the new Voyager movie Prime!

[Paulbot]

The fiddly end to the transformation which seems to need the legs in just the right position (one I've not found), robot hips that just look wrong and a head that keeps popping off due to lack of clearance, prevent me from liking this incarnation of Bumblebee more than others. The others look more correct in robot mode IMO. The weapons and mask are nice touch though.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Digging the weapons and mask thing. Mine has lots of trouble with mask, it is so tight when on top of his head, I almost have to pull his head off and man-handle the damn mask down....

Needs moveable wrists.

Likey likey. Best Bumbles yet.

[Stompy]

The legs do require some Voyager Ironhide like alignment but is actually natural to align.

My mask is held on top of his head pretty tight as well. I had to pop it off the balljoint to get it down and apply some much needed manhandling like TC. Will see if there's an easier way.

[Kyle]

Digging the weapons and mask thing. Mine has lots of trouble with mask, it is so tight when on top of his head, I almost have to pull his head off and man-handle the damn mask down....

Needs moveable wrists.

Likey likey. Best Bumbles yet.

Agree with all these~

[Magnus]

I'm reluctant to buy another deluxe movie Bumblebee (I only have one, the original 2006 Camaro concept), but having seen this one at a store and after watching a YouTube review, I'm tempted.

[Gutsman Heavy]

this is one fantastic little bugger. Shame my one has a defect preventing the leg from sitting flush in alt mode.

[5FDP]

A lot of the posts here are stating that this is the best movie Bumblebee yet - are you comparing it to the other deluxe versions only, or is this even better than HA Bumblebee? Just curious...

[jaydisc]

Personally, I'm comparing to all, HA included. Specifically, the deluxe's legs are superior and it lacks the bulky forearm kibble on HABB (made for human interaction), and it's generally much more in scale with other movie toys.

[Gutsman Heavy]

better than the HA imo, and I loved the HA, Blade Bee owns it completely.

[STL]

A lot of the posts here are stating that this is the best movie Bumblebee yet - are you comparing it to the other deluxe versions only, or is this even better than HA Bumblebee? Just curious...

Definitely to all BBs across the movie. Easily beats HA BB imo. More elegant and accurate in proportions as well. Articulation is far superior too. The onyl superior element of the HA would be the insides of the alt mode but other than that, it's not the definitive BB. This is.

[kurdt_the_goat]

I still prefer HA BB. Battle Blade looks great posed still, but i think he has a few flaws:

- hood of the car in robot mode merely rests in a hole rather than clipping in place - pick him up and it'll move
- too much of the hood is used for his shoulders - i think this is where the original BB'08 is best. HA BB uses the same amount of the hood, but the angle is correct (basically parallel) whereas Battle Blade is pointing too far downwards, making his moveable chest pieces look wrong.
- his hands can't do much (though the finger movement is good!)

Still a good figure, but i think HA BB is the best for overall look, while the BB'08 & variants have the cleverest transformation (automorph handled so nicely).

[JuzMel]

As long as it's Bumblebee! I'm getting it, but certainly agree that it has more detailed features as compared to the other earlier releases...

[G1Optimal]

Imo, i really like it and it is the best one so far.

[Autocon]

to all those ppl will u buy the bb yellow voyager now? do u think that will be better than this?


juzmel - are u a bb collector?:p

[Firestorm]

Got him today (well yesterday now) and I agree with what pretty much everyone is saying, Best Movie Bee Yet, infact this has even become one of my all time favorite figures, my only complaint is that the axe faces the wrong direction but other than that he is fantastic, and surprisingly tall (he looked short and bulky in the box but it's much better when positioned properly)

[SkyWarp91]

I got this toy and I really enjoy it, however there are two things I am not satisfied with from this figure.

A) The battle mask. Though it's cool to finally have a BB that can have a flip down mask, the mask itself (I don't know whether it's just me) feels incredibly tight where it sits on his head and I'm afraid that I would snap it if I tried to push it down anymore because of the plastic it is made up of. If it does snap, I'd have to bridge the gap with a thin metal rod and that could take some time and much precision.

B) The gun-arm is yellow! cmon, at least paint it grey!

But aside from that, this is really the best BB figure I have yet.

[Pipesqueak]

this is one fantastic little bugger. Shame my one has a defect preventing the leg from sitting flush in alt mode.

Mine too, but with a little filing it works better now.

I got out my original 07 Movie BB to compare and it's a bit of a toss-up as to which I like best. I love the new weapons and battle mask of Battle Blades BB but the transformation is much more annoying than the original. I think if I could only keep one, it would be the first one.

[Decepticon]

I know this is old now but picked him up for $14.99 yesterday. Already had 2 versions of deluxe bb but wanted one more movie accurate. I think this is brilliant! Love the sword, cannon, mask. Can't really fault it. Was tossing up wether to get a dotm bb instead. Glad I didn't now.

[Tallestblue]

Who cares about DOTM Bumblebee when you have this guy? Seriously?

[STL]

Who cares about DOTM Bumblebee when you have this guy? Seriously?

Completely agreed.

[Stompy]

For me it's a tie between HftD Battle Blade Bumblebee and DotM Bumblebee.

HftD Battle Blade Bumblebee is one impressive deluxe especially with its tall stance, excellent torso work, the two converting weapons and the optional battle mask. This is certainly the complete movie Bumblebee but his arms are just a little too small in proportion to the rest of the body and the yellow fins on the thighs are kinda unruly. Which is what irks me in this otherwise almost perfect figure.

DotM Bumblebee on the other hand have perfect proportions, which is always a big thing for me and slightly outdoes the Battle Blade version.

It's a big tie for me and I'd recommend either one then any of the other Bb molds (including all old movie deluxe and the new Nitro BB).

[STL]

For me it's a tie between HftD Battle Blade Bumblebee and DotM Bumblebee.

HftD Battle Blade Bumblebee is one impressive deluxe especially with its tall stance, excellent torso work, the two converting weapons and the optional battle mask. This is certainly the complete movie Bumblebee but his arms are just a little too small in proportion to the rest of the body and the yellow fins on the thighs are kinda unruly. Which is what irks me in this otherwise almost perfect figure.

DotM Bumblebee on the other hand have perfect proportions, which is always a big thing for me and slightly outdoes the Battle Blade version.

It's a big tie for me and I'd recommend either one then any of the other Bb molds (including all old movie deluxe and the new Nitro BB).

I'm going to trust the Stompy brand and check it out.

[Stompy]

You know what. Don't trust the Stompy brand too quick. I got them both out and really had a good look. Here's a comparison photo:

HftD Battle Blades Bumblebee on the left and DotM Bumblebee on the right.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk269/StompBrother/DSCF0131.jpg

Before I elaborate, the HftD Battle Blades version is better.

After carefully inspecting both, I noticed that they are near identical as a mold, with the DotM version just smaller. The DotM version shares the exact same conversion bar the little grills on the abdomen of the HftD version and almost the same sculpting. The arms aren't as small as I remember on the HftD one.

The DotM would have been great if it had a neck. The HftD Bb has a neck and really gives it a better stance and presence than the neckless DotM version.

HftD Battle Blade Bumblebee
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk269/StompBrother/Transformers/Image0445.jpg

DotM Bumblebee
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk269/StompBrother/Transformers/Image0446.jpg

Another plus on the HftD Bb has the Autobot insignia popping up as a crest on the chest. Then the paint apps and the weapons making it a much better version than the DotM.

The DotM version has a different elbow bend though that allows its hand to be parallel to the bend rather than the HftD's palm towards the elbow. Which allows for much more natural looking poses than the HftD's arms, which makes it look moneky-ish in poses (see close up above of HtfD version) due to the bend.

HftD on the left, Dotm on the right.
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk269/StompBrother/Transformers/Image0444.jpg

The HftD Bumblebee can only bed its arm 90 degrees while the DotM version can bend to almost 180. Knee articulation are the same and is pretty crap in both figures:

HftD on the left, DotM on the right.
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk269/StompBrother/Transformers/Image0447.jpg

So, STL, I hope you haven't bought the DotM Bb yet! It's still a good Bb and better than all other ones in the movie line except for the HftD version.

[GoktimusPrime]

Well, I didn't get HFTD Bumblebee -- it doesn't interest me because it's yet another ROTF Bumblebee which I don't need. Even though I can see that DotM Bumblebee isn't as good as HFTD Bumblebee, between the two I'd rather have DotM Bumblebee simply because it's a "new" version of Bumblebee.

But for those of you who have HFTD Bumblebee, I can see how DotM Bumblebee might not be worth it. I suspect that parts of the DotM toy was compromised in order to compensate for the MechTech gimmick. You know how Hasbro are -- they budget every last drop of paint on a toy... any change in one area means something has to be sacrificed somewhere else. (-_-)

[STL]

You know what. Don't trust the Stompy brand too quick. I got them both out and really had a good look. Here's a comparison photo:

[snip great comparison pics and review]



This is why I trust the Stompy brand. ;)