Toy Review - Generations WFC Bumblebee

[jaydisc]

How's the yellow matching in person? I've found you can't really trust cameras with that, although I think it looks pretty good considering.

[k.wong23]

Feminine characteristics put me off this figure. Thank-you for the review and clear photos though guys.

[griffin]

Gee, it has a bit of a backpack to it, doesn't it?

[LordCyrusOmega]

Was looking forward to a cliffjumper repaint until"

Feminine characteristics put me off this figure.

I can see where you're coming from and now i'm thinking Arcee repaint? Think it would work wellhb

[Stompy]

Jay, the yellow matching is ok. At certain angles it almost looks the same but the yellow used for the standard plastic is shiny. But the yellow is a closer match in tone than say Universe Sunstreaker. I certainly like the effort put into matching it as close as they can.

My thoughts on this figure...

Bot mode is a mixed bag. The thin spindly legs coupled with a rounded torso and kibbly arms make for a weird "bug" looking Bumblebee. The huge rounded back helos in making him look like a yellow ladybug. The blaster weapon can store underneath the back kibble and the ratcheted blades on his arms are a nice touch, if something I didn't really expect for Bumblebee's character. The thighs are very thin with a slightly wider legs and feet. Although I adore the design of the feet having the wheel there. Articulation is great but I feel the knee and waist-to-leg joint will eventually become really loose. But time will tell.

Conversion is a doozy. While a smidge simpler than WfC Prime it falls a little into Shellformer territory. The pinpoint accuracy needed to place all the panels and parts inside can be quite tricky. I needed to emply the "cup-the-panels-into-both-hands-and-gently-squeeze" fixer to get everything to just all fit into place. Inelegant but its so tricky to aligng perfectly. Although the results are brilliant.

The alt mode is Tron sleek. Looking at it makes you feel like it will leave light streaks as you move it. The rounded design belies its G1 heritage while keeping it modern. The wheels move and thats it for playability in this mode. It is an attractive looking mode. As above the yellows area close match. Still noticeably different but very close.

[STL]

Pretty much completely agree with everything with Stompy said except I'd be more savage on the robot mode. It looks fat to say the least. The legs accentuate the fatness of hte chest. The wheel panels cover the swords add to this bulkiness that is sorely juxtaposed by skinny legs. The hand sculpt can also look out of place in certain poses because it makes him look like a disfigured/disable bot.

The stowing of the weapons is probably the biggest plus though. Love the way its done. And yes, the lower leg panels are great pieces of innovation.

Alt mode is great, awesome actually, but getting it right is a pain in the tushie.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Looks like I may be getting my wish after all - the instructions supposedly use Cliffjumper's head.
Can anyone confirm this?

[Stompy]

The scans is the same as the one I got. It is markedly different to Bumblebee's. I think it's a given a repaint to Cliffjumper with ANY Bumblebee mold will happen.

[GoktimusPrime]

yeah but the key thing is whether or not they'll give the Cliffjumper repaint a retool (esp the head). Cos a lot of the time Hasbro get lazy and just paint Bumblebee red and call it Cliffjumper - where Cliffjumper really deserves his own head. Animated Activators and Alternity Cliffjumper are win because they have retooled heady goodness.

[griffin]

Retools like this are already pre-planned and included in the mould tree, so at the factory, the workers just have to be sure to use the correct head and throw away the other one (or the mould tree can have the plastic directed to one head or the other).