Dark Optimum Supreme wrote:Lack of Hasbro doesn't mean a thing about it being Japanese or not. Early Hasbro releases didn't have any Hasbro stampings on the toys either. Not sure when they started getting them, but there would've been plenty of Bumblebees out there in both colors long before that happened.
The rub sign thing would be a little weird, as those came later as well, but like you say, someone might've stuck that on later.
Va'al wrote:I'll sneak in and show this..
There are two Hong Kong eBay listings, with a Red and a Black/Police Bumblebee.
Police Black Loose Bumblebee
Red Loose Bumblebee
RustyRobotOil wrote:Va'al wrote:I'll sneak in and show this..
There are two Hong Kong eBay listings, with a Red and a Black/Police Bumblebee.
Police Black Loose Bumblebee
Red Loose Bumblebee
Thanks man, but my guys about 25 years older than those.
RustyRobotOil wrote:Dark Optimum Supreme wrote:Lack of Hasbro doesn't mean a thing about it being Japanese or not. Early Hasbro releases didn't have any Hasbro stampings on the toys either. Not sure when they started getting them, but there would've been plenty of Bumblebees out there in both colors long before that happened.
The rub sign thing would be a little weird, as those came later as well, but like you say, someone might've stuck that on later.
Actionable intelligence. Thanks.
Same goes for the date I suppose? (Which I type-o’d by the way. It actually says 1974-1983)
So, I guess the next question would be; is there ANY way to tell? I’d really like to find out if he was from the Microchange series. I do know that 1985 was the only year that they released both red & yellow versions with the rub sticker, if in fact it’s original, but I would be surprised if they actually released a toy in the states with out dated copyright details. (Though I assume with the explosion of demand for them at that time, they were likely stocking shelves with whatever they could.)
'Bee has a lot of minor variations. Throughout 1984 and 1985, Bumblebee was produced in both yellow and red (as was Cliffjumper), a move meant to "make the line look bigger" according to former Hasbro R&D Vice President George Dunsay. For his 1984 release, both color versions had an Autobot sigil on the roof/chest. In 1985, this was replaced by a rubsign. The rubsign remained on the 1986 release, though he was only released in yellow that year.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
And guys, you REALLY need to check TFWiki more often in such cases:'Bee has a lot of minor variations. Throughout 1984 and 1985, Bumblebee was produced in both yellow and red (as was Cliffjumper), a move meant to "make the line look bigger" according to former Hasbro R&D Vice President George Dunsay. For his 1984 release, both color versions had an Autobot sigil on the roof/chest. In 1985, this was replaced by a rubsign. The rubsign remained on the 1986 release, though he was only released in yellow that year.
Put short, releasing him in red and yellow was intentional, and both had rubsigns for their 1985 release.
Quantum Reflex wrote:Hi, if it has the TAKARA in the Circle stamp you've got a microchange Bumblebee - the fact that it has an attached Rub sticker means it isn't the Overstocked Red bees that were repackaged because they had just a standard Faction sticker, hope this is helpful. If you're feeling Like a Puritan you could peel of the rub sticker off - burn it, buy yourself the rectangular sticker from repro labels to take him back to his original Microchange Glory! either way you have a great find there - Well done
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