The Energon Pub

Hey guys.

As you know I was telling people about my visit to K-Mart today in search and hope for a Deluxe 2008 Bumblebee. I stumbled across Payload but didn't want him, then I saw Deluxe 1974 Bumblebee with Barricade. And thats all they had! The rest was all Voice Changers and such. Now I was really disappointed as I was told from some members that the Deluxes are in stores... no Deluxes at all except for Payload! I asked the lady and she said nope we had no in coming Transformers stock. So now i realize it wasn't your fault but K-Mart's as they lied in their Catalog, at least for me that is, but most of you guys have seen the sale. I was so mad but before walking away I decided to take one look and everything they had, Voice Changers, Cyber Slammers but I had this feeling that there was something even better. Down on the bottom shelf right in side were two Ultimate Bumblebee's! I asked my mum for one but she said she'll lay buy them for me and I will get it for Christmas. This made me happy as I totally forgot about my Deluxe 2008 Bumblebee and almost given up the search from it. All this time I had thought that Ultimate Bumblebee was something very fragile that would smash easily and would be broken by a single force of your hand. But then when I came close to it I felt the arms and the legs I didn't care how small the Try Me hole was I had to know how fragile it was. But it wasn't very fragile the Arms were stiff and all and the plastic was nice and thick.

Anyway once we had done our Lay Buy, I went to EB games and this has nothing to do with Transformers but I thought I'd just put it in here anyway. I went to EB games and got a new ps3 game called Heavenly Sword... It's awesome! This made me feel very happy. Then we had lunch and all and as my mum promised we went to Toy World. Nothing but Scouts for $14.95.

So I had given up my search for the Deluxe 2008 Bumblebee and focused mainly on my Ultimate Bumblebee, who is going to fit nicely into th slot where the best Transformer Toy goes... my side table by my bed

For now though my Unleashed Bumblebee has the best Transformer Toy spot to me he is the best and the only 2008 Figure I have... for now!

p.s just a few questions about Ultimate Bumblebee :

1. Is he fully maneuverable, meaning when you bend his arms and all can you do it with your hands or do you have to use the electrical features?

2. Is he easy to stand up?

3. Do you need any electrical features to Transform him or can you just do it by hand?

Get BB08 also b4 his price shot up to 500%. He is possibly the best deluxe of all time. He is gonna be rare & ultimate BB will be around so don't worry.

i LOVE days like that.

I bought ultimate bumblebee and have only transformed him once into vehicle mode. i reckon he's pretty damned sturdy. in answer to your questions..

1. you can move his arms and legs by yourself. you can also move his 'wings' (the doors) by re-attaching them on the angle you like. the automatic movements aren't as significant as I thought they would be..

2. he stands up ok i suppose. The battery pack for him is kind of towards the back of his body, so sometimes it feels like you need to lean him forward slightly to stand up straight, but it wouldnt be the first toy like that, would it?

3. the electronics dont really have anything to do with the transformation, its all done by hand.

Unfortunately I didnt play with him too much before I transformed to car mode, and by the time i'd done that i couldnt be bothered transforming back! i'm a bit lazy you see..

1. I find him easy to pose, at the moment he's got Mecha-Godzilla in a headlock of sorts.
2. He stands up well even with 3 large dogs running around and bumping my desk.
3. I think its adorable when his doorwings wiggle and he's pretty easy (for me) to transform.

Ultimate BB sounded like a "grail" like figure to me as well ... until I got my hands on him. After that he permanently stayed in vehicle mode ... which is bad ass. Bot mode, not so much.

I'm actually trading mine to a fellow board member for a custom Alt. Wheeljack. I'll buy another UBB, but I'm going to keep him MISB purely for completionism's sake.

Bumbled wrote:So now i realize it wasn't your fault but K-Mart's as they lied in their Catalog,

They didn't lie in their catalogue.

Deluxes were on sale. If what you wanted in stock that doesn't make the store liars, it simply means that they either didn't receive certain stock or someone already bought said stock before you.

But they most certaintly haven't lied as I took advantage of the $20 deluxes myself yesterday.

And also, sale does not always mean new stock. Sales are good for getting rid of old stock before putting out the new stuff.

I was really hesitant to get Ultimate Bee, thought the price was too much, etc, etc,.

I'm so glad I changed my mind. He's awesome. Only thing I wish I could do is bend his gun arm for posing, but other then that he's great. Way more posable then people said he was. Granted he's not going to be twisted into bizarre poses, but he's posable. And he's very sturdy, much stronger then I thought he would be.

and I'm glad he has an 'off' switch, because I find all the electronics really annoying.

Basically I don't understand why people will pay 50 dollars for a leader class Brawl, but think paying 20 dollars more for a toy that's almost twice as big is 'too much money'

Deluxe-10 dollars
Voyage 20-25 dollars
Leader 45-50 dollars
Ultimate 70 dollars

Makes sense to me. At this rate each size up is about double the price. A Voyager costs twice what a Deluxe costs, and a Leader costs twice what a Voyager costs. But the Ultimate isn't twice the price of a Leader, it's not a 100 dollar toy, it's a 70 dollar toy.

Looking at it that way, *which I do* I personally think Ult Bbee is a hell of a great toy at a good price.

Here: Australia,

Deluxe: $20-$30.
Voyager: $40-$50
Leader: $80-$100
Ultimate: $150

Burn wrote:

Bumbled wrote:So now i realize it wasn't your fault but K-Mart's as they lied in their Catalog,

They didn't lie in their catalogue.

Deluxes were on sale. If what you wanted in stock that doesn't make the store liars, it simply means that they either didn't receive certain stock or someone already bought said stock before you.

But they most certaintly haven't lied as I took advantage of the $20 deluxes myself yesterday.

And also, sale does not always mean new stock. Sales are good for getting rid of old stock before putting out the new stuff.

Yeah well I don't think Brisbane has touched the 08 Bumblebee... not until Christmas.

Bumbled wrote:Here: Australia,

Deluxe: $20-$30.
Voyager: $40-$50
Leader: $80-$100
Ultimate: $150

Im sorry, thats just ridiculous. They shouldnt charge that damn much money just cause you're in Australia. Shipping in mass does not cost that much, I used to work a freight dock.

don't give up hope yet Bumbled waves are starting to circulate. The BB and Arcee wave finally hit us in North Dakota and managed to score my BB and Arcee.

With the movie due out this month they are stocking the TF asiles more readily now. It's coming.

Damn that was one of the cutest post I have ever read!! I wish I could pay for the rest of your UBB so you could have it now!! Don't give up on your deluxe 09 bumblebee!!

Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

Oh and to answer First Gen's post. Australia has a different currency so what is cheap over there is expensive over here but is still worth the same. $20 here is worth it for a Deluxe here because $20 is like having $10 there.

Bumbled wrote:Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

How can you say that? You have not even gotten the Deluxe figure!
Deluxe 08 Bumblebee is better in terms of value for money, the transformation is also more complex for the Deluxe version.

Bumbled wrote:Oh and to answer First Gen's post. Australia has a different currency so what is cheap over there is expensive over here but is still worth the same. $20 here is worth it for a Deluxe here because $20 is like having $10 there.

Oh so very wrong here Bumbled. The AU$ is around the US$0.85 mark, meaning that a US$10 should only cost about $AU13, not the actual $AU27 we pay. (AU$27 is about US$21).

Back on topic:

1. He is not what would call fully maneuverable, his legs in particular do not move much at all, he is not a figure you buy to pose, he has very few points of articulation. The electrical gimmicks do nothing during the transformation, in fact because of the electronic gimmicks, his transformation is actually made more of a pain than it needed to be.

2. He is back and top heavy, meaning you have to spread his legs to have him stand up properly, and you can only do that fairly decently on a hard flat surface. Carpet is not a surface he likes to stand on. Not that it matters, he is much nicer looking in alt mode.

3. It's all by hand. The electronics move his arms around in robot mode, and actually affect the transformation negatively because of it. The other gimmicks are sound and light based.

Don't get me wrong, I like this figure, and I am glad I got him, to me he was worth the $115 or so I paid for him, I would not have payed $150 for him though. He is a far superior toy in alt mode, much more fun, and the gimmicks tie in far better too.

i think you would have to pay me 115 bucks to keep that thing next to my collection.
just get delux 08 bb and be done with it

i_amtrunks wrote:

Bumbled wrote:Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

How can you say that? You have not even gotten the Deluxe figure!
Deluxe 08 Bumblebee is better in terms of value for money, the transformation is also more complex for the Deluxe version.

Hey? I'm not one who is concerned about money. If it is good I'll buy it. I don't measure things around money, I measure them on design and features and i think Ultimate Bumblebee has won there, has he not?

i_amtrunks wrote:Oh so very wrong here Bumbled. The AU$ is around the US$0.85 mark, meaning that a US$10 should only cost about $AU13, not the actual $AU27 we pay. (AU$27 is about US$21).

Of course i_amtrunks. But how could you forget about the shipping costs? You see Australia is quite far away from the United States so when they send stuff to us it's going to cost more because of the shipping costs, and they make us pay for it. Where else in other areas of the world where some people may happen to live in the United States or close to it, they would have to pay less because it didn't take long to ship. So I guess in terms of no shipping costs I would be right, it's just the shipping that puts the extra cost.

Bumbled wrote:[. But how could you forget about the shipping costs? You see Australia is quite far away from the United States so when they send stuff to us it's going to cost more because of the shipping costs, and they make us pay for it. .

The transformers are manufactured in China and distributed from there. Hong kong receives new tf figures before they hit the american market.

the austrailian distributers are just making a higher margin on the goods than they do in the US same thing happens here in the UK

Bumbled wrote:

i_amtrunks wrote:

Bumbled wrote:Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

How can you say that? You have not even gotten the Deluxe figure!
Deluxe 08 Bumblebee is better in terms of value for money, the transformation is also more complex for the Deluxe version.

Hey? I'm not one who is concerned about money. If it is good I'll buy it. I don't measure things around money, I measure them on design and features and i think Ultimate Bumblebee has won there, has he not?

You may not, but many others do, Personally I don't care a heap about costs, but I do like a good deal, and they are very far and few between. Personally I think Deluxe Bumblebee is the better detailed and articulated figure of the two, and he is alot more fun to transform. for the average punter, Deluxe Bumblebee is the figure worth owning, with Ultimate Bumblebee just an added extra.

Bumbled wrote:

i_amtrunks wrote:Oh so very wrong here Bumbled. The AU$ is around the US$0.85 mark, meaning that a US$10 should only cost about $AU13, not the actual $AU27 we pay. (AU$27 is about US$21).

Of course i_amtrunks. But how could you forget about the shipping costs? You see Australia is quite far away from the United States so when they send stuff to us it's going to cost more because of the shipping costs, and they make us pay for it. Where else in other areas of the world where some people may happen to live in the United States or close to it, they would have to pay less because it didn't take long to ship. So I guess in terms of no shipping costs I would be right, it's just the shipping that puts the extra cost.

As MegaDave has already said, Australia is far closer to China, where the figures are made and then shipped to the world, than the USA. England, Europe and Canada all get ripped off too. Yet Canada is joined to the USA, and has as stronger $, so shipping costs cannot be blamed there.

If anything, Hasbro in those markets blame the massive mark-up on the fact that the figures cost more to ship pre figure as there are less figures, which of course is mostly a joke. As soon as the AU$1 was worth US$0.50 10 years ago, the price everything went up and the weak AU$ was blamed, now the $AU is strong again, prices have not receded, in fact prices for Deluxes have crept up and up over the past 5 years alone by about $4-5.

Bumbled wrote:

Burn wrote:

Bumbled wrote:So now i realize it wasn't your fault but K-Mart's as they lied in their Catalog,

They didn't lie in their catalogue.

Deluxes were on sale. If what you wanted in stock that doesn't make the store liars, it simply means that they either didn't receive certain stock or someone already bought said stock before you.

But they most certaintly haven't lied as I took advantage of the $20 deluxes myself yesterday.

And also, sale does not always mean new stock. Sales are good for getting rid of old stock before putting out the new stuff.

Yeah well I don't think Brisbane has touched the 08 Bumblebee... not until Christmas.

I got my 08 Bumblebee ages ago in Brisbane at the Myer Toyworld. There's also an 08 Bumblebee, Longarm, Dropkick and Classics Ramjet at Toowong KMart if you're interested.

i_amtrunks wrote:

Bumbled wrote:

i_amtrunks wrote:

Bumbled wrote:Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

How can you say that? You have not even gotten the Deluxe figure!
Deluxe 08 Bumblebee is better in terms of value for money, the transformation is also more complex for the Deluxe version.

Hey? I'm not one who is concerned about money. If it is good I'll buy it. I don't measure things around money, I measure them on design and features and i think Ultimate Bumblebee has won there, has he not?

You may not, but many others do, Personally I don't care a heap about costs, but I do like a good deal, and they are very far and few between. Personally I think Deluxe Bumblebee is the better detailed and articulated figure of the two, and he is alot more fun to transform. for the average punter, Deluxe Bumblebee is the figure worth owning, with Ultimate Bumblebee just an added extra.

Well I can't change your personal opinion but I must say, this forum may be the ones saying that Deluxe 2008 Bumblebee is better, and I am not saying everyone in the forum maybe some think the opposite. As far as I am concerned Ultimate Bumblebee is the one hitting the markets. If you think about it i_amtrunks , tell me how many features does the Deluxe have? How many gimmicks? There are only very few, but look at the Ultimate Bumblebee, you take the word "fun" and say that the Deluxe is more interesting! The Ultimate Bumblebee has far more interesting things on it than the Deluxe. The Ultimate Bumblebee has far more gimmicks and features. I am curious to see how the Deluxe can be more fun than the Ultimate Bumblebee. But of course it's your opinion and I respect that. But please don't try to change mine. You had a choice you could of congratulated me on Lay Buying the figure or you could of said try to get the Deluxe Figure too, it will be awesome for your collection instead of saying that the Deluxe version would've been better, which had entirely nothing to do with any thing I posted on my very first post on the thread. Back when I said that I thought the Ultimate Bumblebee was better than the Deluxe, you should of respected my opinion and if you did this talk would of never happened.

i have both the ultimate and deluxe BB. the ultimate is a nice display piece but not much else. the deluxe is fun to play with, transform, and pose. i would gladly sacrifice all the "gimmicks" on ultimate BB for a more detailed, highly-articulated transformer. but to each his own.

dub-post!

Bumblebee-otch wrote:i have both the ultimate and deluxe BB. the ultimate is a nice display piece but not much else. the deluxe is fun to play with, transform, and pose. i would gladly sacrifice all the "gimmicks" on ultimate BB for a more detailed, highly-articulated transformer. but to each his own.

Like I said your just another member... doesn't make me change my mind, all my friends think the Deluxe is a waist and that the Ultimate Bumblebee is way better and I agree... you are just another member.

Bumbled wrote:

Bumblebee-otch wrote:i have both the ultimate and deluxe BB. the ultimate is a nice display piece but not much else. the deluxe is fun to play with, transform, and pose. i would gladly sacrifice all the "gimmicks" on ultimate BB for a more detailed, highly-articulated transformer. but to each his own.

Like I said your just another member... doesn't make me change my mind, all my friends think the Deluxe is a waist and that the Ultimate Bumblebee is way better and I agree... you are just another member.

ok sorry for saying what i think. i wasn't shooting you down or whatever. i was saying i like them both, but for different reasons.

Bumbled wrote: But of course it's your opinion and I respect that. But please don't try to change mine.

I have no intention of changing your opinion, and as I have said, there is nothing wrong with Ultimate Bumblebee, and I am sure that and many others will prefer Ultimate to Deluxe. There are plenty of things to like about the Ultimate toy, and I hope you do enjoy it as much as you are anticipating to.

But since you do not own the Deluxe toy, and have of yet to fully play with Ultimate Bumblebee, saying things like:

Bumbled wrote:Ultimate Bumblebee is way better than the Deluxe one anyways...

seems a bit off to me.

I only wanted you to know that the Deluxe toy, for its size, transformation, detail and price is, imo the superior toy.