The Energon Pub

I've really been on the fence about this guy. I love the design in the game, but this figure though...
His rotund body, and skinny legs, and not to mention his hulking size compared with Optimus and the other WFC figs...yeah, I've just been brushing him off every time I see him. And yet, there's that quirky little feeling...
So, is he worth it? Does this figure have a mojo that's just not being done justice all sealed up in the package? I passed on Classics Bumblebee before (I know, I know) ..So, I don't want to make that same mistake again, especially if, heaven forbid Hasbro goes ahead and makes a Voyager WFC Op one of these days.

Any and all input welcome, and of course greatly appreciated!

I got one when they first came up on TRU's site, months ago.

I personally think he's decent, But not absolutely great... and I can only speak from my experience with my figure: The legs are a little slender but he stands on them well, he is very rotund and posed next to Optimus you will definitely wish that either Optimus was a voyager or that Bee was a legends... or both. But scale withstanding he's a good little figure overall. Mine however has a problem with getting him into his alt mode, not all of the parts snap together or sit flush with one another correctly which gives him the jigsaw look that Universe/henkei Ironhide has. But it's not as noticeable on BB thanks to the yellow and black combination.
The pistol is cool enough I guess, but good luck getting it to stay attached to it's spot when in alt mode.(I know mine don't)

Overall I like the bug but if they come out with a cliffjumper or other repaint I'll probably pass it up.

It's ok, it does have some annoying problems like Catalyst mentioned. The transformation is a pain in the ass. It's half cramming parts in as tightly as possible and half lining up those fiddly panels. I do like the way the wheels go into the legs, that's pretty cool. Another thing that bugs me(pun intended) is the joint in the thighs. It's for the transformation and it's wobbly as hell so it makes standing the figure difficult sometimes. Overall though I'd say it's worth the price, but not by a lot.

I like it. Sure, he's out of scale for Bumblebee, but he's not really that big next to WFC Prime, in my opinion. I agree that the transformation is a little annoying. It drove me nuts when I first got him, but now that I'm used to it, it doesn't bother me nearly as much.

Everything on mine fits together well with a bit of work, with the exception of the front wheel parts. They stay in place in alt mode, but they just don't tab in quite as tightly as they should. And don't let Catalyst Prime's comment about Universe Ironhide scare you, because he's right that the color scheme hides it well.

Also, mine doesn't have the thigh joint problem that Evil_the_Nub's has. Instead, mine has a nearly stripped-out ball joint on the right shoulder. From the three of us who have replied so far, it seems we each have a unique problem with our figure. So maybe you will get one that's fine all around.

I love the alt mode. I liked it from seeing the early pictures, but I liked it even more than I expected when I finally got him. It's a pretty compact little car. And it's probably the closest we'll get to a VW New Beetle from Hasbro. An added bonus for me is that the alt mode reminds me ever so slightly of Bumblebee's Cybertron mode from his first appearance in the G1 cartoon.

So yeah, it's a little different for a Bumblebee toy, but it's a great toy overall. If you're drawn to it in the slightest, and especially if you skipped Classics BB, I say give it a shot.

And for anyone who hasn't tried it yet, Classics BB can hold his gun!

I agree. He is ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get him. I was going to pass on him, but then decided that I might as well pick him up when I saw Prime. Honestly, I probably should have saved that money, but I'm not really that worried about it. I knew he looked goofy when I bought him, so that isn't a big deal. I just wish the transformation could be a little more intersting and a little less fiddly. I don't know.........I would pass if given the opportunity to rethink it.

My autobot collection is an attempt at keeping everything in scale(ish) with the deluxe cars as the measuring tape, and my Decep collection is the same with deluxe flyers as the measure.

I passed on both Cybertron Optimus and Bbee since I own other Pieces of both, and grabbed Jetblade, Thrust and Mudflap, but I think the two still look great.

If I had the room, I would propably have bought two Cybertron Bees and did a little Bumblebee and Cliffjumper homage thingy somewhere, as I consider his bot mode to be a neat little sculpture,and there are already sculptures of Greek deities, 40k models and the odd art nuveau throughout my little home.

I never buy deluxe optimuses unless I intend to convert them into something missing from my deluxe lineup, such as Huffer, or add them to my g2 collection as in scale Opty's.I've got a deluxe Rodimus,but Opty is leader class, in generic and nightwatch colors.I don't need more unless they can drive around town.

For a standalone display piece or as a gift, Cybertron Opty and Bbee are first choice for me at the moment.(I would have voted PCC's, but am angry at PCC 5 packs because the packaging doesn't specifically state that the drones aren't bots.Little old ladies will snap these up believing they've bought 5 economic Transformers for their Grandchildren when they've bought 1 and 4 matchbox cars).
I've already bought Animated Bbee for adult females and have even been told he's cute and scored hugs, so Cybertron Bbee is a great follow through.

I think it's worth it. I like him. I don't have any joint problems with mine, and I find him to be very posable. The transformation is annoying and not enjoyable, but I really like how he looks both in bot and alt mode.

I'm surprised so many people hate the transformation. It's a little fiddly, yes, but I found it satisfyingly interesting. I figured it out without instructions. I guess you could say his backpack makes him look rotund, and he's tall compared to Prime, but that's more of a problem with Prime. He's well-articulated and looks good, and I especially love the Tron-esque alt mode.

One problem I had was that one of the small hinges on one of the leg panels was already split right out of the box, but that was an isolated incident, as my friend has one and it's perfect.

I would say if you like Bumblebee as a character, he's worth picking up. I love him even more than Classics Bee, I think.

Cool, thanks for all the input everyone! I'd say I'm definitely going to give him a try now!

i was asking myself the same question I think I'm going to get Drift instead though

I like Bumblebee, and I like him more than Prime. His transformation is a little tricky in a couple of places, but I don't find him to be as annoying as Optimus. It's a nice, compact alt-mode, and the robot-mode is a great representation of the character. My favorite part of the transformation is the rear wheels into the legs.

In fact, I think I like him better than the Classics Deluxe figure.

If you're nuts about "proper scale", whatever that is to you, he probably won't be worth it.

Otherwise, he's a decent figure, and really captures the 'feel' of the original G1 character. Not much Movie-like, though.

Worth $10...why not? He's not the best, but FAR from the worst. I like him and find him to be worth the cost of a deluxe fig.

I agree about the transformation. I loved how he looked in both modes so I broke down and got a second one during a BOGO 1/2 sale at TRU so I could display both modes without messing with transforming him. I think on his own, he is a good size...the problem, I believe, was that Prime should have been Voyager-sized.

WeatherManNX01 wrote:I like Bumblebee, and I like him more than Prime. His transformation is a little tricky in a couple of places, but I don't find him to be as annoying as Optimus. It's a nice, compact alt-mode, and the robot-mode is a great representation of the character. My favorite part of the transformation is the rear wheels into the legs.

In fact, I think I like him better than the Classics Deluxe figure.

I actually love the OP transformation. Very interesting to me, especially for a deluxe figure. I actually agree with you and other people that the leg transformation on BB is neat, but that is literally the only thing about the trans that I find appealing in any manner.

As a diehard BB fan, I can't give an unbiased opinion but I'll try to offer some more objective points.

I do think the figure is worth it if you:

a) Like the iconic BB design(hornhead, yellow dominated colour scheme, chubby anatomy).

b) Are a transformation design enthusiast.

c) Like the WFC BB design.

d) Like the appearance of the Tron-ish alt mode.

e) Appreciate greater than normal(for TF toys) ranges of articulation.

The transformation...I think it's fiddly or an unpleasant experience for those who aren't totally into transformation design. It's not a difficult transformation, it just demands precision of movement of parts. The main point of the transformation that gives people the problem with gaps in alt mode is that they don't peg the forearm pegs into the shoulder ports correctly. If you do that right then everything else should fit properly in alt mode. Frankly, if people find that they need to cram things into place when transforming the figure from bot to alt mode, they're not doing it right.

As far as how it compares to WFC OP for scale, it's not an issue with WFC BB being too big, it's simply that WFC OP is too small. WFC OP should be Voyager class at the very least. WFC OP suffers from the same toy size issue as Universe Galvatron.

One point of design I like about WFC BB is that it has sculpted "open hands" but there's a space that is designed to fit 5mm peg weapon grips. I like how you can have the figure hold a traditionally sized grip TF toy weapon but doesn't suffer from block-hands-with-a-hole syndrome that most TF toys have.

I don't like the fact that the figure has light piping plastic in place but Hasbro decided to paint over the eye portions. What's the point?

Overall, I think it's an underrated figure by most people's accounts. It's not the best, generally speaking, but I think that it has some good points aesthetically and with respect to toy design. It takes a little more investment in time in examining the figure to fully appreciate it and I think its engineering is above standard mainline TF toy design and closer to a sub BT/Alternators level toy with respect to transformation.

Prime Riblet wrote:

WeatherManNX01 wrote:I like Bumblebee, and I like him more than Prime. His transformation is a little tricky in a couple of places, but I don't find him to be as annoying as Optimus. It's a nice, compact alt-mode, and the robot-mode is a great representation of the character. My favorite part of the transformation is the rear wheels into the legs.

In fact, I think I like him better than the Classics Deluxe figure.

I actually love the OP transformation. Very interesting to me, especially for a deluxe figure. I actually agree with you and other people that the leg transformation on BB is neat, but that is literally the only thing about the trans that I find appealing in any manner.

As others have mentioned, Prime clearly would have been better suited as a Voyager class over a Deluxe. I don't mind the Transformation, but I find the complexity and parts to be too fiddly for the size (much like Universe Galvatron).