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Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys

Posted by william-james88 Aug 3, 2021 at 4:38pm CDT 126,239 views
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here. Some images for this article come from Toybox Soapbox.


Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys


With the Volkswagen company being rather coy with their license on Transformers toys, it took a while to have enough toys to make such a list. With the floodgates opening (and then seemingly closing) for the 2018 Bumblebee movie, we now have more Volswagen Beetle Bees than ever before so let's look at the best of the bunch.

5. Transformers G1 1984 Bumblebee (Bumble)

A real classic if there ever was one and probably the second most iconic G1 toy (the first being Broadside, obviously). The transformation is quaint but fun and the car mode is perfect for what it is. I especially like that there is barely no hint that it transforms, with a really nice chassis underneath and that good old diecast. The sticker for the penny racer motor is a nice touch too. This being the toy that started it all for Bumblebee, I am glad it was reissued so that everyone can enjoy this fun toy.

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys


4. Transformers: Bumblebee Energon Igniters Speed Series Bumblebee

Most legion/legends sized movie Bumblebee figures are not great. They either have fake chests for a simplified design to help the proportions or use the front of the car as the chest and end up looking bad. But this one works. We have a nice little Beetle for a car mode and a good looking bot mode with a real chest. And this toy even look more accurate than the more complex versions of this character model since he doesn't have the car doors as wings in bot mode.



Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys


3. Transformers Movie Masterpiece 7 Bumblebee

This is a very solid figure, with tight joints, and a tight fitting transformation that holds together well. After the massive disappointment that the Studio Series VW Bee proved to be, the solidness of this guy is a breath of fresh air. Transformation wise, this Bee does a great job at rotating and moving parts around to get them to properly compact and fit together in car mode. One thing I really like is how the the shoulders roll down, then swivel to the back so they can line up along the back of his legs. Over all, I really love this figure. While it doesn't have a ton of die cast, it is there, and give this smaller figure some nice heft. He does a good job of giving Bumblebee that "young bot" feel that this character has traditionally had. - Ironhidensh

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys


2. Transformers WFC-09 Bumblebee Netflix Edition

Here is a toy that we all wanted for so long, a classics Bumblebee toy that turned into a VW Beetle. And the fact that it is a good toy is just icing on the cake. It feels a lot like a more affordable masterpiece toy (it even has the removeable backpack like MP 21) and scales perfectly with the ton of G1 characters we got in the two recent toy trilogies. The mold itself is top notch with a nice level of complexity, but still being intuitive. And it's really fun how this feels a lot like the G1 era where Bumblebee and Cliffjumper have different car modes and bot modes and yet share the same transformation. It's too bad this was hard to get for many because this really feels like the only Bumblbebee toy you'd need on your classics shelf.

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys


1. Transformers MP-21 Masterpiece Bumblebee

My dear Masterpiece Bumblebee, after seven years, you're still the one. While the Bumblebee movie may have given us more VW themed toys than ever before, we can't forget that for a long time, the G1 toy was all we had for a Bumblebee turning into a Beetle. So when this Masterpiece came out, it was truly a time to celebrate. Not only did we finally get an actual Bumblebee that turned into a Volkswagen Beetle but it turned into an accurate Beetle rather than a super deformed version like in G1. And yet the amazing designers still found a way to give us the same look in bot mode as if it did turn into that same alt mode, with the recreation of the full car roof on his torso.

I really love that Transformation. The legs, for instance, do give homage to the G1 transformation but with added complexity to integrate kibble better and give him a nicer shape. And Takara provides all the articulation you would need. I love this toy and the fact that the more recent MP Bumblebee doesn't come close to this toy tells me that going for that extra toon accuracy and making a design more complex than it should be isn't always a recipe for success. This toy found a beautiful equilibrium of all these aspects of a Transformers toy.

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

Transformers News: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys
Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys
Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Toys

More Bots. More News. More Awesome.

Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by jtanimator Aug 3, 2021
Great list! Although I've got to say, especially now looking at side-to-side pics of the MP BB vs the Netflix BB, its absolutely amazing how the WFC Netflix BB looks SO much freaking better than even the MP. I'd argue by far the best G1 Bumblebee ever made, hands down, without competition. But that's just me. The proportions, the face sculpt, the colors, everything. I genuinely love that Netflix BB.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Aug 3, 2021
jtanimator wrote:Great list! Although I've got to say, especially now looking at side-to-side pics of the MP BB vs the Netflix BB, its absolutely amazing how the WFC Netflix BB looks SO much freaking better than even the MP. I'd argue by far the best G1 Bumblebee ever made, hands down, without competition. But that's just me. The proportions, the face sculpt, the colors, everything. I genuinely love that Netflix BB.


My main issue with the Netflix BB is the backpack when pegged in. It doesn't look good and makes bee look like he's a hunch back, so the idea of him being a partsformer is more prevalent in this version than the MP. Also, the MP comes with the right accessories while Netflix Bee just gets the the cliff cannons. We had to buy the centurion pack to get the right gun, really lame of them to do that.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Was the Studio Series one really a disappointment? I have the Retro Garage one and remember thinking it was alright. It's been a while since I handled it.


SS VW Bee is one of the worst toys in the line, it's just unpleasant to transform. Very fiddly and the vehicle mode just does not stay together.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Kyleor Aug 3, 2021
No love for R/C 'Monster Truck' Bumblebee?
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by TulioDude Aug 3, 2021
Nice list!

All the choices are solid toys.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Aug 3, 2021
Kyleor wrote:No love for R/C 'Monster Truck' Bumblebee?


Your right, it is a VW Beetle too :-?
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Evil Eye Aug 3, 2021
No arguments from me on this list! Pretty spot on, and good to see the V1 MP still getting love all these years later- the way it goes from a spot-on VW Beetle to a very faithful rendition of G1 Bumblebee's robot mode is just awesome. Also the two redecos it got- red and G2- both looked great. I love a Beetle in red so I'm biased there, I'll admit, and G2 has that lovely shiny gold paintjob even if it isn't actually gold chrome.

I still have no idea what Takara were thinking with the V2 and its...foot backpacks.

It's not easy to suggest runners-up because there's actually very few VW Beetle Bumblebee toys, annoyingly enough. I seem to recall "Classic Pretender" Bumblebee was pretty good for the time, with a nice chunky Beetle mode and a decent looking robot.

Finally, on a complete tangent, one very cool custom I've seen was a 3D printed upgrade kit for Netflix Bumblebee that turns him into a "pickup bug"! Which makes a lot of sense as the Beetle, being so widely produced, has been the base for a lot of custom cars, including pickups.
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Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by EvasionModeBumblebee Aug 3, 2021
Nice list, I enjoyed reading it! I'm more of an expert on the Camaro side of things, but I do have a few VW Bees.

G1 Bee is my only G1 figure, and it's pretty fun. MP-21 is very nice, although I haven't taken mine out of the box in a long time. The red paint on the Autobot logo started to chip off, which scared me since it was my first MP. It'd be really easy to repaint though, I should probably get to that at some point. Energon igniters Bee is alright as well, although the legs are crazy long.

I do kind of regret skipping on Netflix Bee when I had the chance, I actually saw it at retail pretty frequently. I don't have any other WFC to go with it, but it would've worked just as a part of the Bumblebee collection.


I do disagree on this point though:
william-james88 wrote:Most legion/legends sized movie Bumblebee figures are not great.

The DOTM legion Bumblebee is pretty great, I think it's as good as you can get for that scale. Pretty well detailed, good articulation, molded-in plasma cannon, it pretty much has it all. The ROTF one is alright, but DOTM improves on it in every way. Energon Igniters 76 Bee is very well detailed and the proportions work better on him, but I'm a little bummed it doesn't have door wings. Never owned the original 76 legends Bee, I'd like to though!
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Emerje Aug 3, 2021
Evil Eye wrote:It's not easy to suggest runners-up because there's actually very few VW Beetle Bumblebee toys, annoyingly enough. I seem to recall "Classic Pretender" Bumblebee was pretty good for the time, with a nice chunky Beetle mode and a decent looking robot.

I agree with almost the entire list, but this would have been my #4. Pretender Bee felt like the proper upgrade that Goldbug wasn't thanks to that 4x4 Beetle alt mode and bigger bot mode. I have both the Pretender version, the Legends version (same thing without the shell) and a KO red one which fits his Cliffjumper head well (the only negative of the figure for me).

Emerje
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by BIGGUY007 Aug 3, 2021
How come we never got a Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee in classic Camaro form?
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Seibertron Aug 4, 2021
Emerje wrote:
Evil Eye wrote:It's not easy to suggest runners-up because there's actually very few VW Beetle Bumblebee toys, annoyingly enough. I seem to recall "Classic Pretender" Bumblebee was pretty good for the time, with a nice chunky Beetle mode and a decent looking robot.

I agree with almost the entire list, but this would have been my #4. Pretender Bee felt like the proper upgrade that Goldbug wasn't thanks to that 4x4 Beetle alt mode and bigger bot mode. I have both the Pretender version, the Legends version (same thing without the shell) and a KO red one which fits his Cliffjumper head well (the only negative of the figure for me).

Emerje


Can you share pics of the KO "Legends" Bumblebee? I'd love to see it since Pretender Bumblebee's inner robot had Cliffjumper's head.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Emerje Aug 4, 2021
Seibertron wrote:
Emerje wrote:
Evil Eye wrote:It's not easy to suggest runners-up because there's actually very few VW Beetle Bumblebee toys, annoyingly enough. I seem to recall "Classic Pretender" Bumblebee was pretty good for the time, with a nice chunky Beetle mode and a decent looking robot.

I agree with almost the entire list, but this would have been my #4. Pretender Bee felt like the proper upgrade that Goldbug wasn't thanks to that 4x4 Beetle alt mode and bigger bot mode. I have both the Pretender version, the Legends version (same thing without the shell) and a KO red one which fits his Cliffjumper head well (the only negative of the figure for me).

Emerje


Can you share pics of the KO "Legends" Bumblebee? I'd love to see it since Pretender Bumblebee's inner robot had Cliffjumper's head.

Mine is kinda buried in the closet, but it's exactly like this one.

BumblebeePretender1a.jpg


He was gang molded with this one and if I had the foresight at the time I would have bought him too and swapped parts and added a little black paint to the tires.

BumblebeePretender1b.jpg


They were sold in dollar stores in the '90s and are exactly the same size as the original, I also have a yellow and red Grimlock somewhere. Not sure if Jazz and Starscream were made.

Emerje
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by TheForgottenTaxi Aug 4, 2021
I clicked on this link thinking, "MP-21 at the top, or we riot."

Glad to see there is no need to riot! What a magnificent toy.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by optimeow Aug 4, 2021
Unfortunately, as many Bumblebees as I have, Netflix Bumblebee is one that I have never come across on a shelf, preorders were sold out before I even know they existed, can’t afford scalper prices.
:( :( :(
One day when there is a much better version, hopefully scalpers will dump it cheap.
Otherwise, hopefully Hasbro knows not to waste a great mold and reissue it under premium colour version or something.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by cruizerdave Aug 4, 2021
The Netflix one really is great.

Good job on this list BTW. ;)^
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Aug 4, 2021
cruizerdave wrote:The Netflix one really is great.

Good job on this list BTW. ;)^


Thanks man!
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Epsilon Delta Aug 5, 2021
Netflix Bee is amazing. I never really cared much for Bee as a kid watching the G1 cartoon, preferring the Dinobots and Prime, but as a toy he just looked so good from all the reviews I decided if I saw him I'd pick him up. I was lucky enough to find him and I was not disappointed. Especially that clear blue on the windows. Great color. I don't mind partsformers too much, and even prefer some, like Ultra Magnus, to be a partsformer.

Unfortunately, I never picked up the Centurion Drone to get Netflix Bee's proper gun, but Cliffjumpers bazooka and sleds have grown on me for Bee. I used them as ammo clips on the cannon (I know I know) and a "drone cannon"/"shoulder cannon." He is just really fun. Too bad my 4 yr old daughter stole him from me and refuses to let me play with him utilize him as a medium to express my imagination dynamically anymore.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Nov 15, 2021
I have 3 VW Bees, all of them from the Bee movie:

3) SS Bee: this is such a fiddly and not fun toy. I wish they would give this one a whole new go, it need sit.

2) Energon Ignitors: it's a lot of fun, small, simple, that 5mm port in the knee is distracting, but it's really neat.

1) MPM Bee: this thing is super solid, and I have had so much fun with the robot mode since I got it. It's just a very neat and fun toy that has a lot to offer, even if it's transformation is also fiddly at times.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by TulioDude Nov 16, 2021
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I have 3 VW Bees, all of them from the Bee movie:

3) SS Bee: this is such a fiddly and not fun toy. I wish they would give this one a whole new go, it need sit.


Since ROTB is delayed,if the licenses aren't a problem,it would be a good time update movie VW Bumblebee in 2022.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Nov 16, 2021
TulioDude wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I have 3 VW Bees, all of them from the Bee movie:

3) SS Bee: this is such a fiddly and not fun toy. I wish they would give this one a whole new go, it need sit.


Since ROTB is delayed,if the licenses aren't a problem,it would be a good time update movie VW Bumblebee in 2022.


The SS line for 2022 is already all done, we know what's in it, ROTB was never going to be part of it so there is nothing to move to next year for the SS line.
Re: Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys (view post)
Comment by Evil Eye Nov 19, 2021
Funny question, but I kinda want to get myself the V1 MP Bumblebee mold. Question is, which version should I go for? All have their charm to me- the standard yellow is a classic of course, and I actually don't have a yellow "G1" Bee in my collection (my CHUG BB rep is the police deco I made from Bugbite), but the G2 would go with my G2 Sideswipe. Meanwhile I actually really like how the red version looks, especially in car mode. Something about a red bug just works, you know?
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