Generations Bumblebee

Robot Mode: One thing you pretty much notice at first glance: This figure’s inspiration hails, for the most part, from the original, namely G1 Bumblebee. The head is a nearly 1:1 likeness of the one we saw in the old cartoon series. A yellow helmet with little horns, a white (or bright silver, rather) face, everything’s there. So the look is a clear homage to the original child-relatable Transformer.

As a figure Bumblebee is very close to being a shellformer. His arms and legs are nearly free of kibble, yes, but he carries nearly the complete chassis of his vehicle mode on his back, folded together into a big rucksack. It doesn’t hinder him in any way, though. His superb posability isn’t limited by it, so dynamic poses of all sorts aren’t a problem for this BB. And despite his feet being the rear wheels from the vehicle mode, he has no problems standing. The wheels get a complete shell of their own, so to speak, so no balance problems here.

The only vehicle parts you really notice on his robot mode are the big wheels and fenders on his lower arms. But to me that looks pretty cool and makes him seem muscular. These pods also include two of BB’s three weapons, namely flip-out blades (ROTF Prime might be looking at copyright infringement) that probably make him a dangerous close quarter combatant. His third weapon is a gun that fits nicely into his well-sculpted hands (not the standard fist-with-hole in it design).

So to sum it up: A nicely done robot mode.

Vehicle Mode: For Bumblebee’s vehicle mode you need to keep in mind that this is his Cybertronian form, so camouflage doesn’t factor into it, it’s just for getting from A to B. There is no driver’s cabin, no doors, nothing that you’d find on a human vehicle. Despite this the design is still pretty close to BB’s classic alternate mode, the Volkswagen Beetle (or probably the New Beetle in this case), but with a futuristic, alien touch.

To get there, though, you first have to perform a transformation that’s not the easiest in the world. Don’t get me wrong, BB is far from claiming the prize for most complicated transformation in Transformer history, but it does take some time and patience until you’ve got all the parts properly lined-up, clicked together and assembled into a wholesome looking whole.

The look inspired by the Beetle-form of G1 BB is accentuated by some black stripes that carry a whiff of Movie BB, though. So all in all you have a nice vehicle mode, not very spectacular, but to get there you do need a bit of patience.

Remarks: This Bumblebee hails from the War for Cybertron game and is, of course, patterned mostly after G1 Bumblebee, but some elements from everyone’ favorite Movie Transformer have also been included. This includes the blades in his arms, as well as the fact that both his profile and the Transformers: Exodus novel tell of him having lost his voice in battle against Megatron. What hasn’t changed from continuity to continuity, though, is his being one of Optimus Prime’s most trusted followers and his never-ending courage.

As far as the figure is concerned, it’s good, but the somewhat unnecessarily complicated transformation and the shellformer rucksack do drag him down a little bit. He does get bonus points, though, simply for the fact that he’s an original mold with lots of G1 elements and not just another slightly changed version of Movie Bumblebee (which we’ve been flooded with in recent times). So for BB fans in general and G1 and War for Cybertron Fans both, this Bot is worth a look or two.

Rating: B