Hunt for the Decepticons Battle Blade Bumblebee

Prelude: Many people, including myself, said the same thing when this figure was announced: *groan*, not another Bumblebee! There was simply no reason for that. Arguments for it were (for me): 2 hands, fold-out gun, didn’t much care about the blade.

And one thing right at the get-go: The figure does surprise in a positive way.

Alternate Mode: Of course Bumblebee still becomes the Chevrolet Camaro Z28, but what should be mentioned is that this version is a lot closer to the original than many other versions, especially when it comes to the more box-ish front section. I like that. The doors can still be opened, no problem, and the rear window is a single piece now. Very nice.

Robot Mode: At first glance Bumblebee’s robot mode doesn’t look that different, but there are a quite a few things that have changed. The legs are more movie-accurate, just like the feet – Battle Ops and Human Alliance BB send their regards. The arms are a lot more posable, the hands fully articulate. They can even grab things. Instead of the roof panels or other kibble the arms are now outfitted with the shields we’ve seen on screen. The right arm shield contains Bumblebee’s transforming blaster cannon, while the left side contains the battle blade we’ve seen in the game and which gives the figure its name. Nicely done and looking good.

The head is still more movie-accurate and includes the battle mask. I always liked that mask, starting with the Stealth Bumblebee that I got as a present from Philister for last year’s birthday.

And finally, after the butchery that was Cannon Bumblebee, the chest panels are movable again – and it doesn’t get more movie accurate than this. Even the “muscle twitches” seen in the Movie are possible here. Superbly done.

The hip is fully articulate as well, which means that posability is just about limitless here, even the most outrageous poses are possible. This new Bumblebee is also a tad larger than his predecessors, which I don’t mind at all.

The only slight flaw: The shoulder cannons we’ve seen on Cannon BB are missing, which slightly lessens his perfection. He’s also missing his license plate.

Transformation: Just great. Can’t really say more than that (look at the video below).

Conclusion: The (almost) perfect Bumblebee! Get him and use the others for custom jobs -> join the Wreckers! (the German Transformers custom creators)

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And for a second opinion, the review by Caked-Up:

Overview: Aside from Optimus Prime, Bumblebee has received the most figures in Movieverse. This is the latest and greatest of the Deluxe Bumblebee figures. It is a great new mold and I fully anticipate that this mold will be the standard for the next movie and any redeco hereafter.

Robot Mode: This Bumblebee still exudes a nimble and capable warrior, while retaining a sort of youthful and scrappy appearance. He is predominantly yellow with black accents, but the bulk of his limbs are grey instead of black this time. He is still easily recognizable as Bumblebee. He retains his trademark wings (in the Movieverse), but they are positioned better so as not to restrict his arms. The wings themselves can get in the way, but they are far enough back so that the only thing they impede is showing off 360 degree rotations. Included with his wings are his front wheels. This feature was also on the Human Alliance version, but there are some more paint apps with it. Specifically the chain and gearing sculpting is not painted, but it is there. Otherwise, he continues the trend of excellent sculpting throughout his body. On an odd note, I just realized that the robot mode does not have very many paint apps, but I had to look for it to notice. He does have a few things that could have been done better though. There is no way for his kibble to tab in so it just rests there and can be floppy if moved too much. Also his chest and abdomen panels only rest in place with friction trying to keep them there. My figures abdomen panels have had to see some serious nail polish to stay in place.

As for posability, he is much more limber than any iteration before him. The kibble is set up so that is does not hamper any movement whatsoever. However, he does have my least favorite posability issue, no wrist swivel. His fingers and thumbs are posable, but they can’t turn so he is restricted to doing bicep curls. I do wish his ankles had some side to side motion. Regardless, there is very little this robot can’t do.

Gimmicks, gimmicks, and gimmicks. That is what this figure is all about. Since there has been a flood of Deluxe Class Bumblebees in the market, Hasbro has given the new ‘Bee three gimmicks to make him sell. As with the title of the figure, Bumblebee has a flip-out axe on his left arm. It is a translucent blue that looks really good. The blade is set so that it is used for an inward slash. The only problem with it is that the extra piece of the blade does not flip out when the whole unit does. Regardless it is still very nice. The next gimmick is his battle mask. It is on a slider and hinge joint so pull out and then down to cover his face. The slits are painted, but it just looks funny to me. Plus you are covering some really nice blue eye piping. The last gimmick is his weakest. On his right arm you have a fold-out plasma cannon. Split the arm ornament and rotate the muzzle forward, fold the hand back, and close the arm ornament. Having the gap in-between the hand and the muzzle is only made worse by the fact that the muzzle is yellow. That will receive some black to highlight it better. But unlike the Human Alliance version he has two hands to work with and not a dopey Sam figure to speak of.

This figure is maintaining the status quo of increasing gimmicks and transformation techniques as time goes by. I liked these gimmicks, plus the wing setup so much I chose to get this figure to replace my old Alliance Bumblebee. This is a nicely done robot mode in my opinion.

Alternate Mode: Bumblebee is still the new Camaro in vehicle mode. And just like most of the previous molds it is a beautiful car mode. All of the molded details that made the past iterations nice are even better here. They are much more pronounced in sort of an HD kind of idea. There are still many seam lines to be seen, but the most atrocious one from before was the rear window. Due to the new transformation scheme, the rear window no longer splits down the center leaving the car with an overall cleaner appearance. However, the way the hood and grill separate prevents mine from lining up properly and I have a bit of a gap on the right front fender. Alas, the tailpipe is still not painted and for whatever reason the roof has a small stress mark in the center. Despite these problems, this has been and continues to be a well done car mode.

Remarks: The previous figures were great. I never liked the way the wings folded inward, but they were otherwise good. This newer Bumblebee is a drastic improvement in most respects. His wrists and back kibble are the only true things bringing him down. If you have managed to get away with not buying a single Movieverse Bumblebee than you need to get this one.

Rating: A+