Battle Blade Bumblebee

“BUMBLEBEE is used to the odds being against him. This time is no different than any of dozens of other fights he’s been in. As RAVAGE and INSECTICON circle him in the gloom, he focuses all his energy on being ready for the attack he knows is coming. ”

Vehicle Mode

Robot Mode

Standard poseability everywhere, though the knees are double-jointed and fold a little beyond 90-degrees. The wrists fold inwards because of how they transform, and each thumb can fold along the same joint. (Ironically, though this set has weapons, none of them are hand-held!) There are ankle joints, but they are strictly for transformation, but each toe can flex upwards a bit.

Bumblebee’s battle mask can ratchet downward to cover his face, just like in the movie(s)! He also features good light piping in his eyes.

The special feature of this set is his built-in weapons and the movable battle mask. There is a fold-out blaster in his right forearm that replaces his hand, and there is a spring-out ax in his left forearm (hence this set’s title, “Battle Blade…”)!

I’m one of those Trans-fans who don’t think too highly of the Bumblebee persona throughout the Transformers multiverse, regardless of what his legal name may be (Hot Shot, Red Alert, etc.) I also don’t collect multiples of the same toy design unless there’s a good reason. (A repaint is appropriate, though I have very few of those too.) So, even though this is the now-fifth Deluxe-class version of the Bayformers character in four years, this is NOT simply a repaint or a remold, but a completely new Deluxe-class toy.

So I want to be clear when I say that there was one reason why I decided to get another Bumblebee with the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro alt mode, and that is the hidden weapons. The colors used were nicely updated, and the sculpting of his face (ugly as that is) is much cleaner and better defined than its Deluxe-class Bayformers predecessors. The transformation is also different, though how the lower legs unfold retains the Automorph Technology from the 2007 and 2009 releases and deploys in the same way. Opening hands and swiveling waist joint is nice as always, but we lost ankles that could pitch forward even though the feet are now more screen-accurate. Also, the way the roof and both windshields fold up onto the back creates some awkward kibble that’s hard to get around holding onto him, which is perhaps my biggest complaint in robot mode. (The other complaint is how he’s a bit too thin in body shape compared to the toy’s predecessors and how he appears on-screen. His torso is really wide while his arms and legs are kinda scrawny.) For vehicle mode, the only big issue I have is the rear windshield is very difficult to line-up with those holes of the yellow plastic on the legs; it took me ten minutes the first time to get it where I wanted it!

The flip-out weapons are the main draw of this figure, and I was completely satisfied with both of them! I kinda wish the barrel of the blaster had been gray, but I can overlook that easily. And both fold up quite well and become rather invisible, just as they should be! The battle mask ratchets up-and-down, but can pop-off if you do it wrong, which is fine.

Honestly, I think I still prefer the 2007 Capture of Bumblebee set I have (i.e Deluxe-class Concept Camaro Bumblebee) design more because of the Automorph in the torso, how the transformation is a little more manageable, and that cute little double-function blaster he had. If I could take the weapons from the Battle Blade Bumblebee set and put it on my other set, that would have been awesome. But, this set is enough of a change that it is worth getting if you haven’t purchased a Deluxe-class version of this character up to this point.