Bumblebee Battle Suit

It was only weeks ago when I lamented the lack of contemporary action figure playsets. And yet, what do I discover on the Target shelves but a slate of Transformer Prime playsets! I wasn’t bowled over by the couple of conventional vehicle-type sets,but I couldn’t resist the lure of a Bumblebee-piloted Bumblebee mech-suit. If you ever wanted a Bumblebee for your Bumblebee, this is your lucky day.

The Bumblebee Battle Suit (hereafter ‘BBS’) is packaged in the typical Prime window box; nothing special here.

The figure itself is decent, but a letdown. The box photos are somehow more compelling than the actual toy. The proportions seemed better on the box. The BBS is a largely un-articulated, visually busy brick. There’s an awful lot going on here.

I do like the use of clear blue plastic. The design evokes the Machine Robo Battle Risers and a few Microman pieces.

The BBS features a light-up module which can be utilized in a few different ways. Pressing a button at the top illuminates an anemic LED light. The wiring from the backpack area to the module is a nice touch.

As shown previously, it can be stowed away on the suit’s back, or plugged into a large gun here:

The module can also plug into the small Bumblebee figure’s arm.

Let me pause to note that this figure is nicely done. I’m continually amazed at how well Hasbro/TakaraTomy continue to execute even the smallest transforming figures. I’m seriously considering buying a handful of the other excellent Prime figures at this scale.

Only the BBS’ arms feature any kind of non-transforming movement, and limited movement at that.

Transformation to battle-station mode is easy and engaging. Pull the two large mechanical protuberances at the sides, and mechtech action will fold down the chest and rotate shoulder weapons forward. The legs split to form the base.

While the suit mode is busy and cluttered, it looks like a piece of Bauhaus sculpture compared to the battle station. A cluttered heap. I’m not sure what exactly is supposed to be going on here.

While I’m happy that this exists, and happy that Hasbro has expanded the line in this direction, this particular set is a miss for me. The suit is reasonably cohesive, but the whole thing comes apart with the conversion to the battle station.