Deluxe Bumblebee (`76 Camaro Version)

Height: 14cm to top of head in Robot Mode, 13.5cm long in Vehicle Mode.

Articulation: total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 3 points in each arm- ball-jointed shoulder, ball-jointed elbows, swivel wrist; 3 points of articulation in each leg- ball-jointed hip, hinged knee, hinged ankle. Various other joints associated with transformation.

Colors: Molded yellow and black. Painted yellow, black, metallic blue, silver, red, and white.

Accessories: Missile Launchers x2.

Release Data: Released on June 2nd, 2007 at a suggested retail price of $9.99 USD. This item is still widely available as of the date of this review (July 20th, 2007).

Gallery:  13 pictures.

Author: RAC
 

The Figure
 
It's been a good year for Bumblebee. There are more Bumblebee figures available now than he ever saw in Generation 1, even counting Goldbug. Besides the really neat Classics figure from last year, we've got two Deluxe figures for the new Transformers movie, a Legends figure, and soon, an Ultimate Bumblebee that'll set you back 90 bucks. Today we're dealing with the `76 Camaro, one of the first Deluxes to hit stores on June 2nd. Or even a little while before in some cases, due to a mixup with the UPCs on the Movie Preview Deluxes.

Vehicle Mode

Ah, `70s car design. Bright yellow does not help you one bit. That said, it's been quite a while since main-line Transformers were a recognizeable make and model of car, so in that sense (along with another which I'll get to soon enough) he's keeping pretty good company. The doors do open, though all you're going to get is a good look at Bumblebee's thighs if you do so. He rolls pretty smoothly, and the stored missiles are only visible from the back- and barely so at that.

This line's gimmick is "Automorph Technology," meaning that parts of the figure transform automatically when a button is pressed or other parts are transformed. The main Automorph feature is Bumblebee's hood, which flips down at the touch of a button. (More of a hard push than a touch, really. But anyway, there's a button.) The problem there is that after you've used it a few times the seams don't line up as tightly as they did right out of the package. It's okay for now, but I am concerned that the hood's latch could break with enough use.

Robot Mode

After the button is pressed, you turn Bumblebee's head around, open the doors and swing the windshield up, pull his arms up, lock the hood down, and unfold the legs. The legs are the other Automorph feature: a simple geared piece that moves the rear windshield down on the back of the leg as you unfold the foot. It's a simple thing, but for some reason I find I'm more impressed by that than I am by the hood feature. It has less potential to ruin the toy over time, that's for sure.

Once he's been converted to Robot Mode, take a look at him. If nothing comes to mind, make sure you've mounted the missiles to his shoulders and look at him in silhouette:

"Holy crap, it's Prowl! Or Bluestreak! Or Smokescreen! Or Jazz! Or..." Well, you get the idea. His transformation and overall appearance are markedly similar to the similarly-sized Autobot Cars of 1984. Granted, the details are different- where most animated Transformers are blocky and incorporate their vehicle disguises into their structures proper, the movie Transformers look more like they wear their vehicle parts. Armor plates mounted on an inner frame, much like the "Movable Frame" concept of Zeta Gundam.

Articulation is okay, but not spectacular. It's hard to adjust the head's ball-joint without having to realign the center plate in the chest that displays his Autobot emblem. The arms are the best part, with two ball-joints giving a pretty nice range of movement. No waist-joint, though that would've been hard to work into this design. The hips work well, but the knees are so high up on the leg as to prevent much range of movement. If that weren't bad enough, the rear windshield panels block off yet more movement. The ankles are great though, thanks to the necessities of transformation, and do help the overall leg range a bit.

Paint and Decoration

The decoration is weak, particularly in Robot Mode. Without the large area of the metallic blue windshields to break things up you have a big mass of yellow and black with silver highlights. There is some metallic blue on the thighs and lower torso, but it's so dark on the black plastic background that it's barely visible in most circumstances. On top of that, the black paint used for the Camaro's stripes comes off so easily that it scrapes off with a fingernail. But weirdly enough, the black paint used on the weathered spots is nice and strong! As many moving parts as this toy has I can sort of understand why there's not more variety (or quality) to the decoration, but I still think a better job could have been done.

Articulation gets 6/10
Sculpt gets 8/10
Deco gets 3/10
Vehicle Mode gets 7/10

 
Accessories

-Missile Launchers

Pretty standard spring-loaded missile launchers with a range of a few feet. In Vehicle Mode they lock together and store underneath, held in Bumblebee's fists. For Robot Mode, they can be mounted in the center of the wheels on the shoulders- completing the G1 look- or in the fists, or even under the arms. At first I thought that my Bumblebee's one shoulder was loose, as the missile wouldn't hold still when mounted to the center of the tire. Then I spotted the tiny little tabs required to keep the wheels still, so make sure your Bumblebee's shoulders are locked firmly into place. Overall, these are a basic accessory with a little more variety of use than usual. The sad thing is that the missiles are also yellow- originally they would have been clear blue, as would the windshields, adding some much-needed color to Robot Mode.

Accessories get 8/10

Closing Remarks

As would be expected of the mascot of the line, Bumblebee is pretty representative of the movie line's strengths and weaknesses. It looks neat and the Automorph feature works pretty well, but I'm not sure how it'll hold up in the long term, and the deco is on the drab side. A lot of this can probably be blamed on trying to condense the intricate end results of a huge special effects budget into a $10 toy- there will be compromise and sacrifice, no two ways about it. As it is, though, it's a Good toy, and it's enough to have me looking forward to the rest of the movie line.

-RAC, 7/20/2007