As you know, Movie Bumblebee has just had WAY too few deluxe-sized toys, so it's good that this Battle Blade version finally fills that badly-needed slot. All sarcasm aside, in vehicle mode there's really not much to set this aside from any other deluxe-sized toy of Bumblebee-- it's a Chevrolet Camaro, and the proportions are pretty darn solid. The dull orangish-yellow and black form the main colors, with the dark blue transparent windows generally being a nice contrast color, but on the flipside also showing off Bumblebee's "robot parts" inside. (There aren't any other robot mode extras visible in this mode except for the feet, which stick out a bit too much from the rear end of the car mode, but that's a minor quibble.) All of the necessary mold and paint details are there-- the stripes, the wheel rims, the front bumper, the headlights and taillights-- they're all painted the appropriate colors. The license plate is lacking paint, but that's really about it. Otherwise, well... despite this being a brand new mold, I don't really have much to say about this mode that hasn't already been said about Bumblebee's other deluxe molds.
    Battle Blade Bumblebee's robot mode, however, is where the differences (and my interest) lie. Yes, the same BASIC design is the same-- it is Movie Bumblebee, after all-- but in this case, movie accuracy (and, in some cases, proportions) have been sacrificed for more features. Let's go through the downsides first-- this Bumblebee is noticeably lankier than his other deluxe toys, particularly in the upper legs. The pieces of car kibble that fit on his upper legs don't fit against them nearly as snugly as on most other toys of this design, and his chest is sloped downwards against the rest of his body at a rather odd angle, which also results in his head sticking up out of the chest a bit more than it should. His waist is also a bit too skinny, which makes his back kibble-- which is a bit more prominent on this toy compared to most of his other deluxe versions-- stick out a bit more obviously. However, on the positive side, his chest fragments in a far better--and more movie-accurate-- manner than any other deluxe Movie Bumblebee toy, with the side thirds of it angling quite well against the center piece, and parts of the front bumper angling up to form the chest "abs". His battlemask can also flip down over his regular face (though it's a tough fit), which is unprecendented on a deluxe toy. His mold detailing is very well-done, with all the appropriate tubs, mecha-bits, and "car pieces" all molded in the right places on his body. His head is sculpted particularly well, being movie-accurate but without the odd "googly" eyes that are painted on most versions of the "vanilla" RotF deluxe mold. In addition, BOTH of his arms have a gimmick, neither of which actually interfere with the movement or proportions of said arm. His right arm, with a little fiddling, can deploy into his "cannon-arm" configuration, with the robot hand sliding back against the lower arm to let the cannon piece rest up in front of it. Using a similar transformation scheme, his left arm deploys a transparent blue axe-blade to give him a bit more melee power. THREE gimmicks like that for a deluxe-sized figure is almost unprecedented, and make him quite a bit of a fun, which lets me a be a bit more tolerant towards some of the aforementioned downsides. His articulation is also quite good-- he can move at he neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at two points), wrists, waist, hips, knees (at two points), and ankles. Rotational movement at the knees is really the only point missing-- and managing a waist joint into that design is quite impressive.
    Simply going in terms of proportions and general looks, the other deluxe-sized versions of Movie Bumblebee beat the Battle Blades version out a little bit-- particularly when it comes to the sagging chest and skinny appendages, this version is a lacking in robot mode. However, it just about makes up for it with all the fun gimmicks packed into a deluxe-sized package, like the fold-out weapons on each hand, the flip-down helmet, and his superior articulation. If the latter matters more to you than proportions, this is the version for you-- however, if the opposite is true, pick up the "vanilla" RotF deluxe version of Bumblebee (or one of its redecos) instead, as I'd rate those a little bit higher than this one in terms of visual appeal.

Review by Beastbot

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