Bumblebee
(Deluxe; Classics-styled) [Autobot Alliance]
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Classics deluxe Bumblebee. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Classics deluxe Bumblebee here.)
This version of Bumblebee--
unlike nearly all of the others released in the line-- is based off his
G1 version, and is in fact a movie-styled redeco of the original "Classics"
deluxe figure. (It's so odd now, to think of a time when we were all "OMG
a Bumblebee, finally! We haven't had one of those in years!".) Regardless,
the movie-style deco with a more orangish shade of yellow and two black
stripes running down the length of the car mode looks pretty good on the
mold, overall. Of course, he's still yellow, but the added black helps
to put a bit more contrast on the top of the vehicle mode. Not to mention
that, in retrospect, being yellow with black stripes simply calls to mind
"Bumblebee" more. Some of this redeco's paint apps help add a bit more
variation as well, like the silver on the seats and grill and, in particular,
the attractive shade of blue used as an accent color on parts of the robot
mode. That said, the transparent blue color of plastic used for the windows
needs to be a bit more... well... blue, to draw the attention to those
parts a bit more. Also, the vehicle mode in particular could use a bit
more color and paint apps, like around the rims and lower bumpers of the
vehicle mode-- having those details molded in there but not painted makes
it feel a tad incomplete. Since this is a "Reveal the Shield" toy, Bumblebee
has an allegiance rub symbol on his roof/chest, which when you rub it reveals
his Autobot allegiance.
No mold changes have
been made to this version of Bumblebee.
Giving a G1 Bumblebee
mold a bit more of a movie-styled deco job is an interesting decision,
and works surprisingly well, particularly in vehicle mode with the stripes.
Overall I'd rate this slightly better than the initial Classics paint job,
though this version still could use a few more paint apps near the bottom
of his car mode.
Review by Beastbot