Bumblebee
(Battle Ops)
Battle
Ops Bumblebee set w/ "Premium" Bumblebee & Mudflap [Costco Exclusive]
Set Price: $42 U.S.(!)
(NOTE: Because this set is composed of repaints,
this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to
the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original versions
of these molds. For a review on the original Battle Ops Bumblebee mold,
go
here. For a review on the original
Legends RotF Bumblebee mold, go here.
For a review on the original Legends RotF Mudflap mold, go here.)
Bumblebee
(Battle Ops)
Allegiance: Autobot
Difficulty of Transformation: Hard
Color Scheme: Shiny gold, gray,
black, transparent dark blue, and some silver, dark gray, white, chrome
silver, clear plastic, metallic bronze, and transparent red
Individual Rating:
9.0
This exclusive version
of the big ol' Bumblebee toy for the year has a really snazzy VERY shiny
gold finish over all of the formerly orangish-yellow parts. It makes the
thing look like it were almost literally made of gold in vehicle mode.
He also has chrome silver hubcaps and a chrome silver tip to his cannon
arm, and his claw-hand that can pop out of said arm is now clear plastic
instead of transparent blue (though the electronic lights are still all
red). Most of the paint apps on this version of Battle Ops Bumblebee are
the same as on the mass-release version, though there are a few minor differences,
such as a few more paint apps on the crotch area and a few less on the
front bumper.
No mold changes have
been made to this version of Battle Ops Bumblebee.
Bumblebee
(Premium)
Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Legend
Difficulty of Transformation: Very
Easy
Color Scheme: Chrome gold and black
Individual Rating:
7.8
What's this? TWO Bumblebees
in the same package? Well, that's... a little overkill. That aside though,
like the Battle Ops version, this "Premium" Legends class Bumblebee certainly
lives up to its name. It's almost entirely vacuum-metallized (i.e., chrome)
gold, with some black plastic on the relevant parts like the tires and
upper robot legs. With the exception of the vehicle mode stripes, there's
no paint apps on "Premium" Bumblebee, but honestly, with the toy being
this small and the chrome gold looking so pretty, that's not a huge deal
here. The only place it really needs some paint where it doesn't have any
is the robot head, frankly. What with this being such a small toy, though,
and the chrome gold pieces having so many narrow "edges", I do worry a
little about chipping down the road.
No mold changes have
been made to this version of Bumblebee.
Mudflap
Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Legend
Difficulty of Transformation: Very
Easy
Color Scheme: Dull gray, dull sparkly
pumpkin orange, black, and some silver, pale yellow, and sky blue
Rating: 6.5
This version of Mudflap is completely unchanged from the mass-release Legends toy. Kind of a curious pack-in with two shiny Bumblebees, really.
If you're in the market
for a big Bumblebee and have a Costco membership, at a mere $42 for all
three toys there's no reason NOT to get this toy, honestly-- considering
that just the regular Battle Ops Bumblebee is $60 at mass retail! Even
if they were the same price or if this version were slightly more expensive,
though, I'd recommend this 3-pack over the main Battle Ops Bumblebee release,
simply because the two Bumblebees in the set look so gorgeous (one with
its shiny gold paint and the other with its gold chrome). The Mudflap is
kinda meh, but considering you're getting it for "less than free", it's
hard to complain about it.
Reviews by Beastbot