Bumblebee finally gets a new toy after so many long years, but he isn't a VW bug this time around, due to Volkswagen's idiotic insistence that their car styles not be affiliated with "war toys". Bleh. Regardless, Bumblebee's new vehicle mode still gives off that classic look-- even though he's not a bug, he's still a small little car. He's got the typical Bumblebee colors of yellow and black, though some metallic white and a few other accent colors have been added to make him look more varied. Although the color scheme certainly isn't bad, as anyone who's read many of my reviews knows, I'm not a big fan of yellow being used as a predominant color in most cases. Obviously, to do otherwise would go against Bumblebee's traditional colors, so I can't fault Hasbro, but I have to admit most other colors would have looked better. Plus, the metallic white really doesn't contrast well enough with the yellow-- a darker color would have looked better in its place. In addition, Bumblebee looks a bit too cartoony and kiddish in this mode-- his proportions are exaggerated a little when it comes to how large the lower part of the car is, and his mold detailing is also fairly sparse, as well. The doors, hood, and trunk also can't open, but this is more a necessity due his transformation than anything else. I do like that they used clear windows and headlights and have seats on the inside, that helps to add to the realism at least a little so he doesn't look QUITE as cartoony. Also having a jet-ski trailer attached to his back was a good idea-- the toy is still rather small for a deluxe given Bumblebee's character, but this helps to add a bit more mass and value to the toy. The hook on the rear end of the car should've been deeper, however-- the trailer comes unhitched way too easily. I also wish the jet-ski could come off the trailer piece, but that's a pretty small complaint. Bumblebee's Autobot rub symbol is smack-dab on the top of this mode, though in the earlier shipments released of the figure the little bump on the roof that the rub symbol is on is too small for said symbol sticker, so the rub symbol could come off the toy rather easily over time. This has been fixed in later shipments of the figure, however.
    Bumblebee's robot mode is noticeably better than his vehicle mode, and is pretty much great all-around. The black helps to give this mode more contrast than his alternate mode, and his proportions are spot-on, being fairly realistic while still making Bumblebee look like the relatively short 'bot that he is. The head is a perfect rendition of Bumblebee's look in the G1 cartoon, right down to the slight smile on his face. The only real difference is the chin block, though that's more for the Cliffjumper repaint than this toy, to make the face a slight "hybrid" between G1 Bumblebee's and G1 Cliffjumper's faces. The doors on the back of his lower arms are the only real vehicle kibble in this mode, though they stay out of the way of articulation well enough and serve as nice armguards as well. The waist area is a bit skinny compared to the rest of Bumblebee, but that's about the extent of my complaints about him in this mode. The empty space behind his back lets you put his jet-ski trailer into it, which converts to a cool jet pack for this mode! It really looks pretty nice and adds quite a bit to Bumblebee's look in this mode, not to mention that it gives the dude flight capability. The trailer fits into its slot quite snugly, too. I do wish Bumblebee had an actual weapon to go with his jet pack accessory, however. Bumblebee's articulation is pretty good-- he can move at the head, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles, and about half of these are ball joints, so you can get some good poses out of him. The vehicle panels on the front of his legs interfere slightly with forwards leg movement, though.
    Classics Bumblebee is one of the weaker "mainline" toys of the line, but he's still by no means a bad toy. His vehicle mode is a bit cartoony and has a few noticeable downsides such as his relative lack of mold detailing and a so-so color scheme, but his robot mode is great-looking and a lot of fun. Unless you have a big attachment to the character, however, you might want to wait and get the Cliffjumper repaint of the figure, as that's colored a bit better, in my opinion.

Review by Beastbot

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