(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 Prime "Robots in Disguise" deluxe Bumblebee. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Prime "Robots in Disguise" deluxe Bumblebee figure here.)

    Beast Hunters Bumblebee takes his cue from most of the Beast Hunters Autobots & Decepticons, and is an extensive remold of his original Prime "Robots in Disguise" mold. And what a remold it is-- no longer rounded, Bumblebee now practically bursts with black spiky "feathers" all over his form (particularly in vehicle mode), and beyond the original two dual-barreled wrist cannons he comes with, he also now comes with a nifty-looking "Eagleshot Bow", which is an angular bow with a spring-loaded missile launcher. It has two missiles that can be stored on it at once, though it can only fire one missile at a time. In addition to the two missiles that are kept with the launcher, there's FOUR additional projectiles on this toy-- two on each of Bumblebee's car doors. What an impressive arsenal, particularly for a deluxe! The mold detailing makes Bumblebee look a lot more "armored up" and deadly-- beyond the aforementioned spike-feathers, he also has armor plating and angular detailing all over his form, with the new details ranging from small spikes to armor plating. Bumblebee's headsculpt has also been changed, with his curvy head instead coming to a long point, the design and detailing making him look a bit more bird-like. On a side note, Bumblebee's wheels are now clip-on wheels and not pinned, but this doesn't really bother me given all the other stuff 'Bee has gotten in place of those four pins.
    As for the color scheme, Bumblebee's is largely the same as on his original Prime toys-- he's mostly yellow with black and some light milky gray. The yellow is a bit more plainer of a shade than on his earlier Prime toys, which I'm not fond of-- but on the other hand, a fair amount of this yellow is mixed in with some dull orange plastic in a plastic-coloring gimmick that comes to define many of the Beast Hunters toys, and it gives more color variation without paint apps while also just generally looking cool. The light milky gray-- while still rather dull-- has a bit of a glittery tint to it, and thus doesn't bug me quite as much as light milky gray plastic usually does. (It's almost entirely confined to his robot mode bits, anyways.) A few accent colors-- like the dark blue windows, the gunmetal gray on his exposed engine and a few other minor details, and the light blue on his eyes and headlights-- helps add a bit more color variety beyond the usual. I particularly like the dark flat blue, as it provides a bit more "dark" to this toy without being black, and contrasts excellently with the yellow. All this said, particularly with the Eagleshot Bow removed, Bumblebee is really missing some paint apps on the back end of his vehicle mode, where nifty molded-in details like spikes are just begging for some paint. Same with his robot mode parts, which are basically unpainted except for his face. With all this plain yellow, a few more paint apps were definitely needed.
    Beast Hunters deluxe Bumblebee is an impressive remold with a TON of weaponry and some pretty awesome details, such as all his extra spiky "feathers". However, the base mold is still mediocre at best, and without a fundamental redesign there's only so much you can do to make such an oddly-proportioned robot mode look good. A bit more paint-- and a less primary shade of yellow-- also would have been appreciated. If you're a Bumblebee completist or just love the Beast Hunters vehicle aesthetic that much, this is a pick-up; otherwise, I'd at least get the better-looking redecos of this mold, instead.

With the thread of Predaking looming over them all, every Autobot dedicates himself to discovering some means of battling the Predacon overlord. But it is the scout Bumblebee who discovers what may be the key to victory. Buried deep within data recovered alongside one of the Iacon Relics he finds evidence of a derelict transport starship-- a courier packed with weapons more ancient than any relic yet recovered-- set adrift ages ago among the asteroids girdling Earth's solar system. With no other way to reach the ancient ship, and not wanting to waste time, he contacts Wheeljack, hoping the Autobot mercenary can provide transport and-- if it turns out to be a trap-- an extra blaster.
(Contined in Chapter 2, Deluxe Soundwave)

Eagleshot Bow:
-Instantly locks on targets up to three miles away.
-Fires charged plasma bolts that melt through most metal.
-Smart-bolts trace targets even around corners.

Strength: 6.0
Intelligence: 8.0
Speed: 8.0
Endurance: 7.0
Rank: 7.0
Courage: 10.0
Fireblast: 6.0
Skill: 6.0

Review by Beastbot

Back to Transformers: Prime Index