Like all the other members of the sole 2014 wave of Beast Hunters deluxes, Bumblebee is an upscaled version of his Beast Hunters legion figure, and as such my general view of the mold is covered in the linked review, even if this is technically a new mold. Although the upscaling can work to a limited extent on certain other figures that have less obvious pieces of kibble hanging off in robot mode, Bumblebee here-- quite simply-- looks like a knockoff and not an official Hasbro product. Having simplistic hands merely molded onto the inside of hollow doors-- with nothing on said robot arms detailed with paint-- is a HUGE eyesore in robot mode. The chunks of vehicle hanging behind his lower legs aren't so hot either, and neither is the overly simplistic (now that it's larger) gun and armor panel detailing on Bumblebee's vehicle mode. This mold just has too little detailing to adequately look good at this size. The limited articulation is also a big hindrance on a deluxe-sized toy-- knees and/or elbows really needed to be added to this figure, neither of which is impossible considering 'Bee's transformation. There was a bit of remolding done, though, and it has to do with the original's ball joints; they've each been replaced with two-part friction joints so that Bumblebee's arms and legs can hold up the increased amount of weight for this upscaled figure. Bumblebee also has a new weapon-- a rather straightforward sword, which he can use to shiv Predacons or Decepticons that get in his way, and which can be held in either of his fists, on the top of his car mode, or on the sides of his arms/car mode doors.
    Regarding Bumblebee's color scheme, it's largely not anything you haven't seen before. His primary colors are still the same old yellow and black, though the black here is slightly less prominent than usual (he really could've used some more black on his arms and legs, in particular, to break up things a bit more). The red helps to vary up things a bit more in car mode and makes the armor panels stand out better, though I wish it was a more exciting, less flat version of the color. There's also some light metallic silvery blue-- a color usually reserved for windows-- used for Bumblebee's sword and spikes along the sides of his front tires/shoulders. These help to add a bit more contrast-- especially against the red-- but I wish it was used a bit more, particularly in vehicle mode. He's also got some silver on his guns and headlights and facesculpt, which looks nice but doesn't really contribute much to the overall scheme.
    The 2014 "simplified" Beast Hunters Bumblebee fares the worst out of his wave of upscaled Legion-class figures. With all the car chunks hanging off his appendages, very simplistic detailing for the size, overly stiff articulation, and nothing that really justifies the size increase, I'd only recommend this for Bumblebee completists or a kid who just HAS to have a simple Prime 'Bee figure at a larger scale. (This is especially the case considering that Bumblebee's wave wasn't released in the U.S. and thus he's a bit pricier/harder to find than most deluxes.)
 

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Review by Beastbot

(Pics from bwtf.com)

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