(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.)

    Man, this mold sure does get around, doesn't it? This "Dark Energon" version of Bumblebee is actually a color homage to G1 Goldbug, an upgrade of G1 Bumblebee in similar colors. The main "feature" of this toy-- and, indeed, its most eye-catching aspect-- is the really nicely done translucent metallic gold (or dark yellow) plastic used for most of the toy, particularly in vehicle mode. The translucent gold already looks good enough, but adding a nice metallic flake glitter to the mix? Outstanding! The translucent plastic also brings out a lot of mold detailing that's on the interior of his vehicle mode parts, which makes him look even better. Most of Bumblebee's other plastic colors are shades of blue, again playing off of Goldbug's color scheme. The dark navy blue is my favorite shade of the color on this toy, as it contrasts against the gold the best, though the milky dull blue shade used mostly for Bumblebee's head and arms is also a pretty eye-catching color, and contrasts against the gold while also complementing the other blue shades. Due to the plastic layout, though, this blue does stick out on the bottom rims of the vehicle sides in a rather abrupt, unpleasant manner. There's a slightly different shade of blue used for some paint apps like Bumblebee's headlights and windows, but this is close enough in shade to the dull milky blue where I generally have the same thoughts regarding it. (It is a bit funny, though, to see Bumblebee's windows aren't transparent, but almost every other part of his vehicle mode IS.) This is another "Dark Energon" toy that uses a plastic color that looks black at first glance, but is actually a very dark shade of another color (in this case, a sort of greenish blue). Because of the non-primary, unique look to this version of Bumblebee that also has a lot of blue plastic, I actually prefer this shade of black over a "purer" black, which is the opposite of how I usually feel about the "impure" black plastics. There's also a few lighter paint apps-- Bumblebee's taillights are painted light red, and his face and exposed engine are painted silver-- but they contribute little to the color scheme beyond diversifying it a bit more, since they aren't used much.
    No mold changes have been made to "Dark Energon" Bumblebee.
    "Dark Energon Defender" Bumblebee is a superb, Goldbug-homaging color scheme on a definitely below-average Prime mold, so as such, I have mixed feelings about it. If you're a big 'Bee fan or like TFs where a large portion of their plastic is transparent/translucent, then you'll probably want to pick this up; otherwise, stick with the First Edition version of the character so you can have a more show-accurate color scheme that's also on the best mold of Prime Bumblebee. Among all the uses of this mold, this color scheme falls just a touch below Hot Shot when it comes to my favorite.

Review by Beastbot

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