(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.)

    At first glance, it may not look like "Nova Blast" Bumblebee is all that different from the original Beast Hunters deluxe Bumblebee. As far as the basic expected "yellow and black" colors that have come to define Bumblebee, he still has those two as major colors, and in roughly the same areas as on most of his other Prime toys. However, the shades of the main colors are different first off, and in my opinion both a little better-- the yellow isn't mixed with any other plastic colors this time around, and is a significantly lighter shade of yellow than on Bumblebee's other Prime toys, which helps it contrast with the other colors on Nova Blast 'Bee better. The black is also a semi-greenish shade, but that's not what I like about it more-- rather, most of the black (the part that's paint and not plastic) has a semi-metallic sheen to it that looks quite good. The major obvious difference on Nova Blast Bumblebee is that a lot of his traditionally black parts are purplish blue on this version. His missiles and most of his bow-- as well as his lower robot arms and part of his upper legs-- are this shade, and it's a really nice shade about halfway between blue and purple that really catches the eye and goes great with both the black and the yellow. The "feathers" in vehicle mode and the exposed engine block are a rather nifty sky blue shade, which is lighter but not so light that it doesn't contrast with the yellow and complement the dark purplish blue, as well. There's some nifty flame-like paint apps in this color on the sides of Bumblebee's front hood, which presumably are what give this version of 'Bee his "Nova Blast" title, even if I'm not sure how blue flames equal a nova blast. (Whatever, it sounds cool.) The paint on the windows and headlights is another step up, being a very light, pastel shade of blue. It's so light it can "blend in" slightly with the light yellow where the two meet, but generally it's another good color choice to complement Bumblebee's other shades of blue. He also has a bit of silver on his face, kneecaps, and stomach as an accent color, which looks nice-- but on the other hand, the little bit of yellow paint used on his abdomen is a bit of a flat, uglier shade of the color than the plastic, and there is a little bit of that ugly light milky gray plastic used for Bumblebee's dual-barrel blasters and a few minor parts in robot mode, the latter of which I wish Hasbro had gotten rid of entirely and replaced with black or semi-metallic black. He's generally covered in terms of color variety across his modes, though his rear bumper in car mode and shoulders are still desperately asking for some paint on all those mold details.
    Nova Blast Bumblebee has the same mold changes done to the core mold as deluxe Beast Hunters Bumblebee; no mold changes have been made specifically for this version.
    Nova Blast Bumblebee is a bit niftier of a repaint than he at first may look. Sure he keeps the same basic colors, but the shades of the colors chosen-- particularly for the three different shades of blue on him, all of which look excellent-- up his eye-catching factor a bit more, and I'd recommend this version over the original Beast Hunters deluxe Bumblebee release, though definitely less than his superb Night Shadow version.

Review by Beastbot

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