Bumblebee's alternate mode-- for the most part-- looks pretty darned good as a 1-step changer. The proportions are quite spot-on. The one thing that's rather distracting, though, is that there's black pieces sticking out the front and the back of this mode. Granted, on the black part sticking out the back there's at least tailpipes molded on it, but they partially ruin the streamlined-but-angular look of the vehicle mode, and give the toy absolutely no clearance underneath. There's also a couple of minor issues-- the side "fins" on the rear are a bit smaller than normal, and because of the transformation, one of the cracks/gaps in the side is open just a LITTLE bit more than it should be, making it more obvious and bugging me a little (don't get me wrong, obviously transforming toys are going to have little "cracks" in the vehicle mode where they split apart, but these lines on the rear sides don't QUITE fit together). As far as the color scheme, it's your typical Bumblebee yellow and black, with black on the windows, front grill, and tires. Unfortunately there is NOT black paint on the two stripes on the front hood, which is a big oversight as stripes are a major part of RID Bumblebee's look. The yellow is a shade or two lighter than typical for Bumblebee, but still looks pretty good and makes his vehicle mode at least a little more unique. There's also some nice moderately light blue on the headlights, but that's it as far as other colors, so it's a fairly basic, kinda plain color scheme. As is typical for a RID toy, the mold detailing is fairly minimal in this mode, with a few angular lines and divots here and there, but nothing particularly eye-catching. That said, there's some surprisingly detailed angular armor/engine bits on the bottom side of this mode.
    To get Bumblebee to robot mode, you take the two black pieces on each end of the vehicle mode and push them together-- everything else is automatic. The end result is... not good. Bumblebee is a CHUNK in this mode, and looks too much like a bulky block of plastic-- something that doesn't fit RID Bumblebee's look at all. His chest sticks out a fairly ridiculous amount, the arms are tiny proportionally, and there's extra panels and kibble everywhere-- the roof and front hood panels on the back, the side panels behind the legs and on the side of the lower legs, and flaps behind the upper arms. That said, Bumblebee is very stable in this mode, with the two black chunks of plastic on the bottom giving him a solid "foot", even if they are yet more extra kibble. There's also some pretty big unsightly gaps between Bumblebee's head, his back, and his massive chest. The mold detailing on the robot parts is alright, with his arms fairly accurate in terms of mold detailing as well as the legs, though the proportions are a bit stretched. The waist and upper legs (the latter of which are way undersized) are painted silver, and the faux tires on the shoulders are painted black, while the face has the usual silver and blue eyes. The sides of his chest (under the car front) are also painted silver, but they're pretty much covered up in this mode, so I wish that paint had been moved to his hands or lower legs. As for articulation, Bumblebee can move back-and-forth at the shoulders in this mode, and that's it-- but then again, it's a 1-step changer, so articulation is definitely NOT the emphasis here.
    This version of RID 1-Step Bumblebee looks pretty nice in vehicle mode (black blocks on the front and back aside), but MAN is he an eyesore in robot mode. Way too chunky, tons of extra vehicle kibble parts everywhere, proportions that are way off, not enough paint on the appendages (and in the vehicle mode in general)... I guess I'm glad Hasbro is experimenting with new ways to have 1-steps transform, but this method is just a failure. One of the worst RID2015 Bumblebee molds, and the worst of the 1-step changes of him as well. Not recommended except for 'Bee completists.
 

Review by Beastbot

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