Bumblebee (Night Strike) [RID 2015]
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Autobot
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Yellow, dull teal, translucent black, and some black, electric blue, silver, and metallic charcoal black
Rating: 8.4

(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 RID2015 warrior Bumblebee toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original RID2015 warrior Bumblebee here.)

    Night Strike Bumblebee is more of a "kinda partial redeco" as opposed to full-fledged, complete change of colors-- more to keep a Bumblebee Warrior class figure on the shelves, I suppose, while changing up enough to get collectors to still purchase it. The base yellow plastic of Night Strike Bumblebee is the same as on the original Warrior class Bumblebee-- no changes there, so I'm not sure exactly what is "Night Strike" about this guy. The most obvious change is the change of most of the gray to a dull teal-- pretty much all of it visible in robot mode. It's definitely a better choice than gray, and looks pretty good against the yellow-- though, it does make things a bit similar to the "Clash" Warrior version. Adding to this similarity is electric blue paint on a few areas, such as the lower arms, the headlights, and the vent details on the lower legs. Being that this is 'Bee, there's also plenty of black, with the more solid shades of the color visible in robot mode on the lower legs and wheels, with a very dark (but still translucent if you hold it up to the light) shade of black on the sword and car mode windows. This to me is a negative change from the original, as the blue windows looked better in my opinion-- the black is a bit TOO dark even with light behind it. There's also some metallic charcoal black paint, used for some nice lines on the sides as well as on the center of the chest in robot mode, while in vehicle mode they add a bit more visual interest to the paint job. There's some black flame details along the sides, along with a stripe down just the left side of the vehicle, probably in a callback to Animated Bumblebee. Despite the lack of two stripes, overall this still makes the vehicle mode look a bit more visually interesting than the original version. The usual silver on the face w/ blue eyes is present on this toy, as well.
    No mold changes have been made to Night Strike Bumblebee.
    Night Strike Bumblebee is a nice mold with a pretty decent color scheme, and I like the addition of dull teal and some more interesting paint apps in vehicle mode. That said, unless you're a 'Bee completist, or just can't find another version of this mold at a decent price, there's no real reason to get this toy. It's not different enough from the original for most people, and isn't ever shown in the show, either.
 

Review by Beastbot

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