Stealth
Bumblebee
(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 deluxe '08 Bumblebee toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original deluxe '08 Bumblebee toy here.)
Because two different
mass-retail releases of the mold in one year simply wasn't enough, heere
comes Stealth Bumblebee! (And I wasn't being facetious, by the way-- this
mold sells so incredibly well, it's no wonder Hasbro wanted to make another
version of it.) Stealth Bumblebee's color scheme is pretty much a reverse
of his original, being black with yellow stripes this time around. It's
not just that simple of a change, though-- for one thing, the "robot color"
that makes up his main robot body when you ignore the car parts is a really
interesting shiny bluish black, and I have to say it looks far more interesting
than just the straight black that was on the original Concept Camaro Bumblebee
toy. Plus, it helps so that he has another main color besides just yellow
and black. Stealth Bumblebee also has a bit of the required Allspark Power
"electric blue", but it's a very, very small quanity of it-- just on the
sides of his lower arms, around his Autobot symbol on his chest, and then
in the middle of his face. It's an accent color at best, though it's a
good accent color. The only thing I'm not particularly fond of is that
many of Bumblebee's "car parts" are actually just painted black instead
of being molded from black plastic, which is all well and good for his
vehicle mode, but in robot mode it looks very odd having half of, say,
his lower arm panels being black while the other half is yellow with a
bit of inevitable "spray-over" black from when it was painted. Those black
paint apps could have been used on several other places on the toy that
could've used more paint, such as the legs.
Stealth Bumblebee also
has a mold change-- namely, his head has been molded so that his "battle
mask" seen in the movie is now permanently down as opposed to permanently
up. It looks really good, and with the exception of the Allspark blue bit
in the center, looks spot-on Movie accurate-- a really nice job was done
on the detailing, both mold-wise and paint-wise. It also always helps to
give the mold a bit more individuality on its third release.
Stealth Bumblebee is
an awesome repaint of one of the best molds from the line, and is a good
choice for those who like Bumblebee's character but aren't a huge fan of
a lot of yellow. Merely painting his car parts black instead of molding
them in black plastic is my only real complaint about him. Recommended
over any other releases of this mold.
Review by Beastbot