After seeing some pose photos and more messages from friends, I decided to take the plunge and check out what all the fuss was about. And I am so glad that I did! This is my first ThreeA figure, and it definitely won't be my last! It truly is an incredible figure!
Click through below to check out my video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbsup and subscribe too! Read on below for more of my thoughts.
The set doesn't come with a huge amount of accessories, and more swap out weapons like his sword type hand would've been nice. But what you do get is of high quality. The swap out forearm with his arm cannon is very nicely detailed. I love how you can see the fingers in their transformed position along the front barrel.
The paint app and sculpting detail on the hands are superb. I just wish they gave a few more expressive hands, or even made the fingers movable! The swap out head sculpt is also good, with the battle mask a nice alternative. One thing I did notice was that the Autobot insignia on both head sculpts was very clean, unlike the dirty wash that was on early photos. It would seem like the early batch of figures had a much dirtier wash on them, whereas more recent batches like mine are much cleaner.
Either way, the paint app on this figure is amazing! The dirt wash is realistically applied, and I would've preferred it even more dirty. I ended up using my kids' black art pencil to draw and smear on some additional weathering. It gives the figure such a realistic worn style. The yellow is a nice hue in hand, and the silver and grey areas have a nice rusted appearance too.
I went with the smaller doors on his back, which I think is more accurate to the movie. The larger doors can be used to give him more of a Bayformers look I believe. I love that the overall design of this Bumblebee is much more akin to the G1 character, rather than the overly busy design of the Bayformers version.
Where this figure really shines is the articulation and build quality. The heft on this thing is significant, and you feel it as soon as you lift it out of the box. They have used diecast in all the right places, designing it for stability in almost any pose.
The joints, while quite tight the first time you move them, never feel like they're going to break. The articulation is incredible, with subtle movement in places you only expect from larger or more expensive figures. The knees in particular are a joy to move, with pistons that move seamlessly with the rest of the leg to give incredible motion in the knee.
You do need to be careful adusting the position of certain plates and panels as they move, but it's all quite intuitive and never too delicate that you're afraid to move it.
Since it's a non-transforming figure, they're able to include all the details that you see in the movie representation. No compromises need to be made to allow the transformation, and in this figure I am glad they went with that approach.
There's just so much detail to take in on the figure. Minute details in the sculpt and paint app are apparently on the front as well as the rear. This figure looks senstational from every angle, unlike transforming figures that almost always only look good from certain angles.
I wasn't a huge fan of this recent Bumblebee movie. I loved the character designs and the throwbacks to the 80s, but the overall story was a little too cheesy for me. I wasn't even planning on getting this figure, but am I so glad I did! It's right up there with some of the best Transformers figures I have in the collection. I am definitely looking forward to getting the upcoming Optimus Prime. If they decide to make the Soundwave, Shockwave, and Seekers, I would definitely get them too! Highly recommended!
Here's the figure alongside my other TF Masterpiece Bumblebee figures. A great addition to any Transformers collection!
