Quick review: HFTD Battle Ops Bumblebee

[Pascal]

He finally arrived this morning! Just some quick thoughts...

ROBOT MODE

-Frenzy_Rumble was complaining about weak knee joints on his figure but mines are fine

-Bumblebee is decently poseable, too bad the cannon arm can't move in and out and that there is no rotation at the left wrist... left arm articulation is similar to Deluxe Cannon Bumblebee, but thumb and fused fingers/double jointed hand can also be posed

-legs have a good range of movement... because of the weight, it takes a little time to balance the figure but you can get pretty decent action poses out of him, especially since the dual heels can spread in and out and rotate

-cool rubber pistons connecting the upper the legs to the torso, a bit like on ROTF Deluxe Sideswipe

-backpack compresses much like its HA counterpart

-not sure if previous pictures showed it but the doors can be angled up

-chest transforms the same as HA Bumblebee (pull the car front halves and angle them down)

-front wheels hang behind the shoulders like on HA Bumblebee

-battle mode can easily be achieved by flipping the shoulder cannons forward, lifting Bumblebee's head center piece, sliding down the battle mask and closing back Bumblebee's head center piece... lift the right arm up and it automatically converts to blaster (a panel swings from right to left on top of the blaster, the barrel spins and the hand retracts)

-head can rotate left and right but is very stiff, keyed at 45 degrees on both sides and cannot go any further...

-no waist rotation

-knee pads can be posed like on HA Bumblebee

-the pillars on the feet can be posed

-not a whole lot of paint apps showing in this mode other than the paint apps carried from the car mode... some bronze on the shins, the license plate, some paint apps on the head, yellow on the arms, feet and lower torso, red on the right shoulder button

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8041.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8042.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8043.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8044.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8045.jpg

[Pascal]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8046.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8047.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8048.jpg

More to follow later, the little one just woke up and wants to eat. :)

[GMfan]

Looks good....I'd be a nice standalone figure, at the least to replace Ultimate Bumblebee....course I can't sell that Ultimate BB....damn mold completionist...

[bruisedlee]

Does he have a seat? Could you sit the Indiana Jones Sam in there?

[Pascal]

TRANSFORMATION

-although some steps are similar on HA Bumblebee, overall the transformation process to car mode is quite different (especially in how the legs fold and what needs to be done to store the arms in car mode) and just as intricate (if not more), yet decently simple and intuitive... Here are the instructions.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8051.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8052.jpg

[Pascal]

CAR MODE

-rubber tires!

-doors can open but no car interior, the cannons and the arms are taking all the space

-transformation to battle mode is easy: lift the roof, swing the cannons forward and put the roof back

-all windows are clear blue, tail and brake lights are clear red and all front lights are clear... nothing painted here!

-car deco is pretty much identical to HA Bumblebee... awesome!

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8032.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8033.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8031.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8023.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8024.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8025.jpg

[Pascal]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8026.jpg


http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8028.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8030.jpg

[jackalprime]

sooo is this just a repaint of Human Alliance?

[GMfan]

sooo is this just a repaint of Human Alliance?

....yes.....a larger....totally remolded....repaint of Human Alliance Bumblebee....

[Richter]

With lights and sounds too

So to recap:
Exactly like human alliance bumblebee except:
Completely remolded
Flip out guns
Battle mask
Different paint apps
Lights and sounds
Ridiculously large and out of scale

[Clutchburn]

Can you show a pic of him with Legends Wheelie and /or Ejector?
Please and Thank You?

[Pascal]

GIMMICKS

Brace yourself, it's going to be a long ride!

GUARDIAN ROBOT MODE

If you push the Autobot symbol on the chest, you will hear:

-"It's time to take out the trash!"
-"I will protect you!"
-"I'm so excited!"

Eyes: flash
Chest lights : steady

If you push the red button located on the right upper arm, you'll hear a mechanical sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: flash

BATTLE ROBOT MODE

When you transform Bumblebee from guardian to battle mode WITHOUT DEPLOYING THE CANNONS, the minute you slide down the facemask, you will hear mechanical noises and he will either say:

-"Shield's down!"
-something I haven't been to decipher yet. :) Is it "De...feat!"?

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: steady

If you push on the Autobot symbol, whether the cannons are deployed or not, you will hear firing sounds plus:

-"Oh... that's gonna hurt!"
-"Neutralized!"
-some kind of Wall-E esque sound

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: steady

If you push the red button located on the right upper arm, you'll hear a mechanical sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: flash

If you move the right arm up to transform it to blaster mode, you will hear the transformation sound, some gun loading sound, then a blaster pulse sound repeated a few times.

Eyes: flash at first, then steady
Chest lights: flash at first, then steady

If you push on the red button located on the upper right arm at this point, you will hear a firing sound, then...

-"Oooooh! That's hot!"
-some radio sound

Then you'll hear the repeated blaster pulse sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: steady, then flash
Blaster: steady

If you transform the blaster back to arm mode, you'll hear some mechanical sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: flash
Blaster: steady

If you lift the battle mask again to revert to guardian, he will either say:

-"Had enough?"
-"Decepticon disabled!"

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: steady

TRANSFORMATION TO CAR MODE

When you transform Bumblebee to car mode, when you disconnect the backpack, you'll hear the transformation sound... but I think it's because you're actually "shaking" the toy when you unsnap it, seems it's actually the torso that triggers the sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: flash
Blaster: flashes

When you disconnect the torso, you will also hear the transformation sound.

Eyes: flash
Chest lights: flash
Blaster: flashes

Same goes when you transform back to robot mode.

GUARDIAN CAR MODE

If you press the car into the ground toward the front, you will hear:

-ignition sound, then engine revving, then engine stopping

If you press once again while the engine sound is still going on, you will hear:

-"Transformers! More than meets the eye!"
-"Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Deceptions"

Front lights: flash

If you press on the Autobot symbol located on the hood, you will hear:

"Nobody can catch Bumblebee!"
"Wanna race?"
-the sound you car makes when you lock the doors with the remote
-honking sound

Front lights: steady

TRANSFORMATION TO BATTLE CAR MODE

When you swing the left cannon forward, you will hear the transformation sound (and reverse transformation if you transform him back to guardian car mode).

Cannons: flash
Front lights: flash

Then you'll hear some kind of pre-blast sound as if the weapons are loading.

If you push on the Autobot symbol located on the hood, you will hear a blasting sound then:

-another kind of Wall-E esque sound
-"Somebody call (something I still can't figure out) sick"... it's a pretty long sentence

Cannons: flash
Front lights: steady

EDIT: Dammit! Mid-transformation, I found a new set of clips by pressing on the Autobot symbol...

-"Reach for the sky!"
-"Don't make me lose this thing!"

Not sure when they're supposed to trigger though. All lights flash at that time.

Pretty sure I'm omitting certain sounds and sound sequences, there are just too many of them!

[Pascal]

sooo is this just a repaint of Human Alliance?

No. But much all previous incarnations sometimes share some features (they're all 2010 Camaros trying to turn into the same Bumblebee character after all), this one shares some features found on HA Bumblebee.

Can you show a pic of him with Legends Wheelie and /or Ejector?
Please and Thank You?

I'm sorry man, those figures are in storage right now.

[Pascal]

With ROTF Supreme Battle Charged Bumblebee and ROTF Human Alliance Bumblebee...

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8055.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8053.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8054.jpg

[Pascal]

Oh, I also want to mention the plastic is pretty thick, much like on HA Bumblebee, but since some parts are so large, they "flex" a bit like they do on the Ultimate version.

PROS

-probably the most accurate Bumblebee to date
-outrageously gimmicky
-auto-transforming cannon arm
-battle mask
-flip out cannons
-intricate yet fun transformation
-parts connect solidly where they should
-rubber tires
-car detailing
-various clear components
-more than decently poseable

CONS

-clear blue right hand doesn't match the left one in size and color
-right arm is not fully poseable
-no left wrist rotation
-no waist rotation (well, honestly, I don't care for that)
-limited head poseability
-a bit tricky to pose due to weight
-no car interior (don't care for that one either, we have HA Bumblebee for that)
-could have used a few more paint apps in robot mode to break out the grey even more

I'm not mentionning scale because I personally find it's a stupid thing to complain about with toys. Yes, it's a standalone figure, and so what? If you take the toy for what it is, it totally rocks. THIS is the real Ultimate Bumblebee as far as I'm concerned.

Okay, that review wasn't exactly quick and was probably all the over the place, I apologize for that. :)

[Clutchburn]

I'm sorry man, those figures are in storage right now.

Dang! I was hoping to see how he would look with those guys, scale wise.

[Echotransformer]

With ROTF Supreme Battle Charged Bumblebee and ROTF Human Alliance Bumblebee...



http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8053.jpg




Nice to see you did the leg mod on HA Bee...looks so much better IMHO.

Thanks for the review and pics...for some reason I thought he would be bigger considering I've seen pics of him next to Leader Prime...but then again Leader Prime is reasonably smaller than UBB...any way its all good.

Pascal--from your perspective, what would it look like if you painted the blue hand grey to match the other hand? Would the cannon mode look silly?

[Pascal]

I may try to mask the blue hand before painting it, just to see if the red LED would still be visible enough. I also feel like trying to add some silver paint apps here and there to break all the grey, but I'm not sure where to put it...

[Pascal]

Alright, found my Legends Wheelie!

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8057.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8059.jpg

[Pascal]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8060.jpg

And with some detailing added...

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8073.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8083.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8084.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8085.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8086.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_8087.jpg

[soundwaveCA]

Damn that looks pretty awesome!

Great review as well.

[GMfan]

Ya I think I've been convinced to pick this up at some point in time. Thanks ;)

[frenzy_rumble]

Excellent review and photos.
sorta bummed only mine had the knee problem. I wonder why that is. Mine was factory sealed too...

anyway, made some minor mods to mine. Replaced the goofy hand (his left) with a 4 digit gundam hand (cast) and removed the terrible hand (his right) and put a filler inside the cannon. Incredible detail on this guy, looks amazing with it all panel lined and stuff...hope to have it completed by Sunday.

anyway, thought I'd add these pics to show the mods I made :

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4506600364_975e26099c.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2791/4505963777_26ce830c32.jpg

[Pascal]

Oh, you ended up replacing the entire hand... I was hoping you would show me how to add wrist rotation to the existing one. :)

[protoform_ironhide]

Good review! About the figure, I still prefer HA Bumblebee more. So it is a "No" for me.

[pud333]

Nice review. I think HA BB is good enough for me, but it does look stunning.

[Pascal]

Found new sound clips in robot battle mode!

-"Thrusters at full power!"
-"Let's rock!"

[Gaming Turtle]

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a Bee Fan, got the HA, Battle Blade, Generations, Classics, the ROTF Bee that came with ROTF Thrust (which is my least favorite due to the mold and horrid yellow/blue color) and I normally wouldn't have picked up the Battle Ops Bee, but honestly after seeing it on sale at Zellers for $30, I could not refuse getting it, and I'd say I really like the mold and detail.

[Goaliebot]

Picked him up last month for $30 at Zellers and finally opened him.

Logically I can see all the flaws and poor design decisions (mostly electronics over pose-ability), but for whatever reason I find myself playing with this BB a lot. He's just so solid and has lots of character.

I'm very happy with it for $30, that's for sure.

[CBII]

Ha I'm so glad I got the metallic gold version from Costco shipped to my door for $30. I like it way better the Ultimate BB but it is a tad to big and it would be nice to have had better hand/wrist movement/articulation.

Over all I'm pleased.

[Pascal]

$30 shipped? How did you do that?

[digitalskull]

Yeah! I want one as well! lol

[Perceptor]

I too like this Bee better than I thought... I got one at TRU sale $42 a while back and another for $30 Zellers more recently. He's a lot of fun. Unfortunately I put a crack in his windshield during transformation...

[CBII]

$30 shipped? How did you do that?


Costco.ca buddy. There was lots of talk about it at the time. Sorry you missed out.

I know they sold fast once the word got out cause I tried to order more but they where sold out.

[Pascal]

Just curious, I want the MPM-02 version anyway with the extra paint apps. $100 extra paint apps. OUCH.

[CBII]

Just curious, I want the MPM-02 version anyway with the extra paint apps. $100 extra paint apps. OUCH.

OUCH is right. At least you know what you want.

I do know the gold paint (has a greenish hue to it though) is much better then the yellow plastic.

[CETERUS PRIME]

OUCH is right. At least you know what you want.

I do know the gold paint (has a greenish hue to it though) is much better then the yellow plastic.

I didn't care for the greenish color on Costco Bee, didn't look anything like the on screen vehicle or character color IMO. I traded mine for a Hasbro MP Grimlock straight up.

[CBII]

I didn't care for the greenish color on Costco Bee, didn't look anything like the on screen vehicle or character color IMO. I traded mine for a Hasbro MP Grimlock straight up.

I'd agree on the color but I like it better then the same yellow almost every other Bee has come with, but each to there own.

That is a good trade especially if you paid $30 like I did.

[chans formers]

very slick review pascal:cool:!!!
you make me want to go out and snag this bot right now!!!!
the only reason i still haven't picked him up is that i still have faint hope that one day i'll be able to find the ever elusive costco gold version:(