Images & First Impressions: Transformers Animated Bumblebee

Since the very first Transformers toys hit over 20 years ago, Bumblebee was a popular featured player in the war on educational toys. He hangs out with the humans, was small and cheap, and transformed into a very friendly yellow car. How can you go wrong with a guy like this? Since the the entire Transformers brand got the Beast reboot, Bumblebee has been all but completely ignored-- save for a few collectible figures, there was nothing between 1995 and 2006, as Hot Shot took the place of the kid-identified character. After the movie, it's all about Bumblebee yet again.

"Enough talk, it's time for action!" (Quote from back of packaging.)

While Blackarachnia seems to be a robot first, the emphasis on Bumblebee was clearly the vehicle mode. The car looks exactly like the cartoon, right down to the black stripe and the little red siren. In order to keep the vehicle in line with the cartoon, some shortcuts were taken, including a fake "roof" chest on the robot mode since the actual vehicle roof doesn't form the torso on this particular release. It's weird, but it basically works. Our yellow hero has a lot of articulation in each arm and leg, but the various panels and pieces prevent him from moving around in any way that might impress, say, a Marvel Legends fan. The robot is cute, clunky, and mostly solid-- I didn't experience any pieces falling off, and much like Armada Hot Shot, kids should dig this one.

His weapons include a pair of snap-on rocket thrusters which peg on his back or the rear area of his vehicle mode, plus he has flip-out "stingers" in his forearms. These clear blue weapons fit together to form one of the frequently seen weapons on the show, although it does look a little wonky on the toy.




As a very kid-friendly toy, the standard "great gift" tag applies. If you want to buy a youngster his or her first Transformers toy, this is a good one. Unfortunately, older collectors will likely be put off by the big panels on the outside of his arms, as well as the fairly awkward feet. If you take into consideration that the show was designed to be streamlined and sleek, it's pretty unfortunate that the toys only sort of manage to replicate this new look and feel.

If you buy the figure, take note that the figure on the packaging does not match the figure in the packaging. The yellow is much more uniform on the box, and there are a few additional paint applications that simply do not appear on the toy.

PROS: Good robot head, bright colors, basically looks like the cartoon. Stinger accessories fit together nicely. Transformation is both simple and complicated, which should make it fun for kids.

CONS: Yellow paint and yellow plastic do not match. Lots of panel kibble hangs off the figure.

VALUE: As a roughly $10 toy, it's hard to find too much fault here. He doesn't do too much, but he looks neat and the character alone will likely drive sales. You won't feel like you got a steal, but for $10, it seems like a reasonable toy.

OVERALL RATING: *****
If Hasbro wants to make this one better, there will some day be a "premium" animated Bumblebee with a better paint job. The toy is pretty shoddy when it comes to its overall appearance, which is unfortunate as we got some pretty great Bumblebee toys in Classics (2006) and for the Movie line (2007, 2008). What went wrong, Hasbro?

Oh, and I got this at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles too. As that is the way of things.

Images & First Impressions: Transformers Animated Blackarachnia

I have yet to shoot unpackaged shots, so all I have to share right now is the in-box pics. (This will, of course, change.) After appearing in Beast Wars, the character Blackarachnia has seen a number of toys. Three toys were made for the USA from her Beast Machines mold, and her Transmetals 2 toy was legendary for a short period of time. There's even a Robot Heroes version coming-- but they're all from a different continuity. This Blackarachnia is an entirely new character.

"My sting will be the last thing you feel." (Quote from back of packaging.)

The bulk of the deluxe ($9.99) figures in Animated seem pretty tall in robot mode, giving them a slightly nicer feeling than other recent toys. Blackarachnia feels designed as a robot first, with her spider mode coming second. This isn't a complaint-- if anything, most fans display their toys in robot mode, so this is a great sign of Hasbro and Tomy putting their priorities in the right place. (Did I mention that the toys now say Hasbro and Tomy on them, and not Takara? Well, I just did. It's the end of an era, folks.)

This evil arachnid includes but one accessory, a claw grappling hook. You can pull out the translucent red claws, and the string will extend as you hear a "click" sound. Press a button on the base, and the string retracts instantly. It works well, and the only complaint I really have about this one is that the string is very short-- just a few inches.




Also, it's worth noting the string weapon attaches to either forearm, her back, or her beast mode's... uh... large butt. If you have her hanging from this rear portion, the hinge will bend and it will look somewhat like a skunk raising its tail to attack. It's weird, and a bit of a design flaw. I think.

Blackarachnia's robot mode is pretty stunning. She has quasi-ankle joints, two joints at each hip, jointed knees, ball elbows and shoulders, an articulated waist, and an articulated neck. She's very quickly approaching perfection, but her "fangs" tend to pop off quite easily and are capable of flight. As such, be careful when you play with this one-- they will escape.

PROS: Amazing color scheme, top-notch robot mode, surprisingly awesome articulation. This is probably Hasbro's best Blackarachnia toy to date.

CONS: Decepticon logo doesn't match animation model. Easily lost fangs. Half of robot head is clear red plastic which should allow the eyes to light up in the right conditions, but this really doesn't work. As such, it just looks bad. Robot mode has a hole below her neck due to how the transformation works.

VALUE: The toy's size and accessories are par for the course when it comes to $9.99 Hasbro Transformers. You won't feel like you got taken here.

OVERALL: Fans of the character and show need to get this. Fans of female Transformers need to get this, just because it shows they can engineer one and have it look great.

Oh, and I got this at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles, by the way.

Images & First Impressions: Transformers Animated Grimlock

Since I have a flight really freaking early, it made sense to stay up, photograph, and open new toys. It's either that, or try to sleep for a couple of hours. First up: Grimlock! (Boxed images below. More images may be added as time permits, this will be obvious as you will look at the widget and you will see images.)

"Where are DECEPTICONS? Me GRIMLOCK getting hungry!" (Quote from back of packaging.)

The figure is a decent size, sporting a massive lower jaw in both modes. By enhancing this feature, the character has a meaner, more active appearance where it almost looks like he should open up his mouth and talk to you. Sadly, he's only going to talk if you provide his voice, and his robot mode jaw does not move. (It's worth noting that it's so big, you'll probably think it should.)

Our hero's lone accessory is a big flaming sword. If you put it in his wrist and twist his appendage, additional flames will pop out. It's a decent feature, certainly not stunning, but neat enough. In robot mode, the instructions don't really say where the sword should go, but the box implies that it can act as "flame breath." I guess you can cram anything into the dinobot commander's mouth, but it doesn't mean it's going to look good there.




Packaging has been a hallmark of Hasbro's marketing, and they seem to be going out of their way to do a more stunning job in each subsequent generation of toys. Animated is no exception. The box is absolutely gorgeous, with halftone patterns, bright colors, and character-specific illustrations from the series. I don't collect packaged toys as a rule, but I love these boxes so much I may get one or two pieces to leave sealed, just because it's so nice.

The toy costs $19.99 (or so), ships in a case with Lugnut, and is pretty good. Grimlock's transformation is similar to his Generation 1 toy, with a few differences. The tail still splits, the back still forms the leg, and the head and neck still essentially act as a backpack.

PROS: Nicely sized toy, looks a lot like the cartoon. Fun dinosaur "chomping" mouth, awesome flaming sword of death, articulation above and beyond what is expected from a toy of this nature. Solid construction, stiff joints. Good ability to balance in many poses in either mode. Shoulder articulation is well-engineered. Transformation is mostly solid, with many of the folding panels and pieces sculpted with tabs and slots to fit together to ensure the robot doesn't have loose, flailing bits of kibble.

CONS: Autobot logos are silver-- the animation model (and box illustrations) show red symbols with white outlines, which are cooler. Arm transformation is a little awkward, and the figure looks best with his elbows bent.

VALUE: It's not a lot of toy for $20, but odds are if you found my blog you're either a close personal friend or a big toy fiend who already is inclined to buy such things. As such, you should totally buy one of these IF you like Transformers as a whole or the new cartoon.

OVERALL: Grimlock is largely inspired by the toy of old, given new life with design elements of the 21st century. I squealed with glee when I saw this in the store (in a case, partially sealed on a palette, which I cracked open) and am presently having much fun with it. Kids should adore this toy, and older fans will get a lot out of it too.