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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Based on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure is the premium movie-adapted Transformers toy on the market. Designed for ages five and older, and standing an impressive 14 inches tall, this action figure is more than deserving of the title "Ultimate." With a sleek design, battle and conversation sounds, and advanced animatronics system, Ultimate Bumblebee is an ideal toy for serious Transformers collectors.
Convert From Car to Robot
Recommended for ages five and up, Ultimate Bumblebee is one of the most fully featured action figures you'll find. Initially, Ultimate Bumblebee appears as a sleek 2010 Camaro. With its vivid yellow finish and racing stripes, Ultimate Bumblebee's car form is as detailed and well built as any model car and would be a perfect addition to a cabinet or dresser top. The car is able to roll freely on carpet and hard surfaces alike.
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 Ultimate Bumblebee features an impressive level of detail and has several points of articulation. View larger. |
Recommended for ages five and up, Ultimate Bumblebee is one of the most fully featured action figures you'll find. Initially, Ultimate Bumblebee appears as a sleek 2010 Camaro. With its vivid yellow finish and racing stripes, Ultimate Bumblebee's car form is as detailed and well built as any model car and would be a perfect addition to a cabinet or dresser top. The car is able to roll freely on carpet and hard surfaces alike.
Like all Transformers, there is more to Ultimate Bumblebee's Camaro form than meets the eye. When it is time for him to come out of disguise and confront his enemies, he can transform into a massive, powerful robot. Equipped with a firing plasma cannon, he is prepared to defend your local neighborhood from Decepticon attacks.
With a few adjustments, you can transform Ultimate Bumblebee seamlessly between robot and vehicle mode. In robot mode, Bumblebee stands an impressive 14 inches high, and is fully articulated to be posable. He is also handsomely detailed, and features a retractable battle mask.
Serious collectors may have some concerns about the figure. His articulation leaves something to be desired -- some of his joints feel a bit stiff, and pickier collectors might find him somewhat limited in his movement. The figure's robot-to-car conversion is also fairly difficult to perform, taking up to 30 minutes. Younger children might not be able to transform Bumblebee on their own. Still, these flaws can be overlooked, given the overall high quality of the toy.
Advanced Animatronics and Sounds
Ultimate Bumblebee features an advanced animatronic design, allowing him to move and animate himself when in robot mode. With the touch of a button, he'll burst into motion. His head moves from side to side, and his arms and wings both move up and down. He can even aim his plasma cannon and fire off his missile.
In addition to his animatronics and motion, Ultimate Bumblebee can also make a variety of sounds. This ever-vigilant Autobot has dozens of different phrases, such as "Let's roll out!" and "Take that, Decepticon!" He also makes battle sounds -- you'll hear the firing of his plasma cannon and the whirring, crushing sound of his movements. He'll even boogie as he plays "The Touch" by Stan Bush.
About Transformers
The Transformers began as a Hasbro toy line back in 1984, featuring toy vehicles that could transform into robots. The toys soon inspired an entire universe of fictional story lines, pitting the two factions of Transformers -- the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons -- against one another. A live-action movie based on the Transformers was released in 2007 and has continued the toy line's popularity. With toys such as the Ultimate Bumblebee Figure, kids can bring home the struggle between the Autobots and Decepticons.
What's in the Box
Ultimate Bumblebee figure, 4 AA batteries, and instructions.
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With just a few adjustments, you can convert Bumblebee from his robot form into a sleek 2010 Camaro. | ||||
Product Description
BUMBLEBEE stayed on Earth after the destruction of the AllSpark to continue protecting his friend Sam, and he has stayed with the young human every day since. As more DECEPTICONS have appeared to threaten Earth, the friendship between boy and robot has become something more. Now, human and AUTOBOT are teammates in a battle for the fate of the world, and neither will rest until every last DECEPTICON is a smoking wreck. The biggest robot star in the world is back! BUMBLEBEE is ready to roll into action against the DECEPTICONS with motion-activated lights and sounds. His robot and vehicle modes have been updated with the latest in movie-accurate detail, making this awesome robot cooler than ever! In robot mode, this friendly figure features light-up eyes and a flip-down battle mask to let the enemy know he means business! Animatronic arms, head and wings bring this awesome ally to life and ready for battle. With a cannon that automatically aims and fires, this trusty teammate will help you recreate exciting film scenes or stage new battles of your own. Convert the figure to a cool Camaro concept car in vehicle mode and roll out! With updated hood and grille detail, this guy certainly is a looker! Headlights and taillights complete his look, while revving engine sounds, horn and car alarm and even screeching brakes and crashing sounds let you know this sleek sidekick is on the move! The battle is on are you ready?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
I'd been wanting to purchase Ultimate Bumblebee since the first version was released with the first Transformers movie, but I never bought one. After seeing that a second version was being released, I decided to go ahead and pick one up, and I'm glad I did.
This is a very large Transformer with a good bit of weight. There are some pieces that feel fragile, but it is a sturdy figure overall. Its true that the transformation on this figure is somewhat complex, but once you transform it a time or two, its really not that difficult. The instructions are a little hard to follow, but using common sense goes a long way as there are a good number of holes and pegs that fit together during the transformation to vehicle mode that make it pretty obvious what to do once you've seen where the pegs line up with the holes (ie. as when putting the arms into the body).
There are a couple of reasons that I like this ROTF version better than the original. One reason is because of the updated sounds. I was never impressed with lines such as "You're my first human friend" or the repeated playing of Whip-it (not a bad song, I just didn't like it with the Bumblebee figure for some reason). The sound clips and phrases are much better in this new version in my opinion, and the inclusion of "You've got the touch" seems much more appropriate to me.
Of course there are a few things that keep this figure from being perfect. For one thing, the box clearly states that the figure responds to motion, and the instructions say that the figure responds to both voice and motion. I've had two of these figures (had to take the first one back due to a defect) and neither of them respond to voice or motion as stated. After initially pressing a button and then waiting, the figure will perform another "action" every 5 to 10 seconds of being idle up to about 30 second before going to sleep, which at first made me think it was responding to me, but then I realized that if I pressed the button once and then made no sounds or movements, it followed the exact same pattern with no movement or sound input. After having two figures with exactly the same issue, I wonder if this was a planned feature that made it to the box art, but never made it to production (as far as it being in the instruction sheet, its clear that the instructions are from the first version with a new header at the top of the page, as the figure shown in the instructions has the old style headlights on the front of the car). Please let me know in the comments if I've somehow missed the correct way to get the sound and motion sensor to work as I've even emailed Hasbro about it and their answer so far has been "we don't know."
There is also an issue where in robot mode the wings can make a loud clicking sound, almost like something is popping inside or is going to break (although I don't think it would actually break anything from this). After watching closely I've found that there are two things that can cause this. One, if the figure is posed in such a way that it's leaning slightly forward, the wings can get caught up on the tires. Making the figure stand up straight, or even with a very slight lean backwards can alleviate this issue if this is the cause. The second cause appears to be related to the rubber pieces that connect the wings to the body. Since these are kind of long and tube shaped, if they are "twisted" the wrong way when the doors are attached to the figure's back as wings, the added tension, although slight, seems to be enough to cause the clicking noise. Disconnecting the offending door(s) and rolling it 360 degrees forward or backward (depending on which way it was twisted) seems to help. Because the rubber connector is a solidly colored tube shape, its really hard to tell if it's twisted the wrong way, so some experimentation may be needed if the clicking sound is happening.
OVERALL: A very good figure that I'd recommend picking up if you're considering it. It's a great deal of fun, and the animatronics do make him seem a little more real than a normal figure. My kids love when I get Ultimate Bumblebee out, and even my wife has been telling me how cool she thinks it is, which is a first for her with any Transformer figure.
This is a very large Transformer with a good bit of weight. There are some pieces that feel fragile, but it is a sturdy figure overall. Its true that the transformation on this figure is somewhat complex, but once you transform it a time or two, its really not that difficult. The instructions are a little hard to follow, but using common sense goes a long way as there are a good number of holes and pegs that fit together during the transformation to vehicle mode that make it pretty obvious what to do once you've seen where the pegs line up with the holes (ie. as when putting the arms into the body).
There are a couple of reasons that I like this ROTF version better than the original. One reason is because of the updated sounds. I was never impressed with lines such as "You're my first human friend" or the repeated playing of Whip-it (not a bad song, I just didn't like it with the Bumblebee figure for some reason). The sound clips and phrases are much better in this new version in my opinion, and the inclusion of "You've got the touch" seems much more appropriate to me.
Of course there are a few things that keep this figure from being perfect. For one thing, the box clearly states that the figure responds to motion, and the instructions say that the figure responds to both voice and motion. I've had two of these figures (had to take the first one back due to a defect) and neither of them respond to voice or motion as stated. After initially pressing a button and then waiting, the figure will perform another "action" every 5 to 10 seconds of being idle up to about 30 second before going to sleep, which at first made me think it was responding to me, but then I realized that if I pressed the button once and then made no sounds or movements, it followed the exact same pattern with no movement or sound input. After having two figures with exactly the same issue, I wonder if this was a planned feature that made it to the box art, but never made it to production (as far as it being in the instruction sheet, its clear that the instructions are from the first version with a new header at the top of the page, as the figure shown in the instructions has the old style headlights on the front of the car). Please let me know in the comments if I've somehow missed the correct way to get the sound and motion sensor to work as I've even emailed Hasbro about it and their answer so far has been "we don't know."
There is also an issue where in robot mode the wings can make a loud clicking sound, almost like something is popping inside or is going to break (although I don't think it would actually break anything from this). After watching closely I've found that there are two things that can cause this. One, if the figure is posed in such a way that it's leaning slightly forward, the wings can get caught up on the tires. Making the figure stand up straight, or even with a very slight lean backwards can alleviate this issue if this is the cause. The second cause appears to be related to the rubber pieces that connect the wings to the body. Since these are kind of long and tube shaped, if they are "twisted" the wrong way when the doors are attached to the figure's back as wings, the added tension, although slight, seems to be enough to cause the clicking noise. Disconnecting the offending door(s) and rolling it 360 degrees forward or backward (depending on which way it was twisted) seems to help. Because the rubber connector is a solidly colored tube shape, its really hard to tell if it's twisted the wrong way, so some experimentation may be needed if the clicking sound is happening.
OVERALL: A very good figure that I'd recommend picking up if you're considering it. It's a great deal of fun, and the animatronics do make him seem a little more real than a normal figure. My kids love when I get Ultimate Bumblebee out, and even my wife has been telling me how cool she thinks it is, which is a first for her with any Transformer figure.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
Regrettably perhaps, I have both versions of this toy. I would like to see different Ultimate toys (most notably Optimus Prime) in the future. This seems like the next-generation of transformers in many ways, with the animatronics and the audio content. But aside from that, purely as a transformer, it's still quite worthy to own. Large, very realistic, good detail. Not so easy to transform, especially as some of the connections need some carefully-applied force to engage/disengage (a knife can be useful). But not bad once you do it a couple times. The instructions are much better than nothing, and half the satisfaction is figuring out for yourself how to get from one step to the next.
The car mode is fun, and of course you can spin the one wheel to keep the audio going if you want to pass on rolling it around, but the skids are easier with the latter approach. Robot mode, as noted in another review, seems to fail full expectations. Yes, I have the same problem with mine as mentioned - it seems unresponsive to sound or motion, and shuts down after 30 seconds or so if no button is pressed. Interestingly, I don't have the same issue with the first model. If I stand them facing each other and set them off, the earlier model will respond and continue interaction while the newer one obliviously quits unless prodded. Did they leave this feature out on the newer one?
As for the content, both models reflect their respective movie roles. I happen to like the earlier one better, but it's a matter of taste. The doors fit better on the newer one, and the mask is cool but a hassle to get on. The Ultimate Bumblebee is a worthy addition to a collection, and many won't care if the thing won't respond unless you push a button. The new technology takes the transformer into a more pure "toy" mode, where it doesn't perhaps stand out from the non-transforming competition. But it certainly opens a new dimension for the many-faceted transformers.
If you care about the responsiveness issue, might prefer a more musical, less serious audio content, and can tolerate some possible door issues, you might consider spending a few extra bucks and get the earlier model.
The car mode is fun, and of course you can spin the one wheel to keep the audio going if you want to pass on rolling it around, but the skids are easier with the latter approach. Robot mode, as noted in another review, seems to fail full expectations. Yes, I have the same problem with mine as mentioned - it seems unresponsive to sound or motion, and shuts down after 30 seconds or so if no button is pressed. Interestingly, I don't have the same issue with the first model. If I stand them facing each other and set them off, the earlier model will respond and continue interaction while the newer one obliviously quits unless prodded. Did they leave this feature out on the newer one?
As for the content, both models reflect their respective movie roles. I happen to like the earlier one better, but it's a matter of taste. The doors fit better on the newer one, and the mask is cool but a hassle to get on. The Ultimate Bumblebee is a worthy addition to a collection, and many won't care if the thing won't respond unless you push a button. The new technology takes the transformer into a more pure "toy" mode, where it doesn't perhaps stand out from the non-transforming competition. But it certainly opens a new dimension for the many-faceted transformers.
If you care about the responsiveness issue, might prefer a more musical, less serious audio content, and can tolerate some possible door issues, you might consider spending a few extra bucks and get the earlier model.
16 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
They say that any chain is as strong as it's weakest link. In the case of this toy, Ultimate Bumblebee, the weakest link is instructions. They are not only incomplete, but outright misleading.
My son has many transformer toys, and since he is too young to assemble them himself, I have to do it for him. That means that I have a lot of experience in "reading" included instructions, and mostly - getting into heads of those who create instructions and knowing what they always miss. Usually they will not show what has to click where, only give a vague idea of how things go.
With bumblebee, that lack of detail has been taken to a new level: namely if you do follow instructions closely, you will definitely end up with a non working toy:
1. The most essential part of assembling this toy into a car that works, is the position of arms. If you just click them in place, after you figure where and what is supposed to click, as that's not in instructions either, you will not end up with a working toy.
2. Just as essential is the position of black cords that connect doors to the body. There is only one way to fold them so that they are not in a way.
3. Putting the front part together is next to impossible, made harder by the fact that there is no mention in instruction that part of the hood which is closer to the windshield has to click into the "engine" part. There are two small yellow round clips sticking out, and they do not go all the way in, unless forced. You can see them if you look at the car from the front, just below that part of the hood. This, of course, is not in instructions.
4. To see if you got arms and their cords in the right place, look at the front quarter panels: their wheel well should go nicely around the wheel, parallel to the tires curvature, which is what took me about an hour to achieve. Playing with minute movements of assembled arms is what it takes to have it work in the end. We are talking fractions of a millimeter.
5. Make sure front wheels are snapped into place. They do snap easily, but they almost have two-stage snap to them, so make sure you snap them into place with a lot of force and do it really good.
How hard would it be for a company like Hasbro to add these few lines of text to their product (or a picture equivalent)? I guess too hard, as it's not there. Making clear instruction is not their business.
Another problem is that in robot mode, the gun doesn't work. There is a smaller black cylinder which presses against the gun. When loaded, that arm will aim, and then the little powered black cylinder will rotate and by friction it is supposed to rotate the gun barrel itself and fire the weapon. There is no way on this planet that this will work as there is not enough of a contact between the two, at least not on our toy (I've seen on youtube that others have the same problem). The black cylinder rotates on it's own and doesn't have contact with the gun barrel or force to rotate it and the gun doesn't fire as a result. That leaves one disappointed child who was promised that there would be a gun that fires. Just as I was planning to add a little rubber around the black cylinder, to improve contact with the gun barrel and hopefully get the gun to fire, the gun stopped rotating all together, so now there is no way that it will ever fire. That's with a five day old toy (batteries are new). At this rate, nothing will work in a few weeks.
It is unfortunate that a toy which is quite well designed and looks nice, has a few missing but essential details which make it a no go. I would gladly return it, if it weren't for my little one who loves it anyway. But if he does get bored with it, I will gladly return it and point to things that don't work. Even the instructions don't work.
All in all, a decent product which brings lots of frustration and disappointment due to incomplete and misleading instructions and non functioning parts like the gun.
Since engineering is not outside of my scope of activities, and I do have some experience with these types of toys, I can imagine how this would be next to impossible for most kids and their parents. But, then, die-hard fans won't be bothered by that, and those who make decisions at Hasbro know it. "Better to save a penny on instructions and gun, then make another few million" is what seems to be Hasbro company policy. As a result I am definitely not buying any more of these "ultimate" transformers for my son.
ps. At first I went to Hasbro site to see if there were more detailed video instructions there, but there were none.
My son has many transformer toys, and since he is too young to assemble them himself, I have to do it for him. That means that I have a lot of experience in "reading" included instructions, and mostly - getting into heads of those who create instructions and knowing what they always miss. Usually they will not show what has to click where, only give a vague idea of how things go.
With bumblebee, that lack of detail has been taken to a new level: namely if you do follow instructions closely, you will definitely end up with a non working toy:
1. The most essential part of assembling this toy into a car that works, is the position of arms. If you just click them in place, after you figure where and what is supposed to click, as that's not in instructions either, you will not end up with a working toy.
2. Just as essential is the position of black cords that connect doors to the body. There is only one way to fold them so that they are not in a way.
3. Putting the front part together is next to impossible, made harder by the fact that there is no mention in instruction that part of the hood which is closer to the windshield has to click into the "engine" part. There are two small yellow round clips sticking out, and they do not go all the way in, unless forced. You can see them if you look at the car from the front, just below that part of the hood. This, of course, is not in instructions.
4. To see if you got arms and their cords in the right place, look at the front quarter panels: their wheel well should go nicely around the wheel, parallel to the tires curvature, which is what took me about an hour to achieve. Playing with minute movements of assembled arms is what it takes to have it work in the end. We are talking fractions of a millimeter.
5. Make sure front wheels are snapped into place. They do snap easily, but they almost have two-stage snap to them, so make sure you snap them into place with a lot of force and do it really good.
How hard would it be for a company like Hasbro to add these few lines of text to their product (or a picture equivalent)? I guess too hard, as it's not there. Making clear instruction is not their business.
Another problem is that in robot mode, the gun doesn't work. There is a smaller black cylinder which presses against the gun. When loaded, that arm will aim, and then the little powered black cylinder will rotate and by friction it is supposed to rotate the gun barrel itself and fire the weapon. There is no way on this planet that this will work as there is not enough of a contact between the two, at least not on our toy (I've seen on youtube that others have the same problem). The black cylinder rotates on it's own and doesn't have contact with the gun barrel or force to rotate it and the gun doesn't fire as a result. That leaves one disappointed child who was promised that there would be a gun that fires. Just as I was planning to add a little rubber around the black cylinder, to improve contact with the gun barrel and hopefully get the gun to fire, the gun stopped rotating all together, so now there is no way that it will ever fire. That's with a five day old toy (batteries are new). At this rate, nothing will work in a few weeks.
It is unfortunate that a toy which is quite well designed and looks nice, has a few missing but essential details which make it a no go. I would gladly return it, if it weren't for my little one who loves it anyway. But if he does get bored with it, I will gladly return it and point to things that don't work. Even the instructions don't work.
All in all, a decent product which brings lots of frustration and disappointment due to incomplete and misleading instructions and non functioning parts like the gun.
Since engineering is not outside of my scope of activities, and I do have some experience with these types of toys, I can imagine how this would be next to impossible for most kids and their parents. But, then, die-hard fans won't be bothered by that, and those who make decisions at Hasbro know it. "Better to save a penny on instructions and gun, then make another few million" is what seems to be Hasbro company policy. As a result I am definitely not buying any more of these "ultimate" transformers for my son.
ps. At first I went to Hasbro site to see if there were more detailed video instructions there, but there were none.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
ravage 24/7
Ultimate Bumblebee is ultimate greatness!Bumblebee is the same mold as the original with a few variations. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ryan M. Lutz
Ultimate Transformer
The detail on this is amazing. This is the best Bumblebee action figure ever! The only difficulty is when you have to shorten/extend the legs for transformation. Read more
Published 9 months ago by williyamz
super
This toy is amazing,i am from romania and the delivery was quick.the toy is so much fun.transformation is easy if u watch it on youtube:))... Read more
Published 13 months ago by coman
A fun toy!
I just bought this for my 18 months son, its durable design makes it "survive", personally i like it makes different sounds in car and robot, and the moves attract my son. Read more
Published 13 months ago by June
Ultimate Transformer
This is a complex toy. It's quite complex to transform. Too hard for my 5 year old. Well worth it though.
Published 16 months ago by Graham
totally awesome
I love this toy!!!! I love the sound effects the most! I love how big it is and how totally real it looks
Published 17 months ago
A little too big for my taste.
This bumblebee is HUGE! A little too big for someone like me who collects the toys for displaying. This is geared more for the younger crowd. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Gregory Clark
Kids will love this toy
The 9 year old boy who received this toy can't get enough of it. He's an avid fan of transformers and Bumblebee is his favorite character. Read more
Published on April 23, 2010 by CR
Awesome for Collectors
If you want this to play with, find another toy. Almost the entire transformer deluxe and voyager class toys are for older kids 10+ despite the 5+ note on the box. Read more
Published on April 22, 2010 by M. Kwiatkowski
buzz
We bought bumblebee as a xmas gift for our son. He was very excited to see it. Not much can be done with the toy in robot mode. Read more
Published on March 31, 2010 by A. Wells
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