Customer Reviews

Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I've been collecting Transformers toys for more than three years now, reliving my childhood dreams. I bought two of these (as I always double up on my collection) as I would like to open one up and play with it while the other one stays mint in the box. I am one of those collectors that doubles up on each toy and keeps them all in mint box condition with only a few second pair I open so I can sometimes enjoy the toys once in a while. Okay, enough about myself, now let's talk about this toy.

I just received two of these this morning from Amazon.com. I waited for the price to go down to $49.99 and it did! I remember this was almost a hundred bucks when it first came out. I own the first Ultimate Bumblebee and from what I can tell, the only additions/enhancements to the second one compared to the first is the add-on of the battle helmet, new sound effects and of course, the new 2010 Camaro molding hood and front. Other than that, it is almost similar. But I still do recommend on getting this toy as, just like its predecessor, it is huge, complex and durable. As a collector, I base my review as an adult collector and not as user/player of the item. It looks good on my top bookcase in its mint box condition. I will open the second this weekend and will have a true comparison between the first UB. Regardless of its difference, I still like this toy. For me, the more complex, durable, heavy and bigger the toy is, the better. IMO, it shows that these kinds of toys are for adults and serious collectors like myself.

I purchased this item on Amazon for my son for Christmas after searching every retail store I could think of. No store even had Bumblebee in their inventory. First Off, I was impressed when we received it. The toy was large, it wasn't just some old cheap trinket looking toy. Just as indicated, it is rather challenging to transform it to a camaro [car mode], but we managed to transform it, and I don't think my son would trade this item for another. It did me all the good just to see how much he likes it. I also purchased the Optimus Prime from Target and watching him with the two together is just great!

I haven't quite learned to finish changing it into a car but I love this toy. I bought it for one of my grandson's birthday present; but since I could only purchase one (there are 3 more grandsons)I took it home so they wouldn't fight over it -until I can purchase others. I read the reviews so I realized before I purchased it that there would be no instructions for changing it from a robot to a car. However, for these little guys it doesn't matter because they are extremely inquitsitive and capable. As quick as little boys can take stuff appart out of curiosity (try... having your door knob fall to pieces in your hand because one of them took it apart and put it back together without the screws as a joke) is as quick as they can figure out and put things together. I love watching their ingenuity....

This is a beautiful transformer, a bit complicated to transform, but with a little immagination and some work, you'll get it.
Really big and amazingly detailed. The sounds or speaches, not the greatest, but they are okay.
Absolutely recommend it to any transformers lover...

For those that thought a big transformer means a more intricate transformation, prepare to be let down as I was. The transformation can be somewhat difficult, but not as hard as everyone says. The instructions could be clearer but expect a 1 hour transformation the first time. My biggest gripe is that most of Bumblebee's heft is the batteries and electronics housed in a big box. So everything just wraps around this. Human Alliance Bumblebee is far more intricate than this one and is actually more fun to transform. Ultimate Bumblebee's legs have a problem. You have to pinch two buttons to extend or compress them but they don't work well at all, this was very frustrating. If you want a nice solid transformer that snaps together better than any other transformer this is definitely the one. The only exceptions would be the doors which want to pop out because of their rubber tethers and the rear wheels tend to rub on the wheel well. The lights and noises are sort of cool but add little value for the collector. Overall, this guy looks cool displayed in robot mode but this is not the best looking incarnation of the Bumblebee character.

I bought this as a Christmas present for our 7y/o and he was SHOCKED!!!!!!!! He was so pleased, and he was able to transform 95% on his own. Dad had to get the front, and doors put together, but not a big deal!!! Absolutely no problems with this item!

My son got 21 different Transformers for Christmas and this was one of the easier ones to transform. My son is only 6, so my husband and I have been transforming them for him until he can learn how to do it himself. We have never transformed Transformers before, and I was able to easily transform this Ultimate Bumblebee in about a half an hour the first time. It is MUCH sturdier than any of the other other Transformers he got (which were all level 3 & 4) and the instructions were very easy to understand for me. I gave up on a lot of the other Transformers and had my husband figure them out. The sounds and lights are AWESOME compared to the sounds the other Transformers make. I am used to buying toys that don't break like Step 2 and Little Tikes, so I was a little skeptical of buying Transformers. I think this toy will outlast all of the other Transformers we bought.