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The most helpful favorable review
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
Highly detailed, somewhat unconventional, worth the price...
Ultimate Bumblebee is currently available for pre-order, and will be released in September. I decided to preorder my copy a few days ago.
I had a chance to experiment with Bumblebee for a bit, at a toy Fair so I'll review based on my experience. I should note from the beginning, that the picture of Bumblebee on Amazon has been mistransfromed. The chest...
Published on July 27, 2007 by Blade
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
parents beware
Parents be advised. I just got this thing today for my son's 7th birthday - he's a huge transformers fan and can transform any one he has quickly. He completely gave up in utter frustration - the booklet indicates something like 30 steps to go from robot to car mode - so it was daddy's turn to try - the thing just will NOT snap together perfectly - the arms, etc do not go...
Published on November 18, 2007 by James Williams
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
Highly detailed, somewhat unconventional, worth the price..., July 27, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Ultimate Bumblebee is currently available for pre-order, and will be released in September. I decided to preorder my copy a few days ago.
I had a chance to experiment with Bumblebee for a bit, at a toy Fair so I'll review based on my experience. I should note from the beginning, that the picture of Bumblebee on Amazon has been mistransfromed. The chest section separates into three pieces, creating a more streamlined figure. Ultimate Bumblebee stands tall, at 14 inches in height. That's about 2 inches taller than Leader Optimus Prime!
In car mode, the toy accurately represents the Camero. The front doors can open, but unfortunately, there is no interior design. Opening the front doors (with a lot of force) will just lead you to a huge block of plastic, instead of seats, and a steering wheel, which makes the effort quite useless.
In addition to having Transforming capabilities, the toy also has some electronic features. By a push of a button on Bumblebee's chest, the toy can say certain cath phrases, and even play some songs (most noticeably, "Whip it" by Devo). The right arm canon can automatically raise and fire a plastic missile, the head automatically rotates, while the back wings flap by themselves. Bumblebee also reacts to certain environmental noises, such as hand clapping. Yeap, this is a fully automated toy.
As a person who has been collecting Transformers for years, I can honestly say that I'm not sure how to categorize toy. It seems more of an electronic toy than a Transformer.
But, while I'm not a big fan for electronics, I would say that in addition to Bumblebee's car mode, his robot mode is extremely well done (minus the face plate, and lack of a hand on the gun arm). In fact, I believe that the robot mode in Ultimate Bumblebee is more accurate and detailed than the deluxe action figures. That said, if you can afford this version of Bumblebee, definitely make sure to get it.
The toy stands great as a collector's item. Here is the breakthrough of my review:
Design: 4.5/5
EXTREMELY well detailed car and robot mode. The best that I've seen in the current Transformer line. But, having a face plate, and hand on the gun arm, would have made this toy almost perfect.
Possibility: 4/5
Arms can move somewhat, but the electronic mechanism in the shoulder joints, hinders much of the rotation about the ball-sockets.
Electronics: 4.5/5
Cool, yet somewhat annoying after a while. I might take the batteries out after getting this toy.
Overall Score (not an average): 4.5/5
If you don't like electronics - get past that. This is a pretty sweet transformer. Highly detailed. Collectors and fans of the movie will appreciate this toy.
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
The best transformer toy ever,,,, September 19, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Well, for a start, i'm a 33 year old guy who loved the transformers show and toys when was a kid, and the movie made me rekindle that love. Anyways, the toy seemed nice in the pictures, so i bought it (at ebay, for US$ 89) and i think it's well deserved the money.
It's a huge toy, the biggest transformer toy i've seen and probably one of the most detailed. It has lots of moving pieces and articulation points, so it makes it very poseable. It makes different sounds in robot and vehicle mode, the eyes and headlights are blue and very intense, while the backlights sparkle in red as they should.
The car mode is very nice, but not as impressive as the robot mode. Bumblebee turns his head, rotates his arms, and moves his wings while speaking some random phrases or music and shooting the cannon on his right arm. If you play with it in vehicle mode it will make screeching and accelerating noises according to the movement you are giving to it, but it won't move on its own. I expected that the engines would allow it to move around on its own, but they do not engage with the wheels in vehicle mode.
I disassembled Bumblebee and found out that the mechanism is similar to that in a computer mouse; it detects if you spin the wheels backwards and forward. The most difficult part is to assemble the arms in their socket, this step is the most important to complete the robot / vehicle transformation and it is the most delicate. There are a couple of pins on every shoulder that detect if you have put the wheel or the arm in place, i had to disassemble Bumblebee because one of the pins was stuck and kept it from working in vehicle mode. Hasbro should take note on this flaw, it can render the toy useless (from the electronics point of view, not as a transformer, of course)
However, I love all the little details. The left hand has articulate fingers and an opossable thumb, so you can pose it while picking flowers or something like that : )
It would have been cooler if they'd made it with transparent windows, die cast body and two hands, but hey, you can't have everything. I have a four year old daughter and we both enjoy playing together assembling and disassembling the robot, which is, by the way, a hard task. It took me 20 minutes the first time, but you can learn with repetition. If you assemble it correctly, you'll find that it has been pretty well designed, and that no pieces are out of place. You should apply some force on assembling some pieces, but not excessive force.
This might be an expensive toy (US$ 89 is not something most people would pay for a toy) but again, i'm a fan, so i'm possible biased. I wouldn't recomend it for kids who are easily frustrated or that want to have fun inmediately or like to crash things against walls to test them. However if your kids are careful or you are a collector like me, you'll certainly enjoy this toy. I'd love it if Hasbro decided to keep making these kind of toys, they certainly make my G1 transformers (that i still keep in a shelf) look simple and dated.
Of course that there's always a market for the simple flip-and-go transformer toy, but adults with their inner child alive will love Bumblebee.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
Great Bumblebee, October 5, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Length:: 0:19 Mins
It is much better than my expectation, and I fully enjoy the Ultimate Bumblebee. If that can walk by it self then it can be one of the best robot toys. Anyway, only one problem is too difficult for children to change modes from robot to car, I think.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome, September 15, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Amazing detail and craftmanship. My five-year-old granddaughter loves this thing. It is complex enough to challenge her problem solving skills, large enough for little hands to manipulate, and durable enough to withstand playtime with her younger brother's Decepticons.
While pricey, I don't regret the purchase.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
parents beware, November 18, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Parents be advised. I just got this thing today for my son's 7th birthday - he's a huge transformers fan and can transform any one he has quickly. He completely gave up in utter frustration - the booklet indicates something like 30 steps to go from robot to car mode - so it was daddy's turn to try - the thing just will NOT snap together perfectly - the arms, etc do not go into the car at all, let alone easily - roughly 2 hours later it was Mom'd turn because I was seriously stressed - she gave up after trying really really hard so it was DAddy's turn again - and then Mommy's - and then Daddy's until the whole day got away from us - all this while a 7 year old waited as patiently as he could for it to be a car. WE came SO CLOSE to getting it before we had to admit that ti just didn't snap together perfectly - not to mention that there was no way we were going to let him EVER put it in Robot mode again so what's the point?
Yes, it's really really cool and the lights, etc.. are bright and it never felt like we were in danger of breaking it during all of this so it gets high marks for it's durability but this one is going back - I told my son he could have as many other transformers as he wanted to make up fo the disappointment - and I got this one at a great price from Costco (
$70.00) I would have ben so much more pissed if I spent the hundred it was originally advertised at - expect this thing to bottom out in the 50 dolalr range as we get closer to Christmas. There will be A LOT of returns after the holidays.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
best transformer I've seen, September 11, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
My son went nuts when I gave it to him, you do need larger hands to transform it, my son is 5 so I have to do it for him but thats just fine by me. I am suprised this thing was only about $100 some of the features like the speed senitive engine sounds (when it is in camero mode) are worth more than what you will pay.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Ultimate Bumblebee, September 11, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
As the mom of an eight year old who has loved transformers for years, I personally could not pass up this toy. The price was definately high, but the size, detail, and effects are a blast. After seeing the movie, you can't help but love Bumblebee. The first transformation took a long time, it makes you feel as though the money is somewhat worth it. Hasbro does have a step by step assembly video on their website, which is pretty cool.
Needless to say, this transformer is not allowed to be tossed into the toy box. He is proudly displayed on a shelf. COOL TOY!!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
I like it but it has some flaws..., November 16, 2007
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
Standing at about 14 inches, the Ultimate Bumblebee towers about 4 inches above the Transformers Movie Leader Optimus Prime figure, which I believe is the best transforming OP figure currently available. This is disconcerting because the scale should be exactly the opposite.
Even for its height, though, the Bumblebee figure is bulky and heavy, sporting a 4-AA battery pack on the reverse. The batteries are aligned lateraly, making for the wide-hipped appearance of the toy. Where the OP figure hides its batteries well (within fuel tanks which would go along the sides of the semi truck cab), the Bumblebee makes little effort to integrate the battery pack, which is IMO the worst of its aesthetic flaws. The battery pack also makes this toy extremely hard to balance; the rear is heavy while the forward-pointing features are lightweight plastic forms that do nothing to counter-balance it.
Number two on my list of aesthetic flaws is Ultimate Bumblebee's head design. I like the light-up LED eyes, but the paint detailing of the entire head is seriously lacking. I do not believe this is a flaw of my specific copy; I did pick the best of several at my retail outlet. The problem seems to be an insufficient and inaccurate application of the different paint colors, and this contrasts with the overall design and coloration of the figure, which is for the most part well done, paint-wise. Other than the look of the head and the battery pack on this toy, the figure looks pretty good.
Another aspect in which the OP figure succeeds where BB comes up short is the articulation department. Despite a longer body and larger limbs, BB is not as poseable as the smaller Autobot leader. Although the limbs are jointed at most of the right locations, when posed some of the joints are not tight enough to keep their positions. I think this is meant to increase the appearance of lifelike motions when the toy is turned on and active, but it just makes it frustrating. The plastic shell that forms the tailfin of the vehicle mode is meant as a "heel" extension of the foot in robot mode, but this is not explicit in the instructions and so I discovered this through trial and error. Without utilizing the heel support, the weight and center of gravity of the toy make posing the legs in anything but full upright/straight impossible - the legs would slide right out from underneath of it.
My final complaint about the toy is that it is *so* difficult to setup correctly. Transforming from one mode to the other is a little more complicated than the OP figure, mostly because of the wings/doors which must be removed and reconnected in the different modes. That is no real problem; instead the frustration comes from aligning and properly connecting BB's arms (in robot mode) and wheels (in vehicle mode). These must make a tight connection in order for the animatronic and audio features to work properly, and even when it appears to a careful visual inspection that these parts are well connected it is likely they are not. A great amount of force must be used to make the proper connections, and there is no sensory way to tell it has been done incorrectly. The only evidence you have when the connection is not correct is the partial functionality of the toy.
Despite all this, the Ultimate Bumblebee figure is still pretty awesome. It plays snippets of songs, speaks several preprogrammed phrases, it's eyes light up blue like in the film, and its arms, wings and head move while in robot form. It also autofires its right arm cannon. It is fully transformable into the sweet looking concept Camaro and has neat "speed sensing" features that change the pitch of the engine sounds when the wheels are spun faster or slower. Its headlights and brake lights light up and it plays tire-screeching sounds and music snippets in vehicle mode as well. When it is setup correctly, it is amusing and fairly attractive (especially attractive-looking in vehicle mode, where it's weight serves to imply quality construction and does not cause balance issues).
Although because of it's difficulties in use I would not recommend this toy for young children, it is a sweet piece for the collector and will impress any of your friends with your Transformers geekitude. Although I do not feel it's $80 price tag is fully warranted, I do not believe its price will go down, so if you want one, now's the time to pick it up. And if you're a little disappointed that the demo button does not work on the unit you're looking to buy at your retail location, don't worry, it probably works fine. From what I can tell, the external button does not align properly with the internal contact in the packaging, making it impossible to test at the store. The upside of this is that the included 4 AA batteries are probably as good as new in there.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Luv bumblebee, September 20, 2008
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
I got this for my grandson for his birthday. He luvs it. I luv bumblebee too.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Ultimate Bumblebee is the Ultimate Transformer!, April 30, 2008
Durability: Fun: Educational:
This review is from: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure (Toy)
I just ordered Ultimate Bumblebee in the mail less than a week ago and it arrived today. I unwrapped it and finally (once I had gotten it out of the five layers of packaging) I was able to hold it for the first time. And wow. What a toy. Ultimate Bumblebee is BY FAR my favorite Transformer. With so many moving parts, lights, sounds, 17 phrases and 9 songs, what's not to like? Bumblebee stands about four inches taller than the Leader Class Megatron, which is already saying something. Just wait. In vehicle mode when flipped up to show the underside of the car, it is still about two inches taller than Megatron. I was in awe. There are no real let downs to this toy. The only things I can think of are these: 1. The shoulders are a pain to lock into place each time you transform it into a robot. 2. Well, I don't really have a second thing. That's how awesome this toy is.
I would very very very very very very very very highly recommend this toy. Though little kids may need adult help transform it, but that's not a problem. the video instructions on trasnformers.com really help.
No transformer collection is complete without ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE!
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