Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Bumblebee

Made By:

Jada

Scale:

1/24

MSRP:

US$24.95

Overview:
Packaging (Design):	9/10
Packaging (Durability):	9/10
Casting (Body):	10/10
Casting (Interior):	9/10
Casting (Chassis):	8/10
Casting (Engine):	N/A
Paint (Exterior):	9/10
Paint (Interior):	N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):	8/10
Overall Panel Fit:	10/10
Total Score:	9.0/10

 

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Rise of the Beasts Bumblebee (Review)
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Other 2020s Movie Models
 

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The Batman Batmobile (Review)
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Rise of the Beasts Bumblebee (Review)

Background

After a deactivation at the hands of Scourge, Bumblebee is sidelined for most of Rise of the Beasts. But he is able to join the final battle when an Energon pulse is activated by the Transwarp Key, and slightly alters his vehicle mode to be more suitable for the rugged environment and fight against the Terrorcon army.

Packaging

Packed in the usual 2020+ "Hollywood Rides" box, which has been branded as part of the Rise of the Beasts series with a green background and myriad carved stone details to suggest the movie's Peruvian setting. The movie title is at the bottom left, with "1977 Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee" in a black band under the main window. An image of Bumblebee in robot mode is just to the right of the window, under a callout for the robot portrait on the underside of the car and next to a "Transformers" brand tag up the right edge of the box. Each end flap has another image of 'Bee, all three in slightly different poses. There are no co-sells on the back, just a large 3/4 photo of the diecast next to a smaller photo of the chassis and the included chrome Autobot badge. The inside of the box is covered in glyphs reminiscent of the Nazca Lines, representing various Beast Wars-era factions and alt modes including the spider, the scorpion, the gorilla, the cheetah, the rhinoceros, the raptor, and the T.rex. The car is held in place via two screws through the bottom and a plastic tray around the rear, with a plastic band holding the doors closed, and the chrome Autobot badge is in a separate plastic tray on a stand held in place with a single screw. It's a decent display for MIB collectors, and nice to see Jada's designers are getting to stretch a little.

Casting/Paint

Another all-new tooling by Jada, and further proof that they can do some really solid work. The casting is outstanding, with a metal body that's smooth and free of any tooling marks. The bumpers, rock sliders, and windshield cage are all done in black plastic, and if anything they look even better than the rear cage on their Fast Five Charger. They have a nice realistic cross-section and fit the Camaro's profile flawlessly. The grille and rear window louvers are the same black plastic; the mirrors are a softer black vinyl with chrome inserts; the headlights, parking lights, and windshield are transparent plastic with chrome buckets; and the taillights are transparent red plastic. Fit and finish continue to be excellent across the board.

Paint is almost as good. The base yellow is fantastic, smoothly applied with a fine metalflake that really pops in the light. The black isn't quite as good, with a few rough edges against the yellow - particularly around the fender flares. It also fails to cover most of the edges, so there are bright yellow spots visible inside the wheel wells, at the bottoms of the doors, and along the trailing edge of the front bumper. It looks worse than it is - a few minutes with some flat black paint could solve most of this - but given how good the rest of the diecast looks the misses really stick out. The stripes are just about perfect, though, as are the light housings, side markers, reverse lights, and the small red badges on each front fender. The driving lights are all hit with a spot of silver paint, and while actual buckets with separate clear lenses would have been nice that's a big ask for a mass-market retail release.

The interior is all black - a bit of a departure for Jada to not have a chrome shifter or pedals - but it looks appropriate here. It features separate seats, a detailed stock dashboard with printed gauges, a seemingly oversized shift lever, and no back seat. Continuing the trend, the chassis has a sculpted-in relief of Bumblebee and an Autobot symbol, hit with a single paint app in a few spots. I still don't like the "figure on the chassis" thing, but Jada gets a big bump here by also including front and rear differentials and suspension arms, plus a pair of separate mufflers with hollow tailpipes.

Features/Accessories

The doors and trunk open and close on smooth hinges that will hold in any position. A "bonus item" is once again included, but unlike the previous collector coins this one is actually pretty cool: a chrome Autobot badge. It's nicely cast and has some black paint neatly applied to outline the "face," plus it's a nice nod to the movie and what happened with Bumblebee's badge (while not big enough to be screen accurate, this could be added to your car's dashboard).

Accuracy

You're not going to be confused about what this is representing. The broad strokes are all spot-on, from the underlying Camaro to the off-road accessories. But many of those accessories aren't quite screen accurate when you get to the details. Things like the shape of the front bumper (is should have both bars wrap around the corners), the wheels (should be American Racing Outlaw IIs), the interior (should have a back seat and be two-tone), and the rear spoiler (should have two raised panels at the ends, not be continuous) are close, but not quite there. Or, the hood scoop and fender flares are fully integrated here but were bolt-on pieces in the movie. Little things for the most part, possibly owing to Jada working from early notes. Scaling is pretty close for Jada, coming in at about 1/23.

Overall

While not perfect, this is another excellent release from Jada. It looks good, is well built, and captures the feel of Bumblebee as he appeared for the final battle.