Review – Transformers: Titans Return Bumblebee

After yesterday’s review of the Transformers: Titans Return Brawn toy (review here, I wanted to get my hands on another one of the Legends class releases from the Transformers: Titans Return toyline (find at Amazon.com*). Brawn was so fantastic that I was looking forward to another great design from Hasbro . . . unfortunately, the Titans Return Bumblebee* is far from great.

Say hello to the first bad Titans Return toy that I’ve encountered.

Vehicle Mode

The Transformers: Titans Return Bumblebee* looks excellent in vehicle mode, but it is the transformation design of the toy that is a serious disappointment. Where the other dozen+ toys in the line I have opened and reviewed were quick and fun to transform, Bumblebee returns to the Hasbro years of too fiddly parts that slow down play. The problems? Well . . .

• Canopy – The plastic vehicle roof/robot chest likes to separate from the toy, popping off without warning.
  
• Hood/Legs – You have to collapse the legs just so to form the hood of the vehicle, and once you do get the parts folded properly, prepare to spend a few minutes adjusting and tweaking until everything falls into place.

I’m likely being overly harsh to the Transformers: Titans Return Bumblebee*, but after so many fantastic toys in the line, the weaknesses of this toy truly stand out from the rest of the Transformers: Titans Return toyline (find at Amazon.com*). And not in a good way. The toy feels like a step backward for Hasbro’s Transformers toys, and I am hoping that this is an anomaly and not a type of transformation design letdown that I should expect to encounter again.

Robot Mode

Of course, once one flaw appears, I find myself overly critical of the rest of the Transformers: Titans Return Bumblebee* toy. If the transformation sequence had been quick and easy, then the robot design would have been just fine. As it is, though, we get some pretty ugly arms on the toy with the rear windows sticking straight out. And on top of that, the articulation feels cheap relative to other Transformers: Titans Return toys (find at Amazon.com*)

BUT I can freely admit that I am being unfair to the toy. It isn’t that the robot mode is a horrible design. No, what is happening is that my disappointment in the toy’s transformation design is affecting my opinion on the toy as a whole. Sorry, Bumblebee, but you really are the weakest release in the Transformers: Titans Return toyline (find at Amazon.com*) that I’ve run across after over one dozen different reviews.

Please don’t miss my other Titans Return reviews!

• Transformers: Titans Return Nightbeat
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Loudmouth
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Hardhead
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Terri-Bull
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Crashbash
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Scourge
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Hot Rod
  
• Takara Transformers Head-Master Set
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Fangry
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Blurr
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Titan Master Brawn
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Mindwipe
  
• Transformers: Titans Return Brawn