I very luckily managed to pick up one of the early loose MP-21s that have been appearing all over Weibo. I got mine from Yahoo Japan, and it arrived a couple of days ago. It came with the neutral face, gun, and spare tyre. It didn't include the licence plate, smiling face, or Spike. I'm sure TCracker will be able to provide us with pictures of those when he posts his usual brilliant review in nine days or so I'll start off with the vehicle mode. I think scale has been discussed to death already, but it's nice to see that Bumblebee scales super-well in vehicle mode with MP-10. He also scales accurately with the other vehicles as far as the cartoon is concerned. Everything fits nicely together as long as you remember to tab all the tabs into each other. The only issue with mine is the paint on the part of the bonnet/hood with the VW badge doesn't match the rest of it. This could be an issue with this particular test shot. For all we know this was just one of the first painted samples while they were tweaking the paint that managed to slip out of the factory. I guess we'll find out in a little over a week. Some comparison shots with G1 Bumblebees: His gun is nice and small Coming up next, robot mode...
Superb pictures, Bumble! I can't wait to get this guy (as you know) - look forward to your robot mode review and pictures.
NICE! He looks like a perfect fit in alt mode! Love it so far, and I can't wait for him to come in over the next couple of weeks.
The transformation is nice and easy Just be careful folding down that hood/bonnet flap with the VW logo on it, the pelvis needs to be as far back as possible for it to fold back. It's a nice, tight fit! Paint issues in robot mode are minimal, the main thing is his eyes are different sizes. Right eye is painted outside the frame: Left eye is missing a tiny bit at the top: But in person it's really not noticeable. It's only up-close at this level that I actually noticed! Again, this could just be an issue with this particular production sample, so let's wait til November 29th before worrying too much about it. I'll just throw out some comparison pics beore getting to the review Filling up the scale chart: G1-S1 represent! Little guys: Think Bumblebee does this with Bluestreak in Trans Europe Express? Comparison with Alternity Bumble: Flipping the back around, Goldbug-style: G1 Bumblebee squad: Suddenly MP-10's gun doesn't look so little!
This little guy is just so much fun to play around with! He's almost the same thickness as Wheeljack but he really doesn't feel off at all in his proportions. Bumblebee's always been a chubby little fella after all. Bumblebee is the most posable of all the MPs so far - apart from his hands. Once you have him in hand you'll completely understand the lack of finger articulation - if there was a pin in there there'd be no room for any plastic around it. I was never too bothered by the forearm fins, but their part in the transformation to vehicle mode is really nice and intuitive. The whole transformation is really satisfying, it's actually really impressive how much bot fits into such a small VW Beetle! The way his legs fold up is particularly fun (not at all awkward like the Datsuns can be). He can hold a running pose no problem (I guess his low centre of gravity helps here) Even sprinting's not a problem Hi-ya! He can spread out his legs pretty damn fair too He just looks good in every pose! Sitting down's no problem too, if only Ravage would just leave him alone This might help: Uh-oh, the little guy's surrounded by even littler guys! You're first, red Then you, robo-puppy! What's the matter blue, scared? So you should be The name's Bee, Bumble Bee I think that illustrates just how fun this guy is! It's great for the cassetes to have someone their size to pick on too. He does feel a lot more like a big Frumble than a small carbot, which is not at all a bad thing. 'Oh boy...' The two white-faced MPs And let's not forget the little guy with no face!
Rounding this off with one last post of pictures, then it's up to the rest of you guys in the coming weeks Some group shots: Comparing the two yellow autobots With a bit of orange thrown in the mix there Bumblebee and those he looks up to: Relaxing, except for Prowl I'm done pretending! 'Will these be enough, Prime?' Woo-hoo nearly done! I'll finish off with a word of warning, and a little secret I discovered. WARNING When folding back and forth his autobot symbol, do it in the direction shown here, otherwise your red will scrape off like it did on mine! I'm not really sure how it happened, I was playing around with him last night and I guess I flipped the panel at a moment when I wasn't supposed to (the risk of transforming with no instructions!). Only flip it when he's in robot mode. His gun is actually a really useful tool to flip it, just push the top in with the tip of the gun. Speaking of the gun, I found a nice storage spot for robot mode: Lift up one of his side panels, place the gun in, close him back up and you're good to go! See you guys soon!
He can bend his feet down nearly 45 degrees, up maybe about 5 degrees Couple of pictures I forgot: Sitting in the back of Prime's trailer And a comparison shot with an iPhone 4 - always nice to have a real-world object to compare size to
I'll be drooling over your shots till he arrives for sure. Jeez, thanks a lot for the heads up on that chest symbol!
Nope, sorry. Though if anyone wants to send me a Quakewave that'd be cool with me Yeah it's pretty bad! I do wonder if it's because this is a production sample, maybe the paint didn't adhere as well as it should. In any case, it's a good thing I'm used to painting my MPs by now. Just be careful out there, people!
Amazing shots all around, thanks Bumble! He looks better and better. I love the shot of him sitting in the back of Prime's trailer. Ouch, shame about the Autobot symbol. When you say that you have to do it in a particular direction, do you mean it needs rotating in a certain direction? Or do you just mean that you should only try to rotate it while he's in robot mode?
Well I imagine in the instructions it will say to flip it as the last step when coming into robot mode, but to avoid paint scratching just flip it by pushing the top in. There's nothing above the rotating flap inside his body to scratch against. But underneath it are his legs and stuff folded up. I think it only happened because I rotated it at the wrong moment. So to answer your question - both!
