Blog Higekumatoytoy also brings us galleries for the recently released Alternity Bumblebee and Cliffjumper figures. Images include comparisons with previous Alternity releases of the GT-R and Fairlady Z molds, as well as some candid appearances by the Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance line (bots & humans), and past Bumblebees.
Check out the complete gallery, including robot and Suzuki Swift alternate mode pics, by clicking above.
PoweredConvoy
I got mine yesterday. Absolutely love them!
I have every Alternity thus far, and I bought every Binaltech/Kiss Play/Alternator, and I have to say these two are among the best in my opinion!
Randy
Draven
Interesting to hear that they're better in person; thanks Chuck. If I'm ever anywhere where they are being sold in person, I might bite.
chuckcjc
His fists when hanging down almost reach the top of his knee caps. Arms by your sides, how far do your fists reach? Thats right, just above the knee caps.
His legs look spindly when mis-transformed. I added some pics to Peaugh's video review of Bumblebee to point this out.
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans…-reviews-alternity-bumblebee.html#post4358420
In person the feet are quite good. The only thing missing is a tiny piece of the hood on the top of his feet. The whole front grill of the car is there, just like the G1 and Classics interpretations. The toes can rotate to hold flat footed poses even if he is spread eagle or running. I do enjoy the movie stylings featured in his legs and feet. Very detailed legs that can hold all of the standard poses – featuring an excellent well placed heel that provides excellent stability. He doesn't fall down like bots with actual "spindly" legs and feet often tend to do.
That said, to each their own. Its all good conversation in my opinion. I just hate to see good bots get bashed – but its par for the course I guess.
Dinobot Snarl
I can't get into these two because of the unbroken chest and thorax, its like a car with legs and arms, looks goofy. Love the Cliff head mold though!
Just look at this!
http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/attachment.php?do=fullview&attachmentid=25318
b.winn1
its funny how many people want him now lol
Foster
The best use I've found for the jetski is a flying car mode, which I created for Bugbite to keep up with his casemates.
artiepants
nothing is wrong per-se; just all the car fender/light assembly looks super-kibbly to me, that was my only point (and i don't even mind kibble, the CR/RiD Car Bros are some of my all-timers, it was just more the point -vs- Cl.BB)
that's fair enough, I like the backpack look (kinda reminded me of Goldbug, which makes me wonder why know one like the club has ever done a goldbug version of this mold), but the doors are a tad awkward
Heh, i basically forgot about that since i 'binned' it seconds after opening him.
huh, i can see that ~ it never bothered me, i've always really liked the the chest design was G1ish, but close in enough to know be 'bulbous'
see, the thing for me is that, without the big feet that G1 Bee had and coupled with the spindlyness of the limbs, I'd argue the original Bee had better proportions. (which is kind of sad considering at todays prices BB'd be a $4/5 legend and this is a $50 collectors item)
What hasn't worked for me from the moment we saw these molds is the way the car chest looks bolted on to the front of the torso chest ~ as if a human strapped 1/2 a car onto the front of them, instead of making a costume where you fit inside part of it. Especially with the doors and bonnet/skirt, it just looks like it's "hanging' there on the front of him, but completely extraneous to the design. With G1 bees arms originating from the center of the axle, again, his chest seemed more integrated to his body.
then his shoulder "wings" give him a bit of a 'wHy mY sHoUlDeRs hUrT?" vibe too, as his arms look to far out from his body (or, alternatively, too short)
I think bulkier feet would do wonders to make him look better proportioned.
and don't get my wrong, while i've not cared for any of the Alternitys designs (#1 and 2 was i just really don't care for Prime or Megs as cars. That may seem shallow, but it just really puts me off. Not too mention the characters just being played out. To death.), they look like the engineering is killer.
thanks for the measured response!
chuckcjc
See the thing is, if you had seen them in person, you would realize that the waist detail is not just the hood alone. The Suzuki engine actually ends up becoming the waist piece, and the hood fully swings forward to allow leg movement -and some really cool poses. If there wasn't a hood there, he would look like he was wearing a huge engine diaper. Hardly the improvement.
The entire "Auto transformation" takes place inside Bumbles chest. When you look at it from the side (side door) you see the dash crammed up against the front seats by the windshield. Every square centimeter of his interior is used. Its impressive.
When you see pics of him from straight on, he indeed looks like a barrel with heads and appendages coming out of it – just like the G1 minibot. However playing with the Alternity Bumbles in person, it hardly seems so. He is very impressive when viewed from above, looking downwards at him so you can see the autobot symbol on the top of his chest.
My bet for sleeper bot of the year. Once more people get him, the good word will spread, and the "barrel chest" crowd will diminish.
Draven
The heads are excellent. The paint apps (especially on Cliffjumper) look superb. Some aspects of the designs (a lot, in fact, especially the arms) look fantastic to me.
Unfortunately to me they look like they're barrel chested and wearing loincloths.
Or possibly aprons.
I think it's the "let's just leave the hood hanging there" thing that bugs me the most (yes, even more than the huge chest that doesn't do anything but look huge. Which I really don't like). If it had been split into 3 across its width and the outer 2 parts moved back (up in robot mode) somehow, they could have had a much better looking waist area, as opposed to just looking like the designers suddenly becamse incredibly lazy towards the end.
If it'd had a little more attention paid to what to do with the car parts, I might well have bought it. As it is, I'm passing.
chuckcjc
What is wrong with Alternity's knees? You know the thigh folds together right? The instructions don't show it cleary, but its quite clear how the upper thigh is supposed to transform, folding together, and leaving… nice proper knees.
I guess I never really liked the "Quasimodo" style backpack on Classics Bumblebee, and the huge door bits on his arms. Not to mention his "jetski-wing-thing" which is pure rubbish (doesn't "lock" into position) just because they didn't want to give him a gun, and had to fill out the silly Deluxe class "mass quota" on the carded package.
I was never on the Classics Bumblebee is a tiny god band wagon. He is really cool – don't get me wrong. But that huge backpack behind his head kinda always irkd me. And his chest is flat, in fact it always looked like he was wearing some sort of odd wife beater or some sort of bullet proof vest. The shoulder straps on the sides of his head give this illusion.
Of course it was cool that the knees transformed into seats, and the hood could open to some extent. I liked that as well. But now Alternity Bee can do all that, has front seats with dash, opening back doors, opening trunk. Proportions more faithful to G1 (G1 bumbles had a huge jolly chest), and IMHO an ~even~ better head sculpt.
The mind boggles at how the majority of the community doesn't love these new Alternity figures. I think that Classics Bumbles got people used to his G1 character hot having a huge chest. But in my mind, I am so glad to see the return of that huge jolly chest.
Backscatter
Cliff and Bee never made the Bin/ALT line, so I'll be getting these two. I can get past the chests and I really like the heads/paint jobs.
bigkid24
I've got both of these guys coming to me. I wish that the chest/roof thing collapsed in bot mode. Ah well it still seems pretty sweet to me.
PoweredConvoy
I personally don't like how well integrated BB's wing pack is. I never know what to do with it, and it doesn't fit as securely as I'd like on him. It's too loose, and you can't do much of anything with it in robot mode unless it's on him. Same goes for the car mode, it has to be in tow all the time.
Granted it was a great idea, but there are a few things that could have made it better.
I'm much preferring the look of the Alternity at this point.
Randy
Counterpunch?
Excellent post.
"Kibblebee" had me shaking my head as well…
artiepants
now Chuck, you've almost ALWAYS been one of my favorite posters on here, and generally a voice of reason amongst a see of white noise, but calling one of the tightest and best integrated deluxes EVER "Kibblebee" ~ the only thing i consider even remotely kibblish are the doors on his arms ~ compared to these guys that, to me, look essentially like robotic armatures with various badly broken up car bits bolted on at random seems a tad hyperbolic.
I mean, opinions are opinions, and you have more than every right to yours, and i don't knock you for LIKING the Alternity mold more, but you REALLY consider these guys less kibbly than the Henkei/Classics mold? The knees alone would make it a loss for me, without even mentioning the car-body muumuu.
I always thought Classics 'bee seemed like a mini-Binaltech with his seat Thighs and open passenger compartment.
chuckcjc
Tough call actually. Cliff is great, but so hard to see in a darker room. Would definately win if he were the original mock up red. But it's so nice to see a proper cliffjumper.
b.winn1
nice mine should be here soon too. Alternity bumblebee is comming to M.A lol
PoweredConvoy
Mine should be arriving in a day or two, I'm very excited!
So Chuck do you prefer Bumblebee or Cliffjumper more?
Randy
chuckcjc
Just got both of these. They are truly amazing. Transformation is complicated, and very satisfying. The mold detail and articulation are nuts. They are solid and stable. Their metalic weight distribution is nice, not top heavy.
The "skirt" at the waist can come forward and allow the hip joints to move to an 70% angle with full vertical. Really, these two have super nice articulation, and their feet are so super poseable. Fist can reach 1/4 inch past the big bulky chests.
Love the chests.
Time to put Henkei "Kibblebee" away to storage.
I know I am not in the majority, but these are my favorite Alternity molds thus far. Very fresh and imaginative, and fun as hell to pose – in both modes !
Bumblebee can loan Alternity Prime one of his guns, because Cliffjumper sure as hell isn't letting his pistols go.
Yes, Alternity Prime can hold their handguns.
Rodr-Evil
Not bad.. I like Cliffjumper better.