That's shitty. I thought they shipped worldwide?

Oh, and Trumpeter never responded to my email. Great CS that is, not even a canned corporate response, just silence.

 

I thought they did. I've used them many times before but I just seem to be very unlucky. I might contact them and ask about this.

 

Is it possible I wonder that just Bumblebee won't ship to certain countries, maybe because it is a limited release?

 

So it looks like HLJ will actually be carrying this line. BB is listed as a January release, which fits with the idea put forward before about a wide release happening next year: Transformers: Bumblebee

That asking price is kind of ridiculous, though, but it's weird. When I first searched it up it was $50 CAD, which is ridiculous, but when I tried to switch the page to USD it still came up as CAD, but now it's $38 which is... not as ridiculous but still more than most places are asking. (I bought one from ebay for $30, though I don't have it yet) Then when I switch back it's $52 again, so I assume $38 is the USD price and HLJ's site is just a buggy, broken piece of crap as always.

HLJ also weirdly lists it as coming from Doyusha, not Trumpeter.

 

Damn that's pricey. Why isn't this thing like $15 all around the world? Are we missing something?

 

The most expensive I've seen it for is $25 USD. I wonder if HLJ either got it wrong, or maybe being listed by "Doyusha" is because they had to go through a middleman service and not Trumpeter? (even though they already stock Trumpeter kits)

I feel bad, because I had contacted them asking for it, and if it had been $20-$30 CAD I'd have easily bought a second just to support the line (maybe painted it battle-damaged or something) but I can't double-dip at $50. Hopefully they do carry the line going forward, because I can easily see this jacked price being used as evidence that people aren't interested in the kits, when they're really just not interested in paying a nearly 200% markup.

EDIT: This is bizarre. Doyusha are releasing this kit, there's even a press release from hobby sites, retweeted by Doyusha on their own website's front page. 童友社、「トランスフォーマー バンブルビー プラモデル」が12月に発売決定

Yet the package says Trumpeter clear as day. Trumpeter also definitely had Bumblebee on their site, and Doyusha does not, but Trumpeter took it down.

What's going on here? Did Doyusha just... take the moulds and license away from Trumpeter? They have a history of acquiring moulds from bankrupt companies, but not an active one. Doyusha are also Tokyo-based, while Trumpeter is in China. I'm confused.

 

Yeah, I saw! Amiami also has it, and also has it as by "Doyusha".

 

The press release also confirms the price as 4738y so HLJ isn't gouging.

Like, they say Doyusha, but the box clearly has "TRUMPETER" on it.

EDIT: So Doyusha do have precedent for releasing kits by other companies, notably Eastern Model who make other figure and anime kits. They must just be a global distributor, but I've never seen a distributor get credited as the producer in listings before.

That also sucks because it means that this is likely the standard price. (AmiAmi is slightly cheaper, though)

 

Damn, it really seems like showz is the best option for us now.

 

will there be a jeep bee? he could go good with SS blitzwing

 

There is an SS Jeep Bumblebee if you need him

 

I have BBB now. Got a lot of fun assembling and playing it. I preordered the whole at ShowZ!

 

Is it possible to build it without the doors, you suppose?

 

There are two kinds of doors provided. Either is optional. If you don’t install them on the back, it is totally fine.

 

It's that freaking detailed and it's only 3 inches tall????

That's pure madness and sorcery. wow!

 

Long story short:

There is a "thing" about Trumpeter/Academy, Japan, and Doyusha. HLJ's listing is correct/legit. It's been like this for years.

(I think it may be "all Chinese kits" as I recall Dragon/Panda stuff too, showing up in Doyusha boxes)

 

yeah might get him for my b-day or christmas just you cant have blitzy hold him by the front of the jeep in bot mode so either i would want an upgrade kit for SS jeep bee or a model kit from this company

 

I couldn't resist. A while ago, I bought this kit and I've had it for quite some time now. I'd say that I've had him for about two weeks already... Well, I have him, but he's in the box. Unfortunately, I haven't found the time to build it but I will try to do so later this week or maybe even next week. I have looked inside the box and there is a decent amount of parts. Honestly, after looking at the whole thing overall, I think the price it's at isn't actually too bad. I do agree with those saying that it should be a little less but I think it's still quite good! Yes, I haven't built it but looking at the contents and seeing the amount of detail put into the kit, the price doesn't really seem all that bad. Also, the plastic seems to have really good quality and the reviews on YouTube make it seem like this model is great!

For now, I don't think that the price is too nasty however I'll make my proper judgement when he's complete. I'll also share some photos and I'll do a review too.

 

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Transformers Bumblebee Plastic Model | Nin-Nin-Game.com