Don’t have the figure yet; but could this possible be used to create a 3D printed holder of sorts? Like one that holds the rods, and then can be held with a 5mm port. That way, they don’t get easily lost.

 

Pros:
* One of the only official toys of BB's pilot episode 'saucer' vehicle mode, and it looks nice and accurate. No wheels tho'.
* Robot mode is cute, and more apparently cartoon-proportioned than the Earthrise/Netflix CJ/BB mold.
* Has pretty much all the WFC articulation points, save for wrist rotation. thanks to TF joints, the ankles are especially nimble.
* Accessories are interesting, to say the least.

Cons:
* My copy has a misaligned shoulder pin, and won't go to vehicle mode properly, or didn't until I hacked it up a little.
* Robot mode is kibbly around the legs and back, and the leg kibble is easily bumped loose or pops off when posing or transforming.
* Hollow backsides of the forearms.
* Transformation is not difficult, but a little annoying in spots, those little panels on ball-joints are especially bothersome, as they pop off, and the tab that connects them together is much bigger than it needs to be.
* Energon rods are kinda dumb as accessories go. All they needed was to have one endcap come off, or be molded at a 5mm handle size.

Notes:
* If you ignore the parts that make up their respective vehicle modes, this BB and the Earthrise/Netflix mold have nearly the same size and proportions.

Overall:
I ... kinda like it. It has some definite issues, but has most of what you'd need in a "Siege" BB toy. I like it for the same type of chunky charm as Siege Optimus.

 

It would look rather clunky.

I swear these 'rods' were made for another toy and repurposed for this figure. The rod dimensions are not typical at all for TF figures.

 

Love his alt mode.

 

blast effects not included?

 

They are not.

 

Went looking for the Fangry pack, but found this instead. I was a little thrown off when I first found it because I questioned if it had been opened and returned since there is no plastic window like on normal figures. The bot mode is completely exposed to scraplets. Then I found another one and saw it was the same, so I didn't have to worry about missing parts.

The Cybertronian alt mode is the selling point here and I think the sculpt for that is pretty spot on from the sides and especially from the top. Bottom of the vehicle is kind of a bunch of visible bot parts, which is kind of unavoidable given the part count. Not that you should be looking there normally anyway. Bot mode has a bit of kibble, but it's ok for what it is I guess. What's notable about the bot mode is the heroic proportions, which the tub belly Netflix Bee mold definitely lacks. While I like that the energon rods were included, he has trouble holding all 5 while looking like he could hold all 5. If you're one of those OCD people who like their figures posed with all accessories, this might irk you a bit. Transformation is a bit of a tabformer as has been noted. Kibble parts do have a tendency to pop off, most notably the lateral leg kibble as you go to extend them. Nothing awful per se, and you can avoid it if you're careful.

Still it all comes down to the Cybertronian alt mode. That's really the selling point here and it does do that well. Honestly never thought we'd see that as an official product.

 

The Fangry pack is somewhat similiar in that regard. It does have plastic in the front, but the top is full of open holes for some reason. Sucks for anyone that likes to keep figures in their packaging, because dust and the like is going to get in there real easy but will be a bitch to clean without opening the packaging.

 

Just a heads up about face paint QC. It looks like from their painting template that the nose is not going to painted fully silver. However, I have noticed that the silver paint on some copies at the stores may not properly reach the eyes either and miss quite a bit.

 

Picked him up today. From an engineering perspective, I love this figure. I'll gladly buy any redeco's they do.

While I love the figure, my copy has some minor issues, aside from all over stiff joints, some of the leg panels are so tight that usually I'll pop the leg swivel one on one side or the ball jointed panel during transformation rather than moving correctly; the joints are just so tight! I also had an issue where hooking the rear panels together would cause the legs to pop from the cockpit section, so I tried trimming down some flash molding, which turned out not to be the issue, but after trimming down the panel for a better fit, I did trim the hook bit too much. Now it fits together more, but still not perfectly and I still don't see what the issue is, but at least the main saucer is very streamlined now, it's just the one panel doesn't sit quite flush. But one panel not sitting streamline smooth isn't going to wreck my opinion of this guy.

That said, great transformation, solid robot mode, fun saucer mode. Fun toy.

 

It would be great if somebody like nonef made a simple transparent plastic accessory that you could clip all of the energon connectors into, and then peg into his hand, so that it looks like he's holding them. Or at the very least of that he can hold them stable.

 

Overall I really like this guy, he looks great on a flight stand with his jetpack.
I do however have 2 issues:
1) Minor issue, but the legs don't peg in totally flush every time, and I'm not sure how to make that happen
2) Major issue, I don't like that there's no window on the box. I get the reduced plastic, but I had to make sure that all of the accessories were present before leaving the store. Sometimes something comes loose in shipping, but can at least be counted on to still be in the box.

 

Oh, and I'll say it again, this should be the shared engineering basis for a crossovers Star Trek USS Defiant.

 

Or a classic Cylon Raider:

 

Didn't expect to see this guy so soon, but a trip to Target to get a birthday card for my wife ended up with Bumblebee Origins!

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I have mixed feelings about this guy. As a standalone, he's great. In fact, this was what I was originally hoping WFC Siege would give us: wildly imaginative designs paired with G1 robot modes. Instead, we got "familiar-esque earth vehicles altered to look futuristic". Not being critical of those results, because I still think they're cool. I like to think this is also why we never got a Wheeljack and Jazz Siege mode, with hopes that we'll see theirs one day.

Anyways, I'll start with his vehicle mode, as it's the stronger of the two:
as if the damn thing flew out of my TV screen, here we have the UFO-y, er, sorry UAP-y alt form of Bumblebee as seen in the first episode of "More Than Meets The Eye" series premiere. I have to say, that this time around, Hasbro did a far better job of matching the yellows than they did with the Netflix BumbleBee from last year. The cockpit hatch is the only noticeable change in hue, but it's so slight it's not that bad.

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One of the things I really like about this design/color is how much it keeps with the aesthetic of other Autobot vehicles, especially when viewed from the rear (Forgive my blurry pics, the sun made it hard for me to see how sharp my images were coming out.) Outside of that, it's a disk-like vehicle and it is smooth. The undercarriage looks good too, despite seeing Bee's face smiling back at you, but for the most part it looks like a strange vehicle's inner-workings rather than a bot folded up.

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Some of the accessories can be attached to this mode for a more souped-up battle ready version. I'll speak on the accessories in a bit...

Transformation is OK. Can feel a little fiddly the first go-round, especially with the legs (I transformed him from bot to "car", so maybe the reverse isn't so bad.). Tabbing is a necessity to complete the vehicle mode, but I had no issues the first go-round.



Now for the robot mode:
I mean, if you were to tell me we'd get a screen accurate Cybertronian Bee even 5 years ago, I would have expressed my doubts. Not because they couldn't actually make a physical version of said vehicle, but there's NO WAY they'd fit a Bumblebee robot mode in there. I'd be mostly right of course, as the bot mode has some kibble, but nothing too unsightly. You can look at this guy and know exactly who he's supposed to Bee. (zing!).

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From the backside it becomes a bit less clear. While his upper back kibble flares out in wild ways, it's his long-ass boat feet that are an eyesore here. Once again, you can attach the backpack to this mode...but I am kinda' perplexed at why this was included (aside from maintaining the $25 price point?) as there is no point of reference in acknowledging that first scene.

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The gun is very generic, and it really feels like a lack of thought went into the "rocket with a handle". Both of these accessories are really just meh in terms of thought. But of these two, at least the gun makes sense.
Which brings us to the third accessory(s):

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While this totally makes sense for this particular set...I'm like...what am I supposed to do with these?? He can't hold the energon rods, nor can they be connected in any way. I thought it would have been smart to include one of the ends to be removable so you could slide it in his hand, but alas, NOPE.

Some closing remarks:
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• Bee's bot mode is very poseable (yes, he has waist swivel), which is good.
• Bee's face is WAAAAAAYYYY better than the WFC one. It really gives this version character.
• I haven't measured him against WFC, but I have seen other people do so in this thread, This version really gives us that diminutive but courageous feel.

I really think these are some of the neat things Hasbro can do for fans. After I had amassed my ER Earthmodes for my Autobots, I wasn't sure if I would hold on to the Siege versions. But Bee helps restore that need to keep 'em around!

 

Man, he looks really great, but my Target has him jacked up to almost $30 bucks, which I simply can't justify. I guess I'll have to wait for him to show up on their website instead.

 

Yeah he's really pricey. If I had a big complaint, it would be that alone

 

Agreed. $25 is already a bit of an ask (especially as he looks smaller in person with so much of his bulk behind the cardboard), but $30 noped me right out the door.

 

This is such a good little toy.

I don't even mind the kibble.

 

$22.99 here before taxes. Where is the $30 coming from?

Trying to come up with a good alternative to the conductor rods as they suck. 2.5mm rods would work great as you could fit 2 into one standard hand port snug. However, can't seem to find clear yellow ones at various hobby / plastics stores. I guess I could make my own.