No Power Charge review? IS NAOW. I picked up one of the big £40 (in the UK) Power Charge Bumblebee's today, and I reckon it's pretty darn good. Compared to Hasbro's Studio series stuff he's huge, which means it's massive size means it won't scale with... anything, except maybe the other massive Bumblebee toys from previous years. BB has decent articulation (missing waist, wrist and ankle tilts) but everything else is pretty much there. He's got lights and sounds, activated by the wheel on his chest. It's a weird switch but it works, and BB cycles through a bunch of (non speech) Bumblebee type sounds. He has two yellow LED's in his chest which light up the headlights from underneath. The blue isn't the best colour plastic to transmit that light though. He also has the transforming sound when you finish off the robot mode (or start putting it back to a car). FYI the symbol on his forehead is a Toyhax Reprolabel, the stock toy is just yellow paint under there. Car mode is what you'd expect for an officially licensed vehicle it makes a nice (if somewhat plastic looking) bug. Which is ironic considering VW are discontinuing the VW Beetle this year. Oh well. The new car was shit anyway. He does have a wing mirror on the left side, which is why I took the photo from the right. Doh! The wheel on his chest now runs along the ground, so driving it will activate different sounds. There's a hiccup with the light snow though, they're now buried inside and don't light up the headlights. Small niggle but there it is. His transformation seems to have taken a page from Studio Series, it's satisfyingly complex without being a bugger and even though it seems like half a car is hanging off the back of the robot it doesn't feel that much of a shellformer as I feared it might. If you look the 'shell' is the car roof, bonnet/hood and windscreen/shield. The entire car sides are formed from the wings but the back end is formed from the legs in quite an ingenious manner. Gimmick wise Power Charge BB is pretty stacked. Apart from the aforementioned Power Charge wheel he has a spring loaded battle mask and a retractable stabby wrist knife! Just the thing to appeal to kids eh? The great thing about his mask is his antenna. See how they stick out? They get in the way of the mask flipping forward. But when you activate the switch (by pulling the sides of his head forward) the antenna retract, and then pop out again when the mask is clear and the switch released. That's pretty darn clever. The only real downside I can see with him is his knees are a bit loose, and don't support his weight if they're bent a bit Nothing a bit of superglue won't help to stiffen but something to note I guess. Anyway check this guy out. I reckon he's pretty darn cool, especially for the price which is less than a Studio Series Leader. Decent articulation, good transformation, lights sounds AND spring activated gimmicks? Good toy. Why can't all Transformers be like this?
It's amazing to me that this toy does some things better than the SS figure. It even gets the tail lights into the heels.
Darn, I was hoping to be the one to get a review up. That's what I get for dallying. Anyhow, I picked him up at Target on Friday in the US. Something worth noting based on YouTube reviews is that the audio clips for the gimmick appear to have been neutered for the UK/European release – there's a bunch of English phrases on the US release that have been removed, replaced with generic sound effects. Curious if @tikgnat can confirm? The US release includes the following: I really like him. He's the same cost as a Studio Series leader in the US ($49.99), but he's much bigger and has electronics. Complexity wise I'd say he's not as complex as SS Blackout, but more complex than SS Grimlock. The only noticable cost cutting measures are something of a lack of painted detail in both modes (they seriously didn't even paint the turn signal lights in car mode) and the Beetle not having clear windows. (A shame as they did budget in clear plastic for the battle mask and headlights.) He comes packaged in an open front box that makes him look like an overgrown Rescue Bot, but he's definitely not. Well worth the $50 if you don't care about scale and just want a big, fun Bumblebee that turns into a big impressivle Beetle. B+
The one I picked up in the UK (which is presumably the European version) has no actual phrases as far as I can tell...
I like big ass Transformers that sometimes throw scale to hell and just emphasize on being a fun toy for all ages with good electronic gimmicks and uncompromised articulation. With that said, I want this. Is this the same size as that big Battle Ops Bumblebee from HFTD? Also is there an off button for the electronics?
Yes there is. A tiny switch on the back, just above his right hip. (It's so tiny I accidentally seitched it when transforming him and thought the electronics were broken.)
Great review dude! Sooo...everyone botched and complained about leaders being gimmick ridden and space was wasted..blah blah..I always liked the sound and light gimmicks of the movie leaders. Would you say this is a "cheaper" gimmick type toy like a throwback to the good old leaders? Or is it more voyager sized? Looks cool to me. The wheel in the chest is weird looking at least
He's larger even than SS Grimlock. He's comparable in height and bulk to ROTF leader Prime, albeit lighter weight and somewhat flimsier feeling.
I keep finding new phrases. Two I just ran across today: "Yer not gettin' nothing's outta me!" "Best friends for life, dude!"
I've been eyeing this figure ever since they revealed it, and it just looks fun as hell. The chest core is still a little weird looking to me (I actually thought it had something to do w/ the Energon Ignitors) but I still really like the look of him.
If I see this on sale I may honestly pick it up. I wish they'd used this transformation for the SS deluxe. The legs at least are so much better.
I'm right there with ya, it's not that great - but it's not altogether terrible, esp considering it's intended audience. That said, I'm still gonna contend that BB does use his wings in the film - we can see them in trailers, when he turns his back to the camera. As he has them in the 2007 movie, I'm thinking they pop out at some point in the solo movie & he (or someone else) likes the look.
Hmm, the UK PCBB has a yellow sticker behind his right door wing... is that the case for the US ones too? What's the writing there?
Nice review. Kind of funny that the Power Charge Bumblebee managed to get the tail lights on his feet like in the movie but the MP just sticks them up on his shoulders. Oy, don't diss my ride.
I can get some shots when I get home from work tonight. Any particular figures you're interested in seeing compared?
Still on the fence whether to get one (since I know it'll end up bunged into storage in 6/12 months time), but have seen them on the shelves. He's a big Bee. For some sense of scale, here's a pic I found next to one of the older electronic yellow things (Battle Ops?):
I guess some Studio Series guys would be helpful. I just want to get a read on the size and I don't own Battle Ops BB anymore.
