And we have something very interesting to share with you thank thanks to artist Don Figueroa via his Twitter account: An image showing a concept art of Bumblebee for the very first Transformers 2007 live-action movie.

Transformers 2007 Bumblebee Early Concep Art - Transformers News - TFW2005

 

Cool! That explains the feet on the very first deluxe class Classic Camaro Bumblebee!

 

At first I was gonna say “no”…

but the more I look at it, the more I think it has merit. Or at least parts of it.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a figure of it.

 

those camaro shoulders FUCK

 

Wow, interesting how much this looks like a toy design.

 

I actually really like this. Would love to see it in plastic. 

 

SS concept when hasblow

 

Looks a lot like the art style he used in that one IDW Comic run.

 

Wow, this is definitely an improvement over the final design we ended up with, it's like an actual effort was made to make him look like Bumblebee.

 

Very Cool!

I'm glad to see/hear from Don again! He was/is still the best TFs artist out there imo.

 

There’s stuff in that thread I’ve not seen before.

 

I remember they mentioned they might dig into video game designs such as Breakaway, but I'd also love it if they dig into concept art designs such as this one

 

Awesome! Now I really want a toy based on this 

 

Hasbro has made concept art Star Wars figures in the past…

 

So the road to hell was originally paved with good intentions!...but then someone became heavily intoxicated, and Bay happened! Fuck!!! So close! What a shame almost had a real transformer in a live action film!

 

Bummer, that\'s a great design

 

So good to see Don is still around. (I've posted the "whatever happened to Don" thread once or twice in the last decade in the comics forum)

his bio's a bit of a bummer though, sad he feels that way...
the TF brand is much diminished for Don's lack of influence.

his designs were incredible for keep the core of who characters were while coming up with things that were fresh and new.
His War Within designs have yet to be topped, or really even remotely touched IMHO for anything pre-earth.

I will always draw vents on the back of TF hands and think fondly of Don when I do  

As for the BB design: it's interesting how much of the "inner skeleton" is still similar to where they ended up... it's still got a lot of what I dislike about the Bayverse aesthetic, but it's nice to see some larger "car chunks" to help create a dynamic silhouette.

 

My favorite has always been that WWI Optimus.

 

Such a cool concept. Like it better than what we got. Very mechanical and robotic, but not nearly as much incredibly small greebly nonsense that makes a design difficult to follow

 

As others have said, it's good to hear from Don after so long. Even better to see him engaging with Transformers again, even if it's just to post an old piece of artwork.

The design itself is fascinating. As expected of Don, it's clear that much thought was put into making the whole thing mechanically workable. You can visualize how it would transform and where all the parts would go. I've always appreciated that down-to-earth sense of practicality Don brought to his work, even on the more complex designs like this one or the IDW Ongoing bots.