With Transformers very soon set to receive the motion picture treatment fans have been waiting for since Revenge of The Fallen tipped Michael Bay's hand, Travis Knight's Bumblebee looks set to be redemptive. But what of its associated toyline? While I eagerly await the film itself, I can at least offer up some concrete truths about the figures for it right here, right now.
Collector grade figures for the film are showing up through the Studio Series but Hasbro's Bumblebee branded sub-line "Energon Igniters" is a typical main-line gimmick assortment aimed at younger kids. Sorry to disappoint. I've probably just lost your continued readership of this article but hear me out - that's not a bad thing. Bumblebee - judging by the newly released runtime of 1 hour and 54 minutes and PG-13 rating making no mention of innuendo, bad language or drug references - is set to be a family film. Exactly what Transformers on the big screen should be. Suitable. For. Kids. So it's only right that the forthcoming march of merchandise is too.
Since 2014's Age of Extinction, Transformers lines at mass general retail have been simpler affairs than years prior. Aiming at the 5 to 8 year old demographic as the average age kids stop playing with toys and move to digital devices ever shrinks, what you're most likely to find on store shelves, well - it looks bad to adult eyes. Overly plasticky, static and ridden with holes and voids, the mark of a gimmick toy is easily seen. As a "grown" man with a lifelong experience of the brand I can't help but wonder what kids see in these three-dimensional exercises in cost-cutting. Then came the Bumblebee line. And I... Liked what I saw?
Yeah the flaws are right there, Optimus has no knees, Bee himself has no elbows, none of the Decepticons are actually Triple Changers as they appear on screen but upon casting my eyes over the first images we were given of the toys, my first impression was "Rad." The whole line works to an established theme (1980's vehicle styling) and incorporates a play pattern into all of its pricepoints. That's never happened for a simple gimmick line like this before and somehow it shows. I could see these toys were fun. I wanted to seek them out the first chance I got. And the trailer based hype wave swept me along to exactly where I needed to be to commit to that.
For the first time in ages I actively set out to hunt for new figures, not Generations or Studio Series or whatever is in vogue within the TF twittersphere this week but crappy kiddie toys that'll be on every store shelf like ugly on an ape by the time we get to Christmas. What was going on? Was this... Actually just being excited for new toys? Whatever the case, I eagerly plunged my hands into the shelves of my local Smyths to root around for a toy I wanted, came up with "Power Series" Dropkick, smiled and felt a bit of the Olde Magick return. The thrill of the hunt isn't something I've engaged in for what feels like years. With the ubiquity of online retail and the unreliability of brick and mortar stocking the things I'm actually after when they come out, physically picking up a toy off a shelf is an activity I rarely engage in anymore. Bumblebee gave me an excuse to change that.
So, my excitement over the assortment aside, what are you actually getting under the hood? Starting with my first pick, Dropkick; a sub-deluxe, scout-plus sized figure that you'd probably mistake for a One Step Changer. However every figure in the line so far requires a multi-step manual conversion. A big tick in the "More Regular Fun Transformers Experience" column. This allows for an optional vehicle attack (or maybe boost?) mode where the back end splits to reveal new detail (jet engines or cannons, I can't decide what they're going for) and a large gap intended to house one of the Energon Cores included with the two more expensive size classes, "Power Plus Series" and "Nitro Series" respectively. "Power Plus" because they're "Power Series" figures plus an Energon Core, get it? I've no idea what relevance "Nitro" or "Speed" (the new name for Legion Class) have though and sincerely doubt we'll remember these identifiers in twelve months time.
But, I can hear you ask, what is an Energon Core? This is the uh, core of the line. A motor wound by pushing the button on top that drives a single wheel underneath. When slotted in, grease monkey garage style to the vacant back end of one of the line's vehicles it lets them shoot along your coffee table or kitchen floor. I love it. In nigh-on thirty-five years, how have we never had zoom along motorised car modes get a push like this? And what's better is that this works with every figure in the line, even the diminutive Speed née-Legion fellas who get pushed along thanks to a 5mm connection with the engine. It's worth noting that including this pricepoint in the gimmick of a wider main line has never happened (unless you wanna be the guy to count rubsigns as a gimmick). And then there's the final thing to mention about these blue boxes - which so far seem to each have unique sculpting - and that's a 5mm port which spins as the drive unwinds? Why? None of the figures seem to make use of this feature that I know of as none of them include weapons. A big tick in the "boo this sucks" column I know but damn it's a hoot when you've got twenty odd years of compatible accessories lying around.
So that's the gimmick revving at the heart of this toyline. Optional, standardised, relatively unobtrusive and above all actually fun. Especially when juxtaposed with the line these figures are already getting confused with by supermarket staff: Cyberverse. I've yet to touch any of the latest 'toon's toys as they all seem far too cut back on everything from parts to paint to joints for no good reason. Not the fitting successor to RID 2015 I'd hoped for. The Energon Igniters however seem to hit a balance between cheap and nicely styled, simple and entertaining. Yes articulation is lacking. Use of a few ball joints could have exponentially improved this as most joints only move in a single axis. Yes paint is lacking. But when you're going to be shooting these things along your lino into chair legs and bins, you really don't want a premium deco treatment. The one thing that isn't lacking is: character.
I didn't go after Dropkick because of his conversion, articulation or particular employment of gimmickry. I went after him because he seemed like the coolest one. A slick low riding glossy muscle car rendered in punchy blue with a silver engine jutting out the front. A Decepticon-and-crossbones badge graces his flank. His robot mode drips with sculpted detail and goon based malice. He's Dropkick. In a film. That blue truck guy I always wanted from the 2007 line. They picked him to be a villain in the new movie. But after having the figure for a few weeks, the best thing I like about him is - how can I convey this - his shape. As a car he's the perfect size and flatness to be able to still stick in your pocket. Basically, G1 Autobot car dimensions. Combined with his realistic (but sadly unlicensed, screen inaccurate) alt mode styling, simple conversion and limited range of motion, Dropkick feels retro. If the Bumblebee film is going back to the 80's to give you a flavour of Transformers' roots, the toyline is also managing a pinch of that in a way you may not expect.
I wasn't blown away with Dropkick, far from it, but I was happy enough with him that I was sure I wanted to pick up more from this line. That freshness was apparent and I've hardly been able to put the thing down. Power Plus Bumblebee was my next stop as I had to have the star of the show and an adversary for Dropkick. The fact this is the first VW Bumblebee in shops for thirty years is incredibly surreal. To seasoned fans like me, Bee has been this Beetle in my head forever but the only toys of him like it are G1 or Masterpiece? That can't be right surely. But it is. Having a deluxe-ish version of this car mode is super weird but also like, about time right?
It's at this point I realise I'm ready to be hooked on this line, but find a lack of product to support that drive. The first wave really is just Bee and Optimus and Barricade and Hot Rod in various forms, leaving little room for avoiding character duplication. I chose to go for the Power Plus Optimus next and felt my first real pang of disappointment. Like the rest, Prime's vehicle styling is on point if a little flat, giving you a downsized rendition of the G1 cab. But his robot mode is the most static and insubstantial I've encountered so far. Optimus really shouldn't be the smallest, lightest, most limited robot. Oh well, at least his detailing is nice even if he doesn't appear in the film in this body and I must confess there's a certain charm to the figure, despite its vapid nature. It's worth noting here that a lot of the negatives of this toy could have been circumvented if I'd dished out the cash for the larger Nitro version. But one of the things I'm finally getting my head round is how it's nice to be able to pick up any of the characters at the same size and price. I scoff at the fact there's a Prime in every size class these days and he's no longer the big ticket item of each line but surely it's better this way? Kids or their parents don't have to afford 40 notes to get the hero robot and in this line, the biggest one doesn't even cost that. There's an economy to Bumblebee that can't be denied, even if individual figures might seem overpriced to you.
This brings us to the present moment and Speed Series Barricade convincing me I do feel a way about this line and I should probably put some words down about it. Borrowing the body scheme of the very first Barricade figure I got, the 2007 Legends legend, there's undeniably some odd nostalgia at play here. In a lot of ways, I just bought the same toy again but this time he turns into a squared off 80's cop cruiser I'd expect to see Jim Hopper step out of. Eleven years of improvements in sculpting minute detail are also clear as this Barry is basically more movie accurate than the '07 Deluxe, despite his 30 year aesthetic rewind. The best thing about this figure however is how it's made me care about this size class again. You may remember an article I wrote about my love for the Legion and how recent years have left it barren of anything to enjoy; The Last Knight did nothing to really fix this and now Cyberverse isn't even giving us this pricepoint. So to pick up a new pocket bot, for less than in 2017 and find it works to the 2007 standards I miss while still giving me 2018 detailing and the ability to use the wider line's gimmick - well I couldn't really ask for more.
Bumblebee then is a hearty and wholesome mix of the old and the new. Qualities meant to appeal to the die-hard fan are woven into its DNA but by the virtue of its status as a supermarket shelfspace sinkhole, most won't even give it a cursory glance. I can imagine a Hasbro team member scratching their head and going "we made Bumblebee a Volkswagen again, what more can we do for you?" but the truth of this line is that it isn't for you. Sure, it's full of what amount to laser-guided marketing missiles aimed at kids of the 80's but its made for the kids of the 10's. To let them (finally) experience some of that purer distillation of what Transformers is. To let them find their favourite robots they will have seen on the big screen in roughly six weeks from now. For the first time in the lives of so many kids around today, they will have every right to go and see and love a Transformers film made for them. And for us. I dearly hope Bumblebee is well received because it represents the formula the franchise should have worked to from the first day a Hasbro exec said "Let's make a movie..." Going back to basics can be pretty good every now and then.
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