Affiliation: Autobot
Function: Scout

Bumblebee is a yellow Volkswagen Beetle that transforms into a Mini-Auntobot Warrior. He has excellent vision and the ability to go underwater. Despite his physical weakness, he is a valued member of the Autobot forces.

Bumblebee has always been one of my favourite Transformers. This is probably because he was the first one I purchased as a kid. I'm surprised the litte fella has lasted so long scince he's pushing 20 now, but I think that goes to show the quality Hasbro and Takara put into the construction of the early Generation One toyline.

The vehicle mode of Bumblebee is awesome. With a host of moulded on details like headlamps, bumpers and hood, it's a great representation of a real Beetle car. The tyres are made of rubber and even have 'Dunlop' moulded onto them to further give it a feel of authenticity, although the re-issue keychain version does not have this. The yellow colour scheme is a nice touch making him seem friendly beyond the persona of a Volkswagen Beetle.

Bumblebee has one of the simplest transformation sequences which was pretty standard for all the Mini-Autobots and Decepticons. Pull out the arms/wheels at each side, pull the bonnet of the car forward, bend the feet so he stands upright, then flip up the head on the back of the vehicle. Bumblebee is now a robot.

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Generation One Transformers have never really been all that poseable, Bumblebee is only articulated at the arms, which swing up and down. But the novelty of having two modes always mattered more than having a poseable figure. The figure is excellent, taking and using the details of the car mode to accentuate the robot. As the car is cute, stubby and a little chubby, the robot mimicks this, managing to both look cool and and cute at the same time. It's also not a million miles away from his Animated counterpart in the looks department. The main difference being his face. The Cartoon interpretation gave Bumblebee an face with eyes and a mouth, the toy face is more Ninja like to further reinforce his role as a spy. As Bumblebee was the human liason as it were, his face was made more human to to make it easier to identify with him. I dont think this harms the toy one bit.

When I was a kid, much of Bumblebees role was to drive ahead of the main Autobot force, stumble into Ravage and Rumble, Cyclonus and whatever other baddies were cobbled together, before pulling an impressive 180 degree powerslide and driving back to get Optimus Prime, Grimlock and Sidewswipe to kick their ass! Bumblebee was too cute to get involved with the regular fights that ensued and pootled about terrorising my cat and taking charge of the other Mini-Autobots while the dirty business of civil-war took place elsewhere. Once everything was over, Bumblebee could often be seen pootling about in the garden, taking in the sights. Bumblebee was my friend and could even sometimes be found fratenising with Star Wars as his size was perfect for beating up Ewoks or ramming into Darth Vader's heels. He was versatile, he was cute, he was a cool car and he is still alive to tell the tale. And that is why he is possibly the coolest Generation One toy around.

If you have one of these and its still in good condition, you are very lucky, and if you don't, maybe you should track down the keyring re-issue. You can find it for as little as £5. And that is a bargain. Fact.