 Devastation Bumblebee
Classics, G1, Smaller, More Expensive
Transformers Studio Series Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. G0479 No. G1925
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: 3 blasters
Action Feature: Transforms from robot to approximation of 2007 collector toy
Retail: $27.99
Availability: March 2026
Other: From the game, based on the toy, based on the cartoon, based on the other toy
|
| PREVIOUS |
 RSS |
NEXT |
I'll cut right to it: I wouldn't recommend this one to collectors or to new fans that don't have a Bumblebee. I found the experience frustrating and the QC to be under Hasbro's usual pretty solid efforts.
As a collector, I don't need more versions of this guy, really. Devastation Bumblebee looked neat as a render, but as a toy it comes up a little short. My sample had a frustrating QC issue that may result in my not transforming it again, the colors don't pop quite right, and it's kind of small when compared to its quasi-inspiration, the 2007 Classics Bumblebee toy. That 2007 toy was (adjusted for inflation) about $16 in today money, and it had a big jetpack because Hasbro said - at the time - the robot mode was too small to warrant the then-$10 asking price. This new one is smaller, and while it does have more ankle joints... does it matter? Ankle joints seem to raise costs of figures at Mattel and Hasbro by almost 100%, and I'd be willing to let them slide to bring costs down so kids and teens could participate more in our hobby. They're not particularly necessary here thanks to new Devastation Bumblebee's big stompy feet giving him tons of stability. You can have him doing silly walks with one foot kicked way out front, it's actually quite impressive and makes little use of the extra rocking joint.
Hasbro and Takara-Tomy based this figure on the Transformers Devastation game, which borrowed from a hodgepodge of sources. Bumblebee drew most of his inspiration from the 2007 toy mentioned above and pictured below, so this sort of is a new version based on that. It is weird to look back at the 2007 toy and realize it had more painted stripes, clear windows and lights, plus more paint on the face and helmet. The new 2026 is not bad - but since Hasbro has done so many Bumblebees, it becomes impossible to not compare them. 2026 Bumblebee only adds a waist joint and rocker ankles - movement between the two figures is otherwise functionally the same.
Click here to check availability at Entertainment Earth.
Click here to check availability at Amazon.
Click here to check availability at eBay.
The design of this 4 1/4-inch robot mode took a few more cues from the cartoon. The feet and shins tend to match 2007 Bee, but the head borrows more from the 1984 cartoon with arms and thighs that drop the kibble for a more streamlined, cartoon appearance. The chest also adopts cartoon coloring, complete with a faux bit of painted glare on the windshield. The plastic colors and silver paint are generally good, but I don't love the pearlescent face paint. The blue eyes are nice, and in the right angles it photographs well, but the yellow and silver face paint seem to vaguely meld.
The design itself is perfectly nice, and if you lack a G1 Bumblebee in your collection? He's fine. Each figure seems to offer different perks, adding some design elements while eschewing others. This one loses all vestiges of the Volkswagen alt mode, but plays up the "animation colors" a bit more than previous releases thanks to the lack of clear parts and the addition of some more blue paint. What matters is it looks like Bumblebee, but it would be nice if the silver "face" had an outline or something to make it "pop" more out of the yellow helmet.
Posing the toy is easy. All of the joints move pretty well, and the wrists are a tight fit for the blasters. The one area I can strongly recommend the figure is the accessories, thanks to there being three of them. If I ever stumbled on this guy on ultra-clearance, I'd probably buy spares just to steal his blasters to share with other, under-armed figures. Bumblebee has two different pistols which can tab on the sides of his car mode, and a third bigger blaster can mount on his back (or the car roof.) While the colors aren't a perfect match for the game, they do look cool as accessories.
Transforming the toy from robot to car was a fun challenge, with lots of parts that tab here and fold there. Going back from car to robot made me never want to transform the toy again - the robot head got "stuck" under part of the roof, and I had to use a knife from the silverware drawer to push it down while prying things out. I tried smaller, less dramatic tools but nothing worked and brute force started to stress the plastic and hurt my fingers. I've seen other people comment about this problem, but it doesn't appear to be widespread. I sincerely hope mine was a fluke, because if this Bumblebee was my first purchase there would not be a second one.
The car sculpt is good, with a cartoony, friendly, not-licensed mode that looks like it could have jumped out of a game or TV show. The panels don't fit perfectly, but they're good enough and generally pleasant. The wheels look nice, and it generally feels like the cartooniest version of a G1 Bumblebee car mode to date. It fits in well with the other guys from this line thanks to the shine on the windshield, but I also missed out on Devastation Wheeljack and Sideswipe... and this toy is not making me want to backfill those repaints.
This feels like a clever design with substandard execution. The yellow plastic is thin enough that a lot of line shines through, and it looks less than perfect. The head could probably have been saved with an alternate color of face paint, and the very hollow forearms make me empathize with the "gap filler" crowd. (I don't normally get it, here, I kind of get it.) Hasbro has been doing an "A Class" Bumblebee and Optimus Prime for a few years now, so I assume designers are tasked with finding a new (but similar) spin each year. So far they've been swapping between vaguely G1 designs and, for some reason, One. They're interesting entry-level products, but if I might offer some unsolicited advice to Hasbro? Maybe treat them as a more experimental thing next time. If there's some new deco or feature or execution you're dying to try, put them here so people can see what kind of advancements in production or features you're trying. I kept having the back kibble fall off because Hasbro dropped metal pins and went for those easy-to-remove tabs instead, and getting him from car to robot may well be the most frustrating experience I've had in nearly a decade. For such a small guy, for $28, I want a smooth experience that makes me say "that was great, I need to buy more of these." Instead I had a lot of "maybe I should stop buying these" thoughts while trying to pry it back to robot mode.
Other collectors have written that Bee's face can get scraped by the copyright info on the panel covering his face in car mode. I didn't experience this, but it doesn't sound very good. Normally I am a big proponent of supporting toys with your money... and also not doing that once in a while. I would recommend you do not buy this figure as a gift for a fan you want to hook on collecting. I would further recommend only getting this on clearance, and I would slap a "for entertainment purposes only" label on it. Most toys I love to hang on to and revisit. This one... I'm already thinking about selling this one.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
Click here to see more Hasbro figures in Figure of the Day.
Click here to see more Transformers figures in Figure of the Day.
Want to buy this figure? Check Transformers availability at our sponsors:
Entertainment Earth
