This toy has started showing up relatively late in the Transformers movie line but just a few minutes with it will tell you it’s definitely one of the first toys designed for the movie if not THE first.  I imagine the decision to hold out on it until the second wave comes from the fact that this is Bumblebee’s second form in the movie and Hasbro realized the older Camaro version is pretty crap next to this guy.

Like I said, he comes off as the basis for the entire line.  Why do you ask?  Automorph technology.  That is the line’s main gimmick.  Until this toy it was a petty weak gimmick.  It’s not much of a downside for the line since it basically amounts to “some parts transform for you” and half the fun of these is transforming them.  Bumblebee’s execution is beautifully well done however.  His legs pretty much completely change themselves as you fold the feet down.  The layout is such that the car windows fold out of the way and the bumbper folds into place while the body panels are folded up.  All through a mess of gearing and such hidden inside his lower legs.

His chest is almost as nice.  Folding it down causes the arms to move into position as well as the wings while the head folds up and the chest completes itself.  The chest works slightly less well than the legs however since the arms take a bit of massaging and must start in just the right position.

His chest also has these parts that must be manually raised on it that help complete the stylize look of the movie designs quite a bit.  If you want a more old school look to this toy, feel free to leave the car front parts folded down.

The overall transformation gives a robot that is reminiscent of his previously released version while still being quite a bit different.  It’s also a much superior robot mode.  The old Camaro turns into a rather old looking robot while the new sleek Camaro turns into a tough looking bulky more modern robot.

Ok, yeah, as old looking as a futuristic transforming robot can look.  The point is, the 09 Bumblebee looks much more bad-ass than his wimpy counterpart.

He also has a transforming weapon.  His large hand cannon converts into an energon dagger.  It is a hand held weapon but it’s bulky design sort of helps it to resemble the built in weapons of the movie’s characters.

Bottom line here is though, that this seems to be one of the most anticipated toys in the entire line.  He’s also well worth this anticipation.  It’s a perfect toy in both modes and it’s clear that the designers put a lot more effort into this guy than most of the other figures in the line.  He is the star of the show however and certainly deserves a star quality toy.