Bumblebee (Devastation) [Studio Series/Deluxe Class]

Transformers: Devastation was one of those games that came in hot, got a ton of fanfare, and then kind of slipped into obscurity. Lately it’s been getting a bit more attention again, and I’m pretty happy to see that version of Bumblebee finally get a toy.

Admittedly, it’s still your standard Bumblebee at its core—but I like this variation a lot.

Instead of the classic VW Bug, he’s got that sporty hatchback look, which I’ve always felt was a great modern equivalent. Add in the cell-shaded style deco, and it ends up being a pretty slick take on a familiar design.

A big part of why I like this one is how much it resembles the 2006 Transformers Classics Bumblebee, which served as a base for his design in the game. Even 20 years later, Classics is still a high point for me, so that connection goes a long way.

I initially thought this might be a retool of the Studio Series 86 Bumblebee, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In robot mode, he’s armed with twin blasters like in the game, along with a larger vehicle-mode blaster mounted on his back. It gives him a much more aggressive look than you’d normally expect from a “kid appeal” character.

Transformation is pretty straightforward, though some of the parts fit a bit tight. Be careful when folding the head into place—I’ve seen reports that the molded copyright info can scrape the paint on his nose.

In vehicle mode, he turns into a clean little hatchback. The large blaster mounts on the roof, with the smaller ones on the sides for a bit of vehicular combat flair.

Overall, this is a simple, solid figure. Good articulation, decent firepower, and a really nice-looking alt mode. The cel-shaded deco does a lot of the heavy lifting, and I’m just happy to have a strong take on Bumblebee from a game that deserves a little more love.

Man-At-Arms [Mighty Masters]

Like Beast Man, Man-At-Arms was one of the first MOTU toys I ever got, even before He-Man and Skeletor (my older brother got those). So I’ve always naturally gravitated towards him, just like with Beast Man. His inclusion in the initial batch of Mighty Masters was pretty obvious, and welcome too.

This is a pretty nice mini figure recreation of the original toy, with the addition of his mustache. That’s something that was lacking on the original figure, but ever since its addition in the cartoon, it’s been present ever since. I actually used to draw it on mine with a felt tip pen. I say used to because as a kid I had no clue the ink wouldn’t rub off and redid it multiple times. For a while, Duncan found himself with a variety of different colored mustaches... which, to be honest, would be awesome if he did that in fiction.

A neat thing I’m finding with this toy is how his armor piece rides high, allowing the face guard to partially cover his face. That was something usually featured in the earlier mini comics that I always thought was neat and normally doesn’t happen on his toys. In fact, I don’t think it’s even intended on this one and mine could possibly be defective. It’s not on any pictures I’ve seen of these guys online. If mine does have weirdly molded armor... it’s welcomed.

Like all Mighty Masters figures so far, he has the swinging arm gimmick, which works well with his trademark mace. I’ve always enjoyed MOTU’s weird mixture of fantasy and sci-fi, and Man-At-Arms was an early example of that.

This little line has been a case of “Whoops, all bangers,” and I’m holding out hope that this will be an ongoing series. I can see it becoming my main MOTU toy focus.

Swerve and Gears [Wheels 01–Roll Out]

Swerve and Gears are a fun pair to look at together.

Originally, Swerve was a repaint and slight retool of Gears in the original Transformers toy line. Gears himself comes from a Microman Microchange mold, which in turn traces back to an unused Mysterians concept. There’s a lot of toy history baked into these two.

Now with Blokees Wheels, things come full circle. They’re clearly built from the same base, but this time they’re released together in the same blind box series instead of one being an afterthought repaint.

Personally, I’ve always preferred Swerve’s toy, but I like Gears’ character more. That mostly comes from their appearances in the original cartoon—Swerve barely gets a personality, while Gears gets a whole episode dedicated to being a grumpy ass.

Meanwhile, Swerve went on to become a fan-favorite in the IDW comics, and it’s his Cybertronian vehicle mode that this Wheels version is based on. Gears ends up being the repaint/retool here.

Blokees really did bring it all the way back around.

Even though they share a lot of parts, there are some nice differences beyond just color.

Swerve comes with his “My First Blaster” gun, which can mount on the rear of the vehicle. I really like how that looks—it actually reminds me a bit of the Sophia from Blaster Master. If you don’t want to use the weapon, there’s an alternate rear panel that gives him a cleaner look, closer to his original G1 toy.

Gears, on the other hand, leans more rugged. He’s got a roll cage with a spare tire, which gives him a totally different silhouette. He also includes a rocket exhaust effect piece that attaches after removing the rear bumper.

It’s impressive how something as simple as alternate rear sections and color choices can make two nearly identical builds feel so distinct.

The builds themselves are very similar, of course. The Wheels line uses a universal chassis system, so once you’ve done one, you’ve basically got the foundation for all of them. It makes assembly quick and pretty satisfying.

That said, the instructions are printed on the back of the included mini trading cards, and they can be a little hard to read. I’m honestly considering picking up a small magnifying glass for my modeling kit. Maybe Daiso has something like that—I take a weird amount of pride in grabbing medeling tools from there.

One thing I really like is that parts of the rear section are made from Solidex, giving them that satisfying die-cast feel. It adds a nice bit of weight and makes them feel a little more premium than you’d expect.

Both vehicles have opening canopies, although from what I understand, the Blokees driver figures don’t actually fit inside. That’s a little odd and I haven’t tried it myself yet. Maybe something like another Inchman style figure would work better.

It’s funny—I didn’t expect to enjoy the Wheels line as much as I do. As I’m writing this, I’ve got a box of Series 2 on the way and I’m basically chomping at the bit to get into it.

Blokees has clearly cast some kind of spell on me… and I’m not even trying to resist it.

Mission Start: Monday

Start battle protocol, initializing a new week. I hope everyone had a good weekend, mine was hectic. The Mrs and I are moving next month which means a lot of work and planning. Not to mention finding time for other activities. The Mrs had gotten some free boxes on Facebook, so Saturday afternoon we took a short trip to a neighboring town to retrieve them. It was quite a lot from a friendly guy who we made small talk with while breaking them down and loading them in our Corolla Cross. Also I partially disassembled the Mrs's vanity as she sold it with intent on getting a smaller one after we move. I remember assembling this one not long after we moved here 6 years ago. As usual, I stayed up late Saturday night with a TV for company. I watched Star Wars, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and both Mr. Boogedy movies while assembling it. The father and daughter who bought it came early Sunday morning, also a friendly group of people. We packed a few box and made plans for our new home with some Halloween cartoons on for background noise. Sunday was also mother's day which included a spaghetti dinner by the Mrs at my mom's house with my older brother visiting.

Not everything was work though. We got some shopping in which finally led to me finding some of the new Tiny Turbo Changers! Long time readers are no doubt aware just how much I loved these. While they're slightly repainted reissues of some of the Cyberverse molds, I'm glad to see them. I picked up 3 packs wanting to keep my spending down (moving is expensive). Of course I have the codes on my phone and picked out Hot Rod, Sky-Byte, and Soundwave. I plan to get the entire series, but in due time. These and other smaller purchases will be fun during the move. I did see some new MOTU movie toys while out. I definitely plan on getting some Chronicles (formerly Masterverse), the new Core line is likely going to be a focus and it looks fun! The Mrs got me a Happy Meal! The current promotion is a Stranger Things tie in with the current animated series that I'm enjoying with mini figures. I got the Vine Monster! Speaking of Happy Meals, those luky folks in Japan are getting an excellent new Changeables series that I'm very jealous of!

I also ordered a box of the new Transformers Blokees Defender Version series 07. I was going to wait for Blokees to stock it on their Amazon store, but sometimes that takes weeks and I'm too damn excited for it. Speaking of, the Mrs and I opened the case of Transformers Blokees Wheels series 2 that came in last week. As usual we took turns opening the blind boxes to see who came in it. One of each in the set with 1 chase taking the place of that characters toy. I got Radiant Roadbuster! I was excited for this as that's specifically the Cloud Roadbuster deco... meaning it's Superlink Roadbuster or Energon Ironhide to us in the States. I do hope to get a regular Roadbuster at some point though. I got some time playing Pragmata in, which I just love. I absolutely love this game. There was an announcement regarding the new Starfox game coming soon for Switch 2 that I'm excitied for. I'm not sure if I'll get it at release or wait a little as I'm not sure if I'll be ready to put Hugh and Diana to the side yet by then. Speaking of Starfox, I'd been planning to use this week's video for a few weeks making for some fun synergy with the timing, but would like to point out some trivia with those infamous puppets that I recently learned.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of Godzilla Minus One, worked on the puppets and commercial! That's so cool! I had a Starfox poster in my room through high school and college with them on it ( it's probably still around here somewhere). It's fun knowing that after all this time he was involved. Apparently Nintendo had plans for Starfox to have a Thunderbirds style TV show to be produced around the time. That would have been so cool! Speaking of cool, this coming weekend I'll be at Rangerstop in Atlanta hosting the Transformers panel with my pal Dusty. That's right, we're working Transformers into Rangerstop! Brett, owner and operator of Toylanta asked if I could help make Transformers part of the show and I'm too happy for the chance. The panel will be Sunday at 12pm, I hope to see some of you there! With the move I'll only be there Sunday, but as this continues to grow, be sure to see me as a permanent fixture! I'll be running off more Zone Base stickers, be sure to get one!

Well, time to get this week started. I've got some work to do around the house and pictures to take for upcoming posts. Life is getting extra busy for the next few weeks, but you can be sure I'll still be bringing plenty of content for your eyeballs! Thank you for reading. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!