Bumblebee’s just a silly little guy.

Man, Studio Series 86 Bumblebee and Earthrise Bumblebee are expensive despite being such small figures. If only there was a modern, fun size CHUG Bumblebee that was available for an affordable price.

No, the Authentics Bumblebees doesn’t count.

If you want a cheap and cheerful pocket sized CHUG Bee, Titans Return Legends Bumblebee here is your best bet right now. Let’s if he’s any good besides being budget friendly!

Vehicle mode

Bumblebee is a cute little yellow hatchback that looks pretty good from every angle. I don’t mind the panel lines too much for a figure this size and price but it might bug some of you out there.

All the important car mode details like the headlights, grill, backlights and all his windows are picked out with paint which is always appreciated. At first I thought they didn’t paint the back window… but there’s actually no back window period. Did you guys know that’s a thing with real cars?

There’s a nice amount of playability in car mode. Bumblebee rolls nicely on his four wheels and you can put a Titan Master inside his driver’s seat.

Transformation

The transformation… is a bit of a headache honestly. It’s actually quite simple but one part of it is annoyingly finicky. Getting the legs to go just right in car mode gets frustrating pretty quickly if you don’t know how to get it just right.

Robot mode

Bumblebee is a chubby little guy in robot mode and he looks pretty good… but his proportions are a bit out of whack. The biggest problem are his forearms which are way too short and stubby. Aside from that, his upper arms look a bit bloated and his legs look just a bit too skinny.

Bumblebee has posability but it’s noticeably limited and more awkward than his other POTP Legends bros like Outback or Beachcomber. The lack of thigh swivels really hurts Bumblebee here.

• Bumblebee’s head can turn from side to side.
• His arms are ball-jointed at the shoulders.
• He has ball-jointed elbows.
• His hips are ball-jointed.
• He bends at the knees.
• His feet can pivot backwards.

Gimmicks

Bumblebee has the same Titan Master driver’s seat gimmick as POTP Beachcomber and POTP Outback but it’s noticeably worse than those two. Unlike those two, you need to transform Bumblebee halfway to get to the driver’s seat.

I get the feeling a lot of Bumblebee’s flaws are because they had to integrate the driver’s seat gimmick into the figure. That’s a shame.

Toy or collectible?

Bumblebee is a toy.

Even though Bumblebee is a pretty old Transformer at this point, you can still get him new at his RRP of RM50 (about $10). You can also get him used for cheaper than that.

For those prices, I think Bumblebee is a great toy to give to kids. His car mode’s great, his transformation is quick even if it’s a bit finicky and his robot mode is decent. Titans Return Bumblebee is a good budget alternative to the Earthrise and Studio Series Bumblebees.

Closing

Bumblebee is… flawed. Which is sad because he’s a fun little guy despite having some messy bits. If they just reworked the driver’s seat gimmick a bit then tweaked his arms and legs a bit, he’d be perfect.

As it is though, you can skip out on him if you have one of the newer CHUG Bumblebees or the old Classics Bumblebee. He’s a solid recommendation for a budget CHUG Bumblebee but not much else.