Released to celebrate the Transformers franchise's 40th anniversary, we dug into the newly-revealed LEGO Icons Bumblebee to see how it shapes up to the animated version.
LEGO Icons 10338 Bumblebee is designed to scale and align with 10302 Optimus Prime, but the main inspiration is his appearance in his the G1 version from 1980's The Transformers cartoon and movie. Every brick-built adaptation tends to differ at least slightly from its on-screen version, by the very nature of the style change – but how does 10338 Bumblebee fair?
We've broken down some of the key similarities and differences between the LEGO Icons set and its original depiction.
Impressive detail – yet largely in stickers
The red Autobot logo and Bumblebee's facial features have been pretty accurately depicted from head to toe, albeit mostly through stickers rather than printed parts as it seems from these first images. Trans blue elements are used to represent Bumblebee's panels on his chest (what will become the windows of the main car) and his proportions seem relatively well designed.
If we're being picky, his chest seems rather oversized and too bulky in 10338 Bumblebee but that's likely due to the necessary proportions of the VW car he turns into – more on that later.
Transforming from car to Autobot
One of the more exciting features of 10338 Bumblebee is that, much like 10302 Optimus Prime, can turn into his car form without needing to be rebuilt. When in humanoid Autobot style, those brick-built parts of the car are still therefore visible, whereas they're not in the animated version. Naturally, the magic of a cartoon means you can simply make those elements disappear – something that's trickier with plastic bricks.
However, those slight differences are easy to overlook, especially as it is presumably what was required to make sure the transition from Autobot to VW can be done smoothly.
A savvy choice of car form
It might be somewhat controversial to see Bumblebee transform into his VW form, rather than the Chevrolet Camaro GT9 that more modern fans love. However, the very first and original vehicle-mode design was based on a classic European Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle and the LEGO designers have chosen to stick to that style.
In terms of accuracy, the shape and style are pretty close, with trans blue elements used for the windows and windshield. The wheels are all the same size, rather than the larger rear wheels Bumblebee has on screen, but the red Autobot logo remains, along with the wide-eyed headlights that he's known for.
LEGO Icons 10338 Bumblebee will go on sale at LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores exclusively from July 1 for LEGO Insiders and from July 4 for everyone else, retailing at £79.99 / $89.99 / €89.99.
Featured image: Hasbro
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