Bumblebee’s turned into a sweet lemon candy!
Obscure Japanese exclusive release ahoy!
This little clear yellow wonder came out all the way back in 2019 as an exclusive freebie that came with an issue of “TV Magazine”. Yes, that is the magazine’s name. Like most Japanese magazine freebies, Bumblebee looked awesome but was very hard to come by.
Well I got him now, so let’s take a look at him in all his translucent glory!
Vehicle mode
Seriously, Bumblebee looks like some really tasty lemon candy in car mode. A lemon flavoured Volkswagen Beetle candy isn’t the most far out idea, right? He has no obvious flaws in this mode and he also has some detail picked out with paint so he’s not completely clear yellow.
For playability, Bumblebee rolls well on all his wheels and can be launched using the Energon Igniters port at the back of his car mode.
Transformation
Bumblebee has a fairly standard Legends/Legion sized transformation. It works but it’s not anything mind-blowing.
Robot mode
Bumblebee looks less like candy in this mode but he still wears his yellow clear plastic well! His chest and face are painted quite cleanly to make sure he’s not completely see-through yellow plastic. He also has some solid black plastic parts as well.
There’s a surprising amount of posability here. Bumblebee’s shoulders as well as hips are ball-jointed and he has bending knees. For a Legends/Legion Transformer, that’s quite a lot.
Gimmicks
Surprisingly enough, Bumblebee has an action gimmick at this size point!
In car mode, there’s a (pretty big) black port where you can use an Energon Igniter block to send Bumblebee flying away at high speeds. He doesn’t come with one himself so you need to get another figure that does include one if you want to make use of this action feature.
Toy or collectible?
Collectible.
Energon Charge Bumblebee is a Japanese exclusive figure that was only available as a gift if you bought a certain magazine. While he doesn’t cost too much, he’s pretty rare and doesn’t pop up for sale very often.
If he does pop up for sale, you can expect to pay RM60 ($15) to RM100 ($25) for him. That’s not too bad for what you’re getting but most people would find it pretty steep for a Transformer this small.
Closing
If you can get your hands on him, Energon Igniters Bumblebee is a great exclusive release to have. The mold itself is decent, the clear plastic looks great and he’s not prohibitively expensive.
Even if he is hard to find.
Starscream's Vizier 