Flame Toys Transformers Model Kits help you bring Transformers to life at your own hands! Bumblebee is the latest kit in the line (which already includes Optimus Prime, Starscream, and Nemesis Prime).
As a long time fan of both Transformers and scale-model kit building, high quality Transformers model kits are something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid. When I first saw these kits unveiled at SDCC last year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. Flame Toys was kind enough to send this Bumblebee Kit my way to see how it lived up to my hopes.
Watch my unboxing and speed build of the kit before I dive into some specific details:
I got a bit ahead of myself and assembled the backpack before I remembered to stop and take some photos, so here are all the parts laid out except for those that went into the backpack assembly. All of the parts are clearly labeled and are all color molded. Just like most modern model kits, there is a variety of different types of plastic parts–ABS in full color for all the hard parts, poly caps for joints, and transparent parts for the eyes and windshield. There are a lot of great little details on this kit, just what I would expect from a modern, high end model kit.
The stickers for the kit are a thin yet durable foil stickers. There aren’t a lot but then there aren’t a great many details on Bumblebee that need stickers to make them stand out (though I do plan to do some weathering to him later to help all the great detail work on this kit stand out.
In case you’re having a hard time finding parts, the instructions lay out and label every part and tree even more clearly than the parts are already labeled. One thing that struck me is that it also says the type of plastic. While I assumed the kit was ABS (most kits are) it was cool to see the trees that are not ABS also listed out.
The instruction manual is printed in full color, breaks steps down and explains the build perfectly, and is all in English. While most folks who do Gunpla or similar model building are used to dealing with instructions where the text is in Japanese, it was nice to have the English to help where the picture itself wasn’t quite good enough.
And here is the finished Bumblebee kit, posing to show off both of his weapons.
And here is the final verdict.
Pros: This kit is super pose-able with so many points of articulation, including ones I’ve never seen in any robot model kits before. The full color plastic is vibrant and of high quality. If you’re a Gunpla fan and have been making modern kits, the Flame Toys kits is totally on par as far as build, articulation, and quality of materials.
Cons: There was only one con I ran into with this build and that was when attaching the transparent windshield piece to his chest. I had a heck of a time getting it on because it’s a bell joint with no good way to hold the ball or joint steady while inserting them. It took me WAY too long to get those two pieces together and the result of that piece being on a ball joint is only a very slight amount of movement on the chest piece to enhance some pose-ability. This is one case where I’d be willing to lose that tiny bit of mobility to save the stress of getting those pieces together.
