MH11: Movie Heroes Clone Trooper Review

As I've mentioned before, I find the period between the Prequels and the OT a fascinating time in Star Wars lore - there's a lot of ground to be covered with many of the 'big' characters in their prime, and a wholesale change in the style and look of the galaxy. This is where the Clone Troopers come into their own, having been on a pretty clear path of evolution from their introduction in Episode II. I have to say, with hindsight and a softening demeanour towards the Prequels as a whole, I'm actually rather fond of the ROTS 'Phase 2' look. With that in mind, it's time to review... The Movie Heroes Clone Trooper!

Clone Trooper and his Gear

Basic Training

This figure is a re-pack of 2005's Clone Trooper with Firing Jet Backpack, a deluxe figure that was based on unused concept art for Revenge of the Sith. As far as I can tell it's a straight-up repack, with no change to the paint apps. The figure features 12 points of articulation and the aforementioned Firing Jet Backpack (essential for anti-Separatist missions!), and a rifle with a sight. It also comes packed with a Star Wars display base, a Galactic Battle Game Card and Game Die.

For the Republic!

Firstly, it's a decent sculpt. A lot of detail has been crafted into the armour, with lines in all the right places and an impressive level of detail on the belt and the right-wrist controls. The paint apps are really well done, with great detailing on the helmet in particular. The ball-jointed head is the right size, and the waist joint, swivel hips and ball jointed knees and ankles allow for some well-balanced poses (although posing is an issue that will be discussed further below). Even with the heavy weight of the firing jetpack plugged into its back the Clone Trooper can still stand up well. The jetpack itself looks very cool, and both the spring loaded wings and missile firing feature work well enough as play features for me; I'm sure that a kid would absolutely love this toy for that alone!

For the Empire!

As you may have noticed so far however, I've avoided talking about the arms. And if you look at the pictures above, you may notice they're all in the same position - and that right there is the serious flaw with this figure, ladies and gentlemen: swivel elbows. Without any kind of hinge action (and nothing like a ball joint), this Clone Trooper is eternally stuck in either a rigid, double-handed gun holding pose, or with his arms out in a 'what ya gonna do?' kind of stance. I know how he'll sit on my shelf, but it's not a great choice. Another problem I've found is seriously loose joints, and a lower left arm that came off straight out of the packet. The former isn't a huge problem because as yet the Trooper's had no difficulty holding a pose, but the arm has dropped out a couple of times since. The rifle is incredibly under-sculpted as well, but it serves its purpose well enough.

"Why me?" bemoans the MH Clone Trooper as his SL counterpart stretches w-i-d-e...

For Some Ball-Jointed Arms!

My overall impression is that this is a very solid toy with one big minus point; however, the good almost counteracts it. There's a decent sculpt, a very good paint job, great lower-body posability that can make the upper-body poses seem less static, and a very cool and well-made action feature that keeps the spirit of the character whilst also providing a great toy. The arms aren't great, but at least the pose they hold looks natural and appropriate, and I'd have absolutely no second thoughts about putting this guy on display next to my Saga Legends Clone Trooper. In fact, I'd say they look pretty swell together...

***

Watching Them Escape

I'm thoroughly enjoying the Blu-Ray ESB figure pack, and today can introduce the Snowtrooper to the Blog. I still have to take some shots of the Princess Leia, which is an excellent looking figure, but will get around to that when I'm feeling a bit more wintery. I think building a suitable set for her could take some time as well...

I went a slightly different way to usual with this shot, as it was a black and white image that I've edited a fair amount. As always, Vader's cloak needed some touching up to look heavier, and I added the lights to his chest plate. Otherwise the blue tint was achieved by lowering the colour temperature and increasing the saturation. I think it's worked out alright; for sure it's made Vader's armour look great!

Running into Trouble...

I posted this on my Flickr photostream, but the colour temperature was much colder, so I fixed it for here. Not sure which version I prefer now... :S

Film-making is taking over my life currently, which is probably why this photo has such a cinematic treatment. I'll update when I can!

I Am Ready!

I already thought it would be interesting, but now I'm finding the announcement of the Sequel Trilogy just plain inspiring. Star Wars influenced and inspired me hugely growing up, and it's fair to say that without the original film series I wouldn't have the passion for film-making that I do today. I've already been at film school for over a year and was fully intending to start work in the industry afterward anyway, but Tuesday's announcement (on my birthday, no less) seals it.

I will be working in the film industry when I finish my course. And I am going to do my level best to contribute, in whatever small way, to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

It's on! :D

The Fence

Well, this certainly changes everything... And nothing.

I'm not a huge fan of Disney, but Marvel's certainly not suffering. Episode 7, 8 & 9 could be great... Or could be as disposable as the Prequels. Either way, it's a clear page turn in the Star Wars story.

What won't change are my copies of the OT on VHS. What won't change are my memories of the best film trilogy I've seen (sorry Nolan; you're close but nostalgia edges it). What won't change is the profound influence George Lucas has had on my life as a film-maker and as a person. I know what Star Wars means to me, and I'm happy with that. Besides, more product means more cool stuff for me to photograph... :)

It's going to be interesting!

Point of Comparisons

Probably the best Star Wars shots I get are the ones that I directly base on stills from the films, and the best place to go for these are production or promo stills, because they might show a slightly different angle to what we're used to seeing. This is interesting in itself, but also because when you're not enslaving yourself to exact screen accuracy, you can roll with the picture a little bit more. Case in point...

I wanted to get some shots of my new Boba Fett figure in action, and I've also wanted to do something Bespin related for a while - an easy two birds with one stone. After a quick Google and a shifty through several images, I settled for this one:

Hardly accurate, I'm sure you'll agree. But the point is, I got my inspiration for the shoot; and after trying several unsuccessful times this morning to get decent pictures of Boba in the bag, it's nice to finally get him up here!

Anyway, there'll be more pictures and a review of Boba Fett and the rest of the ESB Blu Ray pack up soon, before I crack into ROTJ. Exciting times!

Cutting It Down to Size

As it's the beginning of study week, I've been able to take an hour or so and crack open the ESB Blu Ray pack. Well, I say crack open the pack; so far I've only punched Snowspeeder Luke out of the blister! That's not for any negative reasons though; in fact it's quite the opposite - this guy is awesome! Further to that, when POTF2 was released, this Luke was the first figure I bought, closely followed by R2 D2, and they became the focal point of most of my adventures. As such, it was nice to re-create the feeling for a little while before getting overwhelmed with Boba Fetts and Princess Leias...

Anyway, I made a little set, messed around with the lighting and got a few shots. There weren't any where I thought straight away 'that's it!', which is normally a troubling sign, but there were enough maybes to work with, so I got the images onto my computer and produced the picture above. Now, I like it - the pose works, the shadows on Luke are nice, the composition is solid - but I was just bugged by the shadow on the wall. And that's the problem: because of that shadow, you know that's a wall. Instant scene killer. The solution?

Well, how about a drastic crop?

By re-centering and trimming the image, I turned a flawed scene into what I think is a decent portrait. It may not be what I had in mind when I broke Luke out tonight, but it's still the best shot I think I could've got, and highlights the detail of this excellent figure.

Striking Back!

It's the OTC Luke and Yoda again! But deservedly so I say, because if ever a day warranted some Dagobah shots, it's today - misty, damp; it's Autumn hitting full speed, that's for sure...

Fond as I am of these two figures, there's another reason I'm getting all Empire on you:

This is one of the five Blu Ray Commemorative Packs that finally arrived yesterday after a hold-up in customs. In one bargain purchase, I've doubled my Star Wars figure collection; exciting times indeed! I'll probably sell off the prequel sets to recoup the cost, but I sure am excited about these guys now. Looking at the figures above, I find myself thinking the unthinkable: Roll on winter, roll on...

The Autobot Spy

It's the turn of Episode One: The Phantom Menace to be on TV today; however as I critically re-appraised that for myself the other week, I have no inclination to watch it again. Instead, let's try a little Jazz, hmm?

This is the Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz, released by Hasbro in 2010. It's the most recent of my Transformers purchases, and goes some way to healing the wound opened by this same character some decades before...

Light-piping in Action

Back in the late 80's/early 90's, my family tended to go shopping in Milton Keynes as much as Northampton. The highlight of these trips to the new city for me was always John Lewis. The huge department store was in the centre of the MK shopping centre, and provided a toy perusing experience like no other. I remember the excitement of taking the escalator to the first floor, and seeing the boxes and boxes of Transformers piled up. Sure, there was other stuff like Lego, Dino Riders, Zoids and whatever else was popular with us kids then, but the Transformers were it for me.

Yeah, Prowl was alright. But this guy!

I was at a point where more than anything, I wanted an Autobot car. I had a Grimlock, many hand me downs and a few newer robots for Christmas and birthday presents, but it was one of the iconic Autobot-mobiles I wanted more than anything. I saved up my £6 a month pocket money, which would have seemed like an eternity back then, and eventually, one glorious day, went back to John Lewis with my parents and bought the G1 Autobot Spy.

Exhibit A

Now, sad to say, the original Transformers weren't always the most sturdy of toys. And I wasn't the least clumsy of kids in my family. Or street. Or most likely town, actually, so you can probably guess where this is going. Within about two hours of being home, I'd already lost the missiles for his shoulder cannon, but then, whilst trying to transform him, I broke the arm off. I remember my feeling of shocked disbelief, and going to my brother to see if he could fix it. He couldn't, and I ended up getting a scolding for breaking my new toy. Jazz ended up in the bin, and the whole experience was like a terrible, terrible dream.

And... Relax.

So, finally having gotten a newer, sturdier version of the Autobot that caused so much trauma before, am I over it? Am I a happier, more well-adjusted person? Owning this guy definitely makes me happy, but all the same - I still exhibit insane amounts of caution when transforming him...

As always, thanks for reading. Any similar nightmare toy stories out there?

Detention Block Escape!

And so, the Paint.net experimentation continues apace. Or, perhaps that should read continued. It's been another prolific month here at Mos Espa, but it's drawing to a close, as is the amount of free time I'm going to have with College starting back up. I'm already starting pre-production on two different films, and then I'm sure there'll be re-writes of the feature film script I've been hired to work on as well, so it's going to be busy. 

Updates here will likely be less frequent, but don't worry; when the stresses of words and deadlines get too much, there's nothing better to do than crack out the toys for a shoot. In the meantime, if there's anything you'd really like to see, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, as always: thank you for reading!

The Streets of Mos Eisley: Re-made!

Following the incident at the Cantina, the Droids aren't the only ones wanted by the Empire...

I'm working on a new display piece for my many Tatooine figures. The moisture vaporator is a key prop, although the 30th Anniversary Luke Skywalker it came with isn't as good as the one in the picture, which comes from the Blu Ray Commemorative A New Hope set (same as Obi Wan Kenobi, in fact). That's what I love about coming a bit later to the Star Wars party; at this point I can pick and choose the best versions of each character...

Ain't no-one taking Palpatine's moisture... *shudder*

The moisture vaporator is the one diorama piece that instantly makes a set indisputably Tatooine, and you could argue that it's not even convincingly Mos Eisley (or Anchorhead, or even Mos Espa) without it. Of course, a few more Sandtroopers, Droids, Aliens and Landspeeders wouldn't go amiss either, but everyone has a budget, which I've certainly blown for a few months with my latest haul (not the vaporator - exciting news to follow, pending shipping :D)! This set is still very much a work in progress; but I have plenty of photos for a making-of when it's finally done. Just a shame I still can't decide for sure between set-building for photography, and diorama creation for display...

Vintage Wednesdays: An Autobot Shall Rise from the Ranks

88 posts per blog. That can only mean we're time travelling for the return of... Vintage Wednesdays!

Ba-Weet Gra-Na Weet Ninnybomb!

So, Hot Rod. Since you're on this site I can assume you probably know who this guy is, but the capsule version goes something like this... Hot Rod, a young, fast tempered Autobot, fought in the 2005 battle of Autobot City. At the defeat of Unicron, Hot Rod reclaimed the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and became Rodimus Prime; however the weight of leadership proved a difficult burden to bear. Following the resurrection of Optimus Prime, Rodimus gladly relinquished the Matrix, and returned to the ranks of the Autobot warriors.

Yesterday's Car... Today!

Due to the success of the Transformers line, by 1986 Takara and Hasbro no longer needed to rely on toys from various Japanese lines, and Hot Rod was one of the first to be modelled after his animated design. As the film was set nearly two decades into the future, he was given a sleek, futuristic-car alt-mode. Needless to say, we don't really have cars like this today. But then, we don't have huge, militarised cities built and populated by robotic alien lifeforms either, so he gets a pass!

I loved this toy as a kid. Alongside Kup, Springer and Ultra Magnus I had a full on post-movie Autobot strike force (which was good, since Galvatron was freakin' huge in comparison!). Unfortunately, in an incident which shall not be named, I lost all my Transformers in one fell swoop. Much like the Ghostbusters this isn't my original version of Hot Rod, but instead a re-issued one that a friend gave me for my birthday almost ten years ago. I'd like to say that I've kept him in good condition, but see for yourself - we've got a peeling decal sticker on the leg from too much transforming, and neither of his two blasters. Sigh. I am a bad Autobot owner :(

In a straight fight, with this articulation - I would be concerned about Hot Rod's chances...

Anyway, he still takes pride in my collection, and is the only Transformer I have who has ever wielded the Matrix - this is good when you consider I have a toy shelf that includes both Galvatron and Megatron...

Well, that's this Wednesday sufficiently vintaged. Till all are one!

Escaping Utapau

I watched Episode One on Friday night, for the first time in years and in the right frame of mind to enjoy it thoroughly. Jar Jar Binks wasn't as bad as the hyperbole, and at the end I was left thinking that it was a decent Star Wars film in need of some serious editing - just trimming scenes and shots and terrible dialogue here and there, nothing too drastic. Anyway, that's kept me in a Prequel mood. I'm reluctant to watch Attack of the Clones (for obvious reasons), but feel that I probably should watch them in order to get back around to Revenge of the Sith. Yeah, it's flawed, but it's the first time in any of the Prequel series that it feels like anybody involved in making it is actually having fun...

I tried a lot of different ways of editing this shot, but in the end went back to how it was (almost) originally. Still not thrilled with it from a composition angle, but it's passable. And considering how much I've been trying to force shots this weekend when there's been nothing doing, I'll take that.

Ran Into Some Old Friends - Redux

Another quick post today, with the fruits of a hastily-planned and executed photo shoot. This is my second version of this shot (the first is available here), with one key difference - I finally have the VOTC Leia! That means I'm two-thirds of the way to my goal of getting the best modern iterations of the vintage 12.

Even here the Leia sculpt isn't an amazing likeness to Carrie Fisher, but astoundingly this is the best currently on offer. Still, I'm sure there'll be a decent one released by the time ANH is re-re-released in 3D.

So, that'll be 2015 then...

Vader and the 501st

No Vintage Wednesday today, but I have more planned for next week. Instead my Star Wars run continues, with this 'inbetween the trilogies' shot of Vader and a Clone Trooper on the Jedi hunt. I think that's a pretty exciting time in Star Wars lore, and it's a shame that the planned live-action show is looking increasingly unlikely.

This shot took a fair bit more editing than most, and not just for the lightsaber. Vader's cloak, being quite a light material, let loads of background light through (you could actually see the trooper through the cloak under Vader's left arm), and so it required a little bit of work; I used the light and contrast settings along with gaussian blur, and even a little bit of paintbrush to get it as dark as it is now. This is only my second attempt at creating a lightsaber glow, and it's definitely better than my first; however, I think I made the white core a little too big here. I'll just have to practice a bit more... :D

Luxury of Choice

I had a spare hour yesterday and knew I wanted to get some SW shots, although I had no idea of what. When I saw these guys on my shelf, everything kinda fell into place...

So, Star Wars. It had been a while. As much as I've enjoyed the Transformers shots recently, I've not taken any that I've been really happy with, and my interest has started to wander from the Robots in Disguise. Only for the time being, I should hasten to add - I'll be a lifelong fan, but a recent interest in Indiana Jones saw me drawing back into the world of Lucasfilm; really, this was inevitable!

I was messing around with some different lighting for these shots, experimenting with shadows and composition, but when I started to touch up the images this morning it was the more broadly lit pictures that I preferred, which surprised me. I think I'm starting to get the hang of editing shots, but as my last TF batch showed, maintaining consistency is hard. The main thing I've realised over the last few days is that I keep repeating mistakes, which I think comes from trying to rush and do shoots on the fly - basically, not being committed enough. What really helped me with this shoot was that I devoted some time to it, and got lots and lots of pictures, and tried different things as well. When I looked through the shots this morning I was surprised by which ones I preferred, but then, I gave myself that luxury of choice.

Indiana Jones and the Garden of Certain Death!

I've been having some Indiana Jones fun in the garden. I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain that when you've got a back garden with even the least conspicuous of features, an Indy is the ideal figure to have at your disposal, any time...

Hasn't been much Star Wars here recently, has there? I've got a few ideas in mind for shots though, and I'm watching one of my Original 12 targets on eBay, so I expect to get back to a galaxy far, far away before too long. Anyway, thanks for indulging me!

Vintage Wednesdays: Ghostbusters

Welcome to the first in what is sure to be an occasional and short lived series: Vintage Wednesdays! This is basically my opportunity to showcase the older figures in my collection, be they pieces I've held on to for years, or more recent (but equally old and interesting) acquisitions. Without further ado, I present... Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler, of The Real Ghostbusters!

Peter Venkman was most kids' favourite Ghostbuster, and who can blame them? Bill Murray blatantly stole all the best lines in the first film (my memory is hazy of the second, mainly because I think I blocked it from my mind out of unbridled childhood fear), and in the cartoon he was like the *slightly* more serious Michelangelo of the group, forever sparring with Slimer and looking for the easy way out. He was cool, man!

My favourite though, was Egon Spengler. Not sure why but between Egon, Leonardo and Ultra Magnus, my favourites were always the hapless, geeky ones of the group (I know Donatello was the scientist of the Turtles, but c'mon, Leonardo was the uptight serious one, right?). Egon built the kit, used the P-K Meter, and generally knew how to get them out of the countless jams they found themselves in. That was cooler to me than sarcastic one-liners; mainly because those probably went over my slow-witted head...

I had all four when I was younger, along with the Ecto-1, and the roleplaying Proton Pack, which provided hours more fun than a hollow blue plastic box should. I would've loved the Firestation, but I was pretty damn spoilt for Ghostbusters stuff, and certainly couldn't want for more.

These two, however, aren't from my childhood collection, which has been long since lost. In 2004, during my ill-fated first attempt at University I picked up these two from a car boot sale, and they've been with me since. Sold as seen, with chipped paint and no accessories, they still stand proudly on my shelf. I've looked into trying to buy a cheap Proton Pack or two to plug the holes in their backs, but according to the 'Bay it'd be cheaper to buy new versions of the figures outright, which seems a tad unnecessary; guess I'll stick to scouting charity shops and car boots until the day they turn up...

Still, Proton Packs or not - they ain't afraid of no ghost!

Peace out!

Autobots & Backdrops

RTS Special Ops Jazz

This is photography 101 right here - last week I finally got around to spending the 35p needed to buy a sheet of black sugar paper to use as a backdrop for action figure shots, and then today I finally got the time to snap a couple of pictures...

Autobots!

The shots above were naturally lit from the window opposite. I got pretty even lighting but I could have used a reflector to bounce some light on to the backsides of the figures. Following the shoot, I made crops and adjusted the colour in Windows 7 picture manager before exporting the images to my phone, and then used the photo manager app to finish them off. I only recently started doing this kind of dual-processing, and that's mainly with Transformers shots; firstly because they're so colourful and bold that they make great subjects, and secondly because I really am figuring this all out as I go!

I tried a set up this evening after dark and using a couple of lamps, but couldn't get any results I was happy with. Regardless, I found a particular line-up of Autobots I like...

Dark Autobots!

The amount of colour correction required on this image really washes the colour out, but I've yet to find a way to manually adjust the white balance on my camera outside of a couple of presets. For that reason, until I get a better lamp set-up and more lighting skills, I'll be sticking to daylight shots!

Reasonably well-adjusted Autobots!

In general I'm happy with the results though. A neutral background such as this really brings the figures to the fore, and I can see myself going this route for reviews in the future.

Indy!

Temple of Doom was on the BBC tonight, and reminded me to post a pic of my newest acquisition - Dr. Henry Jones Jr. himself! An eBay bargain, I think this figure was from the first line that hit, with the terrible paint apps. Anyway, within 10 minutes of posing the figure I'd snapped both the belt and the bag, which disappointed me greatly (and led to the masking tape fix pictured above). However, it is the spur to obtain some other parts and customise my own 'Ultimate' Indy. Any donations of a Wolverine: Origins Logan figure would be gratefully received... :D

TF: Prime Deluxe Bumblebee Review

Bumblebee

When I got a £10 off voucher for TRU, I took a few repeated visits to figure out what to use it on. The Star Wars line is unfortunately peg-warming under the unwanted and ill-thought out Movie Heroes branding, along with a few TVC figures I don't want (however tempted I was by Lucky Farlander), and the Turtles line isn't being stocked yet. Despite my recent posts, I don't really have enough of an affinity with Ben 10 to have warranted using the voucher on that line, and so what else was there?

Well, Transformers: Prime, for one.

I've seen the first series, and I'm a big fan of this iteration. It somehow manages to blend the cartooniness and human characters of TF: Animated with the mythology and brutality of G1, and even somehow makes room to include the less offensive of the Bayformer's visual stylings (Bumblebee being a fine example of the latter). I hadn't paid much attention to the toyline before though, and so with a voucher use-by date approaching, I took the plunge on the Autobot Camero.

The Packaging 

Pretty straightforward blister card for this guy, with Bumblebee displayed in Camero mode. As it was a straight-up choice between Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, I had to go with which vehicle I preferred the look of, and this guy won out!

The box art is nice, obviously show-styled, with the Autobot symbol in the background. The back of the box has pictures of Bumblebee in both modes, with the smallest of character profiles reading: "Bumblebee is a brave Autobot warrior and scout" in several languages, and a picture of the Autobots from the show along the bottom. Nowhere near as exciting as getting the tech-spec with the red see-through reader, but a darn sight better than just plastering a multi-lingual sticker over the back (looking at you, European Vintage Collection!). The toy is tied into the bubble with cardboard string ties, and the guns are held in place by a clear plastic cover. All pretty simple to deal with, and your Bumblebee is away!

Go Go Camero!

The Good

So, yeah. Bumblebee is a pretty exciting toy right out the package. The alt-mode is tight, with very little to indicate it's not a normal toy car - perhaps the robot kibble visible through the windshield and the hole in the engine block are about the only clues to give the Autobot game away. The paint job is great, and befitting of a character called Bumblebee, and the translucent blue used for the windows and headlights works really well to give the car an understated but still cartoony feel. Also, the detailing inside the headlights looks great, and shows the attention to detail on the sculpt (as also evidenced by the door handles, and the little rivets around the body work.

The transformation took me one go following the instructions, and then after that I was away. If you were to look at the different modes you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's a fiddly and potentially toy-breaking exercise, but it feels instinctive, rigid, and just well designed. The limbs and doors all snap into place with no fuss, and on either end of the process you're left with either a tight alt-mode Camero, or a tight Autobot warrior scout robot!

Scoutin' About...

I was particularly impressed with the robot mode. Following the simple transformation he stands tall, with points of articulation at the neck, shoulders, elbows, two points at the thighs, and then the knees and feet. The lower legs are wide enough to accomodate a lot of different stances, and whilst I have to acknowledge I've been out of the Transformers game for a while (save the odd Dinobot or Galvatron), I am really pleasantly surprised by how articulated this figure is, particularly for the price point. I also want to make a point about the light-piping. As anyone with TF: Universe Cyclonus would know (and there is a review planned for him too!), Hasbro has been really excelling at getting the light-piping for their Transformers spot-on, and Bumblebee is no exception. Get his head backlit, and the round, blue eyes really lend life to this figure.

The Bad

It's not all good though. As much as I'm enjoying this toy, there are a few areas where it could've been improved. To start with, I'm not fond of the guns; at the very least not in alt-mode. I get that it's a toy, which is why it's by no means a deal-breaker, but the engine block would look better complete than with the gun shaped hole in it. But then, in robot mode, attached to the wrists, Bumblebee's guns look great, so, there you go. How much of a negative point this is depends more upon your display preferences, I would suppose.

Car Good Plane Bad.

A less debatable negative is the paint apps. Whilst the design is solid, it's literally made of yellow, grey and blue plastic, with a dash of black paint. Again, that's befitting of a toy, but when you see some of the sculpted details up close, you realise how much there is to this toy that isn't highlighted. My final gripe is about one point of articulation that was missed - the wrists. The hands are sculpted open for holding the guns, but then the wrists are also locked in place. Maybe it was so Bumblebee couldn't be pictured making offensive gestures, I don't know; but either way, that knocks a mark off the posability. You could make an argument for a swivel waist as well, but I don't think that would be as necessary, especially when you consider how that could structurally weaken the toy.

Overall

So, the negatives are pretty much minor aesthetic points, whilst the positives are a sturdy, articulated, simple, and fun toy. If you own only one TF: Prime figure, well, then you're probably me. If you don't own any and need somewhere to start, you can't go wrong with the Deluxe Bumblebee.
                
****1/2