Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth Michael Bay directed Transformers cinematic outing, opened this past weekend to huge box office numbers. This week AwesomeToyBlog will take a daily look at one of the new toys in support of the film. Today’s entry is the Construct-Bots Dinobot Riders Bumblebee.
The Construct-Bots toys are build-able module sets that allow you to construct and personalize your Transformers, with the added bonus that they Transform without being disassembled (vs. Kre-O sets which require you to rebuild). The Dinobot Riders Bumblebee is an 18 piece basic set and is packaged in a foil bag. The bag features the red Transformers branding on it’s edge, keeping a uniform appearance across all the new toys. This set is currently priced at $5.99 on Amazon.
It takes 6 steps by the instructions to assemble Bumblebee, it would be an understatement to say it was an easy build. You put the wheels on the arms and lower legs, then attach the limbs and head to the toso. Assembled, there’s no question as to this being Bumbleebee…for being a construction toy it has a good likeness. Thanks to the many ball and socket joints, there’s a fair amount of articulation that the figure can hold – although it would have been nice for the head to have more motion. One of the clever things about this set is the paint or coating used on the ball of the “ball and socket” keeps a fair amount of friction in the system. While the joints are fully mobile, they’ll not be moving on their own. As a result the figure has a good solid feeling to it.
Converting the figure to the car mode takes 6 steps – the gun and Autobot insignia need to be removed, but all other parts remain intact. Again it’s a passable car mode, however it’s not giving off a Camaro-ey vibe. Frankly the vehicle mode is pretty reminiscent of G1 Roadbuster, and that’s a good thing.
Final thoughts: For $6 this 18-piece Construct-Bots set is a fair amount of fun. With passable robot and vehicle modes and an easy conversion between the two – these sets would be perfect for younger kids into both construction toys and Transformers. I didn’t address this aspect of play (namely since I don’t have any Construct-Bot Dinobots) but Bumblebee was designed to ride them – adding a whole extra level of play. On top of that, since these are part of the Construct-Bots ecosystem, you can mix and match across other sets. There’s a ton of potential for fun here, which is what matters when you’re a kid with a new toy.
Thanks to Hasbro and the awesome guys at HunterPR for providing Crosshairs to AwesomeToyBlog. You’re the best!
