(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original RID2015 3-step Bumblebee toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original RID2015 3-step Bumblebee here.)

    Hasbro never seemed to tire of coming out with variants of this mold, as this is the sixth different release of the same general design-- and it's back to the original mold, so no changes like the "Activator" remold from earlier in 2017. This time it's "Power Surge" Bumblebee, though that's not to be confused with the more expensive, electronic, simplfied version of Bumblebee from 2016. Power Surge Bumblebee, instead, takes MOST of his cures from the Energon Boost redeco, in terms of the general color layout. As far as the actual plastic and paint colors go, the only difference is that the yellow used for Power Surge 'Bee is more of a moderately dull, milky shade, compared to the more "pure" shade of Energon Boost 'Bee-- though it's the same shade of yellow plastic used for other Bumblebee toys in the Combiner Force subline. I like the "pure" shade a little better, but it's still a minor difference. The main difference between Power Surge and Energon Boost Bumblebee is that for this version, there's some really cool "Energon blue" circuitry patterns on several parts of his body (the middle and sides of the chest, the lower arms, and a bit on the front hood/lower legs). And it really helps make the toy-- I mean, I like the blue-on-yellow scheme already, but these nifty cartoonish circuitry designs really push it even further. Instead of electric blue being used on the outside of the "three vent" details on the front hood/lower legs, though, it's used on the vents themselves for Power Surge Bumblebee, with some circuitry paint apps running off and black around those blue paint apps. The blue stripes on the vehicle hood are also slightly different on this version, with the main stripes not as wide as on the Energon Boost version, but with small additional blue lines right next to the main stripes this time around. There's also black on the faux car chest, and the thin separations between the car windows are not painted over on this version. Otherwise, the plastic colors and breakup are the same as on the Energon Boost version-- silver abs and head; light blue and red headlights; black waist, wheels, and upper arms; etc. That said, although he definitely has more paint apps overall, Power Surge 'Bee does have ONE paint app removed, and that's on his eyebrows-- they're no longer painted black, but left silver like the rest of his face.
    No mold changes have been made to Power Surge Bumblebee compared to most of the previous versions of this mold, though he doesn't have the "head looking downwards" problem some of the earliest releases of this mold had.
    The 3-step version of RID2015 Power Surge Bumblebee (wow, that's a lot of qualifiers) is the best version of this mold that still keeps the basic yellow Bumblebee colors. The blue goes very nicely with the yellow already, but adding in all those excellent circuitry apps on so many places-- and not sacrificing almost any other paint apps compared to the Energon Boost version-- is a huge plus. Recommended, especially for the 3-step target audience.
 

Review by Beastbot

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