Customizing ROTF Human Alliance Bumblebee action figure
If you are adventurous and would like a more movie accurate Human Alliance (HA) Bumblebee action figure, you can do some modifications on your own to achieve that! The major issue most movie Bumblebee fans and toy collectors have with HA Bumblebee is that the wheels on his legs should have been on the outside in robot mode. Well, there is a way to resolve that now!
The early part of the above video shows HA Bumblebee with a customized right hand (taken from a 2nd piece of HA Bumblebee). How it was done is explained in another earlier mixed ROTF toys video by the same reviewer (view from 4.37min onwards).
Back to the above video, view from 0.49min onwards and it explains how to switch the legs of HA Bumblebee. If you still don’t get it, here’s the link to the original forum discussion where you’ll find some photos and more detailed written instructions on how it’s done.
The summary steps are as follows:
1) Unscrew the 2 tiny screws on the back crotch section.
2) You’ll end up with 4 pieces - front crotch, back crotch, right leg & left leg.
3) Front crotch - position to the back
4) Back crotch - position to the front
5) Right leg - turn the ENTIRE right leg (from hip to toe) 180 degrees around (DO NOT twist the thigh section AT ALL at this stage). The right hip joint is now facing outwards, so swivel it to face the hip.
6) Left leg - turn the ENTIRE left leg (from hip to toe) 180 degrees around (DO NOT twist the thigh section AT ALL at this stage). The left hip joint is now facing outwards, so swivel it to face the hip.
7) Ressemble the above 4 pieces in those new positions and screw back the 2 tiny screws into the back crotch section.
8 ) For the folding of the modified legs into car mode, view the above video from 1.30min onwards.
However bear in mind that I assume no responsibility if your HA Bumblebee doesn’t turn out as expected despite all these online references. I’ve already switched the legs of my own HA Bumblebee accordingly and the results are fantastic! Best of all, he can still indeed transform back into car mode just fine!
My HA Bumblebee action figure showing off his modified legs with the wheels positioned on the outside!
Here’s my modified HA Bumblebee action figure showing that he can still transform back into car mode.
The undercarriage view reveals that his waist is now turned 180 degrees from its original car mode position, hence the license plate is now facing the car roof instead and can’t be seen.
A close up view of the folded in modified legs and the ‘inverted’ back crotch section. Hence switching the legs still allows him to transform back into car mode. Note: Take care not to scratch the license plate when folding it against the car roof.
I won’t be giving my HA Bumblebee a right hand like the reviewer did in his videos. That will result in a second piece of HA Bumblebee with no hands at all! Looks like that extra HA Bumblebee will stay in car mode forever to ‘hide’ his ‘handless’ features!
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Hi, Juliana.
I did the mod too, been happier than ever d…
anyway, from now on the transformation must starts from the legs part & end with it because the space to twist the waist is quite limited.
We’ll waiting Juliana to post step by step photo soon. Haha!
Hi Reagan,
I was planning to post the results photos. The above video already shows the new transformation process
Wow Juliana, you have bought the HA Bumblebee and did some customization. Very fast huh..I am still waiting for the Takara Version..Haha!!
Hi deSMOnd,
You can do the same customization to the Takara version when you receive it
Hey, I heard Takara does not issue HA Bumblebee figures. So, I bought the Hasbro version from U-TOYS after visiting Toy Carnival last Sunday. Will follow the video here to do the customisation for the leg parts if original really looks weird..
Hi deSMOnd,
Hee, looking forward to see your re-modeled HA Bumblebee soon!
very very handy guide on how to mod BUMBLEBEE!!! THX A MILLION JULIANA!
Hi Joshua,
You’re welcome! Have you done the customization yet?
[...] have the specialized screwdrivers to remove those industrial screws from the knees. Hence the current proven customization method is to re-assemble the crotch section and the leg [...]
Hey Juliana,
Do you think the HA BB is worth the $30-$40?
Hi Rob,
Thanks for visiting my blog!
If you are talking about in USD, then it’s still way cheaper than SGD 69.90 (approx USD 49.00) retail price here in Singapore!
If it’s a must-have for you, then you should get it now. If not, then wait for a clearance sale on it, provided you are there at the right place & time when the sale starts, & while stocks are still available. Your gamble
Hey Juliana,
Do you think it’s safe to order a HA BB from big bad toy store?
Hi Rob,
You mean ’safe’ as in the current price of HA BB? Or ’safe’ as in Big Bad Toy Store (BBTS) will honor your online purchase and deliver the items to you as promised?
BBTS is a recommended online toy store by many leading toy collectors websites and forums to buy toys from. It’s even better if you live in the USA
Hi Juliana,
I just got BB tonight & he is awesome
The only thing that i don’t like about him is the transformation is confusing the 1st time. Also how the instructions tell you to bend certain parts & the parts feel like they might snap in half.
Hi Rob,
Congrates to you!
Haha, the first time transformation was hard for me too. I relied a lot on the YouTube videos to give me assurance that I won’t break the parts if I manipulated them as instructed
hi im just asking… coz i got a human alliance bumble bee aswel… but the weird thing is why your bumble bee got two hands? did u buy extra hands for that tf ?
ty
Hi jonmarc,
The HA BB in the video belongs to another collector (the reviewer in the video) and he mentioned in the video that he did customise his HA BB to get 2 hands. Basically he bought another piece of HA BB to get that extra hand.