Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker

Presenting the Transformers Dark of the Moon Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker.

Admittedly this is a late purchase. Years late. It was on sale. I think this is the third year that it went on sale. I have no idea where they store these prior to the Christmas season and I have no idea where they sourced these. They just keep popping up around this time.

So I thought "What the hell, might as well." and here we are.

In a nutshell, what we have here is a non-canonical military looking vehicle hauler that can carry up to two Legion Class Transformer figures. The Hauler itself defined as the APC mode; a "launcher" stand that can be used as a base to launch cars with a little boost or as a launch pad for Bumblebee (As a part of the Battle Bunker becomes a jetwing) called the "Battle Base" mode, and; what you see here, a Mobile Battle Bunker - though it's not really a Bunker when you think about it, and it's defined as the "Assault Vehicle Mode"  - that allows Bumblebee to gun away while the Hauler drives backwards.

So it's not really a Bunker.


The Transformers DOTM Battle Bunker's blister card doesn't talk about the Mobile Battle Bunker. It instead focuses on Bumblebee "Bumblebee is known among the Autobots as a skilled fighter and peerless spy, but he rarely works alone. In addition to his teammates, he has also been outfitted with a huge amount of gear that supports him in any situation. From recon missions to a fight to the finish, Bumblebee always makes sure he has the right gear for the job."

The blister pack also defines Bumblebee's stats as follows:

• Strength - 6
• Intelligence - 8
• Speed - 6
• Endurance 5
• Rank - 5
• Courage - 10
• Fireblast - 3
• Skill - 9

Two things, the stats do not discuss the additional Speed (Should be faster, he flies or is launched), Endurance - the Mobile Battle Bunker is armored - and Fireblast - that's a big cannon, and; The accompanying Legion class Bumblebee has really, really big baby blue eyes. They practically glow even without any photo manipulation.

What's to like about the Transformers DOTM Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker?

I love the concept! It's simple, effective and highly reminiscent of something out of the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (MASK).

I can see it! Decepticons hound this lowly military hauler carrying two Autobots in hiding. The Decepticons catch up and suddenly the lowly Hauler transforms into an armored mobile-cannon and starts driving back-wards as it prey starts pursuing the hunters.

To make it worse for the pursuing Decepticons, one of the Autobots dons wings and takes to the sky!

Here's what the DOTM Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker looks like in APC mode:

As you can see the detailing is pretty good and there are multiple ports for the mounting of extra weapons/accessories. The APC mode of the DOTM Mobile Battle Bunker can, as previously mentioned, carry up to two Legion Class DOTM figures:

Here's the DOTM Mobile Battle Bunker Battle Base mode:

I honestly don't know what those pylons are. But since this is a Mobile Battle Bunker and the definition of a bunker is a "reinforced underground shelter" let's assume that they are shield generators. They are slightly reminiscent though not identical to the communications pylons in the DOTM Ark:

We're pretty sure energy pumps through the pylons because you can detach and mount the DOTM Mobile Battle Bunker's cannon on either of the pylons:





I prefer to this mode. The Mobile Battle Bunker becomes in effect a launch pad for a jetpack wearing Bumblebee. You may remember seeing the jetpack above - the additional front armor on the Mobile Battle Bunker. The detailing is simple, but it's a nice add-on and there's room to add weapons and accessories on the wings. Gotta love it!

And lastly we have the Assault Vehicle Mode of the Mobile Battle Bunker! Here it is without the spring-fired missile and Bumblebee, and with the jetwing added on as front-armor:

Speaking of the missile, did you notice the missile recessed next to the jetwing in the front-armor?

Now add on Bumblebee and imagine this little sucker scooting around driving backwards and blasting anything in sight:

There are handholds for Bumblebee, but they're not really much help.

What's NOT to like about the Transformers DOTM Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker?

Let's start with the most basic problem that we've been pointing at since the start of the review: The DOTM Bumblebee Mobile Battle Bunker IS NOT A BUNKER!!!!

In a nutshell, it's an Armored Mobile Platform that doubles as an Armored Scout.

My problem with its Assault Vehicle mode is that it's kinda high. At high-speeds - or maybe even any speed (Or given a more than plausible shot to the side) - the Mobile Battle Bunker should/could find itself flat on its side.


And lastly, I don't really know why Hasbro keeps attaching "launchers" to it's products. Definitely not a fan, but you can push a switch on the back of the bunker that fires off Bumblebee:

The Transformers Dark of the Moon Mobile Battle Bunker was purchased on sale from Toys R' Us Galleria here in the Philippines for PhP 300 (Roughly US$ 6.81). It is available on Amazon for US$ 10.99 (Roughly PhP 483.56 plus shipping).

Cool little thing.