Originally written September 2019
I really liked the Bumblebee movie, and consider it to be the best of the live-action films, so it’s odd I haven’t talked much about the merchandise from it on here. That’s mostly because it’s hard to find much of the collector-oriented side of it, released in the Transformers: Studio Series toyline, a grab-bag of figures from across the live-action movies. The Deluxe Studio Series Bumblebee they released based on his Bee Movie appearance was pretty fun, if kind of fiddly to transform. Meanwhile, the Studio Series Optimus Prime and Shatter from the film still haven’t been seen in my local area, even though I’m searching for them. Shatter’s minion, though, the blue bruiser Dropkick, is now on his second Studio Series toy, and this one may be the one to own.
So, let me explain it, because it can get a bit confusing: In the film, both Dropkick and Shatter start out on Earth transforming into muscle cars, and then, a few scenes later, scan secondary flying modes (a helicopter and jet), becoming triple-changers in the process (and getting slightly different robot mode designs). No toys have tried to replicate their triple-changing ability, thanks to the complexity of the design, and instead, each toy has picked one mode to change into.
There was already a Studio Series Deluxe Dropkick released, and he changed into his helicopter mode. He’s the other Bumblebee movie figure I own, and…he’s kind of in the middle. He’s not bad, but he’s just kind of there, and doesn’t really represent the character very well. It doesn’t help that his robot mode barely looks like his onscreen appearance, being made entirely out of helicopter parts, instead of car parts with helicopter bits. And the general public seems to agree, because right now, he’s a major shelfwarmer, being the one Studio Series figure you can still find on nearly every store shelf in large quantities.
This second version changes into his car mode instead, and aims to be more screen-accurate in the process, though it’s actually screen-accurate to the car-only robot mode body he had for a little bit near the start of the film, instead of his triple-changing body….told you it was confusing, and the fact that they still just call him “Dropkick” on the package is sure to confuse collectors even more. Anywho, all identity confusion aside, let’s see how this guy stacks up, especially compared to the (much, much easier to find) first attempt.
Robot Mode
With his hood chest and door wings, this version of Dropkick is very reminiscent of the classic Autobot Cars, only, like, evil, which makes for a fun inversion.
He’s bigger, more solid, and more detailed than the previous lanky copterformer Dropkick, which, aside from being more movie-accurate, is just more appropriate for his role as the dumb muscle. He’s also got minimal kibble, with only a bit of a backpack, his car doors (which were there in the movie), and some wraparound panels on the legs, contrasting that to the mess of the previous version.
Studio Series figures sometimes have a problem with being painted enough, but this isn’t one of them. He looks nice in dark blue and black, with bits of shiny silver detailing. His tiny red painted eyes look suitably menacing, too. One little detail I like is the painted fake headlights on his legs, since the figure doesn’t totally replicate the film transformation.
He’s got oddly limited articulation considering the standards Siege and Studio Series have set forth, in that he’s got no waist at all, and no ankle tilts. It’s not a bad amount of articulation, it’s just not what most modern figures have, and it can make him a bit unstable in his robot mode (though it’s not too bad).
His head (which is a nice, accurate sculpt) is a bit sunken into his torso, which can make it tough to pose, but you can get it out alright. Speaking of that, his backpack doesn’t peg in or anything, but it’s jointed solidly enough that it stays put.
For accessories, he’s got that liquifying arm cannon he used in those two weirdly violent scenes in this PG-13 movie.
You can fold away his hand, and peg it into his wrist socket to simulate his arm converting into that cannon. It’s nicely-sculpted, but it’s also solid black, and I’d have liked a bit of color on it.
Transformation
There’s a learning curve here, but I had it by the second conversion. Dropkick has that problem that plagues a lot of movieformers, in that he’s got a lot of car panels that need to line up and snap in, and it doesn’t always work out, whether it’s a quality control thing, or this and that internal part is off by a millimeter or so.
I still find myself alternating between wrestling with and massaging the back of the car and the doors, trying to get everything to stay together and stay flush, and to be honest, I still can’t do it. It’s learnable, but I wish there was fewer smaller panels and more big chunks.
Car Mode
As per the movie, Dropkick changes into a muscle car with a tuned engine. I wish his wheels were painted, but aside from that, he’s still really well-painted, with a lot of nice silver, and details like painted headlights and a skull and crossbones decal. He’s also got nice clear windows.
Unfortunately, something in the back usually doesn’t sit flush, thanks to his aforementioned impossibly fiddly transformation, preventing the car mode from looking clean like it should. For all his fiddliness, though, he rolls well. For other gimmicks, you can plug his gun into his car-mode spoiler, and it reminds me of some kind of supercharged scifi engine, like the car in Men in Black, making his weapon storage feel somewhat justified.
Compared to the previous Dropkick’s altmode, it’s kind of apples and oranges, since they’re two very different vehicles. I will say, for all of his problems, helicopter dropkick’s altmode does hold together a lot better than this one, so it wins in that department.
Overall
This is definitely better than the previous Dropkick in most ways, but he’s still got issues. He’s got slightly limited poseability, he’s a pain to transform, and I can’t quite get his car mode to stick together.
Still, he actually looks like the movie character, unlike the previous one, and right now, he’s the best version of Dropkick on the market. Frankly, they aren’t likely to come back to him any time soon in Studio Series, so if you want a version of him to brawl with Bumblebee, this is the one, though outside of that, he gets a resounding “he’s alright, I suppose.”
2021 Notes: Amusingly, HasTak would seemingly agree with this assessment, and reissue this figure, and the vanilla Bumblebee pictured above, in a two-pack in the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line, with no changes, in a homage to their final fight in the film. This means that, as of right now, he’s once again in stores, if you’re interested in picking one up. I’ll admit my opinion has gone up on him over time, and while he’s still a bit too fiddly to transform, he’s got two solid modes, and looks good with the rest of the movie crew.
