Review: LEGO 10333 Bumblebee

June 15, 2024 | 8

Jay Ong

It’s been two years since 10302 Optimus Prime, and I still find myself in disbelief that LEGO Transformers is a thing. That once fierce competitors Hasbro and LEGO are now working on licensed toys together is a reflection of how much the toy industry has matured, and LEGO’s dominance.

It was always going to be a herculean task to follow up Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, but LEGO has selected 10338 Bumblebee as the next robot in disguise to get the LEGO Transformers treatment.

Bumblebee’s choice is unsurprising as he’s got his own modern movie, and is as much a fan-favourite as Optimus Prime, but some Transformers fans will be slightly disappointed to not get a Decepticon. Maybe next year, Soundwave.

At only US$89.99 / AU$149.99, there’s a lot going for this diminutive LEGO Transformer, so ahead of its 1 July 2024 launch (Insiders early access), let’s take a look at whether there’s more than meets the eye with 10338 Bumblebee.

See below for product pages and regional pricing:

• 10338 Bumblebee [US] – US$89.99
• 10338 Bumblebee [AUS] – AU$149.99
• 10338 Bumblebee [UK] – £79.99
• 10338 Bumblebee [EU] – €89.99
• 10338 Bumblebee [CA] – CAD$119.99
• 10338 Bumblebee [SG] – SGD$149.90

If you’re planning on purchasing LEGO Bumblebee please consider using the affiliate links in this post. I may earn a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work I do on the blog!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for review.

10338 Bumblebee Set Details

Here’s a look at the LEGO Bumblebee instruction manual. G1 Bumblebee for scale.

The manual contains plenty of information about Bumblebee, and a short profile from set designer Samuel Johnson, but its otherwise quite standard fare for a LEGO Icons set.

Here’s the sticker sheet, which is quite small, which is always a good sign which means most of the other decorative elements are printed. The smaller bumper stickers and contain some really cute Easter Eggs that Transformers fans will appreciate, but otherwise, I am more than glad to see small sticker sheets in sets.

At 950 pieces, the build is quite snappy and brief, but very enjoyable and great for an afternoon of leisurely building. The build experience is quite interesting, and the designer intentionally made it the reverse of Optimus Prime, so instead of building a robot that transforms into a truck, you build a car that transforms into Bumblebee.

After going through the build, I found it quite ingenious and it added a lot of fun to the experience, as you build and see the car take shape. At the end, you’re rewarded with fun little puzzle to figure out and you discover how this bright yellow not-Volkswagen Beetle turns into the small but mighty Bumblebee.

LEGO Bumblebee vehicle mode

Here’s a look at Bumblebee in vehicle mode. It’s not quite the Volkswagen Beetle that the G1 toy is based off, but it’s a close enough approximation.

The vehicle mode is honestly, not the ideal way to display LEGO Bumblebee as it doesn’t look as finessed as modern LEGO Icons cars. Not that it’s trying to be, as the vehicle mode is mostly a means to an end, and for a curvy Transformer like Bumblebee, it’s still incredibly impressed that LEGO managed to pull it off.

With all the hinges and fold out points required to make transformation possible, there are lots of unsightly gaps across the entire vehicle which doesn’t make it the prettiest model around.

Two Autobot printed tiles are included, which you can apply on the roof and bonnet of the car, or if you want to be a bit more discreet, two blank yellow tiles are also included. The Autobot logo is quite nice and fans of G1 Bumblebee will appreciate the placement of it, which hearkens back to Robot mode Bumblebee and the G1 toy, which has it on the roof.

This view is one of the weakest and the large gaps are really quite unsightly from the back. I’m not sure if the boot gap is meant to be that big, but I don’t think I made any mistakes here. It’s that awkward of a gap.

Here’s a look at the bumper stickers and license plate. You get two options with the license plate, one a reference to Bumblebee’s name, and the date of 17 September 1984, which is when the original Transformers cartoon premiered. The other licence plate is a nod to Goldbug, which is Bumblebee’s new identity after he and Optimus Prime are revived in the cartoon.

The bumper stickers are a lot of fun, with an I Love Cybertron one, and Roll Out, which is Optimus Prime’s call to arms and catchphrase, which also contains a cool G1 reference. The “O” is a nod to the back of the G1 Bumblebee toy!

So it’s not quite a Volkswagen Beetle, but heavily inspired. If you were wondering how it compares with the 2016 LEGO Volkswagen Beetle, here’s a side by side.

As you can see, it’s much smaller than the Creator Expert Volkswagen Beetle (and most other LEGO Icons cars), but the proportions are pretty close, especially the windshield, front and of course, the curved wheel arches.

LEGO Bumblebee Robot Mode

Now, let’s transform Bumblebee into Robot mode. It’s a much more involved transformation process than Optimus Prime, and even after going back and forth several times, it’s still quite hard to get the hang of it.

There are 24 steps in total to transform from car to robot mode, and you’ll definitely want to keep the instruction manual around in case you get stuck. Going from robot to car is also quite complex, and those new to LEGO and not used to intuitively knowing where stress and pressure points are for the bricks, might find it quite frustrating, so my advice would be to go as slow as possible.

That said, it’s a marvel of LEGO engineering that this is even possible, and the entire model is made possible by these new Technic dual rotation joint elements, a newly created element just for this model which helps facilitate the transformation process.

It’s hands down one of the most impressive technical LEGO builds, and once you transform it in person, you’ll appreciate the design that makes it possible to go form a compact curvy car to a recognisable Autobot.

Here’s the completed Bumblebee in Robot mode and this is the form that you’ll want to display him. LEGO have done a remarkable job translating Bumblebee’s likeness here, with plenty of inspiration drawn from the G1 version of Bumblebee, not the modern Bayformers Camaro version.

It’s important to note that this is a LEGO Bumblebee, and it isn’t a G1 version (although heavily inspired), so this is its very own thing.

Like Optimus, Bumblebee has his own stickered plaque with his specs on it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite match the G1 spec sheet… poor Bumblebee got his strength downgraded to a 2, and Firepower to 1, although the 10 for courage is consistent!

The articulation is pretty decent, especially with his arms which can click up and down and has elbows, and a swivelling hand, allowing you to pose Bumblebee in several action stances.

The gun clips on, and Bumblebee also has fingers using these horned pieces, which is a nice touch.

Bumblebee’s head is the best part of the build, with a newly recoloured viking axe in yellow for his horns, and a printed face mask giving him plenty of character. One of the main criticisms of Optimus Prime was that his face didn’t look quite right, and LEGO definitely took that feedback to heart with Bumblebee, and the printed graphics here was definitely the right call as it just looks so right.

Here’s a look at Bumblebee’s waist and groin area, which is surprisingly accurate, and his long legs. His thighs are printed as well which is another nice surprise.

I read plenty of comments complaining about the lack of knees… which I find puzzling because Optimus doesn’t have knees, and if you’re familiar with the G1 Bumblebee toy… the legs are meant to look straight and rigid like that.

See what I mean?

Here’s a look at Bumblebee’s feet, which has rubber wheels on the base to give it a surprising amount of grip, so even if they do look quite wobbly, it’s super stable in robot mode and you don’t have to worry about him toppling over.

Bumblebee in robot mode… is best viewed from the front. From the side, it looks super weird because of the mechanism in the body, giving it a bit of a Y-shape.

Yeah, don’t go looking in there, because it just looks super weird. Here you can see the new Technic element and how it facilitates the design.

It’s slightly better from the back, but trust me, you’ll want to just enjoy Bumblebee from the front.

Oh, and the windscreen comes off for some partsforming, and attaches itself to the back for Bumblebee’s jetpack, which also looks like little wings.

LEGO Bumblebee and Optimus Prime

The main thing on most people’s minds is how does LEGO Bumblebee and Optimus Prime look together. Here’s a look at them in vehicle mode. As mentioned above, Bumblebee isn’t the best or most iconic in vehicle mode, so I don’t really recommend keeping him in this form.

This does present a challenge for me, because I display Optimus in truck mode (he’s in disguise, y’know), so I’m not too sure what I’ll do with these.

Thankfully in robot mode, these two heroic Autobots look great next to each other. It isn’t quite to scale as the cartoons, where Bumblebee is much tinier than Optimus, but again, it’s important to emphasise that these are LEGO Transformers, so I think they look great side by side, as Bumblebee is still much smaller.

They also benefit from great contrasting colours, and if you’re a LEGO Transformers fan, you’ll definitely want Bumblebee to accompany Optimus Prime.

And once again, here’s Bumblebee next to his G1 version. I have a Masterpiece version that is on the way, and I’ll snap some comparison photos when I receive it and will likely share it on my Instagram).

And here’s a G1 and LEGO Transformers family photo!

What I liked:

• A marvel of LEGO engineering and design to facilitate Bumblebee’s transformation
• Bumblebee looks great in robot mode, especially the head
• Plenty of printed elements and fun Easter Eggs
• Looks awesome next to LEGO Optimus Prime

What I didn’t like: 

• Vehicle mode doesn’t look great
• Transformation is complicated and not very intuitive

Final Thoughts

As the second LEGO Transformers set, 10338 Bumblebee has a lot going for it, and it’s a worthy followup to the excellent LEGO Optimus Prime, making this a must-have for Transformers fans, especially those who grew up with the G1 cartoon and toys.

It’s super impressive that LEGO managed to pull it off, and apart from the windscreen partsforming, it remains true to the Transformers spirit of being able to fully transform from vehicle to robot without removing and re-attaching any parts, which is all the more impressive when you realise that this is made out of LEGO.

The price is also a nice surprise. A 950-piece Transformers-licensed LEGO Icons set with a large number of printed elements for under US$100 represents fantastic value, especially when you look at most of the LEGO portfolio today.

The major downsides are Bumblebee in vehicle mode, where it’s plagued by unsightly gaps and also just a less than finessed shaping because it needs to open up and transform into a robot. It’s not a bad thing per se, but for a curvy compact vehicle, it isn’t as seamless as a blocky truck to hide many of these things.

The Transformation process, which in itself is impressive is also quite daunting as there are so many steps, and it’s not as intuitive as Optimus Prime. In a way, this does hearken to the core of Transformers toys, where some require a lot of steps to transform from vehicle to robot, so in a way, I guess this is true to the spirit of Transformers.

All said and done, I’m incredible happy with LEGO Bumblebee, and if you can look past it in vehicle mode (seriously, just display it in robot mode), LEGO Transformers fans are in for a treat with Bumblebee, and can finally give Optimus Prime a companion.

The robot model is charming, and has plenty of familiar features to the G1 toy and cartoon, which should delight older Transformers fans. Sorry, Bumblebee Camaro fans!

LEGO, it’s great that we have two Autobots now, but we sorely need some Decepticons, and hopefully, we won’t have to wait two years for the next LEGO Transformers set.

Final Score

4

Build

A very interesting build, and I loved that you build the car and then transform it

3

Display Value

Great in Robot Mode, poor in vehicle mode

4

Real Value

This is priced incredibly well at the sub-US$100 price point

5

Innovation

Incredible work by LEGO to pull off a Transforming Bumblebee. Grimlock as the next impossible challenge?

4

Keepability

Superb to display and a must-have if you already have Optimus

Audience rating

How would you rate this set?

1 2 3 4 5

Thanks so much for reading! 10338 Bumblebee will be released on 1 July 2024 for LEGO Insiders, exclusively from LEGO.com or your local LEGO store.

Be sure to also check out how tall Barad-Dur is compared to Orthanc and other tall LEGO towers!

What do you think of LEGO Bumblebee? Let me know in the comments!

To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.