Main
Features
 FOTD
 Toy Fair 2023
 SDCC 2023
 Toy Fair 2020
 NYCC 2019
 SDCC 2019
 Toy Fair 2019
 SDCC 2018
 Toy Fair 2018
 HasCon 2017
 SDCC 2017
 Toy Fair 2017
 SDCC 2016
 Toy Fair 2016
 SDCC 2015
 Toy Fair 2015
 SDCC 2014
 C2E2 2014
 Toy Fair 2014
 SDCC 2013
 C2E2 2013
 Toy Fair 2013
 SDCC 2012
 C2E2 2012
 Toy Fair 2012
 NYCC 2011
 SDCC 2011
 Toy Fair 2011
Archives
 Books
 DVD
 Music
 Statues
 Prop Replicas
 Toys
 Video Games
Credits
Contact


This site is part of Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Entertainment Earth affiliate programs. We may earn a commission when you click one of their links.


Related Links:
16bit Tumblr
16bit Twitter
16bit Instagram
ASWN
EE Podcast
Galactic Hunter
Glyos News
OSM News

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Mattel, 2023
Day #2,742: August 14, 2024
Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal VehicleHW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee
HW Screen Time 9/10 - #186 / 250

Hot Wheels 2024 HW Screen Time 9/10 Basic Cars
Item No.:
Asst. C4982 No. HTB35
Manufacturer: Mattel
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $1.25
Availability: ca. June 2024
Other: First Basic Hasbro-Licensed Mattel Hot Wheels Car

  PREVIOUS RSS NEXT  

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal VehicleWhen Hot Wheels gets a new pop culture license, it tends to ignite genre fans, non-collectors, and the typical toy collectors in a way you don't see that often. I remember when the first Batmobiles hit - good luck. I had a heck of a time finding the Simpsons Family Car (thanks Phil), I never saw the A-Team van, I don't think I saw KITT, and when it came to Transformers Bumblebee I just bought a case from work. I assume Mattel will crank these out for years to come, because we usually see that sort of thing. Either basic $1.25 versions, or more luxe collector versions with fancy rubber wheels that are worthless for racing but look nicer, are usually made eventually. In short, don't pay $20 or $40 for one unless you live in some future where Hasbro may revoke the license. (I would put more money on "Hasbro and Mattel merge," unless Hasbro finally develops a sub-$4 toy car and I doubt that's happening.)

What makes this car particularly neat is that it's a partial new toy - the top metal yellow part is pretty much the same Volkswagen Beetle they've been selling for years. It has been retooled, but the version I had previously was Herbie the Love Bug and it still had a metal base back then. Bumblebee has a plastic base... but at least it had something cool added to it.

Click here to check availability at Amazon.

Click here to check availability at eBay.

Much like Hasbro's ill-fated Speed Stars (see Lockdown [FOTD #2,725] Mattel added a relief representing the character on the base. In this case, you can see Bumblebee's face rendered in vac-metal silver plastic. Mattel frequently puts details under the cars, but usually it's copyright information or some greeblies - not a face. You may rarely see it given how this figure can't stand on its rear bumper, but it's visible in-pack and you can smile knowing it's there.

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle

The car itself boasts two licenses - Hasbro and Volkswagen - and does a fine job of applying the famous yellow paint job and one Autobot symbol to one of the most well-known characters from the popular robots in disguise franchise. (Who, for some reason, was completely ignored as a transforming toy character for just over ten years.) A toy like this will most likely sell to literally anyone who encounters it and is familiar with the character - I always wanted a plain yellow Bug and never saw one, but the reason I wanted it was because I wanted to pretend it was Bumblebee. And here is Bumblebee actual, at one or two per case, for a buck and a quarter. The sculpting may not be a perfect match for the cartoon, and it probably shouldn't be - it's a clever reuse of mostly existing parts, with nice rolling wheels and shiny paint. It doesn't do anything that a Hot Wheels or Matchbox car hasn't done for the past seven decades, but it will cause fans to run around hunting him for months (or years) to come just because it's the perfect mix of license, character, product, and price point.

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle

It's my hope Mattel goes to town with the license. We know other toys are getting Transformers-flavored repaints on new packaging, and there are both non-transforming and transforming Optimus Prime toys. I hope they do the 2007 movie cars, and more 1980s cars using old tooling like Bumblebee here, and generally make a meal out of what is a really vital and vibrant license in the longest-running boy's toy line that appeals to both kids and collectors. Scale might be off a bit, but that's OK - for $1.25, I'm in for whatever I can get. (For $79.99 I'm less inclined to collect them all.)

If you don't want $25 (or higher) robot figures, this is a spectacular buy for $1.25. It's the character you want, in a collectible you can afford, and it's durable. And it's good for kids. And you probably wanted this exact thing since you were a little kid. The only shortcoming is one of modern manufacturing - Mattel no longer has a metal chassis with a metal base on the bulk of its basic cars anymore. I would have loved a polished heavy metal base, but substituting a relief of the yellow robot (in silver) is a perfectly good substitution. You don't need me to tell you this, but you should buy this on sight. I hope they keep him in circulation in every wave for a few months because there's a lot of demand to meet and I assume they're never going to make enough of them. Too many people are going to want this.

--Adam Pawlus

Additional Images

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle

Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee Die-Cast Metal Vehicle

Click here to see more Mattel figures in Figure of the Day.

See more Hot Wheels in Figure of the Day:
Day 670: Mattel Hot Wheels Fig Rig Car
Day 675: Mattel Hot Wheels Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise
Day 685: Mattel Hot Wheels Batmobile (Tim Burton, 2013)
Day 708: Mattel Hot Wheels Batman Live Batmobile
Day 718: Mattel Hot Wheels T-Rextroyer Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Day 727: Mattel Hot Wheels Ratmobile (White) Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Day 742: Mattel Hot Wheels Batcopter Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Day 750: Mattel Hot Wheels Arachnorod
Day 770: Mattel Hot Wheels The Jetsons Capsule Car
Day 779: Mattel Hot Wheels Hiway Hauler
Day 786: Mattel Hot Wheels Speed-A-Saurus
Day 797: Mattel Hot Wheels Express Lane
Day 803: Mattel Hot Wheels Zombot
Day 817: Mattel Hot Wheels Scooby-Doo The Mystery Machine
Day 845: Mattel Hot Wheels Carbonator
Day 1,060: Mattel Hot Wheels Skate Punk
Day 1,116: Mattel Hot Wheels Let's Go
Day 1,157: Mattel Hot Wheels The Homer
Day 1,290: Mattel Hot Wheels Back to the Future Time Machine - Hover Mode
Day 1,321: Mattel Hot Wheels Loopster
Day 1,334: Mattel Hot Wheels Nintendo Cool-One (Super Mario)
Day 1,366: Mattel Hot Wheels Mars Rover Curiosity
Day 1,383: Mattel Hot Wheels Dawn of Justice Batmobile
Day 1.532: Mattel Hot Wheels Minecraft Mine Cart Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Day 1.533: Mattel Hot Wheels Tankinator Die-Cast Metal Vehicle
Day 1,716: Mattel Hot Wheels Roller Toaster
Day 1,740: Mattel Hot Wheels Motosaurus
Day 1,768: Mattel Hot Wheels Aisle Driver
Day 1,831: Mattel Hot Wheels Radio Flyer Wagon
Day 1,873: Mattel Hot Wheels Glow Wheels Loopster
Day 2,284: Mattel Hot Wheels Screen Time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party Wagon
Day 2,316: Sonic Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Scorpion Special Glow Edition Action Figure
Day 2,319: Mattel Hot Wheels Glow Racers Lindster Prototype
Day 2,337: Mattel Hot Wheels Tooned Pixel Shaker
Day 2,340: Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Standard Kart
Day 2,400: Mattel Hot Wheels Experimotors Custom Small Block
Day 2,715: Mattel Hot Wheels HW Glow Racers Duck N' Roll
Day 2,718: Mattel Hot Wheels Brick Rides Brick and Motor
Day 2,720: Mattel Hot Wheels Thrill Racers - Beach '12 Sharkruiser
Day 2,726: Mattel Hot Wheels Radar Ranger
Day 2,739: Mattel Hot Wheels Action Pack Scum Chums Hot Seat and Sudzster
Day 2,742: Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time Transformers Bumblebee
Day 2,748: Mattel Hot Wheels Racer Verse Scrooge McDuck
Day 2,751: Mattel Hot Wheels Snack Time Series Dodge Sidewinder
Day 2,754: Mattel Hot Wheels Wastelanders 1/4 Mile Coupe
Day 2,757: Mattel Hot Wheels Art Cars MS-T Suzuka
Day 2,760: Mattel Hot Wheels Hyper Mite
Day 2,763: Mattel Hot Wheels Beach Blaster
Day 2,766: Mattel Hot Wheels Limozeen
Day 2,769: Mattel Hot Wheels HW Screen Time HW Ultimate T-Rex Transporter Blue
Day 2,772: Mattel Hot Wheels Shoe Box
Day 2,778: Mattel Hot Wheels Small Block
Day 2,781: Mattel Hot Wheels Racer Verse Harley Quinn
Day 2,784: Mattel Hot Wheels Cloak and Dagger
Day 2,787: Mattel Hot Wheels Speed Blaster

Click here to see more Transformers figures in Figure of the Day.

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Featured Toy Video

Click Here for 2023
Figure of the
Day 2024
January 2024
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031
February 2024
123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829
March 2024
12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31
April 2024
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930
May 2024
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031
June 2024
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30
July 2024
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031
August 2024
123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
September 2024
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930
October 2024
12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031
November 2024
12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
December 2024
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031

16bit.com is best not viewed in Apple's Safari browser, we don't know why. All material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. All materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. 16bit.com is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. Photos taken by the 16bit.com staff. Site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. Be cool-- don't steal.
We know where you live and we'll break your friggin' legs.