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Matchbox VW vs. iGear Bee-01

Matchbox VW vs. iGear Bee-01

May 17, 2021

This is the iGear Bee-01. I could not even remember when it was released, but this is probably the first 3rd party Transformers toy I got. Back then, the only modern Bumblebee VWs were always 3rd party. 

When I got this, I immediately recognized where they copied the altmode. They copied the 1962 VW Beetle mold by Matchbox, with a retooled roof to remove the cloth sunroof.

See, every diecast company does a version of a car model. VW Beetles are a popular favorite, and every company has their own version of it. The same car can look different depending on the interpretation. The Matchbox version is my favorite.

These pics compare both toys.

The robot mode, of course, is based on the Classics Legends Class. The toy is basically a reshell. 

I'm also not sure if iGear produced a red version. I saw a white version then, with Herbie the Love Bug stripes, but it was never released.

Of course, newer 3rd party VW Bumblebees have better articulation and poseability, but at the cost of the altmode, which has cartoon-like proportions closer to the original G1 toy.

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