Considered the deuteragonist, or second most important character, of "Transformers," Bumblebee always looks up -- literally -- to Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots thanks to his small stature 1. Bumblebee's shorter size shows in his original Generation 1 toy, released in 1984, which transforms into a near facsimile of the Volkswagen Beetle in only a few steps 1.
Convert to Car
Stand the Bumblebee figure flat on a table while it's in robot form. Place his arms down to his sides so that they are parallel to his body, giving the impression that he is at ease.
Push Bumblebee's head down gently, folding it into the body of the car. Laying the figure on its back, fold down the yellow feet. In this position, the figure will better resemble the hood of the Beetle.
Push the body and the legs toward each other carefully; the two will slide together and click when you can't push any farther. Sliding the wheels toward the body completes the conversion, leaving you with a little yellow car ready to race off to the nearest Decepticon base.
Convert to Robot
Pull the wheels away from the body to form the arms when Bumblebee is ready to get back on his feet, taking care not to force it too roughly. It may take a little firm pulling to fully extend the arms.
Slide the hood away from the body and swing it up to form the feet. Gently flip up Bumblebee's head from the top of the body.
Swing the arms up or position them however you'd like to complete the transformation. Bumblebee doesn't come with a weapon, so you'll just have to use your imagination.
Tips
Hasbro has released many new versions of Bumblebee since the original toy; information about newer versions of the toys may be found on its official website (see Resources).
The above instructions also work for Generation 1 Cliffjumper, as he shares the same mold as Bumblebee, and the keychain version of Bumblebee released in 2001 and 2007.
Warnings
Although Bumblebee is smaller than other figures, he's just as susceptible to breaking if you apply too much force; convert with caution.
