The Brazilian Estrela-manufactured release of the orange-coloured Bumblebee mould could not be more different than the Argentinian Antex-manufactured orange Volks. The Brazilian release has never been seen carded and it is actually a pretty rare find. The Brazilian orange Volks (as Bumblebee was called in Brazil) is from the later Optimus vs Malignus line of minicars and that makes it harder to find and more desireable among collectors. It also means that there are some nice features to it compared to the lower quality straightforward-repaint-style of the Antex release.

One of these cool features is immediately obvious from the above pictures, and that is the faction symbol. Optimus vs Malignus minibots had faction symbols and this second series Orange Volks is no exception. His faction was the Autobot-like 'Optimus' faction along with the Carrera (Cliffjumper) and Sedan (Bumblejumper) moulds. The very fact that it is an orange Bug is another inherent nice feature. Volks was available in yellow and silver for the earlier Robocar line, and then in orange and red for the second series Optimus vs Malignus line in Brazil.

This particular specimen did not have the headplate sticker on the back unfortunately, as they are sometimes unique to the line as well. As I've mentioned before, minibots from this particular line are much more valuable when they have the stickers intact, especially the faction symbols.

You might be able to see the lack of "Dunlop" on the tyres, a common omission when it comes to South American minibots. Despite the fact that this release is actually one of the rarest among the Brazilian minibots, it is not always high on collectors' shopping lists. This could be because it is not unique to Brazil, Argentina also had this mould in orange. Things like Pink Windcharger and Blue Brawn get much more attention from non-completist collectors.

As far as Optimus vs Malignus minicars go, this colour scheme makes more sense than the rest and is definitely one of the more subtle schemes of the line, although some of the crazier repaints tend to be more endearing and interesting.

The robot mode is quite smart and definitely enhanced by the faction sticker compared to the Robocar releases that had Microchange-style stickers on the chest/roof. The quality of the piece was ok, the parts that should have clicked into place did click but the arms were particularly loose and very difficult to pose. The moulding on the head is also visbily inferior to that of the Transformers version.

These more angled profiles highlight the inferior moulding of the head a little better and it is a shame because with a nicely moulded head, this would have been excellent in robot mode. As it is, he looks a bit strange as a result. Here is a close-up of the robot head, followed by the Estrela-stamped copyright:

The following picture shows the Orange Volks with two of his Optimus faction members, the yellow Sedan (Bumblejumper) and blue Carrera (Cliffjumper):

They do actually look pretty damn good together due to the variety in colour and chassis-shape and conversely, the uniformity of the faction symbol. They definitely come across as a team. It makes you realise how fantastic all of the Optimus vs Malignus minicars would look together.

Here they are with a couple of Malignus minicars, the blue Jipe (Brawn) and green Pick-Up (Gears):

Another nice feature may become clear here, and that is that the Optimus releases have their faction symbols visible in BOTH modes, but the Malignus bots only have their faction symbol visible in robot mode (if the Gears actually had a faction symbol that is...).

In conclusion, the orange Volks may sometimes go unnoticed because of the similarities with the much more available Argentinian Orange Bumblebee, but it is in fact a very rare minibot. On its own it may not be quite the show-stopper that other Optimus vs Malignus minicars are, but it still looks nice and the colour certainly suits the mould. Quality issues are the same for Volks as they are for just about every other Estrela released minibot, meaning that it is highly prone to wear. It really comes into its own as part of a larger picture, especially alongside his teammates. This will probably be one for minibot and Bumblebee completists as opposed to the casual minibot collector who may opt for the Antex orange Volks due to increased availabilty and reduced price. The Antex ones are also widely available MOSC, something you can never ever say about an Optimus vs Malignus toy.

All the best
Maz