Nightbeat
"When Grimlock approached Nightbeat about joining his grew in the search for Bludgeon and the rest of the Decepticons who had fled Klo, he naturally jumped at the opportunity. It was a mystery to solve, and Nightbeat was ready for the challenge. Along with Muzzle, and their trusted (and rather loud) comrade Siren, the three headed off with Grimlock and the rest of the crew aboard the Graviton.
Now, after deciding that even the remnants of war was just something he no longer wanted to be a part of, Nightbeat finds himself commanding a crew of his own: one made of comrades, new and old, together mapping out different star systems to explore and finding new mysteries to solve!"
Role: Detective
Quote: "Tackling the mysteries of the Universe...one planet at a time."
Robot Mode
Nightbeat's robot mode is a very good upgrade for his G1 version. His colours match the originals very well and utilizes the new mold very well
The legs are articulate, but they're quite stiff, so despite being able to move his legs, he isn't easy, and can be scary to do so. His leg's articulation is confined to the upper-most part of the leg (where the yellow part on the leg is) The legs can also be raised at the sides to give him the horizontal splits. The feet are able to be repositioned slightly for different surfaces. The lower legs can also rotate at the point just under the yellow partat 360 degrees if needed
His arms are able to bend at the elbows by a hinge, and the shoulder area by a ball joint. Although the arms CAN'T technically raise at the sides, you can unhook the arm's connection to the main torso to make them look like they can (though it would look very awkward). Nightbeat's shoulder thingies are able to be risen or lowered upwards or downwards so they look like a massive collar or a part of the arms respectively. His hands aren't articulated, but can hold a standard gun (like the one he comes with)
The head is connected to the back kibble/car hood by a connector, and can therefore be slightly tilted or raised etc on a ball bearing on the connector. The head is also a new mold from the original Hot Shot one to make it look like the old comic version (sans the ears due to a warehouse mistake..or Siren annoying him so much that he throws the ears at him)
Because he is using an Energon series mold he can also wield an Energon star on his left breast which also has a silver Autobot insignia inside it
Alternate Mode
Nightbeat's alternate mode is of an Aston Martin sports car which looks very lovely, the blue is consistent, which is good in a figure with various segments (like Universe Sunstreaker with his different yellows) Also the large Autobot insignia on the front of the hood makes a very lovely addition to the figure's aesthetic.
The yellow spoiler and rim make a good contrast to the bold blue. The rear of the car has an area molded for a licence plate, but it's left blank (as it was in the original use of the mold too). he has clear headlights that, whilst not working still look great. he can also have his hood opened up to reveal a faux engine
The wheels are fully functional, as with most modern car molds, and can roll along a smooth surface with some ease. He has a false set of police sirens carried over from the Hot Shot mold, which are just yellow instead of red and blue
Nightbeat has a visible interior, but it's not able to be used by any known of figures (since the seating area is filled by his chest. The doors can also open up, but obviously the folded arms are there, so they aren't usable anyway
The flame deco on the doors is VERY nicely done, it's not just one bulk of colour, but more realistic, with some red highlights on the yellow flames
Transformation
Nightbeat isn't difficult to transform in the slightest, you just slide out the legs, flip open the feet, open the doors, unfold the arms, fold down the hood and flip out the head connector onto the Powerlinx port
The only difficult part in any sense is the head which has to be folded out careful and then the connector must be repositioned to hide it enough in robot mode
Of course, since Nightbeat uses an Energon series Autobot mold, he can combine with any of the Voyager or Deluxe Powerlinx combiners as well, as shown in my two sets of images above. his "Torso mode" is created by flipping his folded up arms backwards, opening up his groin, and spreading his legs (STOP GIGGLING!) then threading his head connector through the car hood and pulling the head through the hood, the opposite side to where it was before and clipping it into a special clip revealed at that point. He can then connect to any "Leg mode" Energon figure by the black connector
His "Leg mode" is much easier to perform, you just fold up his arms and shoulder thingies and flip it backwards, and fold the head and connector back into the car hood, then just connect any "Torso mode" onto him
Accessories
Nightbeat comes with the three parts of his gun, which include a scanner, gun and missile. The scanner and gun are clear plastic which can also clip onto the car mode at the top
Availability
Nightbeat was only made available at the Transformers Collector's club for about $40, but is now out of stock. I managed to get mine from a contest held on this website however, which is just awesome frankly
Nightbeat is a repaint of Energon Hotshot, with a new head, and new plastic on his gun to make a different clear plastic colour (opaque instead of red and blue)
My Thoughts
Nightbeat is one of my favourite characters ever, and this version makes a wonderful addition to my collection. He looks great in both modes and has plenty of play value
His new head, whilst looking a bit off without the ears, still looks good regardless, it's VERY detailed, which is always a plus and since the eyes are a silver colour, they give off a natural "glow" with even natural light
The figure however has a kind of shaky feeling and rattles a lot, it's most likely because this mold has been used at least 2 times by both Hasbro and Takara each, so it was probably on it's last legs anyway. Also the head is very easy to remove, which is very annoying, but I can live with it
The alternate mode is very fun, and even fits in with the more modern CHUG (Classics, Henkei, Universe, Generations) alternate modes, which enables him to interact and role out with some of his newly updated G1 buddies
Overall I love this figure. If I had the money I'd buy an Aston Martin and have him painted in Nightbeat's colours because of this toy. He looks good in both robot and car mode, so he'd be good for collectors (if you can find him anywhere) or for anyone who just wants a fun toy to play with
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