Review #71: Generations Nightbeat
What the hell?
This is a mold that has been around for a while, first released as a Generations Bumblebee in 2013. It is apparently based on Bumblebee in the IDW comics, but I don't read the comics. And maybe I am stuck in the 80's, but while a car like this may be fine for the Bay-verse version of Bumblebee, it does not do it for me in any continuity in any way connected to G1! I had my Classics Bumblebee, and I was fine with him. Then last year, the mold was given a new head and recolored to represent the character of Nightbeat. Not a character who was a priority for me to get, so I was in no rush. And I wouldn't have been heartbroken to never get him. But yesterday I stopped by a local Toys "Я" Us and saw a handful of Nightbeats shelf-warming for $12.99, which (sadly) is a pretty good price for a Deluxe class figure. |
And so, I thought, "What the hell?" Maybe it was about time I checked this mold out and added a Nightbeat to my collection.
Looking at him first in vehicle mode... Well, Nightbeat was never in the G1 cartoon, so we don't have that to go by. But if we were to compare him with his G1 toy, he's a decent looking update. A blue car with yellow accenting and bitchin' flames on the doors. Yup, that's Nightbeat!
Looking at him first in vehicle mode... Well, Nightbeat was never in the G1 cartoon, so we don't have that to go by. But if we were to compare him with his G1 toy, he's a decent looking update. A blue car with yellow accenting and bitchin' flames on the doors. Yup, that's Nightbeat!
Overall, the paint job as visible in vehicle mode it fairly good. The flames on the doors really pop nicely. The headlights and the wheels have some nice silver on them and the tail lights are painted in a rich red. It may not be easy to tell at a quick glance at these photos, but the rear window is actually painted, too! It is painted in a metallic blue paint that is practically the same shade of blue as the plastic, but it can catch the light at certain angles, so it is a subtle but nice touch.
Alas, the yellow paint does present a couple of problems.
First, and perhaps the slightly more nitpicky of the two, it would have been nice if the yellow paint on the base of the sides would have continued forward past the door up until the wheel well. Secondly and much more importantly, the yellow paint they used is a bit too thin, often letting the blue color of the plastic underneath bleed through. Hasbro really should have done a better job of that, either using a better quality paint or a thicker coat of the paint they did use.
Alas, the yellow paint does present a couple of problems.
First, and perhaps the slightly more nitpicky of the two, it would have been nice if the yellow paint on the base of the sides would have continued forward past the door up until the wheel well. Secondly and much more importantly, the yellow paint they used is a bit too thin, often letting the blue color of the plastic underneath bleed through. Hasbro really should have done a better job of that, either using a better quality paint or a thicker coat of the paint they did use.
The figure does feature weapons storage in vehicle mode. The two halves of Nightbeat's weapon plug into peg holes on either side of the back end of the car. It works, I suppose, but personally I usually prefer figures with (at least semi-)realistic, non-military, Earth-based vehicle modes to be a bit more subtle in their weapons storage. But ah, well. Nightbeat wants big weapons hanging onto his back end? Let him! What the hell?
I wish that wrapped it up for vehicle mode, but I fear that there is one more thing that demands to be addressed before moving onto robot mode. |
There is a panel, which will be Nightbeat's chest, which hangs down underneath his vehicle mode. Hangs down quite a bit. Enough that it causes some serious clearance issues.
You should think it a fairly obvious prerequisite when designing a toy that is a four wheeled vehicle to make it so that all four of those wheels could touch the ground simultaneously. That this toy's mold was designed in a way that this is not possible is sheer negligence on the part of whoever is in charge of quality control at Hasbro. This negligence is just compounded when you consider that Nightbeat is not the first use of this mold. I could almost forgive this error having slipped through on the original Bumblebee use of this mold. But for it to then not be corrected before the mold was then reused?
What. The. Hell?
Well, let us make a valiant effort to put that aside... for now... and take a look at the robot mode, shall we?
What. The. Hell?
Well, let us make a valiant effort to put that aside... for now... and take a look at the robot mode, shall we?
At first glance, not a bad looking robot! It is easy to see that it has its origins in (an overly Bay-verse inspired) Bumblebee, but the new paint job and a new head really help sell him as Nightbeat.
His head is, alas, permanently affixed. Now you may be wondering why that would be a bad thing, but his G1 toy was a Headmaster. Headmasters were robots with detachable heads that turned into smaller robots to pilot their vehicle modes. It would have been nice to have an updated Nightbeat who was also a Headmaster... but this omission is not the end of the world. Another thing that would have been nice, but is not the end of the world, would have been if his chest had had more yellow on it then just the one strip down the middle. His G1 toy's chest was completely yellow, and since the chest panel is hidden in vehicle mode it would have been easy to make it more yellow without any effect to the vehicle mode. But, again, not the end of the world. Articulation is average for a Deluxe class figure. His head can rotate. His shoulders can rotate, and also have some decent up, down, and outward wiggle room. He has upper arm swivels and bendable elbows. Alas, no waist articulation. He has ball jointed hips, upper leg swivels, really good knees, and even (in large part because of transformation joints some half-way decent ankle articulation. |
There is a curiosity in the design of this figure. The majority of the time that you have a car based figure who becomes a robot featuring "door wings," or doors splayed out from behind the figure, those doors are attached to the figure's back. But in Nightbeat's case, the doors are actually attached to the figure's shoulders. Alas, this is a bit of a problem that becomes apparent when you start to pose the figure. The doors move with the figure's shoulders, and anything beyond the most subtle of motions in his shoulders really throw off the figure's silhouette in a way that, while your mileage may very, I personally find quite aesthetically displeasing.
Nightbeat's weapon can be utilized in a few different ways. If you recall from vehicle mode, it can be two separate pieces which he can wield as two separate guns. Or you can combine them together to form one larger gun. Either of these options he can hold in his hands. Additionally, he is apparently supposed to be able to attach his guns via peg holes on the undersides of his forearms. You may have noted my use of the word "apparently" there. Alas, on my figure, the holes are much too loose and the guns will just fall right out if you attempt to attach the guns there. How widespread that issue is I could not say. Fortunately, it is likely not an option I'd have used much if at all... but knowing that it should be possible, when added to the other issues this figure is having... Well, let us just say that that didn't help.
Well, we're coming to a close here, so to the right the standard size comparison photo with a DVD case.
This has been a strange figure to review. In the past, I worried that most of my reviews were a foregone conclusion. Even if I had some issues, the reviews usually end on a positive note. Of course, I tend to buy figures I am pretty sure in advance I will like, so I suppose that would tend to skew the results of my reviews. But this figure was a bit more of a blind purchase, and... Well... If I was worried that most of my reviews tended to be rather consistently positive, then this figure just proves the adage of, "Be careful what you wish for." Most of his issues independently could be forgiven. But the wobbly vehicle mode due to the chest clearance problem is a pretty damn big issue, and any other complaints I have then just become icing on the cake. Dry, cracked icing on a hard, stale cake. |
Am I about to toss Nightbeat in the trash? No. I have him, I spent money on him, I may as well keep him. And, overall, he's not a bad looking figure. (Especially if, as far as robot mode goes, you make sure to pose him in away that doesn't screw up his silhouette.) So I'll hang on to him for now, even if perhaps in the back of my head I hope that eventually we might get a better Nightbeat. (Maybe even one who is a Headmaster!)
But functionally... Well, there is no mincing words. This figure is a mess. He is not a good figure, and I cannot recommend him.
What the hell, Hasbro?
But functionally... Well, there is no mincing words. This figure is a mess. He is not a good figure, and I cannot recommend him.
What the hell, Hasbro?
What the hell?
Review added 21 April 2015 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed.