Toy Review - NIGHTBIRD (Rise of the Beasts Deluxe)
NIGHTBIRD
Series - Rise of the Beasts
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - April 2023
Approximate Retail Prize - $35
Approximate Size - 13.5cm
Allegiance - Terrorcon
Alt-mode - Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R*
Main Features/Gimmicks - weapons combine to form spoiler
Main Colours - gunmetal grey, metallic purple, bronze
Main accessories - x1 sword, x1 dual claw
https://i.ibb.co/dJmvDJ1/ROTB-wheeljack01.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/QYtK7v5/ROTB-nightbird01.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/ZL4SPGQ/ROTB-nightbird02.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/5xBQvVP/ROTB-nightbird03.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Wf2QYHC/ROTB-nightbird04.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Jjsjdxm/ROTB-nightbird05.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/J37KdY4/ROTB-nightbird06.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/L1gkKwt/ROTB-nightbird07.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/XX4r9kP/ROTB-nightbird08.jpg
Ever had a toy that initially failed to impress you but then grows on you later? Rise of the Beasts Nightbird is one such toy, for me anyway. I first encountered this toy nearly 2 months ago when I was helping Hasbro shoot their promotional videos for their Big W exclusives, at I gotta say that I found Nightbird to be just mediocre. In hindsight, this was because I was transforming and posing this toy in a rush, and as such, I found it difficult to pose Nightbird on her tiny feet. But now that I own the toy and have had the luxury of checking this toy out in my own time, I find that she is remarkably well balanced for a toy with such small feet. I would advise posing this toy on a solid surface though.
The robot head does look a lot like G1 Nightbird, and there are also other elements that resemble samurai armour. And I will remind you that, unlike what pop culture has taught us, in real life ninja and samurai were often one and the same thing. So having samurai armour parts on a ninja-bot is actually historically accurate. Ya know, aside from being a giant transforming alien robot (although The Last Knight showed us modern vehicle modes in Earth's past, so why not? :p). The door panels can also slide back to form pseudo-swordish things, similar to the doors on Drift or the MP3/6/7 Seekers.
Something that has impressed me about this toy from the very beginning are the weapons. She comes with a gorgeous sword and a claw weapon. These weapons assemble to form the spoiler on the car mode, which I think is quite clever. :) In terms of screen likeness, this toy is definitely more colourful than what I think her screen model is. We have seen photos of the Nissan Skyline car that they've used, which is predominantly dark grey with metallic magenta rims. This toy does introduce bronze highlights to the car mode which doesn't appear on the movie car from what we've seen. We haven't had a very clear look at her robot mode; just Nightbird doing a mid-air mid-transformation somersalt in the new spoilerrific trailer. From what I could glance, Nightbird's on-screen model has darker arms/hands, not bronze arms/hands like this toy. I can see some bronze on the chest and legs, although possibly not to the degree that this toy has, it's hard to tell for sure at this stage. This toy does use metallic indigo highlights which are magenta on the film.
I'm hoping that a Studio Series Nightbird is in the works, hopefully giving us a more screen-like design with a licensed Nissan Skyline vehicle mode. But this mainline toy is also nice enough that I'll likely keep both Nightbirds after getting the SS figure. :) Also, the transformation on this is fairly complex for a mainline Deluxe; it feels like it's at the peak of what would be doable for the average child. Having personally witnessed kids struggle and fail with Studio Series Airazor, I can see the value of these simpler mainline toys for the core target market: children. :cool:
Recommended, although if screen-likeness and licensed vehicle modes are a big deal for you, you might want to wait and see if a Studio Series figure happens or not. But if you don't care that much about screen-likeness and you'd prefer a Nightbird with a more diverse range of colours to break up all that dark grey, then this is the toy for you. :) Worth buying for $35 at Kmart or if you can get Big W to price match Kmart's price (I don't think it's worth $39; yes, I know it's only a $4 difference, but this is significant for kids collecting these toys with their pocket money (or trying to convince their parents to buy them)).
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*unlicensed approximant
