Toy Review - NIGHTBIRD (Studio Series)

[GoktimusPrime]

NIGHTBIRD
Series - Rise of the Beasts
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 22
Released here - October 2023
Approximate Retail Prize - $38
Approximate Size - 12cm
Allegiance - Terrorcon
Alt-mode - Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - gunmetal grey with purple and bronze accents
Main accessories - x1 sword

In box


Robot mode front and side

The arm claws are sculpted as part of the forearm, although proportionately shrunken. The sword is longer than the mainline figure's, although still proportionately shorter than the ones she uses in the movie. As you can see here, the sword can be attached to the waist panels as if holstered.

Rear view

The sword can also be mounted on the back. There are also a pair of wings, which are absent on the mainline figure. They are undersized, but this is due to the fact that they have to be stowed away in car mode.

Close up on head

Much more screen-accurate head. In the film, Nightbird's eyes are behind her big purple head visor; they glow purple from within. On this toy, the eyes are also behind the visor; they can be easy to initially miss, but if you look closely you can see them.

Action pose.

Those forearm claws are so hilariously undersized. On the plus side, kids won't lose them since they're not detachable accessories, but on the downside, they really don't look as nice. Mainline Nightbird wins on this front.

Holding both mainline and Studio Series swords.

Both Nightbirds only come with one sword each, despite Nightbird having two them in the movie.

Shameless Ahsoka-style pose


Comparison w/ mainline Nightbird

Although Studio Series Nightbird is much more screen-accurate, I prefer the overall look and playability of the mainline toy. Mainline Nightbird is also better balanced and more fun to transform. Studio Series Nightbird definitely wins in car mode though. Her uniformity in colour which looks more bland in robot mode works in her favour in vehicle mode.

Car mode

Definitely the better car mode.

Close up on front of car.

There is a Terrorcon logo on the front grill. Note that I hadn't tabbed the front grill panel in properly, which is why it's not sitting flush in this picture, but it does sit flush if you transform it properly.

Close up on back of car.

You can also see how the sword handle acts as a muffler.

Overall: this toy is much better to look at, whereas the mainline figure is much more fun to play with.

[klystron]

Small. Like, too small. Does not scale with the Scourge figure.

Robot mode looks... ok. Not as accurate as would have liked. I haven't had much fun posing and fiddling with it.

Alt mode is where its at. Licencesd R33 GTR Skyline. Yeah, thats pretty much never going to happen again.

UPDATE:
So this has grown on me a bit, especially the look of the bot mode. After mucking about with posing I've learnt to work with it. Still limited, but certainly enjoy it a bit more.
Also added a little bit of clear nail polish to the backpack tab-slots which now stops the backpack from un-tabbing.

[Sutton]

Another middling effort from the ROTB Studio Series line that needed more time in the oven to get right. I'm not sure why they felt the need to rush out the SS line when there's a mainline available at the same time??

So many little niggly annoying things:

One sword? WTH

Tiny wings? Do them properly or don't do them

Non-existent feet? WTH

It's a decent car mode I guess, just a shame that it has to emulate the shambles colour scheme from the movie. And in a rarity for a ROTB figure, it's a clean car mode.