Will there be a new Headmaster Nightbeat toy?

[Tilarta]

Nightbeat

Is it possible that someday, Hasbro will create an updated Nightbeat toy like they did with the original four Headmasters?

Preferably one with a TitanMaster style removable head.

[GoktimusPrime]

If they do, then I'd like to see the head be toy-accurate, as the G1 comic head (which has become the standard way that Nightbeat has often been portrayed in media) is actually Siren's - they swapped the models around. Generations Nightbeat's head is based on Siren (which is why it was easy enough for TakaraTOMY to repaint it as Go Shooter). If they do it then I'd like to see Hosehead and Siren also get done - and please please please let TakaraTOMY do a CHUG Minerva and Go Shooter! (Cab would just be Hosehead repackaged with a different name ).

Also still waiting for CHUG Sureshot, Pointblank, Landfill, Quickmix and Needlenose! The other G1 Targetmasters has been CHUGgified except for them.

[Tilarta]

I have the TitanMaster Nightbeat toy, all he needs is some body to go with.

I too would like an official Minerva toy, but as she apparently does not exist, I placed a preorder for this third party Minerva.
Still waiting for an official confirmation she is available to ship and pay the presumed balance.

Some G1 Targetmasters might also be appreciated, although I was disappointed by the Crosshairs option recently released, mostly because his vehicle mode wasn't his traditional G1 Cybertronian mode. I think he was a recolor of Cybertron Ironhide.

Powermasters might also be interesting to have, I'd like Getaway primarily, but a full set might be interesting.
Especially if they make a new Dreadwind/Darkwing combining set.
I wonder if they could make the Powermasters engines actually sit inside the vehicle modes as an alternative to being mounted on the outside.
They showed that enough in the comics that when in their combined jet mode, the Decepticon's Powermaster buddies were always sitting inside the cockpit for travel purposes.

[GoktimusPrime]

I have the TitanMaster Nightbeat toy, all he needs is some body to go with.

The problem with those little TR Titan Masters based on actual Headmasters is that when an actual "body" comes out, it's also going to come with its own Headmaster unit... making one or the other redundant. Case in point - Siege Apeface. I got TR Apeface, then I got Siege Apeface. Siege Apeface of course comes with his own Titan Master so... Siege Apeface is still useless.

Having said that, given that TR Nightbeat has a toy-accurate face, then it would be preferable if the new Nightbeat had a comic-like face (like the Generations toy). That way fans who have both have an option of two different style heads. When I got Prime Wars Repugnus I actually went and bought a Titan Master Repugnus later on so that I can have the choice between the Marvel/Sunbow like head or the toy-accurate head. I would definitely get a proper Headmaster Nightbeat, but if the head is already toy-accurate then I won't bother looking for a Titan Master Nightbeat head, but the head is comic-like, then yeah, I might get TR Nightbeat. I mean, I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I found one peg warming for cheap, then yeah, I'd get it. That's what I did with Repugnus. I happened to be in a Target store and found one shelfwarming so I grabbed it. The toy-accurate head makes more sense from HasTak's POV because it would allow them to repaint the toy as Minerva without retooling the head. Although, they could just release the same body with a repainted Titans Return Nightbeat head. Possibly with the constipated grin removed.

I too would like an official Minerva toy, but as she apparently does not exist,

Of course it exists. I mean, nothing from the 21st Century, but an official Minerva toy has existed for 32 years now.

Some G1 Targetmasters might also be appreciated, although I was disappointed by the Crosshairs option recently released, mostly because his vehicle mode wasn't his traditional G1 Cybertronian mode. I think he was a recolor of Cybertron Ironhide.

Crosshairs is a repaint and retool of Siege Ironhide. It works for me, especially as I was able to acquire a Legends Pinpointer second hand.
I did get the ReproLabels (Toyhax) sticker set for Siege Crosshairs which makes him look more G1-like, but I've since decided against using them so if you would like a set of these stickers you can have mine for free (as I don't believe in taking money for unlicensed stuff).

Powermasters might also be interesting to have, I'd like Getaway primarily, but a full set might be interesting.

He's been done (albeit as a Titan Master). I actually brought my Getaway to NZ (as he's meant to speak with a NZ accent in the IDW comics) and none of the NZ fans at the Dunedin meet picked up the reference!

Especially if they make a new Dreadwind/Darkwing combining set.

Ah... you said "new." Right.

I wonder if they could make the Powermasters engines actually sit inside the vehicle modes as an alternative to being mounted on the outside.
They showed that enough in the comics that when in their combined jet mode, the Decepticon's Powermaster buddies were always sitting inside the cockpit for travel purposes.

With both Powermasters and Godmasters, the human components are able to pilot their Transtectors when not in engine mode, and they only need to transform into the engine to enable transformation. They're not actual "engine" engines, they're just transformation keys.

This is why I personally don't miss the Power/Godmaster gimmick and I'm happy enough to have them be Titan Masters. They can still retain the piloting gimmick and lose the rather superfluous transformation-lock gimmick. Having said that, I suppose there's no reason why they couldn't have both the engine and pilot gimmick, but yeah, I'd assume that the transformation-lock gimmick would be ditched, making the engine attachment thing nothing more than ornamental rather than functional. Not that the G1 Power/Godmasters were ever that functional given that you could easily override the gimmick with your finger tip.

[Tilarta]

I got the TitanMaster Apeface, just in case that one is better for a head when I get my Headmaster Apeface (order pending delivery).

The G1 Minerva is just Nightbeat repainted, I wanted a show accurate version.
There was a TitanMaster unit released, but I think she came with some other exclusive release and not on her own.
What is it with Hasbro and not making Headmasters with their bodies?

I didn't like that the TitanMaster line was essentially turning every Targetmaster and Powermaster into Headmasters, so lost interest in most of their products.
What I wanted was an updated version of the original toys with the new design functionality, but preserving Targetmaster and Powermaster buddies in their original transformation modes.
The Siege line is doing a fairly good job of releasing some Targetmaster buddies as I wanted them, even if they're not releasing all the possible options.

I don't mind if they do away with the transformation lock for the hypothetical Powermaster update, just as long as they keep the engine transform/attachment gimmick.
And maybe allow the humanoid form of the engine to sit inside a cockpit/driver's compartment.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, I generally agree with your sentiment. The Headmaster gimmick was cooler when only a few TFs could do it. One thing that I wasn't enthused about with TR is how every Thomas, Richard and Henry was a freaking Headmaster. It reminds me of that thing that Syndrome said in The Incredibles, "When everyone's super then no-one will be," and that's how the Headmaster gimmick in TR felt like to me. It was no longer special. And honestly, although it did give us some really nice toys like the Jumpstarters etc., I find that they're nice in spite of the Headmaster gimmick and not because of it.

It also reduces line diversity. I really wish that they would go back to the original way of doing CHUG Targetmasters - just include the Targetmaster weapons with the bot! e.g. Universe Cyclonus & Generations Scoop. Sure, their Targetmaster partners were pretty basic compared to the Battle Masters and they don't include blast effects, but that's fine. I don't need my Targetmaster weapons to be fancy stand-alone figures with blast effects; just having them as simple transforming accessories is just fine for me. And it's not as if the Titan Masters are nothing more than that anyway, so with figures like TR Blowpipe, Aimless and Caliburst, being Headmasters really isn't much better than being a Targetmaster. You might as well be a Targetmaster. Then by releasing some of their partners as stand-alone Battlemasters (e.g. Blowpipe, Firedrive etc.), it means that Hasbro is expecting schmucks (like me ) to go and buy those figures to accessorise their TR partners. So my TR Hot Rod and Triggerhappy both have two Firedrives and Blowpipes respectively - one as a head and one as a Battle Master. It's completely superfluous. Just. Make. Them. Targetmasters.

But yeah, I suspect that Earthrise Doubledealer might be the first "Ornamental Powermaster." See... TakaraTOMY really should be repainting this toy as Double Clouder for their market (and I would buy an LG Double Clouder in a heartbeat!), but given this whole penchant for brand unification, I don't know if it will happen now.

The G1 Minerva is just Nightbeat repainted, I wanted a show accurate version.

The Nightbeat repaint is the most accurate one, since the toy came first. Not sure why the cartoon model modified the shoulders, especially when every other TF in Masterforce looks fairly toy-accurate (even Ginrai's faux truck chest is shown as being fake in the show! Arguably a bit too accurate ).

There was a TitanMaster unit released, but I think she came with some other exclusive release and not on her own.
What is it with Hasbro and not making Headmasters with their bodies?

To be fair, it's not exactly a new thing as Takara first did it in 1987 with the Headmaster Warriors (e.g. Kirk, Rodney, Loafer etc.) - and we've had two of them CHUGgified as TR Shuffler and Leone (Sawback). But I take your meaning - at least those characters were originally meant to be Transtectorless Headmasters. And I don't mind them doing new characters like Butla etc, or even alternate head options like Repugnus (and potentially Nightbeat if the true Headmaster toy has a comic-like head). And I suppose doing G1 characters who were never Headmasters as bodyless Titan Masters (e.g. Overkill, Grimlock, Flywheels etc.) is weird but "inoffensive" enough that it doesn't trigger you into wishing that they made them as proper Headmasters. I skipped almost all of those Titan Masters though. I might've been more enticed if they were wholly new characters (as the Headmaster Warriors were in '87).

If they do continue with the ornamental Powermaster gimmick, then I hope that they'll release the Masterforce Warriors as stand-alone figures or even in a three pack at a Deluxe price point, similar to the Studio Series Arcee bikes.

[ComradeRenko]

I too would like an official Minerva toy, but as she apparently does not exist, I placed a preorder for this third party Minerva.
Still waiting for an official confirmation she is available to ship and pay the presumed balance.

I ended up going with the Legends Minerva head from the God Ginrai set I picked up by itself, Getaway's body, and the Toyhax sticker kit (minus the face stickers, those are horrible). I also painted the hands and feet black to help further differentiate her. By no means perfect, but good enough for now. Would love an official updated modern figure for her.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I do wish they'd done the rest of the little Japanese Headmaster guys to go along with Shuffler and Leone.
Plus if they were going to do the Monsterbots in TR anyway, the Decepticon Headmaster Junior monster guys could have been pretty easy pretools/retools. Repugnus and Squeezeplay would be pretty close design-wise, as would Grotusque and Fangry, and you could probably get a Horri-bull from the Skullsmasher mold. And it wouldn't be too hard to get the Autobot Jr team done either - 2 cars and a truck base, which you could pretty easily use/remold for another character or two (e.g. complete the Autobot double Targetmaster team with TR versions of Quickmix and Landfill).

[GoktimusPrime]

I do wish they'd done the rest of the little Japanese Headmaster guys to go along with Shuffler and Leone.

This is what I was hoping would happen, but alas it did not. I was super stoked when Sawback and Shuffler came out and I grabbed them straight away. A shame that Hasbro kinda dropped the ball with it, although I wonder if poor sales had anything to do with it, because I noticed that they weren't the strongest sellers, especially Shuffler. And this is the problem with making CHUG toys based on these more obscure (or even Obscure) characters; the lack of sufficient demand. And these are still just Middle G1 characters. I don't know how well this bodes for my dream to see ALL of G1 eventually released as CHUG or MPs, especially Late G1. I'd grab a CHUG Thunder Clash or Talon in a heartbeat, but maybe I'm the only one?

Middle G1 seems more doable. I think that a lot of the original Action Master characters could be done as CHUGs, and the great thing is that we'd finally see them with their intended alt modes. Titans Return did give us Krok, but the croc mode was a turn off for me - I want a CHUG Krok who transforms into a spaceship as implied by the G1 toy's faux kibble. And yes, I know there have been limited exclusive repaints done as Action Masters (e.g. Treadshot etc.) as well as transforming toys based on Action Masters from outside of CHUG (e.g Bayformers & Alternity Banzai-Tron, Bayformers Axer etc.). Heh, Banzai-Tron would be the last problematic to make as a transforming toy as you can make his alt mode whatever you want since the G1 toy has no alt mode parts. Treadshot would be arguably the most problematic as Hasbro obviously can't have him transform into a revolver pistol. They could make him a sci-fi/space gun and market it as a "submarine" (it worked for Sixshot and Shockwave ).

Am I the only one who would be willing to buy every single G1 character as a CHUG toy if Hasbro made them?

[Tilarta]

Considering what I had to do to convert Titanmaster Hot Rod into a genuine Targetmaster:

I am uncertain if that could be repeated with any other toy.
To explain, I could only do it because Takara Tomy released a Targetmaster compatible chest variant of this toy, which I removed and transferred to Hot Rod:

Then I had to order a 3rd party head mod to remove the Titanmaster feature:


So I'm hoping in the future, they make proper Blurr and Kup Targetmaster style figures, so I get what I want in one purchase.

I wanted the Minerva Titanmaster from the Ginrai set, but the set is so expensive now I'd rather not purchase it:
https://www.ebay.com.au/p/13011259748
If anyone knows if the Titanmasters from the set are available separately for a reasonable price, please let me know.