Nightbeat is one of those characters that would require understanding why he's popular with the fans if the only G1-related thing you've ever seen before is the cartoon and the 86 movie; when it comes to the Marvel and IDW comics, they certainly made the character feel more important than just the new toy of the year (to the point where fans got annoyed when he died in Generation 2). I don't remember what happened to him in IDW since I gave up on the comics the moment the art style started to suck and the moment Megatron turned into an Autobot (hey, if I'm not allowed to say that, what's the excuse of people who got angry when Ironhide died?), but I know he did have an incident where he had two different toy molds that contradicted one another. Let's see what they're like!
Here is Nightbeat in his vehicle mode. This guy turns into a rather slick muscle car, which is actually more fitting for Bumblebee than it is for Nightbeat, but at least the figure is colored to fit how Nightbeat looks. The blue is probably lighter than it should be, but the yellow paint apps used on the bottom trim (despite not being as continuous), as well as the red flames, help make the vehicle mode stand out. Things like the front of the car have rather nice paint apps for the grill and headlights go nicely with the car, and the same goes for the silver rims. The clear blue windows are a nice touch, but the rear spoiler does look a little weird without a middle piece. For weapon storage, there are two hubcaps on the back that are made for the guy, and those are used to store the two stinger blaster halves that are more fitting for Bumblebee.
Here we have Nightbeat next to two versions of Bumblebee: Netflix WFC and Cyberverse Deluxe. These two are more contemporary Deluxes that make comparing them next to an older Deluxe more interesting. Surprisingly, Nightbeat fits in well with them in terms of scale, though it is quite clear that Nightbeat might not fit in aesthetically with the current WFC guys.
The transformation very much a unique take on the Autobot Car approach, with the hood chest being a faux one while the real one is on the back along with the windshield. The front quarter portions of the vehicle that have the tires are the shoulders, and the rear of the car becomes the legs. It definitely shows that Nightbeat doesn't quite belong on the Bumblebee body, as the robot mode basically makes him feel like a blue version of the guy but with his head. Prime Hot Shot was another Blue Bumblebee from a year ago, but he made it work well by having more paint apps to go along with his new head. Thi guy kind of feels like one of those knockoff repaints of Bumblebee you'd find at Aliexpress. While the figure looks fine from the front, I don't like how the backpack doesn't stay in place and it has a tendency to untab.
The head sculpt is accurate to the character, even if the mouth isn't as nicely sculpted as I would have liked, but you see that red patch on the back of his head? It appears he would have had light piping before it was decided that painting them would be done...it's a weird thing Hasbro does with their toys, I swear. The articulation is good but is a little restricted, as the head can swivel left and right, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out (but not as well given how the shoulders work), bicep swivels, elbow bends (weirdly, bending the elbows while they're in another position doesn't really work. There is a waist swivel, the hips move front and back, in and out, swivel at the thigh, bend at the (rather loose) knees, and the feet move around on ball-joints (but not in any effective pivot ways).
The accessories can be used in two different ways: the stinger blaster halves can be put on the underside of his cannons so they can look like they transformed out of his arms or be a massive cannon that looks better than both of them combined yet doesn't really stay on his hand that well...maybe having them sandwich over the naked hand would work better.
In terms of uses from the mold, let's first start with the toy that used this specific tooling. This is Goshooter, who is the Japanese version of G1 Siren and is now a high-pursuit police cruiser muscle car. Amusing how he was reused from Nightbeat and Minerva wasn't. Aside from the same accessories, he came with, he also has Shuta Go, a repaint of Thrilling 30 Legends Bumblebee's Targetmaster partner Blazemaster. They were only included in an offer for a TakaraTomy Transformers book.
And here is the original user of the mold, Bumblebee! This mold was certainly meant to be Bumblebee, as he has all of the traits from the live-action version of the guy as a way to have younger fans be reeled into the world of the IDW comics. He's pretty much a G1-styled take on the Movie design but with a few differences to make him a little more unique, like the way the legs transform, the chest transforming differently, and the head being an older G1 Bumblebee head.
And this is the Takara version of the guy, now named Gold Bumblebee. He's colored differently to have both a more metallic shade of yellow that keeps the toy from looking a little thin like with the Hasbro version as well as some gold paint apps here and there. The windows are a nicer shade of blue, and the head is even recolored (but not remolded) to better fit in with Goldbug.
Yet another reuse of the Bumblebee mold, this is Goldfire! He is a much more distinct take on the guy as he is given a gold body, blue replacing the black on parts of the toy, different stripe paint apps, and a new noggin for him to better resemble Goldbug. Despite looks, this guy will not be a victim of Gold Plastic Syndrome.
And finally, this is Carzap! He is a lot more radical in terms of coloring, even moreso than Goshooter; he's got a crazy mix of white, red, black, and purple, his weapon is chromed, he has a new head with silver paint that makes him look more isolated, and his vehicle mode has Transformers and Heroic Autobot written on him in red and purple...it's very strange, but also strange is that the 95 gives me strong Lightning McQueen vibes. Oh, and he was from the Subscription Service.
And for a mystery that people should think about, this guy was originally going to be a repaint of the Special Ops Jazz mold from Reveal the Shield. While Jazz's body is too specific for his character, the alternate mode better suits Nightbeat's G1 vehicle mode. So what makes me think they used the Bumblebee mold is the fact that it is much more suitable for the 2013/2014 budget of Transformers at the time, with the Thrilling 30 figure having cheaper engineering that would adhere to the Deluxe price point at the time (which is just Hasbro giving less but charging more).
For a robot mode comparison, here he is with the same versions of Bumblebee I covered before. I can imagine this Nightbeat and the Netflixbee doing a fusion dance to become Cyberverse Bee. And ars you can tell, he and Cyberverse Bee have a lot in common. But as for a recommendation standpoint, I kind of feel underwhelmed by how he turned out. Transformers toys were pretty mixed in terms of quality in 2012, with a noticeable dip compared to the late 2000s. The PRID line had simpler counterparts to the First Edition guys and new guys who vary from good to bad; Fall of Cybertron's figures have been inferior to the WFC guys until the Voyagers, Seekers, and Insecticons showed up. Thrilling 30 has also been a mixed bag, with Deluxes that feel varied in sizes, as well as the initial Voyagers, having either the superb Springer or the disappointing Blitzwing. The Bumblebee mold looked like a pretty good take on the guy from what I remembered, and part of me hoped that Nightbeat would be a cool version since he was a neat character in the Marvel and IDW comics. Sadly, this mold has arm issues, backpack issues, knee issues, and weapon issues, which make him feel more like a conflicted mess than it should be. Unless you're a completionist or a Nightbeat fan, you don't need this guy too much.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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