Review: #289
Name: Nightbird Shadow
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Legends
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe
Mold Status: remold of Generations Arcee with additional weapons, and new head and torso
PACKAGING:
Nightbird Shadow (henceforth referred to as Nightbird) is an exclusive in the Japanese Legends line, and comes in a fancy box.
The side has some artwork and the back contains stock photos showcasing the figure's new features such as the many weapons she has.
CAR MODE:
Nightbird transforms into a black and silver sports car with a futuristic flair in its design. Unfortunately, the headlights are left black which kind of sucks, but the indications are painted yellow.
The black plastic used is very nice, as is the swaths of silver paint used, which gives this figure a premium feel.
The driver area is nicely sculpted, with purple seats and silver dashboard.
Nightbird's only play value here is that her wheels roll, they are small black wheels.
As a Deluxe figure, Nightbird is very small and light but for some reason, it doesn't seem as bad thanks to the great paintjob.
Even with the extra weapons, Nightbird is able to store all of it in vehicle mode, which is a neat feature.
Nightbird is a remold of Arcee but it is hard to see that in this mode, only the hood is slightly different.
A nice vehicle mode that works well at differentiating itself from Arcee, as well as suiting the character very nicely with its sleek look.
TRANSFORMATION:
Transformation does not change compared to Generations Arcee and so it retains all the flaws such as most of the car being folded into three panels. The thigh transformation is still nice, it's a simple transformation but it works well.
ROBOT MODE:
Wow, just wow. Somehow, through remolding a few parts, they have managed to capture Nightbird from the cartoon perfectly.
The flaws are still here in that she carries most of the car as a huge backpack, thankfully it is light and sits flush against her back, so it doesn't cause any balancing issues.
The first remolding is the new head, while accurate to the cartoon, her chin is really long which impedes in the head articulation.
A comparison against Arcee and you can see how a different color scheme and some remolding can make the two figures seem like they are completely different toys.
She retains her small size in this mode, being a female Transformer also means that she's slim and sleek.
A neat feature is that her backpack is black, which means it tends to blend into the background, and make it seem that she doesn't have a backpack.
Articulation is semi-decent, she lacks a waist joint due to transformation but makes up for it with her hinged ankles, which is a godsend in action poses.
Nightbird comes with no fewer than six weapons. The first is a pair of guns, differently molds of course.
She can hold the guns in both hands, it should be noted that Nightbird has the remolded hands.
The handles of the guns are a bit too long though, unfortunately. Furthermore, the guns are unpainted black which means some of the sculpted detailing is lost.
The next pair of weapons are swords, which are cast in transparent yellow plastic.
Once again, she can hold these swords in either hand.
She doesn't have wrist swivels though but the range of articulation offered by Nightbird doesn't make you miss it that much.
Lastly, Nightbird has new weapons in the form of a pair of sai.
Yes, she can still hold them in her hands and they look fantastic. We don't really have many Transformers (if at all) that uses sai.
The other remolded features are her chest and lower torso, which closely mimics the cartoon character model.
There are enough slots on Nightbird that she can store or hold all weapons at once. Guns can fight into slots on the outside of her thighs, you can even use the slots on her backpack if you so desire. The sai are designed to sit on the outside of her forearms though like in the cartoon.
An amazing figure and probably the best out of the three remolds in the wave (Slipstream and Blackarachnia). It screams Nightbird, and is special in that this is the first toy depiction of the character and does it so well.
OVERALL:
Nightbird is evidence of a remold done right. While she is an obscure character, she looks absolutely amazing with the black and silver. The remolded head, clever color palette choices and additional weapons make for a great figure that is worthy of being in your collection.
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