• Beast Mode
• Beast Mode (Close up)
• Beast Mode (View from above)
• Claw Attack Mode
• Claw Attack Mode (Close up)
• Robot Mode

Name: Nightscream
Function: Aerial Combat/Recon Expert
Motto: "Let's get ready to make some noise!"

As the first known survivor of Megatron's conversion-freezing virus, Nightscream has brought a new optimism to the Maximal cause. He's living proof of the organic history of Cybertron. In Beast Mode, boasts unmatched speed and aerial maneuverability. Sonic pulses can blast through all alloys. Razor-sharp claws pierce through solid metal with ease. Robot mode gives him even more speed and maneuverability. Can drain enemy's energy and power himself with it. Also creates audio illusions which destract and confuse Vehicons, making them vulnerable to attack.

Nightscream is one of the more controversial characters to have come along in a while to the Transformers universe. Many felt his portrayal in the Beast Machines television show was (at best) annoying. It is pleasing to say however that the toy does not reflect this
attitude.

Beast Mode:
Nightscream is a wonderful combination of solid, metallic colored parts and translucent parts. His wingspan is an impressive twenty five and a quarter inches. The wings also look fantastic. Mostly of the wings are translucent brown, with the edges painted metallic blue. The arms connected to the wings are four colors. The upper arms are metallic brown, the middle section translucent orange, the lower arms are translucent blue and finally the hands at the end are solid light blue. His upper legs are brown and gold and the ower legs are translucent blue. The claws are light brown with blue metallic paint sprayed over the brown. Translucent orange plastic is used for Nightscream's tail and his back.

In this form, Nightscream has fifteen points of articulation. That includes the beast mode mouth, the ears, legs and the arms. The wings can fold in if you wish to collapse them. For his primary action feature, you can lift up the orange rectangular section on his back. Twist it around and press the brown bar to launch the discs incuded with the figure. In a neat move, as you turn the disc launcher, the beast mode head turns as well. This gives the impression that he is looking down at the enemy he is aiming at, a very nice touch.

Nightscream's beast mode is impressively detailed and the use of a lot of tranlsucent plastic works well. The action feature is fun and the gimmick with the beast mode head is well thought out.

Transformation to Claw Attack Mode:
Both of Nightscream's arms are attahed to a translucent blue oval piece which connects them to the main body. Slide these pieces upwards. Fold the beast mode head down. Now swing up the legs so the claws at the ends point forward. Fold the wings downwards and then swing the blue claws at the ends out. On each foot/claw, fold down the orange piece with the three circles on it down, revealing a blue claw. Aim the claw forward. The claws on the wings support the figure, so stand it up on them.

Claw Attack Mode:
The Claw Attack Mode is a simple variation on the beast mode, almost as if someone placed the hypothetical "What would happen if some one broke Nightscream's wrists in beast mode?" Resting on the arms with the legs sticking out, it looks like Nightscream is desperately trying to kick someone. This view does give a good view of Nightscream's Spark Crystal. Nightscream stands well on the wings, which is a pleasant surprise as they seem a little too flexible to stand on at first.

In this form, Nightscream retains all the posability from the beast mode, but since the head is now looking forward, but its belly is facing forward, the head looks like it is bobbing from side to side, which looks rather comedic. This form is a nice variant on the beast mode, but it is a bit of a stretch to call it an entirely different mode.

Transformation to Robot Mode (from beast mode):
Begin the transformation by sliding the arms forward. Swing down the beast mode legs and twist the ends around so you can connect the two halves of his waist section together. Fold down the translucent orange parts on the back of the lower legs and then fold the blue claw up into the groove so the translucent orange piece can act as a heel.

Swing the arm piece back up so it locks into place. Lift the translucent orange flap and turn the to piece of the toy around so the robot head faces forward. Straighten out the arms and collapse the wings in. Nightscream is now in robot mode.

Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Nightscream stands almost twelve inches/thirty centimeters tall (not including his wings, which go up even higher on his arms). Nightscream's color scheme is a tasteful combination of gold, brown, light blue, metallic blue, translucent, orange, blue and translucent orange.

Nightscream has a very thin look, but it does not look lanky. Rather, it looks like this is a Transformer built for flight. The various angular and sharp looking points such as the shoulders, fingers, feet and the small blades protruding from his lower arms help give the toy a dynamic feel.

For those who want total show accuracy, they may be disappointed. The bat wings are not on Nightscream's feet, but rather are on his arms. He does have the patch of "hair" on his head (which sent shivers up the spines of many Transformers fans, and not in a good way), but what he lacks is the young looking "baby face" with freckles. Rather, this face looks a lot more serious and adult, almost like a more "grown up" version of the character. I also prefer the wings being on the arms. Somehow, the wings on the feet always seemed a bit silly looking to me. Having them on the arms makes them look more functional where they could be used as weapons (with those claws at the ends) or as a shield.

In this mode, Nightscream has nineteen points of articulation. His primary action feature is a disc launcher built into his chest. Flip up his chest panel, pull the rectangular part inside out and rotate it around. You will see what looks like a brown handle pop out too. Move that to the back so it fits into the empty rectangular slot in his back. This component lights up, and when you push the brown handle in the back, he fires his discs! Very nice looking feature overall.

For an ultra sized toy, this is one fantastic piece of work. The detailing fits very well with the Beast Machines techno-organic style. He is also fun to play with and a worthwhile purchase for any Beast Machines fan. A+