www.SGCollect.com has info floating in their fourms that the next MP is Grimlock due out March of '09.  Grimlock is said to cost 13000 yen (roughly $130 USD).  They also are reporting that the next Alternity figure will be Megatron with the alt mode of a Nissan 350Z avialible in blue or silver. 

The two new mold SWTFs are out in stores now.  I have personally purchached the General Grevious/Starfigher and the Tie Pilot/Tie Bomber in the last three days.  I know that the SWTFs aren't at the top of everybody's list.  But for those of you who do like them they are out now.  It was stated by Hasbro (long long ago, and this may have changed by now)  that there would be four new molds for the current SWTF line.  There is as yet no offical word on what the other two may be, but a mislabeled SWTF was displayed at SDCC this summer.  It looks very much like it would have an alt mode of a V-19 Torrent from the new Clone Wars TV show.  You can see the image at Jedi Insider.

In other news, the Transformers Collectors Club Exclusives Nightbeat and Seacons are shipping/have shipped.  There are still a number of the various Club Exclusives availible for purchace at the Club Store. 

I have not bought the Seacons (yet), but I have purchased and recieved Nightbeat in the mail already.  I generally try not to review toys as a news item, but I like to promote the club when reasonable to do so. 

Nightbeat comes in a fantastic box.  Much like the boxes that the Botcon boxsets come in.  It's heavy gauge cardboard with a paper wrap that has some really well done art work on it.  Inside the box is the Timelines comic, instructions, a well cut foam insert, Nightbeat's gun, and Nightbeat himself. 

The Timelines comic is a well enough writen and drawn tale of Nightbeat and his crew.  How good the story itself is may be debatable depending on your expectations, but it is certinly an enjoyable read.

The instructions are worth mentioning, simply because they are (depending on how you view the toy) incomplete.  They tell you perfectly well how to transform Nightbeat from bot to car, but they make no metion of the aspect of the Deluxe Energon Powerlinx Combiner ability.

Nightbeat is a repaint of the Deluxe Class Energon Hotshot.  This was a very good mold to begin with.  It looks to be based very much on Aston Martin's of the last 5 or so years.  The Aston Martin(ish) alt mode fits very well next to G1 Nightbeat's alt mode of a Porsche 959.  The color scheme is G1 accurate with beter detailing than the G1 toy had.  The robot mode paint scheme is like the alt mode.  It is very G1 with much better detailing than was done in '88.  The new head is well sculpted.  I've heard some have had problems with the head being loose.  Mine is tight and fits well.  The head does not have the gun earstalks that the orignal Headmaster did, but I'm not sure that he really needs them.

Overall, Nightbeat is every bit as good as the toy he's based on, the comic is decent, and the box is beautiful.  I recomend him if you enjoy the Energon Deluxe Powerlinx Combiners, or if you are a big fan of the character.  However, at $48 plus shipping, plus membership fee (assuming you aren't already a TFCC member) he gets to be expensive quickly.  I personally wish the TFCC had offered an option of just toy and instructions in a bag.  The savings of not paying for the box, foam, comic, and slightly cheaper shipping would make this toy much more affordable for those who aren't sure if they really want Nightbeat.