Day 289: Grimlock (Classic Pretender)

Kicking off a run of Classic Pretenders: these are classic Transformers characters given new toy life as Pretender figures. As these all draw from the early runs, their new "upgraded" Pretender forms are actually smaller and less sophisticated than the toys that inspired them. First up is the classic Dinobot leader Grimlock (originally issued in 1985). As a Pretender, he still turns into a T-Rex (albeit a smaller one), and also has this space gladiator organic human shell. He was available in 1989.

Day 79: Superion (Universe)

The combined form of the Universe Micromaster Aerialbots is Superion, an amalgamation of six robots plus their pack-in accessories that serve as connectors, head, and extremities of the gestalt warrior. While in Japan, the original source of the design ( Sixwing , 1992) was available in a collected set, this combiner needed to be purchased one bot at a time in the 2007 Universe release.

Day 251: Mad

The last of the Air Assault Micron Team trio is Mad, who turns into a Concorde SST. A design that's been used several times already -- see Jetstorm , Scattor , Thrust , Mach , and Quantum -- this version has some of its plastic parts in a translucent finish, giving it a high tech feel. Mad was available in Japan in 2003. He was later rechristened "Skull Buster" in Fan Club-generated lore.

Day 26: Nemesis Prime (Alternators)

Nemesis Prime, an evil twin to Optimus Prime first introduced in the Armada line, gets the Alternators treatment, allowing a reuse of the Dodge Ram SRT-10 design. In the North American market, this toy was only available at the Hasbro Toy Shop and at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2006.

Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

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