Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Finishing off the new Generation Two jets today with Windrazor, their leader. Windrazor turns into an F-16 Fighting Eagle jet, and was available starting in 1993.

Today's new drawing continues this run of Generation Two jet fighters. Here is Terradive, Decepticon advance fighter. Turns into a Vought A-7 Corsair II fighter. His particular transformation design gives him large scoops of fuselage that stick out from his arms. He came out in 1993. 

Today's drawing is Eagle Eye, Decepticon infiltrator. He turns into either a Dassault Rafale jet, or a Eurofighter typhoon jet - it's hard to tell, as both had a delta-wing configuration and canard forewings. He was part of the 1993 Generation Two launch, one of the few designs not repurposed from the '80s.  

New for this year is this drawing of Afterburner, Decepticon technicians master. He is one of a quartet of smaller-scaled jets that debuted with the Generation Two toyline in 1993. Afterburner turns into a blue and yellow Lockheed F-104G Starfighter jet. 

New for this year is this drawing of Starscream, Decepticon air commander, re-released for 1993's Generation Two toyline. He still is an F-15 Eagle, though with new weapons and decals on his wings.      

A new drawing for this year is this rendition of Ramjet, Decepticon warrior, in his Generation Two look from 1993. Ramjet was originally introduced in 1985, and his toy was reissued with a new paint job for the inaugural wave of Generation Two toys. He has the distinction of being one of the first Transformers to be animated in CG, as the commercial touting his toy featured him fighting Optimus Prime, and it was also incorporated into the opening titles of the Generation Two rebranding of the original The Transformers animated series. Ramjet turns into an F-15 Eagle with modified delta-shaped wings. His original color scheme was white and brick red -- his Generation Two look is purple, black and teal. 

The inevitable result of drawing six Constructicons is that the drawing that follows is Devastator, the first "combiner" that was part of the Transformers toyline back in 1985. This new drawing is his 1993 incarnation, which differs only in color. Since his component parts were available in yellow and orange, the end combination might be a uniform color, or a hodgepodge. Unlike the first time around, the Generation Two release was not available as a gift set, so you'd have to collect them all.   

Today's new drawing for 2021 is Hook, Constructicon surgical engineer. The brains of the team, he's also insufferably arrogant about it. Turns into Nissan Diesel Unic truck crane. Like the other Generation Two Constructicons released in 1993, he's a recolored reissue of the 1985 original toy, but in either an orange or yellow finish.

Today's Generation Two debut sketch continues adding to the Constructicon roster. Here is Scrapper, who has traditionally been depicted as the leader of the group thanks to his portrayal in the cartoon. His stats on the back-of-card bio bear this out, though his function is construction engineer. Other teams make a clearer distinction as to their leaders. He turns into a wheeled payloader, and was available in either yellow or orange color.   

The new drawing for today is Scavenger, Constructicon mining and salvage. A 1993 reissue of his 1985 toy with a new color scheme, Scavenger was available in both yellow or orange. He turns into a Komatsu PC200 excavator power shovel. Along with Bonecrusher, he's one of two Constructicons to have treads for legs. 

Continuing the run of 1993 Generation Two Constructicons is Mixmaster. new drawing of the team's material fabrications expert and chemist is new for this year. He turns into a cement-mixer truck.

This year's new drawing is Bonecrusher, Constructicon demolitions from 1993's Generation Two launch. He turns into a bulldozer. Available in yellow and orange finish. 

Moving onto the bad guys of the initial 1993 Generation Two assortment, and kicking off the first of six Constructicons re-released for the toyline. Long Haul here is a transport specialist and turns into an earthmover dump truck. He was available in both yellow and orange colors, a difference from his original yellow-green color he sported when he first came out in '85.  On the lighter side of things is Racer-Kun, or at least that was the name given to him in Japan in 1987. The previous year, he had been released in the US from Playskool branded as "First Transformer," and aimed at kids aged 1-3. He turns into a colorful Le Mans-style race car. This drawing is from 2019. From 2017 is this pencil drawing of Rumble, Decepticon demolitions. He transforms from a robot to a 1:1 scaled microcassette, the kind used in dictation machines. I'll sidestep the whole debate whether or not Rumble is red (like the toy) or blue (like the cartoon) by never coloring this drawing. 

The inaugural lineup of 1993 Generation Two Autobots consisted of 18 toys, just like the original 1984 lineup. The last of these is their leader, Optimus Prime, newly drawn here for 2021. It's the tried and true design of the original, with new accessories like launching missile guns and a talking soundbox that fit at the front of his trailer, or in his robot mode, became his backpack. The soundbox had engine sounds, a laser fire sound, and the proclamation "I AM OPTIMUS PRIME," in a voice that wasn't the original voice actor Peter Cullen.    

Today's drawing was a toy simply called Autobot, released in the 1993 Generation Two lineup. But if you were a kid of the 80s, odds are you had a version of this guy on your wrist at some point, because an earlier incarnation of this mold from Takara was super popular, from the Kronoform line. They weren't official Transformers, but they came out during the initial Transformers craze. It wasn't until 1993 that the Kronoform watch robot actually became part of the Transformers line. 

  New for this year is Snarl, Dinobot desert warrior, in his Generation 2 release from 1993. Like the other two Dinos released this year, he was available in three different colors: silver, green and red. He turns into a stegosaurus.   As drawn in 2019, here is Kaltor. Released in 1984, he is a functional calculator watch that turns into a robot. He's an unusual release, because it was a Takara US release, not Hasbro, but branded as Transformers as through a licensee. Takara had an existing Kronoform toy line of transforming watches (presumably not deemed a competitive product to their partner Hasbro for a number of reason, including that watches were typically found in a different department than toys). So Kaltor was there from the first year, but is usually not included in checklists of Transformers toys.  And finally, from my first batch of 2017 drawings is Bluestreak, Autobot gunner, part of the initial 1984 line of toys. He turns into a Datsun 280ZX Turbo.

This year's drawing is of Slag, re-released in 1993 as part of the initial Generation 2 Dinobot lineup. He was available in a silver finish, a red one, and finally a dark green one as well. Transforms into a Triceratops. 

This drawing of Grimlock is new for this year, but being just uncolored ink you'd be hard pressed to identify it is as a Generation Two illustration. This 1993 release was the same mold as his 1985 original toy, but rendered in an range of different colors -- silver, dark blue or turquoise. I added a Generation Two Autobot badge in the middle of his chest, even though the toy sported the original badges. This Dinobot turns into a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  

In the mid-80s, there was a battle in the toy aisles and mindshare of impressionable youngsters waging between Hasbro and Tonka as to who had the preeminent converting-robot toy line: Transformers or Go-Bots. It's not as heated now, and tastes vary, but in the marketplace at least, Transformers won, eclipsing its competitor and living life beyond it. In 1991, this argument became all the more old history when Hasbro bought Tonka for $500 million, including the trademarks associated with its defunct Go-Bots line. As a final victory lap for Transformers, Hasbro include a character name Gobots as part of their Generation Two assortment, keeping the trademark in play but as part of the Transformers line. This is Gobots, Autobot rear guard. He's part of the color changing contingent, whose paint job changes when exposed to water, and has a water-shooting weapon. He turns into a some sort of generic stock car.   

Drench, Autobot defensive strategy expert. Part of the 1993 Generation Two assortment, he is a color changing toy whose hues alter when exposed to water. To maximize this toy feature, he also shoots water with a specialized gun that fits both his robot and vehicle mode. Drench turns into a Sauber C9 Le Mans-style racing car. 

For 2021 is the unfortunately named Windbreaker, from the initial Generation Two assortment of figures released in 1993. Turns into a Chevy Camaro Z28. His engine block becomes his gun. Function: advance scout.

This is Turbofire, Autobot supply and support specialist. Part of the initial 1993 Generation Two series, he turns into a pickup truck.

Skram's bio lists him as Autobot Crack Patrol, whatever that means. He was released in the US as the Generation Two line in 1993. Turns into a blue Chevrolet Stingray-style Corvette. The exposed chromed engine becomes his hand weapon in robot mode. 

Rapido is a platoon commander among the Autobots. His design is new for Generation Two, but appeared as part of Generation One's continued and concurrent presence in the European toyline. Turns into a Peugot concept car, whose engine block becomes his weapon. 

This is Sideswipe, in his Generation 2 incarnation from 1993. The Autobot warrior turns into a Lamborghini Countach LP500S, now in a glossy black deco with a paint job loudly broadcasting his name and status as an Autobot. 

New for 2021: it's Jazz, reissued for Generation 2 in 1993 with a new color scheme and packed with new accessories. Though still a Porsche 935 Turbo, his classic "4 Martini" livery has been redone, so he's number 1 and doesn't have a visible real-world sponsor on his finish. He's the Autobot special ops agent. 

New for 2021 is this drawing of Inferno, Autobot search & rescue, intended to be his Generation 2 incarnation from 1993, though the toy hasn't visibly changed too much from his original '85 edition. 

New for 2021 is Hubcap, in his Generation 2 incarnation. Hubcap reuses the Cliffjumper mold, but the tooling is modified to provide a new headdesign, and the Porsche 924 model does not have a spoiler. For his Generation 2 release in 1993, Hubcap had a vacuum-metallized finish that rendered him in a gleaming red color. 

New for 2021 is this drawing of Seaspray, Autobot Naval Defense. This is his Generation 2 incarnation, released in 1993, which had a vacuum-metalized finish, giving him an iridescent purplish sheen. Transforms into a hovercraft. 

Beachcomber. Autobot geologist. Turns into a dune buggy. A Generation 2 mini-car with a shiny green vacuum-metalized finish released in 1993.   

Back in 2017, just as an exercise, to give me something to draw regularly and a subject matter that would hold my interest, I took to drawing a Bot-a-Day -- a Transformers character based specifically on the original toyline. Much to my surprise, it worked. I drew 365 entries encompassing the entire Generation One domestic line. In 2019, I took to it again, this time focusing on Generation One's international toyline. Didn't fill out the full year, but took up most of it. For 2021, I'm going to give it another go, starting off with Generation Two from 1993.  First up: Bumblebee. From the initial 1993 Generation 2 Autobot mini-car assortment. Bumblebee was a reuse of the original 1984 mold, now in a shiny vacuum-metalized finish. He didn't actually have the Generation 2 logo on his chest here as I've drawn it, but I figured I'd embellish it to make it clear what version this represents.