Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

The last of the Maximals available in a Happy Meals is their leader, Optimus Primal. Still a gorilla since the start of the Beast Wars line, this Beast Machine incarnation is a simplified representation of his CG animation model. Primal was available at participating McDonalds in 2000. 

The reckless youth character from Beast Machines got the Happy Meal toy treatment: Nightscream is now far more properly scaled to interact with other toys rather than the enormous rendition of his character his main line toy got . He turns into a bat. He was available in 2000 at participating McDonalds.   

Rattrap, as one of the main characters in the Beast Machines animated series, received a Happy Meals toy. It was pretty faithful to his animated incarnation, given the production limitations of an inexpensive fast food toy, right down to that unsettling face. He turned into a mechanical rat, just what you want with your dinner. He was available at McDonalds in 2000.  

 It's Cheetor... again. This drawing is meant to represent his simplified Happy Meals Toy version, available at McDonalds in 2000. He turns into a mechanical cheetah.

Kicking off a run of Maximals available as toys in McDonalds Happy Meals with Blackarachnia. The former Predacon turned Maximal was available sealed in a plastic baggy. The toy is a pretty simplistic approximation of the Beast Machines animation model. This drawing tries to find a middle ground between cheap piece of plastic and presentable robot. Blackarachnia still turns into a mechanical arachnid. She was available in 2000.

One of the largest (or, rather, tallest I suppose) Beast Machines toy ever released is the Supreme edition of Cheetor. His mechanical cheetah mode is about the size of an actual cat. His spindly robot mode is nearly a foot tall. He's loaded with play features both electronic and articulated. He was available in 2000; in Japan, he came out in 2004. 

Dillo is another of the Deployers who, like Mol , has no distinct robot mode. This Maximal has what is supposedly an armadillo mode, though I'm not really seeing it.  And he turns into some sort of catapult with projectile-launching play features. He's basically an accessory for your more traditional Transformers. He was available in 2000, first in blue and purple, and then later redeco'ed in 2001 in red and blue. 

An unusual toy in the Beast Machines line, Che is less a character and more a play accessory. Che is a Beast Rider battle chariot, built by Cheetor (according to the on-pack bio) for firepower and speed. It doesn't transform, though its clawed arms can change configuration -- either forward for attack, or back for speed. The chariot is wind-up motorized and can fit most basic Maximal figures (ironically, most Beast Machines Cheetors are too big). Che was available in 2000 and re-released in 2001 with a different paint scheme. 

It's Magmatron... again. I posted him not too long ago, as part of the Beast Wars Neo line , but he's back as part of Beast Machines. It's the same toy as the Japanese release, with some modifications to bring the pointy bits into US safety standards. The insignia on the toy are still that of Predacons, even though the character is a Maximal in its US release. It was a Target exclusive in 2000. Magmatron consists of three individual dinosaur components: a gigantosaur (his lower body), an elasmosaur (his upper body) and a quetzalcoatlus (his winged back and head).  

Rapticon is another of the Maximal Dinobots added to the Beast Machines lineup. The design is a redeco of Dinobot 2 from the Beast Wars Transmetal line . He turns into a mechanical velociraptor, and was available in 2000.

The next Dinobot from the Beast Machines line-up is Dinotron, who turns into a dome-headed pachycephalosaurus. He is a more realistic hue (green and black) that this mold's original release; Japan's Hardhead was purple and celeste. These toys are retools of the original Beast Wars Dinobot. Dinotron was released in 2000.

Airraptor is a redeco of Archadis , a Beast Wars Neo toy originally released only in Japan. What was once a Predacon design is now a Maximal, though the coloring differences are minor. Airraptor turns into an organic archaeopteryx. He was available in North America as part of the Beast Machines line in 2000.

Striker is the next of the Beast Machine Dinobots on the roster. He's actually a redeco of Saberback , a Predacon from the Japanese Beast Wars Neo line. Striker is a Maximal, and turns into a stegosaurus. He was available in 2000.

Triceradon is the Maximal frontline combat specialist, part of the Beast Machines incarnation of Dinobots. He is a redeco of Guiledart , who had previously been only available in Japan as part of the Beast Wars Neo line. Triceradon turns into a triceratops, and was available in 2000.

T-Wrecks is the Dinobot commander if this new iteration of the team as part of the Maximals in Beast Machines. The toy design is a redeco of the original Beast Wars Megatron . As such, he turns into a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  T-Wrecks was available in 2000.

Starting a run of Dinobots, which are Maximals from the Beast Machine era that either turn into mechanical or organic dinosaurs. All of these toys are redeco's of previous releases, some of them once only available in Japan and brought to North American toy stores as new characters. They're all Maximals even though their designs were often started off as Predacons. Here is Terranotron, released in 2001, the Dinobot aerial combat specialist. He is a repaint of Transmetal Terrorsaur . He turns into a mechanical pteranodon.   

Apelinq is a Botcon exclusive, a redeco of Transmetal Optimus Prime. A gifted engineer / scientist / warrior / all-around awesome bot, this Maximal turns into a mechanical gorilla. He was limited to 1200 pieces at the convention.

Mol is a Maximal Deployer, a toy with no distinct robot mode. His "beast" mode is arguably a mole, but with a half-track tread system and a drill for a nose. He transforms into a weapons emplacement with launching gimmicks, like that bandsaw that forms his spine in beast mode. He was available in 2000.  

Nightscream is a young Maximal in the Beast Machines series, a teen-like character in the animated series which ended up making him somewhat polarizing especially to the older, fickle fanbase. His dreamy hair probably didn't help matters. Nightscream turns into a techno-organic bat. In fitting with his character, in the animated series Nightscream is rather small, but his toy is enormous, dwarfing his elders. He was available in 2000. 

A very stealthy Maximal recon specialist, Night Viper transforms into a techno-organic cobra. Snake designs are not the easiest to pull off, but the sleek styling of the Beast Machines lines works in this toy's favor. He was available in 2000.

Rattrap undergoes another reformatting to have a new look in both the Beast Machines animated series and toyline. He turns into a techno-organic rat, probably the biggest, nastiest looking rodent mode he's had since his toys started. His robot mode can either have legs or wheels, as illustrated here. He was available in 2000.

This Maximal strategic specialist named Snarl has no relation to the previous Maximal named Snarl, nor the Dinobot of the same name . He turns into a techno-organic lion, and was available at retail in 2000. His robot mode had a spring-loaded punch and ax-chopping action. 

This gaunt, gawky Maximal is Skydive, a terror in the skies if a bit awkward looking on two legs. He turns into a techno-organic Quetzalcoatlus and was available in 2000. There was a subset of dinosaur Maximals in this series, but Skydive is not technically part of that group. He's also unrelated to the Aerialbot Skydive , with whom he shares a name.  

With his majestic cranial extensions, Longhorn is fittingly named. He's a Maximal warrior in the initial Beast Machines lineup, and transforms into a techno-organic bull. His on-package bio says he can harness and concentrate lightning bolts through his horns, which makes him quite reminiscent of Shrapnel , the old Insecticon leader from back in the day. Longhorn was available in 2000.

Rav was part of a subset of toys called Deployers, which transformed from animals into vehicles or weapons. As such, Rav doesn't have a robot mode per se. Rav turns from a mechanical raven with a clear red plastic finish into a siege crossbow weapon that fires "Energon bolts" - an actual launching play feature in the toy. He was available in 2000. 

Buzz Saw was previously a Predacon in the Beast Wars line, but his on-package bio says he was grateful to Rattrap for saving him from some horrible fate and he switched sides to become a Maximal. His reformatted body is much more angular, and in toy terms features a unique gimmick in that his left arm is a springy coil like a door stopper. He turns into a organo-mechanical wasp, and his bio hilariously asserts that he calls himself 'the bee's knees,' a term none of his colleagues can make sense of. He was available in 2000.

  Silverbolt, the Maximal tracker who was a Fuzor in the Beast Wars line , underwent a dramatic transformation in the Beast Machine storyline. After being reformatted by Megatron into an evil Vehicon, he was returned to the Maximal form thanks to the efforts of his love, Blackarachnia. His new body was a very stylized techo-organic condor with crystalline wings. This version of Silverbolt was available in 2000. 

A very alien looking Maximal is Geckobot, the aerial combat specialist of the team. Despite the name, Geckobot doesn't turn into a gecko, but rather a mechanical / organic looking flying dragon gliding lizard. He was available in 2000.  

Quickstrike is a Maximal warrior and recon specialist, unrelated to the Predacon Quickstrike released a few years prior in the Beast Wars line. This Quickstrike turns into a techno-organic wolf. He was available in 2000 in the Beast Machine line.   

The Beast Machine toys pushed the robot modes to the angular and alien designs favored by the new animated series, as seen in this new incarnation of Cheetor -- one of several Cheetor looks available in the first year of the new collection. The spindly toy is quite articulated -- even its mouth opens, though its very slight limbs make it a challenge to stand. He was available at retail starting in 2000.