Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Every Transformers line has examples of redecos becoming new characters, and even in 1-2-3 Transformers limited stable of heroic bots, most are repaints of others. Here, Fire Marshal Mike is a repaint of Policeman Pete , while Airlift Andy swooping overhead is Chopper Charlie redone. All four were available individually in 2002. I just paired these guys up rather than use up too many days drawing redecos in black-and-white illustrations that don't really showcase the differences that well. 

Keeping the streets safe from... well, something as there are no bad guys in the 1-2-3 Transformers line is Policeman Pete. As his name and easily legible livery make clear, he turns into a police car. He has battery-operated light and sound features like all good cop car toys should. He was available from Tonka in 2002. 

Having completed drawing the Robots in Disguise line, I'm shifting gears radically back to the 1-2-3 Transformers line from Tonka. This pre-school line ran from 2001 to 2002, and launched with Rescue Roy , the sole occupant of this series until he was joined by companions. A predecessor to the modern Rescue Bots, these toys all were in civic duty occupations - fire and police rescue for instance. First up is Charlie Chopper, a rescue helicopter, released in 2002. 

This daily chronicle of the Transformers toyline through illustrations picks up where it left off -- in the year 2001. By then, the toyline had split into multiple series -- with Beast Machines finishing its run, and Robots in Disguise picking up a return to classic play patterns of robots into vehicles.  Also, Tonka -- now a Hasbro division -- used the Transformers brand to launch a kid-focused 1-2-3 Transformers line with Rescue Roy, a hefty robot that turns into a fire truck with loads of gimmicks and light and sound features.