Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Another BotCon 2007 exclusive, this edition of Overkill was available to participants of a customization class. The class instructed on how to turn this unassembled and unpainted Classics  Grimlock into a version of the Generation 1 cassette, Overkill . Once completed, this Overkill turns into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This design would be made "real" as part of a 2008 Universe toyline. 

Another exclusive from BotCon 2007 is this rendition of Weirdwolf , who was packaged in a souvenir set with Alpha Trion and Beta Maxx . Branded under the Classics banner, Weirdwolf is a redeco of a Cybertron toy, Snarl , and turns into a mechanical wolf.

Filling out the 2007 Botcon exclusive Games of Deception five-pack are a trio of seeker jets, which are redecos of the previously released Classics Starscream and Ramjet with some custom tooling. True to their original G1 forms, Thundercracker turns into a blue and black F-15, while Thrust is a maroon jet with VTOL wings and Dirge is a blue and gold jet with a delta-wing configuration. 

BotCon 2007 - the official Transformers convention - showcased Classics designed redeco'ed and retooled to be convention-exclusive figures. One of the signature sets available at the event was called Games of Deception!, and consisted of a five-pack of new Decepticon figures based on pre-existing designs. Here are two of them: Bug Bite is the evil counterpart to Bumblebee, and the Classics Voyager-scale Jetfire design retooled and recolored to be Dreadwind. There were three more figures in this set, for posting tomorrow.

Another exclusive from BotCon 2007 is Alpha Trion, an Autobot elder from the original animated series, realized here as a redeco and retool of V ector Prime from the Cybertron toyline . The ornately baroque robot turns into a space cruiser. He has a pack-in partner named Beta Maxx who turns into a smaller craft and laser cannon. This set was also bundled with the villain, Weirdwolf. 

Bundled in a bag with Springer , Huffer was a 2007 BotCon convention exclusives Though under the Classics banner, he is a redeco of Cybertron Armorhide done in G1 Huffer colors . He turns into a Volvo FH Globetrotter semi tractor-trailer cab with a crane attachment. 

With its back-to-basics approach,  Classics  was a hit with  Transformers  fans so the Botcon 2007 Exclusives carried the theme, though some of the toys were redecos from earlier lines. Case in point, Springer is actually a redeco of Cybertron Defense Hotspot, from the  Cybertron  line. The armored aesthetic of his M1117 Guardian security vehicle works well with Springer's auto mode, but this version of the character is not a triple changer. Springer was available in a two-pack with Huffer at the show.

This drawing wraps up the Universe line with one of the last redecos to be made available. It debuted at the Official Transformers Collectors Club convention in 2004. Megazarak -- a Japanese originated character from the Headmasters days -- gets a new figure through a redeco of Armada Megatron . He turns into a Cybertronic tank, though without the original electronic features. Stemming from the Armada series, Megazarak comes with a Mini-Con packing, called a Micromaster in this incarnation. It's Caliburn who turns into a moon buggy. He is a redeco of Leader-1.   

The end result of decoupling yesterday's Ape-linq truck from an oversized trailer, turning said trailer into a hulking humanoid form, and plugging the truck into that humanoid's chest cavity is this hefty warrior, Sentinel Maximus. A retooling and redeco of Armada's Overload toy, this toy was intended to be a convention exclusive for OTFCC 2004, it instead became available via mail as part of the fallout of this particular convention partner becoming defunct.

Another convention exclusive -- or rather, a toy intended to be a convention exclusive but it missed the deadline and ended up being mailed to interested parties -- is Sentinel Maximus, which will post tomorrow. Today is a component thereof, this tough little bruiser meant to be an incarnation of Ape-Linq, an earlier released convention exclusive from the Beast Machines era. Ape-Linq (now hyphenated for some reason) is a retooled Mini-Con, previously known as Rollout, but with a new head sculpt that resembles his past ape version. He turns into an armored personnel carrier and truck that hauls the massive trailer essential to the Sentinel Maximus robot. 

Another exclusive to the OTFCC 2003 convention were redecos of the much used and reused design of Robots in Disguise Prowl. Sold separately at the con were Sunstreaker (in yellow) and Sideswipe (in red), preserving their history as brothers and Lamborghini sports cars. 

Shadow Striker and Roulette were a two-pack available as a convention exclusive in 2003 from the Official Transformers Collectors Club. Convention exclusives are typically redecos of existing designs -- in this case, it was Side Burn from Robots in Disguise -- but these toys have a brand new sculpted head, making them distinct female characters who happen to be sisters. Shadow Striker is the one on the left. Roulette is on the right. They both turn into Dodge Vipers with exposed engine blocks. 

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. 

One of the last of the original Alternators run, Rodimus was a convention exclusive available at SDCC in 2007, as well as the online Hasbro Toy Shop. The flame-deco'ed Rodimus uses the same body as Mirage, but with a new head. This design also was the basis for Kiss Player Rodimus, but the less said about Kiss Players, the better. 

Another redeco'ed Legends of Cybertron Decepticon jet, this time done in the familiar black and purple colorations that identify this villain as Skywarp. Skywarp was a giveaway at the Hasbro booth at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2005. 

The Legends of Cybertron Decepticon jet design gets quite the workout, having been redeco'ed to be several characters. This incarnation, Ramjet, was available as a free giveaway to attendees of the BotCon convention in 2005, and to kid attendees the following year. 

Rook is the third of the redeco'ed mini-car keychains released as a convention exclusives in 2002. His design is the same as Windcharger from the very first 1984 line. He was available at BotCon Europe. 

Tap-Out, like Glyph , was a 2002 BotCon convention exclusive that uses a keychain mini-car design as a basis. In this case, Cliffjumper has been redone in blue and gray. He still turns into a 'super-deformed' Porsche.

If this drawing was in color, you'd see it's not the original Bumblebee but rather a blue redeco made available as a BotCon exclusive in 2002. She's made from the same mold as the Bumblebee keychain, hence the ring on her bumper/shoulder - though she was not released as a keychain. 

Another "Expanded Universe" convention exclusive, available at the 2002 BotCon event, is CatSCAN, a redeco of Night Slash Cheetor from Beast Machines. Among his gimmicks, this Autobot has transluscent plastic parts, glow-in-the-dark paint, and spring loaded knives that pop from his shoulders into his hands. He turns into a big predatory mechanical cat.