Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

The Classics line also included a subset of Mini-Con three-packs consisting of new designs. A trio of Dinobot Mini-Cons included this mechanical triceratops named Knockdown in 2006. That same year, this same toy was packed in with a Cybertron Walmart-exclusive release of Primus . A 2007 redeco of this design released as a Micron Booster named Ironlunge was previously posted. 

From the Galaxy Force series comes the Noisemaze Ryōsan Gata Version, also known as the Noisemaze Mass Production Type Version. These are troops based on Noisemaze, the Japanese incarnation of the Cybertron character Sideways . This soldier turn into an alien spacecraft, and was available in Japan in 2006, and came packed with a DVD of Galaxy Force episodes.

Dark Nitro Convoy is an evil clone of the Velocitron Autobot Override  from the Cybertron series. He was exclusive to the Japanese incarnation of the line, Galaxy Force, and only available via a mail-in offer through TV Magazine. In Japan, Override was a male character (in the US, she was female) so his clone is also male. A redeco of Override, Dark Nitro Convoy turns into a sleek Velocitron race car. He was available in 2005.

Having wrapped up Robotmasters , before moving onto the next line, I'm circling back to the Japanese version of the Unicron Trilogy for a handful of toys I skipped / wasn't aware of. Thanks to Bluesky user jenny-alexis for identifying these. First up is Chromia, a Galaxy Force toy that is a redeco of Thunderblast  from Cybertron, turns into a speedboat, and came bundled with a Galaxy Force DVD. She was available in Japan in early 2005.

The last of the "Platinum" named giveaways, Platinum Factor was a Galaxy Force Micron given away with purchase of Ligerjack at Toys R Us stores in Japan in April 2005. He is a redeco of Cybertron Jolt done in translucent plastic, and turns into a helicopter. His Americanized name is Solar Flare. 

Platinum Material is another Galaxy Force Micron made available as a promotional giveaway in Japan. This time, if you bought Megalo Convoy (AKA Metroplex) in September 2005, you'd get this little translucent pick-up truck Transformer thrown in for free. His Americanized name is Rockslide.

Platinum Element was a rare promotional giveaway available at select Toys R Us stores in 2005. This Galaxy Force Micron was a redeco of Six Speed , but done in mostly translucent plastic for a high tech look. He turns into a Toyota GT-One Le Mans race car. His Americanized name is "Hydroplane," as bestowed by the Transformers Collectors Club in 2007.

A redeco of the Decepticon scout Ransack from the Cybertron line , Gasket Police Type is rendered as a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department motorcycle. He was available as a Toys R Us exclusive in October of 2005, a free giveaway with the purchase of 4000 yen of Transformers toys.

In the Transformers: Cybertron show, Coby Hansen is the human sidekick to the Autobots. In the Japanese Galaxy Force line , he got a toy version of the Scrapmetal drone shell that he repurposes as a pilotable mech.  As such, the Cobybot toy is a redeco of Scrapmetal with a new head. It turns into a strange spider tank. Cobybot was available in Japan in a multi-pack exclusive (along with Optimus Prime and Wing Saber ) available at Toys R Us in 2005.

Soundblaster is a Galaxy Force era redeco of Soundwave from the Cybertron line . This is a fitting tribute to the original Soundblaster from 1987, who as a Japanese redeco of the original Soundwave in black. This incarnation of the Decepticon communicator turns into a high-tech stealth bomber, and one of his bombs turns into a mechanical condor named Hell Buzzsaw (a redeco of Laserbeak). Soundblaster was a retailer exclusive in Japan in 2006. A backstory provided in Figure O magazine in Japan revealed this Soundblaster to be an ancient Cybertronian named Logos Prime.

Another limited edition Japanese redeco, Fang Wolf is the Japanese incarnation o f Snarl from Cybertron . The Black Version, as stated, is an all-dark deco released in 2005 as part of Galaxy Force. He turns into a mechanical wolf. 

The past Legends of Cybertron illustrations of Starscream , Skywarp , Ramjet , and Sunstorm  were simplified, scaled down designed based on this Supreme-class toy, a truly whopping incarnation of the craven Decepticon commander, Starscream. This massive toy gives Starscream a removable crown worthy of his ego and ambitions, and designed to mimic a memorable moment from the 1986 animated movie. To give you an idea of how big this figure is, he is similar in scale to Primus and Unicron, earlier releases intended to be transforming planets. Supreme Starscream was available in 2005. This drawing is the end of the line for the Cybertron line, and may be the last of the year depending on how the following weeks shake out. 

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. 

A rather colorful rendition of the Decepticon leader, the Leader-class edition of Megatron in the Cybertron series is a triple changer, capable of turning from a robot into a Cybertronic dragster or high-flying space jet. At the larger end of size and price point, he is loaded with all sorts of spring-loaded and electronic play features. The Cyber Planet Key unlocks some pop-up engines and power-up sounds, and he has flashing LED lights. A more simplified and tiny version of this design was released as a Legends of Cybertron tribute figure. This Megatron was available in 2004.

Since the number of Cybertron toys are running out, I am bending my own rule against drawing figures that are simple repaints of the same character to deliver Cryo Scourge. I guess him having a different name makes it count. He is the same character as Scourge, but exposure to the depths of space has somehow turned him into an ice dragon, with cool blue and purple deco rather than his previous fiery red. Cryo Scourge has all the ultra bells and whistles of regular Scourge , and was available in 2006.

A towering brute, Menasor transforms into a monstrously large excavation machine from the Giant Planet (Gigantion) in the Cybertron storyline. He has Mini-Con mounting points and a Cyber Planet key slot, unlocking a variety of play features. Included with Menasor is Heavy Load, a Mini-Con dump truck. Menasor and Heavy Load were available in 2006. 

Sky Shadow has more than a passing resemblance to the Ultra-scale Jetfire , but he's in a different hue and brandishing a Decepticon badge. But, as the adage goes, Sky Shadow is more than meets the eye -- he is Jetfire in disguise. An undercover Autobot posing a Decepticon, Jetfire/Sky Shadow still turns into an Antonov AN-225 Myria transport plane and has electronic light and sound features unlocked by the packaged Cyber Planet Key. Sky Shadow was released in 2006.

Embodying the animal savagery of the Jungle Planet in the Cybertron mythology, Scourge turns into a vicious horned dragon. His Cyber Planet Key pops up two additional heads in both beast mode and robot mode. As a large "Ultra"-scale toy, he boasts electronic light and sound effects. Scourge was also available as a less-detailed, more affordable Legends of Cybertron version .

The bulky Scorponok toy from Energon makes a redeco'ed and slightly retooled return in the  Cybertron  series, resurrected in-story by the dark energies of Unicron. So now, he's Dark Scorponok, with a paint scheme fitting his shadowy name. He still turns into a monstrous excavator vehicle that resembles a giant mechanical scorpion. His massive scoop arms can accommodate a Cyber Planet Key, popping out hidden weapons.