Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

We're back to the Go-Bot designs with Nightracer, Decepticon gunner. A repaint of the same body design shared by High Beam  and Bumblebee , Nightracer turns into (possibly) a Banshee-style Pontiac Firebird concept car. Nightracer is notable as one of the earliest characters delineated to be female from the start, and was the first convention exclusive Transformer, available to attendees of 1995 BotCon. She is included here as the last of the 1995 line and therefore, the final Generation Two line. In 96 days, I've drawn every bot in this somewhat stalled relaunch of Transformers.  The brand would return in 1996 with a roar and a whole new look.  Tomorrow starts the Beast Wars. 

The second of two Autorollers released in 1995, Roadblock is a front-line defense specialist. This lumbering Decepticon turns into a payloader-type construction vehicle. As an Autoroller, he is motorized and can transform automatically. 

Dirtbag is one of two Decepticon Auto Rollers released in 1995. These burly motorized construction vehicles would drive forward and then transform on its own. Dirtbag turns into a earth mover type dump truck. 

Here it is. What I think may indeed be the ugliest Transformers toy. In the Generation Two line at least. It's another Power Master; in this case, Bullet Bike, who awkwardly transformers into a motorcycle with a sidecar. I tried to pretty him up in this drawing, but the toy itself is an unappealing brick of a thing. He was available in 1995.

The Decepticons also had Power Masters at the tail end of Generation Two (1995). These had wind-up pullback motors that could be activated by plugging their weaponry into specific slots. The motorized wheel base made for some awkward, clunky designs. This is Staxx, whose specialty is listed as "highway destruction." His vehicle mode is a long-nose cab semi truck.  

Today's bot is Road Pig, the Decepticon answer to Road Rocket , the other "Laser Cycle" released at the tail end of the Generation Two series. As a Laser Cycle, Road Pig boasts realistic styling in his motorcycle mode (a Harley Davidson Electra Glide), extremely poseable robot mode, and a powered LED that pipes through a translucent plastic barrel. He was available in 1995.

Here's the last of the three Decepticon Cyberjets from 1995: Space Case, air recon specialist. A redeco of Autobot Cyberjet Strafe , Space Case turns into a Sukhoi Su-47 Berket jet.

Next in the Decepticon Cyberjet team is Skyjack, the spy of the team. It's a fitting role, given he transforms into an F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter. This makes him a duplicate of Air Raid, the Autobot Cyberjet with the same alt-mode, though their paint jobs are different. Skyjack was available in 1995 at the tail end of the Generation Two line.

Beginning a run of Decepticon Cyberjets from the 1995 Generation Two collection. The villain Cyberjets were simple repaints of the Autobot Cyberjets released that same year, so each design gets too finishes. This is Hooligan, who is a repaint of Jetfire , but with a rather bright orange tiger-stripe finish. Hoologan is a hit and run specialist, and turns into a YF-22 Raptor.

 Not even the mighty Megatron could escape the 1995 Go-Bots treatment. The Decepticon leader was included in the car assortment, as a simple repaint of a design shared by Blow-Out and Frenzy . Accordingly, he turns into a Porsche 959 sports-car, with free-spinning wheels and a compact scale that lets him use Hot Wheels tracks. Unlike how I've drawn him here, Megatron's head was not unique. He had the same noggin as Blow-Out, but I couldn't imagine selling the idea that a bot who looked like that was a classic character like Megs.  

The next Decepticon Go-Bot is Soundwave, communications specialist. This is the first incarnation of the classic character that is not meant to turn into or represent a tape deck. By the mid-90s, tape cassette players had run their course. Now, he's a Ford Thunderbird stock car, of the same design used by Gearhead ( seen here ). This version of Soundwave was released in 1995.  

And we're back to the Go-Bots. Blessedly, only a few added to the Decepticon roster in 1995, the last year of Generation Two. These are again repeated uses of a handful of molds. In this case, Frenzy, Decepticon warrior turns into a Porsche 959, the same toy model as Blow-Out ( seen here ) and Megatron (coming soon). The Frenzy toy did not have a distinct head design, as I've drawn here, as a nod to his original character design. Artistic license, and all that. 

There's one more Optimus Prime toy to round out Generation Two, and that's his "Laser Rod" incarnation that is packed with play features and gimmicks from across the line. Prime is extremely articulated, making him a superb action figure in addition to being a Transformer. He turns into a Wester Star 4964EX Constellation cab semi truck hauling an oil tank trailer. The cab turns into the robot, while the trailer becomes a battle station base with air bellows-activated missile launcher. Prime being a Laser Rod means he has built-in light features that make his headlights glow in truck mode, and pipe through his arm to make his translucent sword glow in robot mode. This version of Prime was available in 1995.   

Following yesterday's Ironhide, the next of the Autobot Power Masters is Meanstreak, easily one of the ugliest Transformers toys ever produced in the run. I tried to make him a bit more presentable in this drawing, but it is an unappealing hunk of plastic. He's the Autobot street fighter, and turns into a funny car drag racer. He was available in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 1995. 

Ironhide gets another release in 1995, but only in certain international territories. Europe, Australia and New Zealand exclusively had four Power Masters, a subset that reuses the "Powermaster" name from the late 80s but breaks it into two words and changes the definition. These Powermasters' main gimmick is pull back motors that build up and hold acceleration that is then unlocked by plugging in their weapons into slots. This makes for some ugly, cumbersome designs, especially given their cheap price points and simplistic construction.  Ironhide turns into a Humvee jeep.

From 1995 comes Road Rocket, Autobot street defense. He's one of two "Laser Cycles" released at the tail end of the Generation Two revival, the Autobot one to counter another released on the Decepticon side. He turns into a Suzuki Katana motorcyle, and boasts a compelling transformation scheme that results in a cool robot mode. Living up to his "Laser Cycle" branding is a transparent buzzsaw weapon that glows with simulated laser power thanks to a built-in light. This drawing is new this year. 

The last of the three Autobot Cyberjets is Jetfire, Autobot air guardian. According to the bio on the packaging, this 1995 release is intended to be the same character as the 1985 toy of the same name . This time around, he turns into an F-22 raptor jet. 

Today's featured Cyberjet is Strafe, Autobot aerial gunner. His realistic styling as a Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut jet fighter, complex articulation in robot form, and light piping that make his visor look cool make him a standout. He was available in 1995 near the tail end of the Generation Two line.

Kicking off a series of Cyberjets, very detailed toys based on modern jet designs with complex transformations and a design that emphasized poseability and articulation. This is Air Raid, meant to be the same character from the 1986 Aerialbots (and the 1994 ones as well, as drawn here ), but he's broken out from his previous team and has a new F-117 stealth fighter mode. The Cyberjets were among the last Generation Two toys released in 1995, and their design presaged the flexibility found throughout the subsequent Beast Wars line.

The third use of the same Lamborghini Diablo toy mold for the Go-Bots subset in 1995 goes to Sideswipe. This is Sideswipe's second Generation Two release, the first being his 1993 reissue of his larger sized Lamborghini Countach design. This version is blue and yellow, a repaint of the same design used for Optimus Prime and Firecracker .