Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Overlord, a key villain of the Japanese  Super-God Masterforce  series from 1988. Overlord is a double-Godmaster, meaning he came with small figures that turned into engine components that when plugged into his vehicle mode, unlock his robot mode. His robot mode splits to become the Gigajet and the Megatank, each controlled by his Godmaster components Giga (right inset) and Mega (left inset). These vehicles can also combine to form a command base.  

The brother of yesterday's Buster, this is Hydra. He was part of the   Super-God Masterforce  animated series and toyline, available exclusively in Japan in 1998. A US edition of this toy design was released as Darkwing. In the   Masterforce  mythology, Hydra is a human who control a massive robot body. As a toy, that means Hydra was a small figure (seen in the inset) who turns into an engine block that plugs into a Panavia Tornado GR1 fighter jet and unlocks his robot mode.

Buster is a Japanese-exclusive character from the  Super-God Masterforce  series. In the Japanese mythos, Buster and his brother Hydra are two humans who are able to control massive robot "transtector" bodies. As realized in the toy, Buster has a small humanoid companion (inset) that turns into an engine block that plugs into the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet, unlocking his robot mode. He was released in 1988 in Japan; in the US, this same design became the basis for the Decepticon Dreadwind that same year.   

Follow up to yesterday's confounding Clouder post is his Decepticon "Doubleclouder" incarnation, which is a robotic eagle with an oddly placed missile. The Godmaster component (inset) in toy form is a robotic bat, but because the mythology in Japan has the component be an armored teen named Clouder, in this illustration it's more of an armored bat suit with legs the toy doesn't actually have. Doubleclouder was available in Japan in 1988. This drawing is from 2019. 

Clouder is part of the Japanese toy and storyline, their incarnation of the US-based Dealer. The central gimmick for both of these toys/characters is that they transform from good guys to bad guys. Clouder's alter ego is Doubleclouder, as Dealer's is Doubledealer. In the toy design, each form is unlocked by a specific engine component, part of the Powermaster play pattern in the US, Godmaster in Japan. The difference being is in the US, the two Powermaster components were separate characters, while in Japan, the Godmaster component was a single character in two guises, operating a "transtector" mecha.  It's complicated.  Anyway, here's Clouder's "Autobot" robot mode and Godmaster component in inset. In addition to turning into a Decepticon robot, Clouder also has a missile truck vehicle mode.

From my 2019 drawings is Zetca, an Autobot Godmaster engine unit available in Japan in 1988. In engine block mode, he plugs into any of the Godmaster/Powermaster toys. 

 This 2019 drawing is of Aquastar, a Godmaster engine component released in Japan in 1988. 

The 2019 drawings continue to chronicle the unique Japanese toys from 1988. This is Vollet, most commonly identified by fans in the west as "Bullet."  He was a Godmaster component (a transforming engine block that could plug into Powermaster / Godmaster toys) sold individually in Japan. He's aligned with the Autobots.   

Here is God Ginrai, the combined form of  Super Ginrai  and  God Bomber . Since the God Bomber component was only available in Japan in 1988, this particular powered up mode of the 1988 Power Master Optimus Prime toy was not possible in the US.  At least, not until Apex Bomber showed up as a US release. This drawing is from 2019.

From the 1988 Japanese line is Ranger, a Godmaster, the Japanese equivalent of the US Powermaster line. In Japan, Ranger the character is the small human figure (inset) who turns into an engine block that plugs into a dune buggy to turn it into a "transtector" mecha that he operates. In the US line, it's much more a symbiotic relationship between two separate characters. Drew a little maple leaf on Ranger's shoulder because he's Canadian in the Japanese animated series. Ranger has the same body design as the US's Joyride.  

Super Ginrai is the Japanese release of the toy known as Powermaster Optimus Prime in the US. The narrative of the animated series forked in 1987, with the Japanese cartoon continuing in a new direction while the American series wrapped up. In the Japanese continuity, Optimus Prime didn't continue but his design lived on as the robotic body of Ginrai, a Japanese human (inset) who becomes the engine block of the familiar red and blue semi truck. Super Ginrai was available in Japan in 1988.