Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

A subset of Predacons from Japan's exclusive expression of Beast Wars transform into organic dinosaurs. First up here is Archadis, the air superiority warrior. He turns into an archaeopteryx, the famous feathered dinosaur bird ancestor. He was available in Japan in 1999.

The Transformers Victory characters continue with Deathsaurus, a major Decepticon villain from this mythos and a large toy available only in Japan.  Deathsaurus (whose name has been Anglicized to Death Czarus, Deszarus, and other permutations, is a BreastForce Decepticon -- his breastplate turns into not one, but two beast companions. He transformers into a kaiju-style winged reptilian monster. He was available in Japan in 1989.   In my rush to get to DinoKing at the start of the month, I inadvertently forgot to post this drawing of Gairyu. Sorry, Gairyu. You deserve much more. He's part of the Decepticon DinoForce, whose monstrous alt-mode fits into a rubbery Pretender shell of an extra-armored ankylosaur. He was available in Japan in 1989. 

Blue Bacchus is another of the crime lord Decepticon Crossformers from the  Transformers Victory  mythos. As a Pretender, his inner robot turns into a sleek dragster, while his outer Pretender shell also transforms into a high-tech helicopter. He was available in Japan in 1989. 

Here is Black Shadow, a Decepticon "Crossformer" -- Japan's answer to the US Mega Pretenders. In the fiction of  Transformers Victory,  Black Shadow is less a Decepticon than he is an unscrupulous gangster. As a Pretender, Black Shadow has a smaller inner robot that transforms into a sleek jet, and his outer shell also transforms into a space ship. He was available in Japan in 1989. This drawing is from 2019. 

 The Japanese DinoForce continues to be chronicled in these drawings from 2017. This is Doryu, a particularly dimwitted Decepticon thug. He turns into some sort of mechanical monster which can be encased in a rubbery Pretender shell depicting an armored stegosaur. Doryu was available in Japan in 1989 as part of the  Transformers Victory  line.

From Japan, the Decepticon DinoForce team continues with Yokuryu. His robot mode turns into a mechanical gargoyle, which can the be encased in a rubbery Pteranadon outer Pretender shell. Part of the  Transformers Victory  line, he was available at Japanese retail in 1989. 

DinoForce continues from Japan, and today's entry is Rairyu, whose pretender shell is an armored sauropod. This drawing is from 2019.

Next in the Decepticon DinoForce team is Kakuryu. His Pretender shell is a ceratopsian dinosaur (sort of a triceratops, but with three horns in a row). He was available in Japan in 1989.

This year's drawings now kick off a series of sketches depicting DinoForce. From the  Transformers Victory  toyline and animated series, DinoForce were Decepticon Pretender warriors with organic dinosaur shells. Each robot could turn into a mechanical beast, and that beast can be concealed in a rubberized plastic shell of a dinosaur form.  Here is their leader, Goryu, who comes with a Tyrannosaurus Rex shell. 

This is a major character in the Japanese continuation of the Transformers animated series, 1988's   Super God Masterforce . This is Metalhawk, who has three distinct forms. He's a Pretender, meaning he has an outer shell that depicts a human in space armor. The inner robot, with a distinct yellow die-cast body, turns into a futuristic jet.  

This is Grand. This is a bit complicated. Yesterday's   Grand Maximus   is a Headmaster, and his head becomes Grand. Grand has a Pretender shell that can conceal this robot mode. And Grand's head detaches and turns into a smaller robot, Gran (inset).  It's like a nesting doll of robots. Grand was released as part of the Grand Maximus set in Japan in 1988.

Octopunch is the Decepticon salvage specialist, with an outer Pretender shell that fits the job -- a deep sea diver monster. His inner robot turns into mechanical crab. He was available in 1989.

The comics of the late 80s and early 90s, the only place  Transformers  storytelling was really expanding what with the show off the air, turned Bludgeon into a star. He was one of the basic Pretenders introduced in 1989, with a zombie samurai outer shell that concealed an inner robot that turned into a tank. In the comics, Bludgeon became a key Decepticon leader. 

Stranglehold is a Decepticon Enforcer and part of the second wave of basic Pretenders released in 1989. His outer shell is a human (unusual for the Decepticons), a pro-wrestler inspired gladiator who ends up looking like an oiled up, shirtless Gabe Kaplan. This shell conceals an inner robot that turns into a mechanical rhino. 

Longtooth is an Autobot Pretender with an outer shell that is some sort of walrus alien. He is the Autobot undersea defense specialist. His inner robot turns into an amphibious truck. He was available in 1989.

The next Autobot Pretender has a very strange organic shell: as fitting his name, Doubleheader's Pretender disguise is a two-headed humanoid. He is the Autobot surveillance specialist. His inner robot transforms into a twin-nosed jet fighter. Doubleheader was available in 1989. 

The basic Pretender line from 1989 was slightly smaller (and at a cheaper price point) than the first Pretenders released the previous year. Whereas the first year differentiated the outer shells such that Autobot Pretenders were armored humans and Decepticons were monsters, the 1989 assortment was much less structured. Here is Pincher, Autobot chemical engineer. The armored human shell conceals an inner robot. Combining the shell's backpack with the robot lets it turn into a mechanical scorpion. 

 And the second of two Decepticon Pretender beasts, Snarl, is also a wild boar. His outer shell is an armed and armored boar, which conceals a mechanical boar within that transforms into robot mode. He was available in 1988. This drawing is from 2017.

In addition to standard Pretenders and a Pretender vehicle, the Decepticons also fielded a pair of Pretender Beasts. First up is Carnivac, the tracker. His outer animal shell is an armed and armor-wearing timber wolf. It hides a mechanical wolf, which turns into Carnivac's robot mode. Carnivac was available in 1988. 

From the 1988 collection, here is Roadgrabber, a Decepticon Pretender vehicle. The figure is scaled like the other Pretenders, but rather than an organic creature shell, his outer shell is a car with pincers. Inside the car, he can either hide in robot mode or in his vehicle mode, which is a fast-attack hover jet.