Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Today begins a run of Protectobots, which are Generation One characters ported over to newer toylines as Micromasters. This particular assortment first appeared as part of an Operation Combination gift set in Japan in 1992, but their rendition as Protectobots marked their US debut. First Aid here as few cosmetic differences from the original Sireen toy,  but his Protectobot debut marked the first time this design was available in North America. First Aid turns into an ambulance, and can combine with his fellow teammates to begin Defensor.  

Side Burn is a reuse of a mold that date's back to 2000's Car Robots line in Japan, 2001's Robot in Disguise .  He turns into a Dodge Viper with a hot-rodded engine block. The robot mode wields the car's hardtop as a shield, and the bumper turns into a cross-blow like weapon. This WalMart exclusive was available in 2004. 

It's Prowl... again. The ever-popular Robots in Disguise design gets another redeco, the second so far in the Universe line, as he is reissued in 2004 as a Wal-Mart exclusive. Though he still has police lights on the roof of his Lamborghini Diablo car mode, all other police marks are removed in this version, and instead his car doors have a cool dragon design. He came bundled with an interactive CD-ROM. 

A follow-up to yesterday's pairing of Prime and Prowl, this 2004 Wal-Mart exclusive are redecos of low price-point Robots in Disguise  Spychanger Ultra Magnus and Ironhide. Magnus, a car carrier, is darker in hue, while Ironhide, a Ford F150 Flareside pickup truck, has coloring that resembles the original Trailbreaker toy.

From 2005 comes this pair of toys available as a set exclusively at Wal-Mart - Optimus Prime and Prowl. Both are redecos of low price-point Robots in Disguise "Spychanger" toys, with Prime redone in yellow, and Prowl recast as a "Fire Chief" Chevrolet Caprice. There are so many Prowls in the Universe line.   

A redeco of 1998's Buzzclaw from Beast Wars is Repugnus, a new iteration of a c lassic Generation One "Monsterbot ." Now, he has Buzzclaw's ghastly Fuzor alt-mode, which is some sort of praying mantis / lizard hybrid.  He has an Autobot symbol on his back, though the packaging he was sold in identified him as a Decepticon. He was sold in a two-pack exclusively at Target with arch-enemy Overbite in 2006.

A partner to yesterday's Optimus Prime, this release of Ultra Magnus was also available at Sam's Club  in 2003, and was a slight redeco of the Robots in Disguise release. He turns from a car carrier truck into a very leggy robot. I was gonna draw him holding a rifle but realized his weapon is way too big to draw in this pose. I left it out, so I suppose he's playing air guitar here.