Recently, I interviewed and profiled my friend Jason, who runs the Botbot of the Day! account on Twitter.

He was then kind enough to send me an envelope with six Botbots in it. These are super fun little toys, so I was inspired to take some photos. This post will be pretty quick and breezy, but hopefully you’ll have a good time.

I love Botbots for many reasons. First, they’re adorable. Second, they’re really fun. Third, they can double as mundane objects for other figures and look great in photos.

Fourth, when they first came out I was in my hometown because my beloved grandmother passed away. To cheer myself up, I went to the local Fred Meyer and bought a few Transformers G1 Mini Vehicle reissues (Swerve and Tailgate, who my grandmother first bought for me when I was a little kid) and all of the unique Botbots multipacks they had on the shelves.

She passed away only a few hours after I got into town to see her. I spent the next couple nights at her house. Each evening I’d watch The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Dark Shadows on MeTV (or whatever the southeast Idaho equivalent is) and play with little Transformers. It really helped me through a devastating time.

So, this post is a way for me to thank Jason and also to tell that story. Toys can help us cope, adapt, and feel better about the world around us. That’s what Botbots did for me.

So here are the six Botbots Jason sent me and the photos they inspired me to take.

Transformers Botbots Bok Bok Bok-O

Apparently, Bok Bok Bok-O transforms into a chicken taco and was hypnotized into thinking she’s a chicken. Okay! You can read more at her TFWiki profile.

Despite the seams and such, she is a pretty convincing looking taco. I will say, though, this looks like a taco that is just going to absolutely crumple, spill, and otherwise destroy itself the minute you pick it up.

Her robot mode is also very cute, and the look on her face reminds me of a Cactuar or the trees from Kirby’s Dream Land. I might be misinterpreting her facial features, but whatever, I’m gonna go with it.

You can just assume every Botbot has minimal to zero articulation, and I’m not going over it here. You can find reviews if you really want to.

I paired her with Chef Nada, who we’ll talk about next, for her more fun robot mode photo.

Transformers Botbots Chef Nada

Chef Nada is an empanada who transforms into a baker/pastry chef who eats so much of her own cooking that she regularly experiences sugar comas? Like Colonel Gentleman in the Venture Bros, I guess. You can read more at her TFWiki entry.

The empanada mode is one of the more convincing Botbots food alternate modes. I also love Empanadas (hit up Tango’s if you’re ever in the Boise area) so I am fairly biased in my assessment.

Her robot mode is adorable, but is also a little bit hard to stand up. You have to sort of angle her legs backwards, which they really don’t want to do. It is possible, though, and her ball jointed arms are pretty nice.

Food Botbots are fun, and Chef Nada is one of my favorites.

Transformers Botbots Dr. Fraud

Dr. Fraud has a really good name. It’s also a very foreboding name for a scientist. I feel like he’d fit in perfectly with the 1987 Cobra line up. According to TFWiki, he is a very serious scientist who just makes shit up, hopes people believe him, and doubles down when he’s wrong. Sounds familiar.

Dr. Fraud is a test tube. This mode looks just fine– the tampographed bubbles do the heavy lifting here.

The robot mode, which I mistransformed slightly (sorry), looks pretty good. I love the big glasses and his wild, stereotypical mad scientist hair.

The transformation on this one is a bit awkward, and he tends to favor one leg over the other when he’s just standing there in robot mode. Still, if you need a big test tube, you could do worse.

Transformers Botbots PB Junior

PB Junior is a PB&J. He is also a perpetual sidekick. That’s pretty much all there is to him, according to TFWiki.

I am a big fan of peanut butter and jelly (I will probably have one for lunch after I publish this post) and I think this is probably the most convincing PB&J robot you could ever make. There’s even nice texture on the bread.

The robot mode is cute, but also makes PB Junior look like an unhinged child. Like he’s going to inexplicably come back to life as the Red Hood or something. Maybe that’s what they were going for. I could not say.

Anyway, I like this one.

Transformers Botbots Pink Key Pop

Pink Key Pop is a keytar! With a strap. That’s good enough for me. TFWiki says he plays the song over and over again, which may contain subliminal messaging. Very Cold Slither.

The keytar mode is very cool. It’s maybe a little bit small for a GI Joe figure, but the strap makes it somewhat usable, anyway. You can probably tell it transforms into a robot, but how often do you get a keytar toy?

In robot mode, Pink Key Pop looks great. I believe his right hand can hold 3mm pegs/bars, so you could probably equip him with a LEGO microphone if you wanted to. I think his left arm probably shoots out New Wave Lasers.

Transformers Botbots Trisourtops

Trisourtops is a moldy orange that transforms into a triceratops. Unorthodox, but pretty creative. His TFWiki article states that he was once a righteous surfer who became an asshole who now harshes everyone’s mellow and pees in the pool. He’d fit right in with most of the late 80s Decepticons in that way.

The moldy orange mode is not super convincing, even if the paint deco is nice. Rotten oranges can be lumpy or whatever, but they usually don’t have hinges and robot leg stumps sticking out of them. Still, this is a cheap toy for literal babies, so I can’t be too mad about it.

The triceratops mode is amazing and adorable. I love it. This mode alone makes Trisourtops my favorite toy from this batch of Botbots.

I’d say he should cheer up and stop being sour, but we all know what getting old and bitter is like. We can relate. Plus a robot triceratops peeing in a swimming pool is a hilarious concept, and I’d never want him to give that up. Stay true to yourself, Trisourtops.

Signing Off

Thanks for reading. If you left a comment and I haven’t replied yet, thanks for your patience. I’ll get to it very soon. I promise.

Have a good day, everyone!