By the tail end of the first series of Generation 1 in 1984, Hasbro brought a classic marketing method to bear: mail-away exclusive toys. By mailing in $3 and two “Robot Points” cut from Transformers packaging, one could receive a random Powerdasher such as the unofficially-named Drill Dasher, a black, yellow, and chrome sci-fi earth driller.
Origins
Like so many early Autobots, Drill Dasher started life in 1982 in Takara's Diaclone, which is also the origin of his unofficial name Drill Dasher. This version featured a small die-cast and plastic driver that could sit in the open cockpit of the car mode. Drill Dasher was designed by Iwakichi Ogawa. His US Patent, titled Reconfigurable construction vehicle (aka Transformers G1 Drill Dasher) was filed on July 29, 1983 (U.S. Patent No. USD279591 S).
Description
The jet Powerdasher transforms into a presumably Cybertronian drill tank of some sort. The tank is primarliy black with yellow sides, and features yellow rear wheels with rubber tires. The rear axle is powered by a pull-back motor in drill mode, and the front rolls on black wheels hidden next to the large rounded chrome drill. He features chromed faux treads on the sides of the tank hull. There is an open seat for a driver between the yellow sidepods. The transformation is very simple, and fairly obvious. The rear yellow pods fold down to form post-like robot legs, with their flat sides decorated with a sticker. The front pods swing down to form the blocky arms, and pulling up on the drill reveals a squat, stickered robot face. The robot is otherwise largely featureless beyond the details used for the driller mode.
Collector Notes
Drill Dasher is a simple and sturdy figure, and not prone to any specific breakage. However, the large areas of chrome are very prone to wear, often revealing mismatched underlying plastic colors. Furthermore, the stickered face is commonly scuffed, wrinkled or torn by sliding in and out of the body.
Variants
Drill Dasher does not have any notable variations.
Availability
Drill Dasher was available in the “Reinforcements from Cybertron!” flyer in 1984, and again in 1985's “The battle is far from over!” flyer.
.Redecos & Retools
Drill Dasher was originally released in 1982 in Diaclone with blue instead of black, additional stickers, and a pilot. The Diaclone version was released in the US under in Diakron as Cromar with a different pilot figure in 1984, marking the first use of the "Powerdasher" moniker.
