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Real Robotics Discussion / Re: Favourite Robots
« on: May 25, 2014, 09:37:38 AM »
My "article" on my Top 5 robots. This was from 2012, so spelling and grammar errors may be present.
This is a thread where I will be discussing my top 5 robots of all time - all from Robot Wars and none from BattleBots due to growing up watching RW; [censored sentence]. This list is based on series 1 - 6, I will not be counting 7 as I find that series of Robot Wars to be non-canon.
Also note that this is MY top 5, not yours. If you see no robots listed that YOU like, I didn't list them due to either:
- not liking them (ie. Tornado, Evil Weevil, etc.)
- found the robot boring (ie. Razer, Roadblock, etc.)
- found the robot crap (ie. Eric, Kronic the Wedgehog, etc.)
With that said, let's begin: The Collins' Top 5 Robots of All Time!
Number 5: Mortis
A track driven robot that gradually improved its appearance; not its performance sadly. Rob Knight was possibly one of the cockiest drivers of the Wars, which made me like his arrogance even more - cutting his hair made me like him even more.
Mortis was without a doubt one of the unluckiest robots throughout its matches because of bad luck (besides Behemoth). Whether it be traction problems or weapon problems, they always went out in style.
The outcome of its match against Recyclopse in series 1 was "bull[censor]" which Rob Knight said, you can tell he said it when he was shown on camera and I agree with him, luckily it finally went onto the semis of series 2 - unfortunately, that was its only semis throughout its career.
Series 4 was its last main competition and its most successful career highlight - not for the main competition though. Mortis entered the War of Independence and actually went on to WIN the thing! This may sound a bit nerdy and sad on my part; it brought a tear to my eye after watching the unsuccessful Mortis for years and eventually witness Rob Knight raise the trophy above his head.
Mortis.
Number 4: Wild Thing
This is a robot that many won't expect being mentioned in a Top 5 or a Top any number for that matter. Thing started out as a normal wedgey type of Thing (get it?) which eventually lost due to being flipped - the solution? Wild Thing!
With a srimech being added to help it self-right, was that enough to help it improve its previous war? It did and it became the most successful Wild Thing robot, losing just one more match before the series 4 Grand Final to Hypno-Disc - the solution? Wild Thing!... Again.
A small flywheel was added underneath its srimech in order to finally get damage points; was it enough? Sometimes. To me, Wild Thing currently holds the #2 spot of best Robot Wars Matches of All Time which will surprise A LOT of people, why? Because this robot almost beat the two-time Robot Wars champions, Chaos 2 via the pit of oblivion - TWICE!
The judges' decision was as Rob Knight would say, "bull[censor]" because Wild Thing was 100% screwed out of surpassing its series 4 success. Due to what it did in series 4 and 5, surely something magical and amazing will happen for its series 6 wars!? Uhh, no... Just no, I'm not even going to mention it - it's THAT bad. Wild Thing was very entertaining to watch in my eyes, I liked how it moved and how it looked, series 3's version was fair due to the limitations at the time and series 6... No.
Wild Thing.
Number 3: Stinger
I LOVE this robot - you will not believe the hate this robot gets. I am a huge fanboy when it comes to Stinger, mainly due to the design of it and how it works. I think this is the uniquest design I've ever seen (prepares for hate mail). When you look at this robot, you'd think this would lose straight away, right? Well, in series 3 it did yes, but that's not the point!
Stinger is the pure definition of "a sting in its tail" - literally. It can move forward and slam its tail backwards, move backwards and slam its tail forwards, both with a big force behind the attack. So what's so great about this robot? It beat series 2 champions, Panic Attack! You will not believe how much I cheered when that happened, but alas lost in the Grand Finals.
In series 3, it kind of, uhh, lost - straight away. Which I find hilarious, because as I said it beat Panic Attack in the next series... Unfortunately, that was its most successful run. Answer this question: Chaos 2 as a flipper, against Stinger as a torque. The torque does more damage than the flipper and is more impressive, who wins? The torque? You're correct, however it received the Wild Thing treatment and lost via judges' decision. Rob Knight once said "bull[censor]" and this is a perfect way to describe Stinger's lose there.
Due to how well it performed, I couldn't wait to see how it'd do in the next series... I cried. It eventually met S3, a robot named Sting in its 3rd form - am I the only one that knows this fact: S3 is called Sting 3, its 3rd form against Stinger making its 3rd series appearance? Coincidence? It lost and I was sad. Series 6, again lost and I cried. However, despite those loses and not succeeding its previous amazing run in series 4, this robot is still one of my favourites and is luckily still active to this day.
Stinger.
Number 2: Pussycat
What everyone for some reason doesn't know, yet I do, is that Team Cold Fusion is the ONLY team in Robot Wars to become runners-up twice. Pussycat was the 2nd robot of the team to get their 2nd runner-up place. Same as Stinger, I love this design and how it moved. The driving was phenomenal and irreplaceable because of one person: David Gribble - who had sadly died after series 5.
The only time it was very unsuccessful was during series 3, when it was actually disqualified from the competition due to using an illegal blade. (I would like to mention that my hometown heroes of Team Scutterbots won the match due to this disqualification, LET'S GO ESSEX!) It was series 4 where it became the teams' 2nd runner-up robot, losing out to Chaos 2 - these robots of mine always have bad luck against this robot, eh? Here's what I would like to know: Due to its shocking lose in series 3 as it was disqualified BUT was a runner-up of series 4, what would have happened if the blade was different in series 3? You be the judge.
Here's a history lesson for you, Chaos 2 was on the verge of becoming the favourite to win series 3, it was until Hypno-Disc entered the scene. Flipper and flywheel in the final, the most anticipated match of Robot Wars which saw Chaos 2 become the winners as Hypno-Disc could not self-right. Series 4 came and the most anticipated match for the Grand Final was the rematch! Hypno-Disc was finally able to self-right and everyone was drooling of excitement! Pussycat beats Hypno-Disc... Yep. I LOVE Pussycat.
It had beaten one of the most loved robots in the UK with one swift shot to the wheel, that is why David Gribble was the driver, the man was intellectual. With that big winning moment, came a big lose moment, when it lost to Chaos 2 in the finals. A great man named Rob Knight once declared "bull[censor]" I believe. Either way, due to the David Gribble tragic accident, Pussycat was not entered in series 6 and series 7 was an unfortunate run due to change in driver, but that was to be expected. If you do include its Sumo Basho lose in series 4, then its series 7 lose was unfortunately the cat's nine lives.
Pussycat.
Number 1: Firestorm
This is one of the most successful robots in Robot Wars history, despite having a poor predecessor in series 2 called Groundhog. Firestorm has been a Grand Finalist three times and semi-finalist twice, series 4 was its most unfortunate luck between all of the Firestorms, after losing the first match of the semi-finals. It had a long running feud with series 2 champions, Panic Attack.
Defending series 2 champions Panic Attack was launched into the air via a floor spike and the quick driving tactic of Graham Bone was fantastic as Firestorm drove right around the spike and stuck the champions on the arena wall, immobilizing it - this was the start of the feud. It was unfortunately the first robot to be flipped out of the arena by... Chaos 2 - seriously, this robot is everywhere on my list!
Interestingly enough, the robot Gravedigger was very criticized for "stealing" the Cassius design, even though Firestorm is similar too yet liked? If people want to complain about "stealing" robot designs, I might as well complain that Tornado "stole" Robot the Bruce's box shape design - people are idiots. Anyways, series 5 to me is Firestorm's best run as it went through war. Having its flipper broken due to Matilda's flywheel, it was unfixable apparently! It still went onto the semi-finals where it was hit by Hypno-Disc once, there was no damage caused by that one hit but it had knocked out the security keylink inside Firestorm, I was sad.
Luckily enough, it survived from its lose and went to its 2nd Grand Finals where it beat Pussycat in a match that I couldn't decide who to cheer for. It won but lost to Razer, these two matches caused Firestorm to have, literally, nothing! The armour was destroyed and its flipper no longer working, it once again met Hypno-Disc for 3rd place - this is one of the reasons Firestorm is my favourite robot of all time. Firestorm gave everything it had left against Hypno-Disc and used its power to its advantage. The pit was ready and Firestorm was a fighting warrior - the battle scars proved this. Firestorm then very quickly drove Hypno-Disc towards the pit and they both went in - Hypno-Disc looked like it exploded.
That match proved Firestorm had gone go to hell, conquered it, came back and destroyed everyone with nothing! Believe it or not, but that match is my #1 Robot Wars Match of All Time, simply because Firestorm was unstoppable in series 5 after everything was taken away from it.
Firestorm.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is my Top 5 Robots of All Time. Thank you for reading and I may or may not do a Top 10 to 6 Robots of All Time, but I'm sure nobody would care.
Also note that this is MY top 5, not yours. If you see no robots listed that YOU like, I didn't list them due to either:
- not liking them (ie. Tornado, Evil Weevil, etc.)
- found the robot boring (ie. Razer, Roadblock, etc.)
- found the robot crap (ie. Eric, Kronic the Wedgehog, etc.)
With that said, let's begin: The Collins' Top 5 Robots of All Time!
Number 5: Mortis
A track driven robot that gradually improved its appearance; not its performance sadly. Rob Knight was possibly one of the cockiest drivers of the Wars, which made me like his arrogance even more - cutting his hair made me like him even more.
Mortis was without a doubt one of the unluckiest robots throughout its matches because of bad luck (besides Behemoth). Whether it be traction problems or weapon problems, they always went out in style.
The outcome of its match against Recyclopse in series 1 was "bull[censor]" which Rob Knight said, you can tell he said it when he was shown on camera and I agree with him, luckily it finally went onto the semis of series 2 - unfortunately, that was its only semis throughout its career.
Series 4 was its last main competition and its most successful career highlight - not for the main competition though. Mortis entered the War of Independence and actually went on to WIN the thing! This may sound a bit nerdy and sad on my part; it brought a tear to my eye after watching the unsuccessful Mortis for years and eventually witness Rob Knight raise the trophy above his head.
Mortis.
Number 4: Wild Thing
This is a robot that many won't expect being mentioned in a Top 5 or a Top any number for that matter. Thing started out as a normal wedgey type of Thing (get it?) which eventually lost due to being flipped - the solution? Wild Thing!
With a srimech being added to help it self-right, was that enough to help it improve its previous war? It did and it became the most successful Wild Thing robot, losing just one more match before the series 4 Grand Final to Hypno-Disc - the solution? Wild Thing!... Again.
A small flywheel was added underneath its srimech in order to finally get damage points; was it enough? Sometimes. To me, Wild Thing currently holds the #2 spot of best Robot Wars Matches of All Time which will surprise A LOT of people, why? Because this robot almost beat the two-time Robot Wars champions, Chaos 2 via the pit of oblivion - TWICE!
The judges' decision was as Rob Knight would say, "bull[censor]" because Wild Thing was 100% screwed out of surpassing its series 4 success. Due to what it did in series 4 and 5, surely something magical and amazing will happen for its series 6 wars!? Uhh, no... Just no, I'm not even going to mention it - it's THAT bad. Wild Thing was very entertaining to watch in my eyes, I liked how it moved and how it looked, series 3's version was fair due to the limitations at the time and series 6... No.
Wild Thing.
Number 3: Stinger
I LOVE this robot - you will not believe the hate this robot gets. I am a huge fanboy when it comes to Stinger, mainly due to the design of it and how it works. I think this is the uniquest design I've ever seen (prepares for hate mail). When you look at this robot, you'd think this would lose straight away, right? Well, in series 3 it did yes, but that's not the point!
Stinger is the pure definition of "a sting in its tail" - literally. It can move forward and slam its tail backwards, move backwards and slam its tail forwards, both with a big force behind the attack. So what's so great about this robot? It beat series 2 champions, Panic Attack! You will not believe how much I cheered when that happened, but alas lost in the Grand Finals.
In series 3, it kind of, uhh, lost - straight away. Which I find hilarious, because as I said it beat Panic Attack in the next series... Unfortunately, that was its most successful run. Answer this question: Chaos 2 as a flipper, against Stinger as a torque. The torque does more damage than the flipper and is more impressive, who wins? The torque? You're correct, however it received the Wild Thing treatment and lost via judges' decision. Rob Knight once said "bull[censor]" and this is a perfect way to describe Stinger's lose there.
Due to how well it performed, I couldn't wait to see how it'd do in the next series... I cried. It eventually met S3, a robot named Sting in its 3rd form - am I the only one that knows this fact: S3 is called Sting 3, its 3rd form against Stinger making its 3rd series appearance? Coincidence? It lost and I was sad. Series 6, again lost and I cried. However, despite those loses and not succeeding its previous amazing run in series 4, this robot is still one of my favourites and is luckily still active to this day.
Stinger.
Number 2: Pussycat
What everyone for some reason doesn't know, yet I do, is that Team Cold Fusion is the ONLY team in Robot Wars to become runners-up twice. Pussycat was the 2nd robot of the team to get their 2nd runner-up place. Same as Stinger, I love this design and how it moved. The driving was phenomenal and irreplaceable because of one person: David Gribble - who had sadly died after series 5.
The only time it was very unsuccessful was during series 3, when it was actually disqualified from the competition due to using an illegal blade. (I would like to mention that my hometown heroes of Team Scutterbots won the match due to this disqualification, LET'S GO ESSEX!) It was series 4 where it became the teams' 2nd runner-up robot, losing out to Chaos 2 - these robots of mine always have bad luck against this robot, eh? Here's what I would like to know: Due to its shocking lose in series 3 as it was disqualified BUT was a runner-up of series 4, what would have happened if the blade was different in series 3? You be the judge.
Here's a history lesson for you, Chaos 2 was on the verge of becoming the favourite to win series 3, it was until Hypno-Disc entered the scene. Flipper and flywheel in the final, the most anticipated match of Robot Wars which saw Chaos 2 become the winners as Hypno-Disc could not self-right. Series 4 came and the most anticipated match for the Grand Final was the rematch! Hypno-Disc was finally able to self-right and everyone was drooling of excitement! Pussycat beats Hypno-Disc... Yep. I LOVE Pussycat.
It had beaten one of the most loved robots in the UK with one swift shot to the wheel, that is why David Gribble was the driver, the man was intellectual. With that big winning moment, came a big lose moment, when it lost to Chaos 2 in the finals. A great man named Rob Knight once declared "bull[censor]" I believe. Either way, due to the David Gribble tragic accident, Pussycat was not entered in series 6 and series 7 was an unfortunate run due to change in driver, but that was to be expected. If you do include its Sumo Basho lose in series 4, then its series 7 lose was unfortunately the cat's nine lives.
Pussycat.
Number 1: Firestorm
This is one of the most successful robots in Robot Wars history, despite having a poor predecessor in series 2 called Groundhog. Firestorm has been a Grand Finalist three times and semi-finalist twice, series 4 was its most unfortunate luck between all of the Firestorms, after losing the first match of the semi-finals. It had a long running feud with series 2 champions, Panic Attack.
Defending series 2 champions Panic Attack was launched into the air via a floor spike and the quick driving tactic of Graham Bone was fantastic as Firestorm drove right around the spike and stuck the champions on the arena wall, immobilizing it - this was the start of the feud. It was unfortunately the first robot to be flipped out of the arena by... Chaos 2 - seriously, this robot is everywhere on my list!
Interestingly enough, the robot Gravedigger was very criticized for "stealing" the Cassius design, even though Firestorm is similar too yet liked? If people want to complain about "stealing" robot designs, I might as well complain that Tornado "stole" Robot the Bruce's box shape design - people are idiots. Anyways, series 5 to me is Firestorm's best run as it went through war. Having its flipper broken due to Matilda's flywheel, it was unfixable apparently! It still went onto the semi-finals where it was hit by Hypno-Disc once, there was no damage caused by that one hit but it had knocked out the security keylink inside Firestorm, I was sad.
Luckily enough, it survived from its lose and went to its 2nd Grand Finals where it beat Pussycat in a match that I couldn't decide who to cheer for. It won but lost to Razer, these two matches caused Firestorm to have, literally, nothing! The armour was destroyed and its flipper no longer working, it once again met Hypno-Disc for 3rd place - this is one of the reasons Firestorm is my favourite robot of all time. Firestorm gave everything it had left against Hypno-Disc and used its power to its advantage. The pit was ready and Firestorm was a fighting warrior - the battle scars proved this. Firestorm then very quickly drove Hypno-Disc towards the pit and they both went in - Hypno-Disc looked like it exploded.
That match proved Firestorm had gone go to hell, conquered it, came back and destroyed everyone with nothing! Believe it or not, but that match is my #1 Robot Wars Match of All Time, simply because Firestorm was unstoppable in series 5 after everything was taken away from it.
Firestorm.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is my Top 5 Robots of All Time. Thank you for reading and I may or may not do a Top 10 to 6 Robots of All Time, but I'm sure nobody would care.
