Fighting Robots 4: Odd Ones · 9:28pm Jul 12th, 2020
Fighting Robots 1 (Nightmare, Chaos 2, BioHazard, Razer, Hazard, Deadblow, Blendo)
Fighting Robots 2 (Hypno-Disc, Tombstone, Supernova, Son of Whyachi, Carbide, Minotaur, Apex, Icewave, PP3D)
Fighting Robots 3 (Killerhurtz, Terrorhurtz, beta)
First three blogs updated to include robot’s weight division and win-loss record
They were successful in competition and have unusual designs. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Pussycat
Series: Robot Wars
Division: Heavyweight
Win-Loss record: 31-8
Team Cold Fusion is regarded at the Robot Wars team with the most mixed fortunes. Pussycat is their second robot, and their longest-competing, competing in Series 3, 4, 5, 7 and both Extremes (why they skipped Series 6 will be explained later).
This robot’s unusual design is because the team’s first bot, Bodyhammer, had problems clearing the Gauntlet Trial due to its low ground clearance; Pussycat was designed specifically to address this problem, but the team didn’t know beforehand that the Trials were relegated to side competition status for Series 3, and the Gauntlet had been dropped entirely.
The pyramid-shaped Pussycat was armed with a small 2-, 4-, or 8-toothed cutting disc; not much to look at, but able to exploit gaps in opponents’ armor and apparently powerful enough to demolish a garage. The robot itself was remarkably sturdy, arguably only second to the seemingly indestructible Wild Thing; the one time that Pussycat was immobilized, it was pitted before it could be determined if it was truly KO’d or was only experiencing signal problems.
The shape of the body and the placement of the wheels meant that, if it went airborne, it would always land on its feet (pun intended). However, this design, along with the precision required to use its weapon effectively, meant that Pussycat was an extremely difficult robot to drive. But in the right hands, it was not to be underestimated; it’s the only robot in the show’s history to KO Razer!
Surprisingly, the black mark on Pussycat’s career was in its Series 3 debut: for one battle, the team replaced the (then toothless) cutting disc with an illegal hardened steel disc that shattered against the Arena walls, ultimately causing the robot to be disqualified for Health & Safety reasons. It is the only robot to be eliminated this way.
Team Cold Fusion experienced a tragedy, however: Pussycat’s driver, David Gribble, perished in a traffic accident after Series 5 (this was why the team passed up Series 6). With the robot’s most experienced driver no longer at the controls and Pussycat’s inherently difficult-to-drive design, it did noticeably poorer in Extreme 2 and Series 7, but the robot still managed to end its career on a high note with a Series 7 trophy.
Complete Control
Series: BattleBots
Division: Middleweight, Heavyweight
Win-Loss record: 8-6
The fourth bot from Derek Young. In chronological order: Mr. Smashy, Son of Smashy (Young’s first entry into BattleBots), Pressure Drop and Complete Control. Why are there two pictures of this entry’s focus? Because the first, which competed in Seasons 2.0-5.0, was a middleweight; the second, which competed in Reboot Seasons 1 and 2, was a heavyweight.
Complete Control, partially named after a song by The Clash, differed from its predecessors in weaponry. Like its name suggests, it’s designed for control rather than damage. It used a lifter and clamp to grab other robots and overturn them, or lift them into the air so they could be carried into hazards... And the combo could also suplex opponents. Damaging? No. Awesome to watch? Hell yes!
Complete Control’s greatest run was Season 4.0, where it advanced to the Middleweight Finals... but then found itself looking down the loaded barrel of Hazard, the reigning Middleweight Champion. If you’ve read Hazard’s entry in Fighting Robots 1, you’ll know how this battle went.
One of the big changes in the Reboot Seasons was the focus being changed to focus squarely on the heavyweight division. So, in Reboot Season 1, Complete Control was rebuilt as a heavyweight. The biggest upgrade? A flamethrower added between the lifter and clamp. The robot still didn’t have the destructive potential of, say, Tombstone, but watching Complete Control carry other robots around while torching them with its flamethrower was anything but boring!
This version of the robot was involved in a very controversial moment. Against Ghost Raptor, CC carried a present box in its lifter/clamp. While there was nothing wrong with that in and of itself, the box actually contained a net to entangle Ghost Raptor’s blade.
Although CC argued that the rules didn’t directly mention nets as illegal, a rematch was called, and Ghost Raptor won.
Given the less-than-positive audience reaction to Complete Control being introduced in the BattleBox during Reboot Season 2, it was still a sore point for many that year. So they likely were happy to see the bot go out in a literal blaze of glory.
Following Reboot Season 2, Young retired from robot combat, and became one of BattleBots’ match-side judges instead.
Stinger
Series: Robot Wars
Division: Heavyweight
Win-Loss record: 12-10
The most memorable axle-bot from the original run of Robot Wars, and the one with the most appearances. When I was a kid, this was my favorite bot in the show, hands down.
Stinger’s first loss was actually its first battle (pictured above, it originally was equipped with a cutting disc weapon). It drove around seemingly out of control, then finally drove itself into the Pit after about 30 seconds. The show’s commentator wondered if the team had been drinking before the fight!
Despite a bad first showing, Stinger was seeded in Series 3 (mostly because of its creative design); it managed to justify such a position by advancing all the way to the Series 4 Grand Finals, finishing in 3rd place on a very close judges’ decision against Chaos 2. While it had mixed success afterward (the furthest it got was the Heat Finals), it was still a crowd favorite, and even managed to win the House Robot Rebellion in Extreme 1.
Stinger’s unusual design placed all of its electronics inside the domed wheels, with the aerials housed in the tires (the tires were really the robot’s only weak point). From Series 4 onward, the weapon was a mace that vertically swung down onto opponents when the robot reversed direction, though it was quickly found to do more damage when swung horizontally. Despite appearances, it was actually quite sturdy.
As has been noted by the show’s host, what made Stinger such a formidable opponent was that it was so difficult to fight: the shape made it hard to consistently land solid hits on it, its mace packed a surprising punch when the robot spun in place, it was immune to flippers and lifters, and when you knocked it away, it would quickly recover and just keep coming back at you.
