Sir Chromalot

"Ah, Sir Chromalot, looks lovely...shame about the drivers."

- Jonathan Pearce in Series 6 as Sir Chromalot drives into Shunt while entering the Arena

Sir Chromalot was a small circular shaped robot that competed in Series 3-6 of Robot Wars, also competing in both series of Extreme. Its name was a pun on Sir Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table in the King Arthur legends. Constructed from the hub of a lorry wheel, Sir Chromalot's weapon was originally a spike with a cobalt cutter on the tip. After being flipped over in Series 3, it added a large tower srimech, which meant that Sir Chromalot could only land on its side, where self-righting arms could push it back onto its wheels. However, this took up weight that would be reserved for weaponry, and was removed. For Series 5 and Extreme 1 onwards, the spike was removed and replaced with a flipping arm.

Upon the retirement of Sir Chromalot after Extreme 2, the robot was dismantled and the wheel returned to the lorry. Ray Tait left the team at this point. Steve Merrill, along with several engineers from Alchrist Engineering, constructed a new generation Sir Chromalot - a precision box equipped with two saw discs, tipped with tungsten carbide. "At RW Sir Chromalot was the absolutely on the limit of top weight allowance, by a few grams. That's how precise it was."

- Steve Merrill

Sir Chromalot was ripped to pieces in its qualifier battle for the Seventh Wars, in a head-to-head Vengeance battle with Scorpion. Subsequently, it did not qualify for the Seventh Wars.

When first fully constructed for Series 3, Sir Chromalot's weapon was a red, helicopter style bar spinner. The bar spinner was removed because it made the robot overweight.

Sadly, Steve Merrill passed away in 2011 from complications related to bowel cancer. Today, both Sir Chromalot machines are owned by Ray Tait.

The Class Act
The team members of The Hub Nuts (commonly called the Class Act) were excellent sports and comedians, always guaranteed to get a laugh. On many occasions the team, in particular the captain, Steve Merrill, would make a joke out of the competition and fuss over things such as outfits. Frequently, The Hub Nuts would arrive in limousines and Rolls Royces, accompanied by bouncers, tailors and pom-pom girls. As a trademark, members of the Hub Nuts always dressed in tuxedos.

The team originally consisted of Steve Merrill, Steve Smith and David Whitehead. Smith left after Series 3, and Whitehead left after Series 4. It was at this point that Ray Tait, captain of the recently retired Centurion robot, joined Merrill on Sir Chromalot and completely redid the robot, replacing the previously impotent spike with an effective flipping arm.

The Class Act considered attire very important. One particular exchange in Series 6 showed Steve Merrill more interested in the jacket he would wear than who he was fighting. The exchange resulted in Philippa stating that she believed that some of Steve Merrill's jackets were "illegal". "...most teams did not like us, but we didn't care...we used the same game plan as boxers use before going into the ring"

- Steve Merrill

The team shared a long-standing rivalry with the Plunderbird team in particular, with hostilities coming to a close in a Vengeance battle in Extreme 1. Steve and Ray called the opposing team "Plundergirls" throughout the fight, and accused them of having no style or skill. This rivalry was also shown in the Robot Wars Magazine, as one of the Comic Strip fights was between Sir Chromalot and Plunderbird 4. In both cases, Sir Chromalot came out on top.

Also, The Hub Nuts had a particular enmity with Jonathan Pearce. Pearce originally made a comment about Merrill's weight, which led to a hatred between the two. Pearce frequently made jokes about Sir Chromalot, and in turn, Sir Chromalot frequently insulted Pearce, stating at one point that he had a "grease nipple on his chin to keep his mouth moving". Sir Chromalot's weakness was often listed as "Jonathan Pearce".

Despite the seemingly over-inflated egos, Sir Chromalot's team were very helpful in the pits, and were nominated for the Sportsmanship Award in Series 3 and 4. However, on both occasions they lost to Diotoir.

Series 3
"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Sir Chromalot"

- Steve Merrill's arrival into Series 3

In Heat D of the Third Wars, Sir Chromalot appeared on the Robot Wars televised show for the first time, arriving in style from the back of a limousine. After a brief entertainment from the team, who danced around the arena, the robot fought in its first round battle, which saw it get placed up against fellow newcomers Shell Shock. In the battle, Sir Chromalot immediately attacked Shell Shock and penetrated the shell with its spike. After this moment the axe of Shell Shock was permanently jammed down. Sir Chromalot pushed it into Matilda's CPZ, but Matilda pushed it out again. Then Sir Chromalot and Sir Killalot ganged up on Shell Shock together. Shell Shock's axe head broke off, and Sir Chromalot became stuck on top of it. Sir Killalot and Matilda attacked it and it was freed. It started to move again, but then Sir Killalot pushed it into the pit of oblivion. The judges ruled that Sir Chromalot should not have been pushed into the pit, so the judged the match on points and awarded Sir Chromalot the victory. In the second round, Sir Chromalot was placed up against another newcomer to the main competition in Big Brother. This battle was fairly brief, particularly in comparison to Sir Chromalot's previous battle. In this battle, Big Brother drove Sir Chromalot towards the CPZ, however, Sir Chromalot then turned around and tried a head-on charge on Big Brother. Big Brother also drove forwards, and ended up driving in underneath Sir Chromalot, this made the Hub Nuts' machine topple and fall upside down and left on its back, where it was unable to self-right. Sir Chromalot was deemed immobilised, and the house robots then came in for the kill. However, even Shunt's diamond edged axe could not penetrate the underbelly of Sir Chromalot. Cease was soon called, and Sir Chromalot was eliminated from the competition.

At the end of the series, Sir Chromalot was nominated for the Sportsmanship Award, however, it lost out to Diotoir.

Series 4
"Who's going to win? Siiiiiiiiiiir C-H-R-O-M-A-L-O-T! What does that spell? Siiiiiiiiiiir Chromalot!"

- The chants of the cheer squad

Sir Chromalot returned for the Fourth Wars as the number 27 seeds, being granted this seeding due to its popularity with the crowd and its Sportsmanship award nomination. The team arrived in the back of a truck, accompanied by a squad of pom-pom girls as extra support. Sir Chromalot participated in Heat M of the main competition. In its first round melee, the seeded Sir Chromalot machine was placed up against two newcomers to the main competition in Reactor and Scorpion. The battle started worryingly for the number 27 seeds as Scorpion pushed Sir Chromalot around the arena for a while with relative ease. Fortunately, Sir Chromalot was able to halt Scorpion in its tracks with its spike, up against the arena side wall, and Reactor took this opportunity to swoop in and flip Scorpion over. Scorpion was unable to self-right, so it was deemed immobilised, and was then pushed onto the flame pit, before being severely damaged by the house robots. This put the seeded Sir Chromalot machine through to the next round of the heat. In the second round, things didn't go too smoothly for Sir Chromalot as it was placed up against a returning robot in The Steel Avenger. In this battle, The Steel Avenger was also able to take advantage of Sir Chromalot's low pushing power, and directed it around in circles on the arena floor, whilst also trying to hit the tall srimech apparatus of Sir Chromalot with its axe. The Steel Avenger missed with its axe on numerous occasions, only managing to hit Sir Chromalot once. The drill weapon then suddenly broke on Sir Chromalot after a hefty slam from The Steel Avenger, this then almost served as a cue for the pit of oblivion to descend. The Steel Avenger then carried Sir Chromalot over to the pit, before lining it up perfectly, and dumping it down with ease. Cease was called and the seeded Sir Chromalot was eliminated from the competition. "The cheerleaders won't be cheering now!"

- Craig Charles post-battle

Sir Chromalot also entered in the Celebrity Special, that took place during the Christmas season of the Fourth Wars. Sir Chromalot was draped in a shiny decorative cloak, covering the srimech apparatus completely, rendering it useless. The robot was driven by Boyzone's Shane Lynch, considered as the best of the Celebrity drivers for the competition. In its first round battle, Sir Chromalot was placed up against relative newcomers Disc-O-Inferno. In the battle, Sir Chromalot started the stronger machine as it avoided the disc of its opponent and caught it side-on, giving it the pushing advantage. Sir Chromalot's decorations were set alight and burnt completely when it drove foolishly over the flame pit whilst trying to push Disc-O-Inferno over to the arena side wall. This gave Sir Chromalot back its srimech. However, Sir Chromalot had almost nothing more to do in the battle, as when it pulled away, it was clear that Disc-O-Inferno had become immobilised after its aerial had burnt out after the robot was pushed over the flame pit by Sir Chromalot. Sir Chromalot pulled away and let the house robots do some more damage to Disc-O-Inferno, whilst also putting it on the arena floor flipper to be flipped, before cease was finally called, confirming victory for Sir Chromalot. This put Sir Chromalot through to the second round of the competition. In the Semi-Final round, Sir Chromalot was placed up against the rising tournament favourites in Pussycat. In this battle, Sir Chromalot couldn't get away from the cutting disc of Pussycat at all, and suffered tremendous damage. After a while of Pussycat cutting into a fairly statuesque Sir Chromalot, Pussycat scuttled across to the other side of the arena, making it clear that Sir Chromalot was completely immobilised. The house robots then closed in on the defeated machine, toppling it over before taking it over to the arena floor flipper to be flipped. After Sir Chromalot was flipped by the arena floor flipper, the house robots took Sir Chromalot over to the pit of oblivion and dumped it down, eliminating it from the competition.

At the end of the series, Sir Chromalot, for the second series running, was nominated for the Sportsmanship award, however, for the second series in a row, it lost out to Diotoir.

Extreme 1
The new Sir Chromalot machine made its Extreme Series 1 début by fighting in a Vengeance battle, where it went up against Plunderbird 5, caused by an argument between the teams as to which team had a better entry. The battle itself was a long and dull one as both robots spent a long while dodging around one another. Eventually, Sir Chromalot made a flip on Plunderbird 5, a flip that made Plunderbird 5 get stuck on the top of Sir Chromalot. "Once again boys, you're all talk and no trousers"

- Jonathan Pearce commentating mid-battle

After a few moments, Plunderbird 5 finally got off the top of Sir Chromalot, and the fight continued. However, the battle at long last came to a conclusion as Sir Chromalot pressed the pit release button, making the pit descend. Plunderbird 5 was on the pit mouth, and then lost control completely, resulting in the robot positioning itself in such a way that the wheels were hanging over the pit of oblivion, meaning that Plunderbird 5 couldn't move away. The result of the battle was now perfectly clear, but Sir Chromalot was confirmed the winner as Sergeant Bash then came out of his CPZ and pushed Plunderbird 5 into the pit fully.

Sir Chromalot also had a disastrous Tag Team Terror partnership with Napalm in the first series of Extreme. Although the two teams appeared very confident going into their first round battle up against Suicidal Tendencies and The Steel Avenger, the Tag Team partnership couldn't live up to it. In the battle, Sir Chromalot stayed in its specified corner, doing absolutely nothing, until it was official that Napalm was immobilised, after being completely destroyed by both robots of the opposing Tag Team partnership. Sir Chromalot itself eventually came out as Napalm was lifted and then dumped out of the arena by Sir Killalot. Sir Chromalot was overwhelmed by the power of its opponents, and couldn't avoid being pitted by Suicidal Tendencies and The Steel Avenger within moments, without much retaliation at all from Sir Chromalot. Cease was then called, and Sir Chromalot and Napalm were eliminated from the competition. "Oh guys, come on, I'm so depressed. But not really, I'll be back."

- Steve Merill's melo-dramatic exit to Extreme 1 towards the cameras

Series 5
"Ray Tait...appears to have gotten his hands on the machine, because it actually works"

- Philippa Forrester observing the new and improved Sir Chromalot, and the former Centurion captain

Sir Chromalot returned for the Fifth Wars, unseeded, with its new flipping arm weapon replacing the srimech apparatus and the spikes and drills. The robot participated in Heat D of the main competition. In the first round of the heat, Sir Chromalot was placed up against newcomers to the main competition in Rohog. After getting a few light flips and bashes on Rohog, none managing to flip Rohog fully over onto its back, Sir Chromalot pushed Rohog into the angle grinder neighbouring the flame pit, before driving back into the centre of the arena. Unlike Rohog, who didn't pull away, or even make any movement. Rohog was then immediately counted out by the Refbot, this was before Rohog was completely obliterated by the house robots Sir Killalot and Matilda. Cease was eventually called, and Sir Chromalot was put through to the next round of the heat. In the second round of the heat, Sir Chromalot was placed up against the number 7 seeds and future Grand Finalists Firestorm 3. In this battle, Firestorm 3 flipped over Sir Chromalot in a matter of seconds, due to the awkward position and shape of the flipping arm, Sir Chromalot was unable to self-right, deeming it immobilised. Sir Chromalot was thrown around the arena for a little while longer by Firestorm 3, before eventually being counted out by the Refbot. Cease was called and Sir Chromalot was eliminated from the competition, meaning it was out of the main competition in the second round for the third time in a row.

Series 6
"...an American truck wheel hub turned into an invincible, self-righting, CO2 gas flipping machine that they claim is Razer-proof, bomb-proof and Jonathan Pearce-proof! Steve and Ray, make my day!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Sir Chromalot entered the arena by carelessly crashing into Shunt and the Hosue Robot briefly tried to chase it, but it made up for that as it fought in a spectacular first round battle, a battle where Sir Chromalot was placed up against previous heat semi-finalists The Alien, Series 2 Semi-Finalists GBH 2 and newcomers to the main competition ICU. "Whatever happens to the Sir Chromalot team, they are great value, great fun, great showmen...and...Steve and Ray, it would be great to see your machine down the pit!"

- Jonathan Pearce as the battle starts

In the battle, Sir Chromalot hung back as The Alien attacked the other two competitors, before charging into The Alien and flipping it onto its back. As The Alien slowly self-righted, Sir Chromalot took an axe blow from ICU and fled, before Sir Chromalot was flipped over by The Alien. Sir Chromalot then swiftly self-righted and flipped GBH 2 onto its back, with Team Joint Effort's machine self-righting again. Sir Chromalot then flipped over ICU, who was unable to self-right, as the axe mechanism broke not long before hand. Sir Chromalot then missed a flip on The Alien, but was flipped over by GBH 2 once more. Sir Chromalot managed to self-right, albeit with some effort, and was then flipped into the arena side wall by GBH 2, after they were pushed backwards by The Alien. Sir Chromalot did manage to self-right, but it was resting up against the arena side wall, meaning the robot was still unable to flee, another flip from the flipper did nothing but put Sir Chromalot back onto its back. Sir Chromalot couldn't fire its flipper at all for the rest of the battle, as it was locked open. However, as it was so close to the end of the battle, Sir Chromalot had just managed to hold on to a judges' decision. The decision controversially went in favour of Sir Chromalot and The Alien, putting The Class Act through to the second round of the heat on a 2-1 decision that Sir Chromalot had done enough before it was left lying upside down.

Sir Chromalot then faced number 7 seeds S3 in the heat semi-final. In this battle, Sir Chromalot started by activating the pit release button and attempting to lure the seeded machine towards it. However, S3 closed the gap between Sir Chromalot and its own disc weapon, and slashed Sir Chromalot twice, knocking Sir Chromalot clean over onto its back. Sir Chromalot immediately self-righted and continued to lure S3 around the pit of oblivion. However, Sir Chromalot's flipping arm eventually ran out of gas from self-righting after being flipped by S3's flywheel. Sir Chromalot was counted out by the Refbot, eliminating it from the competition, meaning it was eliminated in the heat semi-final for a fourth time in succession. Dead Metal put punishment on Sir Chromalot, before accelerating into the pit of oblivion with the defeated Sir Chromalot.

Extreme 2
"...not a problem for us"

- Ray Tait upon hearing the line-up

Sir Chromalot exclusively competed in the Challenge Belt competition in the second series of Extreme. In the first round, Sir Chromalot had an unfortunate draw as it was placed up against three times Grand Finalists Hypno-Disc, recent Most Promising Newcomer Award winner Dantomkia and twice heat finalists S.M.I.D.S.Y., largely making The Class Act the clear underdogs for the battle. For this event, the robot had been draped in chains, most likely to try to deflect the attacks from the spinning disc weapons on S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Hypno-Disc. In the battle, after staying out of major trouble for the majority of the battle, Sir Chromalot looked fit to go through as Hypno-Disc had sailed out of the arena very early on in the battle, and S.M.I.D.S.Y was being constantly picked on by both Dantomkia and Mr. Psycho. However, Dantomkia then turned on and flipped Sir Chromalot onto its back into an unoccupied CPZ, Sir Chromalot's added chains restricted it from self-righting, leaving it available for Matilda to attack, who then spun Sir Chromalot amazingly back onto its wheels using her 27kg flywheel, before then using it to hurl Sir Chromalot out of the arena, eliminating The Class Act from the competition. Although Sir Chromalot was in the distance from the TV cameras once out of the arena, the damage caused after this charge from Matilda was extreme and very visible to see. This was Sir Chromalot's last appearance on the televised show. "We had a great time, really did"

- Steve Merrill after Sir Chromalot's Extreme 2 defeat

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 6
 * Losses: 7

Series Record

 * Series 1-2: Did not enter
 * Series 3: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 4: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 5: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 6: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 7: Failed to qualify

Outside Robot Wars
Ray Tait built and entered Skelly in the rope climbing competition of Techno Games. Skelly still works to this day and appears at shows. Ray Tait also built Mechatron for Mechanoids. Ray has also built a robot called David Wreckem that appeared on Blue Peter.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Sir Chromalot/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem

Trivia

 * Interestingly, on Sir Chromalot's three unseeded main appearances, it fought in Heat D, losing in Round 2 to the eventual heat winner, two of which being the number 7 seed for the series. The robot also lost in Round 2 of its main competition appearance as a seed.
 * In fact, Sir Chromalot never made it past Round 2 in any competition, always losing in Round 1 of any competitions it took part in during either series of Extreme.
 * Sir Chromalot was nominated for the Sportsmanship Award in both Series 3 and 4, but lost to Diotoir both times.
 * Sir Chromalot was profiled in Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide.
 * Sir Chromalot was one of 22 robots whose final appearance on Robot Wars had them Thrown Out of the Arena.
 * During testing before Series 3, Sir Chromalot survived being hit by multiple cars.
 * In all of its unseeded appearances in the main competition, Sir Chromalot lost as a result of being flipped, despite being equipped with a flipping weapon for two of these series.
 * In Series 4, Sir Chromalot measured 1.41 metres tall, making this the tallest competitor robot in the main competition of all time.
 * In Sir Chromalot's last appearance on Robot Wars, the Robot Wars announcer Stuart McDonald mistakenly pronounced it Sir Chom-alot, despite saying it correctly for over three years before hand.