Clawed Hopper

Clawed Hopper was a walkerbot that competed in Series 4-5 of Robot Wars. It was eliminated in the first round of Series 4 after being flipped over by Bigger Brother, but became the first heavyweight walkerbot to win a battle in the main series, in its first round battle against Twister in Series 5. However, it was eliminated in the second round there, losing to Series 4 runners-up Pussycat there.

Its name was most likely a pun on the word 'clodhopper', referring to both a type of heavy shoe, and a type of Canadian candy.

Design
Clawed Hopper was a heavyweight walkerbot designed to resemble an insect, painted yellow in Series 4 and green in Series 5, and armed with a pair of steel claws which moved up and down with the robot as it walked. Its walking mechanism consisted of a rectangular frame that moved in an elliptical pattern, featuring spikes on the underside which provided traction for the robot to move forwards and backwards. The robot's body was made from steel and aluminium along with other scrap materials and mounted on a spinning turntable, which allowed Clawed Hopper to turn swiftly with a zero-degree turning circle.

In Series 5, a spinning drum was added to each side of Clawed Hopper, along with a pair of rollbars to allow it to roll back onto its feet in case it was flipped. However, the drums were not potent, and were prone to breaking loose as demonstrated in its fight against Pussycat. Clawed Hopper also suffered from a lack of self-righting mechanism - which was highlighted in its Series 4 eliminator - and a low top speed of only 3mph.

Series 4
"Two mechanically powered claws give it half the name. Hopper, well, this is a walker machine with its steel and aluminum and other parts from a local scrap heap. Will it hop to the very top, or will the mighty 138kg weigh it down?"

- Jonathan Pearce introducing Clawed Hopper

Clawed Hopper participated in Heat J of the Fourth Wars for its first televised appearance. In the first round melee, Clawed Hopper was placed up against fellow newcomers Hammer & Tong and the number 14 seeds Bigger Brother. In the battle, Clawed Hopper took a side-on attack from Bigger Brother, and nearly toppled over. Clawed Hopper landed on its feet and went after Hammer and Tong, getting under it but not causing any damage. Bigger Brother flipped Clawed Hopper onto its side, but Clawed Hopper again fell back onto its feet. However, on its third attempt, Bigger Brother successfully flipped Clawed Hopper onto its back. Sgt Bash and Dead Metal then came in to attack Clawed Hopper. Despite Clawed Hopper's legs still moving, it could not stop Dead Metal from slicing it with his saw. He roasted it on the flame pit and then put it on the arena floor flipper, where due to its weight it didn't go very far, but it still didn't land the right way up. Dead Metal then attacked it once more before Cease was called. "Clawed Hopper goes belly up and out of the competition."

- Craig Charles

Series 5
A larger, more robust, heavier but slower Clawed Hopper participated in the final Heat of the Fifth Wars. In the first round, Clawed Hopper was placed up against the experienced Team Berserk with their new machine Twister. In the battle, despite its slow, sluggish movement, Clawed Hopper eventually met Twister near the centre of the arena, where one nudge from the hefty Clawed Hopper saw Twister break down immediately. Twister was soon subsequently counted out by Refbot and then Clawed Hopper (very slowly) pushed Twister towards the open pit of oblivion, and eventually got the former Heat Finalists down it. For the first time in Robot Wars, a walker was through to the second round of the main competition. "Clawed Hopper...took him seven and a half months to get across the arena there, to press the [pit release] button. We just edited it for you"

- Jonathan Pearce, mocking Clawed Hopper's speed

However, in the second round of the Heat, Clawed Hopper stood very little chance, fighting the number two seeds Pussycat.

In this battle, although Clawed Hopper was clearly trying its very best, Pussycat buried its blade into Clawed Hopper's spinning flail several times, eventually causing it to break off. Clawed Hopper was falling to pieces when cease was called, but to everyone's amazement survived to a judges' decision. However, Pussycat was unsurprisingly the winner of the battle, eliminating Clawed Hopper from the competition.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 1
 * Losses: 2

Series Record

 * Series 1-3: Did not enter
 * Series 4: Heat, Round 1
 * Series 5: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 6-7, 2016: Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars
The team also entered Techno Games with a sprinting robot called Clod Hopper, which was a large shoe-shaped robot which featured a similar walking mechanism to Clawed Hopper, complete with turntable. Its name and design were a direct play on the 'clodhopper' shoe.

Trivia

 * Clawed Hopper was the first walking robot to both compete in and win a battle in the main competition.
 * Clawed Hopper is one of only two walkerbots to have progressed beyond the first round in the main UK series. The other is Series 6 Heat Finalist Anarchy.
 * Clawed Hopper was the only walkerbot to compete in the main UK tournament twice.
 * In the Series 4 recap and Battle Card, the 'e' was omitted from the first half of Clawed Hopper's name, meaning that it was spelt Clawd Hopper.
 * Of the fifty robots to return from Series 4 to compete in Series 5, Clawed Hopper was one of only ten to perform better in its Series 5 appearance. The others were Bigger Brother, Firestorm, Diotoir, Prizephita Mach 2, Kat 3, Reactor, Rick, Destruct-A-Bubble and Razer.