Stinger

"You know what it is, you know what it does, you know how it does it. And we're back for more."

- Tim Mann

Stinger was a robot with a large spiked mace on the end of an arm. The arm was designed to swing around whenever the driver reversed the motors. Stinger had virtually no body; all the electronics were within its two domed wheels - Stinger's motors, power electronics and batteries. This design was called torque reaction, which was a form of Thwackbot. Alongside Weeliwako, Stinger was the first ever torque reaction axlebot on Robot Wars. Stinger entered in Series 3 through 6. In Series 3, a grinding wheel (often nicknamed a "pizza cutter") was used instead of the mace. Team member Jonathan Pillai left the team to create his own machine Gahra, which was renamed Infernal Contraption, who fought in Series 6 and 7.

Stinger had a very high and low performance ratio. Its debut into Series 3 saw it display almost no control before falling into the pit, and its Extreme history was also quite bad - of the seven battles it fought in across both series of Extreme, it won two, one by default and the other victory saw it thrown from the arena by Sir Killalot anyway. It also performed quite poorly in the side competitions of Series 4, and in its sole appearance in Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors.

Contrarily, it performed very strongly in Series 4, knocking out the favoured Bulldog Breed 2 and Panic Attack - in addition to giving reigning and future champions Chaos 2 a very close call - to place third overall. It also made two heat finals in Series 5 and 6, knocking out powerful robots in the Heat Semi-Final on both occasions.

Stinger was forbidden from entering Series 7 because of a new rule that stating that every robot must have a moving weapon. It still appears as a static display robot at the annual Debenham robot rumbles, alongside The Steel Avenger, Cassius, Chaos 2 and other famous Robot Wars robots that are now retired. Stinger has now been brought out of retirement, and is going to be fighting at Roaming Robots and Robots Live events all around the country.

Robot History
"A Tail of Two Wheels"

- Stinger's website history

Series 3
"And there's a real sting in the tail."

- A comment on Stinger by Jonathan Pearce

Armed with the grinding wheel or "pizza cutter" which weighed 5 kilograms, Singer looked like a good design. Stinger's initial appearance was minor compared to its later achievements, losing in Round 1. Stinger kept bashing Mace 2, all to no avail. After 57 seconds into its bout, spinning madly into the arena wall then into Mace 2, it drove straight into the pit. "Well, with some amazingly erratic driving, Stinger ends up in the pit, and out of the competition"

- Craig Charles

Series 4
Stinger returned to the fourth wars seeded 30 because of its unique design and location of electronics in the wheels. In its first match against Spikasaurus and Bulldog Breed 2 all three robots drove straight at each other and Stinger started hammering at Bulldog Breed but couldn't cause any major dents in the armour. It then turned its attention to Spikasaurus by hammering the top of the robot while Bulldog Breed flipped it, eventually Spikasaurus' roll bar became bent when it was flipped over and couldn't self right, so the house robots closed in putting Bulldog Breed and Stinger through to the second round. Next up were newcomers Hammer & Tong, Stinger started strongly and started hammering at the outer shell of Hammer & Tong who couldn't get their spike hammer to hit the robot. Eventually Stinger started spinning around and hit the side of Hammer & Tong which immobilised the electronics so the house robots put it on the floor flipper and Stinger advanced to the heat final where it met Bulldog Breed 2 again. The battle started with Bulldog Breed flipping Stinger over several times, the invertable robot started to spin and managed to hit the side of Bulldog Breed which got to the electronics. After being hit four or five times CO2 gas started leaking out of the Bulldog while its flipper remained jammed open. Killalot soon flipped it over with the lance before Dead Metal placed Bulldog Breed 2 onto the floor flipper. This put Stinger through to the Semi Finals.

Stinger was drawn against newcomers Mousetrap with its unique trap weapon. Stinger tried to target the spring which powered the trap and constantly hit Mousetrap which couldn't manage to hit Stinger despite the size of its weapon. Mousetrap's weapon soon stopped working after its drive chains broke and began to trail from the casing, and not long after it started to slow down and eventually stopped moving in the centre of the arena. Afterward, Shunt put his axe through the wooden bodywork and Killalot picked up Mousetrap and dropped it into the Pit of oblivion. Stinger then met Series 2 champions Panic Attack for a place in the Grand Final and what followed was a thrilling battle. Panic Attack charged at Stinger and managed to lift Stinger up but couldn't turn it over, eventually Stinger started spinning and managed to hit the side of Panic Attack causing only superficial damage, Panic Attack tried so hard to flip Stinger over with its lifting fork but couldn't while Stinger managed to land blows on Panic Attack time and time again. Eventually the match went to the judges who controversially awarded Stinger the victory by one point for being the more aggressive. Many members of the audience disagreed with the decision.

In the Grand Final, Stinger was up against reigning champion Chaos 2. Right at the start, Chaos 2 got a massive flip in on Stinger. Stinger spun in circles hitting Chaos 2's sides, and forcing it into Matilda's CPZ. In the process of escaping, Chaos 2 left its back exposed, and Stinger smashed its rear polycarbonate panel off. Chaos 2 carried on flipping Stinger, and eventually flipped it into Dead Metal's CPZ. Dead Metal grasped Stinger and Chaos 2 tried to flip both of them, but couldn't. Cease was called, and the judges were called upon to decide who would meet Pussycat in the Grand Final. The two robots were ruled to be equal in damage, style, and aggression, meaning that the deciding factor would be which robot had better control. The judges ruled that the robot with the advantage in that category was Chaos 2. Stinger took 3rd place by default after the Hypno-Disc team couldn't repair their robot in time for a playoff match.

Stinger was joint 12th in the pinball warrior with Banshee. In the Northern Annihilator, Stinger had a grudge match against Spikasaurus and Chaos 2. Stinger got flipped by Chaos 2 but survivied. However, in Round 2, Killerhurtz rammed it into the side walls, before Dominator 2 puntured one of its tyres and it was left spinning in circles.

Extreme 1
Stinger made several appearances in Extreme, but did not have a great deal of success.

It fought newcomer Ajjay in a Wild Card Warriors battle. Ajjay was supposed to have a horizontal spinning weapon, but it did not work, so Ajjay's only means of attack were pushing and spinning in place. Ajjay pushed Stinger around, and then accidentally drove into a CPZ, where Killalot picked it up and dropped it. Stinger hammered Ajjay with its mace, and then drove into a CPZ itself, and it too was picked up by Killalot. Since time had almost run out, Killalot carried Stinger over to the wall, and dropped it out of the arena right after cease was called. Stinger was technically still active at the end, so it went to the judges, who ruled in favour of Stinger.

Stinger challenged Behemoth for the Challenge Belt. It buffeted Behemoth's front and side by spinning round and round, but Behemoth was slowly edging it towards the wall. Once Stinger was trapped, Behemoth pushed it into Killalot's CPZ, where Killalot picked it up and carried it around the arena. Stinger escaped, and Behemoth once again edged it onto the wall. Behemoth then picked up Stinger, and trapped it with its scoop/axe combination. Stinger was helpless as Behemoth carried it over to the pit and dropped it down into it.

In its Mayhem, Stinger met Behemoth and Thermidor 2. Stinger looked on as Thermidor easily flipped Behemoth out of the arena. The lobster then turned its attention to Stinger, whose shape proved more difficult to get ahold of than Behemoth's, but Thermidor flipped it several times, and did eventually manage to get Stinger out of the arena too.

In the All-Stars, Stinger faced fellow Grand Finalist Pussycat. Stinger used its blade to bounce Pussycat, and Pussycat got its blade caught in the arena floor. It managed to free itself, and Stinger carried on bludgeoning it with its mace. With a well-aimed attack, Pussycat hit one of Stinger's tyres, and started to tear out the material inside it. It went to the judges, who went in favour of Pussycat.

Stinger's final Extreme 1 appearance was the House Robot Rebellion, where it, Scorpion, and Plunderbird 5 faced Shunt and Dead Metal. Stinger focused on Dead Metal, hammering the house robot's front with its mace. Eventually, Dead Metal grabbed it and held it sideways so that it couldn't swing its mace weapon. Plunderbird and Scorpion had both been pitted, so Stinger was ganged up on by Dead Metal, Shunt, and Matilda who had just entered the battle. Time ran out, and Stinger was declared the winner for being the only survivor of the three competitor robots.

Series 5
In the fifth wars, Stinger was seeded #5. Its first battle was against Hippobotamus, it spun round and round, smacking Hippobotamus's sides. Hippobotamus tried to retaliate with its disc/crushing arm weapon, but Stinger was too quick, and easily avoided it. Stinger carried on hammering away at the Hippo's top, and then Dead Metal grabbed it and sliced through the lid. Stinger then accidentally drove into Sir Killalot's CPZ, so Killalot picked up Stinger and carried it around the arena until time ran out. Hippobotamus's lid had come loose, and its sandpit shell had taken very heavy damage, but it was still mobile, so a judges' decision was needed. Not surprisingly, the judges went for Stinger. Stinger's next match was against General Carnage. Stinger once again spun around and struck its opponent's sides. General Carnage managed to get a few flips in on Stinger, but that did not affect the fully invertible machine. Stinger hammered General Carnage's top, and after the latter fired its flipper again, it suddenly stopped moving, and was counted out. In the heat final, Stinger met S3. Stinger tried to axe down on S3's body while avoiding the deadly disc, but ended up getting nipped a couple times. S3 got Stinger up against an angle grinder, and started to cut into Stinger's tyres. Stinger had stopped moving, so the Refbot counted it out. After being sent flying on the floor flipper, Stinger regained mobility, but since it had already been deemed immobile, it did not change the fact that S3 had beaten it.

Series 6
Despite being seeded 11th, Stinger did not contribute much to its opening match against Chompalot, Thermidor 2, and 13 Black. The four robots met near the pit, and 13 Black hit the pit release. Stinger was dangerously close to the pit; its mace was practically dangling inside, but Stinger managed to escape. Chompalot grabbed Stinger and tried to crush it, while Thermidor began moving on only one wheel, making it the first robot to fall. 13 Black attacked Chompalot with its discs, immobilzing the dragon-like robot, and sending itself and Stinger through to the next round.

"With Stinger, you never know what's going to happen with that mighty mace."

- Johnathan Pearce at the start of the Fluffy battle

Stinger's second match was against Fluffy. Fluffy hit Stinger's wheels several times with its powerful spinning hammer. After taking several hits, one of Stinger's wheels appeared to stop moving, but Stinger got it going again before it could be counted out. Fluffy's blade had stopped spinning, allowing Stinger to hammer away at its top without fear of retaliation. Stinger's onslaught eventually immobilized Fluffy. In the heat final, Stinger hammered 13 Black's top, but didn't appear to do any damage. 13 Black hit Stinger's wheels with its discs, and a piece of rubber flew off Stinger. Stinger tried to get some more hits in on 13 Black, but took damage from 13 Black's discs every time it landed a hit. Both robots ended up in a CPZ, so Killalot picked up Stinger, and held it until the clock ran out. The judges ruled that 13 Black was more aggressive, and was therefore the winner.

Extreme 2
Stinger's only appearance in Extreme 2 was in the Tag Team Terror, where it teamed up with Nasty Humphrey. Their only match was against The Steel Avenger and Lightning. Nasty Humphrey and Lightning started out in the arena, and Lightning easily got under Nasty Humphrey, and pushed it into Mr Psycho. Nasty Humphrey escaped, and tagged Stinger, while Lightning tagged Steel Avenger. Steel Avenger went for the pit release button and pushed Stinger into the pit, but it couldn't stop in time, and drove into the pit itself. Lightning and Nasty Humphrey faced each other again, and Nasty Humphrey's axe proving ineffective against Lightning. Lightning got underneath Nasty Humphrey again, and managed to flip it onto its side. Time ran out before Nasty Humphrey was deemed immobile, but the judges ruled that Stinger and Nasty Humphrey had lost.

US Series
Stinger fought in the War of Independence competition in Season 1 of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. In the first round, it fought General Chompsalot. It managed to get several blows in with its axe, but General Chompsalot proved to be much more aggressive and managed to bite down on Stinger's wheels several times until the end where Stinger eventually lost on a judges' decision.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * UK Wins: 11
 * UK Losses: 10
 * US Wins: 0
 * US Losses: 1

UK Series Record

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