Robot Wars: The First Great War

Robot Wars: The First Great War was a video based around the first series of Robot Wars. It was released on VHS on March 29th 1999. It featured behind-the-scenes footage, clips of some of the earliest robotic combat contests, and highlights of the heats and grand final which saw Roadblock be crowned as the first UK Series Champion.

The title of the video is derived from the nickname of World War I.

Featured Robots
Each heat shown followed the exploits of up to three out of the six robots in the heats from The Gauntlet onwards.

Heat A

 * Roadblock
 * Nemesis
 * Killertron

Heat B

 * Recyclopse
 * Mortis
 * Detonator

Heat C

 * Plunderbird 1
 * Dreadnaut
 * Robot The Bruce

Heat D

 * None

Heat E

 * Bodyhammer
 * REALI-T

Heat F

 * T.R.A.C.I.E.
 * Elvis

Notable Sections

 * 1995 UK Open Competition - The video featured highlights of the event that acted as a pilot for the television show. Robots of various weight categories were seen in action, including Grunt and The Mouse (which went on to become Stock Robots in the First Wars), as well as famous American competitors Thor, La Machine, The Master. The latter two were inaugrial mentions in The Combat Robot Hall of Fame. Towards the end of the video, an extended version of the battle shown in Heat D between Thor and The Master is shown, with The Master emerging victorious. The machines at the meeting fought in regular battles, and Soccer events, like those seen in the first three television series of Robot Wars.
 * Behind-the-scenes footage - Interviews with the Visual Effects Designer Chris Reynolds and other Robot Wars staff, revealing some of the original concept art and general ideas behind the house robots, Matilda, Sergeant Bash, Dead Metal and Shunt, as well as the Robot Wars Arena.
 * Heat Highlights - Began with the same house robot introduction seen in Heat A, and largely followed three robots in each of the heats featured. The battles included alternate camera angles (e.g. from the House Robot cameras) and pit interviews cut from the television episodes.
 * Robot Builder's Guide - Also part of the video is a robot building guide presented by Craig Charles, with tips and advice for budding roboteers from Technical Consultants Derek Foxwell and Mat Irvine, as well as some of the roboteers themselves, including Ian Lewis and Simon Scott from Team Razer, and Rex Garrod of Team Cassius. An explanation of the Robot Wars Rules is shown for guidance.

Facts & Stats
Throughtout the video, a series of facts and statistics of Series 1 were revealed, including:
 * The average age of the roboteers in the First War was 27
 * The combined distance covered by the 36 competing robots was 340 metres
 * Over 150 staff were involver in the production process
 * The First Wars was recorded in just three days
 * The combined weight of the 36 competitors was 1.9 tonnes (roughly 16 times the weight of Matilda in Series 1)
 * The scrap metal used for the set was salvaged from Hanningfeid Metals, East London
 * The competitors, laid end-to-end, would measure 38 metres
 * Roughly 90 minutes worth of robotic combat took place in the First Wars
 * All four house robots were powered by 2 x 12V batteries, which are recharged constantly during filming. Matilda's batteries couldn't be accessed without removing her tusks
 * The four house robots used components from children's Go-Karts. They all suffered at least two breakdowns during the series

Errors & Omissions

 * Although it is a highlights package for Robot Wars: The First Wars, it completely ignores the events of Heat D, which was a featherweight-only heat, won by Cunning Plan.
 * Robot The Bruce's encounter with Cruella is also omitted.
 * The footage of Heat E and F missed out The Trial and arena semi-finals, with the exception of T.R.A.C.I.E.'s battle with Prince of Darkness.
 * Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter for Series 1, is cut out of all of the footage.