Weld-Dor

"I'm a welder...first of all we were going to call it 'Raptor', and then someone said, well why not 'Weld-Dor'? So that's where we got the name Weld-Dor"

- Phelim Lundy

Weld-Dor (also spelt as Wel-Dor, Wel'Dor or Weldor) was the name given to three different robots from a team from Northern Ireland that fought across Robot Wars history, competing in Series 3, 4 and 6, plus the second series of Extreme. The original and most successful Weld-Dor, which competed in Series 3, was a dome-shaped 4mm aluminium thick robot costing £1,800 over six months with an otherwise ineffective pick-axe capable of punching holes in 3mm steel plate and lifting forks capable of lifting 90kg, painted in camouflage design. It also competed in The First World Championship, where it lost to 101 in the quarter finals. Weld-Dor 2, which competed in the Fourth Wars, was a clear bodied robot made of 6mm polycarbonate with a front-hinged flipper and an axe that wasn't actually seen in action. These weapons replaced the forks but the ground clearance was high in places and the machine was largely untested. This version of Weld-Dor was very similar to Cassius 2. Despite being seeded, it lost to Sumpthing and Little Fly in the first round. Weld-Dor 3, competing in Series 6 and Extreme Series 2, reverted to a simpler wedge, travelled at 18mph, added a 24' spinning blade to the rear, and repainted the camouflage that was originally on the first Weld-Dor. Weld-Dor had no huge deal of success, losing three times in the first round of several competitions, but was a seasoned competitor nonetheless.

Series 3
"Hopefully, this will be very effective in our first fight"

- Phelim Lundy on the Weld-Dor arsenal

Weld-Dor's first battle in its first Robot Wars appearance saw it get drawn up against fellow newcomers The Iron Mask in Heat J of the Third Wars. This battle had a slow start to it; Weld-Dor shunted its opponent, as The Iron Mask tried to use its axe, but it had no effect on Weld-Dor's strong shell. Weld-Dor then managed to lift The Iron Mask, but it escaped. Weld-Dor then used its own axe, but it too didn't make much of an impression, so Weld-Dor spun around and used its forks to lift The Iron Mask and flip it over, onto its back, eliminating The Iron Mask from the competition, as it was unable to self-right. This comfortably put Weld-Dor through to the next round of the heat. In the second round, Weld-Dor had an unfortunate draw as it was drawn up against the Series 2 Semi-Finalist King Buxton. In this battle, Weld-Dor couldn't do much as King Buxton was much more agile and repeatedly rammed Weld-Dor around the arena. Weld-Dor's weaponry created little damage throughout the battle, but then neither did King Buxton's. Soon King Buxton slammed Weld-Dor into the arena side wall, where Weld-Dor suddenly stopped moving. The house robots moved in on the immobilised machine, where Sir Killalot then snapped Weld-Dor's axe head off with its claw. Cease was then called and Weld-Dor was eliminated from the competition.

Weld-Dor returned for the First World Championship, where it represented Northern Ireland. Weld-Dor was drawn up against the American robot Prometheus in the first round. Weld-Dor didn't have to do much in this battle as Prometheus drove into it once and went hurtling across the arena and into Sir Killalot. It then drove into the arena wall and it looked like Prometheus was stuck in forward drive. Weld-Dor then lifted it with its lifting forks, but Prometheus' back wheels were still on the ground, meaning Weld-Dor had trouble directing Prometheus towards the pit. Eventually Prometheus was dumped on top of Shunt, causing Shunt's armour to come away. However Prometheus then stalled and was immobilised, thus sending Weld-Dor through to the Quarter-Finals. Weld-Dor then went up against English representatives 101 in the Quarter-Finals. Weld-Dor immediately lifted 101 with its lifting forks, but 101 kept on pushing and Weld-Dor almost went down the pit, it teetered on the edge, but managed to get away before 101 shoved it down. 101 then pushed Weld-Dor towards Sergeant Bash, but Weld-Dor retaliated by hooking one of its forks on 101's tracks. 101 got away and in doing so bent the fork of Weld-Dor. Weld-Dor tried to use its axe as it was pushed across the arena floor, but 101 was unaffected. 101 then rammed Weld-Dor around the arena and into the arena walls. The battle ended in a judges' decision, where the judges decided that 101 had won, thus sending Weld-Dor out of the World Championship.

Series 4
"Back, bigger axe, better we hope"

- Julia Reed

Weld-Dor 2 entered the Fourth Wars as the 28th seeds, this mainly due to reaching the Quarter Finals of the First World Championship. The robot was placed in Heat K and was drawn up against veterans Sumpthing and newcomers Little Fly in the first round melee. In the battle, Weld-Dor 2 started by driving around trying to get its wedge under Little Fly, whose spinning blade kept scratching the bodywork, and severed a cable from Weld-Dor 2's battery. Eventually, Sump Thing got a hit on some exposed electronics, immobilising Weld-Dor 2. Weld-Dor 2 was then pushed and pulled around the arena by the house robots and suffered several axe blows from Shunt. It was eventually pitted by Sir Killalot and eliminated from the competition, Weld-Dor was the second seed to crash out in the first round of this heat as 12th seeds Evil Weevil 2 were already eliminated. This was the only heat in Robot Wars history where both seeds went out in the first round. "Weld-Dor came all the way from Belfast, they've got to turn around and go back again, they go out"

- Craig Charles at the end of the fight

Series 6
Weld-Dor 3, which was armed with a front lifter and rear spinning blade, didn't last very long in the Sixth Wars, despite being feared by many of its opponents. In the first round of the first heat of the series, Weld-Dor 3 was drawn up against newcomers Cyrax, veterans Tetanus 2 and previous Round 1 drop-outs Ruf Ruf Dougal. In the battle, Weld-Dor 3 was immediately grabbed by Tetanus 2 and was pierced by its claw. Weld-Dor 3 was venting some sort of gas, but it was unclear whether this was for show or if its weapon had broken. Tetanus 2 continued to push Weld-Dor around the arena and then into Dead Metal's CPZ, who cut into Weld-Dor's flipper. Tetanus 2 then activated the pit release button, and then grabbed Weld-Dor 3 once again. After a short tussle, Tetanus 2 pushed Weld-Dor 3 down into the pit of oblivion, eliminating Weld-Dor from the competition in the first round for the second time in a row. "We haven't got a kennel BUT WE'VE GOT A PIT AND DOWN GOES WELD-DOR!"

- Jonathan Pearce, reviewing Ruf Ruf Dougal's state, before witnessing Weld-Dor 3's demise

In the post-battle interview, David Lundy admitted to stealing the robot from Phelim to bring to Robot Wars, while he was away, hoping that he would be able to just put the robot back in the shed, in the hopes that Phelim wouldn't notice that anything had happened.

Extreme 2
"We just want to stay away from them [Corkscrew], so we can get the robot in one piece back to Ireland"

- Phelim Lundy's battle plan

Weld-Dor 3 exclusively fought in the Commonwealth Carnage competition in the second series of Extreme, where it was representing Northern Ireland. Weld-Dor 3 was drawn up against Firestorm 4 (Representing England), Bondi-Titch (Representing Australia) and Corkscrew (Representing Scotland) in the first round of the competition. In the battle, Weld-Dor 3 was immediately flipped over by Firestorm 4, but self-righted spectacularly. Weld-Dor 3 was then flipped over again by the English machine, but as it went over, Corkscrew slammed into it, which caused its own rear blade to get in the way, the flipper then suddenly seemed to lose power. A failed attempt caused Weld-Dor 3 to land on its side. Firestorm 4 then rammed Weld-Dor 3 over to the arena side wall and into an unoccupied CPZ. After a couple of attempts, Weld-Dor 3 was eventually lifted out of the arena by Firestorm 4 and eliminated of the competition. Weld-Dor 3 was eventually followed by Bondi-Titch, who was also flipped out of the arena by Firestorm 4. This was Weld-Dor's final appearance in Robot Wars. "The Northern Irish get their fingers burned!"

- Craig Charles at the end of the fight

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 2
 * Losses: 5

Series Record

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

Trivia

 * Weld-Dor was one of 22 robots whose final appearance on Robot Wars had them Thrown Out of the Arena.
 * Of all the robots that represented the UK, Weld-Dor was the only one to be from Northern Ireland.
 * In fact, it was the only Northern Ireland robot seen in Robot Wars.
 * Weld-Dor was always credited for previous successes in the later series, but didn't win a single battle beyond its first appearance.
 * Weld-Dor was one of two robots from Ireland to compete in Series 6 and the only one from Northern Ireland.

Similarities with Centurion
Several connections have been made between Centurion and Weld-Dor, particularly the original versions.
 * In the original appearances, both robots featured forklifts on one side of the robot and an overhead bladed axe that came down with large force.
 * Both robots debuted in Heat J of the Third Wars.
 * Both robots won their first battle by KO before breaking down against the arena's left wall in the second round. Both machines then had one of their weapons destroyed by Sir Killalot (Centurion's forklift and Weld-Dor's axe)
 * Both robots lost to 101 at some point in Series 3.
 * Both machines replaced their forklifts with true flippers for Series 4.
 * Both machines were seeded in The Fourth Wars.
 * Both machines lost in the first round of Series 4 after breaking down and were pitted by Sir Killalot.