Bolt from the Blue

"A flipper arm can dispatch robots with a 'bolt' of compressed air power"

- Jonathan Pearce's introduction

Bolt from the Blue was a wedge-shaped robot that singularly competed in Series 4 of Robot Wars. Its weapon was a flipper capable of lifting half a tonne, but this weapon was very inefficient, as according to team captain James Proctor, the robot only carried enough gas to fire it around 5 or 6 times. Its wheelchair motors gave it enough power to pull a small truck, which the team claimed they did several times and travel at 10mph.It also used mechanical speed controllers rather than electrical ones because of the relability. However, it contributed very little to either of its battles on the telvised show, despite its low ground clearance protecting it well from flipping and pushing attacks from its opponents, it was unable to launch an attack itself. Bolt from the Blue lost in the second round of the heat to 5th seeds Firestorm 2 on a judges' decision after a very uneventful battle, much to the fury of James Proctor. Bolt from the Blue was the only robot to have qualified for the main competition that came from Cumbria, it even qualified for Series 4 despite losing in a vengeance battle against Iron Awe. It was one of the six robots to be made as a steel counter for the Robot Wars board game.

Series 4
In its first round battle of the Fourth Wars, newcomers Bolt from the Blue was placed up against Ming 2 and the number 21 seeds Diotoir. In the battle, Ming 2 immediately got in underneath Diotoir and flipped it straight away, before Bolt from the Blue pushed Diotoir over the flame pit, the seeded machine was unable to self-right due to its flipping arm being disabled even before the battle. Ming 2 then tried to push Bolt from the Blue onto the flame pit as well while Diotoir caught fire, but Ming 2 could only steer the newcomers into the arena side wall, at a very low speed. Cease was soon called and Bolt from the Blue was put through to the next round of the heat along with Ming 2. In the second round, Bolt from the Blue had an unfortunate draw as it was placed up against the number 5 seeds Firestorm 2, in arguably one of the most boring battles in Robot Wars history. In this battle, the two competitors spent much of the battle pushing each other around, each being unable to flip the other due to their near-identical designs. The quicker Firestorm 2 machine rammed Bolt from the Blue several times, doing nothing in terms of damage or pushing Bolt from the Blue around at all. Bolt from the Blue eventually lifted up Firestorm 2 when the previous Grand Finalists beached themselves on its wedge, but Firestorm 2 then landed back on its wheels. The pit of oblivion then opened while Firestorm 2 drove right over Bolt from the Blue's wedge. The battle eventually ended in a judges' decision, which eliminated Bolt from the Blue from the competition due to its lack of aggression in the battle. "That was more like Torvill and Dean than mechanised mayhem - the audience aren't cheering, they're throwing flowers...lets look at the - highlights? - of that battle"

- Craig Charles as cease was called

"We were robbed, if I (sic) do say so myself. Our weapon didn't break it ran out of air, we could only use it 5/6 times, plus we were 15/16 yrs old and they were university engineering graduates."

- James Proctor took the battle loss very badly

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 1
 * Losses: 1

Series Record

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

Trivia

 * Bolt from the Blue was one of six robots to be a figurine for the Robot Wars Board Game.
 * Despite losing its qualifier battle to Iron Awe, Bolt from the Blue qualified for the Fourth Wars, being the only robot to qualify for that series from Cumbria.