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"Once Hypno-Disc spun supreme, but with two spinning discs, and having caused utter carnage last year, 13 Black is now the one to fear, so, let's go Disco!"
Craig Charles in Series 7

13 Black (styled by the team as 13BLACK) was a heavyweight robot from Leicestershire which competed in Series 5-7 of Robot Wars, and was the signature robot of Team 13, also the successor to Limpet.

Despite losing in the first round of Series 5 to Corkscrew, 13 Black enjoyed a reasonable amount of success. It reached the Series Semi-Finals of The Sixth Wars, defeating Stinger in the Heat Final before losing to Firestorm 4 and Dantomkia. It also performed well in the All-Stars tournament of Extreme 2, where it defeated Chaos 2 and Dominator 2 to reach the top four of the competition, where it caused serious damage to Razer, before falling in defeat. However, when the rebuilt 13 Black returned for Series 7 as the seventh seed, it fell in the second round to Gravity.

Design[]

"Why this design? Well after the destructive success of Hypnodisk in RWS4, we just had to build some sort of spinner bot.

Our first thoughts were along the lines of a Hypnodisk clone - but Hypnodisk suffers from being vulnerable at its back end - nobody wants to mess with the front, but the back is a tempting soft target. We wanted to design out that weakness from the start. "Lets protect it with another disk!" was the obvious answer. "Also, if we run them in opposite directions, the gyro forces will tend to balance out, making it more stable" Great idea! Also, the increase in maximum weight for S5 (now 100kg, from 80kg in S4) might allow us to do this - if we were really careful with the design."

— 13 Black website on the inspiration for the design[1]
13Black S5

13 Black in Series 5

13 Black5

13 Black shortly before Series 5

13 Black was long and narrow in shape, with the base of the robot appearing canoe-shaped. The core design of 13 Black was to arm both sides of the robot with equally weighted horizontal flywheels. 13 Black was armed with two 650mm chrome poly-carbon spinning discs in Series 5, which were upgraded to 750mm steel blades in Series 6, and 850mm chrome poly-carbon composite discs in Extreme 2. One of the discs was black, with the number 13 on it, while the other was painted to look like a roulette wheel, and both originally spun at 800rpm.

"We couldn't make the discs entirely out of metal because they'd be too heavy, so we had to use composites."
— Richard Morris, interviewed in Ultimate Real Robots magazine[2]
13black series6 arena

13 Black in Series 6

13blackextreme

13 Black in Extreme 2

This was raised to 900rpm for Extreme 2 and following an upgrade to 36v for Series 7, 1200rpm was attained. Both discs could be controlled independently, and could be rotated in either direction. It can also act as a full body spinner, spinning the whole robot at deadly speeds. In Series 7, the number 13 was no longer present on the black disc. The robot was powered by two Hawker SBS batteries.

"Originally fitted flat, under the discs, they are now vertical and in the centre section. This has helped us to reach a fast body spin much quicker as well as giving them more protection. Removal is just possible but they can also be charged in situ."
— 13 Black website on the batteries[3]

The robot had 2-wheel skid steer drive, with a 750 watt Bosch motor for each wheel, which were changed to Iskra 800 watt motors for Series 7[4]. Each flywheel was also powered by a 750 Watt Bosch motor. The wheels were driven straight from the motors, without the use of drive chains. The tyres were from go-karts, and the wheels were custom made to fit them. The drive motors and weapon motors all had 4QD speed controllers, with fans to cool them.

"Hypno has 4 wheel drive - 4 wheels which can get locked up if their mudguards get bent! (Isn't that right Pussy Cat?!) Also, a 4wd drivetrain is heavy and ungainly and would have to live somewhere under the disks making the bot a bit top heavy. No, right from the start it was clear that 13B would need 2wd - but 2 big and very grippy wheels. These would be mounted midway between the disks, and we would use a skid steer system.In theory, if the drive wheels were grippy enough, we wouldn't even need castors at the ends - we could just scrape the chassis on skid plates - as the arena floor is flat."
— 13 Black website on the drive system[5]
13Black S7

13 Black in Series 7, in its Round 1 battle

13blacks7

13 Black in Series 7 with a repainted front flywheel in its Round 2 battle

In Series 5, 13 Black had a carbon-fibre and Kevlar composite body. In Series 6, 13 Black had a polycarbonate coated body with a metallic green material underneath, and a steel body painted green in Series 7. The chassis was constructed from mild steel[6]. The team added a self-righting mechanism to the robot for Series 7, but it failed to work in two separate battles. The srimech was a bar, operated by a motor-driven screw, that rotated the bar.

"It's made from the seat adjusting mechanism on something like a Granada or Mondeo. ... That self-righter was a nightmare - It took so much of our time up it left no time for anything else. When it failed twice in two matches I just wanted to go home."
— John Denny, interviewed in Ultimate Real Robots magazine[7]
13BLACK

Top view of 13 Black in Series 7

The robot was quite fast at 20mph, and was capable of causing large amounts of damage using the flywheels. Although it did not appear to be so, 13 Black was somewhat able to move while inverted, using its flywheels to "crab-walk" around the arena. However, it was susceptible to being flipped due to its high ground clearance and inability to self-right. 13 Black's radio reception was also unreliable in Series 5. 13 Black's flywheels were repainted before all of its battles, often lowering the amount of numbers on the discs due to time constraints.

"The wheel was repainted for nearly every fight, the less time we had the less numbers it had. Even did it in the car one morning on the way to filming. There's lots of little details people never (yet) picked up on, sort of a signature to my builds."
— John Denny on repainting the discs before every fight

Etymology[]

13 Black's name is a reference to roulette, where the number 13 space is coloured black on a roulette wheel, hence the colour scheme on one of its discs. It is also a reference to Triskaidekaphobia, a fear or avoidance of number thirteen being the 'unlucky number' according to superstition.

Although the name 13 Black was used on television, featuring a space, the team consistently referred to their own robot as 13Black or more prominently 13BLACK.

The Team[]

Main article: Team 13
Team 13 S6

Team 13 Black in Series 6

Team13BlackUltimateRealRobots

Team 13 Black in 2003

The robot was entered by Team 13, known at the time simply as Team 13 Black. The team was formed by work colleagues from MIRA, the Motor Industry Research Association[8]. In battle, 13 Black was driven by team captain John Denny, who was consistently joined by friend Richard Morris. Both were accompanied by Ken Wilson in Series 5 and 6, before John's daughter Tasha joined the team in Extreme 2.

Qualification[]

13 Black old

13 Black at the time of qualification for Series 5

13 Black first attended the Sheffield Arena Live Event on 28 July 2001, in its attempt to qualify for Series 5. However, its custom electronics system was unfinished at the time, and the aesthetically-complete robot was found to weigh 112kg upon arrival.

"On arrival we unloaded and were told of the first problem. We had no removable link for the power, we had fitted a turnkey system instead. The next problem was weight. We had weighed the machine and found it to be approx 104 Kg, but when it was weighed at RW they said it was 112Kg. Also we were told that if it did run we wouldn`t be allowed to use our weapon system - "We need to use this stage to complete the Live Events tour, that thing will probably destroy it!" ... Everyone who saw the robot appeared to be impressed, some of the RW crew were very impressed with the design - several of the contestants were actually glad we weren`t running!"
— 13 Black website on attempting to qualify for Series 5[9]

Along with limitations on heavy spinners enforced throughout the tour, 13 Black was not able to compete as a functioning machine. Nevertheless, it still impressed various roboteers and members of the production team with its design. An agreement was reached for 13 Black to attempt another set of qualifiers at a later Live Event - later decided as the London Arena leg - on the condition that Team 13 rectified both the weight and electronics system issues. Team 13 compiled, but following further correspondence from Robot Wars, 13 Black received an automatic place in Series 5 without having to fight a qualifier.

"A surprise phonecall from the producer of RW, he tells us that the crew at Sheffield loved the robot and asked if the problems had been sorted, I said yes and we would be going to another venue to try and qualify again. He sounded surprised and said if we didn`t hear anymore from the staff then we should go ahead and attend a qualifying round. 5 minutes after that call we got another to say we had qualified!"
— 13 Black website on attempting to qualify for Series 5[10]
13blackvsretibutionvsboudiccavskanopener

13 Black in its Sixth Wars Qualifier battle

In its Series 6 qualifier battle, 13 Black fought Kan-Opener, horizontal spinner Retribution and wedge Boudicca.

"We weren`t really worried about it {Boudicca} as it didn`t appear to have a weapon, although the owner claimed it could drive underneath us and turn us over. ... {Retribution} worried us a bit, one hit from the disc could do some serious damage. ... {Kan Opener} looked like trouble, a set of big blue hydraulic pincers with a crushing force of four tons would do some serious damage if they got into our bodywork. We would have to act fast if we were to get anywhere near to winning this fight."
— John Denny describes his opponents in the Series 6 qualifiers on the 13 Black website

After spinning up its discs, 13 Black immediately targeted Boudicca, as John Denny surmised that it would be the easiest to defeat. It ripped away one of Boudicca's horse heads, and then damaged its wheels. Reversing, 13 Black then delivered a direct blow to the side of Retribution, the exact area the team wanted to hit. 13 Black continued to damage Retribution, punching holes in its armour, and with assistance from Kan-Opener, Retribution became immobilised.

"...{we}went for Retribution, hitting it right in the side where we had planned (a bit lucky really!) we kept hitting them as much as we could, making some nice holes in the surrounding armour, Kan Opener joined in too and Retribution finally went into the corner and didn`t move, we took one more go at them just to make sure and made a deep cut into the rear armour which I think was 5mm steel."
— 13 Black website on the Series 6 qualifier

When Boudicca returned to the combat, 13 Black removed its other head, then caused some more damage to the body with the spinning discs. Kan-Opener also attacked it, and Boudicca merely stopped in the middle of the arena. This left 13 Black to battle Kan-Opener alone, and it delivered a hit so powerful that part of Kan-Opener's titanium armour burnt on the surface of 13 Black's flywheel, causing the disc to glow white. At this stage, both robots started to suffer from radio interference, and could not properly engage, with Kan-Opener eventually gripping 13 Black in its pincers. Although 13 Black suddenly regained full control at the end of the battle, the fight was adjudicated by Mat Irvine.

"We were both running round well until suddenly both of us seemed to suffer radio interference, with the Delbot boards we had, this showed itself as `pulsing`, we`d get full drive then it would cut out, only to cut back in again. We kept out of harms way just to try and stay mobile til the end but we got stuck in Kan Openers pincers, fortunately they were having similar control problems too so they couldn`t do much damage to us either. This went on for a while then suddenly we got full control back, very strange."
— 13 Black website on the Series 6 qualifier

The Judge declared 13 Black to be the winner of the battle, and an automatic qualifier to Series 6, with Kan-Opener also being awarded a place in the Sixth Wars.

"We discussed the interference problem with the others and found that Kan Opener had damaged the power circuits on Retribution, the resultant arcing might have caused the interference as there weren`t any other good explanations."
— 13 Black website

As the 7th seed for the series, 13 Black did not need to compete in the qualifiers for the Seventh Wars, gaining automatic entry into the show. However, it did have to attend the qualifiers for technical checks on Saturday 22nd August. The team had built a new version of 13 Black for Series 7, and only finished it at 8 am on the morning of the qualifiers, having had to work through the night to finish it.

"We had built the new 13Black using the old one as a testing unit, this enabled us to work on each section free of restrictions such as welding near electronics etc, unfortunately we got desperately short of free time towards the due date for filming... We began the final assembly of the whole robot at about 7am, this was more or less straight forward considering we had designed it all and each assembly had been tested separately... but things have a habit of going wrong. BIG TIME"
— John Denny on the cancelled first attempt at the battle[11]

Robot History[]

Series 5[]

"Can get up to 20 miles an hour - this really will be Rushing Roulette!"
— Jonathan Pearce introduces 13 Black

13 Black debuted in Heat F of Series 5, where its first fight was against another spinner and fellow newcomer, Corkscrew. However, the team encountered a major setback prior to the opening Eliminator, with John Denny finding that its controls were reversed during a pre-match test.

"...it looked nice but probably top heavy, `no problem` we thought. ... Getting the robot set up in the loading bay I plugged the main power link in and gave the controls a quick test. Something was wrong as it went the opposite way to what it should have!, we decided to go with it as I could just run it in reverse - I`d only had an hours practice drive anyway so it wouldn`t make much difference."
— John Denny on being drawn against Corkscrew, and finding the controls were reversed

Further issues caused the initial battle between the two machines to be aborted. At the start of the battle, Corkscrew drove across the arena, but 13 Black had control issues, and started spinning on the spot, then drove across the arena out of control. Meanwhile, Corkscrew was also having control problems, so the battle was called off so both teams could get their robots working.

"Our problem was our aeriel {sic}, it was stuck flat onto the body which had worked well back home but was a definite no-no in the studios. We pinched a stick from one of our supporters flags and fitted it upright in the middle of the body, taping the aerial to it. This worked and didn`t take long, so we managed to squeeze in to the last slot of the day."
— John Denny on the cancelled first attempt at the battle[12]
Corkscrew 13 black

The two heavy spinners, before a collision

In the second battle, as shown on TV, 13 Black made the quicker start, charging at Corkscrew whilst getting both of its discs up to speed. Corkscrew began to get its spinning body up to speed, and swerved to avoid 13 Black as it drove towards it, but as it did so, it drove into Refbot. 13 Black turned around and lined up another attack on Corkscrew. Corkscrew started spinning, and 13 Black cautiously drove towards it, driving around to the other side, and hit Corkscrew with its front disc, but Corkscrew bounced off.

"If 13 Black can get both of those cutting blades working in tandem, they are very destructive. Well that's one, but Corkscrew, the wheel hub with the kilt and the Scottish spirit has thus far withstood the pressure and the punishment!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Corkscrew withstands 13 Black's attack
13 black vs corkscrew

13 Black is caught between Corkscrew and Shunt as the full-body spinner comes in for a slam

13 Black tried attacking with its front disc again, but Corkscrew narrowly avoided it, and hit 13 Black's side with its spinning body. 13 Black drove around Corkscrew, which hit Refbot, who was immobile. After driving past Refbot, 13 Black turned around and drove towards the side of the arena, nearly driving into Shunt, who was out of his CPZ. 13 Black stopped, but when it turned around it hit Shunt's front with its rear disc. Before 13 Black could get away, Corkscrew slammed into its side, though its spinning body was not spinning. 13 Black landed a glancing blow on Corkscrew with its rear disc as it drove away down the arena. 13 Black drove to the pit, then turned around. Corkscrew was by one of the top CPZs, getting its spinning body back up to speed. 13 Black charged up the arena, and slammed into Corkscrew, but the two spinners merely deflected each other away. 13 Black drove into an angle grinder as it tried turning around for another attack. It tried reversing at Corkscrew to hit it with its rear disc, but it hit Shunt's front scoop, stopping the disc before it could hit Corkscrew. Corkscrew dodged 13 Black, and as 13 Black drove away from Shunt, it crashed into the immobile Refbot.

"...this is a fast and frantic fight isn't it? 13 Black smashes on Shunt, away."
— Jonathan Pearce
13 black vs corkscrew 2

13 Black and Corkscrew are locked together via Corkscrew's blade

13 Black drove to the arena centre, and Corkscrew drove after it with its body up to speed. 13 Black charged towards Corkscrew, but narrowly swerved to avoid it. 13 Black turned around and charged at Corkscrew again, but it was merely deflected away as it crashed into Corkscrew. 13 Black drove away up the arena, and after turning around, 13 Black drove towards Corkscrew, but not head-on. It landed a glancing blow on Corkscrew as it passed, but this did nothing to slow Corkscrew's spinning down. 13 Black drove down the arena, and as it turned around for another attack, it accidentally drove into an angle grinder due to an incorrect turn. 13 Black turned and drove straight at Corkscrew, but as it did so, Corkscrew drove at it, so 13 Black was deflected away on impact. The impact also caused 13 Black's front disc to stop working, as one of the blades had bent down with the force of the impact and jammed the wheel against 13 Black's body[13].

"The roulette wheel has stopped spinning, the other blade is still moving furiously."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black and Corkscrew end up locked together
Corkscrew vs 13 black

Shunt attempts to separate 13 Black and Corkscrew

13 Black turned around to use it rear disc, then drove past Corkscrew, but as it did so, Corkscrew hit 13 Black's side with its spinning body, and its lower blade ended up caught in 13 Black's Kevlar body. 13 Black was still mobile but couldn't pull away from Corkscrew. The two competitors spun around together, but could not get free. Corkscrew stopped moving, and 13 Black drove around in a circle to try and get itself free. 13 Black tried driving the other way, but the blade was still caught. 13 Black stopped and drove the other way again, but the blade was still stuck. With Refbot immobile and unable to separate the two competitors, Shunt came out of his CPZ to try and help them. Shunt drove into 13 Black, then drove around to between the two competitors, and tried to use his plough to push them apart. He pushed the two together, but they were still stuck together. He tried turning back and forth, hitting the two competitors with his plough, but this also failed to separate the team. As Shunt tried to separate the two, smoke was rising from 13 Black, though it was still moving. Shunt gave the two robots one last push, which failed, and time ran out. Unseen on television, the battle was temporarily stopped so the House Robots could try and separate the competitors, but this failed, so the Judges were called to make a decision. On screen, the battle merely played until time ran out.[14]

"Now for me, while 13 Black has looked, on the surface, the more aggressive, I think Corkscrew has been the more controlled here."
— Jonathan Pearce assesses both machines as the battle reaches its climax

The Judges ruled that although 13 Black had been more stylish and aggressive, and Corkscrew appeared to be immobilised, the damage Corkscrew had inflicted, as well as its control, carried more weight on the decision and 13 Black was eliminated. It was later found that Corkscrew's weapon system had been disabled by 13 Black.

"We took a few hits from Corkscrew which put some good holes in our body and into our chassis too, narrowly missing one of our batteries! ... We lined up next to Craig Charles to wait for the judges decision, we thought we had it as we were the ones still moving and had been so aggresive {sic} compared to Corkscrew, but they gave it to them because of the damage we had taken. We were a bit shocked and I think it showed on the TV when I was a bit stuck for words! I was trying to say it was a well matched fight, two spinners in together, but it just wouldn`t come out"
— John Denny on the Judges' decision[15]

At the end of the series, 13 Black was nominated for the Most Original Entry Award, which it lost to S3, and the team were nominated for the Sportsmanship Award, but lost out to Pussycat.

Series 6[]

Philippa Forrester: "13 Black, unlucky for some, but hopefully lucky for you guys!"
Richard Morris: "Unlucky for the opposition!"
Philippa Forrester: "Rumour is rife that you are the robot to watch!"
Richard Morris: "Well that's definitely true!"
— Pre-Round 1 interview

13 Black's first Series 6 battle was against eleventh seed and former Grand Finalist Stinger, former semi-finalist Thermidor 2 and newcomer Chompalot, in the opening round of Heat F.

"Joint fastest in the Heat at 20 miles-per-hour, polycarbonate double spinner weapons, it's covered in holographic wrapping paper which can be shredded, and I don't like the radio control system much!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black's statistics are displayed
13 Black vs Chompalot

13 Black is grabbed by Chompalot

13 Black started spinning both discs before activate had been called. As soon as activate was called, 13 Black turned and drove at Chompalot, which likewise turned and drove at 13 Black. 13 Black hit Chompalot's front with its front spinning disc, but Chompalot withstood the blow, and turned away from 13 Black as Thermidor 2 drove at it. 13 Black reversed, then drove forwards as Chompalot drove up the arena, landing a blow on the side. Chompalot drove past, and 13 Black drove towards the arena side wall and turned around, but hit an angle grinder. Meanwhile, Stinger was fighting Thermidor 2 at the bottom of the arena, and Stinger had immobilised Thermidor 2 on one side by hitting one of the motors[16]. 13 Black charged down the arena, driving past Stinger and Thermidor 2, and slammed into the pit release button. 13 Black reversed away from Stinger as Chompalot drove at it. Chompalot let go of Stinger, and Stinger drove by the edge of the pit, getting dangerously close. 13 Black was close by and had a chance to knock Stinger down, but as it turned towards Stinger, Stinger hit it with its mace. 13 Black reversed, and drove across the arena to get a good run at Stinger to try and push it it, but Stinger drove away just in time, and slipped away as 13 Black tried to attack with its spinning disc.

"...13 Black nearly took the initiative there and the advantage, and very nearly shoved Stinger down!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black narrowly fails to pit Stinger
Chompalot vs 13Black

13 Black's finishing blow on Chompalot

13 Black drove across the arena, stopping by the flame pit, and Chompalot charged at it, ramming it against the arena side wall and grabbing hold of the front spinning disc. 13 Black turned around, pulling Chompalot with it. 13 Black turned over the flame pit, dragging Chompalot with it. Stinger drove over, swinging its mace at the two, but this had no effect. 13 Black drove off of the flame pit, dodging a blow front Stinger's axe as it did so. Chompalot let go of 13 Black, and went after Stinger instead, grabbing onto one of the tyres. 13 Black drove up the arena, then slammed into the back of Stinger. Meanwhile, Thermidor 2 was counted out. Chompalot let go of Stinger, and 13 Black slammed into its side, then turned and hit the front with its rear disc. This blow immobilised Chompalot.

"13 Black, well controlled. ... There is 13 Black now, with Chompalot. Now is Chompalot moving?"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black immobilises Chompalot
13 black damages chompalot

13 Black damages one of Chompalot's self-righting wings

13 Black immobilises Stinger

13 Black immobilises Stinger in victory

Stinger attacked 13 Black, hitting the rear disc with its axe, and 13 Black reversed up to the top of the arena, then turned around and drove around Chompalot. However, as it did so, it drove onto the flame pit. 13 Black got off of the flame pit and slammed into Chompalot's side, the impact knocking one of its self-righting wings loose. 13 Black bounced off Chompalot and hit Stinger, which was close by. 13 Black drove down the arena, as Stinger drove towards it, but Stinger was moving notably slower than usual. Although 13 Black was outside of the CPZ, Dead Metal drove into it, so 13 Black reversed. Stinger suddenly stopped as it caught up with 13 Black, its batteries having failed[17]. 13 Black sped up the arena, slamming into Refbot's front as he counted out Chompalot, then drove into the arena centre. The House Robots came in as Chompalot was counted out, and 13 Black hit Chompalot's side again as Dead Metal pushed it to the floor flipper, then landed another one as Dead Metal tried to line it up for a flip.

"Unlucky for some, well 13 Black has proved that for Chompalot..."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black hits Chompalot whilst Dead Metal pushes it to the floor flipper

13 Black held back as Chompalot was thrown by the floor flipper, and Dead Metal grabbed Chompalot and pushed it into the pit, putting Stinger and 13 Black through to Round 2.

There, it fought Double Trouble, another double-spinner, created by the team who fought in Series 4 with Rambot, for a place in the Heat Final.

Philippa Forrester: "Well it's going to be a game of Russian Roulette for one robot!"
Richard Morris: "I think we can take him on."
Philippa Forrester: "Thing is, they've got two spinning discs but they're not really of the calibre of yours!"
Ken Wilson: "Nothing, nothing in comparison!"
— Pre-battle interview
Single Trouble

13 Black knocks off one of Double Trouble's discs

13 Black started off faster, getting its discs up to speed and driving at Double Trouble, which tried to turn away, but 13 Black hit the side with its front disc. 13 Black pushed Double Trouble, which turned around the disc and tried attacking 13 Black's side, but 13 Black reversed away. Double Trouble reversed, and 13 Black slammed into its side, causing a large gash in the corner. 13 Black was knocked back on impact, but recovered instantly, reversing around Double Trouble as it drove at it. Double Trouble quickly turned around and drove at Double Trouble, but drove into the rear disc, causing sparks, then turned and drove away up the arena. Double Trouble paused, and 13 Black charged at it, hitting the side. The impact also sent 13 Black spinning away, hitting Refbot. 13 Black drove to the other side of the arena, and both competitors turned and charged at each other, with Double Trouble being sent spinning on impact.

"13 Black the quicker, the more manoeuvrable, and they [the Double Trouble team] know it too."
— Jonathan Pearce
Double Trouble vs 13 Black

13 Black spins on the spot as the battered Double Trouble edges nearer

Double Trouble drove to the top of the arena, and turned around as 13 Black drove at it. 13 Black hit the front, ripping off the front panel with one blow. Double Trouble kept driving at 13 Black as its opponent turned, but it drove into the rear disc, which hit one of its discs, ripping it clean off. Double Trouble drove down the arena and turned, but 13 Black drove after it, hitting the front. However, at this point of the battle, 13 Black's front disc stopped working, the motor magnets having moved and jammed up against the end of the motor armature[18]. 13 Black waited in the middle of the arena, spinning on the spot. Double Trouble drove towards 13 Black, and held back, spinning on the spot, but then cautiously approached the spinning 13 Black. 13 Black hit Double Trouble's side with it rear disc, the impact knocking both robots back.

"But now, they whip their machine up into a frenzy as Double Trouble can only look on in envy. You don't want to go near 13 Black when it's doing that... OH DEAR! Why did you go near that, Double Trouble! Didn't you hear me?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Double Trouble drives into the spinning 13 Black
13Blackusingreardisc

13 Black uses its rear disc on Double Trouble after its front one stopped working

Both robots turned around, and 13 Black drove at Double Trouble's front with its rear disc, which was still working. 13 Black hit Double Trouble's front, peeling some of the side armour away from the side, then turned and drove past Double Trouble. Double Trouble spun on the spot, and tried to get away from 13 Black, but 13 Black hit the back with its spinning disc. Double Trouble drove into Refbot, but as it turned away from Refbot, it managed to reverse to avoid 13 Black's charge. As 13 Black turned around for another attack, Double Trouble turned so its rear was facing 13 Black. 13 Black hit Double Trouble's rear, but Double Trouble withstood the blow. 13 Black turned around, and Double Trouble reversed straight into the flywheel, with 13 Black landing a glancing blow on the side as it turned away. 13 Black drove down the arena, then charged back up the arena, hitting Double Trouble's side.

"We carried on in reverse using the rear black and white disc to attack with, Double Trouble had taken a large amount of damage already but to the robots credit it just kept going and going!"
— 13 Black website[19]

Double Trouble turned around, and 13 Black drove at it, but Double Trouble reversed away as it got close. 13 Black drove after it, but nearly drove into Refbot, so reversed for another charge. 13 Black reversed to the middle of the arena, close to the side wall, and Double Trouble drove after it, reversing into its flywheel, but received no damage. Double Trouble turned drove away, and 13 Black chased after it. Double Trouble turned around again as 13 Black got close, and though 13 Black landed a blow on the back, but Double Trouble withstood the blow.

"This for a place against Stinger in the Heat Final, don't forget, and the Stinger team want as much punishment caused to 13 Black from now on in because I don't think there's any doubt as to which way this battle's gonna go, do you?"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black chases after Double Trouble
DoubleTroublepushes13Black

Double Trouble pushes 13 Black in the last few seconds

Double Trouble turned and reversed up to the top of the arena. 13 Black charged after it, but Double Trouble drove away in time. 13 Black drove towards the side of the arena for a charge, but as it drove at Double Trouble, it turned at the wrong moment. It turned around and drove at Double Trouble, but Double Trouble turned and reversed away as it got close. However, Double Trouble paused, which allowed 13 Black to drive around to its back, hitting it with its flywheel. Double Trouble spun on the spot, then backed into 13 Black's flywheel, slowing it. Double Trouble drove away, but drove onto the disc of doom. It reversed away, and 13 Black drove after it. Double Trouble reversed into the flywheel again, withstanding the blow and deflecting 13 Black away. This impact caused its other disc to stop working, as the motor magnets moved and jammed the motor armature, as they with the front disc[20], so 13 Black drove away across the arena. In the last few seconds, Double Trouble drove after it, driving into its front disc, then got at its side and pushed it until time ran out.

"...the 13 Black weaponry has been stopped! Now, are we gonna see that shock, or is that too late from Double Trouble?"
— Jonathan Pearce as the battle ends

The subsequent Judges' decision ruled in favour of 13 Black, due to the amount of damage it had inflicted.

In the Heat Final, 13 Black fought Stinger once again. Richard Morris was confident before the battle after 13 Black immobilised Stinger in Round 1. Jonathan Pearce backed Stinger to win because it won its Round 2 battle without a Judges' decision, but Craig Charles disagreed, predicting 13 Black would win because of the strength and power of its discs.

"This was our first fight against a seeded robot and looking at past series it was obvious that Stinger would be very difficult to beat - you just can`t damage it and it runs anyway up, it`s axe type weapon also comes down with one hell of a whack too and in the pits you always know when it`s fighting due to the sound of it hitting the floor!"
— 13 Black website on Stinger[21]
Stinger vs 13 Black

13 Black and Stinger engage early on

13 Black started by getting its discs up to speed, and waited for Stinger to drive towards it. Stinger drove across the arena, but turned away as it got close to 13 Black. 13 Black drove after Stinger, but Stinger drove away and started spinning as 13 Black chased after it. Stinger landed a blow on 13 Black's side, but this had no effect as 13 Black turned to attack. Stinger kept spinning, and 13 Black tried to attack with its spinning disc, but Stinger hit the side with the mace as it spun, and was deflected off. 13 Black turned around, but turned too far, so instead of driving at Stinger, it exposed its side. Stinger took a swing at 13 Black, and 13 Black turned and hit it with its front flywheel. Stinger drove away, and 13 Black drove towards the side of the arena. Stinger drove after it, but 13 Black drove around Stinger. Stiner turned and swung its mace at 13 Black, hitting the side and causing sparks. 13 Black turned around as Stinger reversed for another attack, and though Stinger tried to dodge 13 Black, 13 Black landed a blow on one of the tyres. 13 Black turned around for another attack, but as it drove by Stinger, Stinger landed another blow on 13 Black's top with its mace.

"Down comes mace, see the sparks fly there as it caught on the side of 13 Black! Again a slam, but no damage done to that main body of 13 Black."
— Jonathan Pearce as Stinger lands blows on 13 Black's top
13 Black vs Stinger

13 Black rips some rubber off Stinger's wheels

13 Black turned and tried to attack again, but Stinger reversed and turned away to dodge it, and 13 Black drove into Dead Metal's CPZ. 13 Black managed to quickly reverse out of the CPZ before Dead Metal could attack, and drove around Refbot at Stinger, hitting one of the sides and ripping off part of it. As 13 Black drove past Stinger, it hit Refbot's side. Refbot turned and gave 13 Black a little push, but 13 Black reversed away.

"Oh something's come off Stinger there! You can just see it lying on the arena floor, what is it? Anything vital, or superficial? They came in, looking for the tyres, and certainly something came off Stinger there. We'll wait and see if that has damaged its manoeuvrability, it doesn't seem so yet."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black rips off part of Stinger
13BlackpushesStingeragainstthewall

13 Black pushes Stinger against the arena side wall

13 Black turned around for another attack, and Stinger charged at it, riding up on one of the disc and being rolled over. 13 Black drove at one of Stinger's wheels, but Stinger drove up on the disc, and drove over 13 Black's top. 13 Black quickly turned and hit Stinger again, but Stinger was merely deflected away. 13 Black turned around, and though Stinger dodged 13 Black as it drove in for another attack, 13 Black managed to push it against the disc of doom button. However, as it did so, it drove onto a flame jet. It drove over the flame jet, blocking Stinger's escape, but then reversed away. 13 Black backed onto the disc of doom, which turned it around. 13 Black drove to the top of the arena, turned and charged at Stinger, the impact tossing Stinger against an angle grinder. 13 Black turned around for another attack, and hit one of Stinger's sides. Stiner turned and fired the mace, but narrowly missed. 13 Black's front disc knocked Stinger onto the arena spinner, which sent Stinger spinning aside.

"13 Black very much on track here, and on their way, if it stays like this, to a famous heat victory!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Stingerspinsandhits13Black

Stinger spins and hits 13 Black

Stinger turned around and drove back at 13 Black, but 13 Black drove around to its side. It landing a glancing blow, but Stinger started spinning, hitting 13 Black's side. However, as it did so, 13 Black's flywheel hit Stinger, ripping off a part. 13 Black tried to attack again, but as Stinger spun, the mace hit the underside of the rear spinning disc, so 13 Black was deflected away. Stinger stopped spinning, and 13 Black tried driving at Stinger for another attack, but drove onto the arena spinner, which stopped it and turned it so it was facing away from Stinger. 13 Black drove up the arena, then drove around the arena spinner to the arena centre. Stinger was swinging back and forth, and 13 Black charged at it. 13 Black hit Stinger's mace, but was deflected away.

"...13 Black, stylish and controlled themselves, backing away from any trouble, then coming in on another attack."
— Jonathan Pearce praises John Denny's driving
13BlackpushesStingerintoCPZ

13 Black carries Stinger into the CPZ

13 Black drove around Stinger as it spun around on the spot, turned around, but still held back as Stinger was still spinning. 13 Black drove around Stinger, but Stinger kept spinning, so 13 Black held back. 13 Black tried to use its front spinning disc, but Stinger's mace hit the top of the front spinning disc as it spun, knocking both robots back a little. 13 Black drove to the side of the arena, then turned and drove straight at Stinger, hitting it between the wheels. Stinger was knocked back, but as 13 Black tried driving at it again, it drove onto the edge of the arena spinner, which turned it away and forced it away from Stinger. Stinger drove around the arena spinner, and 13 Black drove at it, but turned at the wrong moment and missed its charge. Stinger hit 13 Black's rear disc with its mace as it turned around, knocking 13 Black away. 13 Black drove back at Stinger, hitting one of the wheels, but Stinger rode over the disc, surviving the impact. The two robots avoided each other for a bit, with Stinger driving around 13 Black. 13 Black turned and tried charged at Stinger, but turned incorrectly, so it completely missed Stinger, and drove into the side wall.

"Both weapons are still working. Could well go to the Judges this, on style, control, damage and aggression, they have to vote - well that's not good driving, 13 Black."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black crashes into the arena wall and drives over the Flame Pit
13Black vs Stinger

Sir Killalot holds Stinger up on the arena wall

13 Black drove over the flame pit after Stinger, but Stinger turned away to narrowly avoid it, going up on one wheel. Stinger drove to the bottom of the arena, and as 13 Black drove after it, Stinger tried to attack, driving up on the rear disc, stopping it spinning. As Stinger drove up on 13 Black, 13 Black carried it into a CPZ, which Sir Killalot drove over to. In the last few seconds, Sir Killalot grabbed hold of Stinger's mace with his claw, and picked it up. Sir Killalot held it over the arena wall. Dead Metal also came over to the CPZ, and pinned 13 Black against the side wall, but time ran out, so the battle went to the Judges.

"After what seems an age Craig Charles asks the audience who they think won, from where we are standing it sounds like Stinger have got it but no! the judges give it us for all four categories - damage, control, style and aggression!"
— 13 Black website[22]

After a tense wait, the Judges announced that 13 Black had won on all four criteria and moved into the Semi-Finals.

Craig Charles: "How did you approach that fight, because as I was saying to the boys [The Stinger team], that robot of theirs is so difficult to beat, because you can't really do anything to it!"
Richard Morris: "That's right, it just flips out of the way as soon as you touch it, and then it just bounces and spins round and round and comes back again! So we've got to keep on hitting it!"
Craig Charles: "You've got these spinning wheels, so I suppose you were just going for the tyres. That's the only thing you can do really."
Richard Morris: "Yeah, it's the only thing we can do."
Craig Charles: "But I mean, you were hitting the tyres quite a lot, and it didn't seem to shred them at all!"
Richard Morris: "That's right. Well we were in the previous fight with them, because they were obviously in the same Heat as us, and we managed to put a nice dent in the side of their wheels, so we knew we could actually do some damage to them, but whether of not it was gonna be serious enough to stop them was always a bit marginal."
— Post-Heat Final interview

Having reached the Semi-Finals, 13 Black faced another experienced opponent in Firestorm 4, the third seed.

"Our first fight was against Firestorm, we had hoped we wouldn`t go in against a flipper early on so we had been lucky, unfortunately two of the best flippers were still in the competition so we knew it was only a matter of time and this was it. We just didn`t want to go over the edge of the arena and risk destroying a disk on landing!"
— 13 Black website on being drawn against Firestorm 4[23]

Before the battle, Richard Morris and John Denny were wary of Firestorm 4's flipper, but confident they could damage it, as John Denny had checked its armour the day before. Richard Morris actually took a look inside Firestorm 4 whilst Philippa Forrester interviewed Team Firestorm before the battle.

Philippa Forrester: "Do you think Firestorm can flip you out of the arena, 13 Black?"
Richard Morris: "Only if we don't smash it first!"
Philippa Forrester: "Okay, but you think it's possible for them to get underneath you and flip you?"
John Denny: "Quite possible, yeah."
— Pre-battle interview
Firestorm flips 13 black over

13 Black is flipped onto its back by Firestorm 4

13 Black started by charging straight at Firestorm 4, but as it did so, it drove onto Firestorm 4's wedge. 13 Black stopped and tried to turn off, but Firestorm 4 pushed it. Firestorm 4 tried to flip 13 Black, but fortunately for 13 Black, they slipped a little when Firestorm 4 pushed them, and because Firestorm 4's flipper was not properly underneath it, 13 Black was only lifted up a little and slid off. However, before 13 Black could get away, Firestorm 4 got at its side, and started pushing it across the arena. As it did so, it slid underneath 13 Black and as it pushed it to the arena centre, Firestorm 4 flipped 13 Black over.

"We knew Firestorm was quick but b****y hell! we got one attempt at them before they were round and under the side of us"
— 13 Black website[24]

13 Black was tossed to the side of the arena, hitting an angle grinder. Turned upside down, and with no srimech, 13 Black could not self-right, but 13 Black used its spinning discs, which allowed it to move away from the wall, but it turned into another angle grinder.

"They tell me it can technically run upside-down. Run? Waddle! Struggle!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black tries to drive on its discs
13 Black vs Firestorm 4 arena wall

13 Black remains on its back while Firestorm 4 is stuck on the arena wall

Firestorm 4 rushed over, trying to get underneath 13 Black, but it only got under the rear disc, so it failed to flip 13 Black out of the arena. 13 Black slid off the flipper, leaning up against the side wall, and Firestorm 4's "rear up" ability caused it to lift its front edge up onto the wall, leaving it stuck between the wall and 13 Black. Firestorm 4 fired the flipper in an attempt to get down from the wall, but this had no effect. With the two competitors left stuck, Refbot came over. He pushed 13 Black off of the wall, but it was still stuck on top of Firestorm 4. Refbot pushed the two, but Firestorm 4's edge was still hanging off the wall.

"...and I think John Denny there, with the beard, the captain and driver of 13 Black, probably realises the worst is just about to happen - or is it? Is Firestorm moving?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Refbot pushes 13 Black off the wall, but Firestorm 4 is still left stuck
Firestorm vs 13 Black

Firestorm 4 flips 13 Black back onto the angle grinder

Refbot drove around to Firestorm, and using his rear "feet", pushed Firestorm 4 off of the wall. Firestorm 4 tried to drive away from 13 Black, but as it did so, its rear up ability lifted up, and Firestorm 4 drove into an angle grinder, leaving it stuck hanging on the angle grinder. Refbot moved away, and 13 Black used its two spinning discs to move away from the side wall. Refbot pushed Firestorm 4 off of the angle grinder, and it turned and drove to the arena centre. Firestorm 4 approached 13 Black, which used its front disc to turn itself so it was facing Firestorm 4. Firestorm 4 pushed 13 Black against an angle grinder, getting underneath, and flipped 13 Black so it was resting against the angle grinder.

"Looks like some dreadful insect struggling for life, 13 Black in there!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black struggles to move upside-down before Firestorm 4 flips it against the angle grinder

As Firestorm 4 held back, 13 Black spun both of its discs very fast, but could not get down from the wall, so Refbot came over to count it out. Once Refbot had finished counting 13 Black out, Firestorm 4 drove towards 13 Black, but stopped short of attacking it, driving around to its front. Cease was called, and Firestorm 4 pushed 13 Black back onto its wheels, John Denny's machine having already been defeated.

Philippa Forrester: "Now I get it you see! Now I understand, that the 13, it wasn't an "unlucky for some" it was a "13 seconds is how long we can last before we're flipped!"
John Denny: "That's very clever!"
— Post-battle interview

For a chance to be reinstated in the second round, 13 Black moved into the Losers' Melee, against newcomer Dantomkia and the ninth seed Wild Thing.

Philippa Forrester: "Are you ready?"
Ken Wilson: "We're a little worried, but we're ready!"
Philippa Forrester: "For the Losers' Melee, who are you worried about?"
Ken Wilson: "Both of them!"
Philippa Forrester: "Okay, fair enough."
Ken Wilson: "We're gonna go in and just have fun!"
— Pre-battle interview
13 Black vs Wild Thing

13 Black clatters into Wild Thing

Dantomkia vs 13Black vs Wild Thing

13 Black is almost thrown out of the arena by Dantomkia

13 Black held back at first, letting its discs spin up to top speed, while Dantomkia charged at Wild Thing, ramming it up the arena and flipping it into a CPZ. 13 Black drove at Dantomkia as it turned away from Wild Thing, hitting the front and knocking it against Wild Thing. Dantomkia turned around, pushing past Wild Thing and driving at 13 Black, but it drove straight into 13 Black's front disc, so 13 Black was deflected away, hitting Dantomkia with its rear disc. 13 Black spun on the spot, but Dantomkia drove at it anyway, getting under the rear disc. Dantomkia tried pushing 13 Black, but 13 Black slid off the front wedge. 13 Black reversed away from Dantomkia, nearly driving into the arena wall. Dantomkia drove after it, but 13 Black drove around it. The two competitors turned around, and Dantomkia tried getting under 13 Black's side, but failed to get under the side. 13 Black turned away, steering Dantomkia into Sir Killalot's CPZ. As 13 Black drove away from Dantomkia, Wild Thing drove at it. Wild Thing dodged the front disc, and tried attacking 13 Black's side, but 13 Black hit it with its rear disc, sending Wild Thing crashing into Refbot. As Wild Thing turned away from Refbot, 13 Black charged at it, hitting it with the front disc, sending it spinning away. 13 Black reversed away, but drove into the side wall. As 13 Black turned away, Dantomkia got at its side, trying to get underneath. 13 Black tried driving down the arena, but Dantomkia kept chasing it, keeping at its side, and soon got underneath. Dantomkia rammed 13 Black down to the bottom of the arena and flipped it against the arena wall, with 13 Black landing on its back. Wild Thing drove at Dantomkia, but Dantomkia turned around, got under it and flipped it up against the arena wall, next to 13 Black.

"...it looked spectacular and it was a miracle we didn't go out of the arena, I think we went about 15 feet across the floor without touching it then slid along the arena wall before coming to rest upside down next to Wild Thing"
— 13 Black's description of Dantomkia's flip[25]
Dead Metal 13 Black

13 Black is sliced by Dead Metal

Dantomkia 13 Black Dance

13 Black is joined by a spinning Dantomkia

Dead Metal came over to the CPZ, grabbing Dantomkia first, but as he did so, 13 Black got caught on his side, so he let Dantomkia go and reversed. Dantomkia rushed out of the CPZ, and Dead Metal got his arms around 13 Black and cut into it with his saw, whilst Sir Killalot also came over to the CPZ and pulled Wild Thing off the wall, grabbing it with his claw. Dantomkia opened the pit, and Sir Killalot let go of Wild Thing. Wild Thing charged away, but drove straight over the pit as it opened. Dead Metal let go of 13 Black and reversed, and 13 Black used its discs to turn itself away from the wall. Refbot came over to count 13 Black out, but 13 Black managed to use both of its discs together to drive away from the CPZ. 13 Black drove across the arena, past the pit, and managed to turn around, much to the amusement of many. Dantomkia drove to the bottom of the arena, and 13 Black started spinning on the spot. Instead of attacking 13 Black, Dantomkia decided to join in, also spinning on the spot.

"Nick and Isabelle Adams have gone out, at the Semi-Final stage of Robot Wars, for the fourth time. 13 Black, surely to follow... (laughs) How can you smile when you've worked - ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, so hard on your machine, ha-ha-ha. What are they doing out there? It's great fun."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black crab-walks across the arena

Dantomkia pushed 13 Black against the bottom arena wall, by Dead Metal's CPZ, and tried to flip it, but failed as it didn't get the flipper properly under its opponent. Dead Metal came out of its CPZ, and cut into 13 Black's frame. Dantomkia tried to flip 13 Black again, but the flipper was only under one disc, so it could only flick it up a little. Dantomkia reversed a little, then pushed 13 Black against the pit release button. Dantomkia got under 13 Black, and managed to get in the middle and flip 13 Black over, but 13 Black landed the right way up, resting on the pit release button. Dantomkia reversed for another attack, allowing 13 Black to get down, and 13 Black drove away as Dantomkia tried getting underneath again. 13 Black reversed into a CPZ, then rushed away as Dantomkia turned at them. 13 Black slammed into Refbot, who reversed away, and 13 Black began spinning on the spot.

"I think Dantomkia want 13 Black out of the arena... 13 Black wants none of it! And is still mobile, and is still a threat, with those two spinners!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black gets away
Dantomkia vs 13 black angle grinder

13 Black hits the back of Dantomkia, which is stuck under an angle grinder

As Dantomkia drove up the arena towards it, 13 Black drove into the arena centre, then turned around and drove towards the side of the arena. As Dantomkia closed in, 13 Black spun on the spot, but Dantomkia turned into it, knocking it against the arena side wall. Dantomkia then missed an attack on 13 Black, driving into an angle grinder, under which its front spikes became stuck. As Dantomkia struggled to get free, 13 Black drove to the arena centre and started spinning. The House Robots came over to help free Dantomkia, with Sir Killalot backing into it until it was pushed free. As Dantomkia drove away from the wall, 13 Black charged at it in reversed, clipping the side with its rear disc, but as it did so, it was deflected into Dead Metal.

"That's a strong onslaught from 13 Black. When it crosses the arena like that, it's travelling at 20 miles-an-hour..."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black charges at Dantomkia
Dantomkia vs 13 Black

13 Black is pushed back by Dantomkia

13 Black quickly drove away before the House Robot could attack, but its rear disc was no longer working. Dantomkia drove after it, and though 13 Black turned to attack, Dantomkia got at its side. Dantomkia wedged under the side and pushed 13 Black to the side of the arena, pushing it against the side wall and flipping it over. With 13 Black unable to move away, Dantomkia got under its side, and rammed it across the arena, flipping it against the side wall. 13 Black fell onto its top, and Dantomkia tried getting underneath to try and flip Dantomkia out, but time ran out.

"...13 Black goes over yet again! And we've seen, though they claim they're invertible, they can run upside-down, it's hardly quick progress. Dantomkia, one or two shoves more. It's gonna go to the Judges, this. I don't think they'll have too much work to do to decide the winner."
— Jonathan Pearce in the last few seconds of the battle

The battle went to a Judges' decision to decide whether 13 Black or Dantomkia would be reinstated. 13 Black lost the judges' decision to Dantomkia, and was knocked out of the competition.

Philippa Forrester: "Was there points where you thought "We might do this!"?"
Richard Morris: "When they embedded themselves in the side wall, we thought "Perhaps we've got it now!". That would have been excellent"
Philippa Forrester: "That would have been absolutely hysterical, but as it was, you must have enjoyed it."
Richard Morris: "Great fun, absolutely brilliant fun!"
— Post-battle interview

Extreme 2[]

"Place your bets now!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black entered the arena

13 Black, as a Series 6 Semi-Finalist, appeared exclusively in the All-Stars Tournament, competing in Heat B. In the first round, it assumed an underdog position, being drawn against the reigning All-Stars champion Razer and two-time UK Champion Chaos 2. As the team was going up against a flipper, they had written a message on the underside of 13 Black that read "Still no Srimech!". 13 Black started its discs before activate was called, for which they received a warning.

"Ooh. Were 13 Black spinning their weaponry before activate was sounded? Did they try to get a little advantage there, I wonder?"
— Jonathan Pearce
Chaos 2 vs razer 13 black

Chaos 2 flips Razer and 13 Black at the same time

13 Black started by turning away from Razer, who were driving across the arena towards them. However, as they did so, they drove straight into the arena wall. As 13 Black turned around, Chaos 2 turned to face it, but 13 Black drove away from it, driving over the flame pit and across to the other side of the arena. Razer drove across the arena after it, and cautiously approached. As it did so, 13 Black hit Razer's side with its rear disc, with one of its blades digging into its side, stopping the disc and getting caught. Razer tried grabbing onto the rear disc, but couldn't because of the disc being caught in its side. Chaos 2 drove at Razer's side and tried flipping it, lifting 13 Black and Razer up together.

"Chaos 2 can get the flipper to work, but cannot hoist the combined weight of Razer and 13 Black!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Chaos 2 tries to flip Razer

This flip freed Razer from 13 Black's disc, and it grabbed onto 13 Black's rear flywheel before it could get back up to speed. Chaos 2 drove around Razer and got its flipper underneath. Razer turned away from 13 Black, and Chaos 2 flipped it, only for Razer to roll over onto its wheels. Chaos 2's attack on Razer gave 13 Black a chance to drive away and get its discs up to speed, and it drove between Razer and Chaos 2 and turned around. Chaos 2 drove past 13 Black, but as it did so, it drove into the rear flywheel of 13 Black, knocking the front panel loose from the flipper. Chaos 2 drove up the arena, and Razer drove after it. 13 Black also drove up the arena, and drove between Chaos 2 and Razer, and managed to hit Chaos 2's rear with its rear flywheel. Razer grabbed onto its rear flywheel, and Chaos 2 rammed into Razer's side.

"...once again Razer have got to grips on 13 Black, and once again Razer, by doing so, have just opened themselves up to a flip by Chaos."
— Jonathan Pearce
ChaosRazer13Black1

13 Black rips away Razer's wing

However, instead of flipping Razer, Chaos 2 turned and got between 13 Black and Razer, trying flip them together. It barely lifted them as the flipper was not properly underneath, but it did push against 13 Black, knocking it free from Razer's grip. 13 Black drove to the arena centre, and Razer and Chaos 2 chased after it. Razer got close to 13 Black, trying to get its crusher between the two flywheels, but 13 Black hit Chaos 2, knocking it aside, and drove away from Razer. Razer chased after it, but 13 Black got away when it caught up, only to drive into Refbot. Razer closed in, but 13 Black slid off as Razer tried to get under its side, and turned around.

"Razer, very much here, on the scent of 13 Black."
— Jonathan Pearce as Razer chases 13 Black
Chaos 2 vs razer vs 13 black

13 Black nudges Razer as the World Champions deal with the immobile Chaos 2

Chaos 2 drove behind Razer, getting under its side. As it did so, 13 Black hit one of Razer's wings with its rear spinning disc, ripping it clean off. Chaos 2 could have eliminated Razer by tipping it onto its side, with no self-righting wing to right itself, but its flipper was no longer working. Chaos 2 pushed Razer a little, but was forced to let it go. Chaos 2 reversed away from Razer, driving into the arena centre, but suddenly it was no longer able to drive properly, turning back and forth on one wheel. Razer drove at it, but before it could attack, 13 Black slammed into its side as it drove past. Razer turned away from Chaos 2, and Chaos 2 turned, but 13 Black reversed into its side, immobilising it. Smoke was rising from Razer, but it was still mobile, and it got behind Chaos 2, crushing into the back. 13 Black drove into the back of Razer, but its front disc was slowing and stopped on impact. 13 Black held back as Razer pushed Chaos 2 and lifted it up and down with the crusher.

"...13 Black, top of your picture, staying out of trouble, but I think did well early on here. Could be a surprise factor in these All-Star championships!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black drives away from Razer and Chaos 2

13 Black spun in victory, whilst Refbot counted Chaos 2 out. Mr. Psycho pushed Chaos 2 up the arena to the floor flipper, which tossed Chaos 2. Shunt opened the pit, and Mr. Psycho grabbed Chaos 2, took it down the arena, then pushed it into the pit. 13 Black and Razer went through, although Razer had also become immobilised in the same melee.

This put 13 Black through to fight Dominator 2, which had already defeated Hypno-Disc in the previous round with the help of Spawn Again.

Philippa Forrester: "Dominator 2, you know what they're up to."
John Denny: "They're in bits, ain't they?"
Philippa Forrester: "Yes, but they're not now! They've been doing a lot of welding, and they say they're as strong as before, but does that give you, do you think, a bit of optimism that you might get in there and cause some more damage?"
John Denny: "Not really worried about them at all, just damage you?"
Philippa Forrester: "Aren't you? But that axe is amazing! If that axe gets onto one of your spinners, surely it will stop them?"
John Denny: "It'll probably stop the spinner, but once it comes out it'll start up again!"
— Pre-battle interview (Dominator 2 had to be taken to the workshop to do extensive repairs after its Round 1 battle)
Dominator13Black1

Dominator 2 gets flipped onto its back

As the battle started, 13 Black got its discs up to speed, staying still for a moment as Dominator 2 drove towards it, but then drove down the arena. Dominator 2 turned and charged at 13 Black, which turned to face Dominator 2 as it closed in. 13 Black hit Dominator 2 with its rear flywheel, knocking it aside and causing sparks. 13 Black drove across the arena, and Dominator 2 turned and drove after it. Again, as Dominator 2 got close, 13 Black turned to hit it with a flywheel, and 13 Black hit Dominator 2's front wedge, bouncing off. 13 Black drove away, but drove into an angle grinder. 13 Black tried to turn away from the angle grinder, but Dominator 2 was quick enough to get beside 13 Black before it could get away. Dominator 2 pushed 13 Black's rear flywheel against the angle grinder, stopping the disc and pinning the robot still. Dominator 2 tried to turn to use its axe, but as it did so, 13 Black was able to get free of the angle grinder and drive away down the arena.

"I just worry about the actual effect of that axe, it looks rather grand, doesn't it, but 13 Black, unlucky for some, has dodged away from it."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black gets away from Dominator 2, causing it to miss with the axe
Dominator13Black2

13 Black is axed by Dominator 2

Dominator 2 chased after it, and 13 Black hit it with one of its flywheels, then drove across the arena, into Matilda's CPZ. 13 Black drove into Matilda's back with its rear disc, which has not spinning, but narrowly avoided her flywheel. However, Dominator 2 blocked its escape, and Matilda turned, hitting its front flywheel with her spinning disc. Dominator 2 pushed 13 Black against the bottom arena wall and got under its side, but 13 Black slid off, and as 13 Black drove around Dominator 2, Matilda turned and hit Dominator 2 with her flywheel, tipping it onto its side.

"Not great driving initially by 13 Black, but Dominator 2 followed through into there, and got caught!"
— Jonathan Pearce

As Dominator 2 tried to self-right with its axe, 13 Black drove into Matilda's side, then drove around Matilda to Dominator 2, hitting it with its front flywheel, pushing it against the wall, but doing no damage. 13 Black reversed into Dominator 2 with its rear flywheel spinning, pushing it against Matilda but also knocking it back down, and as it drove past, 13 Black drove into Matilda's flywheel. Dominator 2 reversed out of the CPZ as Matilda backed into 13 Black's side, trying to use her flywheel, but 13 Black reversed away. 13 Black drove across the arena at Dominator 2, who had lost drive on one wheel, and was rocking back and forth at the bottom of the arena. 13 Black hit Dominator 2's side with its rear flywheel, but did no damage. 13 Black turned away and hit the pit release button, ripping the front panel off the button.

"13 Black, OH! Has, well I was going to say depressed the pit release button, they've destroyed it!"
— Jonathan Pearce
13 Black vs Dominator II

13 Black slams into Dominator 2's wheelguard

Dominator 2 missed with the axe as it passed, but as 13 Black hit it again, Dominator 2 managed to land an axe blow on the rear flywheel, which had not got back up to speed after hitting the pit release button. The axe punctured the flywheel, and 13 Black could not drive away as Dominator 2 held onto it. Dominator 2 pushed 13 Black up the arena, and 13 Black struggled to get free. 13 Black turned around, but Dominator 2 would not let go. 13 Black drove towards the pit to try and drag Dominator 2 into it, but it could not pull Dominator 2. 13 Black turned back, then pushed against Dominator 2, but as it did so, Dominator 2 turned, so 13 Black was not between it and the pit.

"Dominator 2's axe has got a grip on one of the roulette wheels, is holding on! Can they edge it slowly, slowly towards the pit? 13 Black, trying to drive away, away, no! Heave-ho, to and fro, 13 Black holding on."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black and Dominator 2 struggle to get an advantage

Dominator 2 tried to push 13 Black down, but 13 Black managed to turn away as it got to the edge. 13 Black drove into the wall, then drove around Dominator 2, trying to force it into the pit, but it could not get Dominator 2 to the edge. 13 Black drove around Dominator 2 to try and get free, but Dominator 2's axe was still caught, and 13 Black nearly drove into the pit.

"13 Black, look at this, this is great stuff! Oooh, can they do it this time? It's the immovable against the irresistible!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black tries to drag Dominator 2 into the pit
13Black vs Dominator II

Dominator 2 continues to fight, despite losing mobility to one wheel

13 Black turned and drove to the bottom of the arena, dragging Dominator 2 with it, then turned and reversed into the arena wall, and the impact knocked Dominator 2's axe free of the disc. However, 13 Black's design made it hard to turn away from the wall. It drove along the wall, close to Dead Metal's CPZ, and spun up its flywheels, and manged to hit the wall, giving it space to turn. Dead Metal pushed it away from the CPZ, and it reversed into one of Dominator 2's wheel guards. Dominator 2 reversed into 13 Black, pushing it against the arena wall, and 13 Black drove away, hitting the pit release button and ripping it off the wall. 13 Black drove along the wall, and drove into the arena centre, however, both of its disc had stopped spinning. Dominator 2 was still turning back and forth, dangerously close to the pit, and 13 Black drove around the pit, between Dominator 2 and the wall, and tried to push Dominator 2 in, but Dominator 2 turned away. 13 Black nearly drove into the pit itself as Dominator 2 turned into Matilda's CPZ, then turned away before the House Robot could attack.

"13 Black, Well they obviously don't want to go through and meet Razer, either of these two!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black nearly drives into the pit

In the last few seconds, 13 Black drove into the arena wall, and turned away from the wall. Time ran out, and the Judges ruled in favour of the fully mobile 13 Black, due to Dominator 2 only having drive to one wheel.

Craig Charles: "Did it all go according to plan?"
John Denny: "Not really!"
Craig Charles: "He did put a right hole in one of those spinning discs, is is still going?"
John Denny: "Yeah, we weren't worried about that at all."
Craig Charles: "You must have been worried about going down the pit though! I mean you were really, really close!"
John Denny: "Yeah a bit! I know!"
Craig Charles: "Hey, you're fighting Razer, and Razer are running scared!"
John Denny: "I'm not so bothered, we've been told we're the only ones that can take out Razer that are left in the competition, so we'll have to see!"
— Post-battle interview

This put 13 Black up against Razer again in the Heat Final, for the right to fight Firestorm 4 in the All-Stars Grand Final.

Philippa Forrester: "Ok, 13 Black. Razer are saying that if you spin up early, they might attack early!"
John Denny: "I think that's a sign of nerves, to be honest!"
Philippa Forrester: "You think they're nervous? Now Dominator couldn't get through with that axe, Razer have had a little nibble but didn't do much damage last time, are you the ones that, for the first time in a very long, long time, will beat Razer?"
John Denny: "I think so!"
— Pre-battle interview
Razer vs 13black vs shunt CPZ

13 Black is sent into the CPZ where it suffers further punishment from Shunt

On activate, Razer charged at 13 Black, which began spinning on the spot. Razer drove straight at 13 Black, but was deflected aside as 13 Black spun into him. Razer turned around for another attack, and 13 Black kept spinning. This time, Razer held back from attacking, until 13 Black slowed down a little. Razer rushed into 13 Black, which hit its side with one of its disc as it spun, and bounced off, landing by Shunt's CPZ. 13 Black spun on the spot as Razer turned around, but as Razer drove at it, 13 Black stopped spinning, and turned away from Razer as it got close, then drove away to the bottom of the arena. Razer drove down the arena after it, and 13 Black turned around and slammed into it's front, though Razer withstood the impact. However, 13 Black then turned and drove into the arena wall, with one of the blades on the front disc getting caught in the wall.

"13 Black, I think, has impaled itself on the side wall of the arena! I think the discs were spinning so quickly they've actually sliced into the arena side wall!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black gets stuck in the arena wall
Razer13Black1

13 Black is crushed by Razer

This allowed Razer to get under 13 Black's side and crush into the body between the discs. As 13 Black was in a CPZ, Shunt also came over, stopping the rear disc spinning with his front scoop, then axed the disc, puncturing it. As Razer crumpled 13 Black's top armour, Shunt pushed and pulled 13 Black, trying to get it free of the wall. This failed to free 13 Black from the wall, so Refbot came over and pushed 13 Black's disc free of the wall. Shunt pulled 13 Black out of the CPZ, dragging Razer, which was still holding onto 13 Black, with it. Shunt freed its axe and reversed back into the CPZ, and Razer tried to peel away the armour below 13 Black's front disc, but 13 Black spun the disc and hit the crusher. 13 Black tried to get away, but Razer's front wedge was still under the side, preventing it from getting away. Razer crushed into one of its 13 Black's wheelguards, and tried to lift 13 Black, but it fell off the beak. Whilst Razer reversed into the pit release button, 13 Black drove into a CPZ, then rushed into the centre of the arena. Its rear disc had stopped working, so as Razer drove at it, it turned to use its front disc, but it turned too far, exposing its side, allowing Razer to get underneath it and crush into its top.

"The controls of Razer ever so secure, and although 13 Black isn't budging for the moment, both you and I know the outcome of this, don't we?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Razer pushes 13 Black to the pit
Razer13Black2

Razer suspends 13 Black over the pit

13 Black got its rear disc spinning as Razer crushed into its body, but it was clearly spinning unevenly. Once Razer had a secure grip on 13 Black, it lifted it up with the crusher, and carried it to the pit, dropping it on the edge. With 13 Black unable to get away, Razer closed its crusher and gave 13 Black a final push into the pit to finish it off.

"They've done brilliantly to get this far in this All-Stars Heat, but whatever your number, odd or even, red or black, your number's up if you're a 13 Black fan. Down they go, very slowly."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black is pitted

Smoke was rising from Razer, but 13 Black had already lost the Heat Final, and been eliminated from the All-Stars Tournament.

Craig Charles: "You nearly took them apart in the previous fight, you took their arm and stuff like that. They must have really nervous of you."
John Denny: "I think they were, but we got stuck on the wall. We couldn't get off, that was it really."
Craig Charles: "It was more than that though, their mighty claw was ripping you apart as well."
John Denny: "Well only when we were stuck!"
Craig Charles: "What was the tactic this time, 'cause you wasn't {sic} just relying on the spinning discs, you were making the whole robot spin."
John Denny: "Well I wanted to get the discs up to speed, before they got a hit in at us, so I spin up first, get the discs spinning, then come out the spin."
Craig Charles: "Well you know, you're not the new kids on the block any more, you're tried and tested old roboteers now! Everybody's scared of your robot! It didn't work this time, but next time it might, mightn't it?"
John Denny: "Oh yeah, definitely!"
— Post-battle interview

Series 7[]

Seeded seventh for Series 7, 13 Black fought Tag Team Terror competitor Lightning, veterans The Alien and newcomer Herbinator in the first round of Heat D.

Jayne Middlemiss: "They only finished their robot last night, and they've got to go and fight today! That's pretty bad isn't it?"
Richard Morris: "It is actually, but it's the way that roboteers I'm afraid!"
Jayne Middlemiss: "You are seventh seeds?"
Richard Morris: "We are, yes."
Jayne Middlemiss: "You did lose out in the Semi-Finals last year, what modifications have you made?"
Richard Morris: "We have a self-righter this time, so if we get flipped, we have a chance of staying in the fight!, and we've got much more powerful weapons, the discs are much faster, so we should be able to destroy a lot more robots!"
— Pre-battle interview
13BlackhitsthebackofHerbinator

13 Black hits the back of Herbinator

13 Black was slow to get away on activate, waiting until its discs were up to speed. Herbinator turned and drove up the arena towards it, and 13 Black started driving at it, but Lightning charged at Herbinator, pushing it against 13 Black's front disc, knocking it aside. Lighting pushed against 13 Black, but 13 Black turned around to Lightning's side, so Lightning reversed, and turned to drive towards Herbinator. As Lightning drove past Herbinator, 13 Black drove into the back of Herbinator, hitting it with its front disc, cutting into the armour.

"We made our first attack against Herbinator and put a nice gash in the back about 12 inches long, going clean through a chassis member at the same time."
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[26]
13Black smoking

13 Black emits a copious amount of smoke

Lightning got under Herbinator's side and flipped it up against the wall. 13 Black drove at The Alien, which also drove at 13 Black, hitting the front disc with its spinning hammer. After this attack, the disc did not work again, and the impact caused internal damage to 13 Black's electronics.

"First hit I took out one of his discs and rattled the robot so much all the relays controlling the self righter shorted out causing the smoke. His self righter never worked again in that series"
— Karl Asplin on YouTube[27]
The Alien vs 13Black

13 Black is attacked by The Alien

The Alien drove across the arena, and Lightning tried to get under 13 Black, pushing against its front. 13 Black turned and tried to reverse away, but Lightning kept chasing it, getting under the front disc. Lightning pushed 13 Black against The Alien as it passed, but this caused 13 Black to slide over its top, knocking off its mascot. 13 Black held back as Lightning attacked The Alien, trying to get underneath, then charged into the front of The Alien, hitting it with its spinning disc. However, The Alien withstood the impact, and the impact threw 13 Black against Lightning. 13 Black turned and ground against Lightning with its rear disc, then got a clean hit as it tried to get underneath, preventing it from getting underneath. Lightning turned on The Alien, and 13 Black turned around, but its front disc slowed to a top, and smoke began to rise from the robot. This was later found to be insulation on the wiring for the self-righting mechanism.

"...we hit The Alien with so much force we lifted ourselves into the air and did a complete 360 before driving off, as we pulled away we noticed smoke coming from the inside of our robot, pretty soon everyone noticed the smoke as there seemed to be quite alot of it! actually we have cooling fans fitted to each speed controller and these were blowing all the smoke out of the top of the body. Panic set in and I lost concentration on what the others were doing, there wasn't any power in the robot and it seemed like we were going out in the first round..."
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[28]
13 Black Nearly Pitted

13 Black nearly drives down the descending pit

Whilst Herbinator was counted out, having failed to self-right, the smoking 13 Black drove down the arena, away from its opponents. The Alien charged after it, slamming into its side with its spinning hammers. 13 Black was flicked up a little and knocked aside, but wasn't damaged, whilst the impact caused The Alien's removable link to be knocked out, immobilising it. 13 Black turned and drove away, nearly driving into Refbot, then drove across the arena. Lightning opened the pit, and 13 Black nearly drove into the pit as it started to open. 13 Black tried to reverse away from the pit, but Lightning drove at it, getting under the side. Lightning tried to push 13 Black into the pit, but wasn't facing the right way, so it narrowly pushed 13 Black along the edge of the pit.

"Oh goodness me, 13 Black nearly went down the pit! What were they doing there, dawdling? That was poor driving from a very experienced 13 Black team."
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black is caught by the pit as it opened
Lightning vs 13Black

13 Black is turned onto its side by Lightning

13 Black drove up the arena, but Lightning drove after it, getting it at its side and pushing 13 Black against the arena wall. As it was pushed against the wall, 13 Black's rear disc was spinning, and on impact with the wall it shattered it. Lightning got under 13 Black and flipped it up onto its side against the wall. 13 Black tried to use its new srimech to push it back down, but it was not working, leaving 13 Black stuck on its side.

"With just us and Lightning left we were confident of going through to the second round but didn`t want to take any chances, so I thought we`d have a go at Lightning if nothing more than to get some aggression points, everything counts! during this endgame it was really noticeable how slow the drive was running with the new Iskra motors and they were in real need of setting up properly. We had trouble chasing Lightning and they managed to turn and push us sideways into the arena wall - our discs were up to speed and when we hit the macrolon wall it shattered, 12mm thick and it just shattered! (we were given two large pieces of it after the fight as souvenirs!) Lightning then wedged us up against the wall on our side and I immediately used the new self righting arm to bring us back down - unfortunately it didn't do anything. God knows how many trials and hours were put into it and it just sat there!"
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[29]

Nevertheless, Refbot counted The Alien out, as it was immobilised first, so 13 Black qualified for the next round as The Alien and Herbinator had already been counted out.

"What a battle! Herbinator and The Alien were immobilised first, so 13 Black scrapes through by the skin of its teeth, along with Lightning!"
— Craig Charles after the battle

After the battle, the team inspected the insides of the robot, and found the internals had burnt out, and a lot of repairs had to be done to get the robot ready for Round 2.

"In the pits we lifted the body off to survey the damage - there were several burnt out wires and these lead to the self righter relays. The relays were mounted under the front disc, when we hit The Alien the high shock load had closed all the relays simultaneously, causing a short circuit and setting fire to the wiring, as soon as the wires had burned through the current stopped, leaving us with power again. Further inspection revealed that all the speed controller mounting posts had sheard {sic} on the horizontally mounted boards, right at the bottom of the drive assembly, leaving loose high current pcbs floating around and aluminium box! how close we came to total melt down we shall never know, but it took 12 solid hours to fix them back in and build yet another self righting circuit"
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[30]

In the second round, 13 Black fought Gravity, a Dutch Robot Wars heat finalist which had looked very impressive in its first round fight. Before the battle, the team had to take 13 Black apart to fix the self-righting mechanism, but they were still confident about defeating Gravity, with Richard Morris claiming they would aim for the wheels, were were exposed at the back of the robot.

"We personally thought we`d get to fight Thor as we`d fought a flipper in the first round and also we thought the producers would want to see a 13Black v Gravity heat final should we both make it through (their minds work like that you know) So anyway we ended up with Gravity as our next opponent, we had a good look round the robot itself and said hello to the team. There were some nice weak points as long as we could get round the back and avoid the flipper. So we were fairly optimistic."
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[31]
Gravity flips 13 black

13 Black is immediately flipped up and over by Gravity

13 Black started by getting its discs up to speed, but this proved to be a mistake as Gravity rushed straight underneath it, and flipped it up and over onto its back. 13 Black tried to use its srimech, but it still wasn't working. Whilst upside down, 13 Black used its front disc to turn around, but nearly drove onto the flame pit, so stopped.

"For a place in the Heat Final then, and there goes the flipper of Gravity and the number seven seeds are overturned! And 13 Black, in major peril now! We know they have a problem with self-righting, they have done in the past. They say they corrected that problem, now we will see!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black is quickly flipped over
13Black Killalot

13 Black is held by Sir Killalot

13 Black spun its other disc a little, rocking back and forth on the spot, and Gravity came over and pushed 13 Back down the arena, into an empty CPZ. Sir Killalot quickly came over, grabbing 13 Black's body with his claw and pulling it out of the CPZ. Sir Killalot picked 13 Black up and spun around whilst holding 13 Black up. Sir Killalot carried 13 Black closer to the arena centre, and spun around some more. Sir Killalot lowered 13 Black, but held it for a moment as 13 Black was still spinning its discs.

"Sir Killalot came along and picked us up and proudly held us aloft, I then powered the discs up and it looked pretty good - "stop your discs we daren`t put you down" came a message! so I left them a bit longer just for the hell of it until boredom got the better of it and turned them off."
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[32]
Gravity vs 13 black

Gravity flips out 13 Black

Sir Killalot dropped 13 Black, and 13 Black spun around on the spot using its spinning discs. Gravity charged at it, but missed its charge. 13 Black turned into Sir Killalot, who got his lance under its rear spinning disc and lifted the whole robot up, then lowered it, putting it back on its wheels. As Sir Killalot pushed 13 Black away from the CPZ, Gravity charged at it, but Sir Killalot's claw was in the way. Gravity fired its flipper, flicking him up a little. This gave 13 Black a chance to get away, but it reversed into the arena wall. 13 Black spun on the spot, and Gravity charged at it. Gravity got under the rear disc, and flipped 13 Black. 13 Black was thrown against the arena wall, and the revolution of the spinning discs caused 13 Black to be pulled over the arena wall, and out of the competition.

"They're in the corner. They're self-righted, they're OK. Or did they self-right, or were they held? Doesn't matter, they're out! Unlucky for some, unlucky for you, John Denny, 13 Black gone!"
— Jonathan Pearce as 13 Black are flipped out of the arena

As a result, the seeded machine was eliminated. Its discs were still spinning at full speed whilst outside of the arena.

Craig Charles: "13 Black, a lot of people's favourite, seventh seeds - that was explosive! All over in the blink of an eye, really!"
John Denny: "Do we hate flippers!"
Craig Charles: "Have you thought about getting a self-righter? It obviously didn't work!"
Richard Morris: "We've had nothing but trouble with the self-righter, for the last few days it's just been an absolute nightmare, so we were hoping it was going to work for this fight, but if it didn't work, we knew we'd have trouble. And we had trouble!"
— Post-battle interview

After this early exit, Team 13 were asked about taking part in some side events - including The Third World Championship - but chose not to, citing their reluctance to keep repairing 13 Black following its main competition fights.

"Back in the pits we again took the robot apart to try and find out what happened and all the self righter mechanism was jammed, caused by landing on the arm, added to that the main centre axle had been pushed up into the body when we had hit the concrete floor going out of the arena. This had dislodged the wheel from the drive and the whole subframe had twisted to boot. It would take a lot to fix before fighting again and when we were asked if we wanted to fight in the World Championships or similar fights later that week we reluctantly said no, we really had had enough of working on the robot."
— John Denny on the 13 Black website[33]

Results[]

13 BLACK - RESULTS
Series 5
The Fifth Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat F, Eliminator vs. Corkscrew Lost
Series 6
The Sixth Wars - UK Championship
Semi-Finals, Round 1
Heat F, Round 1 vs. Chompalot, Stinger (11), Thermidor 2 Qualified
Heat F, Round 2 vs. Double Trouble Won
Heat F, Final vs. Stinger (11) Won
Semi-Final 1, Round 1 vs. Firestorm 4 (3) Lost
Semi-Final 1, Losers Melee vs. Dantomkia, Wild Thing (9) Lost
Extreme Series 2
All-Stars
Heat Final
Heat B, Round 1 vs. Chaos 2, Razer Qualified
Heat B, Round 2 vs. Dominator 2 Won
Heat B, Final vs. Razer Lost
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship
7th Seed, Heat, Round 2
Heat D, Round 1 vs. Herbinator, Lightning, The Alien Qualified
Heat D, Round 2 vs. Gravity Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 6
  • Losses: 5

Series Record[]

Main Series 13 Black Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Entered with Limpet
The Third Wars Not selected with Limpet Mk 2
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Heat, Round 1
The Sixth Wars Semi-Finals, Round 1
The Seventh Wars Heat, Round 2
Series 8 Not selected with Heavy Metal
Series 9 Entered with Heavy Metal
Series 10 Not selected with Heavy Metal
Robot Wars Extreme Appearances
Series 1 Did not enter
Series 2 All-Stars, Heat Final

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

13 Black

13 Black after Series 7

13 Black appeared at various live events before Robot Wars entered its hiatus, but due to safety reasons it was not allowed to run its discs. Despite this, 13 Black was still able to participate in battles. At the 2002 Newark Kit Car Show, 13 Black fought against Lambsy and Vader.[34] Not long after the show entered its hiatus, 13 Black was retired from combat and was reserved as a static display only. It appeared as a display piece at both the Newark Kit Car Show in 2004 and the 2011 UK Championships. One of its original Series 5-6 flywheels was sold as part of Team Toon's charity auction, but everything else remained with its original owners to enable a rebuild/display if required.

Team 13 reported that they were building Double Zero in 2014, a featherweight version of 13 Black, although this was not completed.

The Series 6 version of 13 Black, alongside other Team 13 Black robot Limpet, was among other former competitors that appeared in the 2018 RoboNerd event on display. The same version of 13 Black also returned for the August 2019 running of the event without Limpet present, with Team 13 also bringing a water-based arena to the event for aquatic battles. After missing the 2021 event, 13 Black would return for RoboNerd 2022, again as a static display piece. Team 13 would also bring along an antweight arena which hosted a driving skill game called 'Nuts'.

13 Black would once again appear at RoboNerd on 2 September 2023.

Trivia[]

"On 1st April it is customary to play practical jokes, 2003 was no exception and we advertised the toy shown above, a few hours with Photoshop provided the graphics and a fake Ebay page was also created to add to the illusion!"
— Team 13 Black's practical joke[35]
Fake13Black

The fake 13 Black pullback

  • For April Fools' Day in 2003, the team decided to play a practical joke on their fans. They produced an image which seemed to show a Pullback version of their robot, as if they had been manufactured. The web page received over a thousand hits during the few days it was online.
    • According to John Denny in 2020, a prototype 13 Black pullback was made, but didn’t reach production[36].
  • Aside from the participants in the 10 Robot Rumble, 13 Black is one of only six robots to fight at least two past or future domestic champions (Chaos 2 and Razer) in a single battle. The others to do this are Yeborobo, Tornado, Philipper, Panzer Mk 2 - who all fought in the same Heat in The Second World Championship - and Shockwave, who fought future champions Carbide and Apollo.
  • In 13 Black's first two appearances, it appeared in Heat F.
  • In two of 13 Black's appearances, it was in the same episode as a robot it would meet in the Extreme 2 All-Stars (Razer and Dominator 2).
  • Only one of 13 Black's losses was to a robot that never reached a semi-final or a grand final.
  • 13 Black was the only seventh seed which was unable to reach the first round of the Semi-Finals in the series in which it was seeded as such, being eliminated in the second round of its heat in Series 7.
  • Only one of 13 Black's opponents (Herbinator) never returned for another series.
  • Corkscrew was the only robot to beat 13 Black that never reached a semi-final or grand final.
  • Sir Killalot was present in all but one fight where 13 Black was through upside down.
  • 13 Black is one of nine robots to outlast three others in a 4-way melee and outlast two others in a 3-way melee. The other robots to do this are Atomic, Bigger Brother, Bulldog Breed, Disc-O-Inferno, Hypno-Disc, Terrorhurtz, Thermidor 2 and X-Terminator.

Honours[]

13Black 7

Official Series 7 photo

Nominations

References[]

  1. 13 Black website - Construction (Archived)
  2. Ultimate Real Robots magazine, Issue 69, page 13
  3. 13 Black website - Construction (Archived)
  4. Ultimate Real Robots magazine, Issue 70, page 13
  5. 13 Black website - Construction (Archived)
  6. 13 Black website - Construction (Archived)
  7. Ultimate Real Robots magazine, Issue 70, page 13
  8. Ultimate Real Robots Magazine, Issue 69, Page 13
  9. 13 Black website - Qualifying for Series 5 (Archived)
  10. 13 Black website - Qualifying for Series 5 (Archived)
  11. 13 Black website - Series 7 Qualifiers (Archived)
  12. 13 Black website - Series 5 (Archived)
  13. 13 Black website - Series 5 (Archived)
  14. 13 Black website - Series 5 (Archived)
  15. 13 Black website - Series 5 (Archived)
  16. Thermidor 2 website - Diary (Archived)
  17. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  18. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  19. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  20. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  21. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  22. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  23. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  24. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  25. 13 Black website - Series 6 (Archived)
  26. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  27. YouTube - The Alien - Series 5, 6, & 7 All Fights - Robot Wars - 2002-2003
  28. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  29. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  30. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  31. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  32. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  33. 13 Black website - Series 7 (Archived)
  34. Vader vs Lambsy vs 13 Black 2001 Live event
  35. 13 Black website
  36. John Denny on the RoboNerd 2020 livestream

External Links[]

Navigation[]

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