- "Ah, will the Barber family provide a close shave for one or two?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Barbaric Response was a competitor robot that fought in Series 6 and 7 of Robot Wars as well as the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. It was entered by the Barber family from Horsham, with the family surname being the origins of the robot's name. Barbaric Response did not enjoy much success in the main series, being eliminated in the second round in Series 6 by Firestorm 4 and the first round in Series 7 after it and Kan-Opener got stuck together. However, it finished runner-up in the Tag Team Terror competition of the second series of Extreme, alongside Hydra.
Design
Series 6 appearance
Barbaric Response was a small wedge shaped robot with a 10-bar titanium edged body flipper and punch ram. It was often the quickest in its heat, as it could reach 20mph, and had good pushing power, a home-made electronic interface and differential steering to improve speed and maneuverability. However, its aerial was exposed, and its aluminium armour and chassis were especially vulnerable to being significantly damaged.
Qualification
Barbaric Response initially failed to qualify for Series 5, fighting against Killertron 2 in its qualifier. The flipper was not working as the CO2 bottle the team had brought was out of date by two years and the one lent to them by house roboteers did not fit and leaked. Instead, Barbaric Response tried ramming Killertron into the walls. This tactic worked and Killertron 2 was almost completely immobilised as it could only fire the axe, but a ram that went astray caused Barbaric Response to get half stuck on top of Killertron 2. Shunt freed Barbaric Response, Barbaric Response was still mobile so it attacked Shunt and then ran away when Shunt tried to retaliate. The pit opened and Barbaric Response tried to pit Killertron 2 but couldn't, before Shunt got revenge by pitting Barbaric Response and Killertron 2 together. Ultimately, neither robot qualified.[1]
Barbaric Response at the Sixth Wars qualifiers
At the Series 6 qualifiers, Barbaric Response was drawn against Lightning, Twister and TX-108. TX-108 was forced to withdraw before the battle, and Barbaric Response won the battle, ensuring qualification to Series 6.[2]
- "As the fight started we went on the attack of Twister as we considered them most dangerous of the two opponents, Lightning also seemed to have the same idea and in the initial confusion and a flip from us Twister became up ended from which they could not self right. We then took on Lightning and with a few more flips and a bit of pushing they were also over on there back. A bit more pushing and shoving against both robots to use up the time and then the fight was over, We were through and into the sixth series"
- — Barbaric Response website
At the Series 7 qualifiers, Barbaric Response was drawn against its former Tag Team partner Hydra, along with an unknown spinner. It was suffering from interference, Hydra won the battle, but Barbaric Response recieved a discretionary place to qualify.[3]
- "I had real trouble in getting Barbaric Response out into the arena as it appeared to have a mind of it's own, at the time I blamed the new interface board but I now believe it was plain old interference. The fight itself began well we disabled the spinner with one or two flips and then took on Hydra, we had them upside down at the side but then interference set in again leaving us a sitting duck once Hydra had righted themselves. Hydra won the fight but we were given a discretionary place so we had a few days to try and fix our problems."
- — Barbaric Response website
Robot History
Series 6
Barbaric Response weakly attacks the immobile Scorpion
X-Terminator pits Barbaric Response
- "We're gonna make a chicken fly!"
- — Bruce Barber on his machine's flipper
Barbaric Response faced three returning machines to Robot Wars; Spirit of Scorpion, X-Terminator and Robochicken in Round 1 of Series 6. It attacked Spirit of Scorpion, but was pushed into the side wall. Escaping, it pushed Spirit of Scorpion into Dead Metal's CPZ. Not long after, Barbaric Response and Spirit of Scorpion were pinned together, with only Barbaric Response making some sluggish movements. X-Terminator then pitted Barbaric Response, but it was still through to the next round.
Barbaric Response clamps down
Firestorm flips Barbaric Response
Much to Zac Barber's dread, it was drawn against the 3rd seeds Firestorm 4. Barbaric Response activated the pit and flipped Firestorm, but did not overturn them. Barbaric tried to pin Firestorm down, but this allowed Firestorm to get underneath them and push them towards Growler. Barbaric Response dodged the House Robot, and managed to avoid being flipped by Firestorm for a short time. Firestorm eventually flipped them, only for Barbaric Response to self-right. After flipping Refbot, Firestorm 4 flipped Barbaric Response towards the pit, which they avoided, before flipping them onto the side wall, where it could not self-right. However, with no Refbot to end the fight officially, cease was called without any damage done to Barbaric Response.
- "Barbaric Response were too slow to respond..."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Extreme 2
Barbaric Response flips Mighty Mouse into Matilda's flywheel
Barbaric Response was involved in the Tag Team Terror, alongside Hydra, and together they faced Mighty Mouse and Velocirippa in Round 1.
Hydra and Velocirippa started this battle, and Hydra flipped Velocirippa twice before immobilizing it and pushing it onto the flames. Barbaric Response then chased Mighty Mouse and flipped it into Shunt, before pushing the Mouse into Matilda's flywheel tail. This immobilized Mighty Mouse, and Hydra pushed it into the pit.
Mini Morg rolls back onto its wheels
In Round 2, Hydra and Barbaric Response faced X-Terminator and Mini Morg. Hydra and X-Terminator started the battle, and Hydra flipped X-Terminator into Dead Metal, before Mini Morg lifted it. Barbaric Response then flipped Mini Morg, who rolled over, before pushing X-Terminator. It was Barbaric Response, however, who ended up in Dead Metal's pincers. Barbaric Response escaped and tagged Hydra, who flipped Mini Morg twice, and Mini Morg was immobilized by Growler. As one of the opponents was immobile at cease, the judges gave the win to Hydra and Barbaric Response.
Barbaric Response pins down Bulldog Breed
Robochicken immobilises Barbaric Response
This meant that the two machines were through to the final, where they faced Bulldog Breed and Robochicken. Hydra was flipped by the Bulldog, but Barbaric Response flipped the wedge shaped robot over, before self-righting Hydra. However, Barbaric Response broke down, and Bulldog Breed self-righted and flipped Hydra, who didn't have enough power to self-right. Both Hydra and Barbaric Response were damaged badly by Mr. Psycho, who used his hammer to smash the rear panel clean off Barbaric Response.
- "Up against Bulldog Breed, they've met the competition's finest individual machine"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Series 7
Barbaric Response caught in Kan-Opener's clutches
In the Series 7 eliminator, Barbaric Response was against Annihilator champions Kan-Opener and previous Round 1 drop-outs, Big Nipper and The Grim Reaper, who had not fought since Series 5 and Series 3 respectively. Barbaric Response slid underneath Big Nipper and tossed it a short distance across the arena. Kan-Opener then grabbed hold of Barbaric Response, while The Grim Reaper tried to flip it. Barbaric Response, still being gripped by Kan-Opener, was pushed around the arena. Big Nipper attacked Barbaric Response, which was still being held by Kan-Opener, despite the attempts by Growler to separate the machines. Kan-Opener tried to push Barbaric Response into the pit in the last few seconds, but Barbaric Response resisted and cease was called. The judges made their decision and eliminated Barbaric Response, along with Kan-Opener.
Results
| BARBARIC RESPONSE - RESULTS | ||
| Series 6 | ||
| The Sixth Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 2 | ||
| Heat B, Round 1 | vs. X-Terminator, Robochicken, Spirit of Scorpion | Qualified |
| Heat B, Round 2 | vs. Firestorm 4 (3) | Lost |
| Extreme Series 2 | ||
| Tag Team Terror Competing with Hydra, Runner-up | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Mighty Mouse & Velocirippa | Won |
| Round 2 | vs. X-Terminator & Mini Morg | Won |
| Final | vs. Bulldog Breed & Robochicken | Lost |
| Series 7 | ||
| The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
| Heat B, Round 1 | vs. Kan-Opener, Big Nipper, The Grim Reaper | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 3
- Losses: 3
Series Record
| Series | Barbaric Response Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fourth Wars | Did Not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Sixth Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
| The Seventh Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars
Barbaric Response still fights today and has done very well for an unchanged robot, taking out robots like the improved versions of Kronic the Wedgehog and Iron-Awe, and the team also fight with a featherweight named Barbaric Bruce.[4]
External Links
The Barbaric Response Website (Archived)
References
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