Changes: Black and Blue

Revision as of 15:45, 17 July 2020

"A new robot and a clusterbot too, that means double trouble!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Black and Blue

Black and Blue was a clusterbot built by TeamMouseTrap, and their entry for Series 7 of Robot Wars. It was eliminated in the first round in its only appearance, after one half was immobilised by Daisy-Cutter and the other was pitted by Firestorm 5.

Design

Black and Blue was a clusterbot consisting of a pair of identical two-wheeled, invertible box-shaped robots. Each half was armed with a 20kg, 6000rpm spinning drum, and as their names implied were painted black and blue respectively. While Black and Blue's drums had plenty of destructive potential, both halves were considerably smaller than their opponents and had a high ground clearance, which Firestorm 5 easily exploited during the robot's only battle.

Etymology

The robot's name was derived from the expression 'beaten black and blue'. Individually, each clusterbot was named Black and Blue respectively, with the colour-scheme to match.

The Team

Main article: Team MouseTrap

Black and Blue was entered by Team MouseTrap, best-known for their heat-winning robot MouseTrap, and the team still wore vermin killer costumes to match their team name, despite the lack of a vermin theme in their new robot. The father-and-son duo of Stan and Jason Launchbury each drove half of their machine in battle.

Robot History

Series 7

"One twenty kilo 6000rpm rotating drum in each cluster robot. Dual attached capability. Easy to push around though, and when one half has gone, as he [Jason Launchbury] says, the whole lot's gone."

— Jonathan Pearce giving his summary on Black and Blue

Black and Blue competed in Heat P of Series 7, and faced newcomers Daisy-Cutter, former Dutch Grand Finalist Bamm Bamm and the second seed Firestorm 5 in its first round battle.

Firestorm 5 flips Blue and Bamm Bamm together

Daisy Cutter Black and Blue — Black is attacked by Daisy-Cutter

Both halves separated almost immediately and attempted to attack Firestorm 5, with Black being thrown over by the latter's flipper. Blue was then simultaneously axed by Bamm Bamm and flipped by Firestorm 5, with Bamm Bamm also being flipped over at the same time. Black continued to be flipped around by Firestorm 5, with Blue getting wedged against an angle grinder and both halves lingering close to the wall as Daisy-Cutter slammed into Black, immobilising it.

Firestorm Black and Blue — Blue is slid down into the pit

"Look, it looks a minnow, doesn't it? Altogether, Black and Blue weighs ninety-nine kilos. Altogether though... don't forget that. There they are... two little 'uns, against the spinning machine that is Daisy-Cutter. Now that looks a good machine."

— Jonathan Pearce observes Black and Blue's small size as they sustain attacks from Firestorm 5 and Daisy Cutter

Blue and Daisy-Cutter proceeded to hit each other with their spinning weapons, with Blue appearing to lose mobility as well before Firestorm 5 got underneath and gingerly pushed it into the pit. With one half officially pitted and the other immobilised, Black and Blue was eliminated from the Seventh Wars, along with Bamm Bamm.

"One goes. Both go. All together, over and out. Black and Blue."

— Jonathan Pearce

Results

BLACK AND BLUE - RESULTS
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1
Heat P, Round 1	vs. Bamm Bamm, Daisy-Cutter, Firestorm 5 (2)	Eliminated

Wins/Losses

Wins: 0
Losses: 1

Series Record

Main Series	Black and Blue Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Entered with Triterobot
The Fourth Wars	Entered with MouseTrap
The Fifth Wars	Entered with MouseTrap
The Sixth Wars	Failed to qualify with Mutant MouseTrap
The Seventh Wars	Heat, Round 1
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Entered with MouseTrap
Series 2	Did not enter

Trivia

Black and Blue S7 — Official Series 7 photo

Black and Blue was one of only four heavyweight clusterbots to appear in any version of the original Robot Wars. The others were Gemini, Psycho Chicken and √3².
Black and Blue is one of only four clusterbots to never win a televised battle, the others being the antweight Legion, the Series 8 version of Terror Turtle and Meggamouse.
- As of Series 9, Black and Blue is one of three clusterbots not to have at least survived to a judges' decision.
Both halves of Black and Blue share a slight resemblance to the American robot Death Drum.
When considering MouseTrap's previous series performance, Black and Blue was one of two former UK Semi-Finalists to enter Series 7 unseeded, along with King B Powerworks. Both teams had failed to qualify for Series 6.
When Black and Blue entered the arena for its first round melee, Jonathan Pearce stated it was a new robot despite it being from a veteran which he mentioned during the battle itself.
The Blue clusterbot had no relation to the Dutch Series 1 competitor of the same name and the Black clusterbot had no relation to 13 Black.
Black and Blue was a bit similar to Crackers 'n' Smash in that they were smaller than their opponents they fought and they both lost to a robot with a flipper that won an international event - Firestorm won the Extreme 2 Commonwealth Carnage and Apollo and Eruption both won the two World Series specials.
Black and Blue was the only robot from Team MouseTrap not to fight Evil Weevil, as that robot did not appear after Series 4, though its captain Kevin Pritchard rejoined the Panic Attack team.
Black and Blue was the last clusterbot to appear in the original series.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |robot_name=Black and Blue
 |image=[[File:Black&Blue.png|200px]]
-|caption=Black and Blue
 |series=7
-|team=[[Team Mousetrap]]
+|team=[[TeamMouseTrap]]
 |team_members=Stan Launchbury<br/>Jason Launchbury
+|from=Fishponds, Bristol
-|other_entries=[[Triterobot]]<br/><small>(Series 3)</small><br/>[[Mousetrap]]<br/><small>(Series 4-5, Extreme 1)</small><br/>
+|stats=Blackandblue stats.png
 |weight=99kg
 |dimensions=0.13m x 0.47m x 0.65m
 |clearance=
-|power=2 x 1KW electric motors
+|drive=2x 1kW electric motors
 |weapons=Spinning drums
 }}
-{{quote|A clusterbot...that means double trouble|[[Jonathan Pearce]] as Black and Blue enter the arena}}
+{{quote|A new robot and a clusterbot too, that means double trouble!|[[Jonathan Pearce]] introduces Black and Blue}}
-'''Black and Blue''' was Team Mousetrap's entry for [[Series 7]] of ''[[Robot Wars]]''. It was a clusterbot - each machine a small invertible box with a 20kg 6000RPM spinning drum. As the name suggests, one robot was black, and the other robot was blue. However, they were rather small for what their weight suggested, and were very easy to push around as [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] found out during their only battle in the main competition.
+'''Black and Blue''' was a [[clusterbot]] built by [[TeamMouseTrap]], and their entry for [[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars|Series 7]] of ''[[Robot Wars]]''. It was eliminated in the first round in its only appearance, after one half was immobilised by [[Daisy-Cutter]] and the other was pitted by [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]].
+==Design==
-Team Mousetrap had previously entered with [[Triterobot]] in Series 3 and the more successful [[Mousetrap]] in Series 4, 5 and the first series of Extreme. Team Mousetrap also failed to qualify for Series 6 with [[Mutant Mousetrap]].
+[[File:BlackAlone.jpg|thumb|left|Black on its own]]
+Black and Blue was a [[clusterbot]] consisting of a pair of identical two-wheeled, invertible box-shaped robots. Each half was armed with a 20kg, 6000rpm spinning drum, and as their names implied were painted black and blue respectively. While Black and Blue's drums had plenty of destructive potential, both halves were considerably smaller than their opponents and had a high ground clearance, which [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] easily exploited during the robot's only battle.
+===Etymology===
+The robot's name was derived from the expression 'beaten black and blue'. Individually, each clusterbot was named '''Black''' and '''Blue''' respectively, with the colour-scheme to match.
+==The Team==
+{{Main|Team MouseTrap}}
+Black and Blue was entered by Team MouseTrap, best-known for their heat-winning robot [[MouseTrap]], and the team still wore vermin killer costumes to match their team name, despite the lack of a vermin theme in their new robot. The father-and-son duo of Stan and Jason Launchbury each drove half of their machine in battle.
 ==Robot History==
 ===Series 7===
+{{quote|One twenty kilo 6000rpm rotating drum in each cluster robot. Dual attached capability. Easy to push around though, and when one half has gone, as he [Jason Launchbury] says, the whole lot's gone.|Jonathan Pearce giving his summary on Black and Blue}}
+Black and Blue competed in Heat P of Series 7, and faced newcomers [[Daisy-Cutter]], former Dutch Grand Finalist [[Bamm Bamm]] and the second seed [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] in its first round battle.
-In the final heat of the Seventh Wars, Black and Blue were placed up against newcomers [[Daisy Cutter]], Dutch representitives [[Bamm Bamm]] and the number 2 seeds [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] in the first round melee. The battle started very quickly with Firestorm 5 immediately flipping Black. Firestorm 5 then attacked Blue whilst Bamm Bamm used its axe against Blue. Both Blue and Bamm Bamm were flipped over, but being invertible, this didn't affect Blue. Black was then flipped up again by Firestorm 5, then Black was flipped into its twin. Daisy-Cutter then hit Black and Black appeared to stop moving, Blue meanwhile looked to be stuck on the arena wall. Firestorm 5 meanwhile had pitted Bamm Bamm. Daisy-Cutter nudged Blue towards the pit of oblvion, and Firestorm 5 pushed it in. As Blue was out of the running, this meant that Black was as well, because if one half of a clusterbot is immobilised, both halves are eliminated from the competition. Black, however, had already been immobilised by Daisy-Cutter, so Blue's pitting was only the conclusion as cease was then immediately called, signalling the elimination of Black and Blue.
+[[File:Firestorm 5 flips Blue and Bamm Bamm.JPG|thumb|left|Firestorm 5 flips Blue and Bamm Bamm together]]
+[[File:Daisy Cutter Black and Blue.jpg|thumb|Black is attacked by Daisy-Cutter]]
+Both halves separated almost immediately and attempted to attack Firestorm 5, with Black being thrown over by the latter's flipper. Blue was then simultaneously axed by Bamm Bamm and flipped by Firestorm 5, with Bamm Bamm also being flipped over at the same time. Black continued to be flipped around by Firestorm 5, with Blue getting wedged against an angle grinder and both halves lingering close to the wall as Daisy-Cutter slammed into Black, immobilising it.
+[[File:Firestorm_Black_and_Blue.jpg|thumb|Blue is slid down into the pit]]
+{{quote|Look, it looks a minnow, doesn't it? Altogether, Black and Blue weighs ninety-nine kilos. Altogether though... don't forget that. There they are... two little 'uns, against the spinning machine that is Daisy-Cutter. Now that looks a good machine.|[[Jonathan Pearce]] observes Black and Blue's small size as they sustain attacks from Firestorm 5 and Daisy Cutter}}
+Blue and Daisy-Cutter proceeded to hit each other with their spinning weapons, with Blue appearing to lose mobility as well before Firestorm 5 got underneath and gingerly pushed it into the pit. With one half officially pitted and the other immobilised, Black and Blue was eliminated from the Seventh Wars, along with Bamm Bamm.
+{{quote|One goes. Both go. All together, over and out. Black and Blue.|Jonathan Pearce}}
 ==Results==
@@ Line 27: / Line 43: @@
 {{Show|Series 7}}
 {{Competition|The Seventh Wars - UK Championship|Heat, Round 1}}
-{{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat P|Heat P]], Round 1|[[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] ''(2)'', [[Bamm Bamm]], [[Daisy-Cutter]]|Eliminated}}
+{{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat P|Heat P, Round 1]]|[[Bamm Bamm]], [[Daisy-Cutter]], [[Firestorm|Firestorm 5]] ''(2)''|Eliminated}}
 |}
@@ Line 35: / Line 51: @@
 ==Series Record==
+[[File:BlueAlone.jpg|thumb|Blue on its own]]
-*Series 1-2: Did not enter
+{{Series Record EX|Black and Blue|Did not enter|Did not enter|Entered with [[Triterobot]]|Entered with [[MouseTrap]]|Entered with [[MouseTrap]]|Failed to qualify with [[Mutant MouseTrap]]|'''Heat, Round 1'''|Did not enter|Did not enter|Did not enter|Entered with [[MouseTrap]]}}
-*Series 3: Entered with [[Triterobot]]
-*Series 4-5: Entered with [[Mousetrap]]
-*Series 6: Failed to qualify with [[Mutant Mousetrap]]
-*Series 7: Heat, Round 1
 ==Trivia==
+[[File:Black and Blue S7.png|thumb|Official Series 7 photo]]
-*Black and Blue was one of only two previous Semi-Finalists that was not seeded for the Seventh Wars, the other being [[King B Powerworks]].
-*Black and Blue was the only clusterbot in either of the final two main competitions of Robot Wars, it was also one of only two heavyweight clusterbots to appear on the televised show, the other being [[Gemini]].
+*Black and Blue was one of only four heavyweight clusterbots to appear in any version of the original ''Robot Wars''. The others were [[Gemini]], [[Psycho Chicken]] and [[√3²]].
-*Black and Blue is the only clusterbot not to win a battle or survive to a judges' decision.
+*Black and Blue is one of only four clusterbots to never win a televised battle, the others being the antweight [[Legion]], the Series 8 version of [[Terror Turtle]] and [[Meggamouse]].
+**As of Series 9, Black and Blue is one of three clusterbots not to have at least survived to a [[Judges|judges' decision]].
+*Both halves of Black and Blue share a slight resemblance to the American robot [http://battlebots.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Drum Death Drum].
+*When considering [[MouseTrap]]'s previous series performance, Black and Blue was one of two former UK Semi-Finalists to enter Series 7 unseeded, along with [[King Buxton|King B Powerworks]]. Both teams had failed to qualify for Series 6.
+*When Black and Blue entered the arena for its first round melee, Jonathan Pearce stated it was a new robot despite it being from a veteran which he mentioned during the battle itself.
+*The Blue clusterbot had no relation to the [[Blue|Dutch Series 1 competitor of the same name]] and the Black clusterbot had no relation to [[13 Black]].
+*Black and Blue was a bit similar to [[Crackers 'n' Smash]] in that they were smaller than their opponents they fought and they both lost to a robot with a flipper that won an international event - [[Firestorm]] won the [[Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2/Commonwealth Carnage|Extreme 2 Commonwealth Carnage]] and [[Apollo]] and [[Eruption]] both won the two [[Robot Wars: World Series|World Series specials]].
+*Black and Blue was the only robot from Team MouseTrap not to fight [[Evil Weevil]], as that robot did not appear after Series 4, though its captain Kevin Pritchard rejoined the [[Panic Attack]] team.
+*Black and Blue was the last clusterbot to appear in the original series.
 {{Series 7 Competitors}}
 [[Category:UK Series competitors]]
 [[Category:Clusterbots]]
-[[Category:One-time Losers]]
-[[Category:Robots that only fought in Series 7]]
 [[Category:Robots from Bristol]]
 [[Category:Robots with Drums]]
 [[Category:Invertible Robots]]
+[[Category:Robots which lost their only battle]]
+[[Category:Robots which only fought in Series 7]]