Corporal Punishment was Adam Clark's entry for Series 2 and 3 of Robot Wars. It had the longest career out of Clark's robots, reaching the Arena Semi-Final stage in Series 2, only to be eliminated in the first round in Series 3 after losing a split Judges' decision to Ally Gator.
Design[]
- "Corporal Punishment was finished well before the event and it was clear that Adam had had lots of practice at driving. CP was very manouverable and fast due to it's Vantec speedo and 24V industrial motors with build in gearboxes. All of the vital electronics bits were housed on a floating plate within the robot as a shock mount. The shell was also shock mounted against impacts, it's a shame the front scoop wasn't as it was easily bent in even the lightest impacts."
- — Oliver Steeples on Corporal Punishment in Series 2[1]
Corporal Punishment was a silver aluminium box shaped-robot with an independently strung chassis, featuring a lifting scoop which doubled as a ramming device and reportedly cost £50 to construct. The scoop was made out of wire frame in Series 2, before being made into a smooth plate for Series 3; in the latter series, the weapon also incorporated linear actuators. The robot had a two-wheel drive system and a zero-degree turning circle. Adam Clark's website refers to the Series 3 version as Corporal Punishment II[2].
- "The lifting mechanism was set to automatic lift/drop which seemed a bit strange as it the amount of travel (4"?) but I supposed he only wanted to lift the other robots off the ground. Strangely CP was one of the other/the other robot to use a linear actuator. I'm sure that CP went faster than 15mph and I'm positive it cost more than 50 pounds to build."
- — Oliver Steeples praises Corporal Punishment[3]
Qualification[]
Corporal Punishment successfully entered Series 2 through taking part in the auditions. It repeated this in Series 3, despite failing the 'driving test' after Adam Clark misinterpreted the instructions he had been given to clear the course.
- "All went well but I failed every driving test, I totally ignored the guy and just went for it. Although I did manage to stick the ball in the goal and the goal into the wall. Having a go at the ramp I thought meant "see if you can shove it through the barrier". Managed to push the breeze blocks and concrete blocks out over that concrete bar and whilst attempting to exit the arena through the barriers was told that my test session was been stopped :( "
- — Adam Clark on Corporal Punishment's Series 3 audition[4]
During Series 3, Clark and David Dempster also attempted to enter their new robot, Bone, alongside Corporal Punishment. However, Bone would ultimately not be selected to compete in the main competition.
Robot History[]
Series 2[]
- Philippa Forrester: "You haven't got much clearance on this, is that going to make the ramp difficult?"
- Adam Clark: "After last wars, we don't do ramps"
- — Adam Clark's resolution
Corporal Punishment was well driven into the Gauntlet, negotiating the ramrig but running into Dead Metal, who shoved it right back. However, Corporal Punishment dodged and ran to the end zone, the first to complete it in the heat.
In the Sumo, Corporal Punishment ran into Shunt's side, tires screeching in the heave. Shunt reversed away and fell off the edge, leaving Corporal Punishment victorious. Corporal Punishment had won the Sumo event in a faster time than Panic Attack, and progressed to the head-to-heads having placed first in both stages so far.
Against Disruptor, Corporal Punishment ran into the circular saw with its scoop, before reversing into the black wedge and pushing. However, it reversed into the CPZ and was immediately attacked by Matilda, Shunt and Sergeant Bash. Corporal Punishment resisted the damage, and escaped to ram Disruptor several more times. The battle went to the judges, with Corporal Punishment eliminated on the close decision.
- Philippa Forrester: "You didn't metre out the corporal punishment, you took it."
- Adam Clark: "Yeah, we had a problem with the grills. Got bent underneath after we'd hit them to hard a few times. We only got reverse, and the only way to reverse was into the House Robots..."
- — After the battle
Corporal Punishment also participated in the Internet Insurrection, during The Grudge Matches special later on in the series. Corporal Punishment was placed up against Bodyhammer, Griffon and Killerhurtz. In the battle, Corporal Punishment started sluggishly, but joined Griffon in attacking the house robots. After Sergeant Bash was flipped by Griffon, Corporal Punishment was pinned down by the heavy remains of the overturned house robot. Adam Clark's machine couldn't break free, and was deemed immobilised, eliminating it from the battle.
At the end of the series, Corporal Punishment was nominated for the Sportsmanship Award but lost out to Plunderbird 2.
Series 3[]
Corporal Punishment returned for the Third Wars, replacing the wire frame scoop with a solid plate. In the first round of the main competition, Corporal Punishment was drawn up against a newcomer to Robot Wars in Ally Gator.
In the battle, Ally Gator slid beneath Corporal Punishment almost straight away, keeping its wheels off the ground for the entirety of the battle, Corporal Punishment was unable to break free, and Ally Gator couldn't take the advantage and finish off Adam Clark's machine, making for a very dull bout. Towards the end of the battle, house robots Matilda and Sir Killalot tried to free Corporal Punishment from the top of Ally Gator, but were unable to do so. After the match had ended, Sir Killalot freed and overturned Corporal Punishment. The battle went to a judges' decision, which in a 2-1 split, which Craig Charles found controversial, declared Ally Gator the victor.
Results[]
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT - RESULTS | ||
Series 2 | ||
The Second Wars - UK Championship Heat Semi-Final | ||
Heat F, Gauntlet | Completed (1st) | Qualified |
Heat F, Trial (Sumo) | Victorious (1st) | Qualified |
Heat F, Arena Semi-Final | vs. Disruptor | Lost |
The Grudge Matches Internet Insurrection | ||
Internet Insurrection | vs. Bodyhammer, Killerhurtz, Griffon | Lost |
Series 3 | ||
The Third Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
Heat H, Round 1 | vs. Ally Gator | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
NOTE: Corporal Punishment's successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included
Series Record[]
Main Series | Corporal Punishment Series Record |
---|---|
The First Wars | Entered with Vector of Armageddon |
The Second Wars | Heat, Arena Semi-Final |
The Third Wars | Heat, Round 1 Not selected with Bone |
The Fourth Wars | Missed qualifiers with Twister |
The Fifth Wars | Entered with Wowot |
The Sixth Wars | Entered with 259 |
The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
Series 1 | Did not enter |
Series 2 | Entered with 259 (Middleweight) |
NOTE: 259-Horizontal and The Skinner may have attempted to enter Series 7 and 9 respectively, but this is not confirmed
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Corporal Punishment, along with Nemesis in Series 1 and Razer in Series 2, is one of three robots to finish the Gauntlet and Trial in first place, but then lose in the Arena Semi-Final. Robot the Bruce, Demolition Demon and All Torque also finished the Gauntlet and Trial in first place, but they all won their Arena Semi-Final.
- Oliver Steeples claimed that it was armed with a chainsaw, but this was never seen, so it may have been mistaken with another robot.
Honours[]
Nominations
- Sportsmanship Award - Robot Wars: The Second Wars
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160108201853/http://freespace.virgin.net/oliver.steeples/enter.htm
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20030728151159/http://www.dmachine.tv/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160108201853/http://freespace.virgin.net/oliver.steeples/enter.htm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010518150324/http://www.tinweb.com:80/discus/messages/350/1655.html?FridayAugust2719990143am
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