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For the unrelated Series 7 featherweight, see Cygnus X3.

"Mustn't swan about in its first Robot Wars!"
— Jonathan Pearce introduces Cygnus X-1

Cygnus X-1 was a competitor robot in Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars, which lost its only fight after being pushed around by the seeded S.M.I.D.S.Y. before being flipped over by Atomic.

Design[]

Cygnus X-1 S7

Official Series 7 photo

Cygnus X-1 was a grey wedge shape robot with strong, thick metal armour, giving the entire robot a robust nature. Cygnus X-1 ran on a two-wheel drive with bulky, central tyres. The robot was armed with a 10-bar rear-hinged flipper, which could flip a couple of 18 stone concrete blocks in testing. However, the robot's shape meant that this flipper could not self-right Cygnus X-1, directly leading to its combat loss after being overturned..

Etymology[]

Cygnus X-1 is the name of a well-known black hole in the Cygnus constellation. The word Cygnus itself is Latin for "swan." The meaning of the X-1 derivative in the name is unclear, but it was used to differentiate the robot from the similarly named but otherwise unrelated featherweight, Cygnus X3.

The Team[]

Cygnus X-1 was entered into Robot Wars by a three-man team from Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The team comprised Richard Comfort, Brian Burrows and Clive Hall.

Robot History[]

Series 7[]

Jayne Middlemiss: "What do you most dread in the arena?"
Cygnus X-1 Team: "The pit, definitely the pit!"
— Pre-battle interview

In its first ever battle, Cygnus X-1 was drawn against two experienced machines in Atomic and 13th seed S.M.I.D.S.Y., as well as Terror Turtle, who fought in the New Blood and Commonwealth Carnage tournaments in Extreme 2, but was a ffellow newcomer to the main competition.

Cygnus X-1 vs Terror Turtle

Cygnus X-1 briefly strands Terror Turtle

Atomic S.M.I.D.S.Y

Cygnus X-1 is turned over by Atomic

Cygnus X-1's battle started by having Terror Turtle launched towards it by Atomic, before it slid underneath Terror Turtle itself and used its flipper to briefly strand Terror Turtle on its side, as a ram from S.M.I.D.S.Y. knocked both machines aside. S.M.I.D.S.Y. then hassled Cygnus X-1, and just as it turned to defend itself from the seeded machine, Atomic charged in with a broadside flip which landed Cygnus X-1 upside down against the angle grinder. Cygnus X-1 used its flipper in an attempt to self-right, but could only push itself away from the angle grinder. Terror Turtle then climbed up Cygnus X-1 as it attacked its base, before the turtle was swiftly flipped out of the arena by Atomic. With Terror Turtle gone, S.M.I.D.S.Y. decided to attack the overturned Cygnus X-1, bundling it across the arena floor and into the side wall before it was also attacked by Atomic. Cygnus X-1's flipper activated again to try to right itself, but still found itself firmly propped against the arena wall. Two more flips from Atomic saw Cygnus X-1 roll onto its back, where it tried in vain one final time to get back onto its wheels, before Refbot completed his count out of the overturned machine.

Refbot counts out Cygnus X-1

Refbot counts out Cygnus X-1

"The wheels are turning on Cygnus but there's very little life in there."
— Jonathan Pearce as the overturned Cygnus X-1 fails to self-right

With Cygnus X-1's chances at progressing over, Shunt pushed it onto The Drop Zone where a television dropped onto it, before cease was called, and Cygnus X-1 was eliminated from the competition.

Results[]

CYGNUS X-1 - RESULTS
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship
Round 1
Heat G, Round 1 vs. Atomic, S.M.I.D.S.Y. (13), Terror Turtle Eliminated

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

Series Record[]

CygnusX1team

Cygnus X-1 with its team

Series Cygnus X-1 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 Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Heat, Round 1
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Trivia[]

  • Cygnus X-1 was the only robot in Series 7 defeated by Atomic that was not thrown out of the arena.
  • Despite the naming similarities and both robots coming from Milton Keynes, Cygnus X-1 has no connections to the featherweight competitor Cygnus X3 from the same series[1].

References[]

  1. Private correspondence between Drop Zone mk2 and John Barker

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