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For the Series 7 competitor, see Daisy-Cutter.

"...like no other robot I've ever seen..."
Philippa Forrester

Daisy Chopper was a competitor robot that fought in Series 3 of Robot Wars. It was only the second robot to compete in the UK series armed with a vertical flywheel weapon. Daisy Chopper lost in the heats to Griffon on a judges' decision in its only battle. The robot was entered by Team TFOSICA, who previously entered Series 2 with Caliban.

Design[]

Daisy Chopper (Series 3 or 4)

Daisy Chopper at the time of Series 3

Daisy Chopper was a large, two-wheeled robot with a top speed of 20mph and armed with a large 20kg vertical flywheel as its weapon. The flywheel, which was incorrectly referred to as a "circular saw" or "hammer" on the show, was driven by a starter motor from a hatchback car and spun at up to 600rpm.

The Team[]

DaisyChopperTeam

The team with Daisy Chopper

Daisy Chopper was built by Team TFOSICA. Team captain Eric Hodgins returned as the lead builder of the machine, and was joined by returning teammate Martin Beckett. New to the team was Eric Hodgins' son Neil, who had helped to build both of the team's machines.

When tending to Daisy Chopper in the pits, the team utilised axle stands and bricks to ensure the wheels were off the ground at all times, as a reaction to the official ruling for all roboteers.

Qualification[]

Team TFOSICA had previously competed in Series 2 with Caliban, and were registered to compete in the Third Wars with a machine named Caliban 2. It is not known whether Caliban 2 is a separate machine, or if it was an early version of Daisy Chopper before being renamed, but it was Daisy Chopper that Team TFOSICA entered into Series 3 and successfully auditioned for the main competition.

Daisy Chopper and its team are not confirmed to have made qualification attempts for any other series of Robot Wars. Roboteer Paul Sievers claims that it was reportedly present at the 2000 Robot Mayhem live event in an apparent bid to enter Series 4. However, it is unconfirmed whether the machine Sievers referred to was Daisy Chopper, or potentially the similarly-designed Tiny which attempted to qualify for the same series.[1]

Robot History[]

Series 3[]

Daisy Chopper was placed in Heat N of the Third Wars, and drawn against veteran Griffon in the first round.

"Isn't Daisy Chopper a strange looking thing? ...I had no understanding whatsoever when they tried to describe how it worked, looks like some great thing from the Industrial Revolution from a sewing mill or something"
Jonathan Pearce
RW3GriffonLiftDaisyChopper

Griffon lifts Daisy Chopper and rolls it over

In the battle, Daisy Chopper collided with Griffon, flipping itself over, before retreating across the arena. The two met again in the centre of the arena, where Griffon lifted Daisy Chopper over again. Daisy Chopper retreated again only to be lifted right over once more. This caused damage to one of Daisy Chopper's tyres, causing it to only be able to move in slow circles. Meanwhile Griffon was also suffering from control issues, making sharp movements after being bumped by the house robots.

"Oh now look at the tyre! Has one of the tyres there been lifted away from its wheelbase? Slightly, I think"
— Jonathan Pearce

Daisy Chopper then made contact with Griffon from behind, still unable to penetrate the latter's polycarbonate armour. Both robots continued to suffer drive problems, with Daisy Chopper still only able to spin in circles and Griffon struggling to move at all, before suddenly launching forwards into Sgt. Bash's CPZ. Griffon was then able to lift Sgt. Bash up, failing to flip it, before then charging into Dead Metal's CPZ, lifting it up from the front and taking grazes on its lifting arm from Dead Metal's saw blade. Daisy Chopper remained limping in the middle of the arena as time ran out, unable to reach Griffon in the CPZ.

"Thing is, that damage was caused by the house robots and not by Daisy Chopper, that could be as decisive as the fact that Daisy Chopper seemed immobilised, to me, at the end"
— Jonathan Pearce as Cease is called

The battle subsequently went to a judges' decision, with the judges unanimously voting for Griffon to go through to the second round. However, Team TFOSICA appealed against the decision, compelling the judges to enact a recount.

"He was immobilised for most of that match, we did get the attacks in on him, he did try and lift us but that didn't do anything, and although he did go for the house robots which is a good thing, he did drive into the patrol zones which is a bad thing so, it's so close it could go the other way this time."
— Neil Hodgins after the battle

After recalculating all of the battle criteria, the judges came to a split decision which went in favour of Griffon again, eliminating Daisy Chopper from the competition.

"I have the results, the judges have deliberated and sadly for you guys [Team TFOSICA], they have gone in favour 2-1 to the Griffon team... I do have here Combat sheets which are what the judges use when they're working stuff like this out, so they're quite happy for you to have a look at those, at the Damage, Aggression, Control and Style that they've marked you on"
— Philippa Forrester following the recount

Team TFOSICA were confirmed to have been a part in the show's first attempt to organise a Tag Team Terror style event following on from The Third Wars. Team Natural Disasters, who failed to qualify for the main series with their robot Typhoon, announced their involvement as well as confirming their partnership with Daisy Chopper. However, the event was ultimately cancelled due to a serious behind-the-scenes accident.

Results[]

DAISY CHOPPER - RESULTS
Series 3
The Third Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat N, Round 1 vs. Griffon Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

Series Record[]

Series Daisy Chopper Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Entered with Caliban
The Third Wars Heat, Round 1
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

At the Sevenoaks Charity Event in 1999, Daisy Chopper appeared with a swinging knife weapon and fought Ivanhoe 2.

Daisy Chopper also appeared at the Wilson School Fete in July 1999, its weapon was removed and put on display while the robot itself fought in a Melee against Miss Struts, Grunt, Eubank the Mouse and Typhoon, Mortis was also present at this event as a static display.

References[]

External Links[]

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