Dawn Patrol was a middleweight robot built by Al Kindle for the 1995 US Robot Wars competition. In its only appearance, it defeated Satoru Special 2 to reach the second round of the Middleweight Face-Off, before quickly losing against the eventual middleweight champion La Machine. Dawn Patrol was also among the competitors taking part in the Middleweight Melee, which La Machine won as well. Al Kindle would return the following year with lightweight entry The Enforcer.
Design[]
Dawn Patrol was a two-wheel drive robot with an 'arc welded' angle iron chassis, painted blue, and a front castor wheel. The plastic wheels themselves were repurposed from a Powerwheels Jeep ride-in car, each propelled by their own 'kiddie car' gearboxes and RS750 electric motors. An adjustable 'threaded rod' system protected the lower front corners, though the robot as a whole featured minimal armor.[1]
By far Dawn Patrol's most elaborate feature was its weaponry, consisting of three steel cutting discs arranged in a 'tri-delta' layout at the front. The discs themselves were belt-driven, powered by a 5hp Briggs & Stratton lawnmower engine. The robot as a whole was powered by two Trinity 6-cell sub "C" battery packs rated at 1700mA, in conjunction with two Novak 610 speed controllers and a six-channel Airtronics Vanguard RC helicopter radio system.[1]
Robot History[]
1995 US Championship[]
In the first round of the Middleweight Face-Off, Dawn Patrol faced Satoru Special 2.
Dawn Patrol slowly charged towards Satoru Special 2, which turned around to defend itself, backing into the sawblades of Dawn Patrol. Both robots backed away and swerved around the arena, chasing each other, making minimal contact. Eventually, Dawn Patrol caught up and reversed into Satoru Special 2, pushing it into an arena mousetrap, which slapped down hitting the two robots. The two robots backed away as Satoru Special 2 span its turret around and started slicing at Dawn Patrol causing sparks to fly as Dawn Patrol attempted to push back, instead the two going into circles. Both robots then began to chase each other across the arena, neither gaining a purchase over the other before finally tackling one another, driving into Cambot in the process.
Dawn Patrol applied pressure to Satoru Special 2, pushing it between the arena mousetrap and the stationary Cambot. As Cambot moved away, Satoru Special 2 started to slice at Dawn Patrol again, however, the robot survived and continued pushing Satoru Special 2 further between the floor flipper and the mousetrap. After several moments of pressure, both robots backed away towards the middle of the arena. Dawn Patrol lingered as Satoru Special 2 circled about before crashing into the side wall, seemingly having some control issues. The battle would come to an end and Dawn Patrol was awarded the victory[2].
In the second round, Dawn Patrol faced La Machine. Immediately, La Machine charged across the arena and bashed directly into Dawn Patrol, throwing it upwards before turning and slamming Dawn Patrol against a side wall where Dawn Patrol was side stranded[3].
Dawn Patrol returned for the Middleweight Melee, fighting Satoru Special 2 and La Machine once again. The three machines were joined by other returning competitors from the Face-Off, comprising of The X-1, Have a Nice Day, StingRayBot and Boy Howdy.
Before the match began, Have a Nice Day started its weapon up and began smoking internally, practically rendering it immobilised from the start. La Machine charged from one end of the arena to the other, missing all opponents in its attempts to attack the already smoking Have a Nice Day, and slamming into the arena side wall as Boy Howdy bashed the backend of it. The X-1 charged across the arena, smashing into Dawn Patrol who was caught by the arena mouse trap as La Machine and Boy Howdy both came in and committed a pincer movement on Dawn Patrol. However, La Machine shunted both robots, toppling Boy Howdy over on its side before slamming Dawn Patrol further, slamming it towards Satoru Special 2 and StingRayBot, the latter immobilised from the start. The X-1 began to lift the immobilised StingRayBot while Satoru Special 2 slowly sped away from the clash, La Machine began to attack Dawn Patrol again, getting under and shunting it. As this happened, the arena mousetrap managed to flip Boy Howdy back onto its wheels, allowing it back into the fight while La Machine began slamming into Satoru Special 2, turning around and crashing it into Dawn Patrol and Boy Howdy, toppling the wooden robot over, eliminating Satoru Special 2 from the melee. Boy Howdy started shoving Dawn Patrol across the arena, who was drifting by seemingly losing all mobility, Boy Howdy continued to assault Dawn Patrol, slamming into it and pressuring it into the arena side wall behind the Cambot and near the toppled Satoru Special 2, however, La Machine barged in and slammed into the two robots, causing Dawn Patrol to become temporarily immobilised.
La Machine chose its next target in the already immobilised Have a Nice Day, scooping it up and shunting it into an arena mouse trap and Dawn Patrol slowly approached only for The X-1 and La Machine to bot into it, pushing it into the arena mousetrap. The two continued to pressure Dawn Patrol, with Boy Howdy joining the mix, which caused La Machine to become distracted and start attacking the red robot instead, while The X-1 began to lift Dawn Patrol upwards and attempted to topple it over, with the arena mousetrap slamming down on both robots. Meanwhile, Boy Howdy chased La Machine who was more interested in attacking the immobile StingRayBot, pushing it aside and shunting it across the arena and leaving it by the flipped Satoru Special 2 before clashing with Boy Howdy again. The two robots chased one another, spinning around the top half of the arena, Boy Howdy sat and span to keep La Machine away, but the silver wedge was able to slip under and thrust Boy Howdy into the arena side wall, and then into the corner.
Once disposed of, La Machine went after the current stuck together Dawn Patrol and The X-1, spinning on the spot and observing the two stuck machines, going to the arena corner, warming up a charge towards the two slamming both robots. La Machine backed off and crashed into the two robots, before scooping up Have a Nice Day and bashing it to the side wall, before attacking Boy Howdy, which had managed to slowly drift across the arena. La Machine finally, finished off Boy Howdy by toppling it sideways against the arena mousetrap side, where it was wedged as The X-1 started moving with Dawn Patrol left into the air with its lifter, showing off the defeated robot. As The X-1 was the only other robot mobile, La Machine began to assault it, slamming several time, which allowed Dawn Patrol to finally be freed but it was going nowhere, having been knocked immobile in the duration of the lifting attack.
Results[]
| DAWN PATROL - RESULTS | ||
| 1995 US Championship | ||
| Middleweight Face-Off Round 2 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Satoru Special 2 | Won |
| Round 2 | vs. La Machine | Lost |
| Middleweight Melee Lost | ||
| Middleweight Melee | vs. La Machine, The X-1, Have a Nice Day, StingRayBot, Satoru Special 2 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
| Events | Dawn Patrol Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Did not enter |
| 1995 | Middleweight Face-Off, Round 2 Middleweight Melee |
| 1996 | Entered with The Enforcer |
| 1997 | Did not enter |
References[]
External Links[]
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