- "If we can't defeat them with sheer brute force, we'll cute them to death."
- — Sandor Nagyszalanczy
Draggon Waggin' was a featherweight robot which competed in the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. It lost in the opening round of the Featherweight Face-Off championship against P.A.T., despite its opponent almost disqualifying itself from the battle. This head-to-head was among the fights highlighted in the American Robot Wars 1996 VHS, where Draggon Waggin' was erroneously captioned as Dragon Wagon. Draggon Waggin' also competed in the Featherweight Melee tournament, but did not progress to the final after again being pressured into immobilization by its opponents.[1]
Design[]

Draggon Waggin' with its team
Draggon Waggin' was an octagonal, wedged box-shaped robot with angled sides, utilizing a 'bulletproof' bodyshell made from Vacuform polycarbonate. It adopted an orange-red, yellow and white paint scheme, with patterns suggesting it to be a cross between a dragon and a dog.
As its primary offense, Draggon Waggin' was fitted with a pneumatic 'articulated jaw', decorated with sets of four teeth on either side. The panel beneath the jaw was painted to resemble the 'mouth' of the 'dragon', further emphasizing its purpose to clamp and control opponents. Though never mentioned as having this capability by the team, the jaw operated similarly to rear-hinged lifters and flippers that would later become prevalent in the televised Robot Wars series.
As a secondary feature, Draggon Waggin' sported a 'wagging tail' powered by a separate servo motor, inspiring part of its original name. Beneath the shell, Sandor Nagyszalanczy and his team took a simplistic approach to its drive system, itself a repurposed remote-control monster truck. Offering four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, this gave Draggon Waggin' good speed and control, though its turning circle still proved large enough for certain opponents to exploit. While recognized as a 'crowd favorite' due to its design, it also suffered from fragility in combat.[1]
Robot History[]
1996 US Championship[]
In the first round of the Featherweight Face-Off championship, Draggon Waggin' faced P.A.T., in a 'Dual Match' alongside Melvin vs Mad Dog.

P.A.T. rams Draggon Waggin' into the side wall
Immediately, it raised its upper jaw, though the fight started off slow as both robots tentatively circled around each other. Draggon Waggin' chased P.A.T., but could not take advantage as the latter bumped into the right-most wall. It narrowly avoided getting collected by Melvin, which was in the process of pushing Mad Dog over the moving wall section.[2]
Draggon Waggin' was rammed and briefly pinned from the right-rear corner by P.A.T., despite its attempts to "snap" its jaw down. Moments later, it was collected and rammed into the side wall, the impact breaking the aluminum strut connecting the shell of Draggon Waggin' to its chassis. Draggon Waggin' was beached as a result and effectively immobilized. Seconds later, P.A.T. spun behind an arena flipper, then underneath the entry/exit doors, briefly facing disqualification from the battle. While this would have given Draggon Waggin' a reprieve, P.A.T. was pushed back into the combat zone by a few roboteers. Despite its opponent having gone out of arena bounds, Draggon Waggin' was eliminated from the Featherweight Face-Off tournament.[1][2]
Draggon Waggin' later returned for the Featherweight Melee competition. It was again drawn against P.A.T. in its preliminary round, the duo facing Bite Me, Edgar the Hate Bug, Gigan, Mad Dog, Nezumi and Ziggy.[3][4]
In the opening moments, Draggon Waggin' brushed past Mad Dog and Nezumi, as the latter two engaged in a tussle with Gigan. It then bumped the upper-left wall and P.A.T., again raising its jaw to try and clamp its Face-Off foe. Mad Dog pushed both robots a short distance before Draggon Waggin' broke free, only to be launched into the air by a high-speed ram from Ziggy. This was enough for Draggon Waggin' to find itself pinned between the upper-left flipper and Mad Dog, where it remained for several seconds. Draggon Waggin' escaped to shove the recently-immobilized Gigan, collecting Nezumi in the process. Snapping its jaw shut as it reversed, it attempted to lure Nezumi towards the upper mousetrap, in a sequence partially highlighted in American Robot Wars 1996.[3][4]
Draggon Waggin' raced towards the other side of the arena, crashing into the right-most wall. Recovering, it dodged an attempted ram by P.A.T., driving in circles around and stopping next to Gigan. Jaw raised, Draggon Waggin' crept beside and reversed in pursuit of Bite Me, which in turn was pushing Nezumi and P.A.T. across the arena. Draggon Waggin' briefly pressured the incapacitated Gigan, only to be scooped up and pushed towards the lower mousetrap by P.A.T.. The mousetrap net descended on both featherweights as they separated. Draggon Waggin' drove to the top-right, then back to the top-left corner, taking a swipe from the flipper paddle in the process. P.A.T. capitalized by ramming Draggon Waggin' into the right-most wall, almost turning it over in the process. Draggon Waggin' slid off before both robots rammed each other on their way back to the left perimeter.[3][4]
After dodging another ram attempt by P.A.T., Draggon Waggin' circled around the right-most perimeter. However, it would again be scooped up and pushed into the upper-right flipper by the Team UCSB machine, which in turn was rammed by a chasing Bite Me. Draggon Waggin' was jostled to the side upon impact. Seemingly dishevelled and wagging its tail in vain, it remained in the top-right corner as both of its opponents eventually escaped. Draggon Waggin' was immobilized once again as a result, and would not qualify for the Featherweight Melee Final. Ironically, neither of its opponents would progress either, as all robots were eventually deemed to have become immobilized or pinned by the Melee's later stages.[3][4]
Results[]
DRAGGON WAGGIN' - RESULTS | ||
1996 US Championship | ||
Featherweight Face-Off Round 1 | ||
Round 1 | vs. P.A.T. | Lost |
Featherweight Melee Round 1 | ||
Melee | vs. Bite Me, Edgar the Hate Bug, Gigan, Mad Dog, Nezumi, P.A.T., Ziggy |
All robots immobilized |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
Events | Draggon Waggin' Event Record |
---|---|
1994 | Did not enter |
1995 | Did not enter |
1996 | Featherweight Face-Off, Round 1 Featherweight Melee, Round 1 |
1997 | Did not enter |
Trivia[]
- Sandor Nagyszalanczy was Hungarian-born and is a writer as well as professional furniture designer.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'DRAGGON WAGGIN'' Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Robot Wars 1996: Featherweight Dual Match 3', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded December 16 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Robot Wars 1996: Featherweight Melee 5', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded January 13 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 'Robot Wars 1996 - Featherweight Melee 3', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded July 28 2008
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