- "Driven by two 12v wheelchair motors, this nippy rodent travels at 15mph and threatens all opponents with a mean right hook, left cross combination!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Eubank the Mouse
Eubank the Mouse (originally named The Mouse and alternatively referred to as Mouse during exhibition displays) was a lightweight stock robot which competed in Series 1 of Robot Wars. Originally built by Derek Foxwell for the 1995 UK Open Competition, it was entered along with WYSIWYG and Grunt to help make up for a shortage of genuine competitors. In its Heat, Eubank the Mouse successfully qualified for the Snooker Trial, only to be eliminated after suffering an alleged malfunction. The effect of this allowed T.R.A.C.I.E. to progress to the Arena Semi-Final stage, despite Eubank the Mouse being mobile for longer.
Selected highlights of The Mouse's 1995 UK Open run were featured in the Robot Wars: The First Great War home video release, which otherwise lacked any substantial coverage of its later Series 1 incarnation.
Design[]

Eubank the Mouse in Series 1
As each of its names suggested, Eubank the Mouse was a grey lightweight robot with a tetrahedron-based pyramid shape,[1] along with a smaller pyramid-shaped head designed to resemble that of a mouse. In televised appearances, the robot was further decorated with a red nose and pair of spectacles on the mouse's head; along with two flexible arms with boxing gloves attached to the end, as a reference to its namesake. While Eubank the Mouse largely had no weapons, both arms were referred to as such on its statistics board, as a 'Right Hook & Left Cross'. Internally, the robot had a two-wheel drive system powered by batteries and 12V wheelchair motors. Both drive wheels were placed at the back of the base frame, with steering provided by a swivelling third wheel at the front.

The base and internals of Eubank the Mouse, on display during filming sessions for a later series

The Mouse in the 1995 UK Open Competition
With a top speed of 15mph, Eubank the Mouse was one of the fastest competitors in Series 1, and one of the lightest at 20kg. A zero-degree turning circle also made it highly manoeuvrable across the arena, although the robot occasionally suffered from top-heaviness and stability issues. A particular example of the latter is demonstrated during Eubank the Mouse's televised introduction, which showed it accidentally careering off the ramp on the centre Gauntlet route.
The Mouse, as originally completed for the 1995 UK Open, was adorned with a similarly-decorated 'mouse' head, but not the spectacles, red nose or boxer arms. On top of the head was a small mast carrying a Union Jack flag, reflecting the robot's British origin.
Etymology[]

Eubank the Mouse (referred to as 'Mouse') during filming of Extreme Series 2
Although "The Mouse" was consistently the official name given to the 1995 incarnation - as referred to in both incarnations of the Robot Wars Magazine[1][2] - a photograph of Eubank the Mouse's display at Extreme 2 filming indicates that it was also shortened to Mouse on occasions. An account of its display during Extreme Warriors: Season 2 filming also suggests that it was referred to as House Mouse at some point,[3] honouring its role as a House Robot for some UK Open events.
The robot's full name in the televised series referenced British middleweight boxer Chris Eubank, with the boxing gloves attached to the robot being a further allusion to his career. Nevertheless, it would also be referred to as "The Mouse" various times throughout its Series 1 campaign, namely through Jonathan Pearce's commentary and the results tables for the Heat F Gauntlet and Snooker stages.
Robot History[]
1995 UK Open[]
The Mouse first debuted with Derek Foxwell in the 1995 UK Open Competition, as one of three British entries built by the future UK Series Technical Consultant.[4] Highlights of its appearance in the UK Open were included at the start of Robot Wars: The First Great War, showcasing its performances as a competitor and the inaugural UK House Robot.

The Mouse is collected and spun around by Grunt

Onboard footage from Grunt, as The Mouse attempts to escape
The first of The Mouse's appearances was in a likely head-to-head battle against Grunt; one of the few times in which the two future stock robots appeared together in competition. The Mouse demonstrated aggression by charging towards, but getting itself stuck on the lower end of Grunt's wedge shape. Grunt began spinning The Mouse around, while The Mouse was briefly seen attempting to drive back off its opponent's shell.
According to Mat Irvine in Issue 1 of Robot Wars: The Official Magazine, The Mouse is also known to have fought at least one combat battle against US heavyweight The Master. Despite not being designed with active weaponry, its shell proved steep and durable enough to prevent The Master's circular saw from cutting into it. The outcome of this battle remains unknown, with no footage of this from the complete 1995 pilot tapings publicly available at present.
- "The Mouse was unarmed and could inflict little damage itself, but the steep sides of the bodywork had the advantage that they were almost impossible to hit straight on. I can recall the mighty saw of The Master taking quite a few swipes at The Mouse, only to see it skid harmlessly off the sides."
- — Mat Irvine on The Mouse's durability against The Master's circular saw[1]
Elsewhere, The Mouse would be utilised as a prototype House Robot, officiating combat and non-combat events between fellow competitors.

The Mouse referees a battle between The Master and a "rabbit" robot

The Mouse is swiped by The Master's sword
One instance of this was in a head-to-head between The Master (switching to its newly-introduced 'sword' weapon) and an unknown rabbit-themed robot. Having witnessed The Master flip and immobilise its much smaller opponent, The Mouse proceeded to weather more direct blows from the 1995 US Heavyweight Face-Off co-champion.

The Mouse struggles to maintain order as La Machine knocks the "Soccer" goal down
The Mouse also served as referee for a "Soccer" match, pitting The Master and fellow 1995 US champion La Machine against the clusterbot version of Grunt. In the First Great War highlights, it was initially seen attempting to break up a tussle between The Master and Grunt. The Mouse, The Master and one of the Grunt segments were next rounded up by La Machine, which began pushing all three robots in unison. According to Greg Munson, La Machine would push all three robots into the goal at some point, though this moment was not specifically highlighted in The First Great War.[5]
When La Machine finally scored a goal, The Mouse struggled to break it and The Master up while the goal itself toppled. The top of The Mouse became entangled in the goal net and posts, preventing it from being able to escape with The Master. La Machine proceeded to scoop and topple The Mouse over, marking the end of both robots' inclusion in the released UK Open highlights.
Series 1[]
Under the captaincy of Steve Dove, Eubank the Mouse competed as a stock robot in Heat F of The First Wars. As well as being the last robot to be introduced for that series - an occasion marked by it losing control and getting stuck over the edge of the centre ramp - it was the fourth in this Heat to traverse The Gauntlet.
- "And out of the mousehole he comes, past our own kitty cats! There's... the Sergeant and Dead Metal!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Eubank the Mouse starts its Gauntlet run
Eubank the Mouse barges past Matilda
Eubank the Mouse started its run by immediately darting off the turntable towards the right-hand route, past Sergeant Bash and into the side rails. Upon being pushed sideways by Dead Metal, it turned around and began weaving between the two patrolling House Robots. Though dodging Sergeant Bash's flamethrower, Eubank the Mouse was rammed by both; Dead Metal's interception forced it to perform a reverse turn to escape.
Eubank the Mouse again bumped into the rails as Matilda closed in, then a spiked pyramid as it tried to navigate its way past her.
- "Away from the spikes, away from Dead Metal - top of your picture - and Matilda! Oh, tremendous stuff! And it's through!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Eubank the Mouse barges its way into the end zone
Upon backing up, it rammed Matilda from the front-right corner, and briskly turned towards the end zone. Eubank the Mouse pushed a fallen skittle and slammed into the lower railings to finish.
- Jeremy Clarkson: "I've got to say, ordinarily I don't like to see my pets being beaten, but that was great."
- Steve Dove: "Yeah, it was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!"
- Jeremy Clarkson: "Did you really expect to be able to beat them?"
- Steve Dove: "No. I was hoping to get them at half-way, and then I think, I thought they'd just get me."
- — Jeremy Clarkson and Steve Dove discuss Eubank the Mouse's Gauntlet run
By the end of the Gauntlet stage, Eubank the Mouse was one of three Heat F competitors - alongside Prince of Darkness and Skarab - to have completed the course. It was also deemed to have finished in the fastest time, securing first place on the results table and a place in the Snooker Trial.

Eubank the Mouse (top-left) aimlessly pushes balls aside while T.R.A.C.I.E. remains stuck in its own pocket
As the Trial began, Eubank the Mouse drove tentatively out of its pocket and approached The Blob. However, it avoided the balls as it turned around and reversed into Prince of Darkness. Eubank the Mouse bumped into the side nets, before reversing again and pushing several balls around in a corner of the arena. It continued driving around the top corners of the arena, nudging balls away and avoiding the other competitors. Eubank the Mouse ultimately backed into the side rails in the upper-right corner, where it seemingly lost mobility.
- "The Blob still working hard. You see T.R.A.C.I.E. can't, impaired there, and I think... that The Mouse seems to have broken down!"
- — Jonathan Pearce notices Eubank the Mouse's apparent immobility

Eubank the Mouse is eliminated
Alongside Skarab and T.R.A.C.I.E. - which had itself become immobile within its own pocket - it scored no balls upon the Trial's conclusion. Eubank the Mouse, despite being active for longer than T.R.A.C.I.E., was declared to have 'irreparably broken down', much to the apparent dismay of Steve Dove. Thus, it was eliminated from the competition at that point, allowing the KEGS School competitor to progress at its expense.
- "Oh hard cheese, it was a bit of a tight squeak, and I'm afraid The Mouse has gone out."
- — Jonathan Pearce announces Eubank the Mouse's elimination
Results[]
EUBANK THE MOUSE - RESULTS | ||
Series 1 | ||
The First Wars - UK Championship Heat Trial | ||
Heat F, Gauntlet | Completed (1st) | Qualified |
Heat F, Trial (Snooker) | 0 Balls with least activity (5th) | Eliminated |
THE MOUSE - RESULTS | ||
Robot Wars 1995 | ||
1995 UK Open Competition | ||
Head-to-Head | vs. Grunt | Unknown |
Head-to-Head | vs. The Master | Unknown |
NOTE: The Mouse also appeared in various other UK Open events as a "House Robot." |
Series Record[]
Series | Eubank the Mouse Series Record |
---|---|
The First Wars | Heat, Trial |
The Second Wars | Entered with Challenger |
The Third Wars | Entered with Challenger 2 |
The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
The Sixth Wars | Entered with GBH 2 |
The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
This Series Record is reflective of Steve Dove, Eubank the Mouse's driver.
Under the captaincy of builder Derek Foxwell, Eubank the Mouse also competed in the 1995 UK Open Competition as The Mouse.
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]

Eubank the Mouse fights Cassius at the 1999 Bordon charity event

Eubank the Mouse fights Chaos at the 1999 Bordon charity event
Following its appearance on Robot Wars, Eubank the Mouse continued to appear at live events and exhibitions as both a static display and as an active competitor until the end of the show's original run. At the Bordon Charity Event, organised by the Plunderbird team in May 1999, it fought Cassius and Chaos in two separate battles.
Eubank the Mouse was retained by the Robot Wars crew during this time, and could often be seen in The Pits in later series. Photos and footage from the behind-the-scenes spin-off Robot Wars Revealed confirm that it was in attendance for Series 2, making various cameo appearances throughout the former series. It was also used as an obstacle in the test area for that series' auditions, at one point being tipped onto its side and later being re-righted by G.B.H..[6] From Series 4 through to the end of the Classic run, Eubank the Mouse was often present in exhibition displays set up for audience members to visit prior to filming sessions or - in the case of the 2000 Robot Mayhem event - series qualifiers.[2][3]
Trivia[]
- Eubank the Mouse is one of twenty robots never to have fought in robot combat, having only ever appeared in the Gauntlet and Trial stages.
- Eubank the Mouse was the only one of the three Stock Robots to complete The Gauntlet in the quickest time.
- Under the original weight class limits, Eubank the Mouse was the only Lightweight competitor to appear in Series 1.
- Eubank the Mouse was one of only two robots to finish top of the leaderboard in The Gauntlet, then go out in The Trial stage of their Heats, the other being Tantrum in Heat B of Series 2.
- Eubank the Mouse makes a cameo appearance in Series 2, where it is seen next to Ramrombit.
- Chris Eubank, the inspiration for the robot's name and design, took part in the Fourth Wars Celebrity Special episode, where he drove Killertron.
- During its presence at the Series 2 auditions, Eubank the Mouse was at one point speculated to reprise its 1995 UK Open role as an additional House Robot for this series. However, it would not play a role in the actual series beyond its known cameo appearances.[7]
- Eubank the Mouse was one of two Robot Wars competitors to be briefly used as House Robots, as a result of its original incarnation's appearance at the 1995 UK Open Competition. The other was Razer, which was designated as one during the 2001 Wembley Arena Live Event, itself serving as part of the largely-untelevised Series 5 qualifiers.[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'Robot Wars: The Beginnings', Robot Wars: The Official Magazine, Issue 1, pp.14-18 (p.17)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Live and Flipping!', Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 6, pp.20-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Robots Rule - Robot Wars TV Recordings', fightingrobots.co.uk
- ↑ 'Robot Wars: The Beginnings', Robot Wars: The Official Magazine, Issue 1, pp.14-18 (p.16)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars - An oral history of the birth and death of BattleBots', SBNation, accessed 14 August 2024
- ↑ https://youtu.be/uYy2BEsJ8rc?t=1017
- ↑ 'Rehearsals', Tinweb 'Dangerous Machines' website (archived)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars Live!' Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 18, p.26
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