- "The fitting of interchangeable body panels or alternative weaponry is allowed between bouts providing changes can be done within a 20-minute time-frame. Interchanging of such panels or weapons cannot be done during bouts. Body panels must be the same as the ones removed. Adding extra defensive equipment is forbidden. All interchangeable weapons must not incorporate additional defensive items. All weapons must be declared and logged on the technical check sheet. Failure to do this will result in extra weapons being excluded."
- — Section 1.1.1 of the Series 7 Rules & Regulations (2003), concerning requirements for interchangeable weapons[1]
Interchangeable Weaponry is a system where a robot can be modified between battles, allowing the team to change its weaponry. The Robot Wars technical rules allowed for this, as long as:
- The weapons did not push the robot over the weight, height and width restrictions.
- The weapons were offensive additions rather than defensive additions.
- The team declared all the weapons they could use before the tournament.
The first robots to use interchangeable weaponry on the show were Roadblock, which had interchangeable blades for their rear saw weapon, Killertron, with its double-headed pickaxe and unused mace weapon, and Shogun, which had side spikes which were interchangeable with spikes of different sizes. All three robots first appeared in the first ever episode, Heat A of Series 1.
The most successful robot to use interchangeable weaponry is Series 6 champion Tornado, which relied on a variety of different weapons - including a spinning drum, a scoop and an 'anti-crusher weapon' - to succeed in later series. Other successful competitors to use them in recent series include the robots of Team Shock and Series 9 runner-up Eruption, although the latter mainly relied on its rear-hinged flipper during battles.
Advantages and Disadvantages[]
Advantages
- Interchangeable weaponry gives a robot a wider range of attacking options and tactics than what can be offered with a single weapon. For example, in Series 9, Behemoth's interchangeable scoop, angled ploughs and grabbing arms gave the team the choice of flipping their opponents with the original scoop, deflecting blows from spinning weapons with the angled ploughs, or pinning down opponents with the grabbing arms.
- Interchangeable weaponry allows the robot to be modified depending on which opponent(s) it faces. For example, in Series 9, Behemoth used one of its angled ploughs, designed specifically to deflect blows from spinners, which helped it to defeat PP3D.
- If one weapon proves ineffective, it can easily be replaced with another. In Series 4, the X-Terminator team found that the robot's axe weapon was not damaging enough, so they changed it to the scoop flipper, which helped X-Terminator win its Heat Final against Behemoth.
- Alternatively, interchangeable weapons can easily be swapped round when one breaks. This happened to Big Nipper in Series 8, which resorted to using its crushing claws against TR2 after its spinning disc was badly damaged during its Group Battle.
- Duplicates of a single weapon can also be classed as interchangeable if they are made, brought and used as spare parts. Eruption featured no fewer than four flipper arms in Series 10, including one heavily-armoured variant offering additional defence against powerful spinners.
- Interchangeable weaponry can bring a 'surprise factor' to a robot, that its opponent(s) may not anticipate. Although declared in advance and approved by the Robot Wars technical crew, Tornado's horizontal spinner weapon was not revealed on the show until its battles with Razer in US Season 2, UK Series 6 and UK Extreme 2 respectively. The weapon's existence and effectiveness thus remained unknown prior to its first uses in combat.
Disadvantages
- Each interchangeable weapon will have its own disadvantages, and not all will necessarily be suited for certain opponents.
- Adding an extra weapon to a robot can adversely change a robot's abilities. For example, the spike used by X-Terminator in Extreme 1 prevented it from self-righting, a problem which could have been avoided if it was not fitted at all.
- Similarly, Storm 2 would not have been able to run inverted with the flywheel.
- Some custom prepared weapons were not allowed to be used as they violated the rules. In Series 6, Team Tornado were not allowed to use their anti-spinner weapon against Hypno-Disc, and their anti-crusher weapon was banned after Extreme 2, with both interchangeable weapons being deemed to be defensive additions.
- Buying and/or building multiple weapons for a robot is more expensive and time-consuming than developing a single weapon.
- Having interchangeable weapons sometimes proves unnecessary, as one weapon can prove much more effective than the others. For example, in Series 1, Killertron had a mace as well as an axe. However, the axe proved effective, so Team Trojan decided to not use the mace and only brought the axe to subsequent series.
- Mixing weapons up gives roboteers less experience with each weapon and how it will operate against a type of opponent. In Series 8, Gabriel experimented with a battle axe which actually proved less effective in its Head-to-Head against Ironside3 after getting caught in the flame pit. As a result, Team Saint reverted to using Gabriel's tried-and-tested sword for its later battles.
- Some interchangeable weaponry can prove ineffective when used. For example, in Series 9, Behemoth's grabbing arms failed to pin down their opponent properly when used for the first time against Cherub, leading to it losing the battle and being eliminated from the series.
- "Putting a grabber of that type onto the robot for a critical match was a very poor decision ... I was so annoyed with the rest of the team for making that decision not to go with a guaranteed win, with using the scoop. It's proven that, sometimes, innovation doesn't pay out - sometimes, it's best to use what you know works."
- — Anthony Pritchard on the failure of the grabbing arms
List of Robots with Interchangeable Weapons[]
Robots are listed alphabetically.
DESKTOP MODE ONLY: Robots which are not heavyweight entries are listed with a green background. House Robots are listed with a gold background. Robots from the 1994-1997 US competitions are listed with a purple background.
Robot | Series Appearances with Interchangeable Weapons | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Aftershock | Series 9-10 | Had an assortment of vertical spinning weapons, including 24kg and 30kg vertical spinning discs, a 14kg bar spinner and an 18kg asymmetrial bar spinner. Series 9 Grand Finalist with the original disc and bar, finishing fourth, but only the 24kg disc was used in its Heat. | |
All Torque | Series 3 | Had a scoop which was interchangeable with a snow plough and a set of horizontal crushing spikes. | |
Apex | Series 10 | Featured a pair of gold-painted horizontal spinners; a 39.75kg double-ended bar - initially seen in Series 9 - and a 38.45kg asymmetrical bar. | |
Apocalypse | Series 10 | Interchangeable axe configurations, including bladed and blunted spike heads, along with a double-ended hammer head used during tests.[2] Only the red and grey blunted heads were seen in combat. | |
Apollo | Series 10 | According to a Rapid Online interview, the Series 10 version featured interchangeable flipper arms with the intent of combating different spinner types.[3] | |
AM CVn | Extreme 2 | Featherweight. Designed to have interchangeable weapons, like the team's heavyweight, but only the axe was seen as it only fought in one battle. The other weapons it could use are not known. | |
Ansgar | Extreme 1 | Interchangeable flipper/lever and spear. Only the original version had interchangeable weaponry. | |
Anvil | Extreme 1 | The front spikes were interchangeable with a scoop, but only the spikes were seen on the show. | |
Attila the Drum | Series 4 | Interchangeable axe and mace used in conjunction with its torque reaction/sit-and-spin design. The axe was only used in one battle out of four. | |
Atomic | Series 5, 7, Extreme 1 | Set of interchangeable flipper blades, including a small plate, a spiked plate (Series 5/Extreme 1), forks (Series 5/Extreme 1) and a large scoop-like blade (Series 7). Only the small plate was used in Extreme 1, while the forks were never used in battle. | |
Bamm Bamm | Dutch Series 1 | Axe interchangeable with a hammer, flipping arm and novelty "club" covered in foam. Only the axe was used in Dutch Series 2 and UK Series 7. | |
Behemoth | Series 9-10 | Set of three interchangeable lifting scoops - a bucket scoop and two angled ploughs - and a serrated static scoop with a pair of overhead grabbing arms. Only equipped with the bucket scoop between Series 2 and Series 8. The Series 10 version featured an optional spiked axe attachment in addition to the bucket and angled scoops, although the axe was not used in combat. | |
Big Nipper | Series 8, 10 | As well as the lifting/crushing claws seen in Series 5 and 7, the Series 8 and 10 versions of Big Nipper had a vertical spinning disc which was interchangeable with the claws. The disc weighed 20kg in both series, spun at 4,000rpm in Series 8 and was upgraded to a single-toothed type in Series 10. | |
Caliban | Series 2 | Had "multiple spinning weapons", including a top-mounted flail and a full-body 'spinning dome'. However, the latter was never used as Caliban was eliminated at the Gauntlet stage with its flail equipped. | |
Carbide | Series 10 | Team Carbide brought three interchangeable bar spinners to Series 10 - the original 25kg bar first used in Series 8-9, a second 25kg bar with green tips, and a heavier red and yellow bar with curved tips. However, the curved bar necessitated the use of a lighter weapon shaft, and was left unused following various issues encountered during filming.[4][5] | |
Cassius Chrome | Series 7 | House Robot. Armed with a pair of cam-driven 'boxing' arms featuring interchangeable 'fists' or spikes. | |
Cataclysmic Variabot | Extreme 1-2 | Had interchangeable weapons pods including a flipper, a disc and a spike, but throughout its three battles, only the axe was used. | |
Chimera | Series 8-9 | Featured interchangeable blades much like Gabriel, however in Series 8, only the three-pronged axe was used. | |
Cobra | Series 9-10 | Featured an interchangeable 'snake bite' clamping jaw and a 8mm HARDOX wedge. The wedge - used at the rear - was intended to be used when facing spinning weapons, being fitted with entanglement devices for this purpose. Cobra could also flip opponents over with the latter in tandem with its high top speed. | |
Crackers 'n' Smash | Series 10 | Crackers features interchangeable forked and scoop-type lifters, replacing the front-hinged lifting arm used in Series 9. | |
Cutlet | Series 7 | Featherweight. Originally only had a cutting saw, rebuilt for Series 7 for the saw to be interchangeable with a flipper. Only the flipper was seen in Series 7. | |
Demolition Demon | Series 2 | The grinding disc at the rear was swapped out for a standard spike for the Skittles Trial only. | |
Eruption | Series 9-10 | Featured a gripping claw on the top of its flipper in Series 8, which for Series 9 onwards became part of an assortment of top-mounted weapons, including a spinning drum. However, both top-mounted weapons went unused in Series 10. | |
Expulsion | Series 10 | Three face spinners - a two-toothed bar weapon with a tip speed of 92mph, and a pair of lighter three-spoke spinners with either hinged double-facing blades or flails. | |
Falcon | US Season 1 | In Season 1 of Extreme Warriors, Falcon had a lifting arm interchangeable with an axe, but in Season 2, only the lifter was used. | |
Foxic | Series 8-9 | Interchangeable lifting weapons; a lifting arm, a lifting scoop, and hooks in Series 8. Series 9 version featured a lifting arm with interchangeable ends, including a wedge modelled on a fox's head, a thicker anti-spinner scoop and hooks. The hooks were never seen on television. Craig Danby also designed a vertical spinner configuration for Series 9, though this was never made.[6] | |
Gabriel | Series 8, 10 | A torque reaction thwackbot with interchangeable overhead weapons; the team's signature sword, a sledgehammer, a pickaxe and a battle axe. The battle axe was used in one battle; the sword was used in the other four (five including the whiteboard battle with Behemoth). For Series 10, Gabriel 2 featured five interchangeable weapons, including two swords, the sledgehammer, a 'bent mace' and an eight-point star mace with ropes designed for entanglement. | |
Haardvark | Series 3 | Interchangeable cutting discs mounted on a moveable arm at the front; these included a reinforced abrasive grinding blade and a diamond-edged circular saw which went unused.[7] | |
Hammerhead | Series 3 | Interchangeable axe/hammer. | |
Harpy | Series 10 | Interchangeable flipper and axe. Unused reserve in Series 10. | |
Havoc | Series 2 | Interchangeable lifting arm and mace. | |
Heavy Metal | Series 9 | Has a 360-degree rotating weapon arm with interchangeable tip, to which a grabbing hook and a saw can be added. Due to damage sustained by M.R. Speed Squared in their Group Battle, only the hook and the lifter were seen. Relied more on the wedge to win battles. | |
Ironside3 | Series 9 | Interchangeable bar spinners with different edges, including a 'flat edge' and a 'cutting edge'. Only had one blade in Series 8. Series 9 Grand Finalist, finishing third. | |
Kan-Opener | Series 6-7, Extreme 2 | Armed with a hydraulic crusher featuring a set of interchangeable claws in different colours. Only the blue and grey ones were used on the show. | |
Killerhurtz | Series 3-4 | Originally only had a bladed axe, but in Series 3 and 4, had interchangeable axe heads; a bladed axe and a custom-made spiked axe shaped like a bird's head. Bladed axe was not used in Robot Wars after Series 2. | |
Killertron | Series 1 | In Series 1, Killertron had a double-headed pickaxe which was interchangeable with a swinging mace. The mace was never used due to the axe being more powerful, although it was later lent to Skarab. The axe head could also be fitted with an 'optional' pair of forward-facing spikes; a configuration which would form part of Killertron's regular appearance in later series. | |
Loco | Series 2 | Armed with a spring-powered ram, which had interchangeable blade and spikes. | |
Matilda | US Season 1-2, Nickelodeon | House Robot. Two separate models with a rear-mounted 27kg flywheel or chainsaw; the latter being originally fitted in Series 1-4. Only the flywheel was used outside the US versions when Matilda was rebuilt for Extreme Series 1. | |
Mr Punch | Series 3 | Pneumatic ram with interchangeable heads. | |
Nuts 2 | Series 10 | Three interchangeable outer rings, including hexagonal and square-shaped rings with flails, and a flailless toothed ring. Only the flailed rings were used in combat. Nuts 2's selection of minibots were also interchangeable, with up to two entering from a selection of four. | |
Orac's Revenge | Series 3 | Interchangeable axe blades, though one of the axe blades was used and the others were not used due to being knocked out in round 1 by Steg-O-Saw-Us. | |
Panzer | Series 3 | Interchangeable disc cutter and spikes, though the disc cutter was not used. | |
Plunderbird 1 | Series 1 | The only version of the Plunderbird series to feature interchangeable weapons, each mounted in two separate weapon pods. The pods contained a retracting spike powered by a laser sight device, much like the weapon later used by 101, and an electric circular saw on a moving arm, which flipped out of the robot when operational. As Plunderbird 1 was eliminated at the Gauntlet stage, neither weapon was seen in combat. | |
Pressure | Extreme 2 | Had side panels that flipped out to act as separate srimechs, to which spikes could be added to in order to convert them into axes. The spikes were seen on the official photo, but not used in battle. | |
Pussycat | Series 3-5, 7, Extreme 1 | Various cutting discs, beginning with a diamond-edged saw and a carbide-tipped blade which shattered and resulted in its disqualification from Series 3.[8] From Series 4 to its last appearance in Series 7, custom cutting blades in two, four or eight-tooth variants were used; differently-patterned versions of the four-toothed blade were used to great effect in the former. The early Extreme 1 model, Pussycat 2, was profiled in Ultimate Real Robots magazine as wielding both two and four-toothed versions, but ultimately competed on television with just the two-toothed blade.[9] Pussycat's Series 5 team introduction shows it on its pit bench with two four-pointed blades, with Alan Gribble briefly addressing their interchangeability on screen. In Series 7, both eight-toothed double and four-toothed single blades were used. | |
Raizer Blade | Series 3 | Featured a chainsaw or a bludgeoning spike (called the 'Crucifix of Doom' by the team) as a rear weapon. Only the Crucifix of Doom was used for Series 4. | |
Razer | Series 6, Extreme 2 |
Hydraulic crusher was fitted with an optional lifting claw attachment for the Series 6 Grand Final, used to counter Tornado's 'anti-crusher weapon'. A similar attachment with two upward-facing hooks was implemented against Tornado in the European Championship with a similar purpose. | |
Revolution 3 | Series 7 | Much like Tornado, had a drum (incorrectly referred to as a flywheel) on the front, which could be removed and replaced with a scoop. Only the drum was seen on the show, presumably due to the series' active weapon rules. | |
Rhino | Series 7 | Featured a pair of interchangeable 2,500rpm bludgeoning discs, painted red or grey and attached to the rear. Used alongside the robot's front flipper. | |
Roadblock | Series 1 | Featured a rear circular saw with the option of three interchangeable blades: a grinding disc, a multi-pointed cutting blade and a square-shaped blade which went unused. Along with Shogun, the first robot to use interchangeable weaponry. Weapon was updated to become a single 12-inch tungsten-tipped saw for Series 2. | |
Shockwave | Series 8 | Interchangeable lifting scoops, including a HARDOX wedged scoop and a HDPE shovel. | |
Shogun | Series 1 | The side spikes were interchangeable in size and thickness. Along with Roadblock, the first robot to use interchangeable weaponry. | |
Skarab | Series 1 | Original steel hammer head was swapped with a mace for the Heat Final stage, lent to it by the Killertron team. | |
Spikasaurus | Series 4 | Two sets of 12 or 18-inch front ramming spears, along with a 'bull bar' and a curved scoop designed for Soccer events. The scoop would ultimately go unused on the show, with Spikasaurus often using one set of spears in tandem with the 'bull bar' throughout its appearances. | |
Stinger | Series 4 | Interchangeable spiked mace and 5kg grinding disc (nicknamed the 'pizza cutter'), each mounted on the end of a swinging arm. Only the mace was used in Series 4 and all of Stinger's appearances thereafter; the 'pizza cutter' was Stinger's original weapon, which was only used in Series 3. | |
Storm 2 | Series 8 | Originally a weaponless "full-body hammer" in Extreme 2, had a lifting arm added for Series 7, and a set of interchangeable weapons in Series 8. These weapons include the four-bar lifting arm, a front-hinged flipping arm that allows the robot to self-right, and a vertical spinning disc which was ultimately not used on the show. | |
Sumpthing | Series 3-6, Extreme 1-2 | Interchangeable pickaxe/moveable circular saw and lifting forks. Cutting discs were used in Series 5 and Extreme 1, in both single and twin-disc configurations. | |
Tetanus 2 | Series 6, Extreme 2 | Interchangeable crusher and lifter. The crusher was used in Series 6, the lifter seen in Extreme 2. | |
The Master | 1995 UK Open, 1996 Championship | Pioneering US axlebot had a modular design enabling it to use one or two interchangeable weapons at a time. Weapons seen in Robot Wars media included an arm-mounted circular saw, an electric lifting panel/spike, and a triangular-shaped ramming/thwacking blade. | |
The Morgue | Series 4 | Front lifting fork assembly had a second optional configuration, enabling an additional pair of top-mounted spikes to be attached in between smaller front panels. The Morgue fought its Eliminator and appeared in official images with this configuration. | |
The Steel Avenger | Series 3 | Interchangeable spiked and bladed axe heads. It also had a mace, but this was not brought for filming. From Series 4 onwards, only the bladed axe was used. | |
The Swarm | Series 10 | All segments of the clusterbot were interchangeable with each other, enabling Team Big Brother to select different segments depending on which opponents they faced. A total of five segments attended filming, but only four were allowed to enter the arena at any one time. The Swarm's segments included Rubber Duck (flipper), Blenda (bar spinner), Pinza (horizontal pincers) and two versions of Skye - one invertible, the other with entanglement devices. | |
Thor | Series 8-10 | Armed with a spiked hammer in the original series, but this was replaced with a pneumatic axe in Series 8-10 with interchangeable bladed or spiked heads. The Series 9 version had interchangeable front wedges, as well as the interchangeable axe heads. The Series 10 Thor was stated to have five interchangeable axe heads, some of which were referred to as 'hammers' on the official Robot Wars website. However, only two of the bladed heads - including one modelled on Mjölnir - were used in the latter series. | |
TMHWK | Series 9-10 | Interchangeable bladed and spiked axe heads. The original version, Tomahawk, only had a bladed axe. | |
Tornado | Series 6-7, Extreme 1-2, US Season 2 | Was initially equipped with a pneumatic spike in Series 4, which was replaced with a range of interchangeable weaponry from Extreme 1 onwards. These weapons included: a spinning drum (commonly referred to as a 'disc'); a spiked 'charity' scoop; a static spear; a scoop lifter; a chain flail conversion of the 'charity' scoop; an 'anti-crusher weapon' incorporating a horizontal flywheel or bar spinner; and a vertical bar spinner which was never used. Interchangeable weapons became a signature feature in later appearances. Series 5/Extreme 1 incarnation included two identical drums shown during team introductions; the second presumably being reserved as a spare. |
|
Track-tion | Series 10 | Was lent a wedge from Vulture to protect the robot against spinning weapons. The wedge was used in two battles in place of the robot's regular crusher. Both weapons used the same actuator, enabling the wedge to function as a lifting scoop. | |
Victor | Series 2 | Set of two front-mounted spinning weapons powered by a motorcycle starter motor; a 21-inch lawnmower blade and a flail. Lawnmower blade was not used for Series 3; flail was modified into a 2ft-long 'morning star' for the latter series. | |
Wheelosaurus | Series 4 | Had static spikes in Series 2, but in Series 4, the weaponry was upgraded to a spinning blade with interchangeable blades, but only the cutter with three blades was used. | |
X-Terminator | Series 4, Extreme 1 | In Series 4, X-Terminator 2 was armed with an axe featuring interchangeable heads, which in turn was interchangeable with a flipping arm. The Extreme 1 version had a static spike which could be fixed to the front of the robot. |
Trivia[]
- In Series 7, Ripper's flipper was said to be interchangeable with a disc and an axe, but John Findlay later revealed that this was not actually true, and that he had made it up for the benefit of viewers.
- In Series 7, 13 Black used a different front spinning disc in its Round 2 battle against Gravity while Spawn Again and Bulldog Breed used different flipper plates in their losses to Raging Knightmare and X-Terminator respectively.
References[]
- ↑ ROBOT WARS 2003 Rules & Regulations (archived)
- ↑ https://www.teamtauron.co.uk/galleries/rw10otherbots/index.html#/view/ID15285
- ↑ https://www.rapidonline.com/apollo-robot
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/permalink/709575205988914/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGunbr-aOQ
- ↑ 2018 social media post by Craig Danby, highlighting plagiarism of Foxic's proposed vertical spinner design by CK Robotics Club
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20040202004052/http://www.haardvark.connectfree.co.uk/1999.htm
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20020307004349fw_/http://www.coldfusion.buddha.org.uk/pc3.htm
- ↑ Ultimate Real Robots magazine, Issue 15, p.13
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