- "Where possible Team Chimera look to reuse and recycle as many parts as possible and to show that with a modest budget and a little knowledge anything is achievable."
- — Team Chimera website
Chimera was a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 8-9 of Robot Wars, entered by a family team. Originally, it lost its Group Battle in Series 8 after having its tyres heavily damaged and ripped off by M.R. Speed Squared. It returned for Series 9 as Chimera2, and fought a much closer fight in its Group Battle before being immobilised by Concussion.
Versions of Chimera[]
Chimera[]
- "Another competitor with exposed wheels, this full-body axe robot is able to pivot on its axis. It's powered by two wheelchair motors and was built for a modest £1,500 budget."
- — Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot
Chimera in Series 8
Chimera was a thwackbot, armed with a variety of interchangeable blades and weapons, which it swings overhead by overturning the robot, utilising the power of momentum. The primary blade among the team’s selection is a three-headed spiked shaft. The robot cost less than £1,500 to build, borrowing tyres from an old Ford Fiesta, and was powered by two 24V wheelchair motors. However, the team felt that their exposed tyres give them a weakness to spinners, and the robot was slow, particularly for its weapon type, at just 6mph. It was also far below the weight limit, at just 72kg.
Chimera2[]
- "Chimera 2 is designed around the Greek mythological creature that possessed a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. All three elements are represented in the robot with the wedge, body and weapon."
- — The Robot Wars website
Chimera2's turntable shot
The team's photo of Chimera2
Chimera2 attacked in the same way as Chimera, maintaining the thwackbot design, but featured much thinner, sturdier wheels, as well as a front wedge, decorated with blue flame decals. Its main body was wider and the robot was also heavier and faster, with HARDOX armour. The spiked thwacking arm had also been replaced with interchangeable thwacking axes, one with a single bladed head, the other with three smaller, pointed parallel heads. Chimera2 has a front wedge which runs independently of the main body, designed to deflect oncoming spinners. Some compared Chimera2's design to seasoned BattleBots competitor Toe Crusher.
- "For series 9 Chimera returned with interchangeable claw and axe weapons to defend against different types of opponent. Unlike the original robot, Chimera 2 was built with 1in high-density polythene plastic 18in wheels that can't be punctured."
- — Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot
Etymology[]
Chimera in the arena during Series 8
The name Chimera was derived from the mythical creature of the same name that is said to have the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent. The TV show and official publications referred to the Series 9 version as Chimera 2, but the team stated a preference of Chimera2, without spacing.
The Team[]
Chimera with its team
Chimera was originally built by Colin Scott of Team Death, but changed ownership in 2015 to Team 53, nowadays known as Team Chimera, who rebuilt the robot in 2016 and entered it into Robot Wars.
Chimera2 with its team
Team Chimera was captained by 17-year old Jordan Mann, nowadays Elizabeth Mann, who drove Chimera in battle. The remainder of the family team was made up of 42-year old Mark Rollins-Mann, whose responsibility was 'paperwork and compliance' according to the Robot Wars website, 63-year old Phil Mann who maintained the robot's weaponry, and 41-year old Philip Mann who assisted with repairs and logistics.
Qualification[]
Chimera enters the arena in Series 8
Team Chimera first attempted to enter Robot Wars in its eighth series, and Chimera successfully qualified for the show through online applications, albeit as a reserve which replaced an unidentified robot in order to compete. Chimera2 qualified directly for Series 9 through open applications, after building a new and vastly improved machine. However, when the team applied for Series 10 with a slightly modified version of Chimera2, they were unsuccessful with their application. After this, Team Chimera started building a brand-new robot with the hopes of entering future series.
- "We did apply with a slightly modified Chimera2, but in reality we didn't expect to get through as we didn't have time to change it much. We're working on something totally different for this years live shows and maybe Robot Wars in the future."
- — TeamChimeraRW Twitter[1]
Robot History[]
Series 8[]
- "Team captain Jordan can name every robot that's ever competed including the team members. He even has a picture of Matilda on his wall...don't we all?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Chimera debuted in Heat B of Series 8, filling in as a reserve for an unknown drop-out. In its opening Group Battle, it faced three teams with prior experience competing in the Classic Series - former Wild Card Warriors participant Draven, Team Danby with their animal-themed Foxic, and Team Forsey with their ring spinner M.R. Speed Squared.
- "We have tested [the tyres] and they can still run even if they get destroyed, we can roll on the rims"
- — Unfortunate foreshadowing from Phil Mann
Chimera loses a wheel with the first impact
The remains of Chimera
Wary of the full-body spinner M.R. Speed Squared, Chimera kept its distance away from all other robots in the arena. However, Chimera was targeted by the spinner due to its exposed wheels, and the very first blow sustained knocked Chimera's wheel loose. Despite the tyre nearly coming off, Chimera could still slowly coast around the arena, though it was closely followed by Draven. A second attack from M.R. Speed Squared removed Chimera's wheel completely, immobilising it on one side. Chimera was left to drive in circles near the wall while Draven was immobilised. Cease was called and Chimera was eliminated.
Series 9[]
The supportive banner of Chimera2
Chimera2 with its three axe blades
Chimera2 competed in Heat C of Series 9 Heat 3, facing two spinner-wielding newcomers - Concussion and Tauron - as well as Series 8 fourth-place and New Blood third-place finisher Thor. It entered this battle using the parallel tri-blades on its axe. In The Pits, the team were joined by an audience member with a large banner in support of the robot.
- Angela Scanlon: "Is there anything that may go against you?"
- Mark Rollins-Mann: "Just being untested in battle, that's the biggest thing! This year, it's our own custom-made drive system, which in battle, is a bit untested"
- — Team Chimera on their weakness
Chimera2 is lifted by an arena spike
Thor hammers Chimera2
When 'activate' was sounded, Chimera2 did not challenge any particular robot, instead testing its drive. It then drove into Concussion with its wedge, but Concussion was lower to the ground, and Chimera2 was thrown over. It righted itself and spun on the spot, before curiously driving over the arena spikes, where it was held high. Chimera2 pursued Concussion across the arena in retaliation, using its wedge.
- "Keep going!"
- — Mark Rollins-Mann
Concussion gets underneath Chimera2
Chimera2 is counted out
However, Chimera2 was caught from behind by Thor, which landed successive axe blows. Now trapped in a CPZ, Concussion drove under Chimera2's high ground clearance, and ripped away at its underside. Chimera2 was left on top of Concussion briefly for a 'piggy-back', but when freed, it became clear that Chimera2 was now immobile. Although Concussion lost drive to one side shortly afterwards, Chimera2 was eliminated alongside Tauron.
- "Chimera2 are out and not happy!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Results[]
| CHIMERA - RESULTS | ||
| Series 8 | ||
| Series 8 - UK Championship Round 1 | ||
| Heat B, Group Battle | vs. Draven, Foxic, M.R. Speed Squared | Eliminated |
| CHIMERA2 - RESULTS | ||
| Series 9 | ||
| Series 9 - UK Championship Round 1 | ||
| Heat C, Group Battle | vs. Concussion, Tauron, Thor | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
Chimera in the pits with its team
| Series | Chimera Series Record |
|---|---|
| Series 1-7 | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Heat, Round 1 |
| Series 9 | Heat, Round 1 |
| Series 10 | Not selected |
For information on the qualification record of Chimera's original builder, Colin Scott, see Team Death.
Outside Robot Wars[]
Chimera as The Wall at Roaming Robots in Northampton 2004
Chimera in 2011 following its restoration
After Robot Wars was taken off-air, Chimera was built by Colin Scott of Team Death to compete in FRA competitions. Originally known as The Wall, it sported a variety of interchangeable weapons including a horizontal spinning bar, a double sided hammer and a battering ram painted to look like a brick wall. The Wall competed in several events on the live circuit, including Roaming Robots at Northampton and the Cosford Robot Crusade event, both in 2004. The robot was retired in 2006, but was later restored, sporting a new paint scheme and changing to its current name, and competed in the 2011 UK Championships. Chimera lost its only battle in the group stages to Thor in a battle also containing Tiberius and Storm 2.
In March 2012, Chimera was sold to Team Scar, who at the time, owned Robot Wars veterans Scar and Eric, before finally being sold to Team 53 in 2015, who rebranded themselves as Team Chimera.
The 2016 version Chimera fought its last fight at the 2016 Cannock Robots Live! event where it fought Apollo and Meggamouse. It didn't last long in its final fight, as it was thrown eight feet in the air by Apollo, and over the heightened arena wall, twenty seconds into the battle.
Fenrir
In April 2018, Team Chimera's new heavyweight robot Fenrir debuted. The robot is currently an invertible wedge with no active weapon, and at Extreme Robots in Manchester, it was able to defeat S.M.I.D.S.Y. before losing to TR3. Fenrir also competed at Extreme Robots in Cheltenham, but was thrown out of the arena by Ripper very quickly.
Mini-Mera, the team's featherweight version of Chimera
Nautilus
Team Chimera have built a featherweight version of Chimera, known as Mini-Mera. The various team members also own the featherweight robots Nautilus and Wolfs-Bane, and a beetleweight named Pisces.
Nightingale at Bugglebots
Elizabeth Mann (formerly Jordan Mann) competed in the web-series Bugglebots with a new beetleweight, Nightingale, armed with a cutting disc on a moving arm. In its first battle against Good Boi, Nightingale lost the use of its saw very quickly, but still removed a wheel from Good Boi and managed to push it into the pit with six seconds left on the clock. Nightingale advanced to the heat semi-final, where it was pitted by Drizzle and eliminated. Nightingale also competed in a Whiteboard battle at the end of the series against fellow sawbot Maximum Ogredrive and American rammer Thunderchild, but lost the use of a wheel early on and was eventually pitted.
In late 2017, Chimera's original builder Colin Scott built a featherweight thwackbot named Chimera's Revenge. For more information, see Team Death.
Robot Wars Live Events[]
Chimera's profile at the live events
Chimera competed at a variety of Robot Wars live events, albeit without major success. It made its 2016 debut at Manchester in a battle with Behemoth, Beast and Eruption, but quickly became immobilised. The team's featherweight Mini-Mera debuted at the same event. Chimera's successor, Chimera2, was scheduled to debut at the Gloucester event, but was not completed in time.
Trivia[]
- As a result of her transition after Robot Wars was broadcast, Elizabeth Mann retroactively became the first transgender competitor on Robot Wars.
References[]
External Links[]
- Chimera website
- Team Chimera Facebook page
- Team Chimera Twitter
- Chimera on the Robot Wars website
- Chimera2 on the Robot Wars website
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