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Finagler was a lightweight competitor from the 1997 US Championship where it received a BYE in the first round but lost its only fight against Cooks.

Design[]

Finagler prototype

The prototype design for Finagler which would be reused for their BattleBots entry Bombus Bombus

Finagler was a white axlebot with the robot being made from scrapped parts, mostly an aluminium frame and plastic armour. The robot was armed with a spike at the front end which was a spring-loaded telescoping ram which ran the length of the robot but was only able to fire once. The robot also featured a small "grinding wheel" at the rear. The robot had to receive drill holes to reduce weight.

Robot History[]

1997 US Championship[]

Finagler received a BYE in the first round and moved straight to the Winner's Bracket Second Round against Cooks. Cooks immediately sped past Finagler, before the two robots turned around and rammed each other. The former dragged Finagler backwards; issues with Finagler's RC equipment caused it to stop moving immediately after it backed over Cooks' sloped side. After a few seconds, Finagler began crawling forwards, but stopped again as it tried to turn. Cooks initiated a few more rams, before gingerly pushing the malfunctioning Cooks across the arena.[1][2]

A spurt of movement allowed Finagler to break free, though Cooks again pressured and pushed it against the spike trap. Jack Buffington's machine was unable to escape from the pocket. Cooks, meanwhile, brushed against one of the arena flippers, and accidentally veered under the trap itself while trying to ram Finagler again. This resulted in the trap denting the shell of Paul Bell's robot, before it retreated and lunged at Finagler. Cooks bumped into its partially-immobile opponent, but wedged itself under the plywood 'curb'.[1][2]

With both robots now stuck in position, the Judges opted to stop the match to allow for a separation. This did not alleviate Finagler, the first to start moving again, of its mobility issues. Cooks, after heading into the center of the arena, turned around and rammed Finagler from the side before again jamming itself under the 'curb'. The latter error left Cooks under attack from the spike trap above. Both robots remained in their places until the match concluded; Cooks won the subsequent Judges' decision on points.[1][2]

Finagler wasn't finished yet as it competed in the lightweight melee against Cooks again as well as Gator, Mouser, Razor Back, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Ziggy. Mouser immediately drove into the side of a wheelieing Gator, which turned into and immobilized Razor Back with an early ram. Finagler turned into the upper-left corner past The Ominous Brick of Havoc, then got trapped by the upper spike, while Cooks pushed Scrappy from the side and engaged in a duel with the slow-starting Ziggy. Cooks proceeded to immobilize Gator by ramming it, only to be rammed by Mouser as it backed out of the ensuing pile-up.[3][4]

Mouser and The Ominous Brick of Havoc became trapped behind the upper-left flipper, while Cooks pushed the immobile Gator with Scrappy nearby. The pink Fon Davis machine soon escaped, bumping into Finagler and in turn getting pushed aside by Cooks. Cooks charged back into Ziggy; sparks flew as Ziggy's abrasive disc began cutting into the shell of Paul Bell's machine. Mouser nudged the immobile Razor Back and Gator, the latter still with an active cutting saw. Near the left wall, Scrappy briefly dragged Finagler back before the two robots separated, and the latter was nudged from the right-hand side by Mouser. Cooks found itself behind the upper-left flipper, before proceeding to push Mouser, Gator and Scrappy on each side of the arena.[3][4]

Ziggy, having kept out of the action, smashed into the side of Finagler, only to get pinned by the upper spike trap. Jonathan Ridder's machine kept pushing Finagler with its rear wedge shape, resulting in the latter being steered towards and riding up Mouser's dome-shaped shell. Finagler drove off just as Fon Davis' machine fired its pneumatic flap. A few seconds later, Cooks drove underneath Mouser, which in turn flicked Gator up with its side-facing weapon. The former two proceeded to attack Scrappy and the immobile Razor Back respectively. More sparks flew as Ziggy again attacked Cooks' shell, then weathered a head-to-head collision with the lumbering Finagler. A four-robot pile-up, involving Ziggy, Mouser, Scrappy and Cooks, developed soon after.[3][4]

Mouser and Ziggy separated, allowing Cooks to push Scrappy across the inner perimeter. Finagler briefly fell afoul of the upper spike trap, while Mouser kept attacking Gator as Cooks again pressured Ziggy. Scrappy wedged underneath the passive Ominous Brick of Havoc, itself suffering from control issues, just as Ziggy again hit Cooks' bodyshell. Cooks rammed the former two competitors, while Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc took turns at attacking Ziggy from the sides. The latter dug its front spears under Ziggy, after which Scrappy, Finagler and Cooks all closed in. Cooks pushed Scrappy aside, then helped The Ominous Brick of Havoc push Mouser into the left wall. The red and pink machines became stuck together, as all four of their active opponents again piled into each other.[3][4]

Fingaler arena spike

Finagler is flipped over by the arena spike

A pin by the upper spike trap caused Finagler to be flipped over. Meanwhile, Cooks wedged Scrappy in place by the upper-right corner, as Ziggy tentatively approached Jack Buffington's machine with its rear wedge shape. At that point, the Melee was paused to allow for multiple unsticks; Cooks from Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc from Mouser, and Gator from Razor Back. Through its ram, The Ominous Brick of Havoc had directly hit one of Mouser's internal components, leaving Fon Davis' machine immobile upon the match restarting.[3][4]

Cooks and Scrappy again teamed up against Ziggy, controlling the latter towards the lower spike trap. Scrappy was then pushed by Paul Bell's machine, which nudged Ziggy again as Finagler slowly closed in. Cooks sped around to push Ziggy from the back, brushing the side of Finagler as it did so. While Finagler again had a few close calls with the spike trap, Scrappy scooped under and pushed Ziggy into the lower-right flipper. Meanwhile, Cooks performed the same attack with The Ominous Brick of Havoc on the opposite side of the arena, only to speed directly into the lower spike trap.[3][4]

Scrappy pushed Ziggy along the trap 'curb', at which point both robots broke free and Cooks rammed it from the left-hand side. Contact with Scrappy's armor caused the large abrasive saw on Ziggy to stall, rendering it inoperable as it attempted to attack the former from the back. The final minute saw Cooks continuing to push Scrappy and Ziggy around, and Finagler starting its own duel with Scrappy. The Ominous Brick of Havoc kept clear, only to be pushed into the upper-right flipper by Cooks. After Scrappy wedged underneath Ziggy again, Cooks finished the Melee by ramming the pair once again. Finagler parked by the trio just as the end bell rang. The five robots still mobile - Cooks, Finagler, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Ziggy - were all selected to compete in the Final.[3][4]

In the lightweight melee final, Finagler and other fellow melee qualifiers faced Defiant and Pretty Hate Machine. Ziggy, unable to use its cutting disc, immediately turned wedge-first into The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Defiant and Cooks rammed and pushed each other, the pair soon being joined and pinned against the lower-right flipper by The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Pretty Hate Machine slowly approached Ziggy, which drove into the side of Christian Carlberg's walker as Finagler closed in. Defiant, recovering, tossed Scrappy end-over-end, before using its flipper to flick The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Ziggy away. Finagler controlled Pretty Hate Machine into the upper-left flipper, while Cooks teamed up with Defiant to nearly turn Ziggy completely over.[5][6]

Defiant vs cooks vs fingaler

Defiant flips Finagler as Cooks gets between them

Following an encounter with the lower-left flipper, The Ominous Brick of Havoc turned into Scrappy and stopped. Defiant closed in to flip the Team Delta entry over, though not without being sandwiched against it by a push from Cooks. Cooks next tried to steer the newly-crowned Lightweight Face-Off champion into the left wall, but not without both robots being pushed together by The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Near the inner perimeter, Ziggy rammed and pushed Scrappy into the retreating Cooks, which in turn pushed Steven Schware's machine several times across the arena. Defiant flipped Finagler, only to be forced away from it by an aggressive Ominous Brick of Havoc. This, however, allowed it the opportunity to flick and pin the latter against the lower-left flipper. As Ziggy closed in, Defiant threw The Ominous Brick of Havoc on top of the flipper.[5][6]

Defiant vs fingaler brick

Defiant flips both Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc

The Ominous Brick of Havoc remained stuck for some time, and struggled to drive away from the wall while Ziggy pressured it further. Defiant nudged Cooks, helping Paul Bell's machine to break free from Scrappy, before proceeding to lift and flick Ziggy around with more flipper attacks. Following a brief interruption by Cooks, it eventually threw Ziggy onto its back, with Jonathan Ridder's machine being left unable to self-right. Elsewhere, Cooks wedged itself underneath Pretty Hate Machine, which ripped part of the former's lifting 'spatula' off with its saws. Defiant continued attacking Scrappy and a retreating Cooks, with Cooks bumping and chasing it in response.[5][6]

Cooks rammed Pretty Hate Machine again, while Defiant lifted Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc simultaneously against the upper-left flipper. James Underwood's machine next turned Scrappy back upright, then wedged it under the lower wall. The Ominous Brick of Havoc lunged at Defiant, only to spear itself into the wall. Cooks and Finagler each rammed Pretty Hate Machine again, as Defiant lifted and helped the Team Delta machine break free. The Ominous Brick of Havoc's reprieve was not to last, as a collision with Scrappy allowed Defiant to hoist it against the wall once more.[5][6]

Scrappy drove under, turned and reversed away from The Ominous Brick of Havoc, passing Finagler as it did so. At that point, Defiant collected and flipped it against the wall. Wedged between the floor, 'curb' and sponsor banners, Scrappy was eliminated as a result. Defiant reengaged in battle with The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Cooks, which pinned it with a forceful ram. Finagler, meanwhile, bumped into the lower wall and got itself caught by the spike trap, as The Ominous Brick of Havoc rammed an increasingly sluggish Pretty Hate Machine.[5][6]

After several moments, Cooks and Defiant were both separated by a ram from The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Defiant turned The Ominous Brick of Havoc over, and proceeded to stack it against the lower-right wall with a second flip. Again, James Underwood's machine engaged in a head-to-head duel with Cooks, but encountered problems as it wedged itself into the upper wall. In the center of the arena, Pretty Hate Machine appeared to be completely immobile alongside the upturned Ziggy, where Finagler also remained stationary for some time as the Melee entered its final minute.[5][6]

Cooks pushed The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the lower-left corner, at which point the Melee was briefly paused to allow Defiant to be freed. With Finagler driving around in the lower-left corner, the remaining four machines battled on and met each other as Defiant found itself unable to breach Cooks' ground clearance. Upon separating, Defiant and Cooks rammed Finagler simultaneously, the former carrying it on its low box-shaped body. Another ram by Cooks left it stuck underneath Finagler, as Defiant proceeded to chase, ram and lift The Ominous Brick of Havoc against the left wall.[5][6]

Defiant struggled to keep lifting its red-painted opponent, as the CO2 supply in its weapon appeared to have greatly depleted. However, it kept controlling The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the walls and other already-defeated competitors. With less than thirty seconds remaining, the bell rang, signalling the abrupt end of the Melee Final.[5][6]

In the subsequent audience vote, Pretty Hate Machine demonstrated that it could still turn slowly on its legs, seconds before Defiant received the loudest cheer. Defiant was thus declared the 1997 Lightweight Melee champion, adding to its earlier championship win in the Lightweight Face-Off.[5][6]

Results[]

FINAGLER - RESULTS
Robot Wars: 1997 Championship
Lightweight Face-Off
Second Round
Round 1 vs. No Opponent BYE
Winner's Bracket Round 2 vs. Cooks Lost
Lightweight Melee
Finalist
Lightweight Melee Qualifier vs. Cooks, Gator, Mouser, Razor Back, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc, Ziggy Qualified
Lightweight Melee Final vs. Defiant, Pretty Hate Machine, Cooks, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc, Ziggy Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 2

Outside Robot Wars[]

Bombus bombus

Bombus Bombus in BattleBots

The team would return to robot combat in the BattleBots 1999 Long Beach event where they entered with Bombus Bombus a robot that took inspiration from Finagler's initial designs. Bombus Bombus, however, did not have a promising run as it suffered technical issues in both of the scheduled fights, against Instigator and Stinger, both of whom it was meant to fight.

References[]

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