- "The plan to build a robot started when series 3 aired and I stupidly thought "I could do that". So with a budget of about £600 and a very limited Idea of engineering and electronics off I voyage into the world of "What's that do""
- — Ian Rotheram outlines his intent to enter Robot Wars
Gothix, also known as Vampyre, was a heavyweight robot that attempted to qualify for Series 4 of Robot Wars. While the robot did not qualify for the series, builder Ian Rotheram would later qualify with Derek.
Design[]
Though little is known about the design of Gothix, the robot's website states that the Vampyre iteration was to be armed with front-mounted pneumatic jaws and a srimech arm at the back; the latter stated to be inspired by the front-hinged flipping arm of Cassius. Unlike jaws on robots such as Kan-Opener, which were intended to grip and crush opponents between them, Gothix's weapon in this form was designed to ram into a robot and then pry it apart. Had this been realised, the jaws would have likely functioned similarly to those of 1997 heavyweight The Scorpion.[1]
The robot was armoured in 6mm polycarbonate and rested on a 12mm baseplate. Gothix had several different sets of wheels, which could be swapped out for the Arena and The Gauntlet stages.[1][2] This confirms that Gothix was designed prior to knowledge of Trial stages being dropped from the main competition.
The initial design for a heavyweight entry was described as a hybrid of Mortis and House Robot Matilda, taking inspiration from the House Robot's aesthetics, and the Series 2 semi-finalist's weaponry. This idea was quickly scrapped, as it became too complicated to construct an axe mechanism for the robot, which was intended to utilise as many prebuilt components as possible.[3]
- "The original design was christened "Mortilda" for reasons which become obvious when you see it. I loved the shape of Matilda and the axe of Mortis combine the two and you get "Mortilda""
- — The team explains the robot's initial design on their website[3]
Once design plans for what would become Gothix commenced, internals including a second-hand pneumatic ram and a pair of 5-port valves were purchased from the team behind Series 3 competitor Crippler. These would form the basis of the robot's srimech and front jaws.[2]
As the Gothix website's build diary has no updates more recent than June 2000, it is unknown whether the build for the Vampyre design was ever completed.
Etymology[]
- The name Gothix relates to gothic culture, as reflected in the robot's typography and website design.
- Vampyre is an alternative spelling of "vampire", used in several pieces of film media.
- Mortilda is simply a portmanteau of build inspirations Mortis and Matilda.
The Team[]
Gothix was designed and built by Ian Rotheram, an engineer working at Ventcroft in Cheshire[4]. While it is not known whether there were any other members of the team, Rotheram would also form part of Team Derek.
Series Record[]
| Series | Gothix Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fourth Wars | Failed to qualify |
| The Fifth Wars | Entered with Derek |
| The Sixth Wars | Entered with Derek 2 |
| The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Trivia[]
- Gothix was one of several robots which did not qualify for Robot Wars to be named on their official website.
- It was labelled a "heavyweight with axes", which is likely an error as this more accurately describes the builder's initial concept for Mortilda.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Gothix - Vampyre', Gothix Team website (archived 16 June 2001)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'The Gothix Robot Wars diary', Gothix Team website (archived 20 April 2001)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Mortilda', Gothix Team website (archived 20 April 2001)
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20020131180320/http://www.tinweb.com/discus/messages/350/1714.html?WednesdaySeptember1519990836pm