- "Some assembly required
Battery and fuel not included
Actual Happy Fun 'Bot may vary slightly from illustration
Adult supervision required
Happy Fun 'Bot's Dream vacation sold seperatly [sic]
Small parts - chocking [sic] hazard
Recommended for ages 9 and up
Happy Fun 'Bot can move undetected when it wants to
Directions: start engine - get away
Do not use Happy Fun 'Bot as a step
Do not operate while intoxicated
Always keep your eye on Happy Fun 'Bot
Keep away from powerlines, pets, loved ones
Happy Fun 'Bot may exhibit paranoia or act irrationally
If out of control - do not intervene - call authorities
If missing - report your Happy Fun Bot's last known whereabouts
Happy Fun 'Bot may attempt to mislead you
May not be legal in some states
Do not taunt Happy Fun 'Bot" - — 'Warning label' placed on Happy Fun Bot[1]
Happy Fun Bot (formatted as Happy Fun 'Bot) was a lightweight competitor from the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. Appearing in both the Lightweight Face-Off and Melee events, it would lose each of its battles to SPS3 and Speed Bump ("Lorena") respectively, both of which were featured in the American Robot Wars 1996 VHS.
Design[]
Happy Fun Bot with its team
Happy Fun Bot was an octagonal-shaped robot with a plywood chassis and armor.[1] In American Robot Wars 1996, it was stated that the robot also featured a thin layer of Kevlar, polycarbonate, titanium and 'depleted uranium' over the wooden structure. Happy Fun Bot's primary weapon was a horizontally-mounted chainsaw placed on top of the front end, itself personifying the machine with a grinning face. Two eyes were placed on the chainsaw motor housing, with the actual saw acting as a 'nose'. In battles, a separate plate with a different set of eyes was attached to the front; a light blue cap was placed over the motor housing for the Lightweight Melee event. Other 'secret' weapons were briefly mentioned by John Calhoun during the team's interview, though these were never elaborated on.
Internally, Happy Fun Bot utilized drill motors, themselves driving the robot's most unorthodox feature. Instead of conventional wheels, two sawblades were used as locomotion, in an attempt to provide extra traction on the concrete arena floor. The blades themselves were quoted as being capable of cutting through two pieces of wood at once as well as making julienne fries, though they proved ineffective at their intended purpose. Though slow in motion, Happy Fun Bot was jokingly claimed to reach a top speed of '85mph', to have use as an 'autonomous' form of 'weed and pest control', and that 'four or five of [it] could bring in a whole harvest for a small-sized farm'.[1]
Robot History[]
1996 US Championship[]
- "Sounds like Happy Fun Bot is ready for lunch!"
- — Michael Meehan as Happy Fun Bot's chainsaw nose is started up (American Robot Wars 1996)
Happy Fun Bot began its 1996 run in the Lightweight Face-Off championship. In the first round, it was drawn to fight SPS3.
- "SPS3 was just the robot from hell as far as Happy Fun Bot was concerned. Not only was he fast and low-built... he had a net."
- — Paul Vallis
Happy Fun Bot uses its chainsaw against SPS3
Happy Fun Bot is pinned
From the start, Happy Fun Bot seemed to have control problems on its sawblade wheels. To make matters worse for it, SPS3 deployed one of its nets across the arena floor, with J.D. Streett's machine proceeding to nudge Happy Fun Bot opposite one of the arena flippers. Smoking, Happy Fun Bot kept driving around on its right wheel, and began cutting into SPS3 in response. Debris flew from SPS3's top panel as both robots kept gingerly shoving each other back and forth. During this time, Happy Fun Bot drove over and was stranded by a piece of SPS3's net. After appearing to lose all mobility, it was scooped up and pinned near a mousetrap by SPS3, which was enough to eliminate it from the Lightweight Face-Off.[1]
- "Fun Bots hate nets. He lost... pinned."
- — Paul Vallis
Happy Fun Bot would meet SPS3 again in the first round of the Lightweight Melee tournament. Together, they would face Flipper, Speed Bump (carrying the doll used by Lorena), Cyclo-Kluge, and recently-crowned Face-Off champion Attiller (the Hun).
Happy Fun Bot tangles with SPS3 in the Lightweight Melee
A ponderous start by most of the competitors saw Happy Fun Bot trundle across to the other side of the arena. In a resumption of their Face-Off clash, it turned around to face SPS3 and cut into its right-rear tire. At that point, SPS3 deployed both of its nets, one of which snared Happy Fun Bot's chainsaw as both robots drew close to each other.[2][3]
- "...Happy Fun Bot again came to grief in the nets of SPS3."
- — Paul Vallis on the start of the melee
With Flipper and Speed Bump also joining the scrap, Happy Fun Bot was pushed into the nearby wall bumper by the latter. It was also briefly wedged under by Flipper, which mistimed its own lifting attack. For a while, Happy Fun Bot lay stationary; it would spent the rest of the fight trapped on SPS3's nets in the bottom-left corner. Though shuffling back and forth on one side over the net, it was not considered to be fully mobile by the time the preliminary Melee concluded. Thus, Happy Fun Bot was not chosen to advance to the Final alongside the last two survivors - Flipper and Speed Bump.[2][3]
Results[]
| HAPPY FUN BOT - RESULTS | ||
| 1996 US Championship | ||
| Lightweight Face-Off Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. SPS3 | Lost |
| Lightweight Melee Round 1 | ||
| Melee | vs. Attiller (the Hun), Flipper, Speed Bump, SPS3, Cyclo-Kluge | Lost |
| NOTE: Speed Bump was alternatively referred to as "Lorena" throughout the Lightweight Melee event, due to it being modified to feature Lorena's doll. | ||
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
| Events | Happy Fun Bot Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Did not enter |
| 1995 | Did not enter |
| 1996 | Lightweight Face-Off, Round 1 Lightweight Melee, Round 1 |
| 1997 | Did not enter |
Trivia[]
- Happy Fun Bot is one of three 1996 competitors which had all of their battles featured in American Robot Wars 1996, the others being BioHazard and La Machine.
- Both of Happy Fun Bot's losses involved it being entangled by SPS3's nets.
References[]
External Links[]
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