Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc
Participation Information
UK Series	3-6, Extreme 1-2
Team Information
Team Members	Dave Rose Derek Rose Ken Rose
From	Oxford (Series 3) Banbury, Oxfordshire (Series 4, 6, Extreme 2) Middleton Cheney, Banbury, Oxfordshire (Extreme 1-Series 5)
Robot Statistics
Weight	100kg
Dimensions	0.47m x 1.22m x 0.74m
Clearance	25mm
Top Speed	10mph
Power	2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons	Horizontal flywheel
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"We did not want to meet Hypno-Disc...This machine was stunning for the amount of damage it dished out. The pits were very quiet when it was on."

— Peter Kinsey of the Bodmin Community College team

Hypno-Disc (sometimes spelt as Hypnodisc, Hypno Disc or Hypno-Disk) was a competitor robot that entered the British TV show Robot Wars. One of the most famous and destructive robots in the history of British combat robotics, Hypno-Disc fought in Series 3-6 of the main UK version, as well as both series of Robot Wars Extreme. Hypno-Disc enjoyed high levels of success throughout the show, including a perfect record of series Semi-Finals, three consecutive Grand Final appearances (Series 3-5), and a runner-up finish in its debut series. However, despite its consistently strong UK Championship performances and a collective tally of 22 combat victories, Hypno-Disc never won a robot combat tournament.

Hypno-Disc was famously known and feared for its trademark horizontal flywheel, a weapon it pioneered and used to great effect. Its battles against Robogeddon, Stealth, V-Max, Splinter, and Bigger Brother are commonly cited as examples of its destructive power, which was unprecedented for its time in the UK. Hypno-Disc received the 'Most Original Entry' award in Series 3 in recognition of the flywheel design, and like other pioneers Razer, Chaos 2 and Cassius, provided inspiration for several other designs featuring this type of weapon.

The Hypno-Disc team's motto was "Spin to Win", a motto soon adopted by other roboteers and referenced by Robot Wars and BattleBots personalities.

Versions of Hypno-Disc

"Hypno-Disc; lethal, destructive. A robo-vore - it eats other machines alive."

— Jonathan Pearce in the Series 3 Semi-Finals

Hypno-Disc before the filming of Series 6, with the flywheel from Series 5

Hypno-Disc in the first series of Extreme

In general, all versions of Hypno-Disc shared the same basic design: a four-wheeled, low rectangular shaped robot with 6mm aluminium checker-plate armour and a large front-mounted horizontal flywheel with a black and grey 'hypnotic spiral' pattern that inspired its name. The flywheel noticeably made a loud whirling noise when spinning, which was caused by the gearing inside the flywheel mechanism.

This flywheel was the first of its kind to appear in the UK series of Robot Wars, and was capable of causing severe damage to other robots' armour, electronics and wheels, sometimes ripping them off completely. Because of the flywheel's destructive potential, Hypno-Disc was quickly dubbed "the most destructive robot in Robot Wars" in Series 3.

"Watching the show, what we wanted to do is produce something that was really destructive. We put some basic physics and engineering knowledge into practice on how to design a really effective weapon and the only way you can really do that is with a method to store energy, and the old-time fashioned way of doing it is a flywheel."

— Derek Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

The Lego prototype for Hypno-Disc

CAD drawing of Hypno-Disc's original design

However, the wheels of all versions of Hypno-Disc were exposed and easily susceptible to damage, and the robot had limited pushing power and lower reliability in later series. The team originally planned on a two-wheeled design with a much smaller chassis, but eventually changed it to the familiar four-wheeled rectangular design.

"Capable of a single knock-out blow!"

— Jonathan Pearce

The spiral pattern was painted by spinning the flywheel manually whilst holding a pencil against it, and later painting over the lines.

Hypno-Disc (Series 3)

"We set out to design and build a robot with an effective weapon. There is nothing more boring to watch than 2 boxi - bots trying to scratch each others paint work with 2" spikes. With this in mind we considered the usual saws, axes and pneumatic stabbers. All of which has been seen many times over. We wanted a unique weapon. High kinetic energy is mandatory for a weapon that is going to do 'real damage'. Flywheels came to mind. Just get a heavy enough flywheel turning fast, bolt on a blade or two and stand back. The weapon was the first part to be laid out on the design, the rest followed."

— Hypno-Disc website

The Series 3 incarnation of Hypno-Disc in the arena

The team display the internals of the original Hypno-Disc

The Series 3 model of Hypno-Disc was originally built over three months using computer aided design. It was built from an aluminium frame welded together by hand. Hypno-Disc was already capable of pulling a car and its partially hollow 18kg flywheel spun at speeds between 500-600rpm and was capable of slicing through 3.5mm thick aluminium. This made it easily one of the most damaging weapons in the Third Wars, despite later encountering reliability issues as the tournament progressed.

"...we spent four to five months designing, using Computer Aided Design (CAD), and only about four months building."

— Derek Rose in Robot Wars: The Official Magazine

Hypno-Disc in Series 3 - note the teeth on the top and side of the flywheel

The Series 3 Hypno-Disc's flywheel featured two teeth like its successors, but instead of both being mounted on opposite sides, one was mounted on the side and the other on the top of the disc opposite it. The top mounted tooth was implemented with the intention to throw opponents robots off the disc if they ended up on top of it, though this ultimately was never showcased. It also sported black and white wheels unique to this version, and lacked either the top spikes or the self-righting arm installed on subsequent versions.

"We put all our design efforts into the ultimate offensive weaponry, and we forfeited the self-righting capability."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc (Series 4)

Series 4 appearance, with five top-mounted spikes which later reappeared on the Series 6 version.

Hypno-Disc from the side

The Series 4 model of Hypno-Disc was actually a completely new machine from the Series 3 machine, built to improve on the previous version. For the Series 4 model, a side mounted self-righting arm was added behind Hypno-Disc's flywheel, in response to their defeat against Chaos 2. The flywheel also received substantial changes, now spinning up to 750rpm and equipped with a shaft drive, clutch and new motor that allowed it to reach its maximum speed in 3.5 seconds (75 mph at the teeth). Additionally, it featured thicker and larger teeth, both of which were mounted on opposite sides of the disc.

"...quite a narrow, pointed tooth. We noticed that these cut and slashed, made some localised damage, so we changed the shape of the teeth to these much blunter, wider sections, that dig into armour, grab hold of it and actually tore whole sheets of armour off the side of their robot."

— Dave Rose compares the teeth on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Poster of Series 4's Hypno-Disc from Issue 7 of the Robot Wars Magazine

The disc was also slimmer than the original disc and had a tapered appearance. The drive system for both the wheels and the disc were simplified for improved reliability. The wheels were now solid aluminium wheels with interchangeable tyres and adjustable tyre studs, and each wheel had worm-wheel gear boxes on each wheel with direct drive shafts. The batteries were installed under the disc to help the robot balance better.

Hypno-Disc also sported a set of five spikes along its top armour for added protection, leverage whilst self-righting, and aesthetic effect (added after the qualifiers), and new metal wheels replacing the original ones. This version was also quick at 20mph and had mild steel added to its armour, but the wheels were especially vulnerable to damage, as its fight against Pussycat proved.

Hypno-Disc (Series 5)

"We came back for the fifth Wars, with a new motor for the disc, about 3 times as powerful as the previous motor, and a much better, faster, more powerful self-righting gearbox."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc as it appeared in Series 5

Hypno-Disc in the arena during the Fifth Wars

The Series 5/Extreme 1 Hypno-Disc featured more upgrades to its flywheel, which now weighed 20kg and featured a new motor that was three times as powerful as before, allowing the flywheel to spin up to 90mph in just two seconds. The five spikes seen in Series 4 were also replaced with one spike for this series only, while the self-righting arm was upgraded to travel faster.

"The self-righting arm was a weakness. It took about 5 seconds to operate at series 4. It was lucky that we didn't need to use it. But for Robotwars Extreme a better system was an absolute must. Starting from scratch a custom 280:1 reduction gear box was designed and powered by a small starter motor. The SRM now works very well."

— Hypno-Disc website

This version of Hypno-Disc started to show more issues with reliability throughout Extreme, breaking down under minimal pressure against Nasty Warrior and TX-108. These issues were due to an electrical bug, and were fixed for Series 5.

Hypno-Disc (Series 6)

Hypno-Disc in Series 6

Hypno-Disc in the Series 6 semi-finals

For Series 6 and Extreme 2, a new version of Hypno-Disc was built, using a new 10mm aluminium checker-plate chassis, with titanium wheel shafts and a brand-new two-toothed flywheel with a 7mm high-grade aluminium cover and a new spiral pattern. A new radio control interface was also added.

Official photo (cropped) of Hypno-Disc in Extreme 2

Hypno-Disc from Extreme 2, in its Scandinavian DVD artwork

The flywheel was upgraded to spin at up to 900rpm and the drive motor was moved under the weapon to improve the reliability of the weapon, while the five body spikes seen on the Series 4 model returned, although considerably shorter than before. However, Hypno-Disc continued to suffer from breakdowns caused by recoil, both in Series 6 and its relatively unchanged appearance in Extreme 2.

Etymology

Hypno-Disc's name is in direct reference to its iconic flywheel. Painted with a spiral design, the disc became almost hypnotic to look at when it was spinning.

The Team

"It all started just before Series 1, we'd seen an advert in a model magazine for radio-control experts to come onto this TV competition. We hadn't got a clue what it was, we were quite interested, but unfortunately, Series 1, we didn't start. After Series 2, we looked at various robots on there and we thought "This is fantastic, we've got to have a go at this. So we went about designing a robot for it."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc DVD

Left to Right: Dave, Ken and Derek Rose, the "Spin to Win" Boys

The Rose family introduce Hypno-Disc in Series 3; note the spare teeth, protective covers and the metal piece used to test the flywheel weapon

The team in Series 5, with the mascot

Hypno-Disc was designed and built by the Rose family; brothers Derek and Dave and their father Ken, who was aged 68 at the time of Series 3. The design for Hypno-Disc originally came from Dave Rose's three-year-old son, who made it out of Lego, and this was converted from 15 years of engineering experience.

Dave, Derek and Ken were present throughout Hypno-Disc's appearances, apart from the Semi-Finals and Grand Final of Series 3, when Derek was forced to leave for America on work.

The team were almost always seen in blue shirts, except for the Grand Final of Series 3 where Dave and Ken wore green shirts and Hypno-Disc's heat in Series 4 where all the team members wore yellow shirts. From Extreme 1 onwards, the team had their logo printed on in the top left corner consisting of a drawing of Hypno-Disc's flywheel and their motto 'Spin to Win'.

Qualification

Hypno-Disc testing in an audition tape for Series 3

At the Series 3 auditions, Hypno-Disc undertook the standard driving test as with all other applicants. Additionally, it was permitted to test its then-unique horizontal disc on some blocks, in order to prove its capabilities to the Robot Wars technical crew.

"Our audition was on Sunday 30th May at 5.45. At the Robot Wars 99 audition we performed the set driving test. As we have a unique weapon on our robot, nothing like it has ever been seen on RW before, we were allowed to test the weapon too. Matt Irvine, Derek Foxwell and the camera crew came over to watch. The question on their minds was "is this 'whirly gig' going to be as dangerous as a wet blanket ?" Hypno-Disc spun up to about half speed (300 RPM) and approached the stack of 3 blocks slowly at about 0.5 mph. No noise could be heard or any other indication of the power that was about to be un-leashed from the spinning disc. The bottom two blocks took the brunt of the impact from the single horizontal tooth. They were thrown forward about 5 feet. The top half-block then fell down and was smashed by the vertical tooth. This block was thrown about 20 feet towards the ramp. The disc didn't seem to appreciably slow down. All the block suffered deep gouges with just one hit. The stored energy in the disc is obviously devastating. ( 2.3 K Joules ) The debris had to be swept from the test area before the next robot entered!"

— Hypno-Disc website

Hypno-Disc performs an arena demonstration at Robot Mayhem

Hypno-Disc on display at Robot Mayhem

Hypno-Disc only had to go through the auditions for Series 3, as it was seeded in every other main series it competed in. Though benefiting from automatic qualification as a result, it would still attend the 2000 Robot Mayhem event - acting as the Series 4 qualifiers - as a guest robot. Both the Series 3 and Series 4 incarnations were present; the latter with unpainted flywheel teeth and unspiked top armour. Along with static displays from both models, the Series 4 version performed demonstrations in the arena, one of which was captured in a photo published in the original Robot Wars Magazine.

Due to commitments outside of Robot Wars, the team did not enter Series 7.

"There are a number of reasons why we didn't make it to Series 7 this time. Unfortunately it has been an exceptionally busy 2003 at our works which took up much of the spare time we would have normally had. Derek is now a proud Dad. Natalie, who is now 6 months old, has kept Derek's hands full lately !!"

— The Hypno-Disc website explains Hypno-Disc's absence from The Seventh Wars

In 2016, Dave Rose appeared on BBC Radio Oxford to discuss Hypno-Disc with radio presenter Kat Ormand. He stated that the Hypno-Disc team were exploring the possibility of competing in Series 8, but warned that this might not have been possible due to time constraints and other factors. Some roboteers have claimed that Hypno-Disc was at one stage listed among the competitors for Series 8, but this has not been confirmed. Hypno-Disc ultimately did not compete, nor did it apply for Series 9-10.

Robot History

"Hypno-Disc is one I do remember...it's not something you can forget"

— Robot Wars judge Mat Irvine

Series 3

Hypno-Disc is burned by the flamethrowers before the edited fight begins

Hypno-Disc's Robot Wars debut saw it drawn up against fellow newcomer Robogeddon. Not shown on television, the battle begun with Robogeddon pushing Hypno-Disc down the arena, and Hypno-Disc became stuck in reverse drive. Hypno-Disc reversed into a wall, where it was torched by the flamethrowers, but regained control before it could be attacked by Dead Metal.

Hypno-Disc's first impact against Robogeddon

Robogeddon pushes Hypno-Disc

In the televised fight, Hypno-Disc moved off slower, getting its disc up to speed as Robogeddon drove after its opponent, getting behind it and trying to get the flipper in. Hypno-Disc turned away, turned around and hit the front of Robogeddon with the disc. Both robots drove around, turning to get into a good position to attack again, and Hypno-Disc charged at the front of Robogeddon, ripping up some of its armour.

"Oh goodness me! Poor old Robogeddon crumpled, by Hypno-D-I-S-C-Oh, no more letters in that, never mind. Hypno-Disco it certainly is though, dancing around, on the attack, and Robogeddon being shredded here!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc annihilates its first victim

Hypno-Disc tears the backend of Robogeddon

Robogeddon tried to flee as Hypno-Disc backed off for another charge, but Hypno-Disc followed, and landed another blow on Robogeddon's side, leaving the armour crumpled and pieces falling off. Robogeddon spun around, its armour fluttering as it did, before exposing its rear to Hypno-Disc and reversing into the disc. Robogeddon did push Hypno-Disc back a little, but Hypno-Disc still managed to tear a hole in Robogeddon's rear before turning away for another attack. As Robogeddon tried to get away, Hypno-Disc got around the other side of Robogeddon and hit the armour, causing it to come loose, hanging off Robogeddon's frame. Robogeddon could not move away, so Hypno-Disc rammed into its rear with the disc spinning, crushing through the armour. Robogeddon continued in its struggles to move, so Hypno-Disc hit it with the disc again, ripping more pieces off. Robogeddon spun on the spot, and Hypno-Disc charged at it again, ripping off the armour almost completely.

"Before the fight with Robogeddon, we knew nothing at all about the level of destruction we were going to give...and one or two people on the website tended to think it was a setup....I can assure them that it was not a setup, because we didn't know that the robot was going to perform as well as it did."

— Ken Rose on the Ultimate Warrior - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc rips off Robogeddon's shell

Hypno-Disc tears out Robogeddon's internals

Smoke was beginning to pour from Robogeddon as Hypno-Disc hit the armour again, ripping it off Robogeddon altogether. The wheels were now wonky, with the tyres damaged and falling off the wheels, so Robogeddon could do nothing but spin a little as Hypno-Disc hit it from behind, knocking it down the arena without its armour. The wheels were still turning, but it could not move at all because of the damaged tyres. Hypno-Disc gave it one last hit from behind, causing the CO₂ canister to leak.

"There's no shell, no wheels, no weapon, no hope. Hypno-Disc, this is the most complete destruction I think we've seen in Robot Wars ever."

— Jonathan Pearce

At this point, cease was called, truly sending Robogeddon out of the wars, and concluding a famous early victory for Hypno-Disc. This fight was later nominated for "Battle of the Series".

"I've never seen anything like that before on Robot Wars, I mean it completely battered that robot, it just ripped it to pieces!"

— Craig Charles after the battle

In the second round, Hypno-Disc was placed up against another newcomer in Stealth.

"We looked at him, he had much better armour, so we were still a little bit unsure about how well we'd do."

— Derek Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc sends Stealth spinning away from its first hit

The arena spike props Hypno-Disc upwards smashing off Stealth's blade

As Hypno-Disc moved off, Stealth failed to start, rocking back and forth but not moving away. Hypno-Disc drove in, knocking Stealth aside with the disc. Stealth started moving properly, albeit slowly, and turned, plodding towards its opponent. It managed to get the flipper under Hypno-Disc, but Hypno-Disc scratched the front with the disc, before turning away before Stealth could flip it. Stealth tried to get under Hypno-Disc again, and Hypno-Disc reversed away, but in doing so reversed into Matilda. Hypno-Disc got away immediately as Stealth drove onto an arena spike that lifted it up. Hypno-Disc reversed for another attack, then hit Stealth's side, ripping some of the armour off. Stealth drove onto the arena spike again, before Hypno-Disc closed in for another attack. However, Stealth managed to turn into the disc and push it into Matilda. As Stealth turned to get away, Hypno-Disc was bounced up by the spike, knocking off the saw on Stealth's rear as it tried to get off the spike.

"Matilda, thinking twice about attacking Hypno-Disc, well look at this! Jumped up in the air, Hypno-Disc, but the blade of Stealth completely flying off!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc chops through Stealth's rear

Hypno-Disc tears through Stealth's interals

Hypno-Disc was bounced a couple more times by the spike, and lifted by Matilda's tusks, but received no damage. Stealth's flipper was now stuck in the up position, and Hypno-Disc landed a blow on its front. Stealth could only move backwards and forwards a little, leaving it a sitting duck for Hypno-Disc to attack from behind, tearing off two panels of armour. Stealth was spinning on the spot, and Hypno-Disc pushed it into the arena wall, where it stopped moving altogether. However, a mistimed charge had Hypno-Disc colliding into the front of Matilda, and the flywheel dislodged the house robot's tusks. Team Stealth could only watch as Hypno-Disc landed more blows, ripping the other side panel away and knocking out the now-exposed internals. After a few blows, Hypno-Disc was able to turn Stealth around, allowing it to attack the cylinders for the flipper, breaking them in one blow.

"...It was just too much of a temptation for Dave to go in there and chop straight through them. That was my favourite part!"

— Derek Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc rips into Stealth's pneumatics

Hypno-Disc leaves Stealth in ruins

Hypno-Disc managed one more attack on Stealth's rear, ripping out some electronics before Cease was called.

Philippa Forrester: "People are very frightened now."

Derek Rose: "Well, we've still got a few problems with the control, I was stuck in with Matilda for a while, and that wasn't me attacking Matilda, it has a mind of its own!"

— Post-battle interview

Hypno-Disc was through to the Heat Final after dishing out unprecedented levels of damage to their opponent for a second time.

"Has anything been as good as Hypno-Disc ever?"

— Jonathan Pearce reviewing Hypno-Disc's progress to the Heat Final

Hypno-Disc leaves a gash at the back of Berserk 2

Berserk 2 lifts Hypno-Disc up by its flywheel

Hypno-Disc faced Berserk 2 in the Heat Final. Hypno-Disc charged at Berserk 2 with the disc, but the disc just glanced off Berserk 2's shell, creating a small slit. Berserk 2 then pursued Hypno-Disc, lifting it up and stopping the disc, sustaining more slits, before pushing it into Sir Killalot.

"A much better armoured robot, so we knew we had our work cut out."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Berserk 2 gets flipped by the arena spike

Hypno-Disc helps Berserk 2 self right

Sir Killalot prodded the two robots, and they separated. Hypno-Disc stood idle for a few moments in an attempt to get the disc up to speed again, escaping as Berserk 2 closed in. Berserk 2 followed Hypno-Disc, but got flipped by an arena spike while doing so. It couldn't self-right, but Hypno-Disc pushed it to knock it back onto its wheels.

"...We thought we'd be a bit sporting and flip them back over onto their wheels, to continue the battle."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Berserk 2 axes away as Hypno-Disc reverses

Hypno-Disc ends the fight in the claw of Sgt. Bash

Hypno-Disc got flicked by the arena spike as well, and took a hit from Berserk 2's axe, before accelerating away, and reversing into Berserk 2, pushing it into Sir Killalot. Berserk 2 got away and continued to try to use the axe, this time hitting thin air. Berserk 2 then stopped Hypno-Disc's disc once more and axed the disc, but caused little damage. Hypno-Disc reversed onto Berserk 2 again, but then backed away onto a set of arena spikes. Hypno-Disc accelerated forwards, taking a glancing blow from Berserk 2's axe, before reversing straight into Sgt. Bash's CPZ, where Sgt. Bash clawed the back of Hypno-Disc.

"This is a major surprise, and it will go to the judges. I didn't think it would last this long, did you? Well done, anyway, to Berserk 2, for staying in there, and this is very, very close. Epic final, that."

— Jonathan Pearce

The damage caused by Sgt. Bash

It went to the judges, who gave Hypno-Disc the win. However, there was a scare for the future runners-up, as Berserk 2 had damaged the disc and Sgt. Bash had caused Hypno-Disc to have blackouts. To make matters worse, Derek departed for America, leaving Dave and Ken alone to work for four hours straight in order to avoid disqualification.

"We were suffering control 'blackouts' and stopped in Bash's CPZ. It took 4 hours to strip and repair Hypno-Disc. We very nearly retired due to lack of time, spares, man power, Derek going to America, cold tea, no sleep, empty wallet.... But Philippa persuaded us to 'dig deep', well who would say no?"

— Hypno-Disc website

They nearly had to retire Hypno-Disc due to a lack of parts and time, but fortunately, the Hypno-Disc team brought their robot back to life just in time for the Series Semi-Finals. Hypno-Disc entered the second Semi-Final, and was placed against Evil Weevil for the first round.

"We've got it tuned lovely! It's going faster than ever!"

— Dave Rose on the disc, to Philippa Forrester

Hypno-Disc strikes Evil Weevil

Hypno-Disc causes minimal damage to the shell of Evil Weevil

Evil Weevil came out first and spun on the spot as Hypno-Disc got its spinning disc up to speed. Hypno-Disc came forward, but Evil Weevil was still spinning and deflected the first attack aside. Evil Weevil then retreated, but drifted into Dead Metal's CPZ. It escaped before the House Robot could attack, and rammed Hypno-Disc into the arena wall. Hypno-Disc then clipped the front of Evil Weevil, before Evil Weevil drove forward and weathered another attack.

"This is interesting, because if the weapon doesn't cause damage from Hypno-Disc, what else does that spinning robot have?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Evil Weevil becomes immobile

Evil Weevil is punished by the House Robots

Hypno-Disc then attacked Evil Weevil's rear, ripping off pieces of armour. Evil Weevil reversed, and Hypno-Disc clipped the lifting forks of Evil Weevil with its disc as it drove past. The two robots then locked side on, with Hypno-Disc's weapon scuffing the shell. Hypno-Disc continued to attack, hitting the Evil Weevil weapon once more, before flicking it up into the air with another attack. At this stage, Evil Weevil was struggling to move, so Hypno-Disc continued to land blows with its disc, before Evil Weevil stopped moving completely, and the House Robots came in to attack the immobilised Evil Weevil.

"A long way yet, we've a good chance.... There's a few tougher robots to come."

— Dave Rose, when asked by Philippa Forrester if he thought they could reach the top

This led to Hypno-Disc facing 101 in the second round for the last place in the Grand Final.

"Hypno-Disc would be the favourite here, at the start of a battle which will see one of these robots in to the Grand Final. Our last seat at the great party is about to be filled by one of these."

— Jonathan Pearce at the start of the battle

Hypno-Disc meets 101 head-on

Hypno-Disc meets resistance from 101

101 charged forwards first, and Hypno-Disc slowly moved out to meet it, its flywheel clipping the front of 101, causing no damage. Hypno-Disc reversed towards the arena wall to get its weapon back up to speed. 101 met it side on and stopped the disc, before pushing Hypno-Disc from behind. It attempted to bring its spike into play, but it missed. Hypno-Disc moved away again, but 101 continued to attack, riding over the top of Hypno-Disc and stopping the weapon again. Hypno-Disc continued to try to get enough space to get the disc back up to speed, while 101 moved over the flame pit and went into Dead Metal. 101 escaped with no damage and then met Hypno-Disc head on again, keeping the disc's speed down, then climbed over the top of Hypno-Disc again.

"Very close, this Semi-Final battle."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc is pushed towards the flame pit by 101

Hypno-Disc finds itself in the clutches of Dead Metal

Hypno-Disc drove around, with its disc consistently at a slow speed, before reversing into Dead Metal itself; the house robot brought its circular saw down twice before Hypno-Disc managed to escape. 101 drove at Hypno-Disc's rear again, so Hypno-Disc reversed to bat away 101's charge. Hypno-Disc slammed backwards, forcing 101 into Dead Metal, before the two robots locked horns again, with 101 forcing Hypno-Disc into the arena wall.

"Hypno-Disc's weapon, you know, throughout this Semi-Final, has not been as potent as we thought."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc found itself over the flame pit and just escaped another attack from Dead Metal. The battle concluded with the two robots pushing each other and the decision went to the judges.

"The tightest battle in Robot Wars history!"

— Jonathan Pearce whilst reviewing the highlights

For the first time, the judges actually inspected the robots up close

For the first time ever, the judges went into the arena to inspect for damage before making their decision. The judges went for Hypno-Disc, who progressed to the Grand Final.

In the Grand Final eliminator, Hypno-Disc was drawn against original Series 3 reserve Steg-O-Saw-Us.

"[The armour's] thinner than the last opponent, so we should have more of a chance of getting through it this time. ...I've noticed they've got a lifter at the back, and I think the lifter is actually higher than any part of our robot they can actually lift."

— Dave Rose, confident before the battle with Steg-O-Saw-Us

Hypno-Disc and Steg-O-Saw-Us duel

Steg-O-Saw-Us got the first attack in, ramming into the rear of Hypno-Disc as it turned. Hypno-Disc's weapon then clipped Steg-O-Saw-Us' front while it reversed, before driving into the side of Steg-O-Saw-Us, causing no notable damage. Hypno-Disc reversed to get its disc back up to speed, but almost reversed into Matilda's CPZ. They got away, and were met by a head on charge from Steg-O-Saw-Us, who overshot their drive and went into both Shunt and Matilda's CPZs, before escaping. Hypno-Disc then caught Steg-O-Saw-Us' side, and sliced a gash into it.

"Look at that power and venomous ability of the spinning disc of the Hypno boys."

— Jonathan Pearce

Steg-O-Saw-Us slams Hypno-Disc into the arena wall...

Steg-O-Saw-Us fought back, shunting Hypno-Disc head on again, but part of its side became scuffed in the process. Steg-O-Saw-Us rammed itself into the arena wall, before reversing into Hypno-Disc. Steg-O-Saw-Us forced Hypno-Disc back slightly, with two rams in quick succession, before getting behind Hypno-Disc and driving it across the arena and into the arena wall.

"Hypno-Disc's rotating blade has been slowed, and this is a very plucky performance by Steg-O-Saw-Us."

— Jonathan Pearce

... but is later spun away by Hypno-Disc

Steg-O-Saw-Us continued to press Hypno-Disc against the arena wall, before Hypno-Disc moved away. Steg-O-Saw-Us attacked the Hypno-Disc flywheel head on twice in a row, with Hypno-Disc slashing into Steg-O-Saw-Us' side next to the wheel. Steg-O-Saw-Us started to slow down, with Hypno-Disc coming in for another attack down the side of its opponent. Steg-O-Saw-Us was now on its last legs, and desperately tried to defend itself by flicking its rear end tail, as Hypno-Disc caused more damage to the side of Steg-O-Saw-Us.

The damage inflicted to Steg-O-Saw-Us

"Have they ground themselves to a halt here, Steg-O-Saw-Us? Has it been immobilised?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Steg-O-Saw-Us finally managed to regain some form of mobility, but could only reverse into the arena wall. One last attack from Hypno-Disc was enough, and cease was called, confirming Hypno-Disc's victory.

Philippa Forrester: "It was a run for your money as well, wasn't it?"

Dave Rose: "We were on the losing side for a little while, then we got the disc working, then we...pummeled them!"

— Post-match interview

Hypno-Disc was put through to the Grand Final, but before the final, major repairs had to be done to the insides.

"Just before the end of the Steg battle, we heard this grinding, and we thought it was the Steg machine that was complaining, but it was actually ours. We got back to the pits and looked in there, and the gears were all smashed up and there was all sorts of problems, so although we were really, really pleased to get into the Grand Final battles, it was a lot of work to get in there and continue."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

The team were able to get the machine ready for the final battle, where it went up against the flipper of Chaos 2.

"The disc against the flipper, the speed of Chaos 2. The best two robots in the series have survived: the cream has risen to the top"

— Jonathan Pearce at the start of the battle

Chaos 2 stops Hypno-Disc's weapon

Chaos 2 started quickly, circling around Hypno-Disc in an attempt to get underneath it and flip it. However, Hypno-Disc appeared to be having control problems, retreating to the wall as Chaos 2 followed alongside, turned and attempted to flip Hypno-Disc near the wall. However, Chaos 2 missed, its flipper landing on Hypno-Disc's disc and stopping it momentarily. After a few seconds, Chaos 2 and Hypno-Disc separated, the latter getting its disc up to speed once again and buffeting Chaos 2 as it tried to get underneath again. However, Hypno-Disc was unable to escape a front-on attack from Chaos 2, who promptly flipped it onto its back.

"After about 20 seconds the gears gave up. It was dead in the water and that's when Chaos 2 turned us over"

— Dave Rose in Robot Wars Magazine

Chaos 2's title-winning flip on Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc was unable to self-right, leaving Chaos 2 as the champion. The defeated Hypno-Disc was dragged into the corner of the arena by Dead Metal, while Chaos 2 celebrated its title victory by flipping Matilda and Shunt over as well.

The overturned Hypno-Disc is left to the House Robots

"Chaos 2 has won the final, flipping Hypno-Disc! The fears have proven true for the Hypno-Disc boys. Chaos 2 came in, got underneath the disc, ironically; flipped up and over, and Chaos 2 are the worthy winners of Robot Wars - the champions. Crowned, and Hypno-Disc lies battered and beaten."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc also won the Most Original Entry award in this series, which turned out to be the only Robot Wars trophy or award the robot received throughout its career.

"But the winner is...Hypno-Disc! Brutally powerful, and brilliant!"

— Jonathan Pearce, announcing the winner of the Most Original Entry Award

Series 4

"Everyone involved in Robot Wars wants to know what's going to happen this wars with Hypno-Disc. The Rose family are back again, and they've righted a few wrongs from the last wars."

— Julia Reed at the start of Hypno-Disc's Heat

Hypno-Disc returned to the Fourth Wars as the second seed, and went up against Raizer Blade and The Predator, the successor to Crippler in its Heat eliminator.

"With Hypno-Disc in its holding pen Matt Irvine commanded we activate our robot. There was suddenly an awful mechanical rattling emanating from the back of Hypno-Disc. Dave and Ken looked at each other in disbelief at what could have gone wrong. It took an age to diagnose the problem. After 750 milliseconds we noticed Derek shaking so violently with nerves and at the same time was holding the access hatch against the back of Hypno-Disc. Phew, don't panic Mr. Manwearing! We scaled the steps to the roboteers booth. By this time all 3 of us were straining the P.B.E above the S.W.L (Safe Working Limit) A quick twitch of the controls to confirm operation and you hear those immortal words. 3...2...1...ACTIVATE."

— Hypno-Disc website

Hypno-Disc slashes into The Predator

Hypno-Disc is lifted by Raizer Blade

Hypno-Disc started the battle by avoiding its opponents, allowing it to gain speed for its weapon, before it attacked The Predator twice in quick succession. The first blow dented the rear armour, and the second tore the sheet of aluminium loose. Raizer Blade then pushed Hypno-Disc into the side wall and blocked its attack on The Predator. Hypno-Disc retaliated by smashing into Raizer Blade, but both robots merely bounced off from the deflection, with no immediate damage observable on Raizer Blade. Hypno-Disc struck The Predator, but failed to cause any major damage. Driving over the flame pit, Hypno-Disc finally landed a significant blow by tearing into the exposed rear of The Predator.

"And that's the first damage significantly we've seen! And The Predator's front is buckled...almost ripped off there."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc's first victims of Series 4

Hypno-Disc ruins The Predator's battery

As The Predator sluggishly spun in circles, Hypno-Disc ripped out some of its internals, before Raizer Blade charged in unexpectedly and nearly flipped Hypno-Disc onto its back. Hypno-Disc retaliated and cut into Raizer Blade's side. Both of Hypno-Disc's opponents tried to dodge and escape, but Hypno-Disc easily caught and tore into Raizer Blade, sending it spinning in a circle. The Predator crashed into Raizer Blade, and Hypno-Disc charged at The Predator, bouncing into Raizer Blade and knocking them both out. Hypno-Disc knocked The Predator aside, littering the floor with batteries and other internals. Hypno-Disc then smashed one of the batteries and cease was called. With both of Hypno-Disc's opponents immobilised, it was decided The Predator would be eliminated, as it sustained more damage.

"Hypno-Disc batters everything! The only saving grace for Raizer Blade is that it sustained less damage."

— Craig Charles

Next, Hypno-Disc fought V-Max, which had entered Series 4 as a substitute following the withdrawal of Onslaught.

Julia Reed: "What did Hypno-Disc do to the other robots in the melee?"

Rich Drayson: "Trashed them."

Julia Reed: "Trashed 'em. I just had to hear you say that."

Rich Drayson: "Its trash, bash, mash in this game, isn't it? We came for it anyway."

Julia Reed: "Yeah? Well you're a braver team than I am."

— Confidence from V-Max

Hypno-Disc shears a panel from V-Max

Hypno-Disc began spinning, but V-Max bravely attacked the side, hoping to flip before the disc spun up to speed. It pushed Hypno-Disc briefly, but part of the disc struck V-Max and knocked it away. This allowed Hypno-Disc to get its disc up to full speed, and it charged at V-Max, tearing a side panel off.

"Oh goodness me, the first attack leaves a shard of metal on the arena floor."

— Jonathan Pearce

V-Max's armour peels off after a second attack by Hypno-Disc

The damage had also ruptured the flipper, and V-Max began venting gas from its side. Hypno-Disc landed another attack, which knocked it into Shunt's scoop, whilst V-Max was thrown aside. Whilst V-Max charged into Refbot, Hypno-Disc escaped Shunt before it could take damage. V-Max then drove into the arena wall, and became pinned under one of the side spikes, so Hypno-Disc came in and cleaved the other panel off V-Max. However, the valiant V-Max slid beneath Hypno-Disc and charged the length of the arena, slamming it into the wall. Hypno-Disc dealt several more blows to V-Max, which drove around the arena in a desperate attempt to survive.

"And poor old Mick Pearce and Richard Drayson just want V-Max to come home in one piece. No chance of that, boys."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc trashes V-Max

Hypno-Disc then attacked the exposed internals, ripping out V-Max's battery and immobilising it. The House Robots attacked, and Dead Metal placed V-Max on the floor flipper and it was thrown. Cease was called.

"I've got my money on you!"

— Craig Charles to the Hypno-Disc team after the battle

In the Heat Final, Hypno-Disc met Raizer Blade again, which was still recovering from the damage sustained earlier in the Heat.

"Raizer blade had injuries from the bruising battles prior to the heat final. Hypno-Disc lost a tooth in its battle with V-max, which was welded back on by the famous and heroically talented Zulu of the Diotoir team. Raizer Blade were brave and top sportsmen to continue in to final battle. Knowing his difficulties we agreed to be more stand-off-ish, in the time honoured robot wars 'Gentleman's Agreement'"

— Hypno-Disc website

Hypno-Disc's first hit on Raizer Blade in the Heat Final

Hypno-Disc finishes Raizer Blade off

Raizer Blade managed to move off the start, but was not moving properly, stopping and starting, and Hypno-Disc buffeted it from the side. Raizer Blade tried spinning on the spot, but Hypno-Disc got the spinning disc up to full speed and knocked it out in one blow, then knocked Raizer Blade into the flame jets.

"It's now a question of how much damage Hypno-Disc wants to cause, because as you can see, quite clearly, its all over for Raizer Blade."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc rips the side panel off Raizer Blade

Hypno-Disc plays with a shard of Raizer Blade

Hypno-Disc knocked off one of Raizer Blade's side panels, exposing the innards. Dead Metal and Sir Killalot attacked, carrying it to the floor flipper. Raizer Blade was thrown and eliminated. Hypno-Disc was through to the Semi-Finals.

Craig Charles: "You still haven't got that killer instinct!"

Dave Rose: "Well, we could totally trash them, but they've got some expensive gear in there, and it wouldn't have been fair."

Craig Charles: "You're saving it all up for the Series Semi-Finals, aren't you?"

Dave Rose: "Well, we're going to get our disc spinning, and we'll see what we can do."

Craig Charles: "But please, promise me this, you won't pull any punches in the Series Semi-Finals."

Dave Rose: "Nah, we're going to go the full 110%."

— The post-match interview, which would only prove to be true

In the first round of its Semi-Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Team Ivanhoe's latest machine, Splinter.

"We've made a number of modifications on our way, one is to improve the traction on the front wheels, and the second is to weld the teeth on, so there shouldn't be any limit to the disc-truction on the way!"

— Derek Rose before the battle

Splinter rams Hypno-Disc

Whilst Hypno-Disc tried to get its disc up to speed, Splinter charged straight at the disc, but because the scoop was flexible, it received no damage.

"Craig's plan "just charge straight to Hypno-Disc", he's utterly barmy...or is he? Was that a worthwhile tactic?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Splinter was able to turn back into the disc and push Hypno-Disc back a little, but Hypno-Disc reversed, causing Splinter to charge into an arena wall. Splinter quickly turned around and charged at the disc again, pinning Hypno-Disc against the arena wall, then to Dead Metal.

"Back again, what a brave effort this is from Splinter! Drive straight on, could this be one of the biggest shocks ever in Robot Wars?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc tears into its opponent

Dead Metal let Hypno-Disc go, and the two charged head-long at each other, with Hypno-Disc bouncing off the scoop again. However, when Splinter made another charge at Hypno-Disc, it drove at slightly the wrong angle, which allowed Hypno-Disc to rip off the front scoop.

"If they keep attacking on a frontal collision with that disc, they'll protect their more vulnerable sides...and maybe, who knows - oh no, they won't!"

— Jonathan Pearce just before the scoop goes

Splinter is annihilated at the hands of Hypno-Disc

Splinter charged back at Hypno-Disc, which sent the scoop front, which was hanging off, flying away. Splinter's arms were now hanging on the sides uselessly, and it drove across the arena, trying to stay away from its opponent, but it drove against the arena wall, and as it tried to get away, Hypno-Disc landed a blow on its side, ripping away a side panel from Splinter.

"...and the delight of Ken Rose speaks for itself, there's not much left of Splinter now!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Splinter at the end of the battle

Splinter limped around, before stopping. Hypno-Disc continued to attack, cutting into the side, tearing away the side panel that was hanging loose, and pulling out some of the internals. Dead Metal came in to saw through the remains of Splinter, Sir Killalot raised the carcass of once-proud Splinter and hurled it across the arena, strewing wreckage everywhere, before eventually pitting it. Hypno-Disc was well and truly through.

"We've got much better engineering this year, it's a much stronger robot, we're hoping to go all the way and we've got the knockout blow now!"

— Dave Rose to Craig Charles

Hypno-Disc proceeded to Round 2, where they faced the eleventh seed Wild Thing.

"One of our toughest battles on record, as far as we're concerned."

— Ken Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc makes Wild Thing spin on impact

Wild Thing's lifter was fully raised to its absolute highest point to maximise its wedge. Hypno-Disc avoided it whilst getting its disc up to speed, with Wild Thing in hot pursuit, at one getting under Hypno-Disc with the wedge, but was unable to complete the attack. With the disc up to speed, Hypno-Disc slammed into Wild Thing, sending it spinning uncontrollably in response.

"Look at this - bang and crash, like a spinning top out there, but balanced on that little rear wheel."

— Jonathan Pearce

Wild Thing rams Hypno-Disc

Wild Thing fell back on its wheels and once again drove its wedge at the rear and sides of Hypno-Disc, but the second seed's retaliation was much more deadly, carving chunks of the wedge from Wild Thing, in addition to rupturing the left wheel.

"Look at the damage sustained there, on the side. Really bent and buckled, Wild Thing. And now wobbling and hobbling, somewhat, and now crumpled and dented; and Hypno-Disc senses that victory and a place in the series final is just around the corner!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc attacks Wild Thing

A hobbled Wild Thing valiantly attempted to respond, getting under Hypno-Disc again, but Hypno-Disc escaped. Wild Thing still refused to give in, managing to push Hypno-Disc into Dead Metal, and then into the side wall by use of its wedge. As time expired, Hypno-Disc pulled away, and the judges were required to choose a winner between the two active machines. Hypno-Disc won the judges' decision based on the damage, and it claimed the last spot in the Grand Final.

"We were getting tired there. We got a few good blows at the start, but we were getting tired. They were driving very, very well.... It's an excellent driver, they've got good manoeuvrability, and it was close. The damage did it for us though."

— Dave Rose

In its second Grand Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the number 19 seed Pussycat in the eliminator stage.

"Will the 750 rpm spinning disc send the kitty into itty-bitty pieces?"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Hypno-Disc to the Grand Final

Pussycat attacks Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc turned to the left and drove away in order to let its disc spin up to full speed, but this proved to be a huge tactical error as Pussycat swiftly charged in from behind and slashed at the rear wheel hub on Hypno-Disc's right side with its blade, instantly limiting the fourth seed's movement.

"Ooh, something has come off there, it's caused damage to Hypno-Disc straight away!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Shunt axes Hypno-Disc's flywheel

Pussycat fiercely dug into the disc from behind Hypno-Disc - bending Pussycat's blade in the process - and the second seed could not turn around to fight back. Pussycat gouged up the body and stood on its four wheels, before reversing and charging again. By now, it became clear that Hypno-Disc was unable to drive forwards or backwards, and Pussycat pushed it into Shunt. Hypno-Disc's blade knocked Shunt aside briefly, but Pussycat nudged it into the CPZ, and Shunt axed the armour. Hypno-Disc tried to reverse away, but could not escape the CPZ, and could only reverse into the wall by Shunt. Shunt then brought its axe slamming down, halting the flywheel of Hypno-Disc in one blow, with the pent up kinetic energy causing them bot to jump off the ground.

The beaten Hypno-Disc is pitted by Sir Killalot

"This is a real shock in the making; I can't quite believe it! No one really gave Pussycat a prayer against Hypno-Disc!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc was rendered immobile by this attack, after its own flywheel had brought Shunt's axe into its main body. Sir Killalot then grabbed Hypno-Disc, carried it across the arena, and dropped it into the pit, making Pussycat the surprise winner.

"Our tactics were to turn to one side and get out the way just before Pussycat came to us, but he was just that fraction too quick. He caught our rear wheel guard, and put a notch in it, which allowed it to bend and jam the rear wheel. We were then immobile on one side. We found ourselves in the corner with Shunt, and he just did what he had to do; that was to bring his axe down, and we were...out of it, from then on."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc, explaining their defeat by Pussycat

It was due to battle Stinger for third place, but Hypno-Disc was forced to withdraw due to the damage it had taken from Pussycat and Shunt in the previous round. Shunt's axe attack had penetrated Hypno-Disc's front drive system and left the gears badly bent, and the team could not fix the damage in time for the battle. Stinger was therefore awarded third place by default.

Hypno-Disc also took part in the Pinball Warrior Tournament, being the second robot to compete. This made its Pinball run in Heat B the televised debut of the new Hypno-Disc.

"A pure of driving skills of course, so you won't see the disc in action this time."

— Jonathan Pearce before Hypno-Disc's Pinball run

Hypno-Disc in the Pinball Warrior Tournament

Hypno-Disc started by knocking over a few barrels, before dodging Sgt. Bash to score points by hitting the 50 point target. It then knocked over the other set of barrels, before trying to drive over the ramp, but as Sir Killalot pushed the ramp, Hypno-Disc drove off the side. Hypno-Disc struck the multiball release, before Dead Metal tried to grab hold of it to prevent it hitting the 75 point target. It finished the course with a respectable score of 135 points, which was enough to surpass 101's tally of 125 points and lead the standings for several heats, despite the Hypno-Disc team looking disappointed with their result. Hypno-Disc ultimately finished joint seventh overall along with Firestorm 2.

"Steady, but not spectacular from Hypno-Disc"

— Jonathan Pearce at the end of Hypno-Disc's Pinball run

Extreme 1

Hypno-Disc participated in various tournaments throughout the first series of Extreme.

"Will we see the end of Hypno-Disc: officially Robot Wars' most destructive robot?"

— Craig Charles upon Hypno-Disc's first Extreme appearance

Its first appearance was in a Mayhem battle, which served as a qualifier for the first Annihilator, facing off against Wheely Big Cheese and Ming 3. This was the main event for Episode 2 of the series.

"He's never been truly disgraced in the war zone before, but is this the end of Hypno-Disc? Wheely Big Cheese and Ming are out to make sure it is"

— Craig Charles

The battle of deadly weapons

The three robots had a very tentative start, with none of them making any real attempt to attack. Hypno-Disc briefly drove over Wheely Big Cheese's flipper, but the weapon did not activate. Ming 3 attempted to join in the battle, but Hypno-Disc's weapon shredded one of Ming 3's wheels, before Wheely Big Cheese thrust the crusher-robot away. Ming 3 limped away, whilst Hypno-Disc attacked Wheely Big Cheese. The first attacks were evidently making an impact, with large gashes being made in the flipper and one of the wheels. Wheely Big Cheese and Ming attempted a pincer attack on Hypno-Disc, but their mobility was now limited, and Hypno-Disc escaped, evading a flip from Wheely Big Cheese and attacking its other wheel. By now, both Wheely Big Cheese and Ming were limping badly, with large slices in the former's wheels. One last side attack from Hypno-Disc buckled Wheely Big Cheese's left wheel.

"Wheely Big Cheese has been grated, let's be honest. And as for Hypno-Disc, it is putting everyone under its spell!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc tears one of Ming 3's wheels off

Hypno-Disc then went to attack Ming 3, who was unable to move properly. Hitting the same wheel it had sliced earlier, Hypno-Disc tore it clean off. It then ripped off Ming's other wheel too, immobilising it completely. Refbot counted both Ming 3 and Wheely Big Cheese out and Ming 3 was flung by the floor flipper. Wheely Big Cheese, still able to move on one side, attempted to flip Ming 3, but Dead Metal grabbed it and then sliced into one of its wheels, causing fantastic sparks. After sawing into Wheely Big Cheese's wheel a few more times, the house robots pitted it and Ming 3, with Hypno-Disc the clear winner. Hypno-Disc qualified for the first Annihilator, but this was its only major success in the first series of Extreme.

"This is why this is the battle of the night!"

— Jonathan Pearce during the Mayhem

Hypno-Disc also competed in the All-Stars tournament, where it fought Behemoth in Round 1.

"Behemoth boys, you'd better call a local scrap metal merchant, you're going to need it!"

— Confidence from Derek Rose

Hypno-Disc quickly got its disc up to speed and charged at Behemoth. However, Behemoth lifted its scoop just before impact, which deflected the disc.

"Withstood the pressure, and the power, and the punishment...and this is interesting. I didn't think it could go this far"

— Jonathan Pearce, seeing Behemoth as the underdog

Hypno-Disc is lifted early on by Behemoth

Behemoth clamps on Hypno-Disc shortly after deflecting one of its blows

Hypno-Disc attempted several more attacks, but Behemoth continued using its scoop to deflect it, although one attack flung it violently sideways and another spun it around. Behemoth pursued Hypno-Disc towards Dead Metal's CPZ, but was then hit on the side by Hypno-Disc's flywheel, but received no damage.

"We thought we were going to do pretty well against them, because they'd got some nice flat sides which Hypno-Disc normally does quite well against, but they were really resilient and well armoured, and we were having problems."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc comes under more pressure from Behemoth and Sgt. Bash

Hypno-Disc is lifted against Sgt. Bash

Behemoth continued to deflect blows with the scoop, and Hypno-Disc was forced to retreat. As it slammed into the arena wall, Behemoth quickly followed and started pushing Hypno-Disc towards Sgt. Bash's CPZ. Despite Behemoth giving Hypno-Disc room to escape, Hypno-Disc seemed to have mobility problems, and Behemoth pushed it straight into the House Robot, whose pincer stopped the flywheel dead. Behemoth continued to push, although its scoop seemed to have buckled slightly.

"Hypno-Disc is going nowhere at the moment, and they know it"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc is pushed again by Behemoth...

...but escapes as Behemoth comes under attack from Dead Metal

Hypno-Disc is pushed towards the Flame Pit

Refbot counts Hypno-Disc out

Suddenly, Dead Metal grabbed hold of Behemoth from behind, which prompted Refbot to push him away. As the House Robot received a yellow card, Behemoth pushed underneath Hypno-Disc and managed to flip it over. Hypno-Disc quickly self-righted, and finally managed to get away from the CPZ. However, its mobility issues struck again, and despite getting its flywheel up to speed, it was unable to retaliate when Behemoth got behind it and pushed it into another CPZ, unable to flip it again due to its damaged scoop. However, Hypno-Disc managed to escape when Dead Metal attacked Behemoth again, trying to pull it away from its opponent. Behemoth managed to fight its way out of Dead Metal's pincers before he could bring his saw down, and Refbot gave the House Robot a red card. Hypno-Disc, still struggling to move, was slowly edged onto the flame pit by Behemoth, despite its flywheel causing minimal damage to its opponent's scoop. Once on the flames, Hypno-Disc lost all mobility and was counted out, to the surprise of both teams and the delight of Team Make Robotics.

"Well, they're [the Hypno-Disc team] stunned...I don't think they [the Behemoth team] can believe it either!"

— Jonathan Pearce, reviewing the two teams at the end of the All-Star battle

Hypno-Disc was therefore eliminated early from the All-Stars Tournament.

"We were really disappointed against {sic} our battle against Behemoth, as to why we broke down, so we stripped the robot apart to try and find what the fault was, it actually ended up being a slight wiring error. Wasn't a loose wire, it was just a wire in the wrong place, that gave us an intermittent fault."

— Derek Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc waits in the arena for the Annihilator to begin

Following its Mayhem victory, Hypno-Disc took part in the first Annihilator, fighting against two robots it met in Series 4, Splinter and Pussycat, as well as Arnold A. Terminegger, Thermidor 2 and X-Terminator.

"Big, nasty disc, twice as much power than the last series, it's slightly heavier than before. It hits you at 75mph effectively. The shell's aluminium and mild steel."

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Hypno-Disc for the Annihilator

Thermidor 2 flips Hypno-Disc up

Hypno-Disc is thrown onto X-Terminator

At the start of the battle, Pussycat went for Arnold A. Terminegger, as did Splinter. Hypno-Disc hit X-Terminator, causing minor damage to the scoop, whilst Thermidor 2 pushed X-Terminator from behind. Thermidor 2 got underneath Hypno-Disc and flipped it up onto X-Terminator's body. X-Terminator then used its axe to push Hypno-Disc off, and the two-time Grand Finalist landed on top of Pussycat. Hypno-Disc then fell off Pussycat as the latter turned to attack Thermidor 2's open flipper, whilst Arnold A. Terminegger used its axe on Hypno-Disc's weapon, which seemed to have stopped.

"It's bash-o-disc! That's the game here! Look at this, they're all after Hypno-Disc!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Hypno-Disc is ganged up on

Splinter axes Hypno-Disc

X-Terminator then joined Arnold's attack on Hypno-Disc using its own axe, whilst Splinter caught Thermidor 2 from behind and pushed it into the CPZ, where it sat seemingly immobile. Having finished off Thermidor 2, Splinter then joined X-Terminator in attacking Hypno-Disc, which was struggling to move properly. Arnold A. Terminegger, meanwhile, had also hammered Pussycat to a standstill, while Splinter then started attacking X-Terminator. Meanwhile, Shunt had noticed Thermidor 2's immobility and dragged it out of the CPZ. Hypno-Disc managed to move away, albeit rather sluggishly, only to be caught by Arnold A. Terminegger, who continued to axe it again whilst Splinter pushed X-Terminator into the side wall. All three axe-wielding machines then ganged up on Hypno-Disc once more, which caused it to break down completely. Thermidor 2, however, had been placed on the floor flipper and was counted out. Surprisingly, "Cease" was called immediately before it could be flipped.

"And the others survive, but only just and they know it."

— Jonathan Pearce, largely referring to Hypno-Disc

Despite Hypno-Disc and even Pussycat breaking down, Hypno-Disc was still through as Thermidor 2 had broken down first.

Julia Reed: "Was it X-Terminator or Splinter that did most of the damage?"

Derek Rose: "I think it was a little flea, jumping around on top of the disc"

Ken Rose: "My pussycat at home could do more than that!"

— Post-battle analysis on Hypno-Disc

Arnold A. Terminegger attacks Hypno-Disc

In the second round, X-Terminator started by attacking Hypno-Disc, who managed to escape before all three axe-wielding robots could surround it. As X-Terminator pursued, Splinter and Pussycat clashed head-to-head. Arnold A. then used its axe and forklift to attack Hypno-Disc, whose weapon seemed to have stopped again, before attacking Pussycat briefly. Pussycat charged at Splinter, but ended up flipping itself over, whilst X-Terminator and Arnold A. ganged up on Hypno-Disc. Splinter then grabbed hold of Pussycat and pushed it into Sgt. Bash's CPZ. Hypno-Disc then pressed the pit release button, which opened just as Arnold and Pussycat chased after Hypno-Disc, with Splinter and X-Terminator in close pursuit.

"Hypno-Disc this time is staying out of trouble and everyone seems to want a go at Pussycat"

— Jonathan Pearce as the five regroup

Sgt. Bash grips Hypno-Disc

Now at the opposite end of the arena, Pussycat attacked one of Splinter's arms whilst Arnold A. Terminegger used its axe on Hypno-Disc's rear. X-Terminator hit Splinter's scoop with its axe and seemed to become impaled. Hypno-Disc escaped Arnold's clutches and rammed it and Splinter in an attempt to show aggression, whilst Pussycat rammed into X-Terminator, who had finally pulled its axe away from Splinter. The three axe-robots then ganged up on Pussycat after being grabbed hold of by Splinter, whilst Hypno-Disc had driven into Sgt. Bash's CPZ, who gripped the flywheel with his claw. X-Terminator then hit Hypno-Disc once more as it struggled away.

X-Terminator and Splinter attack Hypno-Disc

"The disc hasn't rotated at all, Hypno-Disc. Twice as powerful as the last series, they told us, but here in Extreme, it has just not got going."

— Jonathan Pearce, doubting Hypno-Disc

Splinter, meanwhile, slammed Pussycat into the arena wall, but it managed to escape before Arnold could use its own axe. The five robots clashed again, but none seemed to gain an advantage, until Arnold attacked Hypno-Disc from behind again, whereby Splinter attempted to grab its old rival, whilst X-Terminator was attacked side on by Pussycat. Splinter and Arnold A. then grabbed hold of both Hypno-Disc and Pussycat, respectively, with their weapons.

"It really is "take on the favourites", isn't it, and lets all have a disco."

— Jonathan Pearce

X-Terminator then slammed its axe into Hypno-Disc's stationary disc, and drove it around. Splinter and Arnold A. Terminegger joined in the assault on the twice-Grand Finalist whilst Pussycat attacked the rear of X-Terminator. Hypno-Disc eventually broke free and drove away, but whilst Pussycat, Arnold and Splinter pursued, X-Terminator, who's axe was stuck in the "fired" position, did not. When it became clear that X-Terminator was no longer able to move, Refbot counted it out, whilst the other four robots drove at it. The house robots and Splinter then placed X-Terminator's remains on the floor flipper, but they had not positioned it properly, and X-Terminator was instead thrown upwards and into the flipper's workings, getting caught there.

Hypno-Disc lies dormant, whilst the other three duel

In Round 3, Pussycat attacked Arnold A. Terminegger and pushed it onto Hypno-Disc's spinning flywheel. Splinter attempted to attack Pussycat, but its axe missed and seemed to lock. Hypno-Disc's disc was still spinning, but had not moved since the clash with Arnold. The three mobile robots continued to grapple with each other, and Splinter reversed into the pit release button, causing the pit to descend with the still-immobile Hypno-Disc next to it.

"The Rose's know- look at the faces- they know they're going down!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Seemingly realising that Hypno-Disc was no longer a threat, Pussycat broke away from Splinter and Arnold A. and attempted to ram the now completely motionless Hypno-Disc closer towards the pit, but its shape made pushing difficult. Splinter then pushed Pussycat out of the way then reversed into the robot that had torn it apart the previous series, nearly pushing it into the pit altogether, the flywheel just keeping it out.

Splinter prepares to exact its revenge...

...and Pussycat hogs the glory

Splinter moved forwards for another attempt at ramming Hypno-Disc and gaining revenge, but suddenly Pussycat charged between the two, nudging Hypno-Disc into the pit completely and stealing Splinter's thunder. Splinter reversed anyway, and pushed Pussycat into the pit, but as Hypno-Disc had been immobile from the start, Pussycat survived.

Craig Charles: "You're ranked third in the UK. We thought that would be easy-peasy for you, a little bit of problem with Pussycat, maybe..."

Dave Rose: "No, I think we had a few tough rounds early on."

Derek Rose: "Yeah, we got picked on."

— After the battle

Hypno-Disc also fought German competitor Nasty Warrior in the UK vs. Germany battle.

"Pencils are made out of carbon, aren't they?"

— Dave Rose on Nasty Warrior's armour

Nasty Warrior is shredded

Hypno-Disc started by backing away from its opponent to get its disc up to speed. Eventually, the two made a front on collision, with Hypno-Disc knocking a small piece of carbon off of Nasty Warrior. Nasty Warrior attempted another frontal assault, but the force of the disc spun it around, allowing Hypno-Disc to attack its back, tearing off a panel and putting a large gash down the side.

"Carbon? It's made of carbon? Have a look underneath there. There's balsa wood, I'm sure. Carbon? A bit of plastic here, a bit of sellotape there"

— Jonathan Pearce as Nasty Warrior is torn apart

Nasty Warrior kept driving at Hypno-Disc, but Hypno-Disc only spun it away again, with another gash forming on the front. Hypno-Disc then hit its side, breaking off an entire panel which ended up wrapping around the disc momentarily.

"It's mesmerizing. It's hypnotic if you stare at it long enough"

— Jonathan Pearce

Nasty Warrior pushes Hypno-Disc back

After driving over the steam vent, Hypno-Disc kept its distance from the German robot, and Nasty Warrior chased it around the arena. Suddenly, Nasty Warrior pushed into the disc of Hypno-Disc, stopping it dead, then pushed Hypno-Disc back towards the CPZ. Refbot separated the two and it became apparent that Hypno-Disc had suddenly broken down.

"Is this going to be a stunning surprise? Is this going to be a German victory after all? The Rose of England is fading from its early bloom!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Nasty Warrior willingly drives into the flywheel

Hypno-Disc is counted out

Matilda reversed out of her CPZ and hit Hypno-Disc with her flywheel. After this, Hypno-Disc was able to get its flywheel up to speed, and although it could turn, it could not move forwards or backwards. Despite this, Nasty Warrior continued to drive straight into Hypno-Disc's blade, causing itself more damage. At long last, it backed away, and Refbot counted Hypno-Disc out, leaving the battered German machine as the unlikely victor, much to the audience's displeasure. The audience started booing, and Craig Charles had to persuade the audience not to jeer after congratulating the Germans.

"That's a stunner! And they haven't won it on penalties!"

— Jonathan Pearce

The Hypno-Disc team identified the potential cause of Hypno-Disc's immobilisation to be a splinter of Nasty Warrior's armour getting into Hypno-Disc's drive system.

Hypno-Disc was also involved in two further events which were ultimately never shown on television. Firstly, it fought a Wild Card Warrior battle against TX-108, but once again suffered technical issues which prevented it from moving once 'Activate' was called. TX-108 pushed the immobile Hypno-Disc into the wall before the fight was stopped, and scheduling limitations prevented a possible rematch from taking place. As a result, Hypno-Disc lost to TX-108 - the only occasion where a veteran was defeated in a Wild Card Warrior battle - but the battle itself was never aired.

Hypno-Disc was also due to fight Razer as part of the People's Challenge, due to both robots being dubbed as "the most destructive robot ever". However, as both teams did not want to risk their robots being badly damaged purely for the sake of entertainment, both teams declined, and the event never took place.

Series 5

"The Rose family return to cause their own brand of disc-struction!"

— Philippa Forrester at the start of Hypno-Disc's Series 5 heat

Hypno-Disc closes in on Black Widow moments before destroying one of its legs

Hypno-Disc returned for the Fifth Wars as the third seed, firstly fighting the 200kg walkerbot Black Widow. Hypno-Disc held back at the start to get its disc up to speed as Black Widow sluggishly plodded towards the third seed.

"Come into my parlour... err, said Hypno-Disc to the spider?! Worked that way, did it?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc went around behind the walkerbot and hit it with the flywheel. After two more blows, Hypno-Disc ripped off the decorative "web" of Black Widow. Another hit from the flywheel ripped off one of its opponent's legs, leaving Black Widow immobile and it was counted out by Refbot. Sir Killalot came in and burnt the walkerbot on a flame jet before Shunt put it on the arena floor flipper. Comically, Black Widow simply balanced on top of the flipper as it was fired, rather than being thrown. Shunt positioned it correctly and the 200 kilogram robot was thrown over. Hypno-Disc was comfortably through.

Craig Charles: "The robot is more manoeuvrable now, why is that?"

Derek Rose: "We've up-rated the drive to the wheels, run at 36 volts, so it's much more torque and controls a lot easier."

Ken Rose: "The driver's getting better!"

— Post-battle interview

In Round 2, Hypno-Disc faced the twenty-second seed, Atomic 2, the only time that two seeded robots met before the Heat Final.

"We knew Atomic was a really good robot from its performances in Extreme, so we knew he was a robot to worry about, had a good flipper on him, and unknown to us just before the battle, we didn't realise he had a 2000psi spike out the back!"

— Derek Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc self-rights

Atomic 2 charged straight at Hypno-Disc but couldn't get in the right position to flip the number 3 seed. Hypno-Disc hit Atomic 2's side panel, causing a split in the yellow robot's side armour. Atomic 2 wasn't deterred, and after suffering more damage to its sides, flipped Hypno-Disc over and pinned it down for a few seconds.

"It flicked Hypno-Disc up and over! Now this would be a huge shock if Hypno-Disc went out here!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Hypno-Disc is thrown onto its back

Hypno-Disc tears off Atomic 2's weapon

Atomic 2 backed away before trying to flip its opponent again, though at this stage its pneumatic rams were already bent, and Hypno-Disc managed to right itself using its srimech, avoiding any further danger. Hypno-Disc's next two attacks buckled Atomic's flipper before ripping it off, leaving Atomic 2 without a weapon. Atomic 2 darted off towards the pit release tyre and activated it in hope of a late upset, before Hypno-Disc came in with another large hit, sending Atomic 2 spinning onto the lip of the pit.

"I'd jump in, I really would - save yourselves!"

— Jonathan Pearce advises Team Atomic to avoid further punishment

A crippled Atomic 2 attempts to draw Hypno-Disc towards the Pit

Atomic 2 continued to limp around the arena, before two more hits from Hypno-Disc rendered it immobile. Hypno-Disc continued to attack, splitting Atomic 2's side armour, before Refbot counted it out. Sir Killalot and Matilda continued damaging the beaten machine before Atomic 2 was dumped into the pit of oblivion.

Craig Charles: "...You've started a craze in spinning discs, you know? I heard someone who said "I think ours is as powerful as Hypno-Disc's". I think they might think again after seeing that!"

Derek Rose: "Yeah, that was going 110% there, we gave it the full welly!"

— Post-battle interview

In the Heat Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Bulldog Breed 3.

Philippa Forrester: "Do you think they could beat you?"

Dave Rose: "They could do, if we got a failure perhaps, they might be able to beat us, or if they get the flip in quite early on."

— Pre-battle interview

Hypno-Disc rips out Bulldog Breed 3's removable link

Bulldog Breed 3 immediately drove at Hypno-Disc, before spinning away and dodging its opponent's flywheel. Hypno-Disc came in, landing two glancing blows. Bulldog Breed 3 got under Hypno-Disc and flipped it up, but the third seed landed back on its wheels. Hypno-Disc continued to clip Bulldog Breed 3, dodging attacks from its opponent's flipper, before driving around behind it and landing a blow on the back. This attack ripped out Bulldog Breed 3's safety link, instantly immobilising the robot.

Hypno-Disc reverses Bulldog Breed 3 into the pit

"It's almost like hitting the jackpot, winning the lottery, winning the pools, having birthday and Christmas all at once!"

— Jonathan Pearce on Hypno-Disc removing Bulldog Breed 3's link

This instantly left Bulldog Breed 3 completely immobilised, and Hypno-Disc activated the pit release before pushing Bulldog Breed down.

Craig Charles: "Are you beatable?"

Dave Rose: "Everybody's beatable, but Hypno-Disc is performing very well, we're very pleased with its performance so far, it's excellent out there, we're chuffed to bits."

— Post-battle interview

In the first round of the Semi-Finals, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the seventh seed and former finalist Firestorm 3.

"Flipper against spinning disc, classic Robot Wars encounter."

— Jonathan Pearce at the start of the battle

Firestorm 3 rolls towards the arena side wall, immobilised after one blow

Both robots drove forward, with Hypno-Disc driving past Firestorm 3. Both robots turned to face each other, and Firestorm 3 drove at Hypno-Disc, which waited for Firestorm 3 near the flame pit. Firestorm 3 charged straight into Hypno-Disc's flywheel. Firestorm 3 was knocked aside, and rolled partially over the flame pit, as Hypno-Disc backed away. The first blow had immobilised Firestorm 3. Hypno-Disc slammed into Firestorm 3 with the flywheel, sending it rolling towards the CPZ below the flame pit.

"And has the first bash of the Hypno-Disc weapon conked Firestorm out?"

— Jonathan Pearce, just seconds into the Semi-Final battle

Hypno-Disc pushes the immobile Firestorm 3

With Firestorm 3 immobile, Hypno-Disc attacked with the flywheel again, before using its rear to push Firestorm 3 further into the empty CPZ. Shunt came into the CPZ, as Hypno-Disc opened the pit. Shunt did not attack Firestorm 3, as it was being counted out by Refbot. During this process, Hypno-Disc and Sir Killalot seemed to clash, but Hypno-Disc fled. Shunt pushed Firestorm 3 over the flame pit, and then onto the floor flipper, where it was thrown, before Sir Killalot dropped Firestorm 3 into the pit.

"We might have been a bit lucky there, or the guys were a bit unlucky!"

— Derek Rose after the fight

Here, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the axe of the eleventh seed Dominator 2.

Philippa Forrester: "You're very well matched, with your different weaponry!"

Dave Rose: "Yeah, it's going to be a good battle of weaponry, none of this sort of flipping business, it's going to be a real slugging match, I think."

Philippa Forrester: "What can we expect from the spinning disc of doom this time?"

Dave Rose: "Lots of holes, lots of sparks, bits everywhere!"

Philippa Forrester: "We want to see that decimation that Hypno-Disc is so good at!"

Dave Rose: "We'll try our best!"

— Pre-battle interview

Hypno-Disc prepares its critical attack on Dominator 2

At the start, Dominator 2 charged at Hypno-Disc, which moved away slowly as it was getting its disc up to speed. Hypno-Disc dodged Dominator 2's charge, drove across the arena and turned to face its opponent, as Dominator 2 charged at it again. As Dominator 2 closed in, Hypno-Disc shot forward, driving over the front. Dominator 2 came up to Hypno-Disc slower on the next attack, getting its own armour grazed by Hypno-Disc's flywheel, before Hypno-Disc reversed away. Dominator 2 turned on the spot, allowing Hypno-Disc to strike Dominator 2's rear armour with its flywheel. Hypno-Disc's attack made connection, causing sparks to fly, and making a dent in Dominator 2's armour. Hypno-Disc directly followed up this attack with a larger slam from the flywheel, sending Dominator 2 reeling away. Straight after these attacks, it was became clear Dominator 2 was only turning on one wheel. Hypno-Disc lingered in front of Dominator 2, and Dominator 2 tried to axe Hypno-Disc, but missed, and Hypno-Disc backed away.

Hypno-Disc signals that it will no longer attack

Hypno-Disc made another slam at the side of Dominator 2, sending it spinning away, with more sparks flying. Hypno-Disc made one final attack at Dominator 2's wedge, before the Hypno-Disc team seemed to realise Dominator 2 was immobilised on one half, due to a wheel impediment. Realising this, Hypno-Disc backed away, facing Dominator 2 parallel on the other side of the arena.

"It's ripped the sides of Dominator 2, it's got through the armour, and Hypno-Disc on top here now."

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc considered opening the pit before deciding against it, before Hypno-Disc made one last drive towards Dominator 2. This attack completely missed, and Dominator 2 also had an axe blow skimming off the flywheel. Hypno-Disc then backed away, remaining parallel to Dominator 2, moving its srimech up and down, as if to cheer for victory. For the entire remainder of the five-minute match, Hypno-Disc kept its distance in order to avoid inadvertently causing Dominator 2 to regain its full mobility through means of another attack, though Jonathan Pearce's commentary implied it was to avoid damage to itself.

"Do you know what I think's happening here; Hypno-Disc think they've won it and they don't want to sustain any damage, so they're staying out of harm's reach from Dominator 2."

— Jonathan Pearce

After a long wait, cease was called after five minutes had passed, sending the match to a Judges' decision. The battle was followed by boos from the audience, and the Judges declared it the most boring fight they'd ever witnessed on Robot Wars.

"Crowd didn't like it, but it was the result that counted."

— Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

Despite the mixed reactions, Hypno-Disc was the clear winner of the battle.

Craig Charles: "I know it's a competition, I know it's not just a spectacle, but you heard the way the audience reacted."

Dave Rose: "I can understand that, but we get criticised for doing too much damage, we get criticised for doing not enough damage, there's a really difficult balance, and we wanna be in the next round, or the Grand Final, and we didn't want to do anything that would compromise that, we really want to be there, and unfortunately that's the result."

— Dave Rose explains Hypno-Disc's retreat

In the Grand Final eliminator, Hypno-Disc fought against the unseeded Bigger Brother.

Hypno-Disc trashes Bigger Brother

Bigger Brother and Hypno-Disc darted past each other, and sat still. Bigger Brother turned its heavily armoured rear towards Hypno-Disc and tentatively attacked. Bigger Brother's rear held up very well to the flywheel, and Bigger Brother attacked again in the same way, attempting to stop the disc long enough to use its flipper.

"I'll tell you, Bigger Brother withstood that attack, very nicely!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc cuts into Bigger Brother's rear

The second attempt stalled Hypno-Disc long enough for Bigger Brother to fire its flipper, but Hypno-Disc bounced back onto its wheels. Hypno-Disc's weapon began to inflict serious damage on Bigger Brother, tearing an armour panel off and gouging into the front. Bigger Brother attempted to use the armoured rear once more, but this time, Hypno-Disc's weapon was able to cut into the armour. Hypno-Disc managed to open the gouge on the rear by striking it twice more. Bigger Brother continued to keep its back to Hypno-Disc, but the deadly flywheel was wearing through the armour.

"You have to be so strong to withstand this spinning devilish Hypno-Disc weapon, and I don't think Bigger Brother are."

— Jonathan Pearce

Damage from Hypno-Disc causes Bigger Brother's flipper to break

Bigger Brother tried to flip, but failed. Bigger Brother attacked again, but when flipping, the flipper broke at the back, leaving it hanging off the ram uselessly. Bigger Brother pushed Hypno-Disc, and the savaged armour on Bigger Brother's left side broke off the body. The two drove into the CPZ, and Shunt seized and axed Bigger Brother. Bigger Brother attempted to escape the CPZ, but took severe damage in the process.

Hypno-Disc is pitted in a shock comeback from Bigger Brother

"And I'll tell you what, despite all the damage, Bigger Brother are still fighting. I wouldn't have minded a Bigger Brother like this."

— Jonathan Pearce

Bigger Brother slammed into the far wall, then pushed Hypno-Disc into the pit release as it attempted to block it. In an unprecedented comeback, Bigger Brother swerved Hypno-Disc around and placed it onto the lip of the pit. With one final push, Bigger Brother pitted Hypno-Disc and won the battle, against all the odds. This put an end to Hypno-Disc's championship run for the third time in a row.

"It doesn't get more sensational than that!"

— Craig Charles

Hypno-Disc still went into the third-place playoff, where it faced a heavily damaged Firestorm 3 for the second time in this series. Firestorm 3 had suffered terrible damage from its fight against Razer, and the robot's flipper arm did not work. Instead, the team piled extra armour on the front of Firestorm 3.

Philippa Forrester: "You've got nothing to lose this time, we don't want any gentlemanly behaviour this time, at all from Hypno-Disc, how's it going to perform?"

Dave Rose: "Well last time we went very gentle on them, so we need to do the opposite thing this time and really give them a good hammering!"

— Pre-battle interview

Firestorm 3 shoves Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc turned side on and got the disc up to speed, but Firestorm 3 charged in and slammed into the disc, pushing Hypno-Disc into the side wall. Hypno-Disc reversed towards the CPZ, and contact between the two caused Hypno-Disc to jump into the air. Driving away, Hypno-Disc attempted to spin and attack, but Firestorm 3's armoured front deflected the blow. Firestorm 3 continued relentlessly, attempting twice to get under Hypno-Disc but deflected by the disc both times, resulting both its rear side armour plating being torn off, leaving the tyres exposed. Firestorm 3 crashed into Sir Killalot, and as it escaped, Hypno-Disc cut a deep welt in its side. Firestorm 3 activated the pit and charged at Hypno-Disc, managing to get into a position where it was not touching the disc. Firestorm 3 pushed Hypno-Disc towards the pit, and both robots fell in together.

Both machines crash into the pit

"Firestorm onto the side of Hypno-Disc again. Across the arena, at up to 12 miles an hour- They've both gone down! Work that one out!"

— Jonathan Pearce

The judges called for a rematch, but when Team Hypno-Disc were asked if they could take part in the battle once again, they revealed that Hypno-Disc had broken down during the encounter, and it would not be functional in an instant rematch.

Craig Charles: "The judges said they want a rematch. Is that okay with you?"

Dave Rose: "We'd like to do it, but unfortunately we're actually immobile. We've lost some electronics somewhere, so we can't continue."

Craig Charles: "So you can't continue?"

Derek Rose: "The weapon's working, the self-righter's working, but we think something's come loose when we hit the pit"

Craig Charles: "Well, unfortunately then, if you're immobilised, you know the rules, the decision has gone to Firestorm!"

— The confirmation

Firestorm 3 won the battle and was given third by default, with Hypno-Disc finishing fourth for its second consecutive series.

Despite what Team Hypno-Disc suggested, the reality of Hypno-Disc not being able to take part in the rematch was due to it being pencilled in to participate in the first Extreme Annihilator, scheduled to be filmed just an hour after the playoff fight on the same day. Due to the strict time schedule, a rematch would not have been possible as this would have caused delays in filming. The team likely used the reasoning seen on camera as a way to mask this fact.

Series 6

Seeded fourth after its Series 5 performance, Hypno-Disc returned for the Sixth Wars to face Team Monad's 4x4, sacrificial robot Granny's Revenge 2 and the full-body drum of Barber-ous 2 in its first round melee.

"Now I've been out talking to some members of the crowd here, who are starting to wonder whether Hypno-Disc has still got what it takes to be a serious contender, or are its weaknesses now too well known? Well, only time will tell"

— Jonathan Pearce, doubting another smooth series for Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc slices Barber-ous 2 into submission

Hypno-Disc was not seen much in the early stages of this battle, as it drove past Granny's Revenge 2, then the cameras focused on Barber-ous 2 nearly tipping Granny's Revenge 2 out of the arena and getting 4x4's snagging cloth wrapped around its drum. Having hung back whilst this was happening, Hypno-Disc then slammed into Barber-ous 2, shredding the cloth and damaging one of Barber-ous 2's wheels. Another hit caused Barber-ous 2 to smoke and its other wheel to come loose, rendering it immobile. Hypno-Disc then attacked 4x4, causing more damage to the immobilised machine, before ramming into Granny's Revenge 2 with the disc at full speed as Refbot counted it out, breaking the back wheels and knocking the whole robot aside. With all three opponents immobile, Hypno-Disc spent the rest of the battles knocking the other competitors around. As it lasted longer than 4x4 and Granny's Revenge 2, Barber-ous 2 also went through with Hypno-Disc to the next round.

"Hypno-Disc, it's looking ominous!"

— Craig Charles after the battle

The second round saw Hypno-Disc facing Bulldog Breed, in a re-match of their Series 5 Heat Final.

Dave Rose: "Tough robot, very tough robot."

Philippa Forrester: "Yeah, it is a tough robot. Can you slice him, do you think?"

Dave Rose: "Well we did once, haven't we, so we could do it again, but he's made a few improvements, but then so have we!"

— The team's reaction to hearing they would fight Bulldog Breed again

Bulldog Breed flips Hypno-Disc into the air

Both robots started cautiously, with Hypno-Disc turning away from Bulldog Breed to get its disc up to speed, and Bulldog Breed driving towards its opponent, then stopping, as if to figure out how best to charge at Hypno-Disc. Bulldog Breed drove in under Hypno-Disc and flipped it, but Hypno-Disc fell down onto its wheels. Hypno-Disc retaliated by clipping the front corner of Bulldog Breed, knocking it towards an empty CPZ. Bulldog Breed drove into the CPZ and turned around, and when Hypno-Disc closed in, Bulldog Breed drove around the seeded robot. It faced Hypno-Disc front on, and when Hypno-Disc drove at it with the disc, it bounced off, causing Bulldog Breed to miss its flip.

Hypno-Disc strikes Bulldog Breed

As Hypno-Disc came in for another attack, it became clear that Bulldog Breed was spinning on the spot. Hypno-Disc hit the side of its opponent, but bounced off again. It came straight back to land another blow on the side, knocking Bulldog Breed towards the wall. Bulldog Breed could not move away, merely twitching back and forth. Hypno-Disc kept close, but did not attack, and Bulldog Breed fired its flipper at thin air. Hypno-Disc hit Bulldog Breed's side, knocking it towards the CPZ, where Dead Metal now was. It drove up Bulldog Breed's wedge, but turned off before Bulldog Breed fired the flipper.

"It was that huge thrust by Hypno-Disc; the weapon spinning at 900 rpm and weighing 20 kilos, that was so destructive."

— Jonathan Pearce as Bulldog Breed sits immobile

Hypno-Disc reversed away as Dead Metal attacked Bulldog Breed, and after a while rammed back into it, this time with the disc not spinning as safety circuits for its flywheel and srimech failed.

"We actually had a failure of the safety circuits. we have one for the disc / 1 for the SRM / one for the wheels. 2 of the 3 circuits stopped working, but luck was on our side, the wheel safety just hung in there! Bulldog was a good fight, a VERY hard bot and a re-run (lucky for us) of last series. Bulldog got a good flip, we just managed to stay upright, we swung round to get a good hit in (yes, that did rip out a chunk of 10mm dural!!). Hope we don't get bulldog again, don't think e will be lucky 3 times."

— Derek Rose on the official Robot Wars forum

Dead Metal attacked some more, and Hypno-Disc rammed into Bulldog Breed some more, and Refbot counted Bulldog Breed out.

Craig Charles: "Look guys, you always flatter to deceive. Are you going to go all the way this time?"

Dave Rose: "Oh, I don't know, anything can happen, and it nearly did happen just then"

— Post-battle interview

This put Hypno-Disc through to the Heat Final again. There, it met Barber-ous 2 for the second time.

"...I just don't think they [Barber-ous 2] can stand up to the power of Hypno-Disc, if Hypno-Disc works, because again, they've had a few gear problems, and they've changed things since last year and I don't actually think it's working as well as it was last time.... They say they are, but it's yet to be seen I think, I don't think we've seen that carnage that we love to see when they come into the arena."

— Philippa Forrester's prediction for the Heat Final, and her concerns about Hypno-Disc

Barber-ous 2 hits Hypno-Disc from behind

Both robots got their weapons up to speed and circled around each other before Hypno-Disc hit Barber-ous 2, also getting thrown by Barber-ous 2's drum at the same time, but Barber-ous 2 had lost mobility after the hit from the 3-time UK Grand-Finalist. Hypno-Disc came in to attack Barber-ous 2, but slowly Barber-ous 2's drum was still spinning so Hypno-Disc bashed it once more which stopped it and also damaged the plastic shell. Further hits from Hypno-Disc edged Barber-ous 2 closer to the pit, where Refbot counted out the immobilised Barber-ous 2.

"Hypno-Disc...not as strong as before...are we sure?"

— Jonathan Pearce, as Barber-ous 2 is pushed towards the pit

Hypno-Disc pushes Barber-ous 2 toward the pit

Shunt eventually pushed Barber-ous 2 into the pit. This not only sent Hypno-Disc through to the Semi-Finals for the fourth time in succession, but also proved to be its last victory in Robot Wars.

"Well we had a good practice in the first round melee, and it was just a case of doing the same thing again, really, but they've done a really amazing job of putting it back together again, to come and fight in the Semi-Final"

— Dave Rose on Barber-ous 2

Hypno-Disc was drawn up against the number 12 seed Tornado in the first round of its Semi-Final.

"We've never fought Tornado before, so it should be interesting. Very strong, powerful robot, I mean if they get hold of us, they could push us all around the arena, into the House Robots and things, so could be a tough fight"

— Dave Rose before the battle

Hypno-Disc is slammed into the wall by Tornado

Tornado rammed straight into Hypno-Disc and pushed it into the CPZ, but no house robot came in to attack. Tornado rammed Hypno-Disc across the arena again, this time ramming it continuously into the arena wall. Hypno-Disc escaped and Dead Metal came in to attack Tornado, but Tornado quickly pursued its opponent and rammed it into the wall over and over again.

"One of the most persistent little dogged nuisances in that arena we have ever seen, Tornado. And Hypno-Disc is in massive trouble here, Tornado once again is whipping up a storm!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Fine margins, as Tornado and Hypno-Disc skirt on the lip of the Pit

Tornado then pressed the pit release button and Hypno-Disc launched an attack, but caused no significant damage to Tornado's outer shell. Tornado tried many times to pit Hypno-Disc, with both robots going perilously close to the edge on two separate occasions. Tornado spent the rest of the battle slamming Hypno-Disc into the arena walls until cease was called with both robots still mobile. The judges unanimously voted for Tornado, with Hypno-Disc having to fight in the Losers Melee if it was to remain in the series.

"We started off quite well, but we lost the disc about a minute into the battle.... the disc drive gears must have moved out of mesh.... We were sort of, a little on the run there, we were trying to get a little bit of space, get the disc up to speed, but they didn't leave us alone."

— Dave Rose after the battle

In this Losers Melee, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Fifth Wars runner-up Bigger Brother, who had defeated Hypno-Disc in the previous series, and the number 10 seed Spawn Again.

Philippa Forrester: "I know Spawn Again are worried about you, are you worried about them?"

Dave Rose: "We're worried about any robot with a flipper, you know. But we've got the self righter now, so we should be OK."

— Pre-battle interview

Hypno-Disc is immobilised in the CPZ

Spawn Again started quickly, trying to get underneath Hypno-Disc, but it was not able to use the flipper and Hypno-Disc was able to attack Spawn Again, causing damage to its outer shell. Hypno-Disc attacked Bigger Brother as it came in, but it caused no significant damage. Bigger Brother and Spawn Again ganged up on Hypno-Disc, and another hit on Bigger Brother caused Hypno-Disc to recoil and hit the wall disc-first, stopping it completely.

"As they smashed against the arena side wall, something went in the controls, and they are out, Hypno-Disc."

— Jonathan Pearce

Bigger Brother attacked the immobile Hypno-Disc again before Sir Killalot came into the CPZ and picked it up with his jaws. Hypno-Disc was counted out by Refbot just as Spawn Again nearly flipped Bigger Brother out, with Bigger Brother eventually winning by pitting Spawn Again. This finally eliminated Hypno-Disc from Series 6, the only time in four attempts that it failed to reach the Grand Final.

"I would've liked to have had the 5 minutes, even if we lost with the 5 minutes, it's a bit much when you come out after a minute, or a minute and a half, two minutes"

— Ken Rose

Extreme 2

As in Extreme 1, Hypno-Disc's appearances in the second series of Extreme did not reflect its destructive capabilities. In the All-Stars Tournament, Hypno-Disc was placed up against two robots it had fought before, Spawn Again and Dominator 2 in the first round.

Philippa Forrester: "I'm slightly worried that, in the evolution of Robot Wars, you're going to slip behind, because you've only done one adjustment this time"

Dave Rose: "Well we've actually done two, but the first adjustment was to move the disc drive motor underneath the disc."

Philippa Forrester: "What difference is that going to make?"

Dave Rose: "Hopefully improve the reliability of running the disc"

Philippa Forrester: "Now that's what we want from Hypno-Disc, what was the other improvement?"

Dave Rose: "Derek's had a haircut"

— The Hypno-Disc team discuss changes

Dominator 2 pushes Hypno-Disc away

Spawn Again flips Hypno-Disc

Dominator 2 rammed into Hypno-Disc's side, nearly overturning it. Hypno-Disc hit Dominator 2 with the disc, but this did little more than bounce off the side. Hypno-Disc then ran up Spawn Again's wedge, and was thrown into the air, but landed right side up. Dominator 2 pushed Hypno-Disc again, but failed to cause any damage with its axe. Spawn Again flipped Hypno-Disc again, but failed to overturn it again. Hypno-Disc then went on a side charge against Dominator 2, sending some sparks flying, but failed to make much of an impression on the shell. Dominator 2 retaliated with a blow to the disc with its axe, which bounced off, failing to puncture the weapon. Hypno-Disc attacked Dominator 2 again, but only succeeded in throwing itself into the air.

"So we know that Hypno-Disc can survive against Dominator 2, unless it's flipped, maybe - like that!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dominator 2 axes Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc, upside down and immobile

Dominator 2 landed another blow with the axe, but still failed to puncture the spinning weapon of Hypno-Disc. After a combined assault from Spawn Again and Dominator 2, Hypno-Disc's mobility was reduced to simple forwards and backwards movements, before it stopped altogether.

"When the blade isn't at 100%, we know Hypno-Disc is very vulnerable, we've seen that in the past"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc is pitted by Growler

Spawn Again also stopped briefly, although it recovered in time to flip Hypno-Disc over, as Refbot began to count it out. After it was counted out, Growler grabbed hold of Hypno-Disc and pushed it into the pit release, before pitting the beaten machine.

Philippa Forrester: "Well, you see, this is a bit of a shocker, isn't it. Are you shocked?"

Dave Rose: "Well, it's happened before so...we're not really that surprised!"

Philippa Forrester: "Deep down, do you think you're getting a bit complacent?"

Dave Rose: "Definitely not, no. We were giving it the full welly, and we were dishing it out as hard as we could, but the other guys could take it, and all credit to them."

— Post-battle interview

Hypno-Disc also took part in the Challenge Belt special, where it fought for the right to face Tornado for the Challenge Belt at the end of the program. In its first round four-way melee, Hypno-Disc didn't last long, going up against recent semi-finalist Dantomkia, twice heat-finalist S.M.I.D.S.Y. and the experienced Sir Chromalot.

"We've been watching our opponents, laying on armour, for the last 2 hours!"

— Ken Rose before the Challenge Belt

Hypno-Disc recoils from impacting S.M.I.D.S.Y.

Hypno-Disc damages the back end of Dantomkia

Hypno-Disc got one slice on the front of S.M.I.D.S.Y. where it spun itself away without causing any major damage, and also struck the back end of Dantomkia, but Hypno-Disc could cause no more damage before Dantomkia charged into it and pushed it into the CPZ. Dantomkia flipped Hypno-Disc onto its back, and propped it onto the arena side wall, where it couldn't move at all, or even use its srimech due to the 90 degree angle of the wall. Mr. Psycho tried to come in and attack Dantomkia, but this did not stop Dantomkia from lifting Hypno-Disc over the arena wall, causing Hypno-Disc to topple out of the arena.

Hypno-Disc, stuck on the arena side wall

Hypno-Disc is flipped over the wall

"Look at Hypno-Disc! Under pressure from Dantomkia immediately! And Hypno-Disc, slammed into the CPZ, three times UK championship Grand Finalist, but in all sorts of trouble! Gone! Out!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Hypno-Disc exits early

This eliminated Hypno-Disc from the competition, and was also Hypno-Disc's final televised battle.

Philippa Forrester: "See, what often happens in this business, this world of show business that we live in, is people have a meteoric rise to fame, and then they think that's it, they don't need to do any more work. I'm afraid complacency has set in!"

Dave Rose: "No complacency at all there!"

Philippa Forrester: "Come on! What happened then, then? We used to have amazing fights from you."

Dave Rose: "Well, the arena wall wasn't tall enough, that's what it is! We need a taller arena wall, then we'd be alright."

— Post-battle excuses

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 22
• Losses: 10

The untelevised battle against TX-108, cancelled battle against Stinger and forfeit to Firestorm 3 are not counted.

Series Record

Main Series	Hypno-Disc Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Runner-up
The Fourth Wars	Fourth Place
The Fifth Wars	Fourth Place
The Sixth Wars	Semi-Finals, Round 1
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Entered
Series 2	Entered

Gallery

Hypno-Disc under construction

Hypno-Disc in testing before Series 3

Hypno-Disc's internals between Series 3 and 4

Hypno-Disc in between Series 3 and 4

Design drawings for the Series 4 version of Hypno-Disc

The Series 4 model of Hypno-Disc destroying a photocopier during testing

The first two incarnations of Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc in the Pinball

Official photo for Series 5

Hypno-Disc in Series 5 without its disc

The Series 6 Hypno-Disc in the magazine

Rear view of Hypno-Disc before Series 6

Official photo of Hypno-Disc for Series 6

Hypno-Disc in The Pits during Series 6

Hypno-Disc in Extreme 2, without the disc

Hypno-Disc with its team at the filming of Extreme 2

Hypno-Disc in the arena during Extreme 2

Hypno-Disc on a poster from Issue 6 of the Robot Wars Magazine

Hypno-Disc at Oundle Mill 2001

Hypno-Disc and Razer appear together at Robot Crusade in Cosford 2004

Dave and Ken Rose with both versions of Hypno-Disc in 2016

The Series 3 version of Hypno-Disc in 2016

The disc used on Hypno-Disc in Series 4 and 5 as of September 2023

Hypno-Disc with one of its interchangeable bodyshells at RoboNerd in September 2023

Outside Robot Wars

Hypno-Disc fighting Tornado at Oundle Mill 2001

Hypno-Disc in battle with Behemoth and Stinger at Oundle Mill 2001

Hypno-Disc in the pits at the Cosford Robot Crusade 2004

Hypno-Disc made appearances at events outside of Robot Wars, though these were few and far between due to Hypno-Disc's weapon being too powerful for the smaller arenas. One of these was at the Oundle Mill 2001 event, where Hypno-Disc was equipped with plastic wheels. It fought in a battle against Tornado, as well as a three-way melee against both Behemoth and Stinger. Hypno-Disc also appeared as a static display at the Trafford Centre in Manchester along with Chaos 2 and Razer as promotion for the then-new pullback toys.

The Series 3 version of Hypno-Disc in April 2022

The Series 6 version of Hypno-Disc in April 2022

Though it did not compete in The Seventh Wars, Hypno-Disc did still make an appearance at the Cosford Robot Crusade 2004 event, taking part in a demonstration alongside Razer where the pair destroyed a washing machine. Hypno-Disc was not allowed to compete in live event competitions, as spinning weapons were prohibited from live events for the heavyweight category.

On 31 July 2016, the Hypno-Disc team took part in a Reddit ask-me-anything on r/robotwars.

Both models of Hypno-Disc are still in the possession of the Rose family, the Series 3 model having had its disc repainted.

Dave and Derek Rose with Hypno-Disc in July 2023

Hypno-Disc on display at RoboNerd in September 2023

After the Rose family were approached by the Banbury Museum & Gallery, it was confirmed on 10 July 2023 that the Series 6 version of Hypno-Disc would be displayed there as part of the 'Robot' exhibition, which ran from 15 July until 8 October, marking the robot's first public appearance in 19 years.

Later in the year, the Series 6 Hypno-Disc appeared at RoboNerd as a display piece, with the Series 3 Hypno-Disc temporarily taking its place on display at the Banbury Museum & Gallery. The Roses also brought along the disc used on Hypno-Disc in Series 4, 5 and Extreme and one of its interchangeable bodyshells.

Sadly, Dave Rose revealed that Ken Rose had passed away in 2017.

Appearances in Merchandise

"So good they made the toy."

— Craig Charles in Robot Wars Extreme

• Hypno-Disc/Pullback
• Hypno-Disc/Minibot
• Hypno-Disc/Pitstop
• Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
• Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
• Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
• Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)
• Robot Wars: Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc

The Hypno-Disc pullback (spiked panel)

The Hypno-Disc pullback (srimech panel)

The Hypno-Disc Minibot

Hypno-Disc Pitstop

Hypno-Disc with some of its merchandise

Hypno-Disc in Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction

Hypno-Disc in Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction

Hypno-Disc in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)

Hypno-Disc in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)

Robot Wars: Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc (UK)

Robot Wars: Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypno-Disc (Scandinavia)

Trivia

• Dave Rose's favourite fight was the fight with Atomic 2, whilst Derek Rose favoured the fight with Splinter.
• Hypno-Disc dropped one seed each series (i.e.: seeded 2nd in Series 4, 3rd in Series 5 and 4th in Series 6).
  • Along with Razer, Hypno-Disc was one of only two robots never to be seeded outside of the top 4.
  • According to the Titan Robot Wars Magazine, Hypno-Disc would have been seeded ninth for The Seventh Wars, had it and the other Series 6 Semi-Finalists competed.
• Hypno-Disc is the only second seed ever to have reached a Grand Final, with all four others falling in the second round of the Semi-Finals.
  • This achievement was later emulated by unofficial second seeds Carbide and Eruption in Series 9 and 10, although the rebooted series did not feature the traditional Semi-Final stage.
• Hypno-Disc was one of only three robots which reached the Grand Final three times, the others being Firestorm and Carbide.
  • Like Firestorm, Hypno-Disc did not reach the Grand Final in its final appearance in the main competition, instead falling in the Semi-Finals.
  • Hypno-Disc and Carbide are the only robots to reach three successive Grand Finals, with Hypno-Disc achieving this feat in Series 3-5.
    • Both also finished runner-up in their debut series (both also losing to a flipper-wielding robot in that debut series, Chaos 2 and Apollo respectively).
  • Hypno-Disc was the first UK Runner-up to reach a subsequent Grand Final. This feat would later be replicated when Carbide won Series 9, and when Eruption won Series 10.
• Hypno-Disc is one of only eight robots which competed in more than one UK Championship and never failed to reach the Semi-Finals.
• Hypno-Disc was a personal favourite of Series 4/Extreme 1 pit reporter Julia Reed, as stated in numerous interviews.
• Hypno-Disc was profiled in Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide.
• Hypno-Disc was the pioneer of the horizontal flywheel, this being a substantial reason that it won the Most Original Entry Award in its debut appearance in Series 3.
• In all four of its main-series appearances, Hypno-Disc fought in the second Semi-Final.
• Hypno-Disc was the only seeded robot in Series 6 to not have its seed read out by the announcer Stuart McDonald.
• Hypno-Disc's Series 3 first-round battle against Robogeddon was nominated for the Battle of the Series, however it lost out to The Big Cheese vs Chaos 2 from Heat E.
• Like Reactor and Stinger, Hypno-Disc was designed from a child's construction toy, with its prototype being made out of Lego.
• Derek Rose told the Robot Wars Magazine that Hypno-Disc was going to be a walking robot in Series 4, but it ultimately retained wheels when it appeared in the series.
• The Hypno-Disc team had a strong desire to battle Mortis. Although the two never fought each other on the show, they did feature alongside Stinger, a robot Hypno-Disc had meant to fight in Series 4, in a Fantasy Fight comic from the original Robot Wars Magazine.

360, a featherweight version of Hypno-Disc built by Dave Moulds

• Hypno-Disc proved to be the inspiration for many subsequent spinning weapons. Although spinning weapons were mostly banned from heavyweight live events in the UK between 2007 and 2017, many featherweight and antweight competitors armed with spinners were largely based on Hypno-Disc's design. Dave Moulds even created a featherweight version of Hypno-Disc itself, called 360, which features a srimech and top spikes similar to those found on the original robot.
• One of the Series 3 Hypno-Disc's wheels was sold on eBay on 1 February 2015 for £8.00.
• Of Hypno-Disc's 22 combat victories, only seven did not contain a robot with a flipper or lifter.
• Hypno-Disc fought eleven of the top 16 seeds of The Fourth Wars during its career (missing only Razer, Panic Attack, Gemini, Team Hurtz and Gravedigger). This is the most of any robot; Razer and Chaos 2 each fought nine of the top sixteen.
• In 2003, Hypno-Disc was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame as an inaugural member, in recognition of its innovative and influential design.
• The team's motto, 'Spin to Win', was referred to as 'Dritta alla Vittoria' in the Italian dub of Extreme 1, which translates to 'Straight to Victory'.

An official screensaver wallpaper of Hypno-Disc severely damaging V-Max

• On the official website, a screenshot of the Hypno-Disc fighting V-Max was available for screensaver wallpaper.
• Hypno-Disc is the only robot to have a profile on the Chinese-speaking version of Wikipedia. Hypno-Disc's name in Chinese can be translated as Crazy Magic Knife or Wild Turning Magic Blade.
• Derek Rose expressed confidence in being able to give a tougher fight to Chaos 2 had the two met in a rematch during one of the later series, but added that the result would have heavily relied on which robot got the first attack in.
• In an April 2024 episode of the BBC quiz show Pointless Celebrities, Hypno-Disc was one of the robots listed as an answer in a round titled "Robots from Robot Wars".
• Curiously, in the series where Hypno-Disc was credited as being from Middleton Cheney, the village was said to be in Oxfordshire when it is actually in Northamptonshire.

External Links

• Hypno-Disc website