- "Constructed by Team Vader, and very much from the dark side."
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces IG-88
IG-88 was a heavyweight robot which competed exclusively in Series 7 of Robot Wars. Built by Team Vader, it emulated a very similar design, but with a unique "birotational axe" rather than Vader's more conventional vertical flywheel. IG-88 reached the heat final after causing significant damage to each opponent in its first round and then defeating King B Powerworks in the second round. In that heat final, IG-88 only lasted a few seconds before being flipped out of the arena by Dantomkia, though its weapon still caused significant damage to Dantomkia in the single contact.
Design
Rear view of IG-88 in the Arena
IG-88's basic design was largely identical to that of Vader, being a two-wheeled, reverse wedge-shaped robot with a large vertical spinning weapon. Unlike Vader, the main robot was armoured in steel, painted green, black and brown, and featured hinged side skirts to prevent flippers, lifters and wedges from getting underneath it.
- Jayne Middlemiss: "I must say, this looks like a frightening robot to me."
- Paul Rose: "When it is working, it is quite dangerous, certainly."
- Jayne Middlemiss: "I mean what is THAT [points to IG-88's weapon] for example?"
- Paul Rose: "I'm claiming it to be a 'bi-rotational axe'."
- Jayne Middlemiss: "Does that mean it's an axe that spins?"
- Paul Rose: "It is indeed... and it goes both ways."
- — Team Vader introduces IG-88's 'bi-rotational axe' to Jayne Middlemiss
IG-88, front view
In place of Vader's disc, IG-88 was armed with a double-headed 'bi-rotational axe', which could rotate in either forward or reverse directions and was capable of concussing and causing significant amounts of damage to opponents. However, it shared Vader's weaknesses in lacking a self-righting mechanism and being easily flipped from the front, as well as being cited to have thin armour on its statistics board.
- "It lacks self-righting, has thin armour and slow weaponry - and that's what they say about it, for goodness sake!"
- — Jonathan Pearce remarks on IG-88's weaknesses before its Robot Wars debut
Etymology
Like its predecessor Vader, IG-88 was named after a character from the Star Wars film franchise, referencing the bounty hunter droid of the same name.
The Team
- Main article: Team Vader
IG-88 was entered into Series 7 by Team Vader, and was built as a successor to their titular robot Vader. Typically, Team Vader would consist of the team captain Paul Rose, Simon Latham and Phillip Calthorpe, but shortly before Series 7 began, Simon Latham qualified for the Seventh Wars using the team's older machine, Vader. As a result, Anton Grounds took his place on the team when taking part with IG-88, but nevertheless Paul Rose and Phillip Calthorpe were also present on both of the Vader and IG-88 teams in Series 7.
Robot History
Series 7
IG-88 competed in Heat C, facing Scorpion, The Stag and series newcomer Tomahawk in its first-round battle.
IG-88 knocks Tomahawk out
After initially hesitating to move from its starting position, it started the melee strongly, buffeting Tomahawk away with its spinning axe a few times until the first-time competitor became completely immobilised.
- "IG-88's flailing weapon looks powerful, doesn't it? The 'bi-rotational' spinning axe, they called it... ooh, it does look formidable!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as IG-88 attacks – and immobilises – Tomahawk
IG-88 attacks The Stag
IG-88 rips Scorpion's front panel off
After hitting Tomahawk again, IG-88 proceeded to attack The Stag, launching it off the floor twice as it drove into the latter's rear and The Stag drove head-on into its spinning axe. IG-88 waited in the middle of the arena as Scorpion and The Stag pushed the immobile Tomahawk across the arena, before pursuing The Stag and flipping it over onto Scorpion. Seconds later, it hit Scorpion's side, its spinning axe briefly stopping before Scorpion pushed IG-88 aside. The Stag then pushed IG-88 sideways across the arena, before IG-88 pursued The Stag in return just as it drove itself into the pit. With The Stag pitted and Tomahawk being counted out, IG-88 proceeded to fight with Scorpion, momentarily being shoved by the latter into Sgt. Bash and wedged on a piece of debris as it tried to reverse. In spite of this, IG-88 escaped, subsequently tearing Scorpion's front panel clean off as the two robots collided head-on again, before catapulting it towards the ceiling and out of the arena. After this dominant performance, IG-88 progressed to the second round along with the now-badly damaged Scorpion.
There, it faced series veteran and former Semi-Finalist King B Powerworks.
- "Excellent, lots of sticky-out bits! Should suit us well."
- — Paul Rose's gleeful response upon being told of IG-88's second-round draw
IG-88 hammers the immobile King B Powerworks
IG-88 began by pursuing King B Powerworks across the arena as the latter attempted to drive away from its spinning axe. It clouted King B Powerworks' side seconds later, but not without causing any major damage, before again chasing it across the arena and hitting its forks. Eventually, after pursuing King B Powerworks again, IG-88 sent it hurtling into the wall after the latter charged head-on into its spinning axe a second time.
- "Catch me if you can! No, we're not playing kiss chase here, boys – ah! King B Powerworks got a slam, as it went on the attack, and the sparks flew! This is no love match out there!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as IG-88 delivers a knock-out blow on King B Powerworks
The impact caused sparks to fly and immobilised King B Powerworks instantaneously, allowing IG-88 to hit King B Powerworks a few more times as smoke began pouring from it. With King B Powerworks being counted out and attacked by the House Robots, IG-88 approached it and Sgt. Bash as the latter tried to place its defeated opponent on the Floor Flipper. However, it refused to attack any further as King B Powerworks was thrown across the arena and pitted by Shunt, securing Team Vader's place in the Heat Final.
- Jayne Middlemiss: "Now, what are gonna be your tactics?"
- Paul Rose: "We're (sic) possible to get Dantomkia on the sides, because that's their vulnerable area... if we go head-on, we could go flying."
- — Paul Rose's prophetic words ahead of the Heat Final
In the Heat Final, IG-88 faced the fifth seed, and previous series Semi-Finalist, Dantomkia, with Team Vader fully aware that its lack of srimech could compromise its chances of victory.
IG-88 is thrown out of the arena in under ten seconds
Immediately, it attempted to attack Dantomkia head-on with its spinning axe, only to be scooped under, pushed towards and flipped against the wall. IG-88's spinning axe caught the top of the wall in the process, propelling it out of the arena and into the flip-out zone.
- "Dantomkia, trying to dodge... that flailing axe of IG-88 – oh, it's all over! They've dodged it, they've thrust it, they've squeezed it, they've flipped it!"
- — Jonathan Pearce's entire commentary for the Heat Final
After only 9.7 seconds had elapsed, IG-88 was eliminated from the Seventh Wars, with its defeat breaking the record for the shortest battle in Robot Wars until Dantomkia's Semi-Final battle against Gravity later on in the series. Notably, the damage caused by IG-88's spinner colliding with the flipper of Dantomkia while falling out of the arena also sent a surge through Dantomkia to damage its radio electronics, making its flipper less responsive for the rest of the series.
- "Well... blink, and you would've missed it! It was like the boxing equivalent of getting knocked out with the first punch. IG-88 – they might be spinnin', but they're certainly not winnin'! "
- — Craig Charles announces IG-88's elimination
Results
| IG-88 - RESULTS | ||
| Series 7 | ||
| The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heat Final | ||
| Heat C, Round 1 | vs. Scorpion, The Stag, Tomahawk | Qualified |
| Heat C, Round 2 | vs. King B Powerworks | Won |
| Heat C, Final | vs. Dantomkia (5) | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 1
Series Record
| Main Series | IG-88 Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Failed to qualify with Vader |
| The Sixth Wars | Entered with Vader |
| The Seventh Wars | Heat Final Entered with Vader |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Did not enter |
| Series 2 | Entered with Vader |
Outside Robot Wars
IG-88 is currently retired, although it continued to attend live events as a static exhibit after Robot Wars entered its hiatus.[1] It briefly came out of retirement to fight in the Roaming Robots 2006 UK Championships, but was eliminated in the group stages against Scorpion, Ewe 2 and Toyotabot, with Scorpion emerging victorious and progressing to the next round.
Trivia
Official Series 7 photo
- Although IG-88 was from a veteran team, it was the only robot in Heat C of Series 7 that did not appear in any other episode.