Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2
Participation Information
UK Series	6-7, Extreme 2
Other Names	KillerCarrot 2
Team Information
Team	Team Dangerous Vegetables
Team Members	Rob Englebright Adam Englebright Mark Hale (Series 6) Dominic Englebright (Series 7)
From	Turners Hill, West Sussex
Robot Statistics
Weight	100kg
Dimensions	0.65m x 0.90 x 1.00m
Top Speed	8mph
Power	Hawker batteries
Drive	800w electric motor (24v)
Weapons	Rear hinged flipper
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Can see in the dark, but could it get rooted to the spot here?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Killer Carrot 2 (alternatively KillerCarrot 2) was a competitor in Series 6-7 of Robot Wars, and the second series of Extreme. There were two different forms of the robot seen on the show, both featuring carrot-themed flipping weapons. Killer Carrot 2 reached the second round in each tournament it competed in.

The original Killer Carrot was an unused reserve for the filming of Series 4.

Versions of Killer Carrot

Killer Carrot (Series 4)

"Yes we were reserves so spent the whole week there, on call in case anyone failed. In the qualifiers we had the steering set up tank style, but it was terrible. We came back and ran at the Uckfield event and fought Paul Cooper's Mincer."

— Rob Englebright in 2024 on attending the Fourth Wars

The internals of Killer Carrot at the time of Series 4

Killer Carrot in its Series 4 form (right), battling Mincer

The original Killer Carrot robot was built for the Fourth Wars, where it was in attendance at filming for the entire week as a reserve, but ultimately went unused after only one reserve robot was ever required to fill a space (V-Max, replacing Onslaught). At this time, Killer Carrot was a simple invertible box-wedge shaped design constructed from a wooden frame which ran on wheelchair motors, and used a ramming spike as its primary weapon. Killer Carrot used tank-style steering at this point in time, which builder Rob Englebright soon found unsuitable and changed this at a later date.

"I remember being there for it, it was filmed in St Albans (as I recall) which was a lot closer to where we were than the later series when we had to go and stay with my aunt in Leicester for filming. I mostly remember hanging around waiting for someone else's robot to break and being disappointed when it didn't. Given that KC1 was pretty much just a wooden box with some wheelchair motors and a spike on it, probably wasn't the worst thing in the world that we didn't get called on!"

— Adam Englebright in 2024 on Killer Carrot's time at the Fourth Wars

The frame and drive system of Killer Carrot after being updated

The original Killer Carrot when it was updated to use a metal frame and flipper weapon

This version of Killer Carrot would later be upgraded to use a pneumatic flipper like its successor, alongside an improved drive system and metal chassis, but this only took place after its appearance at the filming of Series 4, and its combat debut at its first live event.

"After much email advice from Woody on Team Onslaught we have ditched the idea of the air chisel for the time being as its consumption rate of 113 litres per minute would prove excessive. The order has gone in to Graham Leacock for some Festo 40mm rams which should provide just enough oomph to lift a middleweight robot if I make some minor adaptations to the regulator. Thankyou Woody!"

— The team on moving away from chisel weaponry to a flipper

Killer Carrot 2 (Series 6)

"The revised layout reminds me of Thermidor, and were both orange, except he's got a good flipper. This is definitely the last revision to KillerCarrot, and once we've been battered at the qualifiers, and limped through this year's Techno Games, it's going to be time for a new start."

— Rob Englebright on the original Killer Carrot 2 before it competed in Series 6 (edited)

Killer Carrot 2 in the arena during Series 6

Rear view of Killer Carrot 2 in Extreme 2

The version of Killer Carrot 2 seen in Series 6 was an invertible box-shaped robot, driven by two wheels. It was armed with a low-pressure flipper at the front, although this would sometimes tip the robot out of balance due to its position at the front of the robot. The robot also had a secondary weapon, a 14 inch bale spike at the rear. This version of Killer Carrot 2 had great stamina, maintaining mobility despite taking large amounts of damage. It was constructed from a steel chassis, with Lexan aluminium armour, but its drive was relatively slow, and its wheels were exposed and prone to falling off, something that affected the machine in the live circuit as well as its televised fight against Lambsy.

"Anyway, spec stays much the same, 2 Littons @24volts through 16.75:1 gearboxes, giving about 7mph, at the 10" Kart rears. Power comes from a pair of 4QD NCC70 speedies mixed in the new Quazar-design prototype interface board, weapon is an SMC 100x125 ram running at 10bar through an O2 cutting regulator and a pair of 3 port solenoids, quick exhaust valves, and high flow hosing, switched by 2 Powertrac switches, to allow power up, power down, gravity down. The whole shebang is invertible, and the chassis is 15x30x1.5mm ERW steel box, badly welded together, and covered in 6mm ally chequer plate, and 6mm RESART polycarb armour."

— Rob Englebright compares the Series 6 version of Killer Carrot 2 to its live circuit version (edited)

Killer Carrot 2 (Series 7)

"KC has been more or less "finished" for a while now. Tests prove it self rights, there's plenty of gas to go round, and it drives much better than before. The Hawkers really give the old fella a bit of zip, wheelspin and wheelies even. Unfortunately, there's no room for any armour, just a bit of cheesey ali plate... I'm sure we'll be Mullered, but to be quite honest it doesn't matter, it's only cost the steel for the chassis this year, a pair of Rogers wheels and a couple of cans of orange glow, all else is salvaged from various other builds."

— Rob Englebright on the upgrades for Series 7

Killer Carrot 2 in Series 7

The maximum height of Killer Carrot 2's new flipper, as seen prior to the Series 7 qualifiers

Series 7's Killer Carrot 2 featured a more wedge-shaped design, with the flipper resting on top. The Series 7 version also had thin aluminium armour but had a golf caddy motor, a proven rugged drive train and a 10 bar flipper which, with the help of Noel Poncelet who composed a spreadsheet to work out flipper heights, was computer-optimised. This gave the flipper more power than the previous design whilst still running on low pressure, also allowing the robot the ability to self-right in tests, although it would occasionally struggle to complete this on its first try in live circuit fights. The new Killer Carrot 2 was much quicker, sometimes bringing its wedge from the floor while freewheeling, a result of its new, more powerful Hawker batteries which had been acquired secondhand.

"I guess the build cost this time is around £60. plus £90 for the second hand Hawkers .Of course I don't want to get all the internals smashed up, but they have all served their purposes for 3 years now"

— Rob Englebright on the cost of upgrades for Series 7

The robot's new chassis design was originally intended for its planned successor KC3, but the team felt that without its intended internal upgrades, the robot would retain the name Killer Carrot 2 due to its reused internals from Series 6, with KC3 later going on to receive a similar yet separate new chassis.

"We had a version of killer carrot under construction which was Kc3, but it wasn't finished in time for the next series so we put a bunch of upgrades on KC2."

— Rob Englebright on the difference between Series 7's Killer Carrot 2 and a potential Killer Carrot 3

Etymology

The name Killer Carrot was first chosen largely because of the robot's orange colours and pointed shape, though the team did build a backstory around this that the carrot was a 'genetically modified form of life'.

"Team killer carrot started as Team GM Farm, a poor attempt at humour, the idea was that the killer carrot was a genetically modified form of life... however this went down like a lead balloon at Robot Mayhem, so we stuck to Carrots, because the robot was orange.... and sort of pointy... feeble I know but what can I say."

— The team explain the concept behind Killer Carrot

The Series 6 version of Killer Carrot 2 was occasionally known internally by the team as Killer Carrot 2 Evo to differentiate it from its original form seen on the live circuit around the time of Series 5. No such distinguishing name was used for the Series 7 version, other than one image on the Dangerous Vegetables website using the name "Killer Carrot 2 and a Half" in a filename.

The Team

"Adam, alias Dodge only wants to build a qualifying robot so he can get his club membership fee back. Rob (34),alias Zorro, (or Big Rob) Team Captain and tired father. Used to be a fox so cunning and free, now does a day shift at Plumpton College lecturing in Agriculture, IT and stuff, and a night shift as a freelance illustrator. Inept robot builder and visionary."

— The team website on Adam and Rob Englebright

The Dangerous Vegetables team in Series 7

The team were known as Team Dangerous Vegetables, alternatively Team Killer Carrot and originally known as Team GM Farm. The team captain, driver and builder was Rob Englebright, and he was consistently joined by his son Adam in all of the robot's appearances, with Adam notably being involved with all of the team's interviews after proving to be famously talkative. Adam Englebright also drove the robot in the Minor Meltdown.

"New Boy, Mark, alias Bob the Builder. Can he fix it? well he'll give it a go and he probably knows a man who can do you a good deal. Robot Wars fanatic and chief of acquiring stuff, (all legitimate , honest!)"

— The team website on Mark Hale

Mark Hale was the third team member for Series 6, while Rob's younger son Dominic Englebright was the third member for Series 7.

"Dom (6) and Adam (9), the brains behind Team Killer Carrot, enjoy fighting, climbing on furniture and playing Pokemon on Gameboy. Dislike eating normal food, tidying up or behaving like human beings. Dom, alias Monkey boy is prevented from attending Robot Wars due to his age"

— The team website on Dominic Englebright

House Robot design

"I can't go into any details about what happened at this years RW7, suffice to say we had a good time, the boys enjoyed themselves, and I was pleased to finally see the new House Robot I drew for Chris Reynolds alive and punching... well shuffling amusingly."

— Rob Englebright's reaction to seeing the fully built Cassius Chrome

In addition to his role as a competitor, Rob Englebright sketched the initial design concepts for the last three House Robots to be made, Mr. Psycho, Growler, and Cassius Chrome, this predating his role as a competitor on the televised show. Rather, Englebright drew these as a member of the BBC Visual Effects Department before the designs were modified down the line to bring the concepts to reality.

Rob Englebright's design concepts for Mr. Psycho

Rob Englebright's design concept for Growler

Rob Englebright's design concept for Cassius Chrome

In addition to his design concepts of the House Robots, Rob Englebright also drew some illustrations featured in the Robot Wars souvenir programmes available at live events and potential robot designs in the Robot Wars Club newsletter, the latter under the Wild Ideas Lab segments. Rob Englebright noted in 2024 that his favourite of these designs was a clusterbot concept named Legion (see image below).

Legion, as drawn by Rob Englebright for Wild Ideas Labs

Qualification

The original Killer Carrot after being modified, before work on it was stopped

The original Killer Carrot, which had started life as a middleweight, attempted to qualify for The Fourth Wars by participating in the Robot Mayhem live event. Attending on 30 July 2000, it fought Eric in its qualifier battle, but suffered major steering problems as a consequence of a lack of testing. Killer Carrot lost on a Judges' decision, but was later chosen as a reserve for the main series, being assigned for filming sessions on 7-8 August. Unlike fellow reserve V-Max, it did not get a chance to compete. Killer Carrot's unsuccessful attempt to enter Series 4 would later be addressed on television by Adam Englebright, prior to the start of Keeler Carrot's run at Techno Games 2001.

"Sadly because of a lack of time to test anything, it was almost impossible to steer and lost its one and only fight to "Eric" by a judges decision. After the qualifiers we went on holiday to York for a week, and were delighted to find an answer phone message from Mary Jane calling us up as Reserves for 7th and 8th August."

— Team Dangerous Vegetables website

Killer Carrot 2 was built ahead of The Fifth Wars, but due to the damage received from Dominator 2 at a live event, Rob Englebright did not have time to repair the robot for the series qualifiers, so decided not to enter.

"After the huge rush to get KC2 ready for Wilsons Day, I was too exhausted to get repairs done for Robot wars qualification. I'd been up till about 11 each night, cutting grinding, welding, who knows what the neighbours thought? I'd created a whole pile of extra armour after the Dom2 incident, unfortunately it put us way overweight. The flipper alone weighed in at about 20 kgs. After much "lightning" we were down to just about 100kg, and I thought I'd do a test run. That's when the speed controller went poop! I almost cried. So After a couple of attempts at repair, with the help of many people on the forum, and in real life from Paul Chitty, a local electronics wizard, I realised I was stuffed. I had the choice of running KC2 on an old pair of NCC35's for the qualifiers, with virtually no armour, or of going on holiday as had originally been planned."

— Team Dangerous Vegetables website

Killer Carrot 2 shortly before Series 6

The team with Killer Carrot 2 in the pits during the Series 6 qualifiers

Killer Carrot 2 instead fought at the Series 6 qualifiers. After two possible qualifiers which Killer Carrot 2 ended up not fighting in, Killer Carrot 2 was put up against Derek and Night Raider to qualify for Series 6. Derek won the battle, but Killer Carrot 2 received a discretionary place to qualify.

"In the end when we finally got to fight we'd been moved again and faced a beautifully made milled aluminium lifter called Derek, and a twin rammed flipper called Night raider ... The fight started badly, Night Raider got wedged in the pits, once under way we ripped it's battery lead off and that was the end of it. Then we got stuck into Derek, we shoved him around, but neither of us were really putting on much of a show... We shoved him about, and then he got his lifter tine stuck in the polycarb... couldn't release, and sowe ended, us shoving him about, him lifting us to stop it, then not being able to move ... Judges decision to Derek, prettier Robot, Adam was hacked off, I was relieved. 175 mile return trip took 2 hours.. you do the maths."

— Team Dangerous Vegetables website

Killer Carrot 2 at the time of the Series 7 qualifiers

Side view of Killer Carrot 2 at the time of the qualifiers

At the Series 7 qualifiers, Killer Carrot 2 fought Scorpion, Sir Chromalot, and an unknown third robot, at the time sporting a different paintjob. Scorpion destroyed Sir Chromalot and the unknown robot, and Killer Carrot 2 itself sustained damage from Scorpion greater than what it would later receive from X-Terminator in Series 7 according to Rob Englebright, with the flipper in particular being bent sideways and prompting its redesign to a carrot "nose", but Killer Carrot 2 remained mobile throughout the fight and it was named a joint winner of the battle alongside Scorpion, qualifying directly for the Seventh Wars.

The damage caused to Killer Carrot 2's flipper by Scorpion

"Our fight was against Scorpion, our chums from Nutley post office, Sir Chromalot, and a machine from some new chaps, which sadly got trashed by scorpions spinner. We had trouble with the pressure from the reg, and this stressed the flipper a bit, but it coped OK... though gave up a bit later into the fight. The Hawkers really gave us some zip, and we flew around the arena, not bad for a cellar floor special, the NCC 70's were more than enough, though we could have used a bit more grunt for shoving the others. We drove out fine, which I consider a success, and were joint winners with Scorpion."

— Team Dangerous Vegetables website

When Robot Wars was announced to be returning in 2016, the team received a copy of the application form for Series 8, but at this stage had no interest in applying to compete.

"Strangely yesterday Mentorn emailed a bunch of robot folk to say Robot Wars is coming back, and filming starts in March in Glasgow. I got a copy of the application form and letter but I'm not going to enter. I remember the fun, but also the pain of having to coordinate my life around them, and I'm not willing to play that game again, though I'm sure loads of folk will."

— Adam Englebright in 2016

Robot History

Series 6

Killer Carrot 2's first appearance in Robot Wars saw it face the second seed Bigger Brother, the Series 5 runner-up, along with fellow newcomer Riptilion and veteran Major Tom.

"What's special about the Killer Carrot? It's lasted a long time! It's been bashed about and it still keeps on going!"

— Rob Englebright, interviewed by Philippa Forrester

Killer Carrot 2 lifts Major Tom

Killer Carrot 2 went straight for Major Tom, but struggled to get its flipper under its opponent. On the other side of the arena, Bigger Brother fought Riptilion, flipping it and pushing it towards Mr. Psycho, keeping it in the CPZ so Psycho could attack it. Meanwhile, Killer Carrot 2 succeeded in getting beneath Major Tom, but after three successive flips, Major Tom would not roll over. Bigger Brother joined the fray and tossed Killer Carrot 2 onto its back, before ramming into Major Tom and flipping it over, but Major Tom was able to roll back onto its wheels. Bigger Brother activated the pit release and flipped Major Tom into the side wall, where it was caught by Sir Killalot, who attacked it, and Mr. Psycho soon joined in.

Bigger Brother flips Killer Carrot 2

Bigger Brother turned on Killer Carrot 2 again, and flipped it up against the side wall angle grinder, just as the Disc of Doom activated. Meanwhile, Riptilion, who had been doing nothing but spinning in circles on the Disc of Doom, drove into the pit. Bigger Brother and Killer Carrot 2 battled on, but it was clear that Major Tom was not moving as it was only driving in circles. and Refbot moved in to initiate the countdown. Bigger Brother wrestled Killer Carrot 2 onto the Disc of Doom, where it spun away, and the battle ended with a deluge of balls that crashed down onto Major Tom. Killer Carrot 2 went through to the second round with Bigger Brother.

Philippa Forrester: "Are you all Organic?"

Rob Englebright: "Completely organic! Actually, we're genetically modified!"

— The team prior to the Disc-O-Inferno fight

In Round 2, Killer Carrot 2 went up against Annihilator champion Disc-O-Inferno.

Unsuccessful flips by Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 charged into Disc-O-Inferno, trying to flip it, but its flipper ran into the spinning disc of Disc-O-Inferno and a piece of front armour was torn off. Disc-O-Inferno then struck again whilst the flipper was open, before Killer Carrot 2 retreated. Disc-O-Inferno pursued and tore off another piece of armour.

"Now, the Killer has been a bit of a trooper, I love my carrot soup-er! Shredded carrot? It will be if it gets on the end of that spinning blade and part of the Killer Carrot comes off! That thirty kilo, one thousand RPM spinning blade already wreaking havoc, and bumping and bashing into Killer Carrot 2!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Disc-O-Inferno tears at Killer Carrot 2. Note the destroyed wheel guard

Killer Carrot 2 fought to get off the flame pit, and Disc-O-Inferno came in again, landing blows on its left wheel. Killer Carrot 2 managed to lift its opponent, but dropped it down again. Another attempt yielded the same result, and the two robots collided in a pushing match, with Killer Carrot 2 managing to use its weight to push and angle its body to avoid the disc. The two robots broke apart and Disc-O-Inferno attacked Killer Carrot 2's other wheel, tearing the wheel guard free, so that the scrap of metal was hanging off the machine.

"I think those wheels are a bit exposed...well, one of the wheels even more exposed now."

— Jonathan Pearce

Killer Carrot 2 flips Disc-O-Inferno onto its own tyre

Killer Carrot 2 flipped Disc-O-Inferno up again, but it landed down with its disc cutting into its wheel. Now hobbled, Killer Carrot 2 moved feebly, taking blows to its rear and front armour. Dodging a flip, Disc-O-Inferno moved forward and landed a glancing blow on Killer Carrot 2's undamaged wheel. Killer Carrot 2's movement seemed to become very feeble, but just then Disc-O-Inferno began spinning around in circles on top of the flame pit. Disc-O-Inferno spun free and struck the advancing Killer Carrot 2, but it then spun into a side wall and promptly broke down, with smoke pouring from the insides. Refbot quickly bathed Disc-O-Inferno with its fire extinguisher, restoring movement, and Shunt began to push Killer Carrot 2 across the arena. Disc-O-Inferno moved free and shot across the arena, just as time ran out. Because Disc-O-Inferno had restored mobility, the judges made a decision as normal, and voted that Disc-O-Inferno should continue, eliminating Killer Carrot 2.

Extreme 2

Killer Carrot 2 took part in the Minor Meltdown of Extreme Series 2, with Adam Englebright taking over the controls. In the first round it was up against International Tag Team Terror champion Rick and Tetanus 2.

"Basically, battle plan is, zip around all over the place, try and crash into everything, flip everything up with our flipper, and try not to fall into the pit when that opens!"

— Adam Englebright on his tactics

Killer Carrot 2 is pushed onto the Flame Pit by Tetanus 2

Rick charged straight at Killer Carrot 2, driving up its lifter, but Rick reversed off before Killer Carrot 2 fired the lifter. Meanwhile, Tetanus 2 moved ponderously towards Killer Carrot 2, lifting it and pushing it onto the flame pit, briefly being lifted off the ground by Rick's flipper whilst doing so. Tetanus 2 reversed as Rick came in, allowing Killer Carrot 2 to get away. Killer Carrot 2 stayed close to the side wall as Rick flipped Tetanus 2 over, coming in as Tetanus struggled to self-right. Rick and Killer Carrot 2 closed in on Tetanus whilst it was struggling to self-right, knocking it back on its wheels.

"Killer Carrot flipping, uh ... thin air, actually! So not great style or driving controls from Adam Englebright, who's been chatting away in the pits, and uh, chatting away in the pits, and chatting away in the pits! He's not chatting now, he's concentrating"

— Jonathan Pearce after Killer Carrot randomly fires its lifter.

Killer Carrot 2 pits Tetanus 2

Tetanus 2 pushed Killer Carrot 2 onto Rick's wedge, who flipped it, but could not flip it over, mostly because Tetanus 2 was also lifting Rick, and their lifter prevented Rick's flipper opening the whole way. Killer Carrot 2 broke free and drove away, but Tetanus 2 followed, but this time Killer Carrot 2 got its lifter in, lifting Tetanus a couple of times, but not flipping it over. Tetanus 2 held Killer Carrot 2 by the wall as Rick opened the pit, and when Rick came in, Tetanus turned its attentions from Killer Carrot 2 to Rick. However, its lifter was still raised, allowing Rick to get in and flip it over. As Tetanus 2 tried to self-right, Killer Carrot 2 pushed it into the pit.

In the second round, it faced Lambsy, managing to avoid the alternative matchup against Bigger Brother, who it fought in Series 6.

"We're just going to whizz around the arena and try and drop them in the pit!"

— Adam Englebright's tactics for the battle against Lambsy

Lambsy balances on Killer Carrot 2

The two robots charged at each other, but missed. The two turned around and charged at each other again, with Killer Carrot 2 getting its lifter underneath, flipping Lambsy onto its top. Lambsy was briefly stuck on its side on top of Killer Carrot 2, but Killer Carrot 2 spun round, which caused Lambsy to fall off the top, back on its wheels, so Lambsy drove away. The sheep's head on top of Lambsy had fallen off when it was flipped by Killer Carrot 2, and when Killer Carrot 2 turned to chase Lambsy, it became blocked by the sheep's head. Lambsy rammed Killer Carrot 2, which knocked it on top of the sheep's head, briefly leaving it stuck.

"Lambsy's graze on grass, surely, not root vegetables!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Lambsy pushes Killer Carrot 2 into the CPZ

The left-hand wheel slips away from Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 got itself free, and chased after Lambsy. It got side on and flipped, but its flipper was not under properly, so barely lifted it. It then missed its next attack. Lambsy clamped on to Killer Carrot 2, pushing it into the CPZ, but Mr. Psycho hit Lambsy with its hammer first instead of Killer Carrot 2. Both fled the CPZ, and clashed by the flame pit, where Killer Carrot 2's wheel became dislodged and rolled away from the robot.

"They've lost a wheel! Now how on earth did that happen?! They seemed well in control, and were pushing back onto Lambsy, but the wheel has come off the Carrot!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Mr. Psycho picks up the wheel that came off Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 tries in vain to flip Mr. Psycho

Killer Carrot 2 lifts Refbot as he finishes counting it out

Killer Carrot 2 could now only spin on the spot, so Lambsy opened the pit. Killer Carrot 2 then attacked Mr Psycho, who had picked up its wheel, but to no avail; its flipper was nowhere near strong enough. With only one wheel mobile, Killer Carrot 2 was counted out by Refbot, who Killer Carrot 2 also tried to flip over. Dead Metal sliced into the rear of Killer Carrot 2 and put it on the floor flipper, but it drove off at the last minute. It was attacked by the House Robots, with Mr. Psycho hammering it and Dead Metal cutting into it with its saw. It was put on the flipper, and although Killer Carrot 2 tried spinning to get off the flipper, it was still thrown. Mr. Psycho hammered Killer Carrot 2 some more, and Killer Carrot 2 made another unsuccessful attempt to lift the enormous House Robot. Finally, Killer Carrot 2 was pitted by Dead Metal.

"Well, living proof that real robots don't just each meat, they eat vegetables as well! Killer Carrot, out of the competition! Lambsy, they go growling on!"

— Craig Charles after the battle

Series 7

"Turned into carrot soup in The Sixth Wars!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Killer Carrot 2 enters the arena

In the Seventh Wars, the redesigned Killer Carrot 2 was in a first round melee with Fluffy, Constrictor, a new robot created by Team UK Robotics who fought in Series 2 with Rottweiler, and newcomer Scarey-Go-Round.

Killer Carrot 2 wages an even contest with Constrictor

Killer Carrot 2 lifts up Constrictor

Killer Carrot 2 went for Constrictor, whilst Fluffy fought Scarey-Go-Round. Both robots tried to get their flipper underneath the other, but it was Constrictor that got its lifter in first, lifting Killer Carrot 2 up. Constrictor backed off, and Killer Carrot 2 drove away, doing a wheelie as it did so, before driving into the arena wall as Constrictor closed in. Killer Carrot 2 pushed Constrictor side-on whilst Scarey-Go-Round was being attacked by Fluffy. Constrictor turned to face Killer Carrot 2 head-on, so Killer Carrot 2 drove away, driving between Fluffy and Scarey-Go-Round.

"Killer Carrot 2, the most impressive in this fight."

— Jonathan Pearce

Killer Carrot 2 lands a flip on Scarey-Go-Round

Killer Carrot 2 clamps down on Fluffy

By this point, Scarey-Go-Round had received a large cut down the side from Fluffy, and Fluffy was going around in circles due to a motor burning out. As Constrictor attacked Scarey-Go-Round, Killer Carrot 2 drove around Fluffy, trying to get its flipper in, but Fluffy hit it with its blade, knocking Killer Carrot 2 aside. Killer Carrot 2 rammed Constrictor, then targeted Scarey-Go-Round, getting its flipper in, but only slightly lifted Scarey-Go-Round. Constrictor came in from behind, so Killer Carrot fought back, pushing it further up the arena, then flipping it, but failing to get it on its side. It went back after Scarey-Go-Round, lifting it again, before taking turns to ram Fluffy, which had stopped moving, Scarey-Go-Round, and Constrictor. As Sergeant Bash held Fluffy in its pincers, Killer Carrot 2 attacked the House Robot, but did not get its flipper under properly. It opened the pit, before reversing into Fluffy (which was moving again), and bumping into Constrictor. The three continued to push against each other until the end of the battle, whilst Scarey-Go-Round was spinning in a circle by the flame pit. All four machines survived for a judges' decision, but Fluffy and Scarey-Go-Round were eliminated, leaving Killer Carrot 2 and Constrictor to proceed.

"Well, I'm not to sure that X-Terminator or Tsunami will be quaking ... certainly Killer Carrot 2 looked impressive"

— Jonathan Pearce whist reviewing the highlights of the battle as the judges were deciding

In the next round of the heat, Killer Carrot 2 faced the eleventh seed X-Terminator. This was the preference of the team, who wished to avoid the German series runner-up, Tsunami.

"I was hoping it would be X-Terminator 2, at least it's not Tsunami, I'm happy about X-Terminator 2, but I'm still a bit worried!"

— Adam Englebright on the draw

Killer Carrot 2 is thrown over by X-Terminator

Killer Carrot 2 is overturned once again

Killer Carrot 2 drove straight at X-Terminator, hitting the front as the disc was getting up to speed. This stopped the disc spinning, but allowed X-Terminator to push Killer Carrot 2 around the arena. It pushed Killer Carrot 2 to Sir Killalot's CPZ, but drove too close, and the House Robot grabbed it instead of Killer Carrot 2, spearing it with the lance and holding it with the jaw, before pushing it out of the CPZ. Killer Carrot 2 used this distraction to escape. As X-Terminator moved away from the CPZ, Killer Carrot 2 drove at X-Terminator again, but this time the disc was up to speed, and Killer Carrot 2 was flipped over. Killer Carrot 2's flipper did not work, so X-Terminator continued to use the disc, knocking pieces of Killer Carrot 2. It got a big blow on the side, but this knocked Killer Carrot 2 back on its wheels.

"I was impressed by the power of exterminator. We've never had much luck with spinners, they do lots of damage, but then again we usually drive away from it. In fact we took more damage from Scorpion in the qualifiers, but that's another story."

— Rob Englebright on the team's website

Killer Carrot 2 opens the pit late on

X-Terminator tosses Killer Carrot 2 out of the arena

Killer Carrot 2 drove at X-Terminator's front, and was knocked up, but not flipped over, before driving away, straight into an angle grinder. It drove to the top of the arena, then drove head-on at X-Terminator again, and was turned over by the disc. Killer Carrot 2 was stuck on its back as the flipper was not working, so X-Terminator caused more damage. After a few blows, X-Terminator accidentally knocked Killer Carrot 2 back onto its wheels. Killer Carrot 2 drove away and dodged X-Terminator, bumping into the top arena wall, before opening the pit. X-Terminator closed in, and as Killer Carrot 2 tried to dodge X-Terminator, it drove into the arena wall, and stopped moving as a result of one RX wire coming loose. Almost immediately afterwards, X-Terminator managed to throw Killer Carrot 2 out of the arena with one blow from the flywheel.

"Are they yet confident then, they can push X-Terminator down into that pit? Maybe it's the only tactic left to them ... doesn't matter, they're out!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Killer Carrot 2 opens the pit, before being tossed out of the arena

Killer Carrot 2 sits outside the arena

After the battle, it was revealed that one of Killer Carrot 2's pipes burst before they entered the arena which meant the flipper wouldn't work. Nevertheless, the robot was easily fixed afterwards, with only one wire needing to be resoldered before the robot was functional again.

Craig Charles: "How did you think you could win without the flipper?"

Rob Englebright: "We didn't! We thought we might hope they break down, there was a chance we might be able to shove them into the pit, that was our last ditch at the end there, but no, not a hope really!"

— In the post-battle interview

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 3
• Losses: 3

Series Record

Main Series	Killer Carrot 2 Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	Unused reserve
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Heat, Round 2
The Seventh Wars	Heat, Round 2
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	Minor Meltdown, Round 2

Gallery

A design concept for Killer Carrot 2 with a spinning disc

Killer Carrot 2 fights Dominator 2 in 2001

Killer Carrot 2 in the arena for Series 7

Killer Carrot 2 repaired after Series 7

Killer Carrot 2 at Roaming Robots Worthing 2003

Adam Englebright controlling antweight robots alongside Ellie Watts and Geoff Smith

Outside Robot Wars

Killer Carrot

"Having spent two days doing very little as reserves it looked like a fine opportunity to actually give carrot a run. We had switched steering to "Speed and Steer "mode on the 4QD DCI and were actually going sort of where we wanted to. We were matched to have a demonstration bout with mincer, but unfortunately his aerial connection broke and required a fix, we then seemed to loose all power and limped about more like a wet lettuce than a killer carrot."

— Rob Englebright on Killer Carrot's first competitive outing

The first version of Killer Carrot fighting Mincer at a live event

After completing Series 4 as an unused reserve, the original Killer Carrot was taken to the Uckfield Festival where it fought Mincer, predecessor to M2, and pierced its armour, also removing a cold chisel from its drum. Killer Carrot was then modified and then resembled middleweight BattleBots champion T-Minus, but still faced issues as its gas canister blew shortly after it was first tested.

"On returning home we found the batteries hadn't charged the previous night for some reason, and were down to about 20v,then I blew up the charger. Carrot went down to the workshop for a strip down and rebuild, but with a little time on our hands before it's next outing at Robots@war on June 30th 2001, it was decided to do a complete redesign with very little salvageable from MK 1. Plans for Killer carrot 2 were drawn up and materials "acquired""

— Team website on competing at Uckfield Festival

The team still retain the 4QD NCC 35 speed controllers from Killer Carrot in 2024, though the rest of the robot was otherwise scrapped.

Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 before having the flipper fitted at the rear

Killer Carrot 2 is stranded by Lightning

Killer Carrot 2 made its televised debut on the Discovery Channel during a documentary, Robots Revenge. Although its segment on the show focused on Lightning, Killer Carrot 2 was recorded battling against Lightning at a live event. Neither robot had a weapon, with Killer Carrot 2 relying on its rear spikes. Killer Carrot 2 was briefly stranded on the tyres surrounding the arena after a slam by Lightning, but was freed by its opponent. The battle was eventually sent to an audience decision, and although the show's presenter believed Lightning would win, Killer Carrot 2 won the battle. Killer Carrot 2 would later be eliminated from the tournament by Dominator 2 after an axe blow struck its motors and speed controllers, damage significant enough to cause Killer Carrot 2 to withdraw from its planned application for Series 5.

Killer Carrot 2 armed with the flipper being flung by M2 before being rebuilt for Series 6

Killer Carrot 2 in battle with The Grim Reaper and Dantomkia

At the Sussex Robot Rumble in 2002, not long after Robots Revenge, this version of Killer Carrot 2 fought with its flipper for the first time, positioned at the rear. The flipper was retained on Killer Carrot 2 when it was modified for Series 6. When it was modified for Series 6, the front with a spike became the steep wedged rear of the robot and the flipper end was made the front. This version was dubbed KC2 Evo by the team.

Killer Carrot 2 in December 2003

Killer Carrot 2 fights Steel Sandwich in 2003

Not long after its Series 7 heat was aired on television, Killer Carrot 2 competed at a Roaming Robots live event in Worthing, in December 2003. Rob Englebright notes that Killer Carrot 2 won its first match outright and can be seen in footage of its battle against Pussycat, Hassocks Hog 2 and Big Nipper. Among the other robots faced were Barbaric Response, Steel Sandwich, Tiberius 3 and Behemoth.

"I've just sold the chassis of K3 to Simon of team Mongrel, so the decks are clear to revitalise old KC2, and get it ready for a bit of a laugh in 2006."

— Rob Englebright on returning to combat in 2006

Rob Englebright with Killer Carrot 2 at the Fighting Robots UK Championships 2006

Killer Carrot 2 carries Alien Destructor around the arena

Killer Carrot 2 returned for the Roaming Robots UK Championships 2006 where it fought a close fight with Alien Destructor, but was eliminated in the group stages after being flipped out of the arena by Behemoth. Killer Carrot 2 entered a Robots Live! event in Burgess Hill later in 2007, fighting Bigger Brother but lost after being hooked over the arena side wall.

"KC2 lived in a barn at Plumpton College for a while, the chassis was dug out when the new series started, and a Lynch LEM 170 was added as a spinner. The motor is now powering an electric outboard... the chassis got binned when we moved house."

— Rob Englebright on the life of Killer Carrot 2 after its final live event

Killer Carrot 2 for the remainder of its competitive lifespan

Killer Carrot 2 at Plumpton College in the 2010s

Killer Carrot 2 remained in possession of the team until after 2016, residing at Plumpton College for storage and display until the time of Series 8 where the chassis was outfitted with a spinner weapon. However, the chassis was eventually scrapped once Rob Englebright relocated to Dorset.

KC3

"KC3 eventually ran at the DIY robotwars event at the waterpark? and a wheel fell off, as per usual... It ran 36v with 4qd pro 120s and I think a 16bar Norgren ram (from Noel at Hassocks hog)..."

— Rob Englebright on KC3 when asked in 2024

After its early design foundations were seen in Series 7, the completed KC3 (also known as K3) was finished at a later date, now using a high-pressure 16bar flipper (an upgrade from the previous low-pressure 10bar flipper) and revised internals, existing in a separate chassis to the previous Killer Carrot 2 despite their similarities. It competed under the Dangerous Vegetables team only one time, at a waterpark-based live event where its wheel fell off in combat.

Left side of KC3

Front side of KC3

Right side of KC3

With Robot Wars now off-air, the robot was later sold to Simon Fargher of Team Mongrel in 2005, minus its 16bar ram which Rob Englebright kept and still owns in 2024. Simon Fargher opted to maintain the carrot theme of the machine, though it would change hands a number of times, between Team DMac and eventually Team Dragon.

Due to KC3 being sold so soon after its completion, the team returned to competing with Killer Carrot 2 at two further events (see above).

Other Robots

Keeler Carrot, swimming entry for Techno Games

The Killer Carrot team entered Techno Games 2001 in the swimming competition with Keeler Carrot, named after the keel of a boat. It raced against Fred the Frog, Bob, Beast of a Machine and S.N.A.P. in its heat after being beaten to the finish line by S.N.A.P. whilst Keeler Carrot was mostly engaged in combat with Bob.

Rob Englebright also built an antweight with saw-like wheels called Diced Carrot that competed in the Antweight World Series 3, losing all four of its battles. This was followed by Diced Carrot 2 and Diced Carrot 3 which were equipped with various lifting weapons. Diced Carrot 2 using a more conventional lifting scoop design, whilst Diced Carrot 3 used an invertible design.

Diced Carrot, the team's first antweight

Diced Carrot 2

Diced Carrot 2 alongside Diced Carrot 3

The team also competed on the featherweight circuit outside of Robot Wars with Dark Carrot, a low pyramid-shaped robot armed with a low-pressure flipper, first built in August 2002 and later redesigned in mid-2003.

Dark Carrot, Team Dangerous Vegetables' featherweight flipper

Dark Carrot ready for battle

Dark Carrot in combat

Meathammer at Brighton ModelWorld in 2006

In 2005, the team built the featherweight rammer Meathammer, an early pioneer of the later commonplace design of using four drill motors to power the drive system. It competed at Brighton ModelWorld in 2006, winning some fights, and was particularly effective in the sumo competition, according to the team.

"Meathammer was designed back in 2005/06 when using 4 drill motors was a bit of a novelty... it was made more novel still by mounting the epicyclic gear cages directly to the chassis, which unfortunately sends all the drive shocks back through the gearbox."

— The team on the design of Meathammer

Around 2016, Rob Englebright attended a Brighton-based university robotics event run by Ian Watts with a rebuilt Meathammer, which now functioned as a House Robot for the event and was equipped with a new lifting scoop and later a hammer weapon. After its appearance here, Rob Englebright had discussed rebuilding the robot as a 'direct drive full body spinner' but these changes were not carried out. Meathammer remains the only robot still in the possession of Rob Englebright as of 2024.

The internals of Meathammer in 2016

Meathammer with a lifting scoop

Meathammer with Butter Cup of The Four Horsemen

Meathammer with an axe system

Meathammer in its axe test

Trivia

"Honestly, I remember it mostly as a lot of waiting around! It was very exciting to be on TV but when you're 10 you're itching to actually do stuff, so most of what I did was wander around talking to the other kids, pestering adults who'd indulge us, eating snacks, playing video games (some of the later series had a load of setups of the PS2 game out in the area where the audience would mill around, but while they were filming it was empty so we'd just go over there and do that—though that, and a lot of the other frills, went out when the show moved to Channel 5). I also remember somehow talking people in the gift shop into giving me a bunch of free tat? No idea how I managed that! I also remember Craig and Philippa and Jayne all being genuinely super lovely, Craig was great fun, Philippa tried to comfort me when I was sad when we lost... all just really nice people. Pretty much everyone backstage was nice, given they all had stuff to do and were being pestered by an annoying 10-year-old! All the actual filming and competing was a total blur, I was vibrating on a very high frequency!"

— Adam Englebright in 2024 on his experiences at Robot Wars

• When asked about 2024 about their fondest memories at the filming of Robot Wars, Adam Englebright mentions playing Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction on-site during filming, and his comforting conversations with the presenters. Rob Englebright meanwhile, mentioned his conversations with Simon Rafferty of Barber-ous, seeing the completion of Growler from his original design concept, and the surprise of seeing how effective Tornado was in its debut series.
  • After Killer Carrot 2 was eliminated from one of its episodes, Chris Reynolds offered Adam Englebright the chance to drive Sir Killalot briefly.

"Memories of queuing up before scrutineering, and chatting with Si Rafferty and the Barberous team... when we had Carrot, driven by you (adam), and growler (or bullseye) who I'd done some sketches of all in the arena at the same time. You (Adam) were gutted when we lost, I got him a brief drive of killalot from Chris Reynolds but didn't cheer him up. I remember watching when tornado first fought, being gobsmacked at the power, which is so much more visceral"

— Rob Englebright in 2024 on his experiences at Robot Wars

• The original Killer Carrot is one of only two known reserve entries for Series 4 to go unused, alongside Charybdis. The third known reserve is V-Max, which replaced Onslaught.
• Throughout the series that it appeared in, Killer Carrot 2 never shared the arena with Growler or Cassius Chrome, meaning that the only House Robot conceptualised by Rob Englebright to actually share the arena with Killer Carrot 2 was Mr. Psycho.
• Both of Killer Carrot 2's main series appearances were in the same Heat as Major Tom, with two of its three total episodes also featuring Bigger Brother.

"It is weird, but you find yourself bumping into people from that world on occasion—I went to sixth form with someone who was pals with the Poncelets from the Hassocks Hog team, and my dad ended up working at the University of Brighton with Ian Watts from Bigger Brother many years later."

— Adam Englebright on chance encounters with Robot Wars competitors after the show went off-air

• The Killer Carrot team were good friends with The Hassocks Hog team, another group of roboteers from West Sussex. Noel Poncelet of the Hassocks Hog designed a spreadsheet to calculate flipper heights for them whilst they team were building the new Killer Carrot 2 machine for the Seventh Wars, whilst the Dangerous Vegetable team painted them a team logo in exchange for some spare parts. Separately, Adam Englebright would later attend sixth form with mutual friends of the Hassocks Hog team.
  • Alongside later working with Ian Watts at the University of Brighton, Rob Englebright would later have a coincidental meeting through work with part of the Constrictor team, who he had previously fought with Killer Carrot 2 in Series 7, borrowing (and later keeping) a gas vent valve from them.

"You can't get away from RW... one of the fellas here at the RNLI (where I'm a data scientist) is Max Underhill, who was part of the team that fought Constrictor with Dominic Rott... Dominic let me borrow a gas vent valve so we could pass scrutineering, but I never managed to get it back to him.. and I still use it on my MIG welder."

— Rob Englebright on reuniting with the Constrictor team after Robot Wars

References

Official Series 7 photo

External Links

• Team Dangerous Vegetables website
• Killer Carrot Blogspot page