Little Nipper

Little Nipper
Little Nipper in the arena
Participation Information
UK Series	Extreme 1
Team Information
Team	Team Spark
Team Members	Robert Fitzsimmons
From	Gosport
Robot Statistics
Weight	150g
Weapons	Twin mousetraps
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Don't be detracted by the cutesy name, Little Nipper has some seriously aggressive battle tactics and once they grab hold of another Ant Weight, their opponent can kiss the mini-arena goodbye!"

— Robot Wars Extreme: The Official Guide

Little Nipper was an antweight robot which competed in the Antweight Championship of the first series of Robot Wars Extreme. In its only battle, it performed strongly to survive to a Judges' decision, which it lost to Combatant.

Despite having similar names, Little Nipper was not related to the heavyweight competitor Big Nipper.

Design

The Extreme 1 version of Little Nipper

Little Nipper was a comparatively large, two-wheeled, wedge-shaped robot armed with twin mousetraps as weapons. The mousetraps themselves were intended to bludgeon opponents, and activated through the use of two servos on the top of the robot. While they were not effective at their intended purpose, and were very slow to retract, these weapons were also seen to throw opponents over in a similar way to front-hinged flippers, and act as ramming wedges when in the fired position. Little Nipper was also invertible and displayed good pushing power, in spite of its low top speed.

Robot History

Extreme 1

Little Nipper completed solely in the Antweight Melee, where it fought Anto, Pants, Combatant, Anty B, Legion and Razzler.

Little Nipper (far-left) runs inverted as Combatant hurls Pants out of the arena

It began by slowing moving out of its CPZ to approach and push one half of Legion against the wall, getting underneath it and flipping it using one of its mousetraps. Little Nipper also flipped itself over in doing so, before driving against and pushing itself away from the wall using the other mousetrap. Inverted, it was momentarily attacked again by half of Legion as the latter got underneath Pants, which was thrown out of the arena seconds later by Combatant. Re-righted, Little Nipper and one half of Legion pushed each other across the arena and near the Floor Flipper, with Little Nipper succeeding in tipping the half of Legion onto its back just as the Floor Flipper fired.

Little Nipper wedges under Razzler

Little Nipper pushes Razzler into the pit

Later on, Little Nipper proceeded to push and pin Razzler against the wall using its opened mousetraps, which had still not retracted following the first attack on Legion. After being briefly pushed away by Combatant and driving into the pit release button, it pushed Razzler again while the latter and Combatant attacked each other, before driving onto the partially-opened Floor Flipper and pushing the remaining half of Legion off it. Seconds later, Little Nipper drove round and pushed Razzler side-on again, this time into the open pit, eliminating Team Razer's machine from the melee. It continued to pursue Combatant and the remaining half of Legion until the end, briefly pushing both of its surviving opponents away seconds before 'cease' was called. The battle went to a Judges' decision, with Little Nipper ultimately losing the decision - and the first Antweight Championship - to Combatant.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 1

Series Record

• Little Nipper at Nano Wars 2, 6th October 2001
• Little Nipper at the 8th Antweight World Series

1/2

Main Series	Little Nipper 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	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
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	Antweight Championship
Series 2	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

In addition to its appearance on Robot Wars Extreme, Little Nipper also competed in several domestic antweight competitions including the Antweight World Series and Nano Wars. It first appeared at AWS 3, where it lost in the second round to Cannon Fodder, but won two team battles and the Tag Team competition alongside Combatant. At AWS 5, it again lost in the second round,, before losing in the first rounds of AWS 7 and AWS 8. In its last event, AWS 9, Little Nipper reached the fourth round despite losing its first Round 1 battle, and was eliminated after losing its Losers Melee to Hades.

Trivia

• Unlike the other Antweight Championship competitors, Little Nipper did not receive a televised introduction, as the introductions were filmed late in the day and its builder, Robert Fitzsimmons, left the studio early.

External Links

• Team Spark website (archived)