- "Hopefully, with these motorcycle flywheels, that we've put titanium teeth on to make them a bit more "ug", we'll chew up other robots!"
- — Derek Meads on Mean Streak
Mean Streak was an invertible robot that competed in Series 7 of Robot Wars. It reached the second round of its heat, losing to the thirteenth seed S.M.I.D.S.Y. there.
Design[]
- "4 horse power, 4 spinning discs at 3000rpm with the titanium teeth. Police riot shield armour then, invertible, has a high ground clearance, that'll be exposed!"
- — Jonathan Pearce describes Mean Streak
Mean Streak was an invertible, four wheel skid-steer drive, rectangular-box-shaped robot that resembled fellow Series 7 competitor Diabolus, but was much longer and less round. It was painted white with blue flames along its bodywork, and equipped with two small motorcycle flywheels spinning at 3000rpm, although its statistics board quoted it as having four flywheels. The team had originally intended to have four flywheels, but removed two of them to fit the weight limit[1]. The flywheels themselves were fitted with 5mm titanium cutting teeth at the bottom and were meshed together through gear-like teeth at the top, with the right-hand flywheel powering the left-hand one. The robot's armour was made out of Lexan, the same material used to make police riot shields. The robot was powered by a 800 Watt electric motor, giving a good top speed of 15mph.
While Mean Streak had decent pushing power through its 4hp drive, its weapons were ineffective and the robot itself suffered from fragile armour and a high ground clearance. Although it was invertible, its sides were flat, which was its ultimate downfall when S.M.I.D.S.Y. tipped it onto its side.
The Team[]
- "We are a new team of roboteers from Huddersfield in the UK. It is our aim to enter the next series of Robot Wars UK, and hopefully claim victory."
- — The Team Mean Streak website in 2002[2]
Team Mean Streak was a three-man team based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The team captain was Derek Meads, and he was joined by teammates Martin Moss and Jonathan Lunn. Derek Meads was the lead speaker in the team's interviews, and the tactician for Mean Streak's battles, Jonathan Lunn drove the robot, while 30-year old Martin Moss was one of the robot's designers and mechanics[3].
The Mean Streak website also credits a further two members of the team[4]: 20-year old Ashley Bridgeman, who was the team's 3D design artist and webmaster[5], and 19-year old Robin Moss, who was the brother of Martin Moss. The team built Mean Streak in the Moss brothers' parents garage[6]
Qualification[]
The team previously attempted to enter Mean Streak into Series 6. They were selected to attend the qualifiers, and were due to attend on the 4th of July 2002, but the team were forced to withdraw due to a major electrical failure, and the robot was also 25kg over the weight limit. In order to meet the weight limit, the team removed 5kg of the frame, two flywheels, and other non-essential parts. The team also planned to enter the second series of Robot Wars Extreme later that year, but it is unknown if they applied, and Mean Streak did not take part in any of the competitions[7].
Mean Streak was able to attend the Series 7 qualifiers, where it fought Brutus Maximus, Constrictor and Retirebot. Constrictor avoided Mean Streak's spinning weapons, and rammed into it and the other opponents repeatedly, having lost power to its weapon after a CO2 leak, and Brutus Maximus threw a net over Mean Streak, immobilising it. Retirebot broke down after the relays for its electric lifter shorted out, causing the batteries to burn out, and Constrictor managed to immobilise Brutus Maximus to win the battle. Usually, winning the battle would mean Constrictor automatically qualified for the series. However, as entanglement weapons were illegal in the original run of Robot Wars, the battle was awarded to Mean Streak by default, although both Brutus Maximus and Constrictor also received discretionary places regardless[8].
Robot History[]
Series 7[]
- "New to Robot Wars, we could be seeing a lot of this though!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Mean Streak entered the arena
Mean Streak competed in Heat G of the Seventh Wars, and faced fellow newcomers Hellbent and German entry I Bot One Beta, alongside Araknia, which was created by the Riptilion team, in its first round battle.
- Jayne Middlemiss: "Now it looks really big, and it looks a bit thin in the body!"
- Derek Meads: "It's Lexan, plexiglass."
- Jayne Middlemiss: "That's what our wall's made out of. It's pretty strong, but if something comes at ya, with a big axe, it's gonna go straight through, isn't it?"
- Derek Meads: "We can run fast!"
- — Pre-battle interview
Mean Streak drove forwards a little as it got its flywheels up to speed, then stopped, and turned towards Araknia. Mean Streak tried to drive at Araknia, but seemingly had radio issues causing it to stop and start suddenly. Hellbent charged up the arena at Mean Streak, getting under the side and flipping it over. Mean Streak landed back on its wheels, but before it could get away or attack, Hellbent hit the top with the axe, puncturing the armour. Hellbent pulled back the axe, and Araknia hit the side of Hellbent with its spinning bar, giving Mean Streak a chance to turn around. I Bot One Beta drove into Mean Streak's side, then got behind it, and Hellbent got at Mean Streak's side again, puncturing the top with the axe. As Hellbent held Mean Streak still with the axe, Araknia hit the front with its spinning bar, ripping off some of the front. Hellbent let go with the axe, and Mean Streak reversed off its lifting forks, and Hellbent tried turning to attack Mean Streak, but turned too far and missed with the lifting forks.
- "Turning away, the two of them fighting a little bit of a private duel at the moment."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Mean Streak gets away from Hellbent
Mean Streak reversed a little as Hellbent tried to attack, but backed onto a flame jet, which it reversed off, only to drive back over. Hellbent drove down the arena to fight Araknia, and Mean Streak held back from its opponents for a time as Hellbent axed and flipped Araknia. As Hellbent chased after I Bot One Beta, Mean Streak drove down the arena, and used its spinning flywheels on the side of Araknia, pushing it towards the wall. However, Araknia began spinning, and Mean Streak drove onto a flame jet, so it had to quickly reverse off. Mean Streak chased after Araknia when it stopped spinning, driving over the flame jet, whilst Hellbent slammed I Bot One Beta into the bottom arena wall, immobilising it. Hellbent then charged up the arena, getting at Mean Streak's side and axing the top.
- "Mean Streak, learning a tough lesson out there as well!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Hellbent axes Mean Streak again
Mean Streak struggled to get free, but Hellbent would not pull back the axe, until it fired the lifting forks, which backfired as the axe head was still embedded in Mean Streak. Instead of flipping Mean Streak, Hellbent overbalance and jumped up, also causing Mean Streak to fall off the axe. Mean Streak held back as Araknia spun on the spot, then hit Hellbent, which caused its top to fall off, as well as the spinning bar and various other small parts. Araknia stopped moving, and Mean Streak drove at Hellbent, only for Hellbent to axe the top and push it back, forcing it to the edge of the CPZ before turning and driving away. Mean Streak reversed away from the CPZ, then used its flywheels on the side of the immobile Araknia. Hellbent joined in, axing and flipping Araknia, and Sir Killalot drove up the arena to attack the immobile competitor whilst Refbot counted I Bot One Beta out. Hellbent flicked Mean Streak up with the forks, then pushed it against Araknia and axed the top. This time, it broke one of the top panels loose, leaving it bent upwards. Hellbent axed Mean Streak again, and used the axe to pull Mean Streak back, then pushed it all the way down the arena, pushing it against the arena wall, where it axed it again.
- "...Mean Streak, went in on the attack, and that left the back of Mean Streak exposed to an attack by Hellbent! And of course, any damage suffered by a robot here has to be repaired very, very speedily for further fights!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Hellbent axes Mean Streak and pushes it down the arena
Meanwhile, Araknia was counted out. Hellbent pushed Mean Streak all the way to the top of the arena, leaving it by the top arena wall, and Mean Streak appeared to have lost drive on one side, limping back and forth by the wall, unable to move away. This did not matter however, as I Bot One Beta and Araknia had been counted out. I Bot One Beta was thrown by the floor flipper, and Cease was called, putting Mean Streak and Hellbent through.
In the second round, Mean Streak faced S.M.I.D.S.Y., the thirteenth seed, a very experience veteran of four previous wars.
- Jayne Middlemiss: "What are your tactics gonna be out there?"
- Derek Meads: "Run! If that fails, we'll turn around and try and fight them."
- — Derek Meads sarcastically explains Mean Streak's tactics in the pre-battle interview
Both robots charged head-on into each other in the opening seconds, with sparks flying as Mean Streak hit S.M.I.D.S.Y., but S.M.I.D.S.Y. got under Mean Streak's front with its front lifter. S.M.I.D.S.Y. tried pushing Mean Streak up the arena, but Mean Streak slipped off. Mean Streak hit S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s side as it turned around, and Mean Streak turned before S.M.I.D.S.Y. could get into a good position to attack, hitting the side of S.M.I.D.S.Y. and causing a shower of sparks. Mean Streak tried turning for another attack, and S.M.I.D.S.Y. got behind it, but as S.M.I.D.S.Y. tried to push, Mean Streak turned to get off S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s front. The two competitors turned around together, then S.M.I.D.S.Y. reversed, turned, and got at Mean Streak's side. S.M.I.D.S.Y. pushed Mean Streak towards Sgt. Bash's CPZ, but Mean Streak struggled against S.M.I.D.S.Y., turning away.
- "Mean Streak has four spinning discs, let me remind you. Spinning at 3,000 RPM with titanium teeth in there as well. Any extremity will be crushed, mashed and spat out! But S.M.I.D.S.Y. looks to be the more controlled."
- — Jonathan Pearce as S.M.I.D.S.Y. pushes Mean Streak around
S.M.I.D.S.Y. kept pushing however, despite Mean Streak's attempts to get away, pushing it to the other side of the arena, and forcing it to the edge of an empty CPZ. S.M.I.D.S.Y. turned around to use its rear discs on Mean Streak as Sgt. Bash came over to the CPZ. Mean Streak drove forwards to avoid S.M.I.D.S.Y., but as it tried turning, S.M.I.D.S.Y. hit the side of Mean Streak with its spinning discs. However, it then drove into Sgt. Bash as Mean Streak got away. S.M.I.D.S.Y. narrowly got away from the House Robot as he tried to use his pincer, and drove down the arena. S.M.I.D.S.Y. turned around and drove head on at Mean Streak. The flywheels hit S.M.I.D.S.Y., causing lots of sparks, but did no damage as S.M.I.D.S.Y. got under Mean Streak's front again and pushed it into the CPZ with Sgt. Bash. Sgt. Bash pushed Mean Streak against the wall, and as he reversed, S.M.I.D.S.Y. charged into Mean Streak, pinning it in the corner before it had a chance to escape.
- "A great bash by S.M.I.D.S.Y.! Getting in underneath the ground clearance of Mean Streak. 4 centimetres, that ground clearance, I said at the start of the programme I thought that would be exposed!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
S.M.I.D.S.Y. turned around and drove out of the CPZ, and although Mean Streak tried to drive out of the CPZ after it, it stopped at the edge of the CPZ, then reversed into the top wall as Sgt. Bash got besides it. Mean Streak tried to drive away, but instead turned into Sgt. Bash's side, who blasted it with his flamethrower. Mean Streak turned around, but S.M.I.D.S.Y. drove at it, blocking its escape. S.M.I.D.S.Y. reversed for another charge, but Mean Streak made a weak effort to drive away from the wall, then stopped moving altogether. S.M.I.D.S.Y. got at Mean Streak's side and pushed it down the arena, getting underneath with the lifter, and pushed it to the CPZ at the bottom of the arena with Mr. Psycho, who pounded its top panel with his hammer.
- "Tell you what, Mean Streak, that's no mean feat to get away from that."
- — Jonathan Pearce comments on Mean Streak's durability after being hammered by Mr. Psycho
Mean Streak managed to reverse and turn around Mr. Psycho and out of the CPZ, driving over the pit, but struggled to drive forwards, merely turning back and forth a little. S.M.I.D.S.Y. opened the pit, and Mean Streak narrowly avoided falling in as it opened, turning onto the edge. After some more turning, Mean Streak managed to drive into the middle of the arena, though it missed its charge at S.M.I.D.S.Y. as it did so. S.M.I.D.S.Y. got at Mean Streak's side as it tried to turn, and pushed it across the arena, slamming it into the arena wall. As S.M.I.D.S.Y. reversed for another attack, Mean Streak tried to turn away from the wall, but S.M.I.D.S.Y. slammed back into it, pinning it against the wall, then used its lifter to raise Mean Streak up onto its side.
- "It's on its side, it won't get down from there, S.M.I.D.S.Y. have won this! No way back for Mean Streak, they won't be able to self-right from there. It's an invertible machine anyway, not technically a self-righter. Oh dear. Well, for newcomers, I think they've done well."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Mean Streak is tipped onto its side and counted out
With no way to roll back onto its wheels, Mean Streak was left stuck, and Refbot came over to count it out. When the count was finished, Mr. Psycho came over, grabbing it with his claw, and holding it aloft. Mr. Psycho place Mean Streak onto the floor flipper, where it was thrown across the arena. Mean Streak flew all the way down the arena, bouncing up as it hit the bottom arena wall and nearly falling over it. Sgt. Bash then got at Mean Streak's side, and bit into it with his pincer, easily ripping through the armour and buckling the chassis.
- "...now the Sergeant's gone in! Oh this is too much! Uh no, this isn't - this isn't sportsmanship. This isn't nice. This is horrible ... and lovely ... and downright despicable. Below the belt ... dirty ... cynical ... and we want more!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash crumples into the side of Mean Streak
Sgt. Bash turned and tried to push Mean Streak into the pit, but suddenly lost power, forcing Refbot to get behind him and back both robots towards the pit. Mean Streak was left hanging over the pit in Sgt. Bash's jaw, until a helpful push from S.M.I.D.S.Y. pushed it free, causing it to fall into the pit, eliminating it from the Seventh Wars.
- Craig Charles: "What went wrong?"
- Derek Meads: "Everything!"
- Craig Charles: "You managed to avoid the pit for ages, you would have been better off in the pit, wouldn't ya?"
- — The post-battle interview
After the battle, Jonathan Lunn revealed that Mean Streak had lost drive on one side early on in the battle after the chain came off, leaving it unable to skid steer.
Results[]
MEAN STREAK - RESULTS | ||
Series 7 | ||
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heats, Round 2 | ||
Heat G, Round 1 | vs. Araknia, Hellbent, I Bot One Beta | Qualified |
Heat G, Round 2 | vs. S.M.I.D.S.Y. (13) | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
Series | Mean Streak 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 | Withdrew from qualifiers |
The Seventh Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Sometime after Series 7, the team scrapped Mean Streak due to the robot being damaged beyond repair, its entire chassis having been completely buckled by Sergeant Bash. The team then designed and began building Mean Streak 2 for a presumed eighth series of Robot Wars. However, the team gave up on the construction of the robot after Robot Wars was cancelled[9].
Trivia[]
- Mean Streak's chassis was provided by Apex Audio and Metalwork, the batteries by Hawker Energy Products Inc., and the weapons by Motor Works. Leach Colour Group provided blueprints and graphics for the team, Bonny Bridal UK provided the team's shirts, Roger Bennett Engineering did a lot of engineering work for the robot, and Sumatec Ltd worked on the robot's removable link. All of these companies were credited on the Sponsors page of the Mean Streak website[10].
- During construction of Mean Streak, the team were helped by Roger Plant of Team Big Cheese, who gave them modified motors, gearboxes and speed controllers, and David Gamble of Team Tornado, who helped them with the electronics and antennae[11].
- The robot that Mean Streak resembled, Diabolus, appeared in the heat that aired directly before the heat that Mean Streak appeared in.
- Both robots lost to a seeded robot in their respective heats - Diabolus lost to X-Terminator who won its heat and Mean Streak lost to S.M.I.D.S.Y. who did not win its heat.
- Hellbent was the only one of Mean Streak's opponents that was not invertible and also the only one that did not appear in another episode (due to Araknia's team appearing in Series 6-7 and Extreme 2 with Riptilion).
References[]
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website - News (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website (Members) - Martin Moss (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website (Members) (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website (Members) - Ashley Bridgeman (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website - Gallery (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website - News (Archived)
- ↑ Team UK Robotics website (archived) - Constrictor in Series 7
- ↑ Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Jonathan Lunn in 2020
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website - Sponsors (Archived)
- ↑ Team Mean Streak website - Special Thanks (Archived)