Merlin was a heavyweight built by Team MAD which, having originally been built to compete in the qualifiers for Series 7, competed in the pilot episode of Robot Wars: Series 8. Although the episode went unaired, Merlin made various cameo appearances throughout the main series, appearing in the pits, alongside with Turbulence and MONTE. In the pilot, Merlin was driven by Alan Young, while brother Dave Young entered the main competition with Apollo.
Design[]
- "The current Merlin chassis is now 12 years old, and is still based on the original Mk1 that was built in 2003 but with a few changes."
- — Alan Young in 2018, on the differences between Merlin at the times of Series 7 and 8[1]
Merlin in the pits at the Pilot
Merlin is a box-wedge shaped robot, designed for high pushing power, although weight restrictions forced Merlin to run on a two-wheel drive. As the tyres surfaced outside of the robot's top armour, Merlin was invertible, although it could also self-right using its primary weapon, a powerful full-pressure flipper.
- "The plan always was to be 4wd [four-wheel drive] but the weight/technology/budget was never there (remember when this was built it was carrying 13kg of lead acid batteries and nobody had really heard of Hardox!)"
- — Alan Young on cutting Merlin down to two-wheel drive[2]
The Team[]
- Main article: Team MAD
Merlin was built by Team MAD, originally Team BlazerBotics, consisting of two brothers, the older Alan Young and the younger Dave Young. The captain of the team at the time of building Merlin was Alan Young, despite Dave Young later becoming the captain while driving Apollo in Series 8, 9 and 10. When Merlin entered the pilot episode in 2016, it was driven by its original builder Alan Young, who at the time was a member of the technical crew for Series 8, explaining why he was not present on the Apollo team.
Qualification[]
Merlin at the time of Series 7
Merlin was originally built to compete in Series 7, with the team being veterans of Robot Wars at this stage in lower weight classes. However, Merlin suffered from technical issues the day before it was due to enter the qualifiers, so had to withdraw from the qualification process without reaching the studio. Team MAD would go on to compete in the Featherweight Championship of the same series with Alpha and G2.
For Series 8, builder Alan Young was a member of the production team and so he nor Merlin applied to compete in the main competition, while brother Dave Young and his team would go on to compete in the series with Apollo. However, Alan Young's production role led to him being asked to compete in the pilot episode, which he chose to do with Merlin, also offering his machine MONTE to Paul Streeter to compete alongside it.
- "Both [Merlin and MONTE] were in the pilot episode for series 8 (although was never technically a pilot episode, it was more a trial episode to make sure everything went together) but neither were ever entered into the series as we knew they weren't competitive."
- — Alan Young on the prospect of entering Series 8[3]
Robot History[]
Series 8[]
Although Merlin did not compete in the main competition of Series 8, it was regardless invited to attend filming of the pilot episode on March 1st, giving it the opportunity to compete in front of a live audience, as part of a camera test.
Merlin takes damage from Dead Metal's blade
In its first battle, Merlin was drawn into a four-way qualifier against Reaper, Wraith and MONTE. Wraith suffered from electrical problems before the start of the battle, and withdrew, turning the fight into a three-way battle. MONTE quickly broke down, and was pitted, leaving Reaper and Merlin to fight alone until cease was called, with both robots qualifying.
In the first battle of the head-to-head round, Merlin defeated veterans in Team Onslaught, winning against their new robot, Ka-Pow!, when Ka-Pow! drove into the pit in the opening moments of the fight. As the battle was so short, Merlin turned its efforts to attack Dead Metal.
Merlin, Turbulence and MONTE make cameo appearances in Episode 4
Merlin's final battle was a loss against fellow flipper, Turbulence. After a close fight between the two flippers, Turbulence won the Judges' decision on the basis of aggression and control. Merlin never fought a head-to-head battle against Reaper to complete the second round, and was eliminated at this stage, largely due to time constraints.
Results[]
| MERLIN - RESULTS | ||
| Series 8 | ||
| Series 8 - Pilot Episode Round 2, Third Place | ||
| Pilot Episode, Qualifier | vs. MONTE, Reaper, Wraith | Qualified |
| NOTE: Wraith withdrew prior to the battle | ||
| Pilot Episode, Head-to-Head | vs. Ka-Pow! | Won |
| Pilot Episode, Head-to-Head | vs. Turbulence | Lost |
Series Record[]
| Main Series | Merlin 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 | Withdrew before qualifiers Featherweight Championship with Alpha and G2 |
| Series 8 | Pilot Round 2, Third Place Entered with Apollo |
| Series 9 | Entered with Apollo |
| Series 10 | Entered with Apollo |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Did not enter |
| Series 2 | Entered with Gladiator, Flybot, Chroma and Hades |
NOTE: MONTE, a robot built by Team MAD, was also loaned to Paul Streeter in order to enter the 2016 pilot
Outside Robot Wars[]
Merlin in 2006
Merlin with its flipper up
Since Robot Wars, Merlin has been rebuilt several times, but has experienced success, particularly in the Roaming Robots circuit. Arguably Merlin's greatest triumph to date was when it won the Tag Team Terror Competition alongside Velocirippa in 2006.
Merlin continued to fight competitively throughout the Robot Wars hiatus, reaching the Quarter-Finals of the 2011 UK Championships, after beating Dantomkia and Iron-Awe 6 in its heat, but then Merlin lost to Iron-Awe 5. However, following on from the filming of the Series 8 pilot episode, Merlin did not truly return to live combat, only making appearances at smaller Robots Live! events with Team MAD largely prioritising their newer machines.
Trivia[]
Merlin's cameo appearance in Series 10
- Despite Team MAD making several robots for Robot Wars, Merlin was their only heavyweight at the time of Series 7.
- Merlin, alongside Alpha, G3 and Blazer, made a cameo appearance in Heat 1 of Series 10, in a family photo of Dave and Alan Young.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/posts/877079222571844/?comment_id=877600092519757
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/posts/877079222571844/?comment_id=877600092519757
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/posts/877079222571844/?comment_id=877600092519757
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