Mouser was a lightweight robot that competed in the US 1997 Robot Wars competition where it reached the quarter finals after beating Black Widow before losing to The Ominous Brick of Havoc.
Design[]
Mouser armourless in the pits
The internals of Mouser
Mouser was a round pink robot made from an aluminum chassis and composite shell, the robot was armed with two circular saws and a side-hinged "flapper" in the centre of the robot. Mouser was decorated with an image of a cat.
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]
Mouser received a BYE and went straight to the Winner's Bracket second round where it faced Black Widow. Mouser immediately charged past Black Widow, only to spin uncontrollably into the lower-right corner. A head-to-head collision resulted in Black Widow driving over the sloped shell of Fon Davis' entry, while Mouser got itself trapped and took hits from the nearby arena flipper. Another similar exchange caused Mouser to pin Black Widow off the arena floor, then push it into the moving wall bumper. Mouser darted away, but again put itself in danger upon getting underneath and caught by the upper spike trap.[1][2]
Another bump between the two lightweights followed, after which Mouser flicked its side-hinged flipper twice. The pink machine turned slowly as Black Widow headed towards the wall near the lower spike trap; it was at that point that Mouser pinned Phillip Hoskins' machine in place. Both robots became high-centered as a result, prompting the Judges to stop the match and allow them to be separated.[1][2]
Mouser fires its weapon as Black Widow rams the front
The match resumed as both robots continued moving. After a tentative few moments, Black Widow drove its front wedge underneath Mouser, again causing them to lock together and require manual separation. Upon the match resuming for the second time, a third 'deadly embrace' appeared to occur when Mouser backed into the side of Black Widow, and Black Widow was unable to maneuver away from it immediately. With its opponent by its side, Mouser was again lifted off the floor by Black Widow. An announcement by Michael Meehan stated that the Judges would stop the battle entirely and make a decision on points if neither robot could move apart on their own.[1][2]
Mouser pressures Black Widow against the sidewall
Mouser fired its flipper three times, each actuation allowing it to twitch sideways. These twitches were enough to allow Black Widow to turn away, and both competitors to ram each other again. During the final minute, Black Widow took swipes from the lower-left flipper, only to briefly pin an approaching Mouser against it. A sluggish Mouser fired its own flipper into thin air, again using it to escape from another 'deadly embrace' between the two lightweights. Mouser rammed Black Widow twice more and repeatedly demonstrated its pneumatic weapon, but slowed to a crawl as the battery charge on both robots depleted. Based on points, the Judges ruled Mouser as the winner.[1][2]
In the Quarter Finals, Mouser faced The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Both competitors immediately rammed each other at high speed; The Ominous Brick of Havoc got its front blade underneath and began pushing Mouser back and forth across the arena. Mouser repeatedly fired its top flap, but could not prevent itself from being steered into the lower-right corner. While trying to escape, Fon Davis' machine was hit multiple times by the nearby flipper, as The Ominous Brick of Havoc tried to push it again from the side. The contact only caused Team Delta's entry to ride up the sloped shell of Mouser; Mouser flicked The Ominous Brick of Havoc off with its flap as the two robots headed for the upper-right corner.[3]
There, The Ominous Brick of Havoc pinned Mouser against the wall. Both robots separated; several moments passed as The Ominous Brick of Havoc drove past Cambot, then into the right-hand side of Mouser. The right-front ramming spike of The Ominous Brick of Havoc became lodged in Mouser's shell, allowing it to drag and push Mouser back and forth into the lower-right flipper. Mouser tried to push The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the upper spike trap, but could not do so before a separation was ordered by the Judges. Cambot closed in just as the 'deadly embrace' was broken by Robot Wars crewmembers.[3]
On the restart, Mouser briefly got its front sawblade under the side of The Ominous Brick of Havoc. The pink machine then bumped into Cambot, only to be rammed again by The Ominous Brick of Havoc at the start of the final two minutes. More bumping and shoving ensued, at which point Mouser appeared unable to avoid the wall or the flipper in the upper-left corner. The Ominous Brick of Havoc, missing its next ram, careered into the wall, then up alongside Mouser's shell as it drove away. Mouser became lodged in the wall, but was briefly freed by a further ram from The Ominous Brick of Havoc. However, this caused both robots to stick together again; Mouser fired its pneumatic flap repeatedly at reduced travel, as they squirmed and eventually pulled away from each other.[3]
As the battle entered the final minute, The Ominous Brick of Havoc jabbed its spikes under Mouser once again, before riding on top of its shell with its next drive. By this point, Mouser was left with noticeable mobility issues, only able to turn on its right-hand drive. Both competitors dodged the descending spike trap, with Mouser turning into and unable to get away from the surrounding wall. The Ominous Brick of Havoc, having hesitated during this moment, pushed Mouser into the wall behind the upper-right flipper, though Mouser briefly responded by pushing The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the flipper paddle. Team Delta's machine finished the match by driving up and getting beached on Mouser's shell. Both robots survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled The Ominous Brick of Havoc the winner on points.[3]
Mouser wasn't finished yet and fought in the lightweight melee, here it faced in its qualifier, The Ominous Brick of Havoc again as well as Gator, Cooks, Ziggy, Finagler, Razor Back and Scrappy.
A pileup of the lightweights with Mouser riding on top
Mouser rams Cooks as Ziggy saws into the side of Cooks
Mouser immediately drove into the side of a wheelieing Gator, which turned into and immobilized Razor Back with an early ram. Finagler turned into the upper-left corner past The Ominous Brick of Havoc, then got trapped by the upper spike, while Cooks pushed Scrappy from the side and engaged in a duel with the slow-starting Ziggy. Cooks proceeded to immobilize Gator by ramming it, only to be rammed by Mouser as it backed out of the ensuing pile-up.[4][5]
Mouser and The Ominous Brick of Havoc became trapped behind the upper-left flipper, while Cooks pushed the immobile Gator with Scrappy nearby. The pink Fon Davis machine soon escaped, bumping into Finagler and in turn getting pushed aside by Cooks. Cooks charged back into Ziggy; sparks flew as Ziggy's abrasive disc began cutting into the shell of Paul Bell's machine. Mouser nudged the immobile Razor Back and Gator, the latter still with an active cutting saw. Near the left wall, Scrappy briefly dragged Finagler back before the two robots separated, and the latter was nudged from the right-hand side by Mouser. Cooks found itself behind the upper-left flipper, before proceeding to push Mouser, Gator and Scrappy on each side of the arena.[4][5]
Ziggy, having kept out of the action, smashed into the side of Finagler, only to get pinned by the upper spike trap. Jonathan Ridder's machine kept pushing Finagler with its rear wedge shape, resulting in the latter being steered towards and riding up Mouser's dome-shaped shell. Finagler drove off just as Fon Davis' machine fired its pneumatic flap. A few seconds later, Cooks drove underneath Mouser, which in turn flicked Gator up with its side-facing weapon. The former two proceeded to attack Scrappy and the immobile Razor Back respectively. More sparks flew as Ziggy again attacked Cooks' shell, then weathered a head-to-head collision with the lumbering Finagler. A four-robot pile-up, involving Ziggy, Mouser, Scrappy and Cooks, developed soon after.[4][5]
Mouser and Ziggy separated, allowing Cooks to push Scrappy across the inner perimeter. Finagler briefly fell afoul of the upper spike trap, while Mouser kept attacking Gator as Cooks again pressured Ziggy. Scrappy wedged underneath the passive Ominous Brick of Havoc, itself suffering from control issues, just as Ziggy again hit Cooks' bodyshell. Cooks rammed the former two competitors, while Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc took turns at attacking Ziggy from the sides. The latter dug its front spears under Ziggy, after which Scrappy, Finagler and Cooks all closed in. Cooks pushed Scrappy aside, then helped The Ominous Brick of Havoc push Mouser into the left wall. The red and pink machines became stuck together, as all four of their active opponents again piled into each other.[4][5]
A pin by the upper spike trap caused Finagler to be flipped over. Meanwhile, Cooks wedged Scrappy in place by the upper-right corner, as Ziggy tentatively approached Jack Buffington's machine with its rear wedge shape. At that point, the Melee was paused to allow for multiple unsticks; Cooks from Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc from Mouser, and Gator from Razor Back. Through its ram, The Ominous Brick of Havoc had directly hit one of Mouser's internal components, leaving Fon Davis' machine immobile upon the match restarting.[4][5] Mouser would remain immobile and would be one of three robots to be eliminated from the lightweight melee.
Results[]
| MOUSER - RESULTS | ||
| Robot Wars: 1997 Championship | ||
| Lightweight Face-Off Quarter Finalist | ||
| Round 1 | vs. No Opponent | BYE |
| Winner's Bracket, Round 2 | vs. Black Widow | Won |
| Quarter Finals | vs. The Ominous Brick of Havoc | Lost |
| Lightweight Melee Lost | ||
| Lightweight Melee Qualifier | vs. The Ominous Brick of Havoc, Gator, Cooks, Ziggy, Finagler, Razor Back, Scrappy | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
| Events | Mouser Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Did Not Enter |
| 1995 | Did Not Enter |
| 1996 | Did not Enter |
| 1997 | Lightweight Quarter Finals |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Mouser would continue fighting in rival show BattleBots, renamed into Mouser Catbot 2001, first appearing in the 1999 Long Beach Event virtually unchanged from its 1997 counterpart, where it beat Paranoid Android and Lock-Nut Monster but lost to Shrike and Executioner. In Season.10, Mouser was renamed Mouser Mecha-Catbot and received an upgrade with a modified shell, prongs to extend the range of the flipper, here it performed decently getting a BYE in its first round then beating Shaft and No Tolerance II before losing to Alpha Raptor, however, Mouser Mecha-Catbot would go on to win the Lightweight rumbles in the same Season. Season 2.0 onwards saw Mouser Mecha-Catbot receive an additional upgrade with the replacement of its rear sawblade into a tail claw weapon, however, its performance in Season 2.0 saw a weaker performance where it beat Widowmaker before losing to Sallad. Season 3.0 had Mouser had a another name change, becoming Mouser Super Mecha-Catbot and it beat both Blood Moon then Trilobot before losing to Team Raptor again in Gamma Raptor. Both Season 4.0 and Season 5.0 saw Mouser got two more renames Mouser Classic Mecha-Catbot and Mouser Ultra Mecha-Catbot, it lost its only battles to Slap 'Em Silly and Tentoumushi respectfully. Mouser was a hugly popular competitor in BattleBots and received merchandise in the form of a minibot as well as featuring in the GBA BattleBots videogame Enter the Battlebox as well as appearing in the cancelled Gamecube game.
In 2015, Mouser Mecha-Catbot would return to combat, appearing in the 2015 RoboGames, however, it performed poorly losing to k9 and RIP. It would later be merged with heavyweight Moebius as Moebius Mecha- Catbot where it lost in a heavyweight rumble against Vlad the Impaler II and Evil Plunger. This would mark Mouser's final appearance in robot combat.
Mouser Mecha-Catbot would appear in a 2021 video by Adam Savage and as of 2024 Mouser is currently hanging on the wall at Fonco Studios.
Trivia[]
- Similar to UK competitor Killertron, Mouser would go from pink to orange in incarnations.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Lightweight match: Mouser versus Black Widow', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 16 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'MATCH: MOUSER VS BLACK WIDOW', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Lightweight match: Mouser versus Ominous Brick of Havoc', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 20 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 'Robot Wars 1997 Lightweight Melee 2', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 11 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 'LIGHTWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 2', Team Spike website (archived)
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