- "We're members of the cadet unit at Witney Fire Station, and we've got a magnificent robot called Oblark! Any of our opponents think they're gonna beat us, we're going to extinguish their hopes!"
- — Stan Launchbury's introduction
Oblark was a robot that was entered by the Oxfordshire Fire Service in the Forces Special of the first series of Robot Wars Extreme. It reached the second round of the special, before losing to Anvil after becoming immobilised.
Design[]
Side view of Oblark
Oblark was a tall, wedged box-shaped robot driven by two 10 inch go-kart wheels, with the tyres filled with foam. It was armed with a pneumatic axe operated by a 175psi ram and a lifting arm operated by a 1000psi ram, in a similar configuration to Mortis, and mirrored to Vercingetorix and Comengetorix. The lifting arm proved very powerful and capable as a self-righting mechanism, although it was vulnerable to breaking off after a certain amount of uses. The robot was armoured in 3mm of aluminium and 12mm of polycarbonate and driven by two 24V Fracmo wheelchair motors that gave it a top speed of up to 18mph[1], but suffered from poor manoeuvrability. Oblark was painted silver with hazard stripes, flame motifs and L-plates over its bodywork - one of which made up the "L" in the robot's name - and a green Fire Exit sticker on its underside.
Etymology[]
According to Claire Heasman (daughter of Rob Heasman), the name Oblark came from Rob, Nicola and Mark (Rob and his eldest two children). This name was created after Rob had left due to his children being young and he had to help his wife. This was similar to how Mike Lambert named his robot Dantomkia after his children.
The Team[]
The Oblark team represented the Oxfordshire Fire Service, and were based in Witney. The team captain and creator of the machine was Rob Heasman, who was previously part of the Jurassic Park team known for entering Robot Wars with Steg-O-Saw-Us and Steg 2. He was joined by Stan Launchbury, the captain of Team MouseTrap. Indeed, Stan Launchbury had intended to enter the episode with MouseTrap, but it had sustained too much damage in its battle with S3 during the Fifth Wars, and the team joined forces to compete with Oblark, also being joined by Tom Butler.
Robot History[]
Extreme 1[]
- "And in the fire service cool, calm, collected way, we're just going to put them out"
- — The warning sent by Stan Launchbury
Oblark lands a blow on Mega-Hurts
Oblark axes the immobile Rhino
Oblark fought Mega-Hurts of the Royal Navy and Rhino of the Army, and was nudged by Rhino at the start. Mega Hurts and Rhino became stuck, so Oblark tried lifting both opponents, before axing Mega-Hurts. By the time its two opponents were separate, Oblark tried reversing into Mega-Hurts, but Rhino ploughed into Oblark's side and pushed it. Oblark missed with its next blow, and its lifter appeared jammed open, but Rhino was no longer mobile, and Oblark axed it. The House Robots finished off Rhino, confirming Oblark's passage into Round Two, where it met Anvil of the RAF.
- "Team, go set the warzone on fire!"
- — Julia Reed
Shunt axes Oblark
Oblark self-rights spectacularly
Oblark seemed slower at the start, barely moving forwards and it was axed by Shunt early on. The House Robot tipped Oblark over with his scoop, before Oblark landed on its front, flipping itself too far, attempting to self-right.
- "Send out the ladders, send out the hoses, and try and rescue the Fire Brigade's Oblark!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Oblark self-rights
Anvil moves the fire service towards the fire
Oblark's flipper breaks off
Shunt pushed Oblark, allowing it to land right-side-up. The Fire Brigade robot was then pushed into the wall by Anvil, and its axe was dangling over the wall, but it was freed by Refbot. Oblark was pinned against the wall a second time, and freed, but when it fired its own lifter, the weapon broke off entirely. Oblark was no longer able to move, and was flung by the Floor Flipper, before Sir Killalot placed the defeated robot over the flames, and then into the pit.
- "We had a little problem with the aerial, it got stuck inside the robot, it's got caught inside the robot, and we lost control."
- — Rob Heasman
Results[]
| OBLARK - RESULTS | ||
| Extreme Series 1 | ||
| Forces Special Semi-Finals | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Mega-Hurts, Rhino | Qualified |
| Semi-Final | vs. Anvil | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
Official image of Oblark
| Main Series | Oblark Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Entered with Steg-O-Saw-Us (Rob Heasman) Entered with Triterobot (Stan Launchbury) |
| The Fourth Wars | Entered with Steg 2 (Rob Heasman) Entered with MouseTrap (Stan Launchbury) |
| The Fifth Wars | Entered with MouseTrap (Stan Launchbury) |
| The Sixth Wars | Failed to qualify with Mutant MouseTrap (Stan Launchbury) |
| The Seventh Wars | Entered with Black and Blue (Stan Launchbury) |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Forces Special, Round 2 Entered with MouseTrap (Stan Launchbury) |
| Series 2 | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Alpha Zero One Tango, the Shot Put entry
Hose-A, the Rope Climbing entry
Stan Launchbury also led Oxfordshire Fire Service when they entered two robots into the spin-off show Techno Games. He worked with Nicole Fletcher and Tom Butler to enter Alpha One Zero Tango for the Techno Games 2001 Shot Putt competition. Alpha One Zero Tango scored 9.4 metres, and later 9.46 metres, setting a new world record on both occasions, coming second to Super Slinger. Alpha One Zero Tango was based on a fire engine, using the "ladder" on top to fire the shot.
In the 2002 series, Stan worked with Phillip Leach and Mahmoud El-Sharkway, another two fire cadets, to enter Hose-A, a rope climbing robot. Hose-A lost in the first round to Ascender 2, failing to complete its climb. Hose-A was shaped like a human, and dressed in a fireman uniform.
Trivia[]
- Oblark was the only robot in the Forces Special not to appear in its team's introduction.
- Of the six robots that competed in the Forces Special, Oblark was the only one not to appear at any events outside of Robot Wars.
References[]
External Links[]
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