Overkill was a robot that competed in Series 3 and Series 4 of Robot Wars. Overkill was eliminated by 101 in its only fight during Series 3, despite coming close to achieving a win by knockout. The upgraded Overkill GTI also performed well in a melee with Panic Attack and S.M.I.D.S.Y. but still lost the Judges' decision, falling in the first round again.
Versions of Overkill[]
Both versions of Overkill were triangular wedge-shaped designs that ran on caravan winch motors, overrun to give top speeds of 15mph.
Overkill[]
Overkill in Series 3
The first model, which appeared in Series 3, featured a custom-bladed chainsaw embedded in its front wedge running at 3000rpm and powered by a 30cc three-horsepower petrol engine.[1] This was complemented by a "ramming fire axe" and air springs at the front and was built over two months for £2,000. Overkill had been designed as the team watched the second series of Robot Wars on television, and as such the robot had a four-inch rear ground clearance to allow it to navigate the obstacles it would have encountered in The Gauntlet. The team also added some air rams to the castor wheels to allow the ground clearance to be adjusted where required.[2] Originally the team wanted to build Overkill as a triangular wedge with sideways-flipping arms and a chainsaw-based conveyor belt, but this design was abandoned due to the team's air ram being too large.[3] Time and weight constraints also meant that Overkill was not fitted with a srimech.[4]
Overkill was powered by two 12V winch motors, giving an output of 200W each, but they were run on 36V to provide 600W of power. Overkill also utilised three Hawker Genesis 12V 14Ah batteries.[5] Overkill's armour comprised 2.2mm thick galvanised steel sheeting for the main armour and a thinner 1mm mild steel in less vital parts of the machine, as well as a 16mm plywood sheet covered with 1mm mild steel at the rear. The chassis was steel space-frame tubing.[6]
Overkill GTI[]
- "We were aiming to make a decisive flipper with more power than Chaos 2, which we achieved, but a big leak meant we couldn't show how powerful it was in series 4."
- — Team Overkill website[7]
Overkill GTI in Series 4
In Series 4, the robot was known as Overkill GTI and maintained the triangular shape, but was otherwise almost completely changed from its predecessor. It was geared down from 15mph to 10mph to be more controllable, and now used two Yuasa 7Ah batteries, intended to provide 200A of current. Overkill GTI received new weaponry in the form of two front-mounted pneumatic flippers which could fire with a combined force of 7500 Newtons, as the team felt that the chainsaw weapon would not be effective against the armour used by other teams.[8] The flipping arms ran on 40oz of liquid CO2 regulated to 12-bar of pressure and the team claimed on its website that the weapon was more powerful than Chaos 2's, but that a leak prevented this from being seen on television.[9]
Overkill GTI was now armoured in a range of 4 and 6 mm-thick bulletproof polycarbonate and aluminium armour, similar to other robots at the time, but was also protected by the same fireproof material used in racing driver overalls, nuclear power stations and space travel. The team noted that they had purchased the polycarbonate required for just £5. [10] An image of the Looney Tunes character Road Runner could be seen on one of the sides of the robot and the team added a Feathers McGraw mascot to the radio control transmitter, although this fell off prior to the team's battle.[11]
Series 5 Version[]
The team had begun working on redesigning Overkill to be competitive with Series 5's weight limit increases. This included adding skirts to the sides of the chassis, inspired by Panic Attack and Challenger, implementing a gyro for better control, increasing the flipper CO2 flow by a factor of ten, and armouring the chassis with 1" and 1.5" thick titanium. As Overkill was not successful in qualifying for this series, the final look of the design was never seen. The team also preemptively expressed interest in Series 6, but none of the details for a design for this were ever described to the public.[12]
Etymology[]
- "Overkill means "The amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary for victory or annihilation" or "Kill or destroy to a greater extent than necessary ". We decided on the name because the chassis was about ten times stronger than it needed to be. It turned out to be a good idea because Killalot ran over it twice. It also allowed us to fit very powerful flippers in series 4."
- — Team Overkill website[13]
Overkill took its name from the dictionary definitions of the word overkill, as well as the strength of the robot's chassis. The GTi portion of the robot's name from Series 4 was a reference to Red Dwarf.[14]
Qualification[]
Series 3[]
Overkill attended filming on the same day as Behemoth, Milly-Ann Bug, and Locutus. After completing weigh in and safety checks, Overkill completed the obstacle course easily after seeing several other robots fail to make it through the brick wall or fall off the ramp. Overkill also completed a figure-eight and was the first to score a goal in the football challenge. Overkill would successfully qualify based on these results.[15]
Series 4[]
Team Overkill mentioned on their website they were planning on attending Robot Mayhem which would've helped them qualify for Series 4.[15] At this time however, it is unknown who its opponents were at this event.
Series 5[]
Despite being mostly rebuilt for Series 5, Overkill would not be successful in qualifying this time around. No details on the results of Overkill's qualifiers for this series are known at this time.
Robot History[]
Series 3[]
- "Bright and garish. Two caravan motors and a petrol engine provide the power. A ramming fire axe and front-mounted chainsaw the weaponry. Cost two months and two thousand pounds to build."
- — Jonathan Pearce summarises Overkill
Overkill competed in Heat J of the Third Wars, where it faced 101, the successor to Robo Doc from the previous series.
101 survives Overkill's attempt to pit it
Overkill gets itself into trouble with Dead Metal
101 bulldozes the immobile Overkill
Overkill is trampled by Sir Killalot
Overkill started strongly, getting underneath it and nearly flipping it. Both robots drove around each other. Overkill got underneath 101 and nearly pitted it, but 101 escaped just in time. Overkill was driven into Dead Metal's CPZ and took damage, but escaped after 101 pursued it in. Again Overkill pushed 101 towards the Pit, but it steered out of the way and both robots nearly fell in. Overkill then got underneath 101 and pushed it towards Sir Killalot, but was attacked itself and immobilised, eventually being flipped and driven over by Sir Killalot. 101 went through, and Overkill was eliminated in the first round.
Series 4[]
In Series 4, Overkill GTI returned in the penultimate heat. Its first battle was against S.M.I.D.S.Y. and the fourth seed and Series 2 champion Panic Attack.
- "Goes into overdrive with the power from caravan winch motors protected with the same installations used in race drivers' overalls so the same spectres nuclear power stations and space travel!"
- — Jonathan Pearce describing Overkill GTI
Overkill GTI uproots part of the arena floor while being pushed by S.M.I.D.S.Y.
Overkill GTI being lifted by Panic Attack
Overkill GTI was immediately rammed and slightly lifted by Panic Attack before escaping, then was attacked by S.M.I.D.S.Y, who shoved it onto the Flame Pit, damaging the arena floor in the process. It chased S.M.I.D.S.Y across the arena floor, eventually catching and flipping it. Panic Attack slammed it into a side wall, almost lifting it over. It was dropped on top of a spike on the arena wall, unable to get down. Overkill GTI was then caught in a shower of sparks generated by an angle grinder and was freed by Matilda, but then Panic Attack lifted it again, coming even closer to turning it on its back this time. It was carried across the arena but was freed by a slam from S.M.I.D.S.Y. Overkill GTI flipped it over again, but S.M.I.D.S.Y retaliated by pushing it a small distance across the arena. Panic Attack lifted it again, this time flipping it against a side wall. Panic Attack tried to lever it out of the arena, but instead inadvertently righted it. S.M.I.D.S.Y rammed it again, this time with its rear spikes. S.M.I.D.S.Y pushed it into Dead Metal's CPZ, who grabbed it and sliced into it. Overkill GTI was released, and then it rammed Panic Attack head-on, the two then separated by a slam from S.M.I.D.S.Y. Overkill GTI seemed to be limping on a single wheel, as it was forced against an arena wall by both Panic Attack and S.M.I.D.S.Y. It slowly moved away from the side wall, attacked by Panic Attack as it reached the centre of the arena. Panic Attack smashed it head-first into a side wall, then it moved away to battle S.M.I.D.S.Y. In the final ten seconds, it was lifted by both of its opponents, but 'cease' was called soon after. The Judges unsurprisingly voted out Overkill GTI, putting it out of the Fourth Wars.
- "Well, the judgement's in and it's over and out for Overkill."
- — Craig Charles
Results[]
| OVERKILL - RESULTS | ||
| Series 3 | ||
| The Third Wars - UK Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat J, Round 1 | vs. 101 | Lost |
| OVERKILL GTI - RESULTS | ||
| Series 4 | ||
| The Fourth Wars - UK Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat O, Round 1 | vs. Panic Attack (4), S.M.I.D.S.Y. | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
| Series | Overkill Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
| The Fourth Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
| The Fifth Wars | Failed to qualify |
| 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 |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Overkill with a different paint scheme at Robots@War 2001
Overkill made a brief appearance at the Robots@War live event in 2001, sporting a black colour scheme.
Trivia[]
- Both of Overkill's losses involved a robot that reached the second round of the semi-finals in that war - 101 and Panic Attack, respectively.
- Both of those robots fought each other in The First World Championship.
- The Series 3 version of the robot went into overdrive during testing and threw team member Lawrence Burke Jr off the back.
- Overkill was one of the few robots in Robot Wars to have two team members with the same name.
- In both of Overkill's appearances, captain Lawrence Burke was not present in the control pod. Being in a wheelchair, he watched from the side of the arena, and only Lawrence Burke Jr. and James Yule were in the control pod.
References[]
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill specs page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ Team Overkill's Specifications page
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Team Overkill's Events page
External Links[]
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