- "My seccond idea was a spinning disc with a cutting-blade attached to it, but I soon dropped that idea because I thought it would never work on a 'real sise{sic}' 80kg machine. … When I saw 'Hypno-disc' in series 3 using almost the same idea with the disc, only horizontal, I got back to that idea. I made a scale-model which could work and could be tested. It was frightening!"
- — PulverizeR website on the origins of the robot[1]
PulverizeR (spelt as PullverizeR in Dutch Series 1) was a competitor robot that primarily fought in both series of Dutch Robot Wars, and the incumbent Dutch champion. It reached the Heat Final in Dutch Series 1, losing to Twisted Metal, before going on to win Dutch Series 2 after beating Philipper 2 in the Grand Final. As the reigning Dutch champion, it also represented the Netherlands in the European Championship and The Third World Championship during the UK series, but lost in the first round in both of these international championships.
Versions of PulverizeR[]
- "When I noticed that there were plans for a Dutch version of Robotwars, I became more serious with the idea of building a 80kg version of the 'PullverizeR', which became the new name for the machine. … My biggest problem was that I had have never worked with radio-controlls or electronics. Another thing was that I alwaysbuilt machines on scale, never big and heavy things! Within two months I had designed PullverizeR the way it should be."
- — PulverizeR website on the origins of the robot[2]
PulverizeR was an invertible, two-wheeled robot with a wide body and a vertical flywheel as its main weapon. In both of its incarnations, it was painted blue, red and black, and its flywheel was capable of causing substantial amounts of damage as well as flipping opponents over.
PullverizeR (Dutch Series 1)[]
As PullverizeR, the robot featured a more angular body and a pair of rectangular-shaped plates mounted either side of the flywheel. Its wheels were also fully exposed, lacking the hubcaps that it would adopt for later series.
Building of the robot began on Friday 23 March 2001. The wheels were 40cm in diameter, ordered from Danimo Wheels. The robot had motors from a second hand wheelchair, and steel armour[3]
- "The starter motors I intent to use where no good. At the Robotwars-workshop I met two guys who bought two second hand wheelchairs and I was convinced that was what I needed. I called several places I probably could buy a second hand wheelchair, but without success. The last one I tried could sell me one, only more expensive than I hoped for. Anyway, I needed it, so I bought it. I also bought cog-wheels and chains and two weeks later the machine could move."
- — PulverizeR website on finding motors
While manoeuvrable, PullverizeR particularly suffered from a low top speed in this incarnation, and its wheels were especially vulnerable to getting badly damaged or torn off completely, as its battle with Twisted Metal demonstrated.
PulverizeR[]
- "After competing in Robotwars the Dutch Battles 1, we had to make plans for a better, improved PullverizeR. … We all were very satisfied with the first PullverizeR, it worked better than we expected. Despite the fact that it was beat up badly in its last fight, PullverizeR had proven to be a very reliable machine and it never gave us problems. So now I knew what I was capable of to build, I could think about improvements to make on the new machine."
- — PulverizeR website on the origins of second version of PulverizeR[4]
For Dutch Series 2, a new version of PulverizeR was built, featuring a lower, wider and more cylindrical body, new wheels including black hubcaps, and a new flywheel mount which dispensed with the side plates seen in Dutch Series 1. This gave it a passing resemblance to UK Series competitor S3, and the robot now had a higher top speed to circumvent the manoeuvrability issues that affected it in the previous series.
The hubcaps were the suggestion of Remco Doffer, intended to make the robot harder to grab hold of. The team used a LPG-gas cylinder, using the domes on either side for the hubcaps, and half of the pipe was used for the robots body. Stronger axles, 30mm instead of 25mm, were added, along with shock absorbers.
- "This time I would make one long axle for both wheels, instead of two short axles, one for each wheel. The axle would be a lot stronger, but so would the other robots be! So this was not enough, something more had to be done. We decided to use shock absorbers to attach the wheel covers to the wheels. Flexible parts would be harder to brake or to bend was the idea. Then soon came the plan to attach the whole axle with shock absorbers. It seemed to work in multiple ways: The wheel covers and the axle would absorb hits at the wheels, both from the front and the side. The body could bounce on the axle so it would absorb hits with hammers and axes, and the complete machine would endure less shock when it got flipped."
- — PulverizeR website on the improved wheels[5]
The flywheel was listed as being heavier in this series, at 20kg as opposed to 16kg. Because the disc had been bent during the Heat Final in the previous series, shock absorbers were added to the axle of the disc. However, this made the flywheel slower than before, 80 kph instead of 100 kph. The team had intended to use a second hand chainsaw engine to power the weapon, which could produce speeds of 10,000rpm. The engine was intended to have a remote controlled starter motor to restart the engine in case it stopped during the fight and a remote controlled off switch to stop it when that was necessary. However, due to a lack of testing and concerns about reliability, the team went with Bosch 750 watt motors.
- "I had the engine for the disc ready, but never tested it. I still had to build the remote control system. and with only one month to go, I had two choices: Either use the ic engine without testing and taking the risk that I would encounter all kinds of problems like interference with the radio control (which I had tested succesfully before, but still). Or go for safe and use one of the two Bosch750 and use the wheelchair motors from the first PullverizeR for the drive... I went for the second option, but was not happy about it. PulverizeR had less power in the drive with 140watt instead of 750watt and also was a lot slower. After all, I made the gearbox, a 1:12,5 delay, for a 750watt motor. "
- — PulverizeR website on the improved wheels[6]
This version of PulverizeR won the second Dutch series and would also represent the Netherlands in the European and Third World Championships in a largely unchanged state, although its high ground clearance made it especially susceptible to being pushed around by opponents such as Philipper 2, Razer and Crushtacean.
Etymology[]
PulverizeR was named after a Death Metal band of the same name[7], right down to the stylised capitalising of the last letter R. In Series 1, the robot was called Pullverizer, but the team removed the second L afterwards, claiming on their website that the second L was a mistake[8]. The statistics board for series wrote the robots name without a capital R at the end.
Mischa de Graaf had originally intended to call the robot Petunia after the truck from the Stephen King novel Christine, but decided the robot needed a less friendly name. However, the name Petunia would later be used for the team's BattleBots entry.
- "The name for the machine would be 'Petunia', that's the name of the truck that was used to fight 'Christine' in the book by Stephen King. … I dropped the name Petunia, because it would be to friendly for a machine which could do so much damage..."
- — PulverizeR website on the name[9]
The Team[]
- "Pils is the Dutch word for BEER, not to be mistaken by pills. It did not start as a club actually, and still isn’t a club or something like that either. We are just a couple of good friends who like to visit each other by the end of the week, mostly on Friday evening, to talk about stuff and drink a couple of beers. Until one time Jan Derk called me and asked; “is there a party tonight at the Pils Club?” I wondered ‘Pils Club?’ That’s how it started. Not long after that we called it Pils Club PulverizeR, because I had already started to build the first PulverizeR"
- — PulverizeR website on the team[10]
PulverizeR was entered into Robot Wars by Team P.C.P., standing for Pils Club PulverizeR. The team were Dutch, based in Molenwaard. Team P.C.P. were noted for their spirited and charismatic personality, being dressed as convicts wearing orange jumpsuits in Dutch Series 1, and as Elvis Presley in every series thereafter, much to the delight and curiosity of the show's commentators and presenters. Team captain Mischa de Graaf also wore wooden clogs for his appearance in the European Championship, which became the subject of a humorous exchange with Philippa Forrester when the championship was broadcast as part of Robot Wars Extreme.
- "Mischa de Graaf, certainly off any graph I know, of normal reasoning."
- — Jonathan Pearce on the teams strange behaviour in Extreme 2
The team was captained by lead builder of the machine Mischa de Graaf, the only ever-present member of the team. He was joined by a rotating roster of Ruud van Buren in Dutch Series 1, the European Championship and UK Series 7, Remco Doffer in both Dutch series and UK Series 7, and Nico Kos in Dutch Series 2 and the European Championship.
Ruud van Buren joined the team when he did the welding for Pullverizer's flywheel. He was responsible for most of the robot's welding[11]. Remco Doffer and Nico Kos joined later, with Doffer being behind the team's website[12].
Qualification[]
In June 2001, PullverizeR attended the Eindhoven rehearsals and selection day, hoping to gain one of thirty-six places available for the series. Footage of its presence was aired in the BNN special Robot Wars: The Kick-Off, including clips of the virtually-complete machine being driven around in the indoor test area. Although it was not allowed to showcase its disc, PullverizeR impressed in the decoration side of the selection criteria by having decorated plating, one of only a few robots to do so. Despite the series being reduced to thirty machines, Pullverizer was selected in mid-July.[13]
PulverizeR applied for Dutch Series 2. During selection day, it lacked a receiver, a third speed controller for its weapon motor, and its art design. Nonetheless, PulverizeR was successful in its application, being one of forty robots that would be selected for the series[14].
PulverizeR had attempted to enter the main competition of Series 7 in the UK Robot Wars. It was drawn in a qualifier battle against Direct Action, Reptirron the Second and Robochicken, but lost the fight after suffering from transmission problems. The ultimate winner of the battle is unknown, however, along with Direct Action, PulverizeR subsequently failed to qualify. In sympathy, Team KODOX wore PulverizeR t-shirts when they competed in that series with Tough as Nails. Nevertheless, PulverizeR still represented the Netherlands in the Third World Championship.
- "Due to transmitter problems PulverizeR didn't react the way it used to. My transmitter broke down, as later seemed. I was able to borrow another transmitter and receiver to use for the World Championship that same week"
- — Mischa de Graaf on PulverizeR's qualification attempt
In 2016, PulverizeR also applied for Series 8 of Robot Wars through online applications, but was not selected to take part, despite its former pedigree in the Dutch series. Team P.C.P. later qualified for Series 9 with PacifieR, but ultimately withdrew from Heat D due to technical issues.
Robot History[]
Dutch Series 1[]
PullverizeR competed in Heat B. Originally, it was due to fight Lizzard, but the arena boarding was damaged so all fights with disc weapons were moved to the following day and the schedule was changed. Therefore, PullverizeR faced RCC in its first-round battle.
- "An impressive machine with a powerful striking-weapon and pneumatic scissors."
- — Mischa de Graaf on RCC
PullverizeR did not move at the start, allowing its disc to get up to speed. RCC drove towards it, and as it got close, PullverizeR drove forwards, and the two robots collided, but merely bounce apart, with RCC missing with its axe. RCC turned away as Pullverizer tried to attack with its spinner, and tried reversing into PullverizeR's wheel. However, PullverizeR landed a glancing blow on the side with its flywheel, and RCC drove away. After turning around, PullverizeR drove after RCC. RCC turned around to face PullverizeR, but its axe merely glanced off. One hit from PullverizeR seemed to stop RCC completely, and Refbot counted the latter out. Sir Killalot lifted RCC up by the axe and carried it to the Floor Flipper. After it was thrown, Sir Killalot held it up for Sgt. Bash to torch with his flamethrower, before dropping it into the pit, allowing PullverizeR to progress.
- "Unfortunately for RCC they had electrical problems and their robot stopt in about one minute. We gave them a few hits that did not do them as much damage as we had hoped. PullverizeR only got a few scratches from that fight. We were relieved that first fight was easy, because we all were very nervous for that first action."
- — Mischa de Graaf on the fight with RCC[15]
In the second round, PullverizeR faced Scraptosaur.
- "Scraptosaur was a machine that we thought could not do us much damage, but it was well armoured, so we could not do them much damage either. We were hoping to win the fight by a jury's decision on damage."
- — Mischa de Graaf on fighting Scraptosaur[16]
PullverizeR dodged Scraptosaur’s initial charge, and kept running as Scraptosaur tried chasing it. Scraptosaur was close behind, prodding PullverizeR with its front spike. When its flywheel was up to speed, PullverizeR turned round and flipping it onto its back with one hit. Scraptosaur tried to self-right, but the flipper was not able to right it due to the robots shape, so it was counted out and attacked by the House Robots, with PullverizeR advancing to the Heat Final following this swift victory.
- Bridget Maasland: "You just beat Scraptosaur with such ease, you just flipped it right over, so why are you scared now?"
- Mischa de Graaf: "That was nothing, it didn’t have a weapon, so yes, I am scared of it, but I’m also very curious for it!"
- — Pre-Heat Final interview with Bridget Maasland (translated from Dutch
There, it faced Twisted Metal for a place in the Grand Final.
- "So we were in the heat-final, unfortunately against the robot we did not want to meet from the beginning... Twisted Metal, a robot with a horizontal spinner. ... We all feared this would be the last fight for PullverizeR, but we also were convinced this would be one of the most spectacular battles in the Dutch Robotwars: Disc meets disc..."
- — Mischa de Graaf on fighting Twisted Metal[17]
PullverizeR did not move as Twisted Metal approached, but as Twisted Metal closed in, it turned, as if aiming for one of PullverizeR's wheels. In doing so, it exposed its side, allowing PullverizeR to hit the side. This was only a glancing blow, and PullverizeR turned, and Twisted Metal hit one of PullverizeR's wheels. PullverizeR turned back, and the two spinning weapons collided, causing sparks to fly. Twisted Metal reversed, but PullverizeR was merely moving back and forth on one wheel. Twisted Metal's blow to the wheel had caused the drive chain to fall off. Twisted Metal slammed into the front of PullverizeR, knocking it back. PullverizeR continued moving back and forth on just one wheel, and Twisted Metal hit the side. With PullverizeR unable to escape, Twisted Metal turned around and landed another blow, and after turning around landed another. Twisted Metal hit PullverizeR again, sending it spinning into an angle grinder.
- "With only one wheel moving we were as much as immoblised {sic}. However they, as later told, did not realize that at that time and thought we were waiting for them to make the moves. With our disc still spinning they repeatedly attacked our weapon. Sparks flew and the sound of the two disc hitting each other was really frightening, but also spectaculair. {sic}"
- — Mischa de Graaf on fighting Twisted Metal[18]
Twisted Metal tried to attack again, but drove into PullverizeR's flywheel. However, by this time, PullverizeR had stopped completely. Sir Killalot came out of his CPZ, grabbed it with his claw and dragged it away from the wall, pushing it towards the centre of the arena. Dead Metal proceeded to grab PullverizeR and Twisted Metal slammed into its right-hand wheel, ripping it clean off. PullverizeR was counted out by Refbot, then Sir Killalot picked it up and spun it around. After throwing it into Twisted Metal, Sir Killalot placed it onto the Floor Flipper. It was thrown across the arena, and provisionally eliminated.
- "Dust you are and to dust you shall return."
- — Biblical quotes from Rob Kamphues upon PullverizeR's defeat (translated from Dutch
Following this loss, PullverizeR was offered a wildcard[19], which would have allowed it to secure a place in the Grand Final. However, it had sustained too much damage from Twisted Metal, so the wildcard was given to Lizzard instead, and PullverizeR was fully eliminated from the first Dutch series as a result.
Dutch Series 2[]
A redesigned PulverizeR returned for Dutch Series 2, competing in Heat E. In its first round battle, it faced Bluemax. A robot created by both teams who competed with Blue and MaxiMill in Dutch Series 1.
At the start of the battle, PulverizeR stood still, allowing its flywheel to get up to speed as Bluemax drove towards it. PulverizeR moved forwards as Bluemax got close, but Bluemax turned away, dodging the flywheel. Bluemax turned around, pushed against one of PulverizeR's wheels and spun around, with one of its decorations whipping against its opponent. PulverizeR waited as Bluemax spun, then tried to attack one of Bluemax's wheels. As PulverizeR drove into Bluemax, it stopped its opponents spinning, but Bluemax quickly drove away before PulverizeR could attack. PulverizeR charged into Bluemax, hitting the pincer, ripping off a small part and knocking the pincer wide open. Bluemax was able to close its pincer, and turned to face PulverizeR. PulverizeR tried driving at Bluemax, but Bluemax's pincer blocked PulverizeR from reaching it. Bluemax spun on the spot, then PulverizeR landed a blow on the front of Bluemax, which knocked Bluemax back a little. Bluemax reversed into PulverizeR, briefly stopping the flywheel, then drove away. PulverizeR appeared to have stopped, and Bluemax rammed PulverizeR. As it did so, PulverizeR started moving, turning against Bluemax, bursting one of its balloons. PulverizeR landed some glancing blows on the front of Bluemax, which had stopped moving. Bluemax turned, and tried driving away, but PulverizeR was close behind it, and managed to land a glancing blow on one of its wheels. Bluemax drove across the pit, and turned around to face its opponent, but suddenly stopped moving. PulverizeR closed in, hitting Bluemax and knocking it onto its back. With Bluemax unable to move, PulverizeR landed another hit, knocking Bluemax onto its top. Refbot counted Bluemax out, and PulverizeR hit Bluemax again, knocking it towards Mr. Psycho. PulverizeR held back as Mr. Psycho and Shunt attacked Bluemax, with Shunt pitting Bluemax, sending PulverizeR through to the second round.
- "Elvis is going strong, return to sender - goodbye Bluemax!"
- — Eric Corton as Bluemax is counted out
In the post battle interview, the PulverizeR team brought a guitar along and played a little bit of Elvis Presley's song Hound Dog.
- "Don't forget to buy my latest record son!"
- — Mischa de Graaf to Rob Kamphues after singing
There, it faced the shufflebot entry Scarab.
- "Rock 'n' Roll's here to stay and it will never die!"
- — Mischa de Graaf to Bridget Maasland before the battle
PulverizeR quickly drove towards and around Scarab, hitting it side-on with the flywheel. It then backed into a CPZ and drove around the arena for another run on Scarab, and Scarab was too slow to get away, so PulverizeR landed a blow on the other side. Scarab stopped moving for a moment, and PulverizeR charged at its front. Scarab tried to turn, but PulverizeR hit the claw with its flywheel and pushed it by the static Floor Spinner. PulverizeR turned around for another attack, and Scarab could only turn a little. PulverizeR tried to get at Scarab's side, but Scarab turned, then turned again when PulverizeR tried hitting one of the claws. PulverizeR drove around Scarab and hit the side, and by this time Scarab was not moving. PulverizeR got behind Scarab, hitting the back and lifting Scarab up. With Scarab left a sitting duck, PulverizeR hit the back again with its flywheel again, flipping it up. Refbot began counting Scarab out, whilst PulverizeR landed another blow on the back of Scarab. As Refbot finished its count, PulverizeR hit the side of Scarab. Growler came out and grabbed Scarab, putting it on the floor flipper, then pitting it after it was thrown. and pitted.
In the Heat Final, PulverizeR faced the three-part clusterbot √3². Mischa de Graaf was aware that √3² was overweight by 10kg, in order to repair damage sustained in its Heat semi-final, but agreed to battling the overweight machine regardless.
PulverizeR immediately charged at S.O.Xbot, getting at the side of that third and landing a glancing blow on the side, but ODT-0.33 drove at one of its wheels, and S.O.Xbot got behind it. S.O.Xbot tried to flip PulverizeR, but couldn't lift it and flipped itself over, whilst PulverizeR turned around, hitting ODT-0.33 and lifting it up, then turned to attack Elevation. PulverizeR hit the front of Elevation, but the disc had slowed and it did no damage. Elevation reversed with PulverizeR chasing it, but suddenly Elevation pushed PulverizeR back into ODT-0.33. PulverizeR turned around and tried to attack ODT-0.33, but ODT-0.33 reversed and dodged. ODT-0.33 tried pushing on of PulverizeR's wheel, but PulverizeR turned and tried attacking one of ODT-0.33's wheels, landing a glancing blow, then ODT-0.33 drove against PulverizeR, turning itself over. PulverizeR reversed, with all three parts chasing it, and as PulverizeR turned away, Elevation got behind it and pushed. PulverizeR turned around, hitting Elevation and knocking it back, before turning around and hitting ODT-0.33, flipping it over. PulverizeR turned around as S.O.Xbot drove at it, hitting S.O.Xbot with the flywheel a couple of times. ODT-0.33 and S.O.Xbot drove at PulverizeR, with ODT-0.33 pushing PulverizeR. PulverizeR tried to turn away, but Elevation blocked it, and the other two thirds surrounded PulverizeR, with ODT-0.33 wedging under PulverizeR and holding it against Elevation. PulverizeR was stuck as S.O.Xbot went to open the pit, but PulverizeR managed to get free and hit Elevation with its flywheel, flipping it over on its second hit. S.O.Xbot got behind PulverizeR as it did so, pushing it against Elevation, but then S.O.Xbot tried lifting PulverizeR, but due to PulverizeR's cylindrical body, S.O.Xbot just slid off, allowing PulverizeR to get free. PulverizeR used its disc to grind against Elevation, then ODT-0.33, then flipped ODT-0.33 over with the flywheel, before doing the same to Elevation. PulverizeR reversed, with S.O.Xbot driving after it. PulverizeR gave one of its wheels a glancing blow, then turned away, and as ODT-0.33 closed in, PulverizeR tried to attack it, but S.O.Xbot wedged under one of PulverizeR's wheels, getting underneath PulverizeR and holding it still. PulverizeR reversed off, but Elevation blocked it. ODT-0.33 also helped trapped PulverizeR, but as S.O.Xbot tried to block PulverizeR, PulverizeR hit its back, then ripped a wheel clean off in one hit, sending it flying across the arena. PulverizeR hit S.O.Xbot, flipping it over, then turned Elevation over with the flywheel. ODT-0.33 got behind PulverizeR and pushed, but Elevation was being counted out. ODT-0.33 left PulverizeR and tried to help Elevation, but couldn't flip it over so Elevation was counted out. PulverizeR hit ODT-0.33, knocking it into the air. With two thirds of √3² immobile, the whole robot was eliminated, and the House Robots came out. Mr. Psycho and Dead Metal attacked Elevation, and PulverizeR was through to the Grand Final.
In the first round of the Grand Final, PulverizeR faced wildcard entry Twister.
At the start of the battle, PulverizeR waited as Twister approached it, before turning away and driving around Twister. Before PulverizeR could get close, Twister started spinning its weapon, and PulverizeR reversed to avoid it. However, PulverizeR was able to quickly drive around Twister and hit the back, knocking it off-balance as it was sent hurtling towards the Floor Flipper. PulverizeR then charged at Twister’s spinning triangle, but bounced off knocking itself onto its back. Twister's spinner was at full speed, so PulverizeR held back and backed into the pit release button. Twister drove towards PulverizeR, and PulverizeR reversed to the other side of the pit. However, it drove into a CPZ as it did so, so had to quickly drive away as Dead Metal came across. PulverizeR drove to the other side of the arena, then up the arena, then around to the other side of the pit, whilst Twister waited.
PulverizeR reversed up the arena because Twister would not come towards it whilst it was by the pit, and Twister made the mistake of exposing its back to PulverizeR. With one hit, PulverizeR knocked Twister over with the flywheel. Twister could spin around on the spot using its spinning triangle, but could not use the spinner to right itself, due mostly to the spikes in its back, and PulverizeR pushed against it, nudging it towards the pit. Twister eventually caught the edge of the pit and toppled in itself, with PulverizeR emerging as the winner.
In the Semi-Finals, PulverizeR faced Scrap-2-Saur, in a rematch from their encounter in the first Dutch wars. Scrap-2-Saur was still suffering from damage inflicted in its previous battle with Meshuggah.
Scrap-2-Saur started the quicker, charging into PulverizeR. The two robots turned away from each other, then turned around for another attack, but when the two met head-on, PulverizeR merely bounced back a little. Scrap-2-Saur pushed against one of PulverizeR's wheels, and raised its flipper, pushing PulverizeR towards the flame pit, but then reversed away. Scrap-2-Saur charged back, but could not get its flipper under PulverizeR's cylindrical shape so missed with the flipper. Scrap-2-Saur drove past PulverizeR, and after turning back and forth a couple of times, drove up the arena past PulverizeR. PulverizeR could not keep up as it was much slower than its opponent. Scrap-2-Saur quickly drove past PulverizeR again, and as PulverizeR drove at it, Scrap-2-Saur got its flipper under PulverizeR, flipping it back onto the flame pit. However, in doing so, it got stuck on its back briefly, but closed the flipper and got down before PulverizeR could attack. Scrap-2-Saur quickly got under PulverizeR and flipped it again, then chased after it as PulverizeR tried to get away. Scrap-2-Saur opened the pit, and PulverizeR got its flywheel up to speed. Scrap-2-Saur drove after PulverizeR, but drove onto the pit panel as it began to open, so had to turn away.
PulverizeR tried reversing up the arena, but Scrap-2-Saur blocked it, and chased after it. PulverizeR drove right by Mr. Psycho's CPZ, and Scrap-2-Saur blocked its escape. Mr. Psycho hammered PulverizeR's flywheel, and Scrap-2-Saur continued blocking PulverizeR as it tried to get away. PulverizeR tried turning around Scrap-2-Saur, but drove into an angle grinder. PulverizeR got away from the angle grinder, and as Scrap-2-Saur followed it, it was clearly hobbling, then stopped moving after driving by a flame jet. Pulverizer's disc was not spinning, so it merely slammed into Scrap-2-Saur, pushing it closer to the flames. Refbot counted Scrap-2-Saur out, and Growler bit into Scrap-2-Saur and dragged it to the Floor Flipper, where it suddenly regained mobility and attempted to attack PulverizeR, but Growler stopped it, so Scrap-2-Saur backed into the pit to escape Growler.
In the Grand Final, PulverizeR faced Belgian robot Philipper 2, for the right to win the series.
PulverizeR started by driving down the arena as Philipper 2 drove after it in the opening seconds, before turning around to attack. Philipper 2 tried to get its flipper got under one of PulverizeR's wheels, but PulverizeR turned, hitting the front of Philipper 2 with its flywheel. Philipper 2 kept pushing and trying to get its flipper under PulverizeR's other wheel, but PulverizeR turned back, hitting Philipper 2 again. PulverizeR tried to hit the front of Philipper 2, but merely glanced off the flipper. Philipper 2 tried to flip PulverizeR, but PulverizeR reversed before the flipper fired. PulverizeR reversed away from Philipper 2, and Philipper 2 chased after it. As Philipper 2 got close, PulverizeR hit the side with its flywheel, but merely bounced off. Philipper 2 got its flipper under the flywheel and flipped PulverizeR over. As PulverizeR drove away, its flywheel bounced back and forth. PulverizeR drove back at Philipper 2, hitting the side, but caused no real damage. Philipper 2 got its flipper under the flywheel and flipped PulverizeR over again. PulverizeR drove away from Philipper 2, but could not get its flywheel up to speed. Philipper 2 caught up to it, getting behind and pushing PulverizeR towards the wall. PulverizeR rode up the flipper and became stuck on one wheel, the frame for the flywheel preventing it from falling down. PulverizeR spun around on one wheel and quickly re-righted itself. Philipper 2 again got under the front of PulverizeR, but PulverizeR reversed away across the arena. As Philipper 2 chased it, PulverizeR got its flywheel up to speed. Philipper 2 drove straight into PulverizeR, and the impact flipped PulverizeR over. PulverizeR turned around to face Philipper 2, but Philipper 2 got under it, turning it over merely using its shape.
PulverizeR drove over the Flame Pit, and turned around. As Philipper 2 drove after it, PulverizeR got its flywheel up to speed, and when Philipper 2 caught up and tried to get under PulverizeR, PulverizeR ripped a panel off the flipper. Undeterred, Philipper 2 continued pushing PulverizeR, but PulverizeR reversed away as Philipper 2 tried to flip it. PulverizeR reversed up the arena and waited for Philipper 2 to drive into it, but merely bounced off on impact. PulverizeR tried to turn away, but Philipper 2 pushed it, and when PulverizeR tried turning away again, Philipper 2 kept close behind it. PulverizeR managed to get away from Philipper 2 just long enough to get its flywheel to speed, but on hitting Philipper 2's flipper, it did no damage. Philipper 2 tried to get under PulverizeR, but PulverizeR turned and reversed away. As Philipper 2 drove after it, PulverizeR turned around, and when Philipper 2 got close, PulverizeR hit the flipper with its flywheel, knocking Philipper 2 back a little. In the last few seconds, PulverizeR drove down the arena, with Philipper 2 chasing after it, but then PulverizeR turned around, hitting the front of Philipper 2, lifting it up. PulverizeR kept reversing away from its opponent as time ran out. The judges were called to make a decision. Based on the damage it inflicted to Philipper 2, they ruled PulverizeR as the winner, making it the second – and incumbent – Dutch Robot Wars champion.
- "Without a little luck, no robot can win Robot Wars. I had the luck of driving with Philipper at a live event before, so I had a little experience. Showing aggression gets you three points, but causing damage gets you four. With that knowledge I got in to this fight, keeping the disc pointing at Philipper and driving backwards long enough to get it up to speed, then just let him come to me. And it worked out the way I thought it would; a Jury's decision on damage."
- — Mischa de Graaf
In the post battle interview, the team members took off their sunglasses and Elvis "hair", with Mischa de Graaf placing his on Rob Kampues.
Extreme 2 / German Series[]
- Philippa Forrester: "Razer is sleeping. But are they doing anything to awaken the passion?"
- Vinnie Blood: "Passion? Funny you should mention that, we think that PulverizeR are actually sending us love letters at the moment."
- — Team Razer introduce their "love letter"
As the reigning Dutch champion, PulverizeR represented the Netherlands in the European Championship, broadcast as part of German Robot Wars and the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. In its first-round battle, it was drawn against UK Series 5 champion and double World Champion Razer. Prior to the match, Mischa de Graaf danced with Philippa Forrester, who stood on his wooden shoes, while Team Razer read a letter that PulverizeR's team had sent, reading "We're gonna cream your crank!!! With love, PulverizeR".
At the start, PulverizeR started slower, allowing Razer to charge towards it, and when Razer got close, PulverizeR drove at Razer's side, but despite landing a blow on the front, Razer was unaffected and pushed PulverizeR back. PulverizeR reversed, but turned and nearly into the Floor Spinner button. Razer took advantage, pushing PulverizeR against the button, trying to get hold of the Dutch champion, but due to its shape, Razer couldn't get hold and PulverizeR reversed away. As Razer drove after it, PulverizeR charged at Razer, but merely drove up its wedge, and had to quickly turn away before Razer could grab. As PulverizeR tried to get away, it drove into Growler's CPZ, and the House Robot pinned it against the wall. This allowed Razer to get behind PulverizeR and push it against Growler. Razer grabbed hold of PulverizeR's body, whilst Growler bit into one of its wheels.
- "The Razer beak and the Growler jaw, and PulverizeR in between the two. Talk about a rock and a hard place."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Razer and Growler pushed and pulled PulverizeR, before Razer let go. Growler took PulverizeR by an arena flame jet and let go, but PulverizeR could not get away as Razer quickly rushed in and grabbed it from behind. Holding PulverizeR by the gap for the flywheel, Razer pushed PulverizeR down the arena, forcing it into the pit release button. However, as Razer pulled PulverizeR back, it let go too early, and PulverizeR was able to reverse away.
- "PulverizeR caught there, once again. Doing very, very, very well to survive, I think, with Razer."
- — Jonathan Pearce
As Razer chased after PulverizeR, PulverizeR drove close to a CPZ, and as Razer tried to get hold of the Dutch champion, it drove into the CPZ itself. Razer quickly got out as Sir Killalot came over, and got behind PulverizeR, forcing it against the House Robot and grabbing hold of it. Razer tried pulling PulverizeR back, but PulverizeR slipped out of its grasp. PulverizeR drove up the arena to get away from Razer, accidentally driving into Refbot briefly, before driving to the middle of the arena and turning to face Razer. Razer drove head-on at PulverizeR, but the flywheel merely bounced off Razer's crushing arm. However, for a moment, Razer seemed to stop moving forwards, turning back and forth on the spot as PulverizeR drove away. PulverizeR drove around the pit, but as Razer regained mobility and drove after it, PulverizeR suddenly turned and drove straight into the pit.
- "And the Dutch domestic champion, into the pit, our very own, "Heartbreak Hotel!""
- — Jonathan Pearce as PulverizeR pits itself
UK Series 7[]
After failing to qualify for the main competition of the Seventh Wars due to transmitter issues, PulverizeR automatically qualified for the Third World Championship, once again representing the Netherlands as reigning Dutch champion. In its first round battle, it fought South African entry, and veteran Crushtacean and Swiss representative Snake Bite.
While Snake Bite failed to move at all due to hydraulic fluid soaking its tyres and preventing them from gripping the arena floor, PulverizeR immediately approached Crushtacean as it reversed down the arena into the pit release button, buffeting the South African entry with its flywheel as it hit one of its claws, then quickly landed another blow on the front. Crushtacean was unaffected and pushed it towards Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, but PulverizeR turned away, bumping past Sgt. Bash's claw, then reversing away from the House Robot. Crushtacean crashed into the CPZ, but also managed to get out before the House Robot could attack, reversing up the arena, bumping into PulverizeR as it did so. PulverizeR turned to face Crushtacean as the South African representative charged at it, but on impact the flywheel slowed, and Crushtacean pushed PulverizeR against the wall. Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ and fired its flamethrower at the two competitors, and they both quickly moved away from the wall. With no weapon, PulverizeR reversed up the arena as Crushtacean chased it. Crushtacean soon caught up to it, and grabbed it and pinned it against the wall. Crushtacean reversed, but before PulverizeR could get away, Crushtacean rammed it against the wall again. Whilst Snake Bit was counted out, PulverizeR could only run away from Crushtacean, accidentally driving into Refbot as it did so. Refbot finished counting Snake Bite out, but after being attacked by Dead Metal, Snake Bite started moving, and went after PulverizeR, trying to grab the Dutch champion.
- "Love me tender, there’s no question of that – wh-what is Snake Bite doing? Weren’t they counted out? Go away! Just go away, you’re beaten!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Snake Bite attempts to attack PulverizeR after being counted out
PulverizeR was then simultaneously caught by the crushing weapons of both Crushtacean and Snake Bite, before Sergeant Bash attempted to grip and crush through its chassis. It escaped as Snake Bite grabbed hold of Crushtacean, and stayed out of the action as ‘cease’ was called and the battle went to a judges’ decision. PulverizeR lost the decision to Crushtacean, eliminating it from the Third World Championship.
- Craig Charles: "How do you think that went?"
- Mischa de Graaf: "Err, it went very bad. The first hit, we hit with the weapon, then the weapon broke down, for some reason. Later on, one wheel broke down, but we could move through the arena using one wheel, but when you lose the wheel, you lose the fight. Simple."
- Craig Charles: "Why are you dressed like Elvis?"
- Mischa de Graaf: "Why not? Why do you dress like Craig Charles?"
- — The post-battle interview
Results[]
PULVERIZER - RESULTS | ||
Dutch Series | ||
Series 1 | ||
Dutch Championship Heat Final | ||
Heat B, Round 1 | vs. RCC | Won |
Heat B, Semi-Final | vs. Scraptosaur | Won |
Heat B, Final | vs. Twisted Metal | Lost |
Series 2 | ||
Dutch Championship Champion | ||
Heat E, Round 1 | vs. Bluemax | Won |
Heat E, Semi-Final | vs. Scarab | Won |
Heat E, Final | vs. √3² | Won |
Grand Final, Round 1 | vs. Twister | Won |
Grand Final, Semi-Final | vs. Scrap-2-Saur | Won |
Grand Final | vs. Philipper 2 | Won |
UK Series | ||
Extreme Series 2 | ||
European Championship Representing the Netherlands, Round 1 | ||
NOTE: This competition was also broadcast during German Robot Wars | ||
Round 1 | vs. Razer (UK) | Lost |
Series 7 | ||
The Third World Championship Representing the Netherlands, Eliminated in Heats | ||
Heat | vs. Crushtacean (RSA), Snake Bite (SUI) | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Dutch Wins: 8
- Dutch Losses: 1
- UK Wins: 0
- UK Losses: 2
Series Record[]
Dutch Series[]
Dutch Series | PulverizeR Series Record |
---|---|
Series 1 | Heat Final |
Series 2 | Grand Champion |
UK Series[]
Main Series | PulverizeR 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 | The Third World Championship, Round 1 Failed to qualify for main competition |
Series 8 | Not selected |
Series 9 | Withdrew with PacifieR |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
Series 1 | Did not enter |
Series 2 | European Championship, Round 1 |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Between the two series of Dutch Robot Wars, PullverizeR made an appearance at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001, but could not enter the main competition as spinning weapons were prohibited. It still faced Philipper and Scraptosaur in exhibition matches without using its disc, but lost to both. PulverizeR did enter the main competition at the Dutch Robot Games in 2003, still without the use of its spinner. Its first-round battle saw it face Scraptosaur and Kan-Opener, with the melee being won by Kan-Opener. After being eliminated, PulverizeR fought in two non-competition rumbles, losing one to No Fear, but later beating No Fear and Twisted Metal EVO in the other[20].
A third version of PulverizeR was built after the original run of Robot Wars ended, which made sporadic appearances at live events. Most notably, it competed in the 2005 European Championship, defeating Snake Bite and Hammerhead to finish fourth overall. It also took part in the 2006 Fighting Robots UK Championship, where although it lost to Twister in one battle after losing a wheel, it won its heat by knocking out UFO. This moved PulverizeR into the finals where it defeated Merlin before losing to Big Nipper. PulverizeR re-entered the tournament by winning its losers' melee over Beast and Ripper, but was eliminated entirely following a further defeat against Storm 2 in the semi-finals. A second loss to Big Nipper in the playoff cemented a fourth-place finish for PulverizeR in the 2006 UK Championship.[21]
Subsequent regulation changes concerning the use of spinning weapons at live events rendered PulverizeR's flywheel largely unusable; as such, its appearances post-2006 remained limited.
Some time during the filming of Dutch Robot Wars Series 2, Team PCP created an antweight version of PulverizeR, sharing the same name as the heavyweight counterpart. It is known to have competed in one event against several antweights such as Angelfire, Smok, Antcrusher, War Ant and Twisted Midget.
Team PCP competed in the 2018 and 2019 seasons of BattleBots with a heavyweight machine named Petunia. For more information, see PacifieR.
Trivia[]
- Team captain Mischa de Graaf's original idea for a robot was armed with a hydraulic crusher, a concept later revisited for PacifieR and Petunia.[22]
- The original Pullverizer had the number 73 written on the top, which was the robot's registration number during the application process.[23]
- In Dutch Series 2, the team's pit area was decorated with mock Wanted posters, and a Wanted poster was attached to the back of PulverizeR, which depicted a team member who was unable to attend.[24]
- Along with Razer, Tornado and middleweight competitor Typhoon, PulverizeR is one of four robots to have fought and defeated both a clusterbot (√3²) and a walkerbot (Scarab).
- Like Tornado, PulverizeR's walkerbot victory was in the same series it won.
- PulverizeR fought both in the same episode, the only one of the four to do so.
- During the European Championship, the battle board shown after PulverizeR's defeat to Razer showed an Irish flag behind its name instead of a Dutch flag.
- PulverizeR represented the province of Noord-Holland (North Holland) in its first appearance where the robot was introduced as being from Anna Paulowna. The team would later Zuid-Holland (South Holland) in their final appearance, hailing from Molenwaard.
- PullverizeR makes a background cameo in the second Annihilator of Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1, appearing in Julia Reed's interview with Kim Davies following the second round. This indirectly marked the robot's televised debut in the UK Series, just over a year prior to PulverizeR's appearance in the European Championship.
References[]
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - Links
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - P.C.P.
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - Thanks
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived)
- ↑ Pulverizer website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ PulverizeR website (archived) - History
- ↑ Comment from Mischa de Graaf from YouTube
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060128030110/http://www.dutchrobotgames.nl/cgi-bin/pda
- ↑ https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/content/303-fighting-robots-association-heavyweight-championships-2006
- ↑ Team P.C.P. Facebook page
- ↑ Team PCP Facebook
- ↑ Team PCP Facebook
External Links[]
Honours[]
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