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(I remember reading somewhere that this was the initial design of Rattus Rattus 2 so we could have this image.)
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(Undo revision 171029 by Diotoir the son of nemesis (talk) Mentioned this in the talk page a while back; it's not. It's album art from Tarkus by ELP.)
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===Wins/Losses===
 
===Wins/Losses===
 
[[File:Rattus_Rattus_in_the_pits.jpg|thumb|Rattus Rattus in the pits with its shell on the floor]]
<gallery type="slideshow">
 
Rattus_Rattus_in_the_pits.jpg|Rattus Rattus in the pits with its shell on the floor
 
Rattusrattus2.jpg|Rattus Rattus 2 initial design.
 
</gallery>
 
 
*Wins: 1
 
*Wins: 1
 
*Losses: 1
 
*Losses: 1

Revision as of 16:22, 25 January 2016

Rattus Rattus was a robot which competed exclusively in Series 3 of Robot Wars. Rattus Rattus was shaped like a rodent, with a pointed-wedge front and chassis from an old desk. Its armament included two spikes at the front, and a flail at the rear. It was originally going to be over 2.5 metres long, but the team was forced to cut it in half upon discovering that a robot that size would not fit in their car. Despite this, it was still the longest in its heat. Rattus Rattus won its first battle against S.M.I.D.S.Y. but lost to the experienced Dreadnaut in Round 2.

Rattus Rattus was said to have got its name from the Latin name of the Common Rat (or Brown Rat). In actual fact, Rattus rattus is the Latin name of the closely related House Rat (or Black Rat), with the Common Rat's actual Latin name being Rattus norvegicus. The team jokingly claimed that it was from the fourteenth century, and had been responsible for the spread of the bubonic plague.

Rattus Rattus was upgraded to enter Series 4, but it lost to Dominator 2 in the qualifiers[1]. Rattus Rattus also failed to qualify for Series 5, after taking part in a six-way qualifier battle for Series 5, which also included Granny's Revenge, Purple Predator, Razer, Roobarb and Shunt.[2].

Robot History

Series 3

Rattus Rattus burning

Rattus Rattus, with its shell dislodged, on the flame pit

Rattus Rattus took part in the final heat of the Third Wars. In the first round of the heat, Rattus Rattus was placed up against fellow newcomers S.M.I.D.S.Y.. After a cautious start to the battle, Rattus Rattus managed to get in underneath its opponent. Rattus Rattus was then bounced by the arena floor spike a few times before driving up and over S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s top. Rattus Rattus then pushed S.M.I.D.S.Y. onto the arena spike, and then into Dead Metal's CPZ, before colliding with Dead Metal itself, dislodging its own body shell upon impact. Rattus Rattus then carelessly drove over the flame pit and began smoking, but S.M.I.D.S.Y. meanwhile was limping itself, and was eventually pushed into the pit of oblivion by Dead Metal, therefore putting Rattus Rattus through to the next round of the heat. After the fight, the team revealed that they had fitted a block of wood at the tip of the wedge, with the vain hope that it would keep the shell in place.

Dreadnaut rattus rattus

Dreadnaut nudges at the lifeless Rattus Rattus

In the second round, Rattus Rattus was placed up against Robot Wars veterans Dreadnaut. In this battle, Rattus Rattus was eagerly moving backwards and forwards before 'activate' was called, but when 'activate' was called, Rattus Rattus did not even move.

"They say it came from the 14th century - well, the engines probably ground to a halt long ago since then."
— Jonathan Pearce

Dreadnaut rammed into it a few times, before the house robots moved in and began attacking Rattus Rattus, with Dead Metal in particular causing major damage to the outer shell. Cease was eventually called and Rattus Rattus was eliminated from the competition.

"It suffered from its own plague!"
— The Rattus Rattus team blame the bubonic plague for their robot's demise

Results

RATTUS RATTUS - RESULTS
Series 3
The Third Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 2
Heat P, Round 1 vs. S.M.I.D.S.Y. Won
Heat P, Round 2 vs. Dreadnaut Lost

Wins/Losses

Rattus Rattus in the pits

Rattus Rattus in the pits with its shell on the floor

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 1

Series Record

  • Series 1-2: Did not enter
  • Series 3: Heat, Round 2
  • Series 4-5: Failed to qualify
  • Series 6-7: Did not enter

Trivia

  • Rattus Rattus was the only ever robot to come from the Channel Islands.
  • Had it not been cut in half, it would have been the second longest robot to enter Robot Wars.
  • Rattus Rattus is also the name of an anthropomorphic rat that features on the children's television show Horrible Histories.

References