Reptirron

Reptirron
Participation Information
UK Series	4, 6-7
Other Names	Reptirron the Second (Series 6-7)
Team Information
Team	Team Reptirron
Team Members	Gordon Townley Stuart Townley (Series 4) Cheryl Townley (Series 6) Peter Seabourne (Series 6)
From	Drybrook, Gloucestershire
Robot Statistics
Weight	100kg
Dimensions	0.60m x 0.90m x 0.82m
Top Speed	10mph
Drive	2x 1200W electric motors
Weapons	High pressure lifter, rear cutting disc
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Reptirron was the name of a series of robots that competed in Series 4, 6 and 7 of Robot Wars. It lost in Round 1 of Series 4 and 6, performing only slightly better in the Seventh Wars, reaching the second round only to lose to the eventual heat winner Firestorm 5.

Versions of Reptirron

Reptirron (Series 4)

File:RWMReptirron.jpg

The original Reptirron

The original Reptirron was clad in bronze "biscuit-tin" armour with an aluminium chassis and had a 9500RPM spinning disc mounted on an arm and running off a chainsaw engine and a zero turning circle. The ground clearance was adjustable from 5mm to 2cm and the robot could drive up to 15mph, though it proved to be unreliable. In its only televised fight, it was attacked from the rear, prompting a change of weapon design.

Reptirron the Second (Series 6-7)

"Double trouble here with two good weapons."

— Jonathan Pearce, introducing Reptirron the Second in Series 6

Reptirron the Second's official photo from Series 6

Reptirron the Second in Series 7

The robot was rebuilt for Series 6, and named Reptirron the Second. It originally had the same bronze "biscuit-tin" aluminium armour of its predecessor, but also had four-wheel drive and the armour was replaced by clear polycarbonate and steel for Series 7. It was described as an aluminium "monocoque", a term which describes a robot which has one full sheet of armour, instead of sections bolted on, making it resistant to damage. Its main weapons were a CO₂ high pressure lifter and a 4000rpm vertical cutting disc at the back, in order to protect both ends of the robot.

The Team

Main article: Team Reptirron

Reptirron was entered into all three of its series by Team Reptirron, alternatively known as the Kinforesters. The team was captained by driver and builder Gordon Townley, who was accompanied by Stuart Townley in Series 4, Peter Seabourne in Series 6, and by Cheryl Townley in Series 6 and 7. Team Reptirron also won the Featherweight Championship in the second series of Extreme with Argh!, but did not compete in the Featherweight Championship of Series 7.

Qualification

The original Reptirron machine attended the auditions for Series 3, however it was not selected for the main competition, and did not appear in any side events filmed concurrently.

Reptirron the Second attended the qualifiers for the Seventh Wars, here it was drawn in a battle against Dutch champions PulverizeR, along with Robochicken and Direct Action. The ultimate winner of the battle is unknown, however, only Reptirron the Second and Robochicken qualified for the main competition.

Robot History

Series 4

Reptirron is slashed by Pussycat

Reptirron is extinguished

Reptirron barely moved at the start of its first and only battle against Pussycat and Milly-Ann Bug. Pussycat struck it at the front with its disc, severing a cable, and the petrol that was driving the saw started to leak out. This caused it to burst into flames after Sgt. Bash's flamethrower was fired.

Reptirron is caught by Sgt. Bash

Reptirron continues to burn after its defeat

"It's all over for Reptirron and there are the flames!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Refbot attempted to extinguish the flames but it kept burning. Sgt. Bash then dragged it over to arena flipper where the flaming Reptirron was thrown through the air and eliminated from Series 4. After the battle Refbot extinguished the flames.

Series 6

"Could be a dark horse."

— Not all of Jonathan Pearce's predictions were correct

Reptirron on the flame pit with help from Terrorhurtz

Reptirron the Second did very little in its only battle of Series 6 against A-Kill, Sabretooth and Terrorhurtz. It had radio transmission problems from the start and struggled to move. When it finally got moving, Terrorhurtz got its axe stuck in the top of the body and dragged it over to the flame pit. Terrorhurtz held it there and Shunt attacked it with his axe.

"Reptirron the Second - bronze looking, but about to be blackened by the flames."

— Jonathan Pearce as Reptirron the Second is burned

It eventually escaped and drove over to the arena wall where it broke down completely and was counted out by Refbot, eliminating it.

"Gone in the heats again."

— Jonathan Pearce as Reptirron the Second is counted out by Refbot

Series 7

Jayne Middlemiss: "Tactics?"

Gordon Townley: "Yes."

Jayne Middlemiss: "Good, got some tactics. What are they?"

Gordon Townley: "Go after the spinner first, I think, that's going to be the most dangerous one."

— Before the first bout

Reptirron The Second pressures Aggrobot 3

Aggrobot gets underneath Reptirron The Second

Reptirron the Second performed better in this series than in the previous two, making it past the first round for the first and only time against Aggrobot, Zorro and Ripper. It was very aggressive and continuously flipped Aggrobot, only once getting stuck on top of it. It was a lot more active as well, and didn't appear to have any reliability issues. As Zorro had been flipped over by Ripper, the judges' decision was between Ripper, Reptirron the Second and Aggrobot. Reptirron the Second went through with Ripper to Round two.

"They have a job to flip people out of the arena because their flipper works the opposite way to what most people's do. So if we can get them in the right place I know we can get them out."

— Gordon Townley's ironic comments about Firestorm 5 before the second round.

Reptirron The Second is axed by Shunt

Firestorm chucks out Reptirron The Second

In Round two, its battle against number two seed Firestorm 5 didn't go nearly as well. Firestorm 5 flipped Reptirron the Second almost from the start and pushed it into Shunt's CPZ. It attempted to self-right, but the flipper wasn't powerful enough. Firestorm 5 then continuously flipped Reptirron the Second up against the arena wall until it was wedged at just the right angle for Firestorm 5 to flip it out of the arena.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 3

Series Record

Reptirron in the arena during Series 4

Main Series	Reptirron Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Failed to qualify
The Fourth Wars	Heat, Round 1
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Heat, Round 1 (Reptirron the Second)
The Seventh Wars	Heat, Round 2 (Reptirron the Second)
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Did not enter
Series 2	Entered with Argh!

Outside Robot Wars

Following the end of Robot Wars, Reptirron the Second continued make the odd appearance on the live event circuit and fought in a few battles during the Roaming Robots Winter Tour 2004. Shortly after, it was retired from combat due to chassis fatigue.

Trivia

Official Series 7 photo

• Reptirron is an anagram of Terrorpin, though the robots are unrelated.
• In all three of its appearances, Reptirron lost to Grand Finalists. In Series 4 and 6, both robots to beat Reptirron went on to reach the Grand Final. This only includes the robots that eliminated Reptirron. Milly-Ann Bug and A-Kill do not count despite also qualifying from melees where Reptirron lost, because they were not responsible for Reptirron's elimination.
• In each of Reptirron's appearances, it appeared in every seventh heat (Heat B of Series 4, Heat I of Series 6 and Heat P of Series 7).
• In Reptirron's Series 4 appearance, Stuart McDonald mispronounced its name as "Rep-tie-ron". Stefan Frank did the same as well.