Robot Wars: The Second Wars/Heat J

Heat J
The Robot Wars Logo from the introduction titles
Series	The Second Wars
Winner(s)	G.B.H.
Trial	Tug of War
First Broadcast	January 22nd 1999
Original channel	BBC Two
TV Ratings	5.66 million
Preceded by	Heat I
Succeeded by	Heat K

"Medieval Japanese warriors, known as the Samurai, lived by a simple code of honour. The Bushido, or ‘Way Of The Warrior’, encouraged one-on-one combat, where mental preparation and fighting with honour were just as important as the fight itself. Unfortunately, mental preparation and fighting with honour make for very poor television; that’s why we at Robot Wars encourage the code of ‘get in there and bash each other any which way you can’. And it’s only contestants who honour this code will be finding themselves in our Series Semi-Finals."

— Craig Charles' introduction

Heat J of Robot Wars: The Second Wars was the tenth of twelve heats which determined the Semi-Finalists of Robot Wars: The Second Wars. The episode featuring Heat J was originally broadcast on January 22, 1999 on BBC Two. The broadcast managed to attract 5.66 million viewers, an increase of 80,000 viewers when compared with the previous episode. According to BARB, this meant it ranked second in the top thirty highest rated BBC 2 broadcasts during 18-24 January, behind only Gimme Gimme Gimme.

Competing Robots

Newcomers

	Broot
	Weight	80.2kg
	Dimensions	1.2 x 0.64 x 0.42m
	Speed	6mph
	Turning Circle	0m
	Ground Clearance	60mm
	Power	2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons	Spring loaded rod (300kg)
	Notes	Speed controller from a British Legion wheelchair. Cost £140 to build
From: Southampton
Team Members: Ben Symons, Katy Symons & Mark Symons

	Ivanhoe
	Weight	79.5kg
	Dimensions	1.05 x 0.7 x 0.65m
	Speed	6mph
	Turning Circle	0m
	Ground Clearance	25mm
	Power	2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons	Lance and axe
	Notes	Axe chopping rate at one per second. Batteries & motors from wheelchair
From: Norwich
Team Members: Craig Weightman & Stuart Weightman

	Kill Dozer
	Weight	79.1kg
	Dimensions	1.5 x 0.73 x 0.3m
	Speed	5mph
	Turning Circle	0.1m
	Ground Clearance	10mm
	Power	2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons	2000PSI hydraulic lifting blades
	Notes	Pivots around rear axle. A carbon fibre and aluminium shell
From: Southampton
Team Members: Paul Hart, Steve Scotcher & Howard Andrews

	Penetrator
	Weight	74.7kg
	Dimensions	1.25 x 0.7 x 0.38m
	Speed	6mph
	Turning Circle	0m
	Ground Clearance	5mm
	Power	6 x 6V batteries
	Weapons	Spikes and cutting disc
	Notes	Took 4 months to build at a cost of £400. Motors from a kid's go-kart
From: Halifax
Team Members: Andrew Kettle & Stephen Lister

	Talos
	Weight	75.2kg
	Dimensions	1.15 x 0.68 x 0.36m
	Speed	5mph
	Turning Circle	0m
	Ground Clearance	40mm
	Power	2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons	2 x Fixed steel spikes/lance
	Notes	Cost over £500 and took 3 months to build. Home made speed controllers
From: Oldham
Team Members: Ian Wilkinson, James Hibbert & Mike Luke

Veterans

	G.B.H.
	Weight	79.3kg
	Dimensions	1.31 x 0.7 x 0.45m
	Speed	5mph
	Turning Circle	0m
	Ground Clearance	25mm
	Power	2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons	Lifting ramp and rear 7" circular saws
	Notes	Fought in the First Wars with Scrapper
From: London
Team Members: Mike Rickard, Mike Smith & Charles Lavery

Gauntlet

Left Route	Centre Route	Right Route
Barrels, two pits and Matilda.	Breezeblocks, See-saw, Spikes and Shunt.	Ramrig, flame pit, and Dead Metal

Talos

Talos helps Dead Metal fall into the pit

Talos drove out of the blocks and immediately turned towards the left route, easily pushing past the barrels. However, as it crossed them, the floor spike started lifting Talos up repeatedly. Talos bounced about, unable to go further and was slammed into by Matilda, the House Robot acting as a barrier when Talos tried to reverse past her. Matilda drove forwards, but just spun Talos into the barrels at its side to go past.

"Oh tusk, tusk Matilda, you've let Talos get away, but only into the barrels"

— Jonathan Pearce

Talos passed Matilda and Dead Metal, but was blocked on the wall by Shunt. Dead Metal tried to grab onto Talos, but was unable to do so, so reverse a bit too past and fell into the pit with a bit of help from Talos as the competitor had turned to drive at Dead Metal. However, Talos got a wheel caught over the pit and couldn't reverse away quick enough, leaving Shunt to rain down axe blows and Matilda to slice into the armour of Talos with her chainsaw as cease was called, leaving Talos severely dented at the top.

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe breaks through the Breezeblock wall

Ivanhoe positively moved down the central route, breaking through the breezeblock wall at one side. This caused issues when it tried to climb the ramp at an angle, as it got beached on the base with the wheels spinning in mid-air. Ivanhoe fruitlessly fired its axe in the hope that would dislodge it. Matilda came in from behind and shoved Ivanhoe, beaching it further initially, but another shove made Ivanhoe fall off the ramp completely and was able to drive again. Ivanhoe drove into a wall and had to reverse away, where Shunt was waiting. A little lift of the scoop followed, but Ivanhoe escaped. Ivanhoe was lifted by the arena spike agonisingly close to the end zone, but was able to pass when it dropped to complete the course.

Broot

Matilda cuts into Broot's wheels

Broot edged forwards to the central route where it drove into the Breezeblocks, but not through. Broot reversed and tried again to push through the bricks it had dislodged, but to no avail. Matilda arrived and pushed Broot, but that wasn't enough to get through the blocks either. Broot turned and tried to retreat down a different route, but Matilda had fired up her chainsaw and sliced straight into the wooden wheels of Broot. Broot were pinned by a wall, allowing Matilda to repeatedly slice into the chassis as time started running out and Broot managed to wriggle to the ramrigs before Cease.

Craig Charles: "What happened there then?"

Ben Symons: "Thos ebrocks are really hard because when you break through them they get stuck"

— The Broot team describe their issues with the breezeblock wall

Penetrator

Penetrator climbs the ramp

Penetrator moved towards the Breezeblock wall, but was unable to slam its way through it. It reversed to have another go and got through, edging onto the ramp. It reversed to have a run-up onto the ramp and through two trailing bricks it had pushed on, and after another reverse-and-go-forwards manoeuvrer, it managed to climb the ramp and descend the other side, straight into the waiting Shunt. Penetrator was unable to pass Shunt, so turned to go around, but was gripped and pushed back under the ramp by Dead Metal. Dead Metal cut into Penetrator's top armour before pushing it back a considerable amount just before Cease.

Kill Dozer

Kill Dozer gets stuck on the ramp

Kill Dozer was initially stalled by the floor spikes as it went for the central route. Kill Dozer used its scoops to slide under the brick wall and push through. Some block rested on the ramp, slowing Kill Dozer down as the angle changed, making it tough for the long and low robot to transition onto the ramp. Kill Dozer, now carrying a brick, struggled to get up the ramp and after a push by Matilda it got some wheels caught on the edge and stayed put as Matilda revved up her chainsaw.

G.B.H.

G.B.H. pushes Dead Metal over the line

G.B.H. used its scoop to batter its way through the breezeblock wall, before firing the scoop to avoid it getting caught on the ramp. G.B.H. crossed the ramp, while carrying a brick, and was spun around by the waiting Shunt. G.B.H. was trapped under the ramp and held in place as Dead Metal cut into the top of the robot. G.B.H. was gripped in Dead Metal's pincers, but a good few consecutive drive attempts pushed Dead Metal back, and G.B.H. - now sporting some damage on the flipper - just crossed the line to complete the Gauntlet.

Results

Rank	Robot	Distance
1	G.B.H.	Completed
2	Ivanhoe	Completed
3	Talos	6.5m
4	Kill Dozer	5.8m
5	Penetrator	5.2m
6	Broot	3.0m

Trial (Tug of War)

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe resists Matilda's pulling

Matilda pulled first, dragging Ivanhoe back a bit, but the competitor dug in and stopped, turning the tide and started pulling Matilda. The two robots started to rock to-and-fro, exchanging times being the ones pulling. Matilda managed to get to her descending ramp, but was yanked back up almost instantly as the chain went slack. Matilda used this chance to gain momentum and dragged Ivanhoe closer to the pit, but Matilda was at the ramp and pulled the frantically resisting Ivanhoe down.

G.B.H.

G.B.H. just before tumbling into the pit

"The G.B.H. boys tell us they've got a secret weapon."

— Jonathan Pearce, just before the reveal of G.B.H.'s added spikes

Matilda pulled first, but G.B.H. stayed put as the two spikes on the front of their robot dug into the wooden floor. Matilda, realising that G.B.H. was going nowhere, reversed to get momentum to pull, but G.B.H. used that time to reverse itself and get further from the pit, before staying put when Matilda pulled as the spikes worked their magic for a second time. Matilda reversed again, getting close to the pit and yanked again at G.B.H., who was dragged forwards. One of the spikes had been bent in this latest pull, meaning it wasn't as effective, so when Matilda had another attempt to pull, G.B.H. was defenseless and slowly edged along before falling in the pit.

Penetrator

Penetrator falls in the pit

Penetrator showed little resistance to Matilda, as only a couple of tugs showed that Penetrator was unable to respond. Matilda tentatively pulled at Penetrator as it moved along the ramp and fell into the pit.

Talos

Talos, just before being pulled into the pit

Matilda got the jump on Talos, moving the robot backwards, but Talos dug in and responded, halting Matilda's progress. Talos pulled back at Matilda as she was on the transition to the down ramp, but Matilda finally managed to string together a monumental pull, dragging Talos down into the pit.

Kill Dozer

Kill Dozer's scoops pressed into the ground to prevent Matilda pulling it

Kill Dozer had attached the chain to their front scoop, meaning that in the opening seconds, as Matilda pulled on the chain, the spiked scoop just dug into the ground, thus stopping Kill Dozer from moving. Matilda tried to reverse to get momentum on a pull, but Kill Dozer used that opportunity to move backwards and pinned itself at the transition tot he down ramp. Kill Dozer resisted the pulls of Matilda repeatedly and survived the full 30 seconds.

Craig Charles: "I thought you were going to get her [Matilda] into the pit at one stage."

Steve Scotcher: "Unfortunately we can't because the rear wheels are off the ground because of the slope"

— The Kill Dozer team reflect on their dominant performance.

Results

Rank	Robot	Distance
1	Kill Dozer	Survived
2	Ivanhoe	22.35s
3	Talos	21.47s
4	G.B.H.	20.03s
5	Penetrator	9.75s

Arena

Semi-Finals

Ivanhoe vs Kill Dozer

Kill Dozer lifts Ivanhoe

Kill Dozer is roasted over the flames

The two robots edged towards each other, sliding around the sides as they met in the middle of the arena. Kill Dozer was the quicker to turn and get their weapon pointed at an opponent, as it tried to get the scoop under Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe escaped that predicament through and turned further, trying to hit Kill Dozer with the axe. It missed. The two kept turning towards each other, with Ivanhoe driving up Kill Dozer's front scoop. Kill Dozer lifted Ivanhoe up, but could do no more with it, so had to drop Ivanhoe.

Ivanhoe, now knowing it wasn't going to be flipped or pushed by Kill Dozer, went aggressive and started firing its axe repeatedly near Kill Dozer. The two robots fought close to the PPZ, and Ivanhoe managed to force Kill Dozer in first, holding it on a firing arena spike. Ivanhoe also ended up trapped in the PPZ, but Shunt and Dead Metal's attention was focused on Kill Dozer. Dead Metal pressured Ivanhoe temporarily, but Sir Killalot had arrived by now and picked Kill Dozer up. Kill Dozer was held over the flame pit by Sir Killalot before being dumped in the pit.

"Burn baby burn, dozer inferno!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Sir Killalot roasts Kill Dozer over the flame pit.

Winner: Ivanhoe

Talos vs G.B.H.

Talos bashes into G.B.H.

Talos is flipped

Talos, now sporting war paint and a new front spike, moved to the centre of the arena and spun on the spot. G.B.H. edged in, stopping Talos turning and repositioned itself to get under the side of Talos. G.B.H. fired its scoop, holding Talos in the air, but it wasn't able to get it over, so dropped it. Talos stuck around and reversed at G.B.H., but reversed onto the scoop, where G.B.H. lifted it up and over. Talos, flipped, was defeated at this point.

"We didn't think we were going to get it to work, but with the help from some other guys in there (the pits), it worked, and we were really glad to see it flip something"

— The G.B.H. Team

Winner: G.B.H.

Final

G.B.H. vs Ivanhoe

GBH flips Ivanhoe over

G.B.H. shoves Ivanhoe down the pit

Both robots tentatively moved towards each other, with G.B.H. trying to get its scoop into action. Ivanhoe pushed the scoop away as they turned in a circle, so G.B.H. reversed to get a chance to realign itself. As it did so, Ivanhoe turned and presented its side to G.B.H., allowing the scoop to slide under. G.B.H. flipped Ivanhoe, raising it up on the scoop, where G.B.H. pushed Ivanhoe over onto its side. With nowhere near enough momentum, Ivanhoe was forced to sit there, rather than roll completely over to prove its rollover self-righting design. After the fight was called, G.B.H. pushed Ivanhoe into the pit.

"G.B.H.- grand, brave, honourable winners surely!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Winner: G.B.H.

"Freddy Kreuger may have his claws, but even he's a fan, of Robot Wars!"

— Craig Charles' sign-off

Trivia

• Incidentally, both of G.B.H.'s battles lasted 22 seconds.
• This heat featured the first robot to mention a rollover design of srimech, Ivanhoe. However, it failed to work in the Heat Final.