- "The war zone. Bright? Welcoming? Or a treacherous pit of booby-traps? As we welcome all comers, brave or foolhardy to the awful fray! It's here where hopes tumble, dreams puncture and sparks fly. It's a hammer blow to the senses and a hurdy gurdy ride to the obsert. It's Robot Wars!"
- — Jonathan Pearce's introduction
Heat N of Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars was the fourteenth of sixteen heats which determined the Semi-Finalists of Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars. The episode featuring Heat N was originally broadcast on February 1, 2004 on Five.
- "Welcome to Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars. The biggest robot competition in the world. Because when robots want to rumble, there's only one place to come. We've got the flames. We've got the chainsaws. It's the ultimate test of robots who premises. We are Robot Wars! Tonight, Spawn Again are back, hoping for a place in the Series Semi-Finals!"
- — Craig Charles
Competing robots
Newcomers
Chip | ||
Weight | 97kg | |
Dimensions | 0.23 x 1.20 x 0.81m | |
Power | 750W electric motor | |
Weapons | Disc with 2 blades | |
Strengths | Destructive disc | |
Weaknesses | Untried design | |
From: Prestatyn, Wales | ||
Team Members: Rob Jones, Tom Ross & Gareth Jones |
NEATer Machine | ||
Weight | 96kg | |
Dimensions | 1.10 x 1.60 x 1.06m | |
Power | 2 x 550W electric motors | |
Weapons | Axe & lifter | |
Strengths | Strong armour and speed | |
Weaknesses | Exposed wheels | |
From: Sint Martensberg, The Netherlands | ||
Team Members: Arthur van Ulft, Albert Blomherd & Wouter van den Ende |
Veterans
Raging Knightmare | ||
Weight | 98kg | |
Dimensions | 0.25 x 0.96 x 0.83m | |
Power | 2 x 750W electric motors | |
Weapons | Flipper | |
Strengths | High powered weaponry | |
Weaknesses | Lightweight body armour | |
From: Coalville, Leicestershire | ||
Team Members: Nigel Paget, Lee Summers & Malcolm Summers |
Revenge of Trouble & Strife | ||
Weight | 93kg | |
Dimensions | 0.47 x 1.20 x 0.92m | |
Power | 200W electric motor | |
Weapons | CO2 flipper & disc | |
Strengths | Disc and flipper | |
Weaknesses | High ground clearance | |
From: Belbroughton, Worcestershire | ||
Team Members: Peter Forsey, Jake Forsey & Sam Forsey |
R.O.C.S. | ||
Weight | 100kg | |
Dimensions | 0.88 x 1.06 x 1.15m | |
Power | 300W electric motor | |
Weapons | Hydraulic crushing beak | |
Strengths | Powerful crusher | |
Weaknesses | Lack of armour | |
From: Darlington, County Durham | ||
Team Members: Colin Sievers, Karl Sievers & Jacqui Sievers |
Spawn Again (seeded 6th) | ||
Weight | 99kg | |
Dimensions | 0.90 x 1.02 x 0.70m | |
Power | 2 x 750W electric motors | |
Weapons | CO2 flipper | |
Strengths | Very strong chassis | |
Weaknesses | None hopefully | |
From: East Tilbury, Essex | ||
Team Members: Darren Hayden-Ball & Luke Jackman |
The Executioner | ||
Weight | 99kg | |
Dimensions | 0.50 x 0.94 x 0.70m | |
Power | 2 x 1500W electric motors | |
Weapons | Vertical spinning disc | |
Strengths | Disc and powerful motors | |
Weaknesses | Untried design | |
From: Hampton, Peterborough | ||
Team Members: Mark Nenadic, Ian Sanford & Tom Sanford |
Topbot | ||
Weight | 99kg | |
Dimensions | 0.27 x 1.15 x 0.93m | |
Power | 3 x 750W electric motors | |
Weapons | Spinning disc | |
Strengths | Runs both ways up | |
Weaknesses | Front heavy | |
From: Clondalkin, Dublin | ||
Team Members: Benny Karstel & Andrew Karstel |
Round 1
- "Craig watch out for the number six seeds Spawn Again in Fight 1 with Chip, NEATer Machine and Revenge of Trouble & Strife. Then it's Raging Knightmare, Topbot, The Executioner and R.O.C.S.."
- — Jonathan Pearce announces the robots in the heat and four way melees
Spawn Again (6) vs Chip vs NEATer Machine vs Revenge of Trouble & Strife
The battle opened up with NEATer Machine hunting down Revenge of Trouble & Strife, while the seeded Spawn Again seeked out Chip. NEATer Machine attempted to attack Revenge of Trouble 'n' Strife with its axe, but was off point with its timing. Revenge of Trouble & Strife still found itself in trouble despite the Dutch machine's failed attack, however, as it moved in too close to Mr. Psycho. The House Robot narrowly missed its target with his hammer, while Revenge of Trouble & Strife flailed around with its flipping arm in defence.
As Revenge of Trouble & Strife attempted to move away, it found itself pursued by NEATer Machine once more. The Dutch robot had company itself though, with Spawn Again temporarily threatening to flip it from behind. Spawn Again recalibrated, going after Chip again - with the spinner clipping NEATer Machine's front plow as it moved away. After NEATer Machine fired wildly with its axe once more, Spawn Again closed in on Chip. Spawn Again edged its opponent towards the arena wall, and then catapulted Chip out of the arena - with it crashing down onto an arena camera in the process.
- "Spawn Again dodges... and seems to think Chip is the weakest - Oh goodness me, yes it was! They've had their chips, they're out!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Chip is catapulted out of the arena
During Spawn Again's Out of the Arena flip, NEATer Machine was spinning around. Contact with the spinning body of Revenge of Trouble & Strife left NEATer Machine static, and the same weapon of Revenge and Trouble & Strife then ripped off NEATer Machine's axe point too. This left NEATer Machine immobile.
- "Where's NEATer Machine? In the arena centre and the Refbot's having a look and I think they're gonna be counted out. Which means Spawn Again could well be causing damage to Revenge of Trouble & Strife for later on in the contest cos I don't think those Dutch boys, Arthur van Ulft, Albert Blomherd, and Wouter van den Ende are gonna to be around much longer, do you? NEATer Machine counted out!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as NEATer Machine fails to get moving again
Both Spawn Again and Revenge of Trouble & Strife were safely through, but that didn't stop the former continuing to attack. Spawn Again started its rally against Revenge of Trouble & Strife by skittering it across the Flame Pit with a flip. Revenge of Trouble & Strife was unable to right itself, so Spawn Again lined up another attack - one which nearly saw Revenge of Trouble & Strife flipped out of the arena.
- "This is the power of Spawn Again's CO2 flipper out there."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Spawn Again launches another attack on Revenge of Trouble & Strife
After flicking itself away from the arena wall, Revenge of Trouble & Strife attempted to get its spinning weapon up to speed. Spawn Again continued its assault with ease though - slipping underneath Revenge of Trouble & Strife and hurling it across the arena floor once again. After NEATer Machine was finally counted out by Refbot, Spawn Again chucked Revenge of Trouble & Strife into the Pit release tyre. Despite competently self-righting on this occasion, Revenge of Trouble & Strife was flipped twice more in quick succession. While Dead Metal was slicing into the rear of the immobile NEATer Machine, the overturned Revenge of Trouble & Strife was left to rest next to the now-descended Pit of Oblivion.
- "NEATer Machine... didn't really get off the ground. Oof, ohh - now that's ruined everything! Can't get the Floor Flipper to flip it again now! Go on, nudge it out. What's happened - oh, now Dead Metal's got caught underneath! You're ruining my fun here!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the Floor Flipper fails to hurl NEATer Machine properly
In an attempt to carry out the coup de grâce on NEATer Machine, the House Robots positioned the beaten competitor onto the Floor Flipper. The resulting flip wasn't a clean one from the arena hazard, however, as NEATer Machine was chucked backwards, and got jammed underneath the Floor Flipper itself. In attempting to then prise NEATer Machine loose, Dead Metal got himself stuck too. In a more no-nonsense way of finishing the fight, Mr. Psycho decided to drive NEATer Machine towards the Pit. One hammer blow followed, before a pitting was carried out, and cease was called. Spawn Again and Revenge of Trouble & Strife progressed to Round 2.
- "What a battle. What a battle. Chip gets chopped, and it all goes messy for NEATer Machine. That means Spawn Again and Revenge of Trouble & Strife, they go marching on!"
- — Craig Charles
Qualified: Spawn Again & Revenge of Trouble & Strife
Topbot vs R.O.C.S. vs Raging Knightmare vs The Executioner
- "Intriguing mix of weaponry here. Spinning discs, lifters, thrusters, a crushing beak as well"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the fight begins
After a timid opening few seconds, Topbot engaged with the first attack of the fight, by clipping R.O.C.S.' back-right and back-left corners. The Irish machine then turned towards The Executioner. It drove up the front of The Executioner, with the latter's vertical spinner ripping away Topbot's weapon - sending it arcing around the arena floor before resting next to the Drop Zone. After wedging underneath The Executioner, Raging Knightmare decided to move into the distance to activate the Pit release button. Following its damage to Topbot, The Executioner set its sights on R.O.C.S.' rear end. It was unable to make contact with the crusher, but did send chips flying from its srimech after Raging Knightmare angled The Executioner's weapon further into R.O.C.S..
- "Topbot, basically trying to stay out of trouble, I think. Spinning, and turning, and driving - oh, hoh, hoh, hoo! You're not going to stay out of trouble like that!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Topbot tempts fate with the Pit
Meanwhile, the weaponless Topbot was trying to work its way back into the fight, but nearly eliminated itself - as it spun wildly, and then ran up and down the lip of the Pit. Topbot finally moved away from danger and rejoined the fray, as Raging Knightmare, R.O.C.S., and The Executioner remained in at close quarters with one another. The Executioner then drove itself up the front of R.O.C.S., but successfully backed away before R.O.C.S.' crushing beak came down, while Topbot was edged towards an unoccupied CPZ by Raging Knightmare.
- "...Topbot was in a CPZ. Psycho's lost his head! When all around you, are losing their head, you must keep yours in the arena. And Psycho's lost, what little brains he had..."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Mr. Psycho charged across the arena to put Topbot under pressure. With the competing machine struggling to move away, Mr. Psycho slammed his hammer down. Instead of damaging the Irish machine, however, Mr. Psycho only caused problems for himself - with his head falling off completely. Mr. Psycho continued his headless rampage on the other side of the arena, where The Executioner had curiously stopped moving. The House Robot brought his hammer down on The Executioner - which was subsequently counted out by Refbot. In the closing seconds, The Executioner was picked up by Mr. Psycho and then dropped into the Pit, while Raging Knightmare finished with a strong drive on Topbot. Cease was called and the judges went for R.O.C.S. and Raging Knightmare.
Qualified: R.O.C.S. & Raging Knightmare
Round 2
- "There we have confirmation that Raging Knightmare and R.O.C.S. are through to Round 2 and this is the way they line-up they're in. R.O.C.S. will fight Spawn Again. Raging Knightmare meet Revenge of Trouble & Strife."
- — Jonathan Pearce reviews how the second round lines up
R.O.C.S. vs Spawn Again (6)
The fight started with the two machines driving head on to each other. Spawn Again moved to the side of R.O.C.S.' pointed wedge, and flipped R.O.C.S. clean onto its back. R.O.C.S. stretched its self-righting arms in an attempt to get back onto its wheels, but was only able to get moving again following a second flip from Spawn Again. The seeded machine then flipped R.O.C.S. once more, and readied itself underneath R.O.C.S. for when it righted itself.
- "Spawn Again, has only ever been beaten by good machines in the past like Panic Attack - like Razer. And is on top here."
- — Jonathan Pearce
This allowed Spawn Again to flip R.O.C.S. towards the arena wall - which is where the Sievers' machine remained after another attack from Spawn Again. After another self-righting act from R.O.C.S., Spawn Again was able to line up a front-on flip which very nearly lifted R.O.C.S. out of the arena. R.O.C.S. was able to survive though, and an erroneous next flip from Spawn Again allowed R.O.C.S. to cleanly self right and move away.
- "R.O.C.S.? There'll be pebbles left at the end of this."
- — Jonathan Pearce as R.O.C.S. struggles with Spawn Again's early pressure
R.O.C.S. used this as a chance to get in behind Spawn Again. The two competing machines then had to then feel the force of a ram from Sir Killalot - with the House Robot then carrying the duo out of the CPZ. During this period, R.O.C.S. had managed to clamp down on Spawn Again from behind, which allowed it to reverse the seeded machine across the arena and towards the Pit release button.
- "R.O.C.S. has the seeds in some sort of grapple. Now they're dragging Spawn Again away. And this whole battle has turned."
- — Jonathan Pearce as R.O.C.S. threatens a major upset
However, R.O.C.S. lost its grip on Spawn Again just before pressing the arena tyre. A shaken Spawn Again then slowly edged its way into space, while R.O.C.S.' left self-righting beam was now visibly bent against its own crushing beak. Spawn Again responded from its scare by turning R.O.C.S. over again, and on this occasion it was unable to right itself.
- "Oh that is a shame, but what a terrific fight that was. Two worthy machines."
- — Jonathan Pearce as the countdown begins for R.O.C.S.
After being counted out by Refbot, R.O.C.S. was then plucked by Sir Killalot's lance. The House Robot twisted R.O.C.S. around, and a hydraulic-fluid leak from the beaten machine was visible. R.O.C.S. then had a washing machine dropped onto it by the Drop Zone, before finally being pitted by Sir Killalot.
- "R.O.C.S. gets totally crushed. Totally annihilated. Spawn Again the sixth seed, they go through!"
- — Craig Charles
Winner: Spawn Again
Raging Knightmare vs Revenge of Trouble & Strife
- "So we have one heat finalist. Spawn Again. They'll meet either Revenge of Trouble & Strife or Raging Knightmare."
- — Craig Charles
In the opening moments, Revenge of Trouble & Strife tried to keep away from its opponent to get up to full spinning speed, but Raging Knightmare was able to get underneath and flipped it. Revenge of Trouble & Strife dropped back onto its wheels through a follow-through use of its own flipper arm, and put that same weapon into offensive use seconds later but flicking Raging Knightmare over. Raging Knightmare also proved it was capable of self righting, and attempted another expansive flip, but Revenge of Trouble & Strife landed on its wheels again.
- "This is all music to the ears of Revenge of Trouble & Strife."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Raging Knightmare is turned over again
Revenge of Trouble & Strife continued the exchange of attacks by turning Raging Knightmare over once again, and then managed to deflect Raging Knightmare aside twice in quick succession with its spinning body. Raging Knightmare then mistimed three flips in a row, before another unclean flip failed to turn Revenge of Trouble & Strife over. Despite clipping Raging Knightmare with its spinner once more, Revenge of Trouble & Strife then crept dangerously close to Sir Killalot.
- "They bash... they have respect."
- — Jonathan Pearce as both machines exchange attacks
Thankfully for the Forsey family, its body spinner helped it out once more - by knocking Raging Knightmare aside as the latter attempted another flip. Two more failed attacks saw Raging Knightmare resort to pushing the Pit release button. Finally, after activating the arena tyre, Raging Knightmare was able to slide underneath the centre of Revenge of Trouble & Strife. This allowed Team Knightmare to turn Revenge of Trouble & Strife over - which was left unable to self-right because its CO2 supply was escaping out of one of the vents.
- "I don't know whether Dad, Peter, and the boys can get it moving - I don't think they can, can they? Not by the look of that. That is CO2 venting away! It means there has been a rupture in the CO2 system."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Revenge of Trouble & Strife is immobilised
Raging Knightmare quickly took advantage of the situation, as it edged Revenge of Trouble & Strife towards the Pit of Oblivion, being toppling it down into the Pit with a flip.
Winner: Raging Knightmare
Final
- "So they've got just one more fight to prove their metal might. Prepare for the heat final!"
- — Craig Charles
Spawn Again (6) vs Raging Knightmare
In this battle, Spawn Again had a different flipper blade. The two machines immediately met head on. Raging Knightmare's pointed front slipped underneath Spawn Again as the latter skidded towards Raging Knightmare - with a flip from the unseeded machine following. Spawn Again athletically self righted, but once again drove up the front of Raging Knightmare. The speed of Spawn Again's drive saw Raging Knightmare turn itself over though as it attempted another flip. With the rear-end of Raging Knightmare now overturned and exposed, Spawn Again attempted to take advantage. Spawn Again's flip was ultimately unclean, and to make matters worse, Spawn Again's pneumatic system suddenly exploded as it dropped back down onto the arena floor.
- "OH, What was that?! I think that was their pneumatic system exploding!!!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Spawn Again's hopes are dashed
After having a cloud of CO2 dropped on its face, Raging Knightmare self-righted. Now without a weapon, Spawn Again ran away and decided to opt for the Pit release. Unfortunately for Spawn Again its troubles were worsened, as the seeded machine missed the arena tyre and speared its broken flipper ram underneath the arena wall. With Spawn Again now trapped, Raging Knightmare was able to line up its attacks with ease. After lifting Spawn Again into the air with one flip, Raging Knightmare then completely turned Spawn Again over.
- "Well, you can be on top one moment and then gone. Completely gone."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Spawn Again was unable to right itself after the failure of its pneumatic system, so Raging Knightmare took its time to press Spawn Again up against the arena wall, as it prepared its next flip. Raging Knightmare then hoisted Spawn Again onto the top arena wall where it balanced precariously, before a final flick from Raging Knightmare dropped it out of the arena.
- "Spawn Again: a crippled machine out there, I'm afraid. And Raging Knightmare in no sympathetic mood! Spawn Again! Now you can't sit there all day... that's better - down you go, out! Raging Knightmare the winners, and a grimace and a groan for Spawn Again. They've experienced heat failure before. They've never experienced mechanical failure like that before. That was dramatic. And Raging Knightmare are the heat winners!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Team Scutterbots suffer their first and only Heat defeat in Robot Wars history
Heat Winner: Raging Knightmare
- "Of all the surprises, and all the uproars, Spawn Again had a (K)nightmare, on Robot Wars!"
- — Craig Charles' sign-off
Special Event
Between Round 1 and Round 2 of each heat (except Heat I), a 'Special Event' was shown. For Heat N, it was a World Championship Qualifier between Terror Turtle of Canada and Snake Bite of Switzerland.
Winner: Snake Bite
Trivia
- The heat final signified numerous events.
- Foremost, it was a grudge match between Team Knightmare and Team Scutterbots, from Heat L of the Fourth Wars, where Spawn of Scutter defeated Knightmare in the heat final. Raging Knightmare achieved vengeance by hurling Spawn Again out of the arena.
- Team Knightmare became the only team to have two machines flip opponents out of the arena.
- This was the only time Team Scutterbots failed to reach the Semi-Finals.
- It was the final appearance of Team Scutterbots.
- Raging Knightmare's battle against Revenge of Trouble & Strife was a rematch from the Extreme 2 Annihilator meaning Team Knightmare's head to head battles in this heat were rematches.
- Heat N is particularly memorable because Mr. Psycho's head fell off during the second first round melee.
- NEAT Machine became one of only two international machines to fight in Series 7 and in a series earlier than Extreme 2 (the other being Ansgar).
- NEATer Machine and Chip were newcomers to the main competition, but had both been around for significantly longer - NEATer Machine (originally as NEAT Machine) fought in The Second World Championship and both series of Dutch Robot Wars, whilst Chip had fought in the New Blood Championship and had attempted to qualify for a number of series prior.
- Contrarily, whilst coming from veterans teams, Topbot and The Executioner were completely new machines.
- Jackie Sievers was referred to as Jacqui Sievers on R.O.C.S.' statistics board.
- This was the last heat where a seeded robot lost in the heat final.
- As with Heat K of the Sixth Wars, Team Monad and Team Forsey were in the same heat with both robots losing in the heat.
- This was the only ever time that R.O.C.S. won a battle. In addition, this was also its final appearance.
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