 All battle/event/episode write-ups must be written in the past tense.
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- "Watch it's shape, or it'll reshape you!"
- — Shapeshifter website[1]
Shapeshifter was a robot which competed in both series of Dutch Robot Wars. The robot's name was derived from its ever-changing appearance throughout Series 1, which also saw the team change outfits before each match. Shapeshifter lost all three of its battles.
Versions of Shapeshifter[]
Fittingly for its name, two distinctively different incarnations of Shapeshifter took part in each series:
Shapeshifter (Series 1)[]
- "Hello, we are Team Shapeshifter. Hailing from the Technical School for Automotive Technology... Our robot is a very fast and bloodthirsty machine. Equipped with a rotating disc spinning at 1200 RPM. We are Shapeshifter. [in English] You never know what to expect."
- — Maarten van de Burgt in Dutch Series 1 (Mech+ subtitles, adjusted)
Rear view of Shapeshifter in its original Dutch Series 1 form
Shapeshifter as it appeared in the Losers' Melee
The Dutch Series 1 version was an invertible, two-wheel drive robot with a decagonal (ten-sided) chassis and a sloping bi-wedge like top profile. It was armed with two weapons on either end - a small front spinning disc rotating at up to 1,200rpm, and a long static spear at the back.
Shapeshifter's components took up a substantial amount of its weight allowance. As a result, it was armoured in balsa wood, a lightweight, but highly fragile material which could be easily cut or broken off in pieces. The latter issue contributed to the robot being thoroughly destroyed in both of its Dutch Series 1 battles; indeed, a large gash could be seen on Shapeshifter's right-hand side in its debut fight. Two sets of armour panels were used; one featuring yellow and black stripes resembling a bee or wasp (Round 1), and another with an all-blue paint scheme (Losers' Melee).
Shapeshifter (Series 2)[]
Side view of the Dutch Series 2 Shapeshifter
For Dutch Robot Wars: Series 2, the team entered a completely new design, a big red truck with a pneumatic scoop. It had a pair of eyes, a smile with a tongue sticking out and a pair of hands painted on the side of the bot. Officially it was still called Shapeshifter, but it was sometimes referred to as Dozer. The makers of Project One donated some of their robot's parts to this version of Shapeshifter, but it did not fare any better than its predecessor, falling again in the first round. It was driven by a large rear tyre alongside two front wheels.
Etymology[]
Shapeshifter received its name from the robot and the team themselves being subject to change, even during battles. An example of the latter condition was met in its Round 1 match, where the team took off their blue, red and white-striped jackets to reveal striped yellow and black jerseys matching its armour panels. The jerseys, along with toy pistols carried by the team members, made this guise a possible homage to The Daltons, the outlaws and main antagonists from the Lucky Luke comic series.
The Team[]
Team Shapeshifter was made up of a group of third year students, captained by Maarten van de Burgt alongside Richard Kinders and for its first series only, Griffin Stuip. The team represented TSO Techniek B.V. in Leeuwarden and built the first version of Shapeshifter as part of their course. To reflect the robot's name, the team would change their outfits for each of their matches, one of them being the striped Dalton-inspired jerseys seen in their debut battle.
Robot History[]
Dutch Series 1[]
- Bridget Maasland: "So Pathetica has some weird quirks sometimes."
- Team Shapeshifter: "Yes, Pathetica, it does sometimes"
- Bridget Maasland: "Are you scared?"
- Team Shapeshifter: "Of course not. We are gonna be in first place today. We’re steady guys."
- Bridget Maasland: "Steady guys, steady guys, At some point this afternoon it didn’t do anything at all!"
- Team Shapeshifter: "That wasn’t our fault, that was the computer!"
- Bridget Maasland: "The computer? Did you manage to fix it completely?"
- Team Shapeshifter: "Well the computer is completely out."
- Bridget Maasland: "But then, doesn’t it do nothing at all now?"
- Team Shapeshifter: "We’ve switched to a mechanical system now."
- Bridget Maasland: "So why didn’t you do that in the first place?"
- Team Shapeshifter: "Because computers are more curated generally, and you try to try things out! You get more study credits for it, it has to seem interesting to the teacher!"
- Bridget Maasland: "Oh, so you’re like, swatting two flies in one swing with this project?"
- Team Shapeshifter: "We’re getting two credits for this project!"
- — The team reveal their experimental methods implemented to earn more study credits (translated from Dutch)
Shapeshifter debuted in Heat E of Series 1, where it fought Pathetica in the opening fight of the episode. Before the battle, Shapeshifter had to swap out its planned electronics for a more conventional mechanical-based system.
- "Two credits for this project? But what the teacher probably didn’t add was that they’re immediately getting kicked out of school if they lose!"
- — Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)
Pathetica axes the immobile Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter took blows from Pathetica's axe, and its armour began to chip away. It went for the pit release, and stalled out. It was immediately left immobile by the pit release and was soon counted out by Refbot, while the Shapeshifter team comically pointed a gun at their robot from within the drivers' booth and pretended to fire at it.
- "Luckily the glass there is bulletproof!"
- — Eric Corton while the Shapeshifter team pretend to shoot their robot (translated from Dutch)
Shapeshifter splinters while being tossed by the Floor Flipper
After being counted out, Shapeshifter was picked up by Sir Killalot, whose claws left a yawning gash in its armour. It was thrown by the floor flipper, and the impact of hitting the floor destroyed its top panel. Sir Killalot picked up Shapeshifter and tried to put it in the pit, but Shapeshifter's length prevented it from going down fully. Regardless, it was still sent into the losers' melee after a quick defeat against Pathetica.
- "Shapeshifter got completely abolished, I wonder if they can still patch it up, maybe into a coffee grinder?"
- — Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)
In the losers' melee, it went up against MaxiMill and NEAT Machine, sporting a new set of blue armour.
NEAT Machine pushes the immobile Shapeshifter
The remains of Shapeshifter, immediately following Matilda's second attack
Shapeshifter did not even move during this battle, and was simply pushed towards an angle grinder by NEAT Machine. Refbot counted it out as early as possible, and after NEAT Machine axed the top of the wooden robot, Matilda annihilated its chassis, throwing wood everywhere, while NEAT Machine qualified on a Judges' decision over MaxiMill.
Dutch Series 2[]
Shapeshifter is flipped over almost immediately
Shapeshifter is attacked by Sir Killalot
Shapeshifter is consigned to the pit
In the second Dutch series, the new Shapeshifter machine was placed up against an experienced team in Philipper 2. In the battle, Shapeshifter slowly lurched forward, and then stopped. This provided Philipper 2 with the ample opportunity to come in and flip Shapeshifter over. Shapeshifter was subsequently counted out, and eliminated from the competition. After being counted out, Shapeshifter was thrown by the arena floor flipper, and once again pushed into the pit before cease was finally called.
Results[]
| SHAPESHIFTER - RESULTS | ||
| Series 1 | ||
| Dutch Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat E, Round 1 | vs. Pathetica | Lost |
| Heat E, Losers Melee | vs. MaxiMill, NEAT Machine | Lost |
| Series 2 | ||
| Dutch Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat B, Round 1 | vs. Philipper 2 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
The insides of Shapeshifter
| Dutch Series | Shapeshifter Series Record |
|---|---|
| Series 1 | Heat, Round 1 |
| Series 2 | Heat, Round 1 |
Trivia[]
- Shapeshifter was built as part of an educational project, which the team ensured would be worth two credits by combining the mechanical aspect of building alongside additional electronic components which had to be replaced with a mechanical system before Shapeshifter's first fight.
- Shapeshifter was knocked out of both series by a machine which competed in The Second World Championship.
References[]
External Links[]
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