Shove

Shove
Shove in The Pits (Series 7, static display)
Participation Information
UK Series	1-3 (all events)
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Static Scoop/Shovel and bladed axe (not used for combat)

Shove was a largely-unseen House Robot which was built and exclusively used by the Robot Wars production crew. Built prior to Series 1 along with the original four House Robots, Shove was utilitarian by comparison, and was never seen nor mentioned in any versions of the series. It was instead used to help defeated and damaged competitors back to the arena entrances if they could not drive out themselves.

Shove was used in the first three series of the show, including auditions, as well as side competitions in Series 2 and Series 3. It was replaced by Refbot from Series 4 onwards, as its functionality was thought to be largely made redundant. By Series 5, Shove's behind-the-scenes roles were largely taken over by the more powerful Dozer, with regular House Robot Shunt also sharing these during the 2001 Live Event tour.

Design

Shove was a large, four-wheel drive robot built by Derek Foxwell, with a box-shaped chassis and a tall body resembling that of a large bulldozer, similar to that of Shunt. The top part of its body featured dark-blue-painted panels resembling front and side windows, and the robot was equipped with a large front scoop which was used to push competitors through the entrance gates at the end of each battle. It also sported a rear-mounted axe to drag robots in instances where it was easier to pull robots across the arena rather than pushing them, e.g. if a robot was immobile in a CPZ. By necessity, Shove was considerably bigger and heavier than the four original House Robots, being quoted as three times larger than Shunt. Its exact specifications are currently unknown, but it was designed to be capable of pushing 200kg, double the standard heavyweight limit from the first series of Robot Wars Extreme until Series 7.

Like the other House Robots, Shove was modified over the course of the original show's run to adapt to the gradually-improving quality of the series' competitors. Most of these upgrades were applied when the weight limit was increased from 80kg to 100kg, with a reinforced chassis and wheelguards incorporating protective mesh being added in order to make it more durable when pushing heavier competitors around.

Original concept art for Shove, also seen in the Robot Wars File

According to the Robot Wars File Funfax guide, Shove was the inspiration behind Shunt. Both robots are largely similar in concept and design, with bodies resembling earthmovers or railway locomotives as well as large scoops as their weapons. The finalised Shove differs from the concept drawing in only having four-wheel drive and one static scoop, instead of eight-wheel drive along with the scoop and bulldozing plough which Shunt would ultimately adopt.

Shove's original design concept featured in the Robot Wars File along with other original concept sketches for the House Robots; such as 'Evildoer', an early prototype for what would become Matilda. It also appeared on the official Mentorn website, which referred to the sketch as The Keeper. Of these initial concept sketches, Shove appears to be the only one that was finalised and constructed as intended.

Trivia

Shove (centre-left) present in the background during Killerkat's interview in Series 7, Heat B

• As it was placed in The Pits as a static display in Series 7, Shove appears in the background of multiple interviews shown throughout this series.
• With Refbot, Dozer and Shunt all taking over its initial role of pushing damaged robots out of the arena in later series, Shove is the only House Robot to have been replaced.
• Prior to the introduction of Dozer and Growler, Shove was the only House Robot to feature a four-wheel drive system, as opposed to a two-wheeled or tracked system.