Shove was a largely-unseen House Robot which was built and exclusively used by the Robot Wars production crew. Built in Series 1 along with the other original House Robots, it was never seen or mentioned in any versions of the original series, but was used to push defeated and/or damaged competitors back to the arena entrances if they could not drive out themselves. As a result, it was the only House Robot not to appear on television.
Shove was used in Series 1-3, and was also used for auditions/qualifiers and side competitions in Series 2 and 3. It was replaced by Refbot from Series 4 onwards, but continued to be used for qualifiers and live events, as it was easier to transport than Refbot. By Series 6 Shove was replaced by the more powerful Dozer.
Design[]
- "We drove Constrictor smoothly back to the bullpen, the others had to be swept out the arena by a huge bot built by Derek Foxwell that looked a bit like shunt but 3 times bigger."
- — Constrictor website on the Series 7 qualifiers, with a reference to Shove
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 shovel/scoop which was used to push competitors through the entrance gates at the end of each battle. 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 between Extreme 1/Series 5 and 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 Fun Fax
According to the Robot Wars Fun Fax, 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 Fun Fax 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.[1] Of these initial concept sketches, Shove appears to be the only one that was finalised and constructed as intended.
Trivia[]
- Shove was the only House Robot to never be seen on the televised show.
- With Refbot taking over its initial role of pushing damaged robots out of the arena in Series 4, Shove is the only House Robot to have been replaced so far.
- Prior to Growler's introduction, Shove was the only House Robot to feature a four-wheel drive system, as opposed to a two-wheeled or tracked system.
References[]
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