- "Weaponry here - rotating, piercing, painful, nasty."
- — Philippa Forrester
Shrapnel was a robot that competed in the third series of Robot Wars. It boasted a very low ground clearance and a very high weight, but neither of these could prevent its easy disposal down the Pit by its first and only opponent, The Big Cheese.
Design[]
Shrapnel in the arena
Shrapnel was a large, silver box-shaped robot and featured an angled steel chassis and a modified lawnmower blade, which was altered into a staggered cutting 'drum' Shrapnel ran on two-wheel drive, with four caster wheels in all corners. The robot had no self-righting mechanism and was also very slow at 4mph, though its large shape provided relatively strong defence for its time. A small mascot adorned the robot inside the arena.
Robot History[]
Series 3[]
In Shrapnel's only battle, its adversary was The Big Cheese, the successor to The Mule in the first round of Heat E.
Shrapnel is lifted up by The Big Cheese
Shrapnel's weight and ground clearance did not save it against Big Cheese
The Big Cheese was the first robot to move, but it could not lift Shrapnel on its first attempt. On the second attempt, however, it picked up Shrapnel, catching it in one of its wheel surrounds in a similar style to Sir Killalot. In seconds, The Big Cheese carried it over to the Pit and dropped it straight in, buckling the wheel right into the chassis as it was lowered.
- "Total disaster - straight in the Pit"
- — A slightly crestfallen Andrew Maddock
Shrapnel was also due to partake in a grudge match following The Third Wars, drawn up to fight Eye of Newt.[1] However, due to a serious behind-the-scenes incident, these matches were cancelled. As a result, its defeat to The Big Cheese marked Shrapnel's sole appearance in Robot Wars.
Results[]
| SHRAPNEL - RESULTS | ||
| Series 3 | ||
| The Third Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
| Heat E, Round 1 | vs. The Big Cheese | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Series | Shrapnel Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
| The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Sixth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Shrapnel took part in the 1999 Children in Need event held in Plymouth. It lost in a Tug of War match against Miss Struts and took part in a five-way battle against Panic Attack, Suicidal Tendencies, Eye of Newt and Miss Struts.[2]
Trivia[]
- The name Shrapnel would later be used by a successful featherweight robot owned by Jarvis Callister, reaching the Top 8 of the King of Bots UK championship.
- Alan Weller was miscredited as 'Andrew Weller' on Shrapnel's statistics board.