- "A chip off the old block!"
- — Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide
Splinter was the second robot from the Norwich-based Team Ivanhoe, which took part in Series 4-5 of Robot Wars as well as the first series of Robot Wars Extreme.
Splinter reached the semifinals of Series 4, where it was destroyed by Hypno-Disc in one of the most well-known battles in the show's history. A new version of the machine entered subsequent series with several more victories but it was unable to win its heat in Series 5 after being flipped out by Bigger Brother in the second round.
Design[]
In Series 4, Splinter was a box-shaped robot armed with a front scoop and side-mounted axes intended to grab hold of other robots. The side arms were powered by wheelchair motors and the scoop was made from a plastic oil drum. Splinter originally was designed to roll over back onto its wheels if flipped, but this idea was dropped because the claws protruded out each side more than envisaged and the aluminium case eventually ending up as flat topped[1]. Instead, Splinter's arms would stretch out, which combined with its low centre of gravity, would help the robot fall back onto its wheels when tipped over, which worked effectively against Eric.
- "It's about 3 or 4 months, about £500 I suppose."
- — Stuart Weightman, asked by Craig Charles how long Splinter took to build
The robot also featured a welded steel frame, aluminium checker-plate armour and high traction tyres from mountain skateboards which were powered by 2 Bosch 750 Watt, 24 volt motors. These gave the robot a solid construction, a high top speed of 15 mph and good pushing power, which were crucial for all of its Series 4 victories. However, these attributes were not enough to prevent this version of Splinter from being destroyed by Hypno-Disc in the Semi-Finals, with Team Ivanhoe stating that they would build a new version for future series after their loss.
After being decimated by Hypno-Disc, a new version of Splinter was built for Series 5/Extreme 1 with an overhead pneumatic axe in addition to the grabbing arms, which were enlarged. The robot kept its top speed of 15 mph. The robot used a scoop-like front wedge in its Mayhem battle, which was widened for its Annihilator and Series 5 appearances with triangular brackets extending out of the robot's sides. To protect from axe attacks, a shock-absorber was also added to the top of the robot. Splinter was made considerably tougher, with steel armour replacing the aluminium of the previous version, and was more controllable than before, but this version suffered from a vulnerable aerial and a high ground clearance. Both of these issues lead to Splinter's subsequent defeats against Pussycat, Arnold A. Terminegger and Bigger Brother respectively.
The Team[]
Splinter was built by Team Ivanhoe, consisting of the father-and-son duo of Stuart and Craig Weightman. The team were based in Thorpe Marriott, Norwich, with son Craig being a student at Taverham High School. Though Craig was the driver, the elder of the two, Stuart, was the Team Captain, and also operate the weapons. The team had previously competed in Series 2 with Ivanhoe.
In July 2003, the Weightmans sold Splinter on eBay.
- "Hi, Just letting anyone who is interested that we have decided unfortunately to sell SPLINTER. Its a fine robot, works well and all the parts did cost a fair old sum, so, rather than leaving him in the garage for years to gather dust it would be nice to pass him on to someone who could make use of him or the parts within. "
- — Stuart Weightman on the Robot Wars Forum [2]
It was purchased by Team RCC, who attempted to enter it into Series 7 that same year with minor changes. Leo van Miert and Gerard von Dorst entered with Splinter, while other members of Team RCC also attempted to enter the series with RCC 2.
Qualification[]
Team Ivanhoe originally planned to enter Splinter into Series 3, but it was not selected to compete due to it being underweight. The team's other Series 3 entry, Ivanhoe 2, was not selected either.
- Julia Reed: "They didn't make it in the last wars because they were underweight, but they're back for more vengeance! Padded yourself out a bit, haven't you?"
- Stuart Weightman: "Yes, and it's a lot faster this war."
- — Before Round 1 in Series 4
Splinter successfully qualified for Series 4 and 5, receiving automatic qualification in the latter as a result of being seeded and a previous series Semi-Finalist.
Splinter also attempted to enter Series 6, where it fought 259, Chip and Colossus in its qualifier, but 259 took out all three opponents very quickly to win. Colossus was given a discretionary place, but Splinter failed to qualify.
- "The battle was short but memorable. 259 dispatched all three of us in under 30 seconds."
- — Chip website describes the Series 6 qualifier[3]
Under the control of Team RCC, Splinter attended the Series 7 qualifiers. It was due to compete against German Hammer, Hammerhead 2 and Supernova, but was forced to withdraw because of technical difficulties.[4]
Robot History[]
Series 4[]
- "A father and son team who fought in the second series back with a completely changed robot. Wheelchair motor powered crusher, scooper. Welded steel frame, it's the heaviest in the heat."
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Splinter
In Heat I of Series 4, Splinter's first round battle saw it fight against Small Torque and the thirty-first seed Centurion. Before the battle, Alex McBride of the Small Torque team revealed they were planning to team up with Splinter against the seeded robot.
- "There, a sort of scooper and a crusher, to give you a lovely cuddle if you're not looking!"
- — Julia Reed on Splinter's weaponry before the battle
Splinter started by driving after Centurion as it drove at Small Torque, but it turned around, and quickly got under the side of Splinter. It tried to flip, but only managed to flick it up a little. Splinter drove around Centurion and pushed it to the arena wall by Sgt. Bash's CPZ, but as it closed the arms, Small Torque charge in and used its disc to get underneath Splinter, pushing it against the House Robot, who fired its flamethrower at Splinter. Small Torque got out from under Splinter, and Splinter reversed towards the arena centre, and spun on the spot with Small Torque attacking Centurion. Centurion tried to flip Small Torque, but missed, and it became clear that Centurion was not moving. Splinter pushed Small Torque away from Centurion, pushing over the flame jet and into Centurion.
- "Very unusual-looking robot, Splinter, it's combined a scoop and also sort of pick-axe weapons there. We haven't seen it before."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter rams Small Torque
Splinter let Small Torque go and reversed, and Small Torque went back after Centurion, hitting it in the side, causing it to start moving again, but it only charged into the wall and stopped again. Splinter got at the side of Small Torque and pushed it close to Centurion, allowing the seeded robot to hit Small Torque with its axe. Splinter closed its arms and pushed Small Torque across the arena, over the flame pit, and into Shunt's CPZ. The House Robot axed Small Torque, and Splinter left it there. Small Torque spun as it escaped the CPZ, and went back at the immobile Centurion. Splinter continued spinning as the House Robots came out to attack Centurion.
- "Spinning, Splinter think they've obviously done enough to go through!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sir Killalot put Centurion into the Pit, confirming Splinter and Small Torque were through to the next round.
There, Splinter faced the sixteenth seed, Killerhurtz.
- Julia Reed: "So there's no-one to conspire with now, is there? Ooh, it's a head-to-head, are you tense?"
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah, a bit!"
- — Pre-battle interview
Killerhurtz started quicker, but Splinter dodged its initial charge, and turned around as Killerhurtz drove after it, so that when Killerhurtz caught up with it, it ran straight into the scoop. Splinter started pushing and got its arms around Killerhurtz, and pushed them around the arena, but seemingly could not push them in a straight line because it was struggling against Splinter.
- "Are you about to get a kick up the backside, Splinter? No, holding Killerhurtz in the jaws. This is a very creative, unusual robot, Splinter, and well done the Weightmans for their design, ingenuity, innovation."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter pushes Killerhurtz around the arena
Killerhurtz tried turning away from Splinter, but couldn't escape as one of Splinter's axes was caught on its axe head. Eventually, Killerhurtz managed to turn away, getting free from Splinter and driving down the arena. Splinter raced after it, and Killerhurtz tried to escape by driving up the arena, but Splinter was right beside them, and after turning around for another attack, got the scoop under the side of Killerhurtz and started pushing, getting the axes around it.
- "And at the moment, it's Splinter doing all the work, here."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Splinter pushed Killerhurtz around the arena, but pulled back the axes, which allowed Killerhurtz to escape. Splinter quickly turned around and charged at the front of Killerhurtz. Killerhurtz drove away, fleeing up the arena, but drove into Shunt's CPZ. Shunt axed Killerhurtz and lifted it with his scoop. Splinter drove into the CPZ to attack its opponent, but Killerhurtz got out of the CPZ as Shunt lowered his scoop. However, the sixteenth seed had become stuck in forward gear. Killerhurtz drove straight into the bottom arena wall, where it began smoking and was deemed immobile.
- Craig Charles: "How did that feel?"
- Craig Weightman: "Great!"
- Craig Charles: "You took a bit of damage on your robot though, I mean that sort of shovel on the front is all mangled to pieces!"
- Craig Weightman: "When we get back in the pit we'll heat it up and it just melds back into place."
- — Post-battle interview
In the Heat Final, Splinter faced Eric.
- "Well, it {Splinter} looks a bit second-hand at the minute, and well, I just hope it all goes to plan. We're gonna try and grab hold of it {Eric} like usual and just smash it into the sides."
- — Craig Weightman's tactics
Eric started by towards the top of the arena to try and dodge Splinter, but paused, which allowed Splinter to catch up with it. Eric reversed off the scoop before Splinter could push, causing Splinter to charge into the top arena wall. As Splinter turned to face Eric, Eric charged at Splinter, pushing it to one of the flamethrowers at the top of the arena. Splinter got away from the flames and turned around, but Eric drove around it.
- "Bit of a tentative start to the Heat Final"
- — Jonathan Pearce early in the fight
Eric tried to get its flipper under Splinter's side, but mistimed the turn and missed with the flipper. Eric drove away, and Splinter drove after it as it turned around. However, Splinter got behind Eric and pushed it into the CPZ, where Shunt axed and lifted Eric. Splinter drove into the CPZ, pinning Eric against the arena wall and trying to grab Eric in its arms, but Shunt drove between the two, pushing Splinter out of the CPZ. Splinter turned around and drove at Eric, which turned to face Splinter, but turned too far, spinning around, allowing Splinter to get at its side and push. Using the side axes to hold Eric, Splinter forced Eric into the arena side wall.
- "Eric slammed against the arena wall by Splinter. The more aggressive of the two, certainly."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Splinter pushed Eric away from the wall, then pushed it back into the wall, but when it closed its side arms, one of them became stuck in a hole in the arena side wall. This allowed Eric to reverse away, but Splinter managed to free itself.
- "For a minute there I thought one of Splinter's arms, claws if you like, had been buckled backwards, but they're OK."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter gets away from the wall
Eric drove into the arena centre, and Splinter chased after it, trying to get at the side and push, but drove at the wrong angle so slid along the side. Splinter reversed for another charge, and Eric drove at the side of Splinter. Splinter fired the arms, and Eric flipped Splinter onto its side, but Splinter managed to roll back on its wheels. Splinter drove away for another attack, whilst Eric was by the flame pit. When Splinter charged at Eric, it drove onto the flipper, which allowed Eric to lift it up, but only a little. Eric drove into the arena centre, and Splinter got at the side of Eric and pushed it around. However its axes failed to hold Eric in place, and it tried to turn away, but Splinter was right behind it, using the side arms to hold it still, and rammed it into the side wall, holding it there until time ran out. Eric then flipped Splinter onto its side, but Splinter extended one of its arms to self-right. For the remainder of the match, Splinter grabbed Eric in its side axes, and pushed it around the arena again until 'cease' was called.
- "Well, it was quite tentative, I thought. Thoughtful. Very close. ... Splinter, the aggressor. Eric into the CPZ and taking punishment there. That'll count against Eric. And Mike Hammerton, the driver. Splinter using the crushing arms once, twice, thrice. A lot of punishment going Eric's way now at this stage. Getting away. Once more, slammed into the arena wall. For me it has to be Splinter, I have to see."
- — Jonathan Pearce as the battle ended, and reviewing the highlights
The Judges were called to decide the heat winner, and they ruled in favour of Splinter.
- Craig Charles: "You're in the series Semi-Finals! Are you excited?"
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah, can't wait."
- Craig Charles: "Gonna go all the way?"
- Craig Weightman: "Hope so."
- Craig Charles: "You're just here for a good time though, aren't ya?"
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah!"
- — Post-battle interview
In the first round of its Semifinal, Splinter received a tough draw when it was paired with the number 2 seed Hypno-Disc. Before the battle, the team were surprisingly confident. Stuart Weightman pointed out that the flexible scoop would deflect attacks and probably wouldn't be ripped off, and whilst the aluminium armour was weak, there was an air gap inside between the armour and the internals.
- Julia Reed: "Now, let's talk tactics. Craig, you're the driver."
- Craig Weightman: "Right at the beginning, we're just going to charge straight at them, then hopefully do lots of spinning and if we go the same way their disc's going, they should hopefully brush off, rather than cut through us."
- Julia Reed: "And you're going to make that original charge, because it takes them time to get revving, doesn't it?"
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah, straight at 'em."
- Julia Reed: "Straight at them, and then push them into the House Robots?"
- Craig Weightman: "Hopefully, yeah, and then down the pit."
- — Pre-battle interview
Whilst Hypno-Disc tried to get its disc up to speed, Splinter charged straight at the disc, but because the scoop was flexible, it received no damage. Splinter spun around, then drove into the disc again, but Hypno-Disc reversed, causing Splinter to crash into the arena wall.
- "Craig's plan "just charge straight to Hypno-Disc", he's utterly barmy...or is he? Was that a worthwhile tactic? That certainly isn't! He's done all the hard work, charged at Hypno-Disc, got away, then drove straight into the arena wall!"
- — Jonathan Pearce in the opening moments
As Splinter reversed, Hypno-Disc hit the rear, but only caused a small scar, so turned around for another attack. The two robots charged head-on at each other, and Splinter managed to ram Hypno-Disc into the arena wall, stopping the disc. Splinter quickly got around the side and pushed Hypno-Disc into Dead Metal's CPZ.
- "Back again, what a brave effort this is from Splinter! Drive straight on, could this be one of the biggest shocks ever in Robot Wars?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Dead Metal grabbed Hypno-Disc in its claws, until Splinter drove into it, at which point the House Robot released Hypno-Disc. Splinter bumped into one of Dead Metal's claws, then drove at Hypno-Disc. The two robots charged at each other, but the disc merely bounced off. Hypno-Disc dodged Splinter as Splinter chased after it, then drove towards the arena centre and waited for Splinter to charge at them. Splinter did, but this time, the scoop was torn off as it hit the spinning disc.
- "If they keep attacking on a frontal collision with that disc, they'll protect their more vulnerable sides of course, Splinter, and maybe, who knows - oh no, they won't!"
- — Jonathan Pearce just before the scoop goes
Splinter charged back at Hypno-Disc, which sent the scoop front, which was hanging off, flying away. Splinter's arms were now hanging on the sides uselessly, and it drove across the arena, trying to stay away from its opponent, but it drove against the arena wall, and as it tried to get away, Hypno-Disc landed a blow on its side, ripping away a side panel from Splinter.
- "Off comes the side! This is painful to watch for the Splinter team! I'm thoroughly enjoying it! It's marvellous stuff!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Splinter limped around, driving into the wall again, then reversing a little before coming to a complete halt. Hypno-Disc continued to attack, cutting into the side, tearing away the side panel that was hanging loose. This left the internals exposed, and Hypno-Disc ripped out the batteries. As Hypno-Disc hit the remaining side panel, Dead Metal came in and grabbed the immobile Splinter, cutting into the top armour. Sir Killalot also came in, picking up the ruined Splinter, spinning it around and throwing it across the arena, causing the top to fall off.
- "Very close fight. We're gonna have to go to the Judges on that one. Only joking. Splinter, splattered. Hypno-Disc march on!"
- — Craig Charles
Unseen on television, Sir Killalot then proceeded to pick the remains of Splinter up again and put it on the Floor Flipper. After it was thrown, Sergeant Bash bit into it and pushed it back and forth, before Sir Killalot grabbed it, lifted it up and dumped it into the Pit[5]. Splinter was eliminated from the Fourth Wars and this battle with Hypno-Disc was considered to be the most violent match ever in Robot Wars, and was named as such in the Ultimate Guide.
- "We were going to build a new one anyway, Hypno-Disc has done us a favour by taking this one to bits."
- — Team Ivanhoe's reaction to the destruction of their robot by Hypno-Disc
Extreme 1[]
- "We're back this year, with a few modifications, as we got seriously trashed last year. This year we've got really strong, powerful arms here. They shut with the speed of a shotgun. While we got them in the clutches we're gonna do some serious damage with this axe!"
- — Stuart Weightman in the team's introduction
Following its rebuild, Splinter returned for the first series of Extreme. It competed in a Mayhem to qualify for the first Annihilator. Before it did, it first fought in the Mayhem battle against Killertron and Aggrobot 3 in order to qualify for the Annihilator.
- "Well, we sized up both of them, I don't think we'll have any trouble with either of them really!"
- — Confidence from Stuart Weightman before the battle
Going into the battle, Splinter was at a disadvantage, as its arms were seemingly not working, being stuck in the forward position all battle. Splinter started the battle slowly, holding back as Aggrobot 3 drove at Killertron. Aggrobot 3 turned away from Killertron after driving into it, and Splinter drove into Killertron, only to turn to face Aggrobot 3. Killertron tried to axe Splinter, but Splinter turned to dodge the axe. Splinter drove under the side of Aggrobot 3 and hit it twice with the axe, once on the side and then on the top, but both blows merely bounced off. One of Splinter's arms was also knocked backwards whilst pushing Aggrobot 3. Splinter reversed as Aggrobot 3 got away, but drove straight onto Killertron's scoop, which was waiting behind Splinter. Splinter got away before Killertron could axe it, and drove up the arena as Killertron went after Aggrobot 3. As Killertron got its scoop under Aggrobot 3, Killertron suddenly charged into the two of them, but in doing so drove straight onto the wedge of Aggrobot 3, allowing it to lift it. However, Aggrobot 3 let Splinter down and reversed away, as did Splinter, and after a pause, Splinter drove at Killertron. Splinter tried to axe Killertron, but the axe handle hit the body shell of Killertron, meaning the blade didn't hit its target.
- "Splinter, in a very even battle so far, using its own pneumatic axe."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter tries to axe Killertron
Splinter pulled back the axe and tried again, but this time the axe missed. Killertron turned off Splinter's wedge front, and Splinter tried to axe it but missed. Splinter reversed, then drove back at Killertron. Splinter pushed Killertron, and tried axing it, but the axe went in the gap for the axe. As Splinter pushed Killertron past Aggrobot 3, Splinter's loose arm got caught on Aggrobot 3, and this allowed Killertron to get free.
- "Good display by them [the Splinter team] so far. One of the arms seems to be at a crazy angle there though, Splinter. The right arm, has it been buckled away? I don't think that arm, now Stuart, is going to do you any good whatsoever!"
- — Jonathan Pearce notes Splinter's loose arm
Splinter quickly changed targets, turning around to face Aggrobot 3, and fired the axe but missed as Aggrobot 3 reversed away. Splinter drove back at Aggrobot 3 and hit it with the axe, but the axe failed to puncture the top. Aggrobot 3 then got under the side of Splinter and, with a little pushing from Killertron, managed to turn Splinter over. However, in doing so, Aggrobot 3's lifter jammed open, propping the wheels off the ground, leaving Splinter stuck underneath. Dead Metal came in, cutting into Splinter.
- "Meanwhile Splinter, and I thought they were doing so well. Oh! In comes Dead Metal. Splinter's arms, never really got going."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Dead Metal cuts into Splinter
Splinter was righted by a few helpful pushes from him and Refbot. Splinter went back after Killertron, axing it, but Killertron was stuck on one of its arms. Aggrobot 3 was counted out, and put on the floor flipper, which threw it against Splinter, who was being attacked by Dead Metal. Dead Metal pushed Splinter on the flame pit, but Splinter quickly reversed off it and charged at Aggrobot 3. Meanwhile, Killertron, which seemed not to be moving, was pushed around by Sir Killalot, before being picked up, dragged to the Pit and dropped in. Cease was called after this intervention, but the Judges made no stand, and declared Splinter the winner.
- "Well, well, well! And I thought Splinter were in all sorts of trouble!"
- — Jonathan Pearce after Killertron's controversial elimination leaves Splinter as the winner
In the first Annihilator, Splinter saw itself go up against X-Terminator, Arnold, Arnold Terminegger, Thermidor 2, Hypno-Disc (who demolished Splinter in Series 4) and Pussycat.
- "A Semi Finalist in Series 4, looking for revenge against Hypno-Disc!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Splinter to the Annihilator
In the first round, Splinter started by driving down the arena, holding back as Pussycat attacked Arnold A Terminegger. As Pussycat turned away from Team EyeEye's machine, Splinter got behind Arnold A. Terminegger and rammed it up the arena, pushing it straight into the disc of Hypno-Disc, which sent Arnold A. Terminegger spinning into Pussycat. Pussycat drove around Arnold A. and Splinter drove into Pussycat, trying to axe it, but missed. Splinter reversed and kept away from the other robots for a moment, before driving into the back of Thermidor 2. Getting its grabbing arms around Thermidor 2, Splinter turned it around and pushed it up the arena, pinning it in the corner of a CPZ, axing it as it did so.
- "Thermidor's being pushed away into the CPZ, that's a good drive there, by Splinter!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter rams Thermidor 2 into the CPZ
Thermidor 2 was left immobile after this attack, and Splinter drove down the arena, driving into X-Terminator and Hypno-Disc, who were fighting each other. X-Terminator turned and drove away, but Hypno-Disc was immobile, and Splinter axed it. As it reversed for another attack, X-Terminator rushed in behind Hypno-Disc and axed it. Splinter tried axing X-Terminator, but its axe did no damage, so it reversed, before charging in and axing again.
- "Hypno-Disc is going nowhere at this moment in time, being pursued by X-Terminator and Splinter. Very good display by the Splinter team, crashing and bashing, taking on X-Terminator."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter attacks Hypno-Disc, then X-Terminator
Hypno-Disc regained some movement, and Splinter pushed X-Terminator across the arena and into an angle grinder, landing more axe blows on the top.
- "And for me, the surprise of the show so far: here, Splinter, bottom of your screen and there, Arnold A.! They've been brilliant!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter rams X-Terminator
X-Terminator escaped, and Splinter chased after it, but then left X-Terminator to attack Hypno-Disc, which had stopped moving and was being attacked by Arnold A. Terminegger and X-Terminator. Meanwhile Thermidor 2 was counted out, putting Splinter and the other four through to the second round.
- Julia Reed: "Splinter, X-Terminator are taking quite a bit of credit for that smash-up with Hypno-Disc."
- Stuart Weightman: "Oh are they? What fight were they in? 'Cause I think we got quite a few hits in there, pushed them about a bit, used the axe quite a few times. Yes, it was a good fight."
- Julia Reed: "So you were pleased with yourselves?"
- Stuart Weightman: "Yeah, I think we had a go at everybody, didn't we really? Nice bit of driving by Craig, we kept in the action all the time."
- Julia Reed: "So X-Terminator are all talk, are they?"
- Stuart Weightman: "Well it sounds like it, from what you're saying!"
- — Post Round 1 interview
In the second round, Splinter started by driving down the arena, aiming for Hypno-Disc, but as it got close, Arnold A. Terminegger drove into the front of Splinter, allowing Hypno-Disc to escape. Pussycat charged into Arnold A. Terminegger, then tried to attack Splinter with its disc, but couldn't reach the side because it was blocked by one of Splinter's grabbing arms. Splinter pushed Pussycat across the arena towards the Flame Pit, but failed to push Pussycat onto the flames, as Pussycat was stuck on one of its arms, so as Splinter reversed, it pulled Pussycat away from the flames, and Pussycat slid off the arm. Splinter rammed Pussycat, using its arms to hold it still and axing it, and pushed it around the arena, but it drove into Arnold A., which gave Pussycat a chance to escape.
- "And Splinter boys, again in the thick of things."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter rams Pussycat
Splinter drove down the arena, and Pussycat charged into it, but merely rolled up the wedge, flipping it over. Pussycat turned around for another attack and charged back at Splinter, but Splinter pushed it down the arena into an empty CPZ, pinning it against the arena wall.
- "Look at this, this is a good drive by Splinter! … The Splinter boys have once again been very, very impressive."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter pushes Pussycat into the CPZ
Sgt. Bash pinned the two robots in the corner, and grabbed Splinter by one of its grabbing arms with his jaw, pulling it away from Pussycat and turning it out of the CPZ. Sgt. Bash let Splinter go, and Splinter charged up the arena at Pussycat, but Pussycat got around the side of Splinter, cutting against one of its grabbing arms with its disc. Pussycat pushed Splinter up to the top of the arena, and X-Terminator rushed in and axed Splinter. The axe head slid down the front and became stuck in the front metal strip. X-Terminator pulled Splinter down the arena, whilst Pussycat drove against Splinter. Hypno-Disc rammed into the back of Splinter, then Pussycat charged into X-Terminator, which allowed Splinter to get free of X-Terminator's axe. Splinter drove at Pussycat, with Pussycat turning around and hitting the side with its disc. Splinter pushed Pussycat against X-Terminator.
- "Splinter has been magnificent, in this Annihilator, so far!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter pins Pussycat against X-Terminator
Arnold A. Terminegger came in, so Splinter pushed Pussycat against Arnold A. Terminegger, and pushed Pussycat down the arena with the help of Arnold A. Terminegger. Next, Arnold A. Terminegger flipped Pussycat onto its side, and Splinter used its arms and axe to hold Pussycat still and rammed it into the wall. Splinter reversed into the arena centre, and after a pause, drove into the back of Hypno-Disc, and Pussycat charged behind Splinter, trying to use its disc. Arnold A. Terminegger drove into the side of Splinter, and X-Terminator drove into the other side, but then turned to attack Hypno-Disc, which allowed Splinter to escape. Splinter got at the side of Hypno-Disc, but did not use its axe. Splinter got behind Hypno-Disc and used its grabbing arms to hold it still, then axed Hypno-Disc.
- "It really is "take on the favourites", isn't it, and lets all have a disco!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter attacks Hypno-Disc and Arnold A. Terminegger attacks Pussycat
X-Terminator drove at Hypno-Disc, firing its axe at the disc and pulling it away from Splinter. After a pause, Splinter got behind Hypno-Disc and tried to axe it, but missed. Meanwhile X-Terminator had stopped moving. Splinter got behind Pussycat and pinned it against X-Terminator, then against Refbot when he came in to count X-Terminator out. X-Terminator was put on the Floor Flipper and thrown, landing in the mechanism, and Splinter was through to the next round.
In the third round, Splinter started slowly, holding back as Pussycat charged at Arnold A. Terminegger. Splinter charged in as Pussycat turned around for another attack, blocking Pussycat from attacking Arnold A. Meanwhile, Hypno-Disc had technical difficulties again, and lost mobility after its first hit on Arnold A. Terminegger. Splinter missed with its axe whilst attacking Pussycat, and it became stuck in the down position. Pussycat escaped, and drove down the arena. With its axe not working, Splinter wandered around, staying away from its two mobile opponents, until it reversed into Pussycat.
- "Splinter, seems a little bit cagey."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Pussycat ignored it and kept attacking Arnold A. Terminegger, but Splinter kept reversing and reversed into Arnold A. Terminegger. Pussycat drove at Splinter, but Splinter reversed, opening the pit. Hypno-Disc was lying immobile by the Pit, and Pussycat began to line Hypno-Disc to push it in, but Splinter rushed in and began pushing Hypno-Disc into the Pit, but as Hypno-Disc was hanging on the edge, Splinter paused for another charge, and Pussycat sped in and pushed Hypno-Disc down. Splinter then pushed Pussycat immediately after, but Pussycat went through anyway as Hypno-Disc was pitted first. After the battle, the Pussycat team swore revenge against Splinter for pushing them into the Pit, threatening they would destroy them, just as Hypno-Disc had destroyed them in Series 4.
- "I tell you what, they'd better watch their backs, because they're going to have CO2 bottles coming out of that thing, and they're gonna have their speed controllers and batteries, once again, spread out across the arena!"
- — David Gribble after Round 3
In the fourth round, Splinter drove straight at Pussycat, but could not catch it as it drove past, and Splinter missed with its axe. Pussycat turned and attacked the front of Splinter with its disc, pushing Splinter back across the arena and into Dead Metal. Meanwhile, Arnold A. Terminegger opened the Pit. Pussycat rammed Splinter into the bottom arena wall in the CPZ, then reversed out of the CPZ, allowing Splinter to escape. Arnold A. charged at Pussycat, but Pussycat sped up the arena, and Splinter rammed into Arnold A. Terminegger, which turned away to attack Pussycat as it drove back down the arena. Pussycat charged at Arnold A., but bounced off, and Splinter drove in, ramming Pussycat into the arena wall and axing it. Splinter pushed Pussycat away from the wall, which allowed it to escape. Splinter chased after it, and Pussycat turned and drove at Splinter. Splinter grabbed Pussycat with its arms and pushed it, but the axe failed to puncture, and Pussycat turned away and escaped Splinter's clutches.
- "Splinter, holding onto the Pussycat boys, using the axe to try and get some sort of hold!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Splinter axes Pussycat
Splinter chased after Pussycat, but as it got close, Pussycat turned around and drove at Splinter's front wedge, which it rode over. This briefly flipped Pussycat onto its side, but Pussycat quickly got down, and tried attacking Splinter again, but its disc stopped on impact with Splinter's arm.
- "And that's what they've tried to do a couple of times during this Annihilator, try and slice off one of the side arms of Splinter. Have you noticed that, during the show?"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Pussycat attacks Splinter's arm
Pussycat reversed for another attack, but found itself blocked by Splinter's grabbing arm, preventing it from attacking the body with the disc. Splinter got away and drove up the arena, with Pussycat in close pursuit. Splinter turned around as Pussycat caught up, and Pussycat bounced off the wedge front. Splinter tried pushing Pussycat, but Pussycat turned away and went after Arnold A. Terminegger. Splinter turned around, and Pussycat charged at it, but rolled over backwards as it drove at the wedge front. Arnold A. Terminegger came in to axe Pussycat, pushing it onto one of Splinter's grabbing arms. Splinter used its axe to hold Pussycat still and pushed it into Matilda, then into an angle grinder. Splinter pinned Pussycat there, but reversed as Refbot came in because Splinter was pinning its opponent for too long. Splinter drove into the centre of the arena, and Pussycat drove after it, quickly circling Splinter before Splinter could attack back.
- "Splinter keeping out of trouble, Pussycat coming back, this is a very close battle here!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Pussycat went after Splinter
Splinter reversed into Pussycat, but this proved to be a costly mistake, because Pussycat hit the rear of Splinter with its disc, ripping off the aerial and causing Splinter to become immobile. Pussycat and Arnold A. Terminegger continued to fight, whilst Refbot counted Splinter out. Dead Metal and Matilda attacked Splinter and Refbot pushed it onto the Floor Flipper, which threw Splinter across the arena.
- Craig Charles: "You did so well, to get this far. I mean those Annihilators, it's a nightmare, isn't it?"
- Stuart Weightman: "Yes, they take a lot out of it, the old robot, but I think this time we just got our aerial chopped off, and of course we just lost all control."
- Craig Charles: "So you just sort of conked out of it at the end, and you were doing so well."
- Stuart Weightman: "That's right. Yeah, we were doing well, the robot's held out, but just unfortunate."
- — Post-battle interview
Series 5[]
- "First up, Splinter, who was destroyed by Hypno-Disc in the Semi Final of the Fourth Wars, but returns head held high, ranked seventeenth, to do battle tonight."
- — Philippa Forrester at the start of Heat
Seeded seventeenth after its Series 4 performance, Splinter returned for the Fifth Wars to face VIPER 01, a robot created by the same team who competed in middleweight competitions with Hard Cheese in the first round.
VIPER 01 moved away from Splinter, but was moving slowly because the team had turned the current limiter down, drastically reducing the top speed. Splinter started slowly, cautiously approaching VIPER 01, before getting at the side of its opponent and starting to push it towards Shunt. Splinter used its grabbing arms to hold VIPER 01 by the side, allowing it to inflict damage with the axe. Splinter pushed VIPER 01 straight into Shunt, who axed a hole in the top and pushed VIPER 01 and Splinter out of the CPZ together.
- "And there's the classic pincer attack, of Splinter on one side, and Shunt on t'other."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Shunt axes VIPER 01
Splinter axed VIPER 01 again, causing another puncture, then reversed for another charge. VIPER 01 could not get away, and Splinter rammed it back towards Shunt's CPZ. Splinter stopped with VIPER 01 just outside the CPZ, and reversed, missing with its axe. Shunt pushed VIPER 01 away from the CPZ, and Splinter axed it. Shunt put another puncture in the top with his axe, and used the axe and scoop together to lift it up. As Shunt let it go, Splinter opened the Pit, then drove up the arena and turned around, pushing VIPER 01 into the CPZ, pinning it in the corner. Shunt axed VIPER 01 and dragged it out of the CPZ, before pushing it on the Flame Pit. Splinter axed VIPER 01 as it burned, before Shunt dragged it off the flames. Time ran out with both machines still officially mobile, so the battle went to the Judges.
- "Well, the highlights few and far between, but that was a good, progressive attack by Splinter, onto Shunt so it could get the pincer attack on V.I.P.E.R. At that stage, the weaponry was just about moving, but...there was no venom from V.I.P.E.R. at all really. And Splinter must get it!"
- — Jonathan Pearce reviews the highlights
Inevitably, the decision went in favour of Splinter.
- Craig Charles: "How do you think it went for you?"
- Craig Weightman: "I thought it was okay, the axe was on low power, 'cause we didn't wanna have not as many goes."
- Craig Charles: "Yeah, your robot was quite slow as well, don't you think?"
- Craig Weightman: "We were driving around slow, so we didn't end up going right on top of his scoop."
- Craig Charles: "You're ranked seventeen, do you think you can justify that, do you think you can go far? Semifinals last time."
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah, I think we could do well, yeah."
- Craig Charles: "Go one better, do you reckon?"
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah well, I'll drive faster next time, and we'll put the axe more powerful and see what happens!"
- — Post-battle interview
Splinter's second round battle saw it go up against Bigger Brother.
- Philippa Forrester: "This is meant to be Robot Wars and I can't get anyone to be aggressive! Ellie's trying to kiss Joe, and this lot, you're not aggressive at all, are you?"
- Stuart Weightman: "No, not in the slightest!"
- Philippa Forrester: "How could you beat such beautiful faces, what are you going to do in there?"
- Stuart Weightman: "Well Craig's driving, what are you going to do Craig?"
- Craig Weightman: "Just keep away from the front of it, mostly, and try to get it down the pit, I think!"
- — Pre-battle interview
Splinter dodged Bigger Brother's initial charge, and the two robots turned around to face each other. Bigger Brother got under one of Splinter's grabbing arms and tried to flip, but could not get Splinter over because the other arm prevented it. Splinter moved forwards, spun around and tried to keep away from Bigger Brother, but Bigger Brother soon caught up, got under the side of Splinter and flipped it over.
- "[Splinter] uses that weapon synergy, don't forget, of the grabbing arms and the pneumatic axe, but Bigger Brother, so much more forceful and aggressive in this series."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Bigger Brother flips Splinter over
Splinter was left upside-down, held up on one of its arms and its axe. The grabbing arms closed, allowing Splinter to fall back onto its wheels, but Bigger Brother immediately rammed Splinter. However, it turned at the wrong moment, causing it to miss with the flipper. Splinter drove to the arena centre and turned to face Bigger Brother, and Bigger Brother charged straight at Splinter, flipped it onto its back, rammed it to the arena wall so its axe was hanging over the side, then got under Splinter and flipped it out. The battle took just 34 seconds.
- "And Splinter here has no answer and follows the way of Tip-Top out of the arena!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Splinter was eliminated, and did not appear in any other series of Robot Wars after this.
- Craig Charles: "You were fairly confident, weren't you?"
- Craig Weightman: "50-50."
- Craig Charles: "Yeah, but I mean, you thought you could go quite far in this competition, this time."
- Craig Weightman: "Yeah, I thought we'd do okay."
- — Post-battle interview
Results[]
SPLINTER - RESULTS | ||
Series 4 | ||
The Fourth Wars - UK Championship Semifinals, Round 1 | ||
Heat I, Eliminator | vs. Centurion (31), Small Torque | Qualified |
Heat I, Semi-Final | vs. Killerhurtz (16) | Won |
Heat I, Final | vs. Eric | Won |
Semi-Final 2, Round 1 | vs. Hypno-Disc (2) | Lost |
Extreme Series 1 | ||
Mayhem & Annihilator Third Place in Annihilator | ||
Mayhem | vs. Aggrobot 3, Killertron | Won |
Annihilator, Round 1 | vs. Arnold A. Terminegger, Hypno-Disc, Pussycat, Thermidor 2, X-Terminator |
Qualified |
Annihilator, Round 2 | vs. Arnold A. Terminegger, Hypno-Disc, Pussycat, X-Terminator |
Qualified |
Annihilator, Round 3 | vs. Arnold A. Terminegger, Hypno-Disc, Pussycat |
Qualified |
Annihilator, Round 4 | vs. Arnold A. Terminegger, Pussycat | Eliminated |
Series 5 | ||
The Fifth Wars - UK Championship 17th Seed, Heat, Round 2 | ||
Heat I, Eliminator | vs. VIPER 01 | Won |
Heat I, Semi Final | vs. Bigger Brother | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 8
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
Main Series | Splinter Series Record |
---|---|
The First Wars | Did not enter |
The Second Wars | Entered with Ivanhoe |
The Third Wars | Not selected Not selected with Ivanhoe 2 |
The Fourth Wars | Semi-Finals, Round 1 |
The Fifth Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
The Sixth Wars | Failed to qualify |
The Seventh Wars | Withdrew from qualifiers |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
Series 1 | Entered |
Series 2 | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
The first version of Splinter competed at the 2000 Robots@War event, fighting and defeating Orac's Revenge in its only known battle. This would be the Weightmans sole live event appearance with Splinter following their appearances with Ivanhoe 2.
After the original series of Robot Wars ended, Splinter continued to fight at live events under Team RCC's ownership, but rarely competing in the UK due to it now being Dutch owned, once competing at the 2003 Debenham Robot Rumble, losing to M2 in its sole battle.[6] From then on, Splinter mostly appeared at events held in The Netherlands, such as the Dutch Robot Games, usually fighting Dutch alumni such as Tough as Nails, PulverizeR, Gravity, Alien Destructor and Scraptosaur to varying degrees of success. It had its last appearance at the Roaming Robots Northampton 2004 event, fighting in multiple battles against the likes of Dominator 3, Mighty Mouse, Pressure, Hard, PulverizeR, Merlin, The Wall, Terrorhurtz and Kan-Opener. Splinter would be retired after the event after suffering severe damage against the latter two after fighting them both at the same time.
- "After so many battles the metal was so bent out of shape that it needed a rebuild. It retired after one last fight taking on TerrorHz and Kan opener at the same time."
- — Leo Van Miert of Team RCC on Facebook[7]
Trivia[]
- In both of its appearances in the main competition, Splinter competed in Heat I.
- All three of Splinter's losses on Robot Wars involved a robot that came or would finish runner-up in the main UK Series championship - Hypno-Disc, Pussycat and Bigger Brother.
- In Series 4, Splinter had "Hello Mum" written on the baseplate. This also appeared on Panic Attack's baseplate in Series 7.
- At the start of its Series 4 heat, Jonathan Pearce said Splinter was a newcomer despite its team appearing in Series 2 with Ivanhoe. This was corrected later on in the episode when Ivanhoe's Series 2 performance was shown.
- Splinter was the only robot in the first Extreme 1 Annihilator not to finish as a runner-up in a competition during its Robot Wars career.
- Splinter was one of the few robots to be referred to as its predecessor.
- Before Series 5, the Splinter team thought their self-righting mechanism wasn't going to work. However, it unexpectedly worked during the Round 2 battle with Bigger Brother.
- Splinter was the fourth of six robots to win a heat by defeating two seeded robots in a single episode. It shares this with fellow Series 4 Semifinalists Dominator 2, Thermidor 2 and Tornado, as well as S3 and Bigger Brother from the Fifth Wars.
- Splinter was one of the two seeds defeated by Bigger Brother when it achieved the same feat in The Fifth Wars.
- "Before taking part in the Fifth Wars of Robot Wars, the team had spent days fiddling with the self-righting mechanism and eventually had to accept the fact that it wasn't going to work. So, when Splinter were well and truly flipped by Bigger Brother in Round 2, it seemed as if the Fifth Wars were over for them... until the self-righting mechanism chose that moment to perform and turned them up the right way! After that, they didn't mind losing the fight!"
- — Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide
References[]
- ↑ Splinter website (archived)
- ↑ Robot Wars Discussion Forum (archived)
- ↑ Chip website - Series 6 qualifiers (archived)
- ↑ Private correspondence with Leo van Miert, 4 January 2019
- ↑ Hypno Disc vs Splinter Unedited Raw Cut
- ↑ Splinter vs M2 at Debenham Robot Rumble 2003
- ↑ Leo Van Miert on Facebook
External Links[]
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