Stuffie was a middleweight competitor that competed in the 1997 US Championship, being a purposeful comedy entry, the robot was not successful losing both its battles against Alexander and Peaches respectfully.
Design[]

Stuffie in the arena
Stuffie was a weaponless wooden robot with a large children's plastic red jeep placed on top, the car was decorated with several teddy bears including "Stuffie" itself and featured a barbie doll strapped on the front of the jeep, the front two wheels were not functional and were for show. The robot had two large direct-drive motors, from an old reel-to-reel magnetic tape machine for the robot's two wheel drive[1].
Etymology[]
The name came from the teddy bear "driver" sat inside the plastic car.
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]

Alexander decapitates the Barbie doll on Stuffie
In the first round of the middleweight face-off, Stuffie faced Alexander. Stuffie - alarm blaring - charged directly into the side of an evading Alexander. Alexander, in turn, pushed Benjamin Chapman's novelty entry into the left wall, after which the latter struggled to escape the bumper or arena flipper. Stuffie eventually headed back into the center of the arena. Team Delta's machine slammed into the front of Stuffie, while pushing and cutting through the 'hood' of its opponent's plastic Jeep-styled body. The Barbie doll fixed to Stuffie's 'grill' was also decapitated by Alexander's saw during this exchange.[2][3][4]

Alexander almost topples Stuffie with its arm
Following a brief separation, Alexander again pushed into the side of Stuffie, though this had the effect of tangling both robots together for a few seconds. Having cut further into Stuffie's bodywork, it rammed the red machine again with its arm pointing sideways. Alexander repositioned the arm before pushing Stuffie into another arena flipper. Another series of rams followed, the latter resulting in Stuffie pushing Alexander's arm around to the side. This was sufficient to strip the gears within the arm's rotating mechanism, causing it to swing freely for the rest of the match.[2][3][4]
With less than two minutes remaining, Alexander again tried to attack Stuffie from the side, though the earlier damage made it difficult for it to aim its circular saw. Alexander next resorted to its rear pneumatic spike, twice using it to push Stuffie away and into a spin. A reverse drive from Stuffie pulled the spike turret back, after which the former nudged Alexander as it momentarily lay stationary. Raising its arm, Alexander backed away towards the other side of the arena, but could not inflict any more damaging blows with its saw.[2][3][4]
More shoves and evasive driving prompted the audience to start booing loudly, until the two machines rammed each other in the lower-left corner. Alexander's saw again grazed Stuffie's 'hood' for a split-second, as it continued to exchange rams until time ran out. A 'very narrow margin' secured the Judges' decision for Alexander after a close battle.[2][3][4]

Stuffie's shell is battered off by a ramming attack from Peaches
Still in the first round though moved into the loser's bracket, Stuffie faced Peaches. Immediately, Stuffie drove into the upper spike trap, the collision knocking its toy Jeep shell loose. Peaches, itself suffering problems with its 'homemade control system', rammed Stuffie, which reversed and turned to face its much smaller opponent. After both robots drove past each other, Benjamin Chapman's entry twice drove into the wall on the opposite side of the arena, which allowed the shell to fall back into place. Neither robot made contact with each other during this phase, until Peaches removed Stuffie's shell entirely with another ram.[5][6]
- "Stuffie, without Stuffie, refuses to go down!"
- — Michael Meehan, seconds after Stuffie begins to be dismantled[5]
The plywood base of Stuffie kept driving on, bumping Peaches and the lower-left flipper. It too began encountering control problems, spinning around while taking another whack from the flipper paddle. Peaches, after a few moments' hesitation, rammed and pushed Stuffie's remains against the left wall. Stuffie, left in the top-right corner, struggled to regain its bearings as it circled around and got whacked by the nearby flipper. Peaches drove underneath and pinned Stuffie in place. This attack proved problematic for Bill Nicoloff's machine, however; not only did its front spikes become embedded in the wall, but the robot also lacked reverse drive, as a result of the relay-based control system installed for this battle.[7][5][6]
Stuffie's wheels kept spinning during the 'embrace', but it was only able to turn around from the side while taking further hits from the flipper. With 49 seconds remaining, the battle was stopped to allow for a separation, performed by two separate Robot Wars crewmembers. The teddy bear from Stuffie's Jeep shell was retrieved and placed into its plywood frame, which was jettisoned as soon as it started circling around again. Peaches was turned around to face the left-hand side of the arena, and the match resumed.[5][6]
Peaches, after being hit by the flipper, shot forwards and drove past the spinning Stuffie. It eventually rammed Benjamin Chapman's machine twice more before spearing itself into the left wall section. Stuffie gingerly approached, then bumped Peaches just before the end bell rang. The resulting Judges' decision quickly ruled Peaches as the winner.[5][6]
Stuffie wasn't finished however and fought in the middleweight melee where it battled Alexander again as well as 1996 veterans Pokey and Vicious-1. Vicious-1 and Pokey clashed in the opening seconds, as Alexander charged across the arena from the left-hand side. The Team Delta entry began attacking Pokey's tall back panel with its saw, while Stuffie meandered towards and away from the upper spike trap. All four robots gathered in the center and lower-right pocket, while Pokey and Stuffie rammed Alexander. Vicious-1, the furthest away from the wall, drove under and hit the base of Pokey with its spinning pipes. The newly-crowned Middleweight Face-Off champion gingerly pushed Curt Meyers' machine towards the right-side bumper, meeting Alexander and Stuffie again in the process.[8][9]
Alexander proceeded to push Stuffie from the left-hand side, while damaging and trying to prise the toy "Jeep" shell off Benjamin Chapman's machine. After a few attempts, the shell began to fall off, while Vicious-1 pushed Pokey back into the now-dishevelled Stuffie, then towards the upper spike trap. Alexander rammed Stuffie once more, finally removing the "Jeep" shell from the latter's chassis. Pokey, meanwhile, was repeatedly pinned by the spike, before Vicious-1 pushed it into the flipper nearby. While trying to escape, the former got spiked through its unarmored top, allowing Alexander to ram and jostle it forwards.[8][9]
Pokey, Alexander and Stuffie's chassis all piled into each other; the former briefly lifted both opponents and itself at once. Stuffie rammed an approaching Vicious-1, which responded by damaging the former's wooden framework with its spinning pipes. Alexander started attacking Pokey with the saw once again, as Vicious-1 tore an entire plywood panel off the front of Stuffie. Stuffie turned into Alexander, which pushed Stuffie back across the center while bringing its saw arm down. Vicious-1 resumed its pushing attacks on Pokey, pressing it against Alexander until the Team Delta machine drove away.[8][9]
Following further encounters with Alexander and the flipper, Stuffie suddenly lost mobility altogether. Pokey twice lifted Stuffie from the right-hand side, while Alexander closed in and attacked Stuffie's exposed internals. All four robots converged once again opposite the lower-left flipper; Vicious-1 nudged Pokey aside, then scooped under it once more while chasing Alexander back. Pokey was boxed into the left-most wall by both of its remaining opponents, from which Vicious-1 continued pushing it across the arena. Both robots separated, only for Alexander to start ramming them individually, then push aside Stuffie's remains.[8][9]
After the match, Alexander, Pokey and Vicious-1 were all eligible to qualify for the Melee Final. However, the former would ultimately 'retire' from the competition after suffering extensive damage, including a blown speed controller in the closing moments.[8][9]
Results[]
STUFFIE - RESULTS | ||
Robot Wars: 1997 Championship | ||
Middleweight Face-Off First Round | ||
Round 1 | vs. Alexander | Lost |
Loser's Bracket, First Round | vs. Peaches | Lost |
Featherweight Melee Lost | ||
Middleweight Melee Qualifier | vs. Alexander, Pokey, Vicious-1 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
Events | Stuffie Event Record |
---|---|
1994 | Did Not Enter |
1995 | Did Not Enter |
1996 | Did not Enter |
1997 | Middleweight Round 1 |
Outside Robot Wars[]

Stuffie in BattleBots
Stuffie returned to combat in the BattleBots Long Beach event in 1999, virtually unchanged save for the removal of a few aesthetic features, Stuffie performed far better winning two fights against Little Slice and Spaz but lost two Knee Breaker and Junior.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19991104202542/http://www.cybercomm.net/~alindsey/rw97/stuffie.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight match The Alexander versus Stuffy', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 17 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Robot Wars 1997 - Alexander vs Stuffie', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded April 23 2009
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 'MATCH: THE ALEXANDER VS STUFFIE', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight match: Stuffy versus Peaches', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 4 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 'MATCH: PEACHES VS STUFFIE', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'PEACHES', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight Melee 1', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 10 2021
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 'MIDDLEWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 1', Team Spike website (archived)
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