Not to be confused with General Carnage or General Chompsalot
- "Upgraded for a surprise return"
- — Robot Wars: The Official Handbook
The General was a Welsh competitor on Robot Wars which initially competed in the Robotic Soccer competition of Series 3, later reappearing in the main competition of Series 8 in a new form over fifteen years later.
In the former, it reached the Robotic Soccer final after beating Spectre, but lost to fellow Welsh robot Evil Weevil on a Judges' decision. In Series 8, a brand-new incarnation of The General lost its Group Battle after Carbide ripped one of its wheels off, eventually losing mobility once Behemoth manoeuvred it onto the Flame Pit.
Team General also entered Spartacus into the Lightweight Championship of Series 2, and had planned to enter Hazzard into the equivalent event proposed for Series 3. However, a behind-the-scenes accident caused the latter to be cancelled.
Versions of The General[]
The General (Series 3)[]
The General in the arena
The original Series 3 version of The General was an invertible, four-wheel drive machine with large, tractor-style treaded tyres. Weighing 79kg, it was armed with a static front ramming blade - though a front lifter was originally conceptualised - and featured a box chassis made from welded aluminium sheeting. Powered by 12v batteries and two 24v motors, The General exhibited pushing power which was theoretically amongst the strongest in The Third Wars, as demonstrated against House Robot Matilda. On the ramming blade, the Welsh flag was attached to represent the team's home country.[1]
The General (Series 8)[]
- "Farmer Haydn has designed and built his own tractors in the past and the General was built in the family’s milking parlour, with its design based on an army tank. The General is made almost exclusively from parts found around the farm – the spinning disc is taken from an old plough, and its motors are normally used to power electric gates."
- — Robot Wars website
The General in Series 8
The General with its team
The Series 8 incarnation, completed in 2016, retained its predecessor's invertible approach and camouflage paint scheme. However, it switched to a two-wheel drive system with large tyres of a different tread type, while still boasting great ramming power with its fairly high top speed of 15mph. The General in this form was powered by a sealed lead acid 24V battery, and equipped with two large spinning discs that could spin between 500 and 1,000rpm. The robot was armoured in 2.5mm aluminium, although the team were more concerned about its exposed tyres, a notion openly emphasised by Jonathan Pearce during in-match commentary.
Qualification[]
The General with a smaller front scoop, later exchanged for the variant seen in Series 3
The General first attended the auditions for Series 3, passing weight and technical checks alongside the team's planned lightweight entry Hazzard. Both robots attended filming at Elstree Studios at different stages, though The General would not be selected to appear in the main heavyweight competition. Instead, it would compete in the concurrently-filmed Robotic Soccer, which took place shortly after the resumption of filming following a behind-the-scenes accident.[2] Difficulties with the robot's failsafes - themselves posing a safety hazard as a result of their 'chattering' - were resolved in The Pits with assistance from the Mace and Terror Australis teams.[3]
For Series 4, The General received several upgrades including improved failsafes, a lighter rear axle, and a 'mechanical' front claw for gripping opponents. A decorative toy cannon would also be added to the robot's top panel. Alongside the team's other hopeful entry for the series, Slicer, it took part in the qualifiers forming the live Robot Mayhem event. Both machines fought each other in a one-on-one battle held on the morning of August 3rd 2000 - the last day of the event itself. Here, The General secured a relatively dominant victory, turning Slicer over multiple times, including one instance where it left the latter on the active Flame Pit. After the first minute lapsed, Slicer became immobilised with a 'completely shattered' gearbox; the victorious General attempted to push it into the pit, but could not do so before the battle drew to a close.[4][2]
Despite earning a knockout win, The General did not take part in a second battle as had been the case with other potential applicants. By the afternoon, the team were informed by series producer Bill Hobbins that neither it or Slicer had been selected to compete in the televised Fourth Wars.[2] As the team were not known to have attempted entries into any further series in the Classic run, they would not reappear in Robot Wars until the start of the Revival Series in 2016.
By contrast, the Series 8 incarnation of The General was selected to compete via an open application.
Robot History[]
Series 3[]
The General competed exclusively in the Robotic Soccer competition, where it first faced Spectre in a one-on-one match.
The General dribbles the ball
The General managed to get to the ball, but its scoop didn't help it very much to begin with. Matilda kept taking the ball away from The General, whom used its scoop to shunt her from behind. However, after a brief tussle with Spectre, The General managed to regain control of the ball and dribbled it in an attempt to shoot. It was blocked, but then the ball went into the goal off the rebound from Matilda.
The General had qualified for the final, a four-way free-for-all against Evil Weevil, Gnasher and Velocirippa.
The General in the final
The General was slightly too slow to get to the ball. However it finally managed to tackle Matilda and gain the ball, but lost it soon afterwards to Gnasher. The General then appeared to break down, as its batteries ran out of charge. It came back to life towards the end, but it was too little, too late and the judges' decision went against it, going in favour of Evil Weevil.
Series 8[]
Over seventeen years after its last appearance on Robot Wars, The General returned in Heat A of Series 8. Its opening Group Battle draw put it up against fellow Classic Series veteran Behemoth, Team Mute's new axe-wielding robot Bonk, and the debuting bar spinner Carbide.
The General is flipped by Behemoth
Sparks fly as The General's discs make contact with Behemoth's scoop
The team flew the Welsh flag as they entered the arena. At the start of the battle, The General's discs clashed with Behemoth's scoop, sending sparks flying, and The General was flipped over in response. The General's exposed wheels sustained a blow from Carbide.
- "Tyres in Robot Wars, no no no no no! Not a good idea!"
- — Jonathan Pearce, on The General's exposed tyres
The General loses a tyre to Carbide
The General burns on the Flame pit
The General fled, damaged by Carbide, but clashed with Behemoth's scoop to create more sparks, while Behemoth flipped itself over, missing The General, although Carbide launched another attack. The General attacked the side of Behemoth with its discs, and then went to attack Bonk, but this left The General unassuming of a back attack from Carbide. Hit at full strength, one of The General's tyres was ripped away, and rolled across the arena. An immobile General hobbled onto the flame pit, and sustained another blow from Carbide, which knocked The General out cold, eliminating it from the competition.
- "...OH and the wheel's come off The General! Well, what did we tell you? Don't bring wheels into the arena!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Results[]
| THE GENERAL - RESULTS | ||
| Series 3 | ||
| Robotic Soccer Finalist | ||
| Preliminary | vs. Spectre | Won |
| Grand Final | vs. Evil Weevil, Gnasher, Velocirippa | Lost |
| Series 8 | ||
| Series 8 - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
| Heat A, Group Battle | vs. Behemoth, Bonk, Carbide | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
NOTE: Robotic Soccer matches are not included
Series Record[]
| Series | The General Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Lightweight Championship with Spartacus |
| The Third Wars | Robotic Soccer Lightweight Championship with Hazzard (event cancelled) |
| The Fourth Wars | Failed to qualify Failed to qualify with Slicer |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Sixth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Heat, Round 1 |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- With a seventeen-year gap, The General holds the record for having the longest time between its Robot Wars debut, and its first appearance in the main competition.
- Before building robots, team member Haydn James originally built tractors for his own farm, with The General being built in the milking parlour.
- The General was one of only four robots in Series 8 to not use modern lithium polymer or nickel metal hydride batteries inside the machine. The others were DisConstructor, Kill-E-Crank-E and Sweeney Todd, which also used lead acid batteries.
- Five of The General's seven opponents were from teams who would reach the UK Championship Semi-Finals. Of those, only Team Mute did not reach at least the top eight of the main competition, with Evil Weevil being built by a member from Series 2 champions Team Panic Attack.
- In Series 3, the statistics board misspelt team member Haydn James' name Hayden James.
References[]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20020809223513/http://www.jth100.freeserve.co.uk/thegeneral.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://web.archive.org/web/20030122092140/http://www.jth100.freeserve.co.uk/news.html
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20020815142150/http://www.jth100.freeserve.co.uk/soccer.html
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20021013093243/http://www.jth100.freeserve.co.uk/slicer.html
External Links[]
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