Changes: The Kraken

Latest revision as of 21:15, 6 December 2023

"This is one of the most scary robots I've seen today."

The Kraken was a heavyweight robot which competed in the seventh series of Robot Wars, where it reached the second round before being eliminated by the seeded Thermidor 2. The team had previously competed in Series 2 and 3 with Victor.

Design[]

"...a black hearted fiend."

— Jonathan Pearce briefing describing The Kraken

The Kraken was a very long box wedge shaped robot that was driven by a single drive motor which steers through a differential and brake system. In terms of armament, The Kraken was equipped with two vertical crushing arms. The first of these arms was pneumatic, which could be snapped down quickly to hold its opponent in place, before the second, hydraulic arm came down in an attempt to pierce into the armour of the other robots. Despite this set-up allowing the robot to self-right, this could also only be achieved with the robot flush on its back. Because of the robot's long shape, it was easy for The Kraken to be left suspended on its side - something which happened multiple times in Round 2. Also, despite its destructive weaponry, the pneumatic beak could easily buckle and the robot itself was lightly armoured - factors which ultimately affected it during its battle with Thermidor 2.

The building process proved to be time-consuming, with the team claiming that The Kraken had been built over two years. It was intended to enter The Sixth Wars, but it wasn't completed in time for the qualifiers.

Etymology[]

The robot's name came from the legendary sea monster Kraken, believed to live off the coast of Norway.

The Team[]

The Kraken was entered into Series 7 by a two-man team based in Pinner, Middlesex. The team, otherwise known as Team Victor, was comprised of captain Guy Pickett and teammate Lloyd Davis.

This was the team's third time competing on Robot Wars, after entering Victor into Series 2, and Victor 2 into the Third Wars.

Robot History[]

Series 7[]

The Kraken was drawn into Heat J of the Seventh Wars, where it was drawn against newcomers Pinser and Cobra, alongside the experienced Kronic the Wedgehog.

Kraken Cobra — The Kraken scratches down on Cobra

The Kraken spent most of its first battle chasing the other robots, but it eventually got to grips with Cobra and crushed its armour, failing to puncture the tough outer shell. However, Cobra had seemed to be immobile before The Kraken's attack. Pinser then gripped Cobra and pulled it away, but in doing so drove over the flame pit, which set fire to the internals of Pinser, immobilising it. The two eliminated robots, Pinser and Cobra, who were still locked together, were thrown by the arena flipper before being placed under the Drop Zone, where a TV was dropped on the two, putting The Kraken through with Kronic the Wedgehog.

In the next round, The Kraken faced the fourteenth seed, Thermidor 2.

"May the best robot win, lads."

— Jayne Middlemiss to both teams

Kraken vs thermidor 2 — Thermidor 2 and The Kraken. Note that The Kraken's beak is buckled sideways

Thermidor Kraken 4 — The Kraken forces Thermidor 2 backwards

Thermidor 2 vs kraken — Thermidor 2 flips The Kraken

Thermidor Kraken 2 — The Kraken is finally pitted

Thermidor 2 immediately turned The Kraken over and then flipped it against the arena side wall, bending The Kraken's pneumatic pincer. The Kraken was able to self-right, but Thermidor 2 tossed it over many more times, coming very close to flipping it out of the arena on a couple of occasions. Thermidor 2 then activated the pit and pushed The Kraken towards it. Thermidor 2 then tried to flip The Kraken in, but The Kraken flew the wrong way and escaped. However, The Kraken couldn't do anything to fight back and Thermidor 2 continued to throw it around the arena, eventually succeeding in pushing it down the pit.

"Kraken takes a right good smacken'!"

— Craig Charles on the battle

Results[]

THE KRAKEN - RESULTS
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heats, Round 2
Heat J, Round 1	vs. Cobra, Kronic the Wedgehog, Pinser	Qualified
Heat J, Round 2	vs. Thermidor 2 (14)	Lost

Wins/Losses[]

Wins: 1
Losses: 1

Series Record[]

Series	The Kraken Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Entered with Victor
The Third Wars	Entered with Victor 2
The Fourth Wars	Did not enter
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Heat, Round 2
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

The Kraken after Robot Wars — The Kraken 2 in 2004

Following the end of Robot Wars, The Kraken was rebuilt and renamed The Kraken 2. This new version had titanium armour and a pneumatic flipper in place of the pneumatic jaw which the team used previously. It was signed up to enter the Fighting Robots World Championships 2004 which were going to take place at RAF Newton but this event was cancelled. The Kraken 2 made its only known combat appearance at the Roaming Robots Northampton 2004 event where it lost a three-way melee against Bulldog Breed and PulverizeR.^[1]

The Kraken 2 (minus armour) in 2022 — The Kraken 2 in September 2022

The Kraken 2 would remain with its team for eighteen years. It would make an appearance without its armour at Exeter College in September 2022. Guy Pickett, who works at the college, plans to rebuild the robot and keeps it there to be used for work. Guy has also made plans to start an antweight robotics club at the college.^[2]

Trivia[]

In Heat J of Series 7, Jonathan Pearce referred to the team's prior experience on the show, stating that they had competed with a previous robot. However, The Kraken's predecessor Victor was not referenced by name.
Its name would later be used on the American TV show BattleBots, where a robot named Kraken debuted in the 2018 season of the show, becoming a fan favourite in the process.
Both of The Kraken's battles featured Mr. Psycho as one of the House Robots.
Like its predecessor Victor, The Kraken appeared in a heat that did not feature a semi-finalist from the previous series. On two of those occasions, they lost to the eventual heat winner who then lost to the eventual champion of that series (Trident losing to Chaos 2 in Series 3 and Thermidor 2 losing to Typhoon 2 in Series 7).

References[]

Navigation[]

[1] ttp://www.bugs.nl/media/album/view.php?&path=L3J3L25vcnRoYW1wdG9uMjAwNC9ubC1idWdzL0lNR18xMjc3LkpQRw==

[2] ttps://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/posts/2037945033151918/

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{robot
 |robot_name=The Kraken
-|image=[[File:The kraken.JPG|200px]]
+|image=[[File:The Kraken side view.jpg]]
-|caption=The Kraken
+|caption=Side view of The Kraken, with upper claw closed
 |series=7
 |team=Team Victor
 |team_members=Guy Pickett<br/>Lloyd Davis
+|from=Pinner, Middlesex
 |other_entries=[[Victor]]<br/><small>(Series 2-3)</small>
+|stats=Kraken stats.png
 |weight=100kg
 |dimensions=0.50m x 1.20m x 0.80m
 |clearance=
-|power=1 HP electric motor
+|drive=1HP electric motor
-|weapons=2 x crushing jaws
+|weapons=2x crushing jaws
 }}
-{{quote|This is one of the most scary robots I've seen today|[[Jayne Middlemiss]]}}
+{{quote|This is one of the most scary robots I've seen today.|[[Jayne Middlemiss]]}}
+'''The Kraken''' was a heavyweight robot which competed in the [[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars|seventh series]] of ''[[Robot Wars]]'', where it reached the second round before being eliminated by the seeded [[Thermidor 2]]. The team had previously competed in Series 2 and 3 with [[Victor]].
-'''The Kraken''' was the second robot constructed by Team Victor, and completely different from its predecessor. It was a very long box wedge shaped robot with two vertical crushing arms: a pneumatic arm held its opponent in place for the hydraulic arm to pierce into the armour. However, its own armour was light, despite its destructive weaponry. It was driven by a single drive motor which steers through a differential and brake system. The Kraken fared no better than either version of [[Victor]], losing in Round 2 of [[Series 7]] to [[Thermidor 2]].
+==Design==
-The team claimed that The Kraken had been built over two years, and was intended to enter [[Series 6|The Sixth Wars]], but it wasn't completed in time for then.
+{{quote|...a black hearted fiend.|[[Jonathan Pearce]] briefing describing The Kraken}}
+[[File:The kraken.JPG|thumb|left|Rear view of The Kraken]]
+The Kraken was a very long box wedge shaped robot that was driven by a single drive motor which steers through a differential and brake system. In terms of armament, The Kraken was equipped with two vertical crushing arms. The first of these arms was pneumatic, which could be snapped down quickly to hold its opponent in place, before the second, hydraulic arm came down in an attempt to pierce into the armour of the other robots. Despite this set-up allowing the robot to self-right, this could also only be achieved with the robot flush on its back. Because of the robot's long shape, it was easy for The Kraken to be left suspended on its side - something which happened multiple times in Round 2. Also, despite its destructive weaponry, the pneumatic beak could easily buckle and the robot itself was lightly armoured - factors which ultimately affected it during its battle with Thermidor 2.
+The building process proved to be time-consuming, with the team claiming that The Kraken had been built over two years. It was intended to enter [[Series 6|The Sixth Wars]], but it wasn't completed in time for the qualifiers.
-The robot's name came from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken the legendary sea monster], believed to live off the coast of Norway.
+===Etymology===
+The robot's name came from the legendary sea monster [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken Kraken], believed to live off the coast of Norway.
+==The Team==
+[[File:KrakenTeam.jpg|thumb|The team with Kraken]]
+The Kraken was entered into Series 7 by a two-man team based in Pinner, Middlesex. The team, otherwise known as Team Victor, was comprised of captain Guy Pickett and teammate Lloyd Davis.
+This was the team's third time competing on ''Robot Wars'', after entering Victor into Series 2, and Victor 2 into the Third Wars.
 ==Robot History==
 ===Series 7===
+The Kraken was drawn into Heat J of the Seventh Wars, where it was drawn against newcomers [[Pinser]] and [[Cobra (UK)|Cobra]], alongside the experienced [[Kronic the Wedgehog]].
-The Kraken spent most of its first battle against [[Cobra]], [[Pinser]] and [[Kronic the Wedgehog]] chasing the other robots, but it eventually got to grips with Cobra and crushed its armour, failing to puncture the tough outer shell. However, Cobra had seemed to be immobile before The Kraken's attack. Pinser then gripped Cobra and pulled it away, but in doing so drove over the flame pit, which set fire to the internals of Pinser, immobilising it. The two eliminated robots, Pinser and Cobra, who were still locked together, were thrown by the arena flipper before being placed under the Drop Zone, where a TV was dropped on the two, putting The Kraken through with Kronic the Wedgehog.
+[[File:Kraken_Cobra.jpg|thumb|left|The Kraken scratches down on Cobra]]
+The Kraken spent most of its first battle chasing the other robots, but it eventually got to grips with Cobra and crushed its armour, failing to puncture the tough outer shell. However, Cobra had seemed to be immobile before The Kraken's attack. Pinser then gripped Cobra and pulled it away, but in doing so drove over the flame pit, which set fire to the internals of Pinser, immobilising it. The two eliminated robots, Pinser and Cobra, who were still locked together, were thrown by the arena flipper before being placed under the Drop Zone, where a TV was dropped on the two, putting The Kraken through with Kronic the Wedgehog.
+In the next round, The Kraken faced the fourteenth seed, [[Thermidor 2]].
+{{quote|May the best robot win, lads.|Jayne Middlemiss to both teams}}
+[[File:Kraken_vs_thermidor_2.JPG|thumb|left|Thermidor 2 and The Kraken. Note that The Kraken's beak is buckled sideways]]
+[[File:Thermidor_Kraken_4.jpg|thumb|The Kraken forces Thermidor 2 backwards]]
 [[File:Thermidor_2_vs_kraken.JPG|thumb|left|Thermidor 2 flips The Kraken]]
-[[File:Kraken_vs_thermidor_2.JPG|thumb|Thermidor 2 and The Kraken. Note that The Kraken's beak is buckled sideways]]
+[[File:Thermidor_Kraken_2.jpg|thumb|The Kraken is finally pitted]]
-In the next round it faced 14th seeds Thermidor 2. Thermidor 2 immediately turned The Kraken over and then flipped it against the arena side wall, bending The Kraken's pneumatic pincer. The Kraken was able to self-right, but Thermidor 2 tossed it over many more times, coming very close to flipping it out of the arena on a couple of occasions. Thermidor 2 then activated the pit and pushed The Kraken towards it. Thermidor 2 then tried to flip The Kraken in, but The Kraken flew the wrong way and escaped. However, The Kraken couldn't do anything to fight back and Thermidor 2 continued to throw it around the arena, eventually succeeding in pushing it down the pit.
+Thermidor 2 immediately turned The Kraken over and then flipped it against the arena side wall, bending The Kraken's pneumatic pincer. The Kraken was able to self-right, but Thermidor 2 tossed it over many more times, coming very close to flipping it out of the arena on a couple of occasions. Thermidor 2 then activated the pit and pushed The Kraken towards it. Thermidor 2 then tried to flip The Kraken in, but The Kraken flew the wrong way and escaped. However, The Kraken couldn't do anything to fight back and Thermidor 2 continued to throw it around the arena, eventually succeeding in pushing it down the pit.
 {{quote|Kraken takes a right good smacken'!|[[Craig Charles]] on the battle}}
@@ Line 33: / Line 53: @@
 {{Show|Series 7}}
 {{Competition|The Seventh Wars - UK Championship|Heats, Round 2}}
-{{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat J|Heat J]], Round 1|[[Pinser]], [[Kronic the Wedgehog]], [[Cobra]]|Qualified}}
+{{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat J|Heat J, Round 1]]|[[Cobra (UK)|Cobra]], [[Kronic the Wedgehog]], [[Pinser]]|Qualified}}
-{{Battle|Heat J, Round 2|[[Thermidor 2]] ''(14)''|Lost}}
+{{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat J|Heat J, Round 2]]|[[Thermidor 2]] ''(14)''|Lost}}
 |}
-[[File:The Kraken after Robot Wars.jpg|thumb|The Kraken after Robot Wars. This version was last seen fighting in 2004.]]
 ===Wins/Losses===
 *Wins: 1
@@ Line 42: / Line 62: @@
 ==Series Record==
+{{Series Record|The Kraken|Did not enter|Entered with [[Victor]]|Entered with [[Victor|Victor 2]]|Did not enter|Did not enter|Did not enter|'''Heat, Round 2'''}}
-*Series 1: Did not enter
-*Series 2: Entered with [[Victor]]
+==Gallery==
-*Series 3: Entered with [[Victor|Victor 2]]
+<gallery>
-*Series 4-6: Did not enter
+The Kraken S7.png|Official Series 7 photo
-*Series 7: Heat, Round 2
+The Kraken twin jaw.jpg|The Kraken's twin-jaw setup
-*2016 Series: Did not enter
+</gallery>
 ==Outside Robot Wars==
+[[File:The Kraken after Robot Wars.jpg|thumb|left|The Kraken 2 in 2004]]
-Following the end of Robot Wars, The Kraken was rebuilt and renamed as '''The Kraken 2'''. This new version had titanium armour and a pneumatic flipper in place of the pneumatic jaw which the team used previously. It was signed up to enter the Fighting Robots World Championships 2004 which were going to take place at RAF Newton but this event was cancelled. The Kraken 2 was last seen fighting at the Roaming Robots event held at Northampton in 2004 where it lost a 3-way melee against [[Bulldog Breed]] & [[PulverizeR]].
+Following the end of ''Robot Wars'', The Kraken was rebuilt and renamed '''The Kraken 2'''. This new version had titanium armour and a pneumatic flipper in place of the pneumatic jaw which the team used previously. It was signed up to enter the Fighting Robots World Championships 2004 which were going to take place at RAF Newton but this event was cancelled. The Kraken 2 made its only known combat appearance at the ''Roaming Robots'' Northampton 2004 event where it lost a three-way melee against [[Bulldog Breed]] and [[PulverizeR]].<ref>http://www.bugs.nl/media/album/view.php?&path=L3J3L25vcnRoYW1wdG9uMjAwNC9ubC1idWdzL0lNR18xMjc3LkpQRw==</ref>
+[[File:The Kraken 2 (minus armour) in 2022.jpg|thumb|The Kraken 2 in September 2022]]
+The Kraken 2 would remain with its team for eighteen years. It would make an appearance without its armour at Exeter College in September 2022. Guy Pickett, who works at the college, plans to rebuild the robot and keeps it there to be used for work. Guy has also made plans to start an antweight robotics club at the college.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/posts/2037945033151918/</ref>
+==Trivia==
+*In Heat J of Series 7, Jonathan Pearce referred to the team's prior experience on the show, stating that they had competed with a previous robot. However, The Kraken's predecessor [[Victor]] was not referenced by name.
+*Its name would later be used on the American TV show ''BattleBots'', where a robot named [https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Kraken Kraken] debuted in the 2018 season of the show, becoming a fan favourite in the process.
+*Both of The Kraken's battles featured [[Mr. Psycho]] as one of the House Robots.
+*Like its predecessor Victor, The Kraken appeared in [[:Category:Episodes not to feature a previous year's heat winner|a heat that did not feature a semi-finalist from the previous series]]. On two of those occasions, they lost to the eventual heat winner who then lost to the eventual champion of that series ([[Trident]] losing to [[Chaos 2]] in Series 3 and [[Thermidor 2]] losing to [[Typhoon 2]] in Series 7).
+==References==
+<references/>
+==Navigation==
 {{Series 7 Competitors}}
 [[Category:UK Series competitors]]
 [[Category:Robots from Greater London]]
-[[Category:Robots that only fought in Series 7]]
-[[Category:Robots with equal amount of Losses and Wins]]
 [[Category:Robots with Vertical Crushers]]
-[[Category:Robots with mythological names]]
+[[Category:Robots with religious or mythological names]]
+[[Category:Robots with an equal amount of Wins and Losses]]
+[[Category:Robots which debuted in Series 7]]
+[[Category:Robots which only fought in Series 7]]
+[[Category:Retired robots]]