The Landshark

The Landshark
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1997
Team Information
Team Members	Willis Wong
From	Fremont, California
Other Entries	Marvin (1996)
Robot Statistics
Power	2-wheel electric drive
Weapons	None
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

The Landshark was a heavyweight robot from the 1997 US Robot Wars championship that reached the second round after a BYE but would lose its only championship battle against Z.

Design

The Landshark in the pits

The Landshark as per its name was designed to resemble a shark, with the robot featuring a decorative shark face, fins and a rear tail which served as a rear wedge to get under other robots. The robot was two wheel drive and made from aluminium diamond plate and was welded together with steel tubes.

Robot History

1997 US Championship

The Landshark received a BYE in the first round and moved straight to the winner's bracket second round where it faced Z. Z headed towards the center in the opening seconds, while The Landshark moved towards and spun in the upper-left corner. Both smashed into each other, but without dealing any significant attacks at first. The Landshark drove dangerously into the upper-right flipper, before exchanging another heavy ram with Z. Z spun Willis Wong's entry around with a third shove, while also ejecting one of the latter's batteries. The purple machine found itself colliding with the lower-right walls, before The Landshark veered behind another flipper.

From there, the two robots continued to exchange light pushes, with Z also deploying its spike for the first time before spinning around. The Landshark, meanwhile, also spun before continuing to brush the wall and getting stuck on the lower-right flipper. Z, retracting its spike, pushed The Landshark around in a quarter-turn while trying to spear it a second time. It soon became clear that The Landshark's left wheel was no longer turning. Z pressed against and hooked its opponent by the tail as it struggled to move away, dragging and pushing The Landshark around in circles.

Once the duo separated, The Landshark's mobility issues became more evident. Z began 'poking holes' through its opponent's face, until the spike jammed open once more and forced it to resort to more ramming attacks. This lead to it pushing The Landshark against the right-most wall, where the latter was unable to drive away from at all. Despite a close encounter with the lower spike trap, Z was soon declared the winner by knockout.

The Landshark wasn't finished yet and went on to fight in the heavyweight melee, where in its qualifier it faced Kill-O-Amp, Prometheus and Hercules. The Landshark slowly trundled from the lower-right corner, turning around to face the wall and its approaching opponents. Kill-O-Amp, under pressure from Prometheus II, launched over the wedge shape of Hercules, which became sandwiched between The Landshark and Prometheus II. The collision damaged the lifter of Jim Smentowski's machine sufficiently for it to be rendered 'useless' at this early stage. Kill-O-Amp drove around the side of and began pushing Richard Brull's machine around in circles, collecting both of their opponents in the process.

All competitors converged near the center. Hercules attacked Kill-O-Amp's left wheel with its twin saws. Kill-O-Amp surged forwards, still pushing Prometheus II around, and suddenly stopped moving. Curt Meyers' machine spun around under further attacks from Hercules, after which it again stopped, and became immobilized after ejecting its own drive chains. The three remaining robots pulled away one-by-one; Prometheus II, itself suffering from power supply issues, backed up and stopped between Kill-O-Amp and The Landshark, which turned into its side. Hercules attempted to lift the immobile Kill-O-Amp, managing to hook and drag it back across the arena while bumping into both of its mobile opponents.

Kill-O-Amp lays immobile as Prometheus and Hercules gang up on The Landshark

Prometheus II bumped the lifeless Kill-O-Amp as Hercules began a second lift. The two machines proceeded to gang up on The Landshark, which also rammed Kill-O-Amp before being rammed itself by Jim Smentowski's machine. As Hercules tried to battle The Landshark, with one of its sawblades also shattered, Prometheus II nudged Kill-O-Amp forwards, while firing its spike repeatedly in thin air. A very tentative phase saw The Landshark retreating to the lower perimeter. Hercules, in pursuit, rammed the front of The Landshark just as the spike trap removed one of the latter's front panels.

The Landshark lay motionless for several seconds, before charging at Hercules and pirouetting in the upper-left corner. Hercules rammed and chased The Landshark a few more times, while Prometheus II still struggled for mobility with Kill-O-Amp by its side. At the start of their next duel, The Landshark whacked Hercules with its tail, though Willis Wong's machine was unable to cause any significant damage. Hercules dodged the spike trap as it began chasing The Landshark once more, only for both robots to get caught by the lower-left flipper. A head-to-head collision left Hercules and The Landshark in a temporary embrace as the Melee entered its final minute.

Following another tentative series of events, Hercules, The Landshark and Prometheus II all met again in the inner-right perimeter. All three were deemed to be still mobile, though Prometheus II was 'retired' following this match. Despite having become immobilized for a substantial portion of the Melee, Kill-O-Amp was still chosen to qualify for the next round alongside Hercules and The Landshark.

In the heavyweight melee final, The Landshark alongside Kill-O-Amp faced Vlad the Impaler. Vlad the Impaler charged across the arena, lifting and stacking Kill-O-Amp against the entry/exit doors. The Landshark, meanwhile, spun on the spot in its corner, and was promptly flicked over by the forks of Gage Cauchois' machine. Vlad the Impaler backed away, turned and stopped near the center, marking an exceptionally quick knockout victory.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2

Series Record

Events	The Landshark Event Record
1994	Did not enter
1995	Did not enter
1996	Entered with Marvin
1997	Heavyweight Face-Off, Round 2 Heavyweight Melee, Final