The Mangulator

The Mangulator
Participation Information
UK Series	4
US Season	American Robot Wars 2000
Other Names	Mangulator
Team Information
Team	Team Delta
Team Members	Dan Danknick Adam Clark Bob Pitzer
Other Entries	Agamemnon (1996) Alexander (1997) The Ominous Brick of Havoc (1997)
Robot Statistics
Weight	86.8kg/191lbs
Dimensions	0.47m x 0.92m x 0.5m/ 20' x 59' x 37'
Power	Electric Motors
Weapons	Torque reaction 'Thumperizer'
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"We're here for maximum Mangulation to defend the title of the United States!"

— Dan Danknick

The Mangulator (also simply referred to as Mangulator) was a heavyweight robot built for competitions taking place during filming for Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars. An Anglo-American machine, it was built as a collaboration between Team Delta's Dan Danknick, UK Series veteran Adam Clark and future Extreme Warriors roboteer Bob Pitzer.

The Mangulator represented the United States of America in the Series 4 War of Independence special, suffering a Round 1 defeat against Ming 2. Prior to this, it was among the US robots chosen to fight in the unaired American Robot Wars 2000 pilot for MTV. The Mangulator again lost in the first round, to fellow War of Independence compatriot frenZy.

Design

"Very Fast and smooth control a wheeled hammer that proved that all the maths in the world does you no good compared to a 2 day build."

— Dangerous Machines website on The Mangulator

Side view of The Mangulator in the arena

The Mangulator was a blue and silver thwackbot with two gold wheels, chequer plate armour and thick treaded tyres. Its torque reaction weapon incorporated a 5lb sledgehammer tip, along with spiked extensions to enable sit-and-spin attacks. The tip was alternately referred to by Dan Danknick as the 'Thumperizer', and on its UK Series stats board as an 'Axe'.

The Mangulator in combat

At 86.8kg, The Mangulator complied with the substantially higher 95kg limit for heavyweights competing in the American Robot Wars 2000 pilot. This gave it and most of the other US representatives a considerable advantage over UK competitors, which were designed to comply with the original 79.4kg limit. Even with this, The Mangulator's exposed wheels proved to be a major weakness, as did the fragility of the axles holding them in place. The removable link - located inside the framework supporting the 'Thumperizer' - was also exposed due to the weapon's comparative lack of armour.

The Team

"Another wedge shape to flip opponents. Designed partly in LA and partly in London - sneaky Stateside spies get everywhere. You can Mangulate... we'll Strangulate!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces The Mangulator

The Mangulator's team (right-to-left): Adam Clark, Dan Danknick and Bob Pitzer

Team Delta in their control booth

The Mangulator was built as a collaboration between three seasoned roboteers from US and UK robot combat events. Dan Danknick - captain of 1996 and 1997 US competitors Team Delta - teamed up with UK Series veteran Adam Clark and Team Raptor member Bob Pitzer. The trio collectively formed Team Delta's line-up in the War of Independence and American Robot Wars 2000; as well as all three members being friends with each other, Clark also served as the team's European sales and sponsor representative for their parts supply business. In total, they took two days to build The Mangulator, accomplishing the process through correspondences over the internet. The Mangulator itself was primarily assembled in the UK; a webcam documenting the build process was set up and streamed through Clark's Dangerous Machines website.

The Mangulator upright next to Adam Clark

In the War of Independence, Danknick drove The Mangulator and was the solitary speaker for the team. Team Delta's background as a supplier of custom combat robot parts - built on their experiences in the original US events - was also addressed in their post-match interview.

Julia Reed: "Now, you've been in contact with some of the guys from the other side of the Atlantic, have you not?"

Dan Danknick: "Yes, I..."

Julia Reed: "What's your connection?"

Dan Danknick: "Oh, for a couple of years now, I've been building interface boards to interface radio controls, to the motors and the control systems, for improved safety and improved functionality. So, about fifty or sixty of the roboteers here use my connections."

Julia Reed: "So they use your designs?"

Dan Danknick: "Yeah."

Julia Reed: "Ahey!"

Dan Danknick: "So it was good to come here and meet everybody for a change."

— Dan Danknick's post-match interview from the Series 4 War of Independence, highlighting Team Delta's role in assembling custom RC interfaces for other teams

The Mangulator never competed in any other robotic-themed competitions aside from American Robot Wars 2000 and the War of Independence, the only American representative from the latter and the only robot present at the former, not to do so. Following an abortive attempt by Team Delta to develop a second heavyweight - Alexander 2 - for a 2001 US series, Clark and Pitzer continued competing with their respective teams and robots. Dan Danknick, meanwhile, was hired as coordinator and technical crewmember for both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, later reappearing in the Season 2 International Championship with Clark and Wowot.

Robot History

American Robot Wars 2000

The Mangulator in the pits for American Robot Wars 2000

Before its televised debut in the UK Series, The Mangulator participated in an untelevised pilot episode commissioned by MTV, dubbed American Robot Wars 2000. It was among the eight robots selected for the competition, and although the field of competitors was later reduced to four, The Mangulator passed its audition on-site and maintained its place in the competition.

In the first round, The Mangulator fought a seasoned BattleBots competitor frenZy. According to Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, frenZy "decimated" The Mangulator in a one-sided battle, resulting in its elimination at that stage.

Series 4

In the Fourth Wars War of Independence, The Mangulator represented the United States of America. It fought the British robot Ming 2 in the first round.

"And The Mangulator with "Dan the Man" at the controls on the right. Looks quite laid back, doesn't he? That's LA for you..."

— Jonathan Pearce in the lead-up to The Mangulator's War of Independence fight

The Mangulator thwacks the back of Ming 2

The Mangulator immediately tried to swipe an approaching Ming 2 with its 'Thumperizer', though the weapon merely glanced off the front of its opponent. Gently swinging over the top, the 'Thumperizer' turned the whole robot over before it repositioned itself for sit-and-spin attacks opposite the Floor Flipper. The Mangulator whacked the back of a passing Ming 2, but hesitated before trying to ram the Cotterell family's machine from the left-hand side. As an effect of its higher ground clearance, the USA representative drove up against and bounced off the top of Ming 2's low body. The Mangulator hopped over the arena floor as Ming 2 continued pushing and tried to flip it.

"And, of course, they have the 'Thumperizer'! Perhaps they used the arena [in stereotypical American accent] elevator... [back to regular voice] to get to the arena floor? It is our language, after all, boys... it is a powerful weapon, actually, isn't it? Spinning around frantically - bash, bash on the arena floor, and again! Crashing against the arena floor, which actually... uhm, doesn't pick you up any points, boys, but never mind. We'll try and explain the rules to you a little bit later on!"

— Jonathan Pearce's initial impressions of The Mangulator's weapon and attack style

Ming slams The Mangulator into the jaws of Sgt. Bash

At that moment, The Mangulator thwacked Ming 2's flipper, and spun again while partially over the Floor Flipper panel. The Mangulator's weapon flailed around as it shuttled to and from the flame jet, striking the arena floor multiple times. Another tentative pause left it vulnerable to a shove from Ming 2, which steered The Mangulator into the wall and Sgt. Bash's CPZ on the right-hand side. The Mangulator escaped by driving over the top of Ming 2, while hitting Sgt. Bash from the front-right corner. It was next seen being scooped up and pushed back into the wall, though Ming 2 again struggled to flip The Mangulator while holding it close to the Flame Pit.

Ming 2 gets underneath The Mangulator

The Mangulator raised its body as the two competitors briefly separated and flames rose from beneath the grille. However, Ming 2 quickly turned and pushed it backwards, collecting Refbot in the process. The Mangulator again tried to thwack Ming 2, but its momentum was disrupted as it found itself turning around over Ming 2's front end. As the pair veered closer towards the back wall, The Mangulator succeeded in attacking Ming 2 and a lurking Sgt. Bash again.

The Mangulator loses a wheel

Next, The Mangulator was seen spinning near and driving away from the Flame Pit once more. Upon its retreat towards the back wall, it took another ram from Ming 2, this time to one of its wheels. Over the course of the battle, as explained later by Dan Danknick, a fracture had gradually developed in the shaft supporting the affected wheel. The impact from Ming 2 caused the shaft to fail completely, and the entire wheel to break off. Sgt. Bash immediately pounced on The Mangulator, which appeared to become completely immobilised.

"Well, how frail was that? [Laughs] Ahh... remember the old Westerns and the stagecoaches? Dodging the Apaches and the wheel came off? Look what's happened there!"

— Jonathan Pearce as the House Robots gang up on the immobile Mangulator

The Mangulator is surrounded by the House Robots

Shunt prises The Mangulator's armour open

Shunt and Matilda dispose of The Mangulator's remains

Soon, Shunt and Matilda joined in, attacking The Mangulator's framework and remaining wheel respectively. Smoke rose and sparks flew as Matilda's chainsaw sliced through the tyre, and Sgt. Bash briefly doused the fallen US representative in flames. Shunt repeatedly fired his axe onto The Mangulator's main body. At one point, he punched through and bended its rear panel open, in tandem with his scoop. Once the Pit of Oblivion descended fully, the remains of The Mangulator were pushed in by Shunt and Matilda. The Mangulator, having lost another armour panel before then, was eliminated from the War of Independence.

"One wheel on his wagon... The Mangulator is definitely not rolling along! Mangulator... you're outta here!"

— Craig Charles announces The Mangulator's elimination

The sheared axle contributing to The Mangulator's loss

Valuing his opportunity to meet British teams who had used Team Delta's custom interfaces, Dan Danknick remained enthusiastic in spite of The Mangulator's demise. Though Danknick vowed to return with 'a better robot' when queried by Julia Reed, the War of Independence proved to be his only appearance in UK Robot Wars.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

Series Record

1994-1997 US Competitions

Events	The Mangulator Event Record
1994	Did not enter
1995	Did not enter
1996	Entered with Agamemnon
1997	Entered with Alexander Entered with The Ominous Brick of Havoc

UK Series

Series	The Mangulator Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	War of Independence, Round 1
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

US Series

US Series	The Mangulator Series Record
Season 1	Did not enter
Season 2	Entered with Wowot
Nickelodeon	Did not enter

The 1994-1997 and US Series records are reflective of team captain Dan Danknick only. Adam Clark competed in UK Series 1-3 and 5-6 with various robots, and Bob Pitzer competed in both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors as part of Team Raptor. The Mangulator also competed in the untelevised American Robot Wars 2000 pilot.

Gallery

The Mangulator logo

The Mangulator being built

The Mangulator in the arena

The Mangulator from the front

Outside Robot Wars

For more information on Dan Danknick and Bob Pitzer's involvement in non-Robot Wars events, see Team Delta and Team Raptor.

Trivia

Mangulator's incorrect Note

• The Mangulator's stats board incorrectly stated that it was built in '3 days', whilst it was actually two days according to Dan Danknick and the Dangerous Machines website.
• Jonathan Pearce also erroneously introduced The Mangulator as being armed with a 'wedge shape'; however, he correctly highlighted its 'Thumperizer' weapon throughout its fight against Ming 2.

External Links

• Team Delta page for The Mangulator (Mangulator) (archived 18 October 2000)