The Master was a Californian robot, and the winner of the 1995 open Robot Wars competition, held in London in 1995. After winning untelevised battles against Painful Wedgie and Mauler 1995, The Master fought Thor in a battle which was broadcast as part of the British Robot Wars, included in Heat D of Series 1, and the VHS release of Robot Wars: The First Great War.
Design
The Master before its battle with Thor
The Master was an invertible axlebot design, uniquely containing most of its electronics within its two spherical wheels. The robot was equipped with a front panel, and a circular saw attached to an arm at the rear. The Master featured a point of actuation between the two weapons, so the front panel would appear to function as a lifter, while the circular saw arm could be brought from the floor while The Master's wheels still made contact with the floor. Castor wheels were also applied to the bottom of The Master's saw housing.
In its appearances on BattleBots, The Master's saw could be substituted for interchangeable weaponry including a spiked hammer, and an electric lifting spike. Only the circular saw was seen on Robot Wars.
Robot History
Series 1
- "And now it's time to strap yourselves in and cry mercy, as we leave you with the ultimate robotic confrontation!"
- — Craig Charles in Robot Wars: The First Great War
After defeating Painful Wedgie and Thor in the first two rounds of the 1995 Robot Wars Open Competition, The Master fought Thor in the final, which was televised as part of the first British series of Robot Wars.
- "We'll revisit the 1995 Robot Wars UK Championships in London, featuring two of the most powerful robots in the world today! The Master, built by Mark Setrakian, and Thor, designed by Shilling Robotics, both from America, and what a night it was!"
- — Jonathan Pearce in Series 1, Heat D
The Master slices through Thor's armour
The Master's disc sheds upon impact with Thor
The Master initially turned to face Thor using its lifting panel, but Thor made no aggressive movements, and The Master bumped into it, before continuing to circle around Thor. After a sustained period of hostility, The Master made the first move and drove up the surface of Thor, burying its circular saw through the armour of Thor, which could only flail its weapon at no target in defence. The Master's attack also caused Thor to start leaking fluids. The Master withdrew its saw, and bumped into Thor using its left wheel. After Thor retreated, The Master held off until it found the right moment to charge in with its saw, shearing a loose piece of armour from the top of Thor.
- "And there, surely a killing blow! Smashing right to the heart of the hydraulic cabling!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
The Master attacks Thor's exposed wheel
With no saw remaining, The Master celebrates its victory
While Thor pushed back, The Master brought its saw onto the top of it, causing damage while shearing the circular saw in the process, creating a shower of dust. The Master continued to grind away in spite of the damage, cutting into the top of Thor's weapon, and briefly throwing sparks. The Master almost managed to drive up the side of the retreating Thor, but The Master brought what remained of its saw onto the front of Thor, creating a gash, before finally sacrificing the remainder of its saw to cut into a front wheel of Thor. This attack had immobilised Thor, and The Master won the battle.
- "And The Master is surely one of the most powerful robots in the world, and for me, the star of the 1995 UK London Robot Wars!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
As Blendo was deemed to unsafe to compete in the final, The Master was deemed the joint champion of the 1995 championship, alongside Blendo, also winning the Best Design Award for that competition. As Blendo was not acknowledged in the UK Robot Wars series, The Master was deemed the outright champion for the viewing audience.
Results
| THE MASTER - RESULTS | ||
| Robot Wars 1995 | ||
| 1995 UK Open Competition Final aired as part of Series 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Painful Wedgie | Won |
| Round 2 | vs. Mauler 95 | Won |
| Final | vs. Thor | Won |
| NOTE: The Master was also to fight Blendo after its encounter with Thor, but Blendo was deemed to unsafe to compete, and both robots were declared champions | ||
Outside Robot Wars
In the 1994 Robot Wars championship, The Master defeated TMZ in the first round, but lost to eventual runner-up The Beetle, effectively leaving The Master in third place. After becoming the joint-champion of the 1995 Robot Wars competition, The Master returned in 1996, only to lose its first battle to Tazz.
The Master also competed in two seasons of BattleBots, in the Middleweight division. It was initially drawn against The Emasculator in Season 2.0, and advanced via forfeit. The Master then defeated Subject to Change Without Reason in a comfortable 36-9 Judges' decision, advancing to the quarter-finals. The Master collected another win, defeating Blade Runner on a 28-17 Judges' decision to reach the semi-finals. There, The Master should have fought El Diablo, but a burnt out motor forced The Master to forfeit the battle, eliminating the robot prior to its semi-final battle.
After a two-year gap, The Master returned in Season 5.0 and was seeded to advance beyond the preliminary rounds automatically. Its first opponent was Jack Rabbit, and The Master won a close 24-21 Judges' decision. In the Round of 16, The Master fought Ankle Biter, which was able to trap The Master under the spikes lining the arena wall, where it was counted out. The Master was eliminated at this stage.
Team Sinister also competed with various other robots. Mark Setrakian entered the 1996 Robot Wars competition with a featherweight named Gigan, although this was unsuccessful. Rather than competing with The Master, Mark Setrakian built Gigan 2 to enter the heavyweight division of the Robot Wars 1997 competition. Gigan 2 competed alongside Snake, a superheavyweight robot armed with a drill, using its entire body to provide locomotion, with no wheels or legs present. Although Snake lost its only battle to Scorpion at Robot Wars, Snake also entered Season 2.0 of BattleBots and defeated Anubis. Within the Round of 16, Snake was eliminated by War Machine.
Gigan 2 was converted into Ronin, which entered the 1999 BattleBots events in Long Beach, and Las Vegas. After this, it was able to compete in all five seasons of BattleBots during its original run. Over this long history, including the Long Beach and Las Vegas events, Ronin collected six wins and nine losses, alongside a draw. Its peak performance was in Season 1.0, where it reached the semi-finals by defeating Odin and Ginsu, also reaching the Round of 16 in Season 4.0.
Team Sinister's other superheavyweight robot was Mechadon, a 480lb robot with six spider-like legs providing movement. Although it was present at every BattleBots event in the original run, it only fought at the Las Vegas 1999 event, and in the first season. At Las Vegas, Mechadon defeated Ginsu, but was forced to retire ahead of its battle against Ricon. In Season 1.0, Mechadon defeated Prompt Critical without even needing to make contact with its opponent, but it then lost to Rammstein.
Trivia
- Robot Wars competitors such as Sumpthing and Xenomorph bore very similar designs to The Master, potentially taking design cues from it.
- For pioneering the axlebot design and the concept of interchangeable weapons, The Master was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame in 2011.[1]