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".. a machine designed to set a new benchmark in robot design. Its unusual shape is engineered to fend-off attacks from rambots, flippers, spinners and axes, while presenting its opponents with a fearsome 1m diameter rotary axe."
— The Team Dark Star Website on ThundeRing[1]

ThundeRing was a competitor robot that attempted to enter Series 7 of Robot Wars. It failed to qualify for its only series for unknown reasons.

The robot had eleven sponsors, all of whom supplied components and online support for its construction and maintenance.

Design[]

ThundeRingPits

ThundeRing in the pits at the Series 7 qualifiers

ThundeRing was an unusual axlebot, with a thin body, very large three-spoked wheels and a metre-long rotary axe as its weapon. The wheels were 30mm wide and spread far apart from each other - 1.2m between the chassis - in order to prevent flippers from getting underneath it as easily and to drive over opponents.

ThundeRing

ThundeRing being worked on

"Offering zero or negative ground clearance from the side (the wheels’ steel spiked rims are designed to penetrate wooden arena floors), most flipper robots (with their arms/plates tending to rest a few millimeters off the ground) are forced to attack ThundeRing from the front or rear. This automatically brings the opponent within the envelope of ThundeRing’s 1m long rotary axe."
— The Team Dark Star Website on the advantages of the robot's wheels

The robot largely resembled BattleBots competitor Gyrax, while the concept of a large-wheeled axlebot would later be repeated by Gabriel in Series 8 and BattleBots competitors HUGE and Starchild.

Qualification[]

"Following this thrashing the Team was faced with a dilemma; admit defeat and retire from robot building or design a new robot that would laugh-in-the-face of its opponent, irrespective of their design and weapon system, before dispatching them to robot Valhalla. Naturally, we chose the latter."
— The Team Dark Star Website on their inspiration for ThundeRing[2]

ThundeRing entered the Series 7 qualifiers with the intent of resisting axes, flippers, spinners and rambots, based on the causes of its predecessor Twinkle-Twinkle's defeat. Ultimately however, no details are known of ThundeRing's qualifier battle, if indeed it made it to the arena.

Series Record[]

Series ThundeRing Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Failed to qualify with Twinkle-Twinkle
The Seventh Wars Failed to qualify
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars[]

ThunderRing Chatham 2003

ThundeRing in the arena at Chatham, in 2003

ThundeRing competed at the Roaming Robots live event in Chatham in 2003, around the same time as the Series 7 qualifiers.

References[]

External Links[]

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