Tiny Tim

Tiny Tim
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1994
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Forklift
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Tiny Tim was a heavyweight competitor robot which fought exclusively in the 1994 US Robot Wars competition. One of the first robots to use a lifting weapon of any kind - alongside The Beetle and The X-1 - it enjoyed very limited success, losing in the first round of the Heavyweight Face-Off to eventual champion Ramfire 100. Tiny Tim also fought in the multi-class Melee, but lost outright to South Bay Mauler.

While not proving successful, the design of Tiny Tim's forklift would influence future competitors with lifting weaponry. According to Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, its appearance in a Next Step segment on the 1994 event inspired Gage Cauchois to develop the pneumatic-based weapon system for Vlad the Impaler.

Design

Tiny Tim was a silver and gray, two-wheel drive robot supported by a swivelling rear castor. It was armed with a front forklift, which ironically made it the tallest robot throughout the whole 1994 competition. Two fork-like extensions were placed on either side of the forklift, though this arrangement would prove ineffective in combat.

For the Melee, a pair of small spiked blades was attached to the rear corners of Tiny Tim, with the apparent intention of performing sit-and-spin attacks.

Etymology

The name is likely a humorous reference to the character of the same name from the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.

Robot History

1994 US Championship

Tiny Tim first fought Ramfire 100 in the Heavyweight Championship. Ramfire began by charging towards Tiny Tim and circling around the forklift machine who was unable to catch up to the speedier Ramfire. Ramfire sped across the arena and a game of cat and mouse began as Tiny Tim struggled to chase after Ramfire who on the occasion came in and stabbed the side of Tiny Tim with the spike. At one point one ram and stab attack caused Tiny Tim to lose mobility on one side with a wheel deflated, causing Tiny Tim to spin around in circles unable to move from its circumference. Ramfire came in again with the spike and successfully stabbed the top armour plate of Tiny Tim, knocking the armour off and causing immense damage as a result. Ramfire continued to slam into Tiny Tim, pressuring it into the corner where it was repeatedly thwacked by the arena flipper as it was deemed immobile.

Tiny Tim competed in the end of event melee where it was one of eight robots, who were still functioning and working properly, to battle it out in a grand rumble with all weight classes involved. Here it fought Ramfire 100, Zomo, Doolittle, The Beetle, The X-1, Spiny Norman and South Bay Mauler. Battle began slowly for most competitors as The X-1, Spiny Norman and South Bay Mauler all targeted Tiny Tim, slamming it about in the corner of the arena, only for all machines to seemingly dogpile into one another. Soon The Beetle attempted to attack Ramfire, pushing it slightly as the latter attempted to join in on the dogpile in the corner. Doolittle managed to slowly crawl across the arena as Zomo, The X-1 and Spiny Norman battled one another while South Bay Mauler sped away to the other end of the arena, away from all other competitors and started to spin up to speed. South Bay Mauler charged into the corner once again, this time smacking into Spiny Norman, Zomo and The X-1, tearing off Spiny Norman's shell leaving it defenceless and weaponless, whilst also dislodging Zomo's shell. South Bay Mauler sped away again as Tiny Tim and The Beetle pushed each other then turning to The X-1 who seem immobile for a brief moment before charging away to attack Ramfire. Both Tiny Tim and The Beetle began suffering control issues with Tiny Tim going in circles with one wheel not working and The Beetle immobile against the arena side wall meanwhile the armourless Spiny Norman slammed into both The X-1 and Ramfire as Zomo attempted to attack South Bay Mauler. Both The Beetle and Tiny Tim managed to drive away from the arena side wall and join the battle as Ramfire became immobile as a result of Spiny Norman driving underneath and wedging itself and Ramfire stuck in the middle of the arena, The X-1 and South Bay Mauler attacked one another, with the former unable to use its weaponry correctly and The X-1 backing away while Zomo crashes towards the two and smacks into an arena flipper. Once again The Beetle had mobility issues stopping near the arena corner as Tiny Tim began pushing both Zomo and The X-1 into an arena mousetrap, here The X-1 began immobilised for a while.

As the battle continued the arena wall opened up and House Robot emerged, slamming Zomo out of the way and driving around the arena, then The X-1, unintentionally reactivating it, before turning to Zomo again, flipping it against the arena side wall. House Robot began to attack South Bay Mauler whilst Spiny Norman managed to free itself from under Ramfire, however Ramfire was still immobilised. Tiny Tim and The Beetle once again broke down in the arena corner as South Bay Mauler was chased by House Robot and Spiny Norman who kept crashing into it to no avail. The X-1 returned to life again as it joined in on the chase while House Robot pushed the mousetrap hazard across the arena. South Bay Mauler soon trapped itself against the arena wall and the arena flipper while both Spiny Norman and The X-1 ran circles around the arena, avoiding House Robot. House Robot then managed to run over Spiny Norman, seemingly knocking it out as The X-1 and was pressured in the corner again. Tiny Tim and Zomo again sprang to life and both joined the battle where South Bay Mauler was hounded by House Robot, but South Bay Mauler fought back and managed to rip away one of the lifter arms from House Robot. Zomo, Tiny Tim and The X-1 pushed each other in a circular line as House Robot used its broken weapon as a thwacking mechanism and span around smacking the remaining machines. Tiny Tim attempted to shunt South Bay Mauler after it was distracted in attacking House Robot only for House Robot to change its attention to Tiny Tim, with the three pushing each other in the centre of the arena as The X-1 and Zomo became immobilised by the arena mousetrap. Eventually the melee came to an end with only Tiny Tim and South Bay Mauler remaining mobile, however, by an audience cheer, South Bay Mauler was declared the winner.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

Series Record

Events	Tiny Tim Event Record
1994	Heavyweight Face-Off, Round 1 Melee (multi-class)
1995	Did not enter
1996	Did not enter
1997	Did not enter