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(What little brains Mr Psycho had.) |
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{{robot |
{{robot |
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|robot_name=Topbot |
|robot_name=Topbot |
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− | |image=[[File: |
+ | |image=[[File:Topbot_Crop.png|200px]] |
− | |caption=Topbot |
+ | |caption=Topbot, with its disc at floor level |
|series=7 |
|series=7 |
||
− | |team= |
+ | |team=Team Monad |
|team_members=Benny Karstel<br/>Andrew Karstel |
|team_members=Benny Karstel<br/>Andrew Karstel |
||
− | |other_entries=[[Monad]] <small>(Series 5)</small><br/>[[4x4]] <small>(Series 6)</small> |
+ | |other_entries=[[Monad]]<br/> <small>(Series 5)</small><br/>[[4x4]]<br/> <small>(Series 6)</small> |
+ | |from=Clondalkin, Dublin |
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+ | |stats=Topbot stats.png |
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|weight=99kg |
|weight=99kg |
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|dimensions=0.27m x 1.15m x 0.93m |
|dimensions=0.27m x 1.15m x 0.93m |
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|clearance= |
|clearance= |
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− | | |
+ | |drive=3x 750W electric motors |
|weapons=Spinning disc |
|weapons=Spinning disc |
||
}} |
}} |
||
− | '''Topbot''' was a |
+ | '''Topbot''' was a robot that competed in [[Series 7]] of ''[[Robot Wars]]''. It came from Team Monad, and was the third robot from the Dublin-based team, after [[Monad]] and [[4x4]]. Topbot lost in the first round of its heat after the disc broke off, and also lost its qualifier battle in the [[Third World Championship]] to [[Crushtacean]], where it represented the Republic of Ireland. |
+ | ==Design== |
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− | Topbot lost in the first round of its heat after the disc broke off, and also lost its battle in the Third World Championship, where it represented Ireland. |
||
+ | [[File:Topbot.jpg|thumb|left|Topbot enters the arena inverted]] |
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+ | Topbot's weapon was a horizontal spinning disc that was 64cm wide and weighed thirty kilograms, made from steel and aluminium with two hardened teeth. The body had four wheels on top and bottom, making it an invertible robot, and it had a low ground clearance. It was one of the many robots over the weight limit, so there were many small holes drilled in the top and sides of its bodywork to fit the constraints. The disc made the robot quite top-heavy, but made up for it in its power; it smashed the arena wall in its World Championship qualifier battle. |
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+ | Although Topbot could run inverted and use its disc in either orientation, Topbot's default configuration sees its disc at floor level, evidenced by the robot's name being written on the front of Topbot, which only reads correctly if the robot is not inverted. This essentially made Topbot one of the pioneers of the 'undercutter' spinner, used by Topbot and future undercutters such as [[PP3D]] to target the exposed wheels underneath most robots. |
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⚫ | |||
+ | ==The Team== |
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+ | [[File:TopBotTeam.jpg|thumb|left|Team Monad with Topbot]] |
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+ | Topbot was entered by Team Monad, a two-man team consisting of captain Bernard "Benny" Karstel and teammate Andrew Karstel. The team were based in Clondalkin in Dublin, the same region that [[Team Nemesis]] were based. This made Topbot the only Irish machine in the Seventh Wars. Team Monad had previously entered the Fifth Wars with [[Monad]], and the Sixth Wars with [[4x4]], with no success. |
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+ | |||
+ | Unfortunately, Benny Karstel later died in 2006<ref>Private correspondence with Peter Redmond</ref>. |
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+ | |||
⚫ | |||
===Series 7=== |
===Series 7=== |
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+ | Topbot received a reasonable draw in Round 1 of its heat in the Seventh Wars, against fellow veterans [[Raging Knightmare]], as well as [[R.O.C.S.]] and [[The Executioner]] who had also appeared before. |
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⚫ | |||
+ | [[File:Topbot attacks rocs.jpg|thumb|left|Topbot attacks R.O.C.S. with its disc]] |
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+ | [[File:Topbot vs R.O.C.S. vs Raging Knightmare vs The Executioner.JPG|thumb|Topbot loses its disc]] |
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+ | [[File:Mr Psycho & Topbot.JPG|thumb|Mr. Psycho loses his head after trying to hammer Topbot]] |
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+ | [[File:Topbot_pit.jpg|thumb|Topbot dangerously skirts along the lip of the pit]] |
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⚫ | In the opening seconds, it spun around in circles to ward off attacks whilst the disc gained speed. It then charged into the fray, hacking at the rear of R.O.C.S., but a sudden impact with The Executioner's vertical spinning weapon caused Topbot's spinning disc to detach and fly across the arena floor. Topbot drove around the arena erratically, almost falling in the pit with a wheel hanging over the edge. Topbot then drove into [[Mr. Psycho]]'s CPZ and was cornered. The House Robot hit Topbot with his hammer, and rather comically, his head fell off. Topbot appeared to break down towards the end of the fight and was pushed by Raging Knightmare onto the flame pit as the time expired at the end of the five-minute battle. The match went to a [[judges]]' decision, who voted in favour of R.O.C.S. and Raging Knightmare, eliminating Topbot in the first round. |
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− | Topbot returned for |
+ | Topbot returned for The Third World Championship, fighting against the South African [[Crushtacean]] in its qualifier battle, which was broadcast as part of [[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat G|Heat G]]. |
+ | [[File:CrushtaceanPinsTopbot.jpg|thumb|left|Crustacean pins Topbot against the top arena wall]] |
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+ | [[File:Topbotwc3.jpg|thumb|Topbot takes a lump out of the arena wall]] |
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+ | [[File:Crushtacean vs Topbot.jpg|thumb|Topbot is pitted by Crushtacean]] |
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+ | This time, Topbot entered the arena with its disc face up. Topbot tried to spin up in circles to allow its disc to gain speed, but Crushtacean covered the distance between the pair quickly and prevented Topbot from spinning, shoving it into a CPZ. Topbot escaped, attacking the side of Crushtacean. Topbot slammed into the arena wall, cracking pieces of it before being seized by the crab-like robot and shoved away. Crushtacean pushed Topbot into the pit release, before shoving it down the pit and eliminating it from the competition. |
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+ | {{Quote|Topbot, more like Flopbot!|[[Craig Charles]] on Topbot's loss}} |
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==Results== |
==Results== |
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{{Show|Series 7}} |
{{Show|Series 7}} |
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{{Competition|The Seventh Wars - UK Championship|Heat, Round 1}} |
{{Competition|The Seventh Wars - UK Championship|Heat, Round 1}} |
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− | {{Battle|Heat N, Round 1|[[Raging Knightmare |
+ | {{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/Heat N|Heat N, Round 1]]|[[Raging Knightmare]], [[R.O.C.S.]], [[The Executioner]]|Eliminated}} |
− | {{Competition|The Third World Championship|Representing Republic of Ireland, Qualifier}} |
+ | {{Competition|[[The Third World Championship]]|Representing Republic of Ireland, Qualifier}} |
− | {{Battle|Qualifier|[[Crushtacean]] (RSA)|Lost}} |
+ | {{Battle|[[Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars/World Championship Qualifiers|Qualifier]]|[[Crushtacean]] (RSA)|Lost}} |
|} |
|} |
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==Series Record== |
==Series Record== |
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+ | [[File:TopbotPits.jpg|thumb|Topbot, without its top armour, in the pits]] |
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− | *Series 1-4: Did not enter |
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− | + | {{Series Record|Topbot|Did not enter|Did not enter|Did not enter|Did not enter|Entered with [[Monad]]|Entered with [[4x4]]|'''Heat, Round 1'''}} |
|
+ | |||
− | *Series 6: Entered with [[4x4]] |
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+ | ==Outside Robot Wars== |
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− | *Series 7: Heat, Round 1 |
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+ | <gallery type="slideshow"> |
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+ | Topbot HD.png|Topbot shortly after Series 7 |
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+ | Topbot Pressure.jpg|Front view of the updated Topbot in 2008 |
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+ | Topbot Bigger Brother.jpg|Topbot is lifted by Bigger Brother |
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+ | Topbot Beast.jpg|Topbot in the arena with Beast |
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+ | </gallery> |
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+ | After Series 7, Topbot was maintained, and intended to enter various live events, but the ban on spinning weapons across live events prevented Topbot from competing. As a result, Team Monad would generally compete on the live circuit with 4x4 instead. However, Topbot did compete at [[Team Nemesis|Mechatrons]] in 2018 without running its spinner. Topbot now sported four externally mounted tyres, and its disc was now mounted centrally at an angle, instead of running as an undercutter. It fought robots such as [[Bigger Brother]], [[Beast]] and [[Pressure]] at the event<ref>https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=457592214272409&set=a.452040268160937</ref>. As of 2018, Topbot is still intact, but retired. |
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+ | |||
+ | ==Trivia== |
||
+ | [[File:Topbot S7.png|thumb|Official Series 7 photo]] |
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+ | *Topbot was the only robot from either part of Ireland to feature in Series 7. |
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+ | *Topbot was the first competitor in ''Robot Wars'' designed primarily to be an undercutter spinner. |
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+ | *Both of Topbot's appearances were in the same episode as [[Terror Turtle]]. |
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+ | **Both of those episodes had a World Championship qualifier as the special event with both robots losing and the robots that beat them fought each other in their heat in The Third World Championship. |
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+ | **Both of those episodes were the only two heats of Series 7 where a seeded robots lost in the heat final. |
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+ | |||
+ | ==References== |
||
+ | <references/> |
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+ | |||
+ | {{Series 7 Competitors}} |
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[[Category:UK Series competitors]] |
[[Category:UK Series competitors]] |
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+ | [[Category:Robots with multiple appearances without winning a battle]] |
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− | [[Category:World Championship competitors]] |
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− | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Robots with Horizontal Flywheels]] |
− | [[Category:Robots |
+ | [[Category:Robots from the Republic of Ireland]] |
+ | [[Category:Invertible Robots]] |
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+ | [[Category:Robots to damage the Arena]] |
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+ | [[Category:Robots which debuted in Series 7]] |
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+ | [[Category:Robots which only fought in Series 7]] |
Revision as of 19:40, 22 June 2020
Topbot was a robot that competed in Series 7 of Robot Wars. It came from Team Monad, and was the third robot from the Dublin-based team, after Monad and 4x4. Topbot lost in the first round of its heat after the disc broke off, and also lost its qualifier battle in the Third World Championship to Crushtacean, where it represented the Republic of Ireland.
Design
Topbot's weapon was a horizontal spinning disc that was 64cm wide and weighed thirty kilograms, made from steel and aluminium with two hardened teeth. The body had four wheels on top and bottom, making it an invertible robot, and it had a low ground clearance. It was one of the many robots over the weight limit, so there were many small holes drilled in the top and sides of its bodywork to fit the constraints. The disc made the robot quite top-heavy, but made up for it in its power; it smashed the arena wall in its World Championship qualifier battle.
Although Topbot could run inverted and use its disc in either orientation, Topbot's default configuration sees its disc at floor level, evidenced by the robot's name being written on the front of Topbot, which only reads correctly if the robot is not inverted. This essentially made Topbot one of the pioneers of the 'undercutter' spinner, used by Topbot and future undercutters such as PP3D to target the exposed wheels underneath most robots.
The Team
Topbot was entered by Team Monad, a two-man team consisting of captain Bernard "Benny" Karstel and teammate Andrew Karstel. The team were based in Clondalkin in Dublin, the same region that Team Nemesis were based. This made Topbot the only Irish machine in the Seventh Wars. Team Monad had previously entered the Fifth Wars with Monad, and the Sixth Wars with 4x4, with no success.
Unfortunately, Benny Karstel later died in 2006[1].
Robot History
Series 7
Topbot received a reasonable draw in Round 1 of its heat in the Seventh Wars, against fellow veterans Raging Knightmare, as well as R.O.C.S. and The Executioner who had also appeared before.
In the opening seconds, it spun around in circles to ward off attacks whilst the disc gained speed. It then charged into the fray, hacking at the rear of R.O.C.S., but a sudden impact with The Executioner's vertical spinning weapon caused Topbot's spinning disc to detach and fly across the arena floor. Topbot drove around the arena erratically, almost falling in the pit with a wheel hanging over the edge. Topbot then drove into Mr. Psycho's CPZ and was cornered. The House Robot hit Topbot with his hammer, and rather comically, his head fell off. Topbot appeared to break down towards the end of the fight and was pushed by Raging Knightmare onto the flame pit as the time expired at the end of the five-minute battle. The match went to a judges' decision, who voted in favour of R.O.C.S. and Raging Knightmare, eliminating Topbot in the first round.
Topbot returned for The Third World Championship, fighting against the South African Crushtacean in its qualifier battle, which was broadcast as part of Heat G.
This time, Topbot entered the arena with its disc face up. Topbot tried to spin up in circles to allow its disc to gain speed, but Crushtacean covered the distance between the pair quickly and prevented Topbot from spinning, shoving it into a CPZ. Topbot escaped, attacking the side of Crushtacean. Topbot slammed into the arena wall, cracking pieces of it before being seized by the crab-like robot and shoved away. Crushtacean pushed Topbot into the pit release, before shoving it down the pit and eliminating it from the competition.
- "Topbot, more like Flopbot!"
- — Craig Charles on Topbot's loss
Results
TOPBOT - RESULTS | ||
Series 7 | ||
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
Heat N, Round 1 | vs. Raging Knightmare, R.O.C.S., The Executioner | Eliminated |
The Third World Championship Representing Republic of Ireland, Qualifier | ||
Qualifier | vs. Crushtacean (RSA) | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record
Series | Topbot 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 | Entered with Monad |
The Sixth Wars | Entered with 4x4 |
The Seventh Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars
After Series 7, Topbot was maintained, and intended to enter various live events, but the ban on spinning weapons across live events prevented Topbot from competing. As a result, Team Monad would generally compete on the live circuit with 4x4 instead. However, Topbot did compete at Mechatrons in 2018 without running its spinner. Topbot now sported four externally mounted tyres, and its disc was now mounted centrally at an angle, instead of running as an undercutter. It fought robots such as Bigger Brother, Beast and Pressure at the event[2]. As of 2018, Topbot is still intact, but retired.
Trivia
- Topbot was the only robot from either part of Ireland to feature in Series 7.
- Topbot was the first competitor in Robot Wars designed primarily to be an undercutter spinner.
- Both of Topbot's appearances were in the same episode as Terror Turtle.
- Both of those episodes had a World Championship qualifier as the special event with both robots losing and the robots that beat them fought each other in their heat in The Third World Championship.
- Both of those episodes were the only two heats of Series 7 where a seeded robots lost in the heat final.
References
- ↑ Private correspondence with Peter Redmond
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=457592214272409&set=a.452040268160937