Unique weapons

Throughout all series of Robot Wars, some robots featured weapons that did not fit into any fixed category. These are known as unique weapons. Unique weapons may still act in a similar manner to conventional lifting/flipping, overhead or rotating weapons, but function in very different ways. Famous and successful examples of unique weapons include the trap mechanism of Series 4 Semi-Finalist MouseTrap, and the 'smothering shell' of Series 3 middleweight competitor Tentoumushi.

Definition

A unique weapon is designated by the fact that it does not fit into one exclusive weapon category. The trap mechanism of MouseTrap, for example, functioned in the same way as a hammer (Series 4) or bladed axe (Series 5/Extreme 1). However, its shape and dimensions also allowed the weapon to act as a clamping jaw, which MouseTrap used to great effect as the trap held opponents in place while it pushed and dragged them around the arena.

Additionally, there may be unique weapons that do not fit into any category whatsoever. Examples include the 'smothering shell' of Tentoumushi or the 'wagglers' featured on Darke Destroyer 2.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Roboteers can often use the custom weapons to fit in with the design of their robot, for both effectiveness and entertainment. MouseTrap's trap weapon and Bucky the Robot's snapping teeth add to the robot's theme and MouseTrap's proved to be reasonably effective throughout its performances in Series 4-5.
• Creating a new type of weapon grants a robot an element of surprise.

Disadvantages

• It is very difficult to predict whether a unique weapon will be effective in combat without any predecessors to compare it with. Unfortunately, most of the weapons listed here proved to be largely ineffective in practice.
• Other robots which attempt to have unique weapons can be outlawed by the regulations of the show. For example, Double Jeopardy attempted to enter Series 10 with a tethered air cannon weapon, but the producers declined the robot's application on the grounds of safety.

List of Robots with Unique Weapons

Robots are listed alphabetically. Robots which are not heavyweight entries are listed with a green background. House Robots are listed with a yellow background.

Robot	Weapon	Picture	Series Appearances with Unique weapon	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages
8645T	Combination axe/flipper arm		Series 5, 7	The flipper and axe were attached to the same ram, so that when the weapon fired, the axe would lower as the flipper raised.	Protected the front and back of the robot at the same time. The weapons offered good leverage to one another, and the flipper could be reasonably effective.	It did not allow 8645T to self-right from any position other than on its back.
Big Brother	Morningstar mace		Series 3	The morningstar functioned as an overhead flail, which would whip back and forth.	Fast attack rate.	Had a very short range and was largely ineffective at causing damage. In addition, the mace was prone to falling off and could be snagged by opponents.
Binky	Nose axe and Battle sled		Series 3	Binky's battle sled was a large wedge scoop attached to a frame. The frame, itself attached to Binky's turret body, was capable of rotating around so that Binky's battle sled had a 360 degree range.	Provided a good deal of protection when facing an opponent, as it kept robots at least three feet away from its chassis and internals.	Was very slow in moving around, often required torque from the actual robot to get underneath opponents properly. Taking up a good deal of Binky's 78kg weight, often the body rotated and the battle sled remained still whenever the weapon was used.
Broadsword	Medieval broadsword		Extreme 2	The sword was a long blade made out of car springs. It was similar to a spear, but had bladed edges, and could damage opponents by swinging the side of the blade into them.	Protected it from spinners, it held off Typhoon for most of their Extreme 2 Middleweight battle.	Was long and unwieldy, struggled to hit low robots and had minimal effect on them if the attack connected.
Bucky the Robot	Snapping jaw		Series 10	Bucky the Robot was inspired by chattering teeth; its jaw used a pneumatic system and a top row of teeth to snap down on opponents. Team Tomco designed their weapon like this to work like a 'flipper in reverse', with instant downward force. Classed as a crusher by Robot Wars: The Official Handbook.	Applied a large amount of force onto the top of robots. Could allow the robot to self-right if it was flipped directly onto its back. The two middle teeth proved effective in grabbing hold of opponents through 'biting' through exposed gaps, e.g. Vulture's wedge.	The weapon's position led to many of Bucky the Robot's components being left exposed. It could not re-right the robot from most positions, or if the pneumatics system ran low on CO2. Wedge was too steep to allow weapon to 'bite' consistently.
Cronos	Crusher/rear-hinged flipper		Series 4	Cronos' weapon consisted of a vertical crusher and a rear-hinged flipper mounted together on the same arm. The leverage from the crusher raised the rear wedge, which was supposedly capable of lifting a double-decker bus. Functioned similar to 8645T, Robochicken and the Series 5 version of Sir Chromalot.	Covered the back and front of the robot at the same time. Useful when attacked by multiple robots.	Ineffective at self-righting.
Daisy	Heavy overhead "Skipping rope"		Series 3	Described as a "skipping rope", Daisy's weapon consisted of a thick metal blade which swung over the robot to strike opponents. Very little is known about the weapon, as it, and Daisy, were never seen in action.	The weapon appeared to be able to strike opponents from both the front and back. Its design would have allowed it to act as a srimech.	Potential reliability issues, although it is unknown whether this was the reason Daisy withdrew. Had a limited attack range and would have struggled against large opponents, such as its would-be opponent, Aggrobot.
Darke Destroyer 2	Spring-loaded "wagglers"		Series 4	The "wagglers" were two spring-loaded, sharp pieces of metal that would be fired when they came into contact with another robot, with the intention of slicing through an opponent's armour.	Could be fired at an exceptionally fast rate, useful for scoring aggression points.	Were very weak, and caused minimal damage.
Dome	Pneumatic trebuchet		Series 5	The trebuchet functioned as an overhead flail, with the "ammunition" a disc attached to the main arm by a chain.	Very fast.	Had limited damage potential and could not act as a srimech during the robot's only battle.
Dragbot	Movable Spikes On Wedge		Extreme Warriors Season 2	The spikes could catch opponents and pull them over the wedge towards the robot's rear-mounted cutting disc.	Helped to keep an opponent trapped on the wedge, potentially capable of damaging wheels or tracks.	The spikes were not very effective and also could not help the robot self-right as opposed to regular flippers.
Growler	Flamethrower		Extreme 2	A weapon prohibited for use by competitor robots, which was powered by propane and fired a jet of flame at opponents. Consisted of a blow-lamp rig which would shoot flames through a nozzle beneath Growler's 'tail'.	Effective at setting fire to robots covered in flammable materials, such as fur or wood, or with components powered by flammable fluids and/or fuels.	Largely a visual effect weapon, incapable of causing significant damage. Extremely limited capacity and poor reliability, causing it to be scrapped after just one series.
Haardvark	Grinding blade		Series 3	The blade was originally meant to be interchangeable with a diamond-edged saw, but the saw was prohibited due to health and safety regulations. The grinder was attached to a plastic blade, and consisted of an abrasive saw that was designed to grind away opponents' armour.	Made lots of sparks, which would help emphasise damage and aggression in the event of a Judges' decision.	Fragile, ineffective against tough armour, needed to be held in place in order to work properly.
Havoc	Zinc mace		Series 2	Interchangeable with a flipping/lifting arm and a battering ram, the mace was a spiked ball attached to a rod on the top of Havoc by a chain, allowing it to move freely.	Large attack radius.	Ineffective at inflicting damage.
Heavy Metal	Rotating arm		Series 9	A 360-degree articulating arm with interchangeable weapon tips. The arm can be modified to operate in various different configurations, such as a clamp, a lifter, a thwackbot and a spinning weapon, depending on which opponents Heavy Metal faces.	Could have been effective at side-stranding opponents. The arm could also double as a self-righting mechanism.	Slow, with a rotational speed of 10rpm. Was rather easily damaged in its group battle, thus left it ineffective during the remainder of the heat.
Little Nipper	Twin mousetraps		Extreme 1	Little Nipper wielded two mousetraps which each resembled an actual mousetrap. They were intended to bludgeon down on its opponents whenever they came into range.	Fast, very effective at flipping opponents over in a similar manner to front-hinged flippers. Could double as ramming wedges when in the fired position.	Ineffective as bludgeoners, retracted very slowly.
MouseTrap	Trap mechanism		Series 4-5	The mechanism was designed to resemble the actual mechanism of a conventional mousetrap. Functioned as an overhead weapon, with a heavy bar, and then a guillotine blade in Series 5, as the impacting part of the weapon. Reached a Series Semi-Final and recorded four wins, including a victory over the seeded Evil Weevil, with this weapon.	Was effective as a trapping mechanism; MouseTrap could easily drag robots across the arena once it had slammed the trap down.	Could not function as a srimech. Was vulnerable to being damaged, as shown in its Series 5 battle against S3.
Ms Nightshade	Spikes/'petals'		Series 9	The robot's weapon consisted of six pneumatic 'petals' with top-mounted spikes, which could act as axes and/or hammers. The 'petals' could also double as a sit-and-spin weapon when fully opened, and the team claimed that they could enable Ms Nightshade to climb out of the pit.	Fast-acting, gave the robot protection from most sides.	Not very damaging. Were unable to act as self-righting mechanisms. Fragile; several were bent out of alignment after the robot was flipped by Apollo during its Group Battle.
Piranha	Saw-Hammer		Extreme 2	The weapon was a large swinging serrated blade that functioned like an axe or hammer.	Was fast-acting in the first few swings.	Not very powerful or damaging. Speed and power decreased significantly after the first few swings.
Revolution 2	36" vertical blades		Series 6, Extreme 2	Six extremely large vertical blades attached to a spinning drum mechanism. The robot could run inverted, and its blades were much thicker in Extreme 2 than in Series 6.	Offered a large range of attack, with high speeds of 200mph.	The blades would halt upon contact with other robots, and no individual blade was particularly heavy.
Roter Ochse	'Demolition Hammer'		Series 2	The weapon operated like a jackhammer, with the intention of denting and buckling other robots' armour. It was strong enough to damage the arena side wall, but was not seen in action on the televised broadcast of Roter Ochse's only battle.	Proved very powerful and destructive.	Only worked on slow or immobile opponents. Mounted high, likely too high for it to hit most low-profile robots.
Sgt. Bash	Flamethrower		Series 1-7, Extreme 1-2	A weapon prohibited for use by competitor robots, which was powered by propane and fired a jet of flame at opponents. This flamethrower was mounted on a turret that could rotate 360 degrees.	Effective at setting fire to robots covered in flammable materials, such as fur or wood, or with components powered by flammable fluids and/or fuels. The turret allowed for a wide range of attack.	Largely a visual effect weapon, incapable of causing significant damage.
Sir Chromalot	Combined axe/flipper		Series 5, Extreme 1	The flipper's gas bottle was mounted on the flipping arm, and had a spike attached to the rear end which acted like an axe when the arm was raised. It functioned akin to 8645T and Robochicken.	Ability to attack from the front and back at the same time.	Inaccurate, prevented Sir Chromalot from self-righting after being flipped by Firestorm 3.
Sting	Whipping tail		Series 2-3	The tail was basically a spiked chain that would whip back and forth quickly.	Easy to use multiple times in quick succession.	Ineffective at causing damage, narrow attack range.
Tentoumushi	'Smothering Shell'		Series 3	It also had a small spinning disc, but the main weapon was the 'smothering shell', consisting of a plastic sandpit lid. The shell was used to grab hold of opponents, allowing Tentoumushi to either use its saw to damage them or drag them around the arena while keeping them trapped underneath. It did this to great effect in both the Middleweight Melee and the Series 3 War of Independence.	Could easily control an opponent by trapping it with the 'smothering shell'. Offered an effective weapons synergy with the disc.	Was necessarily fragile.
The Sentinel	Spiked club on a modified JCB arm		Series 2	Intended to push, block and pin robots against the wall or arena floor when they attempted to pass it, as well as to cause damage to their armour, and steer them into other House Robots or a nearby pit. Mounted on a turret that could turn 180 degrees, later 360 degrees in the Semi-Finals, with the arm and club able to lift and lower independently of each other.	Capable of stopping competitors from moving; was shown to damage, immobilise and even lift robots on occasions. The turret allowed for a wide range of attack from each of The Sentinel's designated positions, especially in the Semi-Final Gauntlet stages.	The club could not be used outside of The Sentinel's positions, as the machine's tracks were purposely enclosed. Required a human operator inside the arena. Both the arm and the club could also be damaged.
The Spider	Rotating spikes		Extreme	Two cross-shaped blades at each end of a horizontal shaft, allowing the spikes to spin vertically together.	Covered both sides of The Spider's front using only a single mechanism.	The blades were comparatively lightweight. Both the weapon motor and chain were also exposed, potentially leaving these components vulnerable to damage.
Toe Cutter	Spring-loaded blade		Series 3	The blade was a 5kg blade attached to a clay pigeon trap mechanism, which when fired was intended to slice through an opponent's armour.	Was very fast and could be fired in rapid succession.	Did not prove very powerful or damaging, had a short attack reach. Low-profiled robots could avoid the blade entirely.
Twister (Dutch)	Spinning Triangle		Dutch Series 2, Series 7	Twister featured a triangular spinner with blunted vertices that acted as hammers. The entire outer triangle was thick enough to cause damage. The weapon was mounted at a 45-degree angle in Dutch Series 2 and horizontally in UK Series 7. Due to its unusual shape, Twister's weapon cannot accurately be classified as a flywheel or a heavy rotating blade.	The weapon was well-designed, with much of its weight away from the central axis. It was highly capable of damaging and immobilising opponents, especially in the 45-degree configuration.	The 45-degree orientation left the robot precariously off-balance. The horizontal configuration left the space in between the vertices exposed - if that was the point of impact the triangle would glance harmlessly off the opponent and be unable to spin up.