Robot Wars S9 - Week 2 Analysis

I thought about doing post-heat analysis, but let's stick with what I know for now. On to Heat 2, then, which sees the return of Eruption and PP3D, two of the losers from last year's Heat of Death, as well as Robot Wars stalwarts Behemoth. There's also a new robot from the former owners of Dantomkia, and Robot Wars' first-ever eggbeater. What's an eggbeater, I hear you cry? Read on and find out!

BEHEMOTH

It just wouldn't be Robot Wars without them. The ever-present Behemoth team return for a record eighth series, and the iconic tiger-striped machine is now the oldest robot still competing. While it hasn't changed much appearance-wise, its drive motors and flipping power have both been upgraded, and it now has interchangeable scoops for taking on different opponents. Presumably, one of these will be geared towards spinners, in an attempt to stop the likes of Carbide.

If Behemoth's new scoop can stand up to spinners - PP3D will be the acid test of that - it should be a strong all-rounder. There's a tough line-up of robots in this heat, but Behemoth isn't completely outclassed by any of them. I'd say the biggest danger to it is sheer random chance: Behemoth isn't called the show's unluckiest robot without good reason. Who knows what could go wrong for it this series?

Prediction: I'd love to see them finally reach the Grand Final this year, and while it faces some tough opposition, it just might get there.

CHERUB

There's no Gabriel this year - much to my own disappointment - but one of the lanky axlebot's stablemates has taken up the gauntlet instead. A veteran of the live scene, Cherub is being driven by Craig Colliass' children. It has a 360-degree lifter, similar to Shockwave last year, but with slightly less versatility. The armour is very tough, though - the gold-painted wedge on the front is 8mm-thick steel, so this thing should stand up to PP3D quite nicely.

Apart from the limited weaponry, the one glaring weakness that Cherub has is its massive exposed wheels, which are just begging to be torn off. I'm not sure it can run both ways up, either, what with those angel wings in the way. And let's not get into the fact that it's being driven by a pair of 12-year-olds, which carries its own unpredictability factor. But these are no ordinary 12-year-olds, and I doubt they're completely new to this driving thing. Besides, it's always good to see kids getting involved in engineering.

Prediction: It's a decent bot, but exposed wheels and lack of experience might clip this angel's wings.

COBRA

Last year, this was Brutus, a rammer that didn't make the cut. Its Belgian owners have completely rebuilt it for this series, and Cobra now makes its Robot Wars debut armed with a crushing jaw with four tonnes of force. Its real strength, however, lies in its drivetrain: all four wheels are powered independently, giving it a top speed of 20mph, near-instant acceleration, and enough power to pull a truck. I expect its main tactic will be to grab opponents and just ram them into things until they die.

Cobra is a pretty cool-looking machine, but like Cherub, it has rather exposed-looking wheels, and the team have admitted that the rear end is rather fragile. While it appears to be invertible, I don't know how well the weapon is going to work once it's upside-down. The killer blow: it's up against Behemoth and Eruption in its opening melee. It'll take an upset for them to make it through.

Prediction: In a different draw, Cobra might have had a shot at making the head-to-heads, but sadly, I feel that it's doomed.

DRAVEN

(Note: The producers originally suggested the name "Lord Draven", and while the team refused to use it, it's gained traction among the fanbase. I initially used "Lord Draven" in this article, but I've changed it at the request of the team.)

After being smashed open by MR Speed Squared last year, Draven has been completely rebuilt. Its crushing jaw now has six tonnes of force, 50% more that last year, and bites down twice as fast. The drive system is completely interchangeable too, so if it sustains damage to the drive, they can just swap it out for another one. (Rapid, taken notes.)

Last year I said that the titanium and carbon-fibre construction would be "tough". MR Speed Squared quickly proved that this wasn't the case. They've gone with the same materials again this year, and this time I will actively question the choice. What's worse, PP3D is apparently in its first-round melee. Will it be déja vu all over again for Draven?

Prediction: It's a sleek machine, and I'd like to see it go through, but sadly I don't see it happening.

ERUPTION

Last year, I expected big things of the two-time UK champion, but it was unlucky to be drawn in the "Heat of Death", and it just failed to make the heat final despite out-flipping eventual champions Apollo. This year, the main improvement is that the claw on the top is interchangeable with a small drum, designed to shred the front wedges of opponents when Eruption gets underneath them, so it can get under them again much easier. I don't know whether that's ingenious or completely redundant, but I guess we'll see.

Eruption will probably fancy its chances of progressing from a heat with slightly fewer potential champions (no offence to its fellow competitors), but it's not a surefire win. They'll need to make sure the flipper stays reliable, they'll need to hope that their new tougher sidepods are enough to stave off PP3D, and they'll need to beat Behemoth. I still think they can do it, but my optimism is more cautious than it was last year.

Prediction: Head-to-head round? Definitely. Heat finalist? Probably. Grand finalist? Possibly.

HOBGOBLIN

Remember I mentioned that this episode had the show's first eggbeater? Well here it is. It's essentially a fancy type of drum, with a hollow rectangular shape. Creator Harry Hills (not to be confused with a certain bald comedian) was on the Sabretooth team last year, so you'd think he'd know a thing or two about drums. It certainly looks pretty cool and unique; the more I look at this robot, the more I like the appearance.

Sadly, that's about all it has going for it. The weapon may be 20kg in weight but it only spins at 2500rpm, for a relatively sluggish tip speed of 80mph. The robot itself is also quite slow, at only 9mph, which is a problem when one of the robots in its opening melee is Cobra. And from the looks of things, I don't think it's invertible, which is a massive problem when its other two opponents are Eruption and Behemoth.

Prediction: Eggbeater it may be, but world-beater it is not. Out in the first round, I'm afraid.

PP3D

Proof that Kickstarter actually does work sometimes, PP3D is back with a new 31kg undercutting disc, engraved with the names of its various investors. After the reliability problems they had last year, they've mounted the drive motors on custom shock absorbers to try and dampen the recoil from the mighty blade. Considering the weight and speed of the disc, though, it's likely to still fling itself across the arena with every hit (in an admittedly spectacular fashion).

I've mentioned exposed wheels a couple of times before in this post, but honestly, I don't think PP3D has to worry about that too much, unless it gets too close to Matilda. The main worry is going to be reliability. Will the drive motors really be more reliable this year? What about the weapon motor? Without that, PP3D is effectively useless. Like Eruption, it'll fancy its chances, but like Behemoth, it'll be praying for a little luck.

Prediction: If - and only if - the reliability is sorted, it's a definite contender for the heat. Otherwise, it could find itself out in the head-to-heads again.

PUSH TO EXIT

This surprisingly bulky-looking blue thing is the competition's only front-hinged flipper. Created by Shane Swan, who entered last year with Dantomkia, it's partially based on Envy, Shane's successful live-event competitor. The stats make pretty good reading: extremely fast at up to 24mph, low-pressure flipper for excellent stamina, innovative easy-swap drive system (Rapid, are you writing this down?), experienced team...

So what are its weaknesses? Well, none, according to the website. For me, the main thing stopping this from becoming an instant favourite is that a low-pressure front-hinged flipper isn't the most spectacular of weapons. It's going to outlast every other flipper in the competition, no doubt, but it won't be throwing them head-first over the arena wall. The armour might also be a little thin in places, and I wonder how much practice Shane's had with this brand-new machine.

Prediction: Could be a dark horse from the heat. Should make the head-to-head round at least.