APEX
After Dutch robot PacifieR pulled out, Craig Danby's brother Chris stepped in with this monster of a machine. Apex is compact and well-armoured, and has a top speed of 18mph, but the real star of the show is that four-foot hardened-steel bar, which weighs 37kg and spins at over 240mph. We're approaching Tombstone levels of power here. What's more, the whole machine just looks extremely intimidating.
The major issue for Apex is going to be reliability: the weapon system is completely untested, so the team have no idea how well it's actually going to work until they step into the arena for the first time. I also have a feeling that, like PP3D, this thing is going to suffer from insane recoil, hurling itself backwards across the arena and damaging its internals with each hit. I'm gonna love seeing it in action though.
Prediction: Has the potential to win the heat, but will be relying on that mighty weapon not breaking down.
Prediction: Has the potential to win the heat, but will be relying on that mighty weapon not breaking down.
CRUSHTACEAN
Now here's a machine I didn't expect to see back. Ian and Dominic Visser's shiny crab-bot returns, seemingly unchanged from its last appearance back in 2004. The main changes are a top speed increase - up to 20mph - and a coat of tough polyurethane paint that the team say will protect it from spinners. Forgive me, but if Cherub's 8mm Hardox wedge didn't protect it from spinners, I don't see what good a coat of paint is going to do.
Crushtacean is a fish out of water. Its 6mm aluminium armour is weak by modern standards. Its grabbing claws are weak by modern standards. The team admit that they're weak against spinners, and they're up against three excellent ones in their group match: Apex, Ironside 3, and Pulsar. To be honest, I kinda wish the Vissers hadn't returned, because their robot is going to be torn to pieces and it will be tragic to watch.
Prediction: An outdated machine up against three top-class spinners. This kills the crab.
FROSTBITE
Last week, while waiting for Heat 3 to start, I caught the tail end of Atlantic Rim, one of SyFy's patented low-budget 'mockbusters'. Frostbite kinda reminds me of that film: a low-budget Carbide, it was built by a group of schoolchildren for less than £500. It also looks pretty cool, with its frosted polycarbonate armour and LED lighting (that seems to be the 'in' thing at the moment). Of course, it's no Carbide, but Dave Moulds has been building robots literally since before they were born, so I think I can cut them some slack.
That doesn't mean I won't mention its weaknesses. Firstly, as cool as its frosted armour looks, it's only 6mm thick, and will probably shatter quite easily. Secondly, while the weapon spins at 2000rpm, it looks a little small. Thirdly, its top speed is only around 10mph. All in all, it's very good considering the age of the builders, but definitely outclassed at this level.
Prediction: Frostbite will bite the dust in the first round - and might be little more than dust afterwards.
HIGH-5
HIGH-5 is effectively SMIDSY 2 - it's built by the people who now own the original, and shares several design features with the three-time heat finalist. Most notably, it has SMIDSY's signature lifter/grabber/rammer, now with a ten-fingered design to match the name. It also has an interchangeable 14kg spinning drum at the back, so technically, that makes six spinners in this heat.
In a heat full of this many spinners, HIGH-5's main weakness will be its sides - not just because of the exposed wheels, but because the side armour doesn't seem too strong. It's also hampered by a top speed of just 12mph, which will hamper its ramming/pushing abilities. (I'm sure I could make some kind of "Down low? Too slow" joke here.) Luckily, it's avoided the worst of the spinners in its first-round match, and will be aiming for the head-to-heads.
Prediction: My favourite to make it to the head-to-heads alongside Supernova, but I don't expect to see it go much further.
IRONSIDE 3
Ironside 3 impressed me last year. It came within a hair's breadth of the heat final - which, against Gabriel, it would surely have won - and is back with a redesigned bar for another shot at glory. The self-righting mechanism, which cost it last year, has been improved, as has the weapon motor, so that mighty 35kg spinning bar should spin up even faster than before.
I still think Ironside 3 is an excellent machine, but sadly, everything it does, Apex does just a little bit better. Apex's bar weighs more, and spins faster. Apex has a higher top speed, and thicker armour in places. That doesn't mean Ironside 3 is going out, of course. Remember, it knocked out Pulsar in the first-round melee last year, and then nearly beat it again in the head-to-heads. Can they do it again?
Prediction: A great machine, in a tough heat. Potential heat finalist, but may struggle to get there.
PULSAR
Last year, this compact drum spinner made the Grand Final despite suffering more breakdowns than a room full of uni students. (I was a uni student this time last year. I would know.) Engineering prodigy Ellis Ware has made a raft of improvements to Pulsar, and hopefully ironed out the kinks. The drum is heavier, but still spins at over 200mph; the front armour and wheelguards are tougher this year; and it's got a srimech as well.
So, what are Pulsar's weaknesses? Well, uhh... other than the potential for its reliability problems to recur, I'm not entirely sure. Like most of the spinners in this heat, it's largely untested, so it could be the only one that breaks down, or it could be the only one that doesn't. We have no way of knowing, really. All I know is, I look forward to hearing that almighty death hum again.
Prediction: A surefire contender, regardless of reliability. Probably my favourite to win the heat.
SUPERNOVA
After their spectacular demise last year, losing both teeth from its disc and then hurtling uncontrollably into the pit, the long-running veterans have returned with a rebuilt machine. Supernova's fearsome disc is now a single 22kg piece of hardened steel, spinning at 2500rpm, and the sleek black armour is hardened steel as well. The team also have the advantage of being the most experienced in the heat by a long way: they've been doing this for 19 years now.
Supernova's wheels are its main weakness, and not for the reason you may think - the team reckon they're low on traction and it might end up getting pushed around. Mind you, against this kind of opposition, I think being "pushed around" is the least of Supernova's worries. It's also still only 94kg, so might be more affected by recoil than its rivals - and that mighty spinner has a whole lot of recoil.
Prediction: Less of a glass cannon this year, but still a loose cannon. Will definitely make the head-to-heads, but unlikely to go further.
WYRM
Remember Overdozer? The wooden machine with the petrol engine that pretty much disintegrated? Well, the team are back, and their second effort is miles better than their first. (Good thing, too - if Dantomkia was able to smash Overdozer to bits, can you imagine what Supernova would do to it?!) Wyrm is a heavily-armoured 4WD machine armed with a thick steel lifting wedge, similar to BattleBots' Stinger. It looks great, especially with the green spines on the back.
Wyrm is one of the best examples this series of how anyone can build a combat-worthy robot, regardless of budget or experience. Its main weakness, of course, is going to be its comparative lack of weaponry; aside from that, the team aren't sure whether the wheelguards will stand up to the power of Supernova. Personally, if I were them, I'd be thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't in the other opening melee against Apex, Ironside 3, and Pulsar.
Prediction: With a little bit of luck, I think Wyrm could make the head-to-heads. After that, however, its luck will run out big-time.
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