Hello there, thank you for joining me in this belated forum post.
After a brief outing with Splat at RoboNerd, I decided I needed a more effective beetleweight that could still be made cheaply and safely. So set about designing various wedged-shaped flippers. I wanted the build to be a cross between Wild Thing from Robot Wars and Blip from BattleBots. Something compact and tanky, that could survive the hits and have plenty of options. I set about making CAD, in this case Cardboard Aided design. Using the electronics from Splat and an old RC servo to create a working prototype. I also need a name and, after delegating this task to people who should not have been given that power, the name Bob Toss was brought forth (thanks Sion), giving me a theme to lean all the way into.
The prototype with a mysterious sparkly brown foam sheet
Initially the flipper arm ran all the way to the floor however, I decided it might be easier to protect the weapon if the wedge stopped at the end of the chassis to allow various, interchangeable wedges/forks to be made (ala Blip). This is also why the servo is not connected to the flipper, to prevent any unnecessary damage and make it as simple as possible to repair
Completed design, with salvaged steel wedge and just enough room for internals
The main chassis was built from titanium. Titanium white HDPE that is. A 5mm base plate and 10mm everything else (told you it would be a tank). Everything was held in place using as many clamps as I could lay my hands on and screwed together with M4 wood screws.
Please don’t make any comments about my clamping system
It was then time to transfer all of the electronics to the new chassis. It’s a little tight, with my inability to solder XT-30s consistently leading to me buying pre-soldered connectors that take up more space but at least individual components can be easily swapped out for repairs. In the spirit of improving maintenance ease I originally had the top panels on hinges, matching that of the flipper, however these are currently absent after moving the link to the top of the robot.
Shaping up nicely
With everything fitted and the electronics up and running it was time to start thinking about aesthetics. With the plan of using glitter foam for Bob’s hair I thought it might be necessary to have a thin sheet of polycarbonate over the foam to prevent rogue glitter. It also adds extra protection from any overhead attacks. The polycarb was fitted temporarily while the HDPE was removed for painting.
Please don’t show this picture to any hammersaw builder
With extra time before the event I made a few different wedge attachments including a couple of salvaged steel angles to use as wedges and a 10mm block that was hinged to avoid hitting seams in the floor when box-rushing horizontals. However to only affective front was the forks created from HDPE off-cuts which will be returning as an option for champs.
Pick a wedge, any wedge…
With spares prepped and every wedge paint to be on theme, Bob was ready for his first event Scouse Showndown 3.
Don’t scrach the beautiful paint work
The fight card for Scouse Showdown was rough and the organiser apologise for the draw but you’ve got to work with what you got. Firstly, a loss to Bby Dead Bod due to a poorly attached wheel then having the link sniped in seconds by an aggressively driven Unstoppable force. fight 3 went a lot smoother, however, we managed to survive 2 minutes with Chucky and even got a cheeky little lift while both robots were upside down.
Before and after a brief encounter with Bby Dead Bod.
Without a doubt, the best moment from the event, was the whiteboard match against BulletPoint Onryo, with an assist from a (not so) minibot built by Dave Weston. After the Bob Toss came in massively underweight, I put out a call on social media for a minibot and Dave, inspired by my previous Art Attack theme, came in with a genius idea of a paintbrush robot that attacked with actual paint. It was his arena, so he was happy to make a mess in it.
Photo credit: Dave Weston
And a mess we made in a chaotic battle that led to paint getting in BulletPoint’s weapon gear and on Bob’s hair, with our opponent ultimately ending down the pit. (I’m taking some of the credit for that) Here is the aftermath of the carnage.
BulletPoint Onryo marked by its opponent
And some friendly fire
In the end the robot is something that I am extremely proud of and although its performance was less than stellar, it never stopped working electronically. Massive thanks to Dave for providing the biggest high of the event, despite the problems that arose on the day. Also massive thank you to Merseyside Robot Fighting for not not only letting me compete but for awarded me the “Judges’ Choice”, citing my enbodiment of the spirit of the sport I have enjoyed as a fan for my whole life.