Good event to make my first post here! I showed up with the previously very unsuccessful Wheely Bad Solder, a return for The Revenge of Scrooge McDerp which previously yeeted Grandmaster Smash in a lucky deflection, and the brand new The Second Coming of The Revenge of Scrooge McDerp… Again. Historically I might luck into the occasional win, and that’s about it. I’m invariably relegated to being an observer.
Wheely Bad Solder had a sadly predictable run, taking 0 wins from 4 in the heats. It’s always been a bit fiddly to drive, but for something basically built to be a wedge version of Wheely Big Cheese, I’d expected more from it by now. It just isn’t aggressive enough and will likely be retired now.
The Revenge of Scrooge McDerp also let me down a bit, going 0-4 as well. To be fair, for a clusterbot made of two small RC stunt cars with static Behemoth-style scoops bolted on the front, it just surviving two full events is a miracle. This will be retired too, but with a memorable win to its name at least.
The Second Coming of The Revenge of Scrooge McDerp… Again is something I was really looking forward to running. My first totally bespoke 3D printed entry with an active weapon, and my only 3D printed machine since Grinding Nemo took no wins at AWS67 (I think, the one in Gloucester last year anyway!) and only beat Team Phyte’s drum spinner at BotFest 5 after both were utterly mangled and had a friendly little shoving match. Given my history, and my record with my other two entries last weekend, I think we can all see where this is going. The Second Coming is oversized, being designed to be as big as possible under the old 4" cube rule (it was built right before the change became public knowledge, so… yeah. Not my finest bit of foresight!) so it was too tall, probably a bit too wide as well, but a solid 45ish degree flipper. So, too big, unsuccessful driver, this was never going to end well. BUT WAIT!
I shared Heat 6 with Kharuul, Fake Pigeon, Death Grip and Team Phyte’s Little Sytes. First I faced the excellent grabber of Death Grip (I can’t find the footage of this one, it may only be on the official camera unfortunately so I’ll have to wait, and I’m only going from memory that it’s my first fight of the day). It was a brilliant back and forth battle, both of us not giving an inch and surviving to a Judge’s Decision. I honestly thought I had it on control, but in the end some brilliant use of the jaw, including clamping onto the flipper - though that allowed me to take my stowaway for an unsteady ride! - cost me the win. It was insanely close, and set me up nicely for the tournament despite the loss. 0-1, looks like I might have all 3 robots going home winless.
Next up, Fake Pigeon, a 6 wheeled wedge. Considering how low the wedge was, and me arguing on principle against adding acetate because I was convinced the flipper was already low enough, I was expecting to be shamed and to attach acetate for the remaining fights. And yes, initially I was struggling to get under Fake Pigeon and got taken for a few rides around the beautiful new MRF/BotFest arena. 30 seconds into the 2 minute fight and I got precariously close to the pit. About 45 seconds in the tables (and the Pigeon) turned with a lucky flip. I tried to stack it against the arena wall and failed dismally, but managed to use the flipper as a gravity-powered jaw instead, and posted Fake Pigeon carefully into the pit. I think it’s going to stand as my proudest win for a while!
Kharuul was up next, the 2 wheeled wedge providing a similar challenge to Fake Pigeon but with a far more experienced driver at the controls. At first I was again beaten on the ground game (acetate never did make an appearance) and my weight issues meant there was no way of returning the flipper to its original position if it tipped backwards. This came into play for the first time here, leaving me vulnerable to major damage had I been up against an active weapon. But instead of giving in, I used the inverted flipper as a dustpan before eventually getting toppled back onto my wheels with the flipper available again. I thanked Kharuul by inverting it in a head on flip, before superior traction allowed me to shove it right across the arena and into the waiting pit. 2 wins out of 3 fights? This is unheard of for me! Ah well, the streak was nice, but presumably now normal service would resume…
My footage of the fight against Little Sytes is unfortunately incomplete, because after about 20 seconds it seemed like it was all over. 5 seconds in, one of the twins was already inverted and immobilised, so it became a head to head. By the 15 second mark I’d got a decent flip behind the other half of the cluster and got the first OOTA in the new arena. Nobody could take that away from me, even if The Second Coming got written off in its next fight! Filming stopped 7 seconds later - and then the inverted Little Syte managed to right itself somehow, so after some more frantic squabbling I put it in the pit. 3-1, and looking strong to get into the final 8. Somewhere I’ve never been before, and my talent levels surely do not deserve. But hey, 3 wins with one robot is still my best single tournament run, so there’s no shame in that. I knew there was a risk of a playoff, but Fake Pigeon lasted to a Judge’s Decision against I believe the Little Sytes, and that clinched it for me. I made the final 8!
Into the Quarter Finals, and I’m faced with Baby Boomer. It was one of only two fights that didn’t last the first minute, and unlike the one against Little Sytes, I wasn’t on top at any point. I was immediately running on my back with the flipper in the dustpan configuration, and against such a well built and well driven flipper there was nothing I could do. Barely a quarter of the fight had passed before I wound up in the pit. Realistically, I think I was the worst competitor in the knockout stages, but I take huge pride in making it that far.
There is no doubt I’ll be updating this design (with help!) for the next BotFest, and potentially a brand new event in North Wales too if I can get things arranged. With a little refinement it’ll be a serious contender. If I can learn to drive better, that is. The driver is definitely the weak link!