Sergeant Bash (often abbreviated to Sgt. Bash, or Bash) was one of the original four House Robots, designed to look like a military vehicle with its green army colours and flamethrower turret weapon. The original design for Sergeant Bash had steel armour with a battering ram weapon at the front of the robot and a saw at the rear. In Series 3, the steel armour was changed for fibreglass armour, and the battering ram was removed in place of a hydraulic claw similar to the claw used by Sir Killalot. Sergeant Bash was one of only two robots in Robot Wars to have a flamethrower weapon, the other being Growler; indeed, the said weapon was banned under normal circumstances. In the Sir Killalot and the House Robots edition of the Ultimate Warriors collection, it was stated that the inspiration for Sergeant Bash' design came from the idea of a futuristic army patrol vehicle.
Sergeant Bash was powered by four batteries running in parallel. His weapons required the inclusion of gas bottles to power the flamethrower, in addition to valves and numerous carbon dioxide reservoirs. The flamethrower and hydraulically driven pincers all contributed to Sergeant Bash's increased weight and he required an extremely long wheelbase to support the mass of internal engineering. He also possessed a petrol powered grinder/circular saw weapon at the rear. After Series 3, the rear saw could be seen buckled at Bash's rear, and was purely ornamental. The flamethrower was originally powered from gas tanks that were positioned in the frontal compartment, whilst the motors for the saw were positioned in the rear section just behind the flamethrower turret. With the introduction of the pincers, the gas bottles were moved back and did not allow enough room for the saw motor, resulting in that weapon being scrapped and left purely as a superficial decoration.
In March 2016, the BBC confirmed that Sgt Bash will not return for the 2016 series, along with Refbot, Mr. Psycho, Growler and Cassius Chrome. He is the only house robot out of the original four to not return.
However, in June 2016 when quizzed about the Sergeant's absence, the Official Robot Wars Facebook page responded, suggesting the possibility of additional House Robots should there be a second series.
Armament[]
Sergeant Bash's weaponry consisted of a propane-fuelled flamethrower mounted on a 360 degree turret, front-mounted hydraulic pincers that can exert eight tonnes of pressure and a rear-mounted circular saw (scrapped after Series 3). Notably, flamethrowers were normally against the rules in Robot Wars, with Bash apparently being the exception. In Series 1 and 2, the front pincers did not exist, and in their place was a vicious-looking hooked ramming and cutting spike.
Robot History[]
Series 1[]
SGT. Bash in series 1 and 2
Sergeant Bash was the third House Robot to be introduced. His arsenal of weapons for this series consisted of his flamethrower mounted on a 360 degree turret, a rear-mounted saw blade and a sharp, hooked ramming spike. Despite the inferior nature of the competing robots in this series, Sergeant Bash's weaponry achieved limited success, his most notable moment coming in the Arena stage of Heat A when he set fire to the Irish robot Nemesis. This would start somewhat of a rivalry between Team Nemesis and Sergeant Bash which would last for the next few wars. However, other than this notable moment, Sergeant Bash's flamethrower had very little success even at this early stage of robot development. While his circular saw caused impressive sparks against Elvis during its Gauntlet run, it broke on numerous occasions, most notably when he attempted to attack Killertron in Heat A, with the saw blade shattering and flying off. His spiked rammer, despite being the most understated weapon, was the most successful, with the Sergeant using it to great effect to spike competing robots and impede their runs in the Gauntlet.
Series 2[]
In Series 2, Wheelosaurus attacked Sergeant Bash as it came over a ramp in the Gauntlet, tearing off the gas canister for its flamethrower. A special battle was arranged in Series 2, featuring Bash against Nemesis and Ramrombit, a "sacrificial robot" driven by George Francis. Both robots were doused in flammable liquid and set alight for the entertainment of the audience. During the "Internet Insurrection" Grudge Match, Griffon used its lifting arm to flank the Sergeant and turn him onto his side almost immediately. The immobilised Bash did, however, play a key role in the elimination of Corporal Punishment, as the overturned house robot pinned Corporal Punishment beneath it, rendering the latter unable to move.
Series 3[]
In Series 3
Sergeant Bash accidentally set fellow House Robot Sir Killalot alight during Oblivion 2's pinball run in Series 3. After its loss to Chaos 2 in Series 3, The Big Cheese attacked Bash by spearing him in the wheelguards with its lifting arm and lifting him up high into the air, causing his armour to fall away. After Sir Killalot caused Big Cheese to overbalance and fall onto its side, the jolt caused Sergeant Bash to fall back down, whereupon his propane gas bottle disconnected and fell out onto the floor.
Series 4[]
Series 5[]
Using the pincers he immobilised Wowot. Sergeant Bash's flamethrower also contributed towards Granny's Revenge catching fire during its battle against Axe-Awe
Extreme 1[]
In the Flipper Frenzy, Bigger Brother, Chaos 2 and Thermidor 2 ganged up on Sergeant Bash and flipped him repeatedly, eventually knocking off large chunks of armour and crushing his flamethrower. Although they attempted to flip Bash out of the arena, he was too big and heavy to make it, even with three machines involved in the attack.
Series 6[]
Once again Sergeant Bash's flamethrower set Granny's Revenge alight during its melee. He crushed the innards of Spin Doctor. Sergeant Bash immobilised Delldog in the UK vs Germany Special, sinking his jaw in so far that Delldog became stuck to Bash.
Extreme 2[]
In Heat A of the New Blood Tournament, during the battle between Mute and Mr Nasty, Sergeant Bash started to attack Refbot for unknown reasons, chasing Refbot around the arena spurting fire. While the Refbot gave Sergeant Bash a yellow card and then a red card, this did not stop the Sergeant, who almost managed to push Refbot into the pit. He then used his flamethrower again, but Refbot countered this with his fire extinguisher, putting out Sergeant Bash's pilot light and rendering the flamethrower useless for the rest of the battle. In the Commonwealth Carnage battle between Panic Attack and Firestorm, Firestorm went after Bash after beating Panic Attack, flipping Bash and soon after flipping Mr. Psycho as well. However, Bash got his revenge in the final by crumpling the back of Firestorm's shell.
Series 7[]
In Series 7, Sergeant Bash used his pincers to chew deeply into the armour of certain robots such as King B Powerworks and Mean Streak.