Recyclopse was the first robot from Team Cassius, which was entered in Series 1. It was a black dome-shaped machine with a pneumatic steel wedge "tongue" that would shoot out of the front of the robot, with a reach of over 90cm, and flip its opponents over. Recyclopse was made almost entirely of recycled materials, with the only thing purchased being the wheels. As a result, Recyclopse was the first robot to cost less than one hundred pounds. The domed shape defended Recyclopse well against pointed attacks, but the robot was quite unreliable as its drive chain kept slipping. Due to this, Recyclopse broke down in three of its five appearances.
It was the first competitor robot to flip another robot with a flipping weapon rather than a plain wedge, doing so to the House Robot Matilda. The robot won its Heat Final after a controversial judges' decision against Mortis, but was immobilised in the Grand Final when one if its chains broke after an attack by the eventual champion, Roadblock.
Recyclopse was retired after The First Wars, with a good deal of its electronics being recycled into the similarly successful Cassius, and the shell being used to cover the water pump at the bottom of Rex Garrod's garden for a while, before being moved to Garrod's workshop, where it sits alongside all three versions of Cassius.
Robot History
Recyclopse took on the House Robot route in the Gauntlet and shot past the defending House Robots to complete the course in the fastest time.
In the Trial, the five remaining robots played the robot version of British Bulldog. Again Recyclopse started quickly, but was impeded by Matilda. This made Recyclopse drive into a pyramid and lose one of its chains, immobilising it. However, Recyclopse got its revenge by becoming the first competitor robot to flip over a House Robot by flipping Matilda over, and the first robot to flip another over using an active weapon. Despite being immobile, Recyclopse's progress was still enough to go through to the Arena stage, as Detonator had barely moved from its starting position due to battery failure.
In the Arena stage, Recyclopse was drawn against Scrapper. Recyclopse started poorly, driving towards a CPZ and being attacked by Dead Metal. Fortunately, Recyclopse ran away from danger quickly. Scrapper came in, but missed with its charge, and Recyclopse rammed straight into sluggish Scrapper before flipping it onto its side.
In the Heat Final, Mortis drove into a CPZ and got impaled on a spike leaving it open to attack by Matilda. However, Mortis escaped and launched some aggressive attacks on Recyclopse and came close to tipping it over. The battle ended with Recyclopse stranded on top of Mortis, who was stuck on the sidebars, in a CPZ with Mortis being attacked by the axe of Shunt. The decision went to the judges who gave it to Recyclopse, much to the dismay of the Mortis team.
In the Grand Final, Recyclopse appeared to be the main target for the other competitors, as it was spiked by T.R.A.C.I.E. before being pushed around by Roadblock, Bodyhammer and Robot The Bruce, nearly toppling over at one point. Roadblock then shoved Recyclopse across the Arena, causing the drive-chain to break off, just as it had in the trial of its heat. Recyclopse was immobilised, leaving it technically finishing 4th overall.
Results
| Series | Event | Round | Opponent(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Robot Wars Series 1 | Heat B | Gauntlet | N/A | Completed
(1st) Qualified |
| British Bulldog | Mortis,
Leighbot, Scrapper, Detonator |
(4th)
Qualified | ||
| Semi-Final | Scrapper | Won | ||
| Final | Mortis | Won | ||
| Grand Final | Roadblock,
T.R.A.C.I.E., Bodyhammer, Robot the Bruce |
Lost | ||
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 4
- Losses: 1