Just so you know, I€™m abandoning the FLIP stuff from now on. :P

A quarter of the way to the quarter-finals, and 28 machines have taken a well-deserved sabbatical after their losses. Let€™s send out another 14 to join them!

Heat C
Round 1 Battle 1
Dr. Acula & LockJaw vs. Axe-O-Lotl & Sheer Heart Attack 2

€œFrom Team Operation Devastation: Dr. Acula€¦and€¦LockJaw!€

Probably biting off a bit more than he can chew with this vapourbot, Jamie McHarg presents Dr. Acula, a T-shaped robot with a Razer-esque crusher with a tonne of force, and is quite well armoured. Flip it over, though, and it doesn€™t have any bite to it. LockJaw is basically General Chompsalot with a more powerful jaw, that or Stinger with a jaw. Exposed wheels look a treat for spinners, but tough to damage otherwise.

€œFrom Team Various Dinowarriors: Axe-O-Lotl€¦and€¦Sheer Heart Attack 2!€

Very promising competitors here. Axe-O-Lotl reached a heat final in C&B2 with its very powerful axe despite having mediocre armour at the time. It€™s now got 3.25mm Hardox, so it should be much nicer. And his partner is none other than the current C&B champion Sheer Heart Attack 2! The main body connecting the two tracks is now the complete drum, and its drum can reach top speed quicker, but other than that it hasn€™t really changed much. Why mess with perfection?

Roboteers, stand by€¦

Booth #1: Jamie McHarg, Liam Eliot
Booth #2: Christopher Mason, Martijn Benschop

In the arena for our house robots: Dead Metal, pincers and saw work to devastating effect, if not then loads of sparks. Partnering him is the deadly yet oddly tasty spinning sandwich Double Big Mac, hammers aloft.

3€¦
2€¦
1€¦
Activate!

SHA2 is out first to meet Dr. Acula, as the claw of Dr. Acula comes into play immediately crashing into the champ and stopping the drum€¦barely. It sinks in€¦but SHA2 amscrays backwards before further mischief can happen. Jamie is on the chase, and seems to be gaining on SHA2 with the slight speed advantage, but the one who the real advantage here is SHA2€™s drum, as it is going faster than both of them! Hurriedly Dr. Acula moves in to try and stop it, but, unfortunately€¦

CRASH!!

€¦he€™s too late. Dr. Acula is knocked into the air, the 39kJ enough to topple him onto his back, as he scoots away. Now Axe-O-Lotl and LockJaw move out, and right towards each other without giving the merest thought about their tag-team partners. WHAM! It€™s Chris who€™s on the losing end, as the jaws defeat his wedge and sink in. Down comes Axe-O-Lotl€™s axe but getting hardly anything done as the axe arm of Axe-O-Lotl comes into contact with LockJaw€™s axle. Now Axe-O-Lotl€™s tires have left the ground and LockJaw has him in his iron grip, which is tightening still but can€™t sink into that Hardox armour. He drags Axe-O-Lotl across the arena, and moves him over the arena saws€¦BZZT!!! Loads of sparks, and we€™ll have to wait and see if they€™re any damage€¦

Speaking of damage, SHA2 has managed to clip Dr. Acula on the side, knocking that 8mm HDPE panel away to reveal the 4mm Hardox underneath! Dr. Acula is in a state of peril now, and needs to either get knocked onto his right way up again, or send SHA2 down the pit€¦and it looks like he€™s going for the pit. WHAM. Straight into the pit release button. SHA2 is quite fast too, though, and the speed advantage of Dr. Acula does not save Jamie as Martijn crashes in from behind!

CRASH!!!

A nasty hit on the side, and Dr. Acula is thrown up against the arena wall€¦and seemingly stranded! Not a bad hit from the C&B2 champ there, and Jamie€™s situation has gone from slightly perilous to downright mortifying as he can€™t get a grip on the arena floor, the tires hanging off the ground as it leans on its own side! His job wiith Dr. Acula looking to be done, SHA2 speeds off in LockJaw€™s direction€¦to find that LockJaw has put Axe-O-Lotl down the pit! BOOM! Isn€™t this special? Dr. Acula hits the pit to try and get SHA2 done€¦and unknowingly helps out his teammate!

Martijn, for lack of a better word, is downright pessed () off at this turn of events, and with a howl plunges straight towards LockJaw. Liam sees it coming, yet can€™t avoid its coming!

CRASH!!!

That drum is looking unstoppable since Dr. Acula€™s slight intrusion as it sends LockJaw up and over€¦and SHA2 nudges it from the rear and starts to push! LockJaw tries vainly to spin around and clamp, but SHA2 has the better traction, the better speed, and the better chance as LockJaw is pushed near, on the edge of, and straight down on top of Axe-O-Lotl.

CEASE!

Dr. Acula receives a huge €˜fangs€™ a lot from LockJaw, who lives up to his name as both crash out.
Axe-O-Lotl and Sheer Heart Attack 2 advance to Round 2!

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Round 1 Battle 2
Supreme Glory Omega & ISDSFA vs. Turbulence & Hatchback

€œFrom Team Dunno: Supreme Glory Omega€¦and€¦ISDSFA!€

Fire your guns! It€™s Supreme Glory Omega! Its axe can fire both ways, is very powerful, and is protected with skirts. It uses a vacuum system to suck itself to the ground against pushers, and has decent armour. It Still Doesn€™t Stand For Anything? Well it does now! ISDSFA is a Behemoth-shaped robot with a scoop that can lift 250kgs, and behind it a 8kJ horizontal disc to attack opponents€™ drive€¦but not armour. It is quite well armoured and can go at 15mph.

€œFrom Team JimBob: Turbulence€¦and€¦Hatchback!â‚ ¬Â

Dave Moulds€™ machine Turbulence may create quite a tremor, a very powerful rear-hinged flipper in the mix with a mildly tough body shell, but not the best pushing power. Hatchback is cylindrically shaped with a powerful axe and an armoured ring, but for this fight it will replace that with front and rear wedges. The main armour isn€™t the best, but it€™s plenty powerful.

Roboteers, stand by€¦

Booth #1: Daniel Stickler, Frank Goacher
Booth #2: Chezza, David Sheppard

Powerful? Did somebody say powerful? Asterix Heroicus has plenty of that, and so does Shunt!

3€¦
2€¦
1€¦
Activate!

A brawl to quite possibly be lost among them all; the four robots are in each other€™s faces again. ISDSFA attacks Turbulence, who fails to get under the scoop and is tossed straight over. He rights himself, but straight back onto ISDSFA€™s scoop, and is pushed all the way over to€¦one of the Discs of Death!

CRASH!!!

WHOA! I saw a burst of smoke just fly out of Turbulence€™s flipper! Does this mean that hit burst open the CO2 tank? We may never know, but we do know that Turbulence€™s rear just suffered a wide gash! ISDSFA isn€™t idling, though, and slides the scoop under Turbulence as it tries to get away, lifting it up and holding it there. Turbulence fires its flipper about a second later€¦it works! But it€™s exactly what Frank wanted, as the realie tilts itself right into the hazard again!

CRASH!!!

Uh€¦I think that€™s the end of Turbulence, it€™s been thrown for a loop across the arena, the rear blown wide open to reveal a mashed-up motor. Talk about hazard damage! And Hatchback isn€™t having fun either; it€™s wedged SGO and fired its axe, and while having dented SGO€™s 20mm Lexan, SGO€™s own axe has fired, and it€™s done significantly more damage, as Hatchback€™s 4mm titanium top armour has a clean hole in it! Hatchback goes on the attack again, but its axe blow goes wide as ISDSFA crashes into it and tosses it over, SGO colliding to the ground. Hatchback lands straight onto its back, but before it can right itself SGO hurls aloft the axe and WHACK!!! Now the bottom panel takes a hole€¦and Daniel has no plans of hacking him to death€¦ISDSFA backs up towards the pit release at the other end as SGO keeps Hatchback on its€¦back, and moves it onto the pit€¦which descends as Frank activates the button€¦and€¦down it goes.

CEASE!

Turbulence will be feeling that in the morning, and Hatchback gets caught between the hammer and the€¦pit.
Supreme Glory Omega and ISDSFA advance to Round 2!