Well Bot Blast was quite an experience.
CATAPULT has still got some teething to do.
First: IT SPINS UP! While I don't have much video of it doing so, it spun up CONSISTENTLY. It takes a bit too long to spin up though, especially in the fairly tight box. Basically, if you are a moderately fast wedge, it was going to take a beating.
And it did.
It's first fight was against Landshark, a wedgebot. He rushed CATAPULT and threw it into the wall 3 times before the weapon could get up to speed. Fortunately though, it did get up to speed and got a great shot on the left drive wheel. Because his robot has Banebot wheels, the wheels cracked and the force was transmitted to the gearboxes and manage to shatter a gear in the gearbox rendering him with only a single-wheel of drive. Unfortunately, the use of set screw collars backfired on CATAPULT and the shell fully left the chassis with shaft still on it! The base was working though and the weapon motor was still humming. Landshark wins by Judges' Decision.
The second fight was against Chibi Blackout, a exceptionally well-made robot built by Don Doerfler. It was basically my worst nightmare with a vertical spinning drum, wedges on the front, and a very quick drivetrain. As a result, there was great damage. For the first few seconds he pinned me against the wall and dug in with the drum. Once CATAPULT got up to speed it delivered a good hit or two before Blackout managed to get a shot which bent the shell back into the chassis and basically seized the weapon system. He then proceeded to further mangle the shell, bending all but one of the teeth into horrific shapes. After the match, I discovered the shell was wrecked, but the main chassis and systems were almost totally unharmed. With a great deal of modifications to the shell and maybe 4WD for better drive, CATAPULT should be ready to go next year!
El Destructo was not really disappointing, but not quite satisfactory either.
In its first match, ED faced a wedgebot named Sparty Mini and won by virtue of knocking one of its wheels off. Despite this, ED's drive has been less than reliable. It seemed to be only hobbling around more so than actually maneuvering.
Its second match was against the eventual second place robot Dominant Mode. There were two main issues with it. While the weapon speed was comparable to Dominant Mode, the shaft collar on the left side fell off which made it useless after maybe 2 impacts. The persistent issue of driving weakness was evident when Dominant Mode simply swung around the back and proceeded to tear off the backplate. As a result of the innards falling out, the match was called and Dominant Mode was victorious.
The third and final match pitted ED against Chibi Knockout, designed very similar to Blackout, with a very similar result. After a shot or two being exchanged, he managed to very easily swing over and hit the wheels, effectively seizing the gearboxes on both wheels and rendering it motionless. El Destructo lost and was out of the tournament.
Play 'n Krazy v2, while it wasn't entered, was the most successful. It competed in a mock battle against 2 rc cars and Regift, the birthday present. It was glorious. I also found the part about attacking the robot covered in 'Happy Birthday' wrapping ironic because of how it was birthday the day before. It fought one more time in the Beetleweight Rumble where it proceeded to rip up battle-damaged beetles with glee. Unfortunately, I didn't check to see if the battery was charged so the weapon died in the last 30 seconds and then lost drive right at the buzzer. It was much fun. If it can get in at the right weight, it seems to be a very promising creation. I don't know what it is, but the soul of PK just never ceases to please me.
