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"Ah now, will the Barber family provide a close shave for one or two?"
Jonathan Pearce

Barbaric Response was a competitor robot that fought in Series 6 and 7 of Robot Wars as well as the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. It was entered by the Barber family from Horsham, with the family surname being the origins of the robot's name. Barbaric Response did not enjoy much success in the main series, being eliminated in the second round in Series 6 by Firestorm 4 and the first round in Series 7 after it and Kan-Opener got stuck together. However, it finished as a runner-up in the Tag Team Terror competition of the second series of Extreme, alongside Hydra.

Design[]

BRex2

Barbaric Response in the arena in Extreme 2

Barbaric Response was a wedge-shaped robot with a body flipper. The flipper was powered by a CO2 container from a car fire extinguishing system, supplied to the team by Horsham Brake Service. Originally, the flipper was 10-bar pressure, with regulators to limit the pressure because constructing a reliable high-pressure system was considered too time-consuming to be completed in time for the Fifth Wars. However, the flipper was increased to 16-bar pressure for Extreme 2. An extra titanium tip was added to the front of the flipper to help it get under robots.

"The most effective weapon in series 3 of robot wars where the flipping mechanisms used by a number of competitors. Flipper mechanisms also provide the possibility of self righting, it was clear that a self-righting mechanism (SRIMECH) was not only handy when fighting a robot armed with a flipper but also impressive to the audience as appose to a robot which runs both ways (or any way) up. Now a SHRIMECH has to be considered essential for any robot that's not going to rely on luck to be successful!"
— Barbaric Response website [1]

It could reach top speeds of 20mph, quite quick for a combat robot, and had good pushing power. The robot was powered by two 24 volt 750 watt Bosch motors

"Killerhurtz was able to use them to great effect in the 2nd series of robot wars. Now these motors are almost the standard choice for people trying to build a competitive robot on the first attempt."
— Barbaric Response website [2]
Barbaric Response S7

Barbaric Response in the arena during Series 7

Barbaric Response also used a home-made electronic interface and differential steering to improve speed and manoeuvrability. A gear drive assembly was chosen over chains due to its strength and requiring low maintenance. After Extreme 2, the gearboxes were upgraded to have a lower gear ratio, allowing the robot to do more pushing at low speeds without damaging the batteries and give better control[3].

"From the beginning of the project the aim was to make a robot which was as easy to drive around the arena because we could see the huge advantage this would give us over many robots. … To do this we measure the rate the wheels turn using a tooth counter pointing at a gear on the drive shaft for each wheel. The actual speed of the wheels is then compared to the speed the driver wants, to do this a microcontroller examines information coming from both wheels and the signal coming from the driver via the transmitter. The microcontroller will modify the output to the motors until the required speed is met. The microcontroller checks and if needed adjusts the wheel speed 50 times a second! The result is a robot which goes exactly where you point the stick while the microcontroller does all the work of correcting any discrepancies created by friction over the floor, weak motors or binding bearing and so on. The microcontroller performs other tasks including the operation of the weapons and stopping the robot in case of receiver signal failure or interference"
— Barbaric Response website [4]

The robot's chassis was built from aluminium plate, with the armour using a combination of aluminium for the body and polycarbonate for the wheel guards.

"We were able to acquire some scrap 30mm thick aluminium plate, this we wanted to use for the chassis because it would be very strong and easy to work with. Although a large number of holes had been machined into it originally so it was not ideal. It was realised that the 30mm plate used for the entire chassis would not be practical. Instead some 10mm plate was purchased to join the two (30mm) gearbox plates together making our main chassis complete. Much thought went into the layout of the motors, axles, bearings and gears around the 30mm plate to try and give the most robust system available."
— Barbaric Response website [5]

However, the robot proved to be somewhat unreliable, breaking down in several of its fights. Its aerial was exposed, as noted by Jonathan Pearce on a number of occasions, but it was not damaged in any of its televised fights.

The Team[]

"...the brainchild of Zac Barber, who drives the bot with the help of brother Damian and nephew Bruce"
Robot Wars: The Official Magazine on Barbaric Response and its team
Team Barber

The team's official photo from Series 6

Barbaric Response was entered into all of its appearances by a family team based in Horsham, West Sussex. The team were known as Team Barber, based on their surnames which also provided the etymology behind the name Barbaric Response. The three competing team members were Zac Barber, Damian Barber and Bruce Barber.

Zac Barber was the team captain and drove the robot in all of its appearances. Zac did most of the speaking in the interviews, but Bruce Barber, the youngest member of the team, was also interviewed on occasion. He was just 6 when he first appeared on the show.

Qualification[]

Barbaric Response's first battle occurred during the 2001 Live Event tour, serving as the initial qualifiers for Series 5. Appearing at the London Arena leg, it fought updated veteran Killertron 2 on 7 August 2001.

"...the axe certainly seemed larger than I remember from the TV but maybe that was because this was the first time it was going to be crashing down on all the efforts of all my spare time from the last two years! As we prepared Barbaric Response for its first-ever fight and in fact only its third-ever drive anywhere other than the confines of my garage our hopes suddenly sank. "
— Barbaric Response website

The flipper was not working, as the CO2 bottle the team had brought was out of date by nearly two years and the one lent to them by the house roboteers did not fit and leaked. Having to resort to ramming, Barbaric Response charged at Killertron 2, but in the team's haste, they drove into the arena wall twice. Slowing down, Barbaric Response charged at Killertron 2, which fired its axe, but did no damage. Barbaric Response drove across the arena to get more space for a run-up, then charged into Killertron 2, ramming it into the arena wall, leaving it immobile with only the axe moving. Barbaric Response sped at Killertron 2 again, but missed and crashed into the wall, sending a barrel into the plexiglass protecting the audience, and the impact made Barbaric Response do a small cartwheel in the air and land on top of Killertron 2. Shunt, the only House Robot on the arena, separated the two robots. Barbaric Response was still mobile, but was now peeling up the floor as it went. With the fight seemingly won, the team rammed into Shunt. Shunt chased after Barbaric Response, but the competitor was too quick for him. The pit was opened, and Barbaric Response attempted to push Killertron 2 towards it, but Barbaric Response was slowing down as its power was running out. Shunt pushed Barbaric Response into the pit, then pitted Killertron 2 as well.

"Barbaric Response was given back to use by the crew stinking of burning and the borrowed bottle dripping wet due to the cold of releasing 1kg of liquid CO2. It is fair to say that the whole team were well pleased with the performance."
— Barbaric Response website[6]

Barbaric Response won the battle on a judges' decision, but ultimately, neither robot qualified.

"According to Mentorn (the group which run the television series) we only missed out by a narrow margin with the robot "Scorpion" taking the place we may have been given."
— Barbaric Response website [7]

The Series 5 version of Barbaric Response had steel armour on the flipper, no armour around the wheels, and 50mm by 160mm rams. For Series 6, the rams were replaced with 2 60mm bore 200mm stroke rams, and the flipper was remade using aluminium to offset the extra weight from adding the larger rams. Polycarbonate armour was added around the wheels.

Barbaric Response qualifiers 6

Barbaric Response at the Sixth Wars qualifiers

At the Series 6 qualifiers, Barbaric Response was drawn against Lightning, Twister and TX-108 on the 1st of July 2002, the first day of qualifiers.

"When attending the qualifier for the fifth wars we felt under pressure to get on the TV show and justify the effort of building the robot, to make things worse we had never even seen a robot fight let alone competed in one. For the sixth war qualifier, we felt better prepared as we had attended four charity events through the year. We also felt getting on the show would be a bonus rather than the only objective of building the robot, so to begin we were fairly relaxed. "
— Barbaric Response website

TX-108 was forced to withdraw before the battle, and Barbaric Response was able to win the battle by flipping Twister onto its back, before flipping and pushing Lightning enough to ensure its qualification to Series 6, while its opponents did not qualify.[8]

"As the fight started we went on the attack of Twister as we considered them the most dangerous of the two opponents, Lightning also seemed to have the same idea and in the initial confusion and a flip from us Twister became upended from which they could not self-right. We then took on Lightning and with a few more flips and a bit of pushing they were also over on there back. A bit more pushing and shoving against both robots to use up the time and then the fight was over, We were through and into the sixth series"
— Barbaric Response website

Barbaric Response was invited by the production crew to take part in Extreme 2, and took part in the Tag Team.

At the Series 7 qualifiers on 22nd August 2003, Barbaric Response was drawn against its former Tag Team partner Hydra, along with an unknown robot armed with petrol-driven spinning blade.

"We had been experiencing an intermittent cutting out problem with a new interface board which I had made up in the weeks before but there had not been time to find the fault, (the new interface board has a serial connection point so parameters on the microcontroller can be modified more easily) so when we arrived at RAF Bingham we had our fingers crossed that Barbaric Response would stay active long enough for us to qualifier."
— Barbaric Response website

Barbaric Response was suffering from interference during the battle, but still managed to immobilise the spinner robot by flipping it over, and also flipped Hydra over. However, the interference issues caused Barbaric Response to stop moving. Hydra self-righted and attacked the immobile Barbaric Response. Hydra ultimately won the qualifier, but Barbaric Response received a discretionary place to qualify.

"I had real trouble in getting Barbaric Response out into the arena as it appeared to have a mind of its own, at the time I blamed the new interface board but I now believe it was plain old interference. The fight itself began well we disabled the spinner with one or two flips and then took on Hydra, we had them upside down at the side but then interference set in again leaving us a sitting duck once Hydra had righted themselves. Hydra won the fight but we were given a discretionary place so we had a few days to try and fix our problems."
— Barbaric Response website[9]

Robot History[]

Series 6[]

In its first-ever televised battle, Barbaric Response faced three veterans of Robot Wars; former Tag Team Terror runner-up Spirit of Scorpion, Robochicken and former Semi-Finalist X-Terminator, in Round 1 of Heat B.

Phillipa Forrester: "Tell me about your flipper."
Bruce Barber: "Erm, it's powerful, and we could make the chicken fly!"
Phillipa Forrester: "You can make the chicken fly! That's what we want to hear, and that's what we want to see!"
— Pre-battle interview
Barbaric response robochicken spirit of scorpion

Barbaric Response and Robochicken gang up on Spirit of Scorpion

Barbaric Response started by slowly approaching Robochicken, which was driving down the arena. Spirit of Scorpion turned around to aim its flywheel at Barbaric Response, then drove past Barbaric Response. As Barbaric Response got under the side of Spirit of Scorpion, Robochicken sped up the arena, getting its flipper under the front of Spirit of Scorpion, and the two competitors flipped Spirit of Scorpion together.

"As we drove out into the arena I was not filled with confidence as a little interference momentarily kicked the robot. We shared the our control booth with the RoboChicken team and we decided that Xteminator and Scorpion would almost certainly gang up on us, so in order to keep it fair we agreed to attack them or we would be facing a big disadvantage. As the fight began we got a good flip on scorpion but being a wide flat robot they did not go over onto there {sic} back."
— Barbaric Response website [10]
Barbaric response spirit of scorpion

Barbaric Response weakly attacks the immobile Spirit of Scorpion

As Spirit of Scorpion fell down, Robochicken turned away and drove away. Spirit of Scorpion got its front prongs under Barbaric Response and pushed it down the arena. Barbaric Response fired its flipper, but this did not help it get away, and Spirit of Scorpion pushed it straight into the pit release button. However, Robochicken got behind Spirit of Scorpion and used its flipper to lift Spirit of Scorpion up and push it aside, allowing Barbaric Response. Barbaric Response tried attacking X-Terminator, which was stuck against the wall, but Spirit of Scorpion drove into it. Barbaric Response used its flipper to lift Spirit of Scorpion up, then drove into the pit release button. Spirit of Scorpion reversed into it, blocking its escape and hitting it with the flywheel. However, Spirit of Scorpion suddenly left Barbaric Response to drive at X-Terminator. Barbaric Response stayed out of the action for a time as the other three fought in a CPZ, before driving into the CPZ, getting under Spirit of Scorpion, lifting it up and pushing it into the claws of Dead Metal. Barbaric Response got out of the CPZ unscathed, but X-Terminator axed it, puncturing the top armour, but X-Terminator had some problems pulling its axe out of the top.

"Very, very tight, this. Should they all be mobile at the end of the allotted time, then the referee will call on the judges to make a decision, … and I wonder now if these machines are playing for a judges' decision. Just a little bit tentative. We're not seeing a great deal of aggressive work, and certainly no damage."
— Jonathan Pearce
Barbaric response x-terminator

X-Terminator pits Barbaric Response

Sir Killalot reversed into Barbaric Response, which separated the competitors. However, Barbaric Response was stuck on Refbot's front plough, having been pushed onto it by Sir Killalot. It soon got off by firing it flipper, but it had clearly slowed, and X-Terminator pushed it down the arena, slamming it into the bottom arena wall. X-Terminator left Barbaric Response to attack Robochicken, getting under it and using its axe to flip Robochicken into Dead Metal. Barbaric Response was pushed by Spirit of Scorpion, and although it managed to limply lift Spirit of Scorpion, it was clear that Barbaric Response was running out of power.

"Before the end our batteries died and we were helpless to stop X-Terminator pushing us into the pit. After the fight, we were left not knowing who would be chosen to go through for 5 minutes or so. When the announcement was made we were relieved and realised it had been close call."
— Barbaric Response website [11]

Spirit of Scorpion also stopped moving, and after missing an axe blow, X-Terminator pushed Barbaric Response, now immobile, down the arena, and after a brief attack on the overturned Robochicken, pushed Barbaric Response into the pit.

"Oh, Barbaric Response in the pit! I think they'll be okay though, I think they'll go through with X-Terminator. It'll have to go to a judges' final word, but for me, Robochicken and Spirit of Scorpion will be the two to go out in this melee."
— Jonathan Pearce as X-Terminator pits Barbaric Response

The judges ruled that although Barbaric Response was pitted, Robochicken and Spirit of Scorpion had been immobilised first, so Barbaric Response went through with X-Terminator.

In Round 2, it was drawn against the third seed Firestorm 4.

"We had no real repairs to carry out other than trimming a panel which had been pushed into the right wheel by Scorpions spinner and recharging. We again were able to decipher that we would be fighting firestorm in the first of the head to heads so we were not surprised when Philiper {sic} told us during the pre-fight interview. We new {sic} that we would do very well to beat Firestorm, after all, they were seeded 3rd. We decided to use full power from the outset and risk going flat before the 5 minutes were out (it seemed unlikely the fight would go that far anyway)."
— Barbaric Response website [12]
Firestorm 4 barbaric response

Barbaric Response clamps down on Firestorm 4

Barbaric Response started by driving down the arena towards the pit release as Firestorm 4 chased after it. Before it could reach the pit button, Barbaric Response turned around and swerved to avoid Firestorm 4's charge. The two robots turned around to face each other, but as Firestorm 4 drove at Barbaric Response, Barbaric Response drove around the seeded robot and drove into the pit button.

"What can not be seen on the TV is the huge amounts of wheel spin we were both getting which makes us look sluggish."
— Barbaric Response website [13]

As Barbaric Response reversed, Firestorm 4 tried to get underneath it, getting the edge of the flipper under one of the wheels, but Barbaric Response reversed straight off, then got at the side of Firestorm 4 and flipped it.

"It would be a huge surprise here if Barbaric Response were to win this battle. They are newcomers to Robot Wars, they lack experience. They [the Firestorm team] have bags of that"
— Jonathan Pearce
Firestorm barbaric response

Firestorm 4 flips Barbaric Response

Firestorm 4 quickly got under Barbaric Response, pushed it into Refbot and flipped it over. Barbaric Response self-righted straight away, whilst Firestorm 4 was distracted by flipping Refbot over. Firestorm 4 charged under Barbaric Response as it tried to escape down the arena, and flipped it towards the pit. Barbaric Response rolled over onto its wheels, landing just by the pit. Quickly turning away, Barbaric Response drove around Firestorm 4 and tried to get the flipper under it, but Firestorm 4 kept driving to the wall, and Barbaric Response drove into the wall as it tried chasing. As Barbaric Response turned away from the wall, Firestorm 4 drove under it, but in doing so, became stuck under an angle grinder, so had to reverse to get out from the angle grinder. Barbaric Response drove at Firestorm 4, trying to get underneath, but instead, Firestorm 4 got its flipper under Barbaric Response, ramming it into an angle grinder and flipping it over. Barbaric Response's flipper was no longer working, so Barbaric Response was stuck.

"Can they use the front flipper to self-right there? I'm not too sure they can! I think Barbaric Response are wedged! … I don't think there's any response from the Barbaric one!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Barbaric Response fails to self-right
Barbaric response stranded

Barbaric Response is stranded

With Refbot tipped on his side, it was impossible for Barbaric Response to be counted out. Firestorm 4 left it lying there, and although Mr. Psycho came out of his CPZ, he did not attack Barbaric Response. The crowd booed at the lack of action until cease was called. Having been immobile for over thirty seconds, Barbaric Response was eliminated despite not being counted out.

"...when we were flipped for a second time Barbaric Response landed on its nose which bent the flipper so that it could no longer move. A third flip and we were upside down against the barrier, I operated the flipper in vane [sic] but it was all over. It was now late in the evening so we did not waste any time in getting packed up, around 30 minutes after fighting Firestorm we were on the road home.."
— Barbaric Response website [14]

After the battle, the Firestorm team admitted the reason they had left Barbaric Response there was because they were not confident they could immobilise them again if they accidentally righted them.

Craig Charles: "It's a new robot, first time on Robot Wars. To be drawn against the third seed is a really unlucky draw!"
Zac Barber: "Yeah, we knew we were going to struggle, but we gave it our best shot so … not too disappointed really."
Craig Charles: "Are you going to build it bigger and better and badder, and come back for more?"
Zac Barber: "Definitely, yeah! We've got some plans already."
— After the battle

Extreme 2[]

"We were glad to be invited back to Nottingham for the filming of Extreme2, we would be competing in the "Tag Team" … Our teammate was to be Hydra, a formidable and accomplished robot, we had also upgraded to 16 bar on our rams for this event so I thought we had a good chance of progressing through a number of rounds."
— Barbaric Response website [15]

Barbaric Response completed in the Tag Team Terror competition, paired with Hydra. In the first round, they faced two machines from Team Mouse; Mighty Mouse and Velocirippa, with Hydra and Velocirippa going out first for their respective teams.

Phillipa Forrester: "Now, you've got a lot of fibreglass to cope with in the opposition."
Zac Barber: "Yeah, that's not going to be a problem for us!"
Phillipa Forrester: "No, that's quite a good thing."
Zac Barber: "Yeah, we're made of aluminium, so we're not scare of..."
Phillipa Forrester: "So you just rip that to shreds, and then see what's underneath?"
Zac Barber: "That's right, yeah. That's the plan."
— Pre-battle interview with Philippa Forrester
Barbaric response mighty mouse matilda

Barbaric Response flips Mighty Mouse into Matilda's flywheel

Hydra rammed and flipped Velocirippa, which broke down soon into the battle. Hydra hammered Velocirippa's immobile body and pushed it onto the flame pit. As Mighty Mouse came out to help its partner, Barbaric Response also came out. However, as Mighty Mouse tried to push Velocirippa away from the flame pit, it became stuck itself. Barbaric Response held back as Shunt pushed Mighty Mouse free. As Mighty Mouse darted away up the arena, Barbaric Response got under the side of Velocirippa, but before it could flip, Mighty Mouse drove towards it, so Barbaric Response turned to face Mighty Mouse. Then, Mighty Mouse charged past Barbaric Response, glancing against the side of the flipper. Barbaric Response tried chasing Mighty Mouse, which sped around Barbaric Response. Barbaric Response turned after Mighty Mouse, and got under the side, but Mighty Mouse reversed off the flipper before it could fire, and Barbaric Response crashed into Velocirippa. As Mighty Mouse raced up the arena, and Barbaric Response chased after it. Barbaric Response caught up with Mighty Mouse by the floor flipper, getting under it and flipping it.

"Barbaric Response is like a cat with the mouse!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Barbaric Response chases after Mighty Mouse
House Robots Barbaric Response

Matilda attacks Barbaric Response

Mighty Mouse rolled over into Shunt, and quickly got away, driving to the top arena wall. Barbaric Response chased after it, briefly crashing into the top arena wall. Mighty Mouse reversed, but Barbaric Response caught up to it again, getting under the spikes and flipping it. Mighty Mouse fell back on its wheels, but before it could get away, Barbaric Response got under its side and rammed it into the flywheel of Matilda. Matilda's flywheel ripped off one of Mighty Mouse's ears, then flipped the robot clean over. Mighty Mouse rolled back to its wheels, and sped up the arena. Barbaric Response tagged Hydra out, and after some chasing and ramming, Hydra pushed Mighty Mouse into the pit.

"...and Hydra and Barbaric Response have done this very well. They lack experience, but it looks like a useful team for me."
— Jonathan Pearce after Mighty Mouse is pitted

Whilst Hydra celebrated its victory by ramming Velocirippa down the arena, Barbaric Response got under the side of Shunt. Matilda reversed into Barbaric Response to try and prevent it attacking her fellow House Robot, but despite ripping off a piece of the wheel guard, Barbaric Response still flipped Shunt, but only lifted the House Robot up a little. Shunt pushed Barbaric Response and Matilda reversed into it, before cease was called.

"In our first fight we were put against Mighty Mouse and Velocaripper {sic} which we felt was one of the weaker draws so although pleased we also knew there would be no excuses for losing. As it turned out we were able to take charge of the fight without to much trouble, the only problem came at the end when I thought it would be a good idea to try and flip over Shunt. Unfortunately, he did not go all the way over and we paid the price because Miltilda {sic} then attacked us which smashed two polycarbonate panels and broke part the wheel guard."
— The Barbaric Response website's summary of the battle[16]

In Round 2, Barbaric Response and Hydra faced X-Terminator (which Barbaric Response had fought before in their Series 6 melee) and Mini Morg.

"For me, Hydra and Barbaric Response has been the best team so far..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Hydra fights X-Terminator
Barbaric response mini morg

Barbaric Response presses down on Mini Morg

BarbaricResponseDeadMetal

Barbaric Response attacked by Dead Metal

Hydra and X-Terminator started the battle, with Hydra flipping X-Terminator into Dead Metal. After escaping the House Robot's clutches, X-Terminator tagged Mini Morg, which got its lifter under Hydra and lifted it. Hydra tagged Barbaric Response, which quickly got under the side of Mini Morg, which rolled over. Mini Morg tagged before pushing X-Terminator, and Barbaric Response tried getting under X-Terminator, which fired the axe, but missed, getting its axe-head stuck in the arena floor. Mini Morg came out of its corner to held its partner get the axe head out, as Barbaric Response drove down the arena. X-Terminator chased after Barbaric Response, and Barbaric Response got its flipper under X-Terminator's front scoop. However, before it could flip, X-Terminator turned away, and the two competitors drove into the arena sidewall. Barbaric Response had driven into the CPZ, and Dead Metal cut into it with its saw. Barbaric Response escaped, and survived an axe blow from X-Terminator, and drove into the arena centre. X-Terminator followed it, and Barbaric Response drove up the arena to tag Hydra.

"Has the front blade, Barbaric Response, it also has a vulnerable aerial, I think, on top. No-one has attacked that so far - why?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Barbaric Response goes to tag Hydra
BarbaricResponseXTerminator

Barbaric Response is axed by X-Terminator

Hydra took on the other two, flipping Mini Morg over into Growler's CPZ, from which it couldn't roll over, and was immobilised after being rammed by Growler. Hydra flipped X-Terminator over, and whilst it righted itself, Hydra tagged Barbaric Response. After opening the pit, X-Terminator went after Barbaric Response, getting underneath and axing it, but at the same time, its partner was being counted out. Barbaric Response tagged Hydra, who fought X-Terminator for the rest of the battle whist Mini Morg was attacked by Dead Metal before being pitted. The battle went to a judges' decision, which automatically went for the team with two mobile partners.

"In the fight Barbaric Response got on terms with Mini Morg but struggled with X-Terminator and it was left to Hydra to do the majority of the work for us which they did and it was another win to our team."
— The Barbaric Response website's summary of the battle[17]

This ensured that Barbaric Response and Hydra went through to the final, where they faced Bulldog Breed and Robochicken (another robot Barbaric Response had fought in Series 6).

"For me the strongest team, Hydra and Barbaric Response, for me the strongest robot, Bulldog Breed, and they meet in the final. It should be some battle, I can tell you."
— Jonathan Pearce before the final
Barbaric response bulldog breed

Barbaric Response pins Bulldog Breed down

Hydra went out first against Bulldog Breed, and Hydra was flipped by Bulldog Breed early on, but Barbaric Response responded by charging straight under the side of Bulldog Breed, flipping it over and using its open flipper to hold Bulldog Breed down as it tried to self-right. As Bulldog Breed righted itself, Barbaric Response tried righting its teammate by flipping it over.

"...and Barbaric Response, helping out Hydra. Good teamwork, to help out Hydra, but hey - it's not in the rules!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Barbaric Response tries to right Hydra
Robochicken barbaric response

The immobile Barbaric Response is pecked by Robochicken

Bulldog Breed attempted to prevent Barbaric Response righting Hydra by ramming between the two, but in doing so, knocked Hydra back onto its wheels. As Hydra went back into its corner, Barbaric Response suddenly broke down, leaving Hydra to come out and fight Bulldog Breed. After flipping Hydra over again, Bulldog Breed reversed the immobile Barbaric Response into the CPZ, where Robochicken "pecked" at it with its axe. Hydra could not self-right, and was counted out first.

"Hydra and Barbaric Response, I think a beaten team, … Very good team, good performance getting this far, but up against Bulldog Breed they've met the competition's finest individual machine."
— Jonathan Pearce as Mr. Psycho attacks Hydra
Barbaric response mr

Mr. Psycho smashes the top of Barbaric Response

After Mr. Psycho held Hydra over the flames and dropped it into the pit, he came into the CPZ to attack Barbaric Response, smashing the rear panel clean off with one blow from his hammer. Cease was called, leaving Barbaric Response and Hydra finished as runners-up in the Extreme 2 Tag Team Terror.

Craig Charles: "You were helping them out a lot though, you kept flipping them back over."
Zac Barber: "Yeah, that was the plan, but it didn't help much."
Craig Charles: "And then you messed with Mr. Psycho! What a hammer he's got!"
Zac Barber: "Yeah, we've got some damage now!"
— Post-battle interview

Series 7[]

"The Barber family machine, hoping to cut short the opposition here."
— Jonathan Pearce as Barbaric Response enters the arena

In the first round of Series 7, Barbaric Response was against the Extreme 2 Annihilator champion Kan-Opener, along with Big Nipper and The Grim Reaper, who had not fought since Series 5 and Series 3 respectively.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Do you think you're gonna win?"
Bruce Barber: "Yes!"
Jayne Middlemiss: "Brilliant! That would be great, wouldn't it?"
Bruce Barber: "Yes."
Jayne Middlemiss: "What would you do with all the prize money, spend it on sweets?"
Bruce Barber: "No."
Jayne Middlemiss: "No? Would you build a bigger, better robot?"
Bruce Barber: "No. Buy a new car, and a holiday."
— Pre-battle interview with Jayne Middlemiss
Kan opener vs barbaric response

Barbaric Response, caught in Kan-Opener's clutches

Barbaric Response started by driving towards Kan-Opener, but The Grim Reaper came between them, and as Kan-Opener turned to fight The Grim Reaper, Barbaric Response chased Big Nipper, getting its flipper under the side and flipping it. However, as it did so, Kan-Opener got behind Barbaric Response and grabbed it, each of its claws piercing the wheel guards. Kan-Opener pulled Barbaric Response, holding on when The Grim Reaper tried to flip it. Barbaric Response was pushed and pulled around the arena by Kan-Opener, whilst The Grim Reaper fought Big Nipper. Growler rammed into Kan-Opener and Barbaric Response to try and separate them, and Big Nipper tried to grab the front of Barbaric Response.

"Barbaric Response, the meat in the sandwich. Kan-Opener has a grip."
— Jonathan Pearce as Big Nipper tries to grab Barbaric Response
The Grimreaper vs Big Nipper vs Kan-Opener vs Barbaric Response

Barbaric Response is pushed towards the pit

Refbot also rammed Kan-Opener's rear battering ram, but this did nothing to separate it from Barbaric Response, nor did another ram from Growler. Kan-Opener pulled Barbaric Response away from the wall, and tried pushing it into the pit after Growler opened it, but Big Nipper got in the way as it fought The Grim Reaper. Barbaric Response pushed back in reverse, but Kan-Opener kept pushing.

""Pit, pit, pit!" they cry! Barbaric Response could get a shove in there any moment from Kan-Opener. Can Kan-Opener get enough traction on the arena floor?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Kan-Opener tries to pit Barbaric Response
KanOpenerBarbaricResponse

Barbaric Response manages to avoid being pitted by Kan-Opener

The Grim Reaper and Big Nipper continued to fight on the other side of the arena, and despite Kan-Opener's attempts to pit Barbaric Response, Barbaric Response was able to push back. The tug of war continued until time ran out.

"Time is ticking down. No one down the pit yet. Heave-ho! Will it go? Yes? No! It all goes to the judges!"
— Jonathan Pearce in the last few seconds

The judges made their decision and eliminated Barbaric Response, along with Kan-Opener. This was the former's final appearance in Robot Wars.

"...with the old interface board fitted and everything looking good. Our first fight included Grimreaper, Big Nipper and Kat-Nip {sic}. We knew we were very venerable to Kat-Nip and that we would also be their prime target. I had planned to take on Kat-Nip before he could get around the back of us but things never go quite as you expect, Big Nipper appeared just in front of us so I had a quick go at them but this was my mistake as Kat-Nip there charged at us and their jaws closed in on our safety link through the polycarbonate cover - our challenge was over almost before it had begun, Kat-Nips hydraulics burst when the jaws met out chassis. If there is another series maybe we will have better luck."
— Barbaric Response website, incorrectly referring to Kan-Opener as Kat-Nip[18]

Results[]

BARBARIC RESPONSE - RESULTS
Series 6
The Sixth Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 2
Heat B, Round 1 vs. Robochicken, Spirit of Scorpion, X-Terminator Qualified
Heat B, Round 2 vs. Firestorm 4 (3) Lost
Extreme Series 2
Tag Team Terror
Competing with Hydra, Runner-up
Round 1 vs. Mighty Mouse & Velocirippa Won
Round 2 vs. Mini Morg & X-Terminator Won
Final vs. Bulldog Breed & Robochicken Lost
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat B, Round 1 vs. Big Nipper, Kan-Opener, The Grim Reaper Eliminated

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 3
  • Losses: 3

Series Record[]

Main Series Barbaric Response Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Failed to qualify
The Sixth Wars Heat, Round 2
The Seventh Wars Heat, Round 1
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme Appearances
Series 1 Did not enter
Series 2 Tag Team Terror Final

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Barbaric Roobarb and Grim

Barbaric Response fights Roobarb and The Grim Reaper

Before its televised debut, Barbaric Response competed at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001[19]. It was knocked out of the UK bracket in the first round by Bigger Brother. Barbaric Response also competed in the Robo Rugby side event, and fought Roobarb and The Grim Reaper in a melee won by Roobarb. Barbaric Response was also present at Robo Mania in 2001, where it was beaten in Round 1 by Onslaught.

BRdebenham

Barbaric Response being repaired at Debenham Robot Rumble, 2002

In 2002, the team had build a featherweight replica of Barbaric Response, called Barbaric Baby. According to the team, it made the finals of the lower weight class event at that year's Debenham Robot Rumble.[20] Barbaric Response itself also competed, losing in the first round to The Stag after losing weapon power and having its right-side tyre punctured. On the second day of the event, Barbaric Response faced Judge Shred, but again had issues with the flipping weapon. Despite having Judge Shred pinned at one stage, Barbaric Response's batteries began to die and it would ultimately be flipped over, finishing the weekend without a win.

Following Robot Wars' first cancellation, Barbaric Response continued to compete on the Live Events scene, finishing runner-up in the 2004 Robot Rumble. It also competed at the 2004 Robot Crusade in Cosford, where it fought the Series 7 version of X-Terminator twice. In the first fight, Barbaric Response overturned X-Terminator within the first five seconds, but sportingly re-righted it and went on to lose the fight. In their second encounter, Barbaric Response dominated the opening stages, but was immobilised after X-Terminator caused severe damage to the flipper.

Barbaric Response was not seen on the Live Event circuit again until 2008, when it returned for the 2008 Robots Live! event in Burgess Hill. There, it defeated Bigger Brother and Hassocks Hog 2 in Round 1, before causing a major upset in Round 2, dominating the improved version of Kronic the Wedgehog and flipping it all over the arena until Kronic broke down. Barbaric Response was then subsequently beaten by Iron-Awe 5 in the Final. Barbaric Response won its first major tournament shortly after this defeat, at the Robots Live! Reading event in 2008. There, it won a melee with Dantomkia, Puck and Edge Hog, before beating Maelstrom in the Semi-Final and getting revenge on Iron-Awe 5 in the Final, throwing it out of the arena.

BR2010

Barbaric Response in 2010

2009 proved just as successful a year as 2008 for Barbaric Response, winning the 2009 Burgess-Hill event by beating Maelstrom and Toxic in its first round melee and overcoming The Saint in its Semi-Final, before defeating Iron-Awe 5 in the Final. Barbaric Response was unable to defend its crown at Reading from last year; although it qualified through its first round melee alongside The Saint against Weird Alice and Apocalypse, it lost in the Semi-Finals after running out of gas in a melee with Tilly, Ripper and Behemoth, despite outlasting the latter two machines. Barbaric Response went on to win a Play-Off fight against The Saint, awarding it third place. In the 2009 FRA Championship, Barbaric Response fought in four initial qualifier battles. Its first was in Cardiff, where it beat St. Hammer, and it won its next two qualifiers too, against Maelstrom and White Knight in Brentwood, and against And His Army and Cabraken in Guildford. It lost its final qualifier in Portsmouth against Iron-Awe 6, which also featured Maelstrom and Meggamouse. Nevertheless, Barbaric Response had secured enough points from its previous qualifier victories to reach the Finals in Wigan. There, it won its first round fight against Beast and Tiberius 4, but was beaten in its next battle at the Semi-Final stage by Maelstrom, finishing in fourth place after not entering a play-off with Big Nipper while Terrorhurtz won the championship. Barbaric Response continued competing all the way into 2013.

Barbaric Bruce

Barbaric Bruce

The team also fought at the same events with a featherweight named Barbaric Bruce[21].

Trivia[]

  • The motors were the first item the team purchased when building the robot[22].
  • The team spent the two days before the Series 5 qualifiers losing 5kg of weight from Barbaric Response in order to get the robot within the weight limit[23].
  • In both of Barbaric Response's main competition appearances, it fought in Heat B and appeared in the first Round 1 melee of the heat.
  • In Series 6, Barbaric Response's weakness was listed as "Exposed wheels", despite having armour around the wheels.
  • Throughout the series that it appeared in, Barbaric Response never shared the arena with Sgt. Bash or Cassius Chrome.
  • All of Barbaric Response's battles contained at least one team that won a Heat.
  • Mr. Psycho was present in all three fights that Barbaric Response lost.
  • Only one of Barbaric Response's six battles was a head to head battle.
  • In all of its appearances, Barbaric Response never went up against a newcomer, making it one of the few robots to never fight a newcomer during its time on Robot Wars.

References[]

Barbaric Response 7

Official Series 7 photo

External Links[]

Navigation[]

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