Bodmin Community College

Bodmin Community College
The team with their trophy in Series 1
Participation Information
UK Series	1-3
Team Information
Team Members	Hender Blewett Chris Kinsey Peter Kinsey
Other Names	Team Roadblock
Home Town	Bodmin, Cornwall

"Straight in, straight out"

— The team's motto

Bodmin Community College, also known as Team Roadblock, was a successful team from the Cornwall-based college which competed in the first three series of Robot Wars.

The Team

The Bodmin Community College logo

The team was made up of Hender Blewett and Chris Kinsey, who were Systems & Control students at the college, and Peter Kinsey, who was their teacher.

"In May '97 Hender Blewett was considering various options for his A-level Technology project. At a loss for inspiration, he was just about stuck when, as if by fate, a letter arrived on the desk of the Head of Technology, Peter Kinsey. This letter was the key to what was to become an epic venture. It contained information about Robot Wars in the US and an application form for the up and coming British Robot Wars TV series. Hender was excited by the prospect and a team of three of the finest minds in Bodmin was quickly formed to challenge the rest of Britain in a battle to the death."

— The team's website on entering Robot Wars

The team competed on the show with two very similar robots; Roadblock, the Series 1 champion which also finished third in Series 2, and Beast of Bodmin, which reached the second round of the Semi-Finals in Series 3. Both were simple wedge-shaped robots with rear-mounted circular saws, and would usually win their battles by tipping opponents over or pushing them around the arena using their wedges.

Team Members

Hender Blewett

The team with Beast of Bodmin in Series 3

"Roadblock was an A level Technology project for Hender...Hender is a very able technology student who has been presented to HRH the Prince of Wales with his technology project."

— Peter Kinsey, interviewed on Tectonic Robot Wars

Hender was studying Technology for his A Levels at Bodmin Community College, and on suggestion of his teacher Peter Kinsey, he decided to enter Robot Wars.

He came up with the design after watching a video of American Robot Wars with Peter Kinsey, taking the best ideas from the robots he saw. He also found the road sign that was used for the front of Road Block, seeing that it exactly fitted the dimensions of the chassis. Fortunately, the team knew a member of the local council, who took them to a skip where they found the "Road Ahead Closed" that became the robots most distinctive feature. As well as winning the First Wars, he also received an A for his project.

On television, he was Team Captain for Series 1 and 2. He took turns at driving with Chris Kinsey, acting as weapons operator in the others. In Series 1, he drove the robot in the Sumo and the Heat Final. He also acted as co-driver when Chris was at the controls.

Chris Kinsey

The students lift the First Wars trophy

A friend of Hender Blewett, Chris Kinsey was the son of Peter Kinsey, and was also doing his A-Levels at Bodmin Community College.

Taking turns driving Road Block with Hender, Chris Kinsey drove the robot for the team’s greatest triumph, the Grand Final of Series 1. He also shared the speaking in the team's introductions and interviews with Hender.

Philippa Forrester: "How did winning Robot Wars change your lives?"

Chris Kinsey: "Well, it's given us something good to put on our CV's for university applications, and it's an experience we won't forget!"

Philippa Forrester: "I want to know, have women been throwing themselves at you now? I don't want to know about CV's!"

Chris Kinsey: "Well, I wouldn't say that!"

— Post-Gauntlet interview in Heat G of Series 2

In Series 3, he became Team Captain.

Peter Kinsey

Peter Kinsey working on Roadblock in the pits

Hender’s teacher, Peter was the Head of Technology at Bodmin Community College. It was him who gave Hender the idea to enter Robot Wars, having received a letter about it. He helped Hender Blewett come up with the design for Road Block, watching a video of American Robot Wars with him.

Peter did not drive the robots, nor control the weapons, but he kept a close eye on the other two during battles, and gave team talks before battles.

He left most of the speaking in the team's interviews and introductions to Hender and Chris, though he did occasionally contribute to pre- and post-battle interviews, and also did the speaking in the team's first introduction in Heat A of Series 1.

After the team retired, both robots were kept in Peter Kinsey’s garage, and he would regularly get visited by fans who wanted to see the robots.

Retirement

Despite their success in the first three series, the Bodmin Community College team did not return after Series 3 due to commitments outside of Robot Wars. Peter Kinsey left to become a supply teaching consultant, while Chris Kinsey and Blewett both went to separate universities, with Chris going to Cardiff University to study Integrated Engineering, and Hender going to Imperial College London to study Mechanical Engineering, so they did not enter Series 4 and ultimately retired from competition.

Robots

Name	Image	Weight Class	Series
Roadblock		Heavyweight	Series 1-2
Beast of Bodmin		Heavyweight	Series 3

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 11
• Losses: 2

Series Record

The team with their trophy in Series 1

Series	Bodmin Community College Series Record
The First Wars	Grand Champions with Roadblock
The Second Wars	Third Place with Roadblock
The Third Wars	Semi-Finals, Round 2 with Beast of Bodmin
The Fourth Wars	Did not enter
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

Chris, Hender and Peter in June 2021

The team with Roadblock in June 2021

On 14th January 2016, after the announcement of the show's revival, Hender Blewett was interviewed on 5 live Breakfast on BBC Radio 5

In June 2021, the team reunited and took a present-day photo emulating their trophy stance from after winning Series 1 and also showcased Roadblock in its current state.

Trivia

Roadblock and Beast of Bodmin fight each other

• The team had help from Steve Trevena and his colleagues at Tremorvah Industries on Roadblock and Beast of Bodmin. They partially built the drive system for Beast of Bodmin. In return, Peter and Chris Kinsey inspired them to build their own robot, Tor, which failed to qualify for Series 4.
• In Series 1, Hender Blewett's name was incorrectly spelt as 'Hender Blewitt' on Roadblock's statistic board.
• In Series 3, the team wore Cornish rugby shirts, to match the black-and-yellow colour scheme of their robot. Before the Semi-Final battle with Steg-O-Saw-Us, Peter and Chris Kinsey both said "This one's for Cornwall!"

"Good to see the Beast of Bodmin team wearing Cornish colours of yellow and black, obviously proud of their county!"

— Jonathan Pearce during the Round 2 battle between Beast of Bodmin and Onslaught

• The team was one of only three semi-finalist teams from Series 2 (along with Mace and Panic Attack) to also make the semi-finals of Series 3. All three fell in the second round of the semi-finals.
• Bodmin Community College were the only team to win a series of Robot Wars and never lose in the heats (counting Typhoon 2 and PP3D as part of the same team).
• Bodmin Community College was one of only three teams from Cornwall to compete in the televised show, the others being the Eye of Newt team and Trelawneys Robot Army.
  • Of the three, Bodmin Community College were the only team to reach a Grand Final.

External Links

• Team Roadblock Home Page (Archived)
• Beast of Bodmin website (archived)
• Roadblock Facebook page