Henry was a robot that competed in Series 3 and Series 4 of Robot Wars. In its career, both of Henry's losses were instant immobilisations from the first blow of the opposition. In Series 3, after controversially defeating previous Semi-Finalists Haardvark, it was beaten in the second round by reserve robot and future Grand Finalist Steg-O-Saw-Us, and in Series 4, it was knocked out by a single hit from Dominator 2 in the first round.
Versions of Henry
Henry
Henry in Series 3
- "The fully charged batteries for the two motors only last seven minutes. What happens to Henry the Eighth minute, I wonder?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
The first Henry took approximately one week to build at a cost of £700. It was a box-shaped robot armoured in steel and aluminium alloy, with a slight spiked wedge at the front and a picture of the team's grandmother on the back. Henry was painted in the likeness of World War 2-era dazzle camouflage, and ran on hydraulic motors.
Henry 2
The team with Henry 2
For Series 4, Henry 2 was redesigned into a wedge-shaped machine that was driven by a petrol engine. The blue wedge featured a hydraulic lifting arm that could lift a car. Henry's wedge was drilled with small holes to fit the weight constraints, a technique used on many other robots. Some of its parts originated from a three-wheeled Reliant Robin. The grandmother picture was moved to the front of the machine, with the words "Granny's Revenge!" written underneath it.
- Tom Moye: "We've also got a secret weapon from last year, which is, Mel?"
- Melanie Moye: "My nan on the front. It used to be on the back last time, and she's going to get her revenge in this war."
- — Henry's "secret weapon"
Robot History
Series 3
Henry takes damage from Haardvark
For its first round battle of its first Robot Wars appearance, Henry was drawn up against Series 2 Semi-Finalists and heat favourites Haardvark. Haardvark seemed on top during most of the fight; Henry was constantly getting caught on the arena floor, impaling its spike into it, which allowed Haardvark to slice several times into Henry's shell, despite the circular saw not doing much damage to Henry. Time was running out, and it looked like the battle would go to a judges' decision, but suddenly, Haardvark received a few bashes and broke down completely. During the countdown towards the end of the battle, Henry spun around in delight before cease was called. Because Haardvark had broken down so late into the battle, it went to a judges decision (which was not shown on the televised edit), but Henry was controversially given the win due to still being mobile.
This victory put Henry through to the next round of the heat. In the second round, it went up against original reserves for the Third Wars, Steg-O-Saw-Us. Henry didn't get off the mark at all at first, but eventually started moving. However, there was no control over the robot, and Henry drove straight into Sergeant Bash's CPZ.
Dead Metal slices into Henry
- "I think Sergeant was a little bit kind on letting you out there. I think Sergeant was taken by surprise, to be honest!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Henry escapes Bash's CPZ unharmed
Henry got away unharmed, but it then drove straight into Shunt's CPZ. Shunt axed holes into the top of Henry's shell, immobilising the out-of-control newcomers. As Shunt exited the CPZ, Steg-O-Saw-Us then came in and bashed Henry into the arena side wall to make sure that it was immobilised. Sergeant Bash then laid into Henry with its hydraulic claw, ripping its front left panel, while Dead Metal sliced into its back. Cease was then called and Henry was eliminated from the competition.
Series 4
In Heat E of the Fourth Wars, Henry 2 was drawn up against newcomers to the main competition Dominator 2 and the number 9 seeds 101 in the first round melee. Henry 2 was slowest off the mark and as soon as it got going, Dominator 2 slammed its axe down on top of Henry 2 and immobilised it straight away.
Dominator 2 puts Henry 2 out straight away
- "And I think the drive motors are there or thereabouts; the axe has gone in and I think that's destroyed Henry 2's chances straight away, look! Immobilised!"
- — Several seconds into the bout, Jonathan Pearce shows doubt about Henry 2's mobility
101 and Shunt put Henry 2 down the pit
101 then came in and pushed Dominator 2 away from Henry 2 and ended up on the receiving end of another attack from the axe, only just surviving. While the two mobile competitors continued to chase each other around the arena, the House Robots began to close in on Henry 2. After several attempts by Sir Killalot to grab Henry 2, 101 and Shunt combined to push the defeated machine down into the pit of oblivion, eliminating Henry 2 from the competition.
Results
| HENRY - RESULTS | ||
| Series 3 | ||
| The Third Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 2 | ||
| Heat G, Round 1 | vs. Haardvark | Won |
| Heat G, Round 2 | vs. Steg-O-Saw-Us | Lost |
| HENRY 2 - RESULTS | ||
| Series 4 | ||
| The Fourth Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 1 | ||
| Heat E, Eliminator | vs. 101 (9), Dominator 2 | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record
| Series | Henry Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
| The Fourth Wars | Heat, Round 1 |
| 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
Henry 2 also featured in the 2000 Robot Rumble, where it fought Judge Mech and Bigger Brother. Bigger Brother came out on top in their fight with Henry 2, but Henry 2 was victorious against Judge Mech. The team also competed outside of Robot Wars with Henry 3, which appeared to be an updated version of its predecessor. As shown in Issue 17 of Ultimate Real Robots Magazine, it was repainted red and silver with the lifting arm repainted black, and appeared to be smaller, sleeker and more rounded than its predecessors. In its appearance, it was shown fighting Chaos 2.
Trivia
- Both of Henry's losses were one-hit KOs by the eventual heat winner.
- The Henry team had a member called Tom, and the Major Tom team had a member called Henry. Both teams appeared in the same heat in Series 4.
- Henry 2 had the phrase "Granny's Revenge" written under a photo of the children's grandmother. However, the team played no part in the construction of the robot of the same name in later series.
- All four of Henry's opponents were robots that have finished in the top eight of a UK Championship at some point.
- Both of Henry's appearances were in the same heat as Dartford Girls Grammar.
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