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Not to be confused with the Series 6 and 7 competitor Brutus Maximus.

"Legions of support for this one, they say!"
Jonathan Pearce as Maximus enters the arena

Maximus was a wedge-shaped robot that fought exclusively in the New Blood Championship of Extreme 2. It did not show its full potential as it had weak drive motors and was eliminated in the second round by Roobarb.

Maximus was constructed by students at St John's Comprehensive School, a technology college. The team started designing the robot in February 2001[1], with construction of the robot beginning in May[2].

Design[]

Max design

The design sketch for Maximus

Maximus ran a Roman theme with its design, and could drive at 15mph, armed with a spinning disc and a front-hinged lifter. The robot's shell was made from aluminium, with a stainless steel covering to strengthen it[3]. The armour was able to withstand Shunt's axe, Mr. Psycho's hammer and an oven from the Drop Zone.

The front lifter was originally intended to be a pneumatic flipper, but a change of rules for Series 6 forced the team to use a pair of 12 volt linear actuators to power it, which meant it opened much slower. The lifter was still referred to as a 'flipper' on its statistics board. The lifter become a front 'shield' when locked into position. There were two spikes on top of the lifter, which were intended to help the robot in self-righting, though in battle they prevented Maximus landing on its flipper a couple of times when it was flipped over by Roobarb.

Maximus

Maximus in the arena

The spinning disc was powered by a starter motor via a pulley system on a 3 to 1 ratio. The team claimed the disc to be three times as powerful as Hypno-Disc's, spinning at a reported maximum of 18000rpm, which would have made it the fastest spinning weapon in Robot Wars if true.

"When fitted to the smallest pulley on the drive motor, and the largest pulley on the flywheel, we found that the wheel turned at 35 revolutions per second. That's 2100 rpm! As a 'slowest speed' that was quite impressive; Hypnodiscs' weapon only rotates at 750rpm … Some basic calculations based on the rpm, and the distance of the teeth from the centre of the disc resulted in the following conclusion; The cutting teeth on the disc are moving at approximately 91mph!!! … the motor turns 3 times to get 1 flywheel turn, (3:1) but in the other position, if the motor turns 3 times, the flywheel will turn 9 times (1:3)! Theoretically, if we had a powerful enough battery, and plenty of time, the flywheel would then rotate at 2100rpm x 9 or 91mph x 9! Is that scary or what?"
— Team Gladiator website on the power of the disc[4]

Etymology[]

Maximus was named after "Maximus Decimus Meridius", the main character in the film Gladiator, as played by Russel Crowe[5]. The team and Philippa Forrester joked about this before Maximus' first battle.

Philippa Forrester: "...now, another question, very important - where's Russel Crowe?"
Andy Bannerman: "We're only allowed three team members Philippa, we had to leave him behind!"
Philippa Forrester: "Well quite frankly, one of you two could've swapped! Gutted!"
— In the interview before Round 1

In keeping with the robot's Roman theme, the team sometimes spelled the robots name as Maximvs, with a v instead of a u. This spelling can be seen on the team's shirts and is inconsistently used on the website.

The Team[]

"Mr G. Adair saw an opportunity to expand the school's wings. All was going well during the general planning and designing, but when it came down to the technical nitty-gritty, they soon realised they would need other help. For this much-needed, they looked towards another intrigued member of staff, Mr. A Bannerman."
— St John's Comprehensive School newsletter from 2002 on the Maximus teame[6]

Maximus was entered by a team from St John's Comprehensive School in Durham. It was conceptualised by Andrew Newby and G. Adair, with construction taking several years to achieve, by students Andrew Newby and Karl Warren. Andrew was responsible for driving the robot, whilst the weapons were operated by Karl, with assistance from school technician Andy Bannerman. In keeping with the robot's name and Roman theme, the team name was Team Gladiator, and the team wore Centurion helmets. At the Series 6 qualifiers, the team dressed in full Roman costumes.

Qualification[]

Maximus S5

Maximus at the time of Series 5

Maximus was originally intended to enter Series 5, and successfully qualified for the series. However, the team were forced to withdraw from the competition after the pneumatic equipment in the robot was revealed to be incapable of withstanding the gas pressures intended for use in Maximus.

"We receive notification to appear at Elstree studios on August 24th! We get ready to go, to face the foes ... But wait!! We are let down at the last possible minute when we are kindly informed that the pneumatic equipment we have been sold will not be able to withstand the gas pressures that we intend to use. This is despite our specifying the intended pressure from the very start. Deciding that the equipment is unsafe for use, we decide not to go ahead, and postpone the project. (The fact that the equipment was unsafe was later confirmed by an independent company who were amazed by what had happened) We fully intend to continue with the project, using a different supplier and will spend the next 11 months preparing for the 2002 local qualifying events."
— Team Gladiator website on withdrawing from Series 5 [7]
Maximus drfist terrorturtle 6thqualifiers

Maximus in the pits during the Sixth Wars qualifiers

Due to a change in rules in 2002 regarding which pneumatic bottles could be used, the team were forced to give Maximus a major rebuild, and the robot was only fully completed the day before the qualifiers. The team were forced to replace the pneumatic bottles with 12 volt electric window lifters.

"The latest rules from Mentorn stated that, for safety reasons, only three types of CO2 bottle would be acceptable as part of a pneumatic system in 2002. Unfortunately for us, none of the three specified bottles could possibly fit within our chassis. Gee, thanks! So an alternative (and rapid) redesign was required in the remaining weeks before qualifying. … At 2:30 am on Wednesday 2nd July 2002, we tried to get some sleep before the big day."
— Team Gladiator Website [8]
Team in costumemaximus

Maximus and its team at the Sixth Wars Qualifiers

At the qualifiers, it fought Dantomkia, Destruct-A-Bubble and Iron-Awe 2. Maximus started by attacking Destruct-A-Bubble, whilst Dantomkia went for Iron-Awe 2. Whilst Dantomkia flipped Iron-Awe 2 so it was stuck upright, Maximus chopped off part of Destruct-A-Bubble's arm. However, Dantomkia then got under Maximus and flipped it over. The nose cone bent on impact, and Maximus was left stuck upside down by the arena wall. While Dantomkia went on to win the battle, only Iron-Awe 2 received a discretionary place to qualify, meaning that Maximus failed to qualify for Series 6[9].

Later in 2002, the team received a call from Mentorn asking them if they would like to take part in the second series of Extreme, and Maximus entered the New Blood Championship.

Robot History[]

Extreme 2[]

"They've come, they've seen, will they conquer?"
— Jonathan Pearce

Maximus competed in Heat A of the New Blood Championship, where it faced Mr Nasty and Niterider in its opening melee.

Mr Nasty vs Maximus vs Niterider

Maximus is slammed by Mr Nasty

Maximus started by driving towards Niterider, but as Mr Nasty drove after it, Maximus turned around and drove around Mr Nasty to dodge. Maximus turned to face Mr Nasty as it charged at it again, and turned around as Mr Nasty rammed into its front. This caused Mr Nasty to glance away on impact, but Mr Nasty kept charging, getting its spike into the side of Maximus and ramming it down the arena, all the way down to the arena wall. Meanwhile, Niterider had barely moved since entering the arena. Maximus struggled to move away from the wall, only for Mr Nasty to slam it back into the wall, piercing the side with its spike.

"Well, they need to do a bit more of a "a-roaming" around the arena. "A-Roman", yeah okay. Maximus in a little bit of trouble, so will I be with puns like that!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Mr Nasty rams Maximus against the bottom arena wall

Mr Nasty continued ramming into Maximus, pushing it into the pit release button. Maximus moved away from the pit release, having regained mobility, and spun around. It could not, however, avoid another side-on charge from Mr Nasty, which pierced Maximus with the spike again, before pushing it over the flame pit and into an angle grinder.

"I don't think there's going to be much empire building from the Maximus gladiator team, do you?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Maximus is stuck by the angle grinder
RefbotPushesMaximus

Refbot pushes Maximus away from the angle grinder

Maximus was not moving, so Refbot came in, giving it a push away from the angle grinder, but Maximus was still not moving, and Mr Nasty pushed it back into the angle grinder. Whilst this was happening, Sir Killalot had come out of his CPZ to attack Niterider, which had barely moved since the start of the battle.

"Now the question: who's fallen first?"
— Jonathan Pearce as both Niterider and Maximus are immobile
MrNastyRamsMaximus

Mr Nasty slams Maximus against the wall as Refbot watches on

Refbot pushed Maximus away from the angle grinder again, and though Maximus couldn't drive away, it could still open its flipper. Refbot decided to leave Maximus to go and count out Niterider instead. Mr Nasty kept slamming into Maximus as Niterider was counted out. Whilst Niterider was put on the floor flipper and thrown, Mr Nasty got its spike in the side of Maximus, pulled it away from the wall, and pushed it over to the pit before pitting it.

MaximusPitted

Mr Nasty pits Maximus

"Maximus, looked the part, splendid accoutrements; the armour on the side, the horns if you like, the spikes, but what state will they be in, Maximus, when they continue?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Mr Nasty pits Maximus

Despite this, Maximus was still through to the next round, but substantial repairs had to be done[10]. Mr Nasty had buckled the side, and the crumpled shell was pressing against a drive wheel, and the spike had caused seven punctures, which had pierced the electronics, causing Maximus to become immobile.

"Mr Nasty was aiming to disable us by piercing our electronics, which he believed were under the rear cover. However, all of the holes which were made in Max's shell were along the sides - where our electronics were! He missed where he was aiming for, and hit the areas which he should have been targeting - weird? At one point the eight inch steel spike scratched the paint off the surface of the speed controller box - how close a call was that? Still, we survived."
— Maximus website on the damage from Mr Nasty

After being repaired, Maximus faced Roobarb in the second round.

B2pic08

Roobarb flips Maximus

The two machines charged at each other, with Roobarb trying to get under the side of Maximus. After failing to get under Maximus, Roobarb backed off to line itself up again. Maximus tried to drive past, but couldn't move fast enough, and Roobarb got under the side and flipped Maximus up, then using its flipper to topple it over. Maximus was left stuck on its back, the two top spikes on the flipper leaving it stuck. Roobarb got behind Maximus, flipping it onto its flipper. Maximus started opening its flipper, but it was too slow to right itself, and Roobarb pushed it around.

"What's Maximus doing here? I don't think, in the history of gladiatorial battles they ever sort of pirouetted in the arena of death, did they?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Maximus struggles to right itself
MaximusStranded

Maximus is stranded

A slam from Roobarb knocked Maximus back on its wheels, and Maximus turned around. Roobarb drove straight under the front of Maximus and flipped it over again. One of the spikes on the flipper prevented Maximus from landing on its flipper, leaving it stuck on its side and unable to right itself. Roobarb pushed Maximus to the arena wall, trying to flip it out, but failed as the flipper was not properly under Maximus. Roobarb tried again, but only knocked Maximus onto its side. Maximus was slowly opening its flipper, but couldn't right itself.

"Over on its side, and Maximus, for me, this is a question of time. Roobarb the stronger, they're just trying to hold on, the Maximus team."
— Jonathan Pearce as Maximus is stuck on its side
RoobarbMaximus

Roobarb aligns itself to try and flip Maximus out of the arena

Roobarb got under Maximus' side, but merely flicked it over to the other side of its flipper, before Roobarb used its flipper to lift Maximus so it was resting on its own open flipper. Roobarb rammed Maximus into the wall and flipped it, leaving the flipper hanging over the wall. Roobarb got under the back of Maximus and tried to flip it out, but instead Maximus fell back onto its wheels. The two competitors drove away and turned around for another attack. As Roobarb drove into Maximus' side, Maximus stopped moving, so Roobarb pushed it down the arena, pushing it into Mr. Psycho's CPZ.

""Veni, vidi, vici"? They came, they saw but vici non sequitur - didn't follow that they'd conquer!"
— Latin from Jonathan Pearce
Mr Psycho Maximus

Mr Psycho hits Maximus with his hammer

NewBloodARound2.1

The buckled Maximus is counted out

Mr. Psycho hammered Maximus, and Shunt came in to axe it, but Maximus' armour withstood the blows, though Mr. Psycho did manage to bend one of its spikes with the hammer. Mr. Psycho then tried to pick Maximus up by its flipper using his claw, but Maximus slipped from its grasp, buckling the flipper. Refbot came in and counted Maximus out, and Shunt pushed it onto the Drop Zone, where an over was dropped on it. Maximus was not damaged by the oven, or one last hammer blow from Mr. Psycho.

ShuntMaxDZ

Shunt places Maximus onto the Drop Zone

"That's strong armour! … They're withstanding a heck of a lot out there, you know. A shame they weren't more active or aggressive. They'll have learned lessons, Maximus."
— Jonathan Pearce as Maximus withstands the oven and Mr. Psycho's hammer

Maximus was therefore eliminated, with Roobarb going on to the Heat Final.

Craig Charles: "Guys, were you lucky to stay in the arena, or unlucky to stay in the arena?"
Andrew Newby: "Unlucky to stay in the arena!"
Craig Charles: "Especially when the cooker got involved."
Andrew Newby: "Yeah."
Craig Charles: "Aye, new kids on the block, it was more like new kids on the chopping block, wasn't it?"
— Post-battle interview with Craig Charles

Results[]

MAXIMUS - RESULTS
Extreme 2
New Blood Championship
Heat, Semi-Final
Heat A, Round 1 vs. Mr Nasty, Niterider Qualified
Heat A, Round 2 vs. Roobarb Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 1

Series Record[]

Main Series Maximus 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 Withdrew
The Sixth Wars Failed to qualify
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
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 New Blood Championship, Round 2

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

MaxDec on bench

Maximus and Decimus on display at a school open evening

After its appearance on Robot Wars, Maximus was placed on the wall at St John's school, occasionally being taken down for static display at school open evenings and other events.

Decimus

Front view of Decimus

The team also built a second robot called Decimus, which was a rectangular, invertible, four-wheeled robot armed with two horizontal spinning discs. Work on the robot originally began in September 2002, but the project was put on hold when Maximus was asked to compete in Extreme 2. Decimus was not finished in time for Series 7, with the last known update dating back to December 2003, so Decimus was never entered into Robot Wars[11].

Trivia[]

  • Other names considered for Maximus included Gladiator, Matador, They Think It's All Over (It Is Now), Dave Blister, Maximus Destructicus and Spark-At-Us.[12]
  • During the construction of Maximus, the team got technical advice from Brian Fountain and Shane Howard of Team Mace.[13]
  • Maximus was built with the help of B S & P Bearings, who provided the wheels and drive pulleys and sponsored the robot[14], Aycliffe Fabrication, which helped build the shell and do the welding[15], Karl's father Mike Warren, who helped with the construction, and Flymo, who provided batteries and motors.
  • Both of Maximus' battles involved a robot that lost in the first round of Series 6 to the eventual heat winner who would both meet each other in the first round of Semi-Final 1 and lose in the second round of the same episode.
  • When Maximus was introduced for its battle against Roobarb, there was a picture of Firestorm behind the Maximus team instead of Maximus itself.
  • In 2002, a picture of Maximus and its teams was used in the St John's Comprehensive School prospectus.
  • Between failing to qualify for Series 6 and appearing in Extreme 2, the team considered using Maximus as part of the school play.
"The school was pleased to have Max back, and it was decided to feature him in the school’s summer production of "Return to the Forbidden Planet". However, his ball race rear ‘wheel’ was causing damage to the flooring of the stage, and the wooden floor of the hall, so he had to be a static display instead, much to the team’s disappointment."
— Team Gladiator website[16]

References[]

External Links[]

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