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For other uses of the name Rampage, see Rampage (disambiguation).

"A coal scuttle on wheels"
Jonathan Pearce on Rampage

Rampage was a robot that competed in Series 2 of Robot Wars. It was entered by 15-year old Robert Whittall and his uncle Peter Wearing. It was eliminated at the Gauntlet stage after covering just 3.0m.

Design[]

Rampage S2 Crop

Side view of Rampage

Rampage was a triangular wedge-shaped robot armed with a 7" cutting disc on the rear, and mild steel rammers on the front. It had a mild steel chassis underneath a stainless steel and aluminium shell with a Derby County Football Club rams motif. The robot was powered by two 12 volt batteries, giving it a top speed of 8mph. The motors were from a wheelchair. It took 3 months to build, costing over £300. It was 3kg over the weight limit for heavyweight robots at the time.

Etymology[]

Rampage was named after the monthly magazine of Derby County Football Club, Robert Whittall's local team, whom he supports[1].

The Team[]

"Robert, a pupil at Littleover Community School, Pastures Hill, came up with a design with help from teachers. He has also been helped with the project by his uncle, Peter Wearing, also of Littleover. Mr Wearing said: "It was a lot of fun doing the project. It was a question of solving problems as we went along"."
— The Evening Telegraph on the creation of Rampage, 1998[2]
RampageS2team

The team controlling Rampage

Rampage was entered by Robert Whitall from Derby, with his uncle Peter Wearing. The robot started as a graphic design project for school, and was built with help from teachers at the school and his uncle. Robert Whittall drove the robot.

"It all started as a graphic design project I was doing for school. I'm a big fan of the programme and decided to enter it for the competition. It's a bit like a remote-controlled car with added features. I've put a lot of effort into the project and some of my own money. I wouldn't like to tempt fate and say I'm confident of winnning - it's just nice to be there."
— Robert Whitall, interviewed in the Evening Telegraph, 1998[3]

Robot History[]

Series 2[]

RampageSpike

Rampage is lifted up by an arena spike

Rampage tried to take the Sentinel route in the Gauntlet, but as it drove down the route, an arena spike came up and punctured one of Rampage's tyres. This left Rampage spinning around on one wheel.

"They've got to get off that! … They're stuck here, on one of the spikes!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Rampagegauntlet

Dead Metal cuts into Rampage

As Rampage span on the spot, the spike continued lifting it up. This made Rampage spin around on one wheel. Dead Metal and Sir Killalot came in, and together, the two House Robots pinned Rampage in the top corner. As Dead Metal held it, the House Robot brought down its circular saw, ripping up the top of Rampage's front shovel. Time ran out, and Rampage had managed to travel just 3 metres.

"Hardly a rampage!"
— Jonathan Pearce on Rampage's run

This left Rampage last on the leaderboard and it was eliminated.

"Rampage? Ravaged, more like! You spent all that time polishing it!"
Philippa Forrester inspects the damage after the Gauntlet run

Results[]

RAMPAGE - RESULTS
Series 2
The Second Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Gauntlet
Heat H, Gauntlet 3.0m (6th) Eliminated

Series Record[]

Series Rampage Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Heat, Gauntlet
The Third Wars Did not enter
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

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

After its only appearance in Series 2, Rampage remained in Robert Whittall's shed. Over the years, parts of the robot were used for other projects, which eventually led to it being taken apart. Despite this, Robert Whittall still owns the stainless steel front of Rampage[4].

Trivia[]

  • Rampage is one of twenty robots never to fight in robot combat, having only ever been in the Gauntlet or Trial.

References[]

Navigation[]

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