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"Engineer Pocock and fitter Turnbull are Formula 1 fans, that's why they've named Schumey after the great Michael Schumacher. It's nippy at 30 miles per hour."
Jonathan Pearce in Series 2

Schumey was the name given to two versions of a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 2-3 of Robot Wars. The original version reached the King of the Castle Trial in Series 2 before being eliminated; the second, Schumey Too, lost in the first round in Series 3 despite performing strongly against The Steel Avenger.

Versions of Schumey[]

Schumey[]

"Looks like a black coffin lid, to bring doom and gloom to opponents..."
— Jonathan Pearce introduces Schumey in Series 2
Schumey 1

The original Schumey

Weighing in at 79.3kg, the original Schumey was a black, two-wheel drive robot with a narrow square-shape front and a wide rear; the shape of its chassis was likened to a 'coffin lid' by Jonathan Pearce. The robot was armed with static spikes as its main weapon (a pair of detachable front wedge prongs were included, but never seen), was powered by two 12V motors, and was quoted to reach a top speed of up to 30mph, at the cost of control. Schumey would have mainly relied on its speed and spikes to ram opponents, and benefited from having a zero-degree turning circle. However, it had a large 50mm ground clearance.

"Schumey had no weapons of any description and relied on shear brute force and power. However Schumey's 30mph as they would agree was a tad too fast and was the only problem they encountered (they would have done better at half this speed). Their bodyshell/chassis combination was made of heavy duty welded steel and would not break in any situation-over engineering? Their wheels were made of round bits of metal covered in a rolled bit of sheet then with a bit of sheet rubber riveted on as grip."
Oliver Steeples on Schumey[1]

Schumey Too[]

Schumey2Team

The Schumey Too team with their robot

Schumey was rebuilt into Schumey Too for Series 3, featuring a boxier chassis with aluminium and titanium top and side armour. The robot's top speed was reduced to 25mph, although its two 24V motors were twice as powerful as the motors it used previously. In contrast to Schumey's lack of active weapons, Schumey Too featured a set of front lifting forks and a centre spike, both pneumatically-driven. Each of its wheels were also independently driven.

In addition to its revised armour, motors and weapons, Schumey Too also sported a mock rear wing, pyramid-style top sections and a red and black paint scheme with two large eyes. Most of these details gave the robot a passing resemblance to a racing car, and referenced the Ferrari Formula One cars driven by Michael Schumacher around the time of Series 3's broadcast. Onscreen, Schumey Too was stated to have cost £300 to build.

Etymology[]

The robot was named after the would-be seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher; team members John Pocock and John Turnbull were both motorsport enthusiasts.

Robot History[]

Series 2[]

Philippa Forrester: "'Brute force and ignorance' is how you've described your armoury. I'm sorry, I don't think that's going to be enough for The Gauntlet."
John Turnbull: "It has to be, it just has to be... that's all we've got!"
— Doubts ahead of Schumey’s Gauntlet run
Schumey Gauntlet

Schumey is left stuck on the see-saw ramp

Schumey first competed in Heat E of the Second Wars, and was the second robot in that Heat to attempt The Gauntlet. It immediately raced out of the starting zone and over the spikes on the centre route, before driving up – and off the side of – the see-saw ramp.

"Well, this is a Formula One speeding start...until then! It wasn't a chicane they hit..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Schumey speeds up – and off – the see-saw ramp

Stranded between a pyramid and the side of the see-saw, Schumey spun its wheels aimlessly as Shunt and Sir Killalot closed in, with Sir Killalot poking and trying to drag it off with his lance. Eventually, Sir Killalot picked Schumey up by its left-hand wheel, before turning it over onto the ramp. 'Cease' was called, and Schumey travelled a distance of 7.3 metres, enough for it to qualify for the Trial stage.

"Well, my dad used to always say to me, 'too much speed, not enough haste!'"
Craig Charles speaks of Schumey's brisk performance
Schumey trial

Schumey lies defeated following its King of the Castle run

In King of the Castle, Schumey hesitated in the opening seconds of its run as it sat in the middle of the ring. However, as Matilda closed in, it suddenly shot forwards towards Shunt, bumping into his plough, and allowing him and Matilda to steer him towards the edge of the ring. Seemingly unable to turn, Schumey accelerated twice to get away from the House Robots, driving itself straight off the platform in the process.

"Schumey will use its pace to get away from Shunt and Matilda – ooh, it's gone too far towards the edge of the ring! Surely that's suicide?! 'Tilda's in there; it'll only take a nudge – it's suicide from Schumey! Disastrous! Shot his fault too early... and drove itself off the edge!"
— Jonathan Pearce's entire commentary for Schumey's King of the Castle run

With this, its run lasted only 9.4 seconds, putting Schumey at the bottom of the King of the Castle leaderboard and eliminating it from the Second Wars.

Series 3[]

"...and in the last wars, they were blue!"
— Jonathan Pearce concludes his introduction of Schumey Too
Shumey Too lifts The Steel Avenger

Schumey Too lifts The Steel Avenger close to the pit...

Following its rebuild, Schumey Too returned for the Third Wars, competing in Heat O. In its first – and only – televised battle, it fought series newcomer The Steel Avenger in the first round. Schumey Too immediately drove around and alongside The Steel Avenger as the two robots met in the centre, before attempting to get its forks underneath the latter. The Steel Avenger backed away before Schumey Too could attack, with Schumey Too spinning around before pushing The Steel Avenger from the side and almost into the pit. At the same time, it lifted and turned The Steel Avenger around, before again spinning away and driving close to the Flame Pit. In doing so, Schumey Too dodged a high-speed charge from The Steel Avenger, before getting underneath and pushing it back, almost turning The Steel Avenger onto its side in the process.

Schumey Too pitted

...but eventually falls in itself

Schumey Too spun away from a lurking Dead Metal before bumping The Steel Avenger head-on, but was unable to get underneath it again as the latter lured it across the arena. Eventually, it rammed into The Steel Avenger three more times, momentarily getting underneath and lifting it again with the first charge. However, the third resulted in one of its top armour panels being forcibly hacked off by The Steel Avenger's axe, although Schumey Too survived and responded with another bump. After lifting The Steel Avenger again, Schumey Too drove itself over an arena spike, which bounced it off the floor several times. As it attempted to drive away alongside the open pit, The Steel Avenger axed and rammed Schumey Too over the edge; seconds later, Schumey Too tumbled in wheels-first, and was eliminated from the Third Wars. Nevertheless, Philippa Forrester considered the battle to be fast and exciting while speaking to the Schumey Too team afterwards.

"The old arena spike came out, nearly caught it out – so did the pit, and it's going in, it's going in, it's gone in!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Schumey Too is intercepted - and pitted – by The Steel Avenger

Results[]

SCHUMEY - RESULTS
Series 2
The Second Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Trial
Heat E, Gauntlet 7.3m (4th) Qualified
Heat E, Trial (King of the Castle) 9.40 Seconds (5th) Eliminated
SCHUMEY TOO - RESULTS
Series 3
The Third Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat O, Round 1 vs. The Steel Avenger Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

NOTE: Schumey's Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included

Series Record[]

Series Schumey Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Heat, Trial
The Third Wars Heat, Round 1
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 appearance in Series 2, the original Schumey was later modified to use a front wedge and was decorated to resemble a serpent.

In May 2014, fifteen years following its Robot Wars appearance, Schumey Too was acquired by John Findlay of Team Roaming Robots and restored to running condition with a few changes. The robot's original front armour, rear wing and lifting forks/spikes were removed; the latter replaced with a large red, yellow and black lifting scoop. Schumey Too also received a revised red and yellow colour scheme, as well as an extra section of top armour immediately behind the scoop. In August of the same year, Findlay sold Schumey Too to the late Krissy Knee.

Robot Wars Live Events[]

After being retired following its Series 3 appearance, Schumey Too was acquired by John Findlay, and fought in a few Robot Wars live events between 2014 and 2015. It first fought in the 2014 event at Bluewater, and as of the Gloucester 2014 event was reserved as a 'Retro' robot alongside fellow former TV series competitors X-Terminator, Stinger, The Steel Avenger, Mr Nasty and Bulldog Breed. Towards the end of 2015, Schumey Too was retired from robot combat after suffering too much damage.

Trivia[]

  • Schumey Too was intended to appear in two side events in Series 3, both of which never took place. It was due to fight Spikasaurus - which had not been selected for the series - in a Grudge Match, and partner the latter in a Tag Team tournament. However, both events were cancelled as a result of a behind-the-scenes accident.[2]
  • Although mentioned on Schumey Too's statistics board in Series 3, team member Glynn Jones was absent throughout the entirety of the robot's appearance in that series.
  • John Turnbull's name was spelt incorrectly on the same statistics board, as he was listed as John Turnball.
  • In Series 3, Jonathan Pearce incorrectly mentioned on Schumey Too's statistics board that is was the heaviest robot in its heat, when The Steel Avenger, Sting 2, and Facet were all heavier.

References[]

Navigation[]

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