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This article is about the British competitor. For other uses, see Twister (disambiguation).

"Has three sharp, short, thick spikes at the front, ramming and spinning at the same time. The blade on the flywheel goes fifty-five miles an hour for heavy metal damage, also has a flipper and runs both ways up."
Jonathan Pearce introduces Twister

Twister was Team Berserk's final entry for Robot Wars, competing exclusively in Series 5. In its only televised appearance, it lost in the first round of its heat to Clawed Hopper, making it the first competitor to be defeated by a walkerbot in the main UK Championship.

Design[]

Twister (UK)

The Series 5 Twister in the arena

Twister was an invertible robot with a narrow chassis, four wheels - two on top, two at the bottom - and an array of four weapons. These weapons consisted of a front flipper, a rear bludgeoner - which could spin up to 55mph and inspired the robot's name - a three-bladed drill cutter mounted in front of the bludgeoner, and large spikes on the sides and end of the flipper. Curiously, the drill weapon was referred to as another set of spikes by Jonathan Pearce, and was quoted as being intended for ramming and spinning.

Twister's top wheels were set slightly closer to the bludgeoner than the bottom ones, although the reasoning behind this design feature is currently unknown. The robot itself benefited in having multiple attack strategies as a result of its weapons arsenal, and proved quick and agile in its only battle. However, the weapons themselves did not prove powerful, the flipper never being seen in action, and a lack of testing resulted in poor reliability.

Qualification[]

Twister Series 6

The version of Twister which failed to qualify for Series 6

Twister UK base

The bludgeoner on the back of the Series 6 version of Twister

Following its appearance in Series 5 - in which it successfully qualified for - Twister was completely redesigned and rebuilt for an attempted entry into Series 6, retaining only the bludgeoner. The new version was a four-wheeled, pyramid-shaped robot fitted with two front cutting discs, its appearance and armament gave it a striking resemblance to former UK Series runner-up Pussycat. Twister's bludgeoner in this incarnation was set at the base of the robot and lacked the drill extension it had in Series 5.

"A very well built machine..."
Laurie Calvert on Twister, during the Series 6 qualifiers[1]

Twister fought Barbaric Response and Lightning in its qualifier, but became immobilised during the battle after getting flipped onto its bludgeoner by the latter. As a result, Twister failed to qualify for the Sixth Wars.

Robot History[]

Series 5[]

"Look at Twister, chasing off after Clawed Hopper, not quite knowing what to do with it."
Jonathan Pearce as Twister attempts to attack Clawed Hopper
Twisterfront

Twister breaks down while trying to attack Clawed Hopper

Twister competed in Heat L of Series 5, facing walkerbot and fellow Series 4 returnee Clawed Hopper in the first round. With its flipper already open, it started the battle quickly by driving around the side of Clawed Hopper, but stopped short of hitting it with its drill cutter. It retreated towards the wall before ramming into the side of Clawed Hopper, and attempted to reverse before suddenly losing mobility after fifteen seconds had elapsed. As a result, Twister was repeatedly bumped and pushed aside by Clawed Hopper, until it was left close to the Flame Pit.

"Er, Twister? You're not exactly whipping up a storm. And I think they're gonna be counted out here by the Refbot. Are we to see a walker going through to reward all the ingenuity? We are! Twister counted out!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Twister is counted out
DeadMetalTwister

Twister is caught by Dead Metal

Dead Metal Twister

Dead Metal slices Twister

Refbot proceeded to count Twister out as Clawed Hopper slowly pushed it across the arena again, before Dead Metal grabbed and sliced into Twister's flipper and chassis with his saw. Twister was pushed over the Flame Pit and into Matilda's flywheel by Dead Metal, before both House Robots left it in the middle of the arena and Matilda helped Clawed Hopper position it close to the pit.

"By the time Halley's Comet next passes the Earth, they'll be in the pit."
— Jonathan Pearce as Clawed Hopper slowly pits Twister
CHopperTwister

Clawed Hopper slowly pushes Twister towards the pit

HopperTwisterPit

Twister is finally pitted by Clawed Hopper

Eventually, Clawed Hopper pushed Twister towards and into the pit, eliminating it from the Fifth Wars. This battle marked Team Berserk's final televised appearance in any version of Robot Wars.

"Well, I hope Twister aren't bitter, because now they're definitely 'twisted'!"
Craig Charles announces Twister's elimination

Results[]

TWISTER - RESULTS
Series 5
The Fifth Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat L, Eliminator vs. Clawed Hopper Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

Series Record[]

Series Twister Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Super Heavyweight Championship with Berserk
The Third Wars Entered with Berserk 2
The Fourth Wars Entered with Berserk 2
The Fifth Wars Heat, Round 1
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

Trivia[]

  • As in their previous series appearances, Team Berserk were notable in that most of their team members were deaf, communicating in sign language. This allowed them to have one extra team member to act as a translator, though the team did not have any televised interviews in Series 5.
  • Twister was the only robot in Heat L of the Fifth Wars that never appeared in any other series. However, its team did appear in Series 2-4 with the Berserk series of robots.

References[]

  1. Private correspondence with User:Toon Ganondorf

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