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"Nippy, zippy and altogether dippy! What you see is what you get with this robot! Weighing in at 10.8 kilograms, this lightweight entry may surprise us all with its amazing acceleration and magnificent manoeuvrability!"
Jonathan Pearce introduces WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get, pronounced Wiz-ee-wig) was a featherweight robot which competed in Robot Wars: The First Wars. Along with Grunt and Eubank the Mouse, it was a stock robot brought in to make up the numbers for that series, and was eliminated in the Football Trial despite being able to qualify from The Gauntlet.

Created by first series Judge Eric Dickinson, WYSIWYG initially entered the 1996 US competition under his captaincy, but lost its first battle to Wedge of Doom in the main Featherweight Face-Off tournament. It would also appear in a Featherweight Melee - losing to The X-2 – a 'team battle', and a Grudge Match against French competitor Steel At Work. The latter battle – WYSIWYG's only combat win - was among those featured in the American Robot Wars 1996 and American Robot Wars Final 1996 video releases.[1]

Design[]

Wysiwyg2

The insides of WYSIWYG

"It's made out of wood, which means it's quite light and can move quite fast, it's wedge-shaped, so it can hopefully tip up the other robots, but I think I'm going to have to stay out of the way of the House Robots!"
— Michelle Wheeley describes her machine

WYSIWYG was a box wedge-shaped robot with a wooden bodyshell,[1] painted white with a dark purple Starsky & Hutch-inspired stripe along the top and sides. While not featuring any weapons, it would rely on its shape, fast acceleration and top speed of 10mph to ram and potentially tip opponents over. WYSIWYG's internals largely comprised of radio control car parts, including 7.2V cell batteries, geared-down motors powering each of its two drive wheels, and a servo mechanism providing car-type steering for a castor wheel at the front.[1]

Despite being introduced as a lightweight in The First Wars, WYSIWYG was actually a featherweight weighing 10.8kg. This made it the only featherweight from the series not to compete in Heat D, meaning that it was significantly smaller and lighter than its allocated UK opponents.

WYSIWYG's Series 1 appearance was carried over virtually intact from its original 1996 incarnation, which also included 'bullet hole' graphics, joint UK/US flag decals on the front wedge, and small strobe lights flashing from within the bodyshell. While present in The Pits during filming, the 'bullet holes' would be removed for the robot's televised appearances.

The Team[]

WYSIWYGMichelle

Michelle Wheeley with WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG was originally built by Eric Dickinson, a retired engineer who worked a pizza delivery man. He was inspired to build the robot after attending a model engineering exhibition at Earls Court[2].

"His machine was built out of bits and pieces from his house in Tile Hill, Coventry. A financial setback meant that Eric was unable to develop Wysiwyg [sic] for the first series on Robot Wars but he was invited to join the Judges."
— Coventry Evening Telegraph on Eric Dickinson[3]

However, for Series 1, Eric Dickinson worked as a Judge, though he allowed WYSIWYG to be used as a stock robot when there were not enough competitors for the series. The robot was driven by Michelle Wheeley, the girlfriend of Cruella captain Phillip Martin. Michelle had previously been in the audience before she was asked to drive.[4]. On screen, WYSIWYG was credited as coming from Edmonton in London, rather than Eric's home of Coventry.

Robot History[]

Series 1[]

"Now what you see is a young woman driver, and what you get… ah right."
— Dated stereotypes from Jonathan Pearce during the Gauntlet
Wysiwyggauntlet

WYSIWYG becomes stuck on the ramp

WYSIWYG was the fourth robot to run the Gauntlet in Heat C. WYSIWYG started by charging off the turntable, but crashed into a fence. It quickly reversed and chose the centre route, but got stuck on the edge of the ramp. Shunt went in to free WYSIWYG but got stuck himself. Shunt was pushed by Dead Metal, which in turn pushed WYSIWYG free. WYSIWYG then reversed and went for the maze route, but had steering problems, turning into the top railings, and after struggling to correct itself, WYSIWYG reversed along, nearly driving onto a grille. It turned itself around, narrowly avoiding turning onto the grille as it hit the side railings. It reversed and turned, then drove down the maze, but drove into the second fence. It reversed, and time ran out. As "Stop, and deactivate robots" was called, WYSIWYG darted forwards, driving onto the grille.

Jeremy Clarkson: "Dearie, dearie me. Now, what on earth happened there?"
Michelle Wheeley: "It was a slaughter!"
Jeremy Clarkson: "It WAS a slaughter, except you actually managed to get a House Robot stuck, which is an all-time first!"
Michelle Wheeley: "Yeah, felt pretty good actually!"
Jeremy Clarkson: "Okay, well you managed to go … the wrong way, but nonetheless some way."
— Post-Gauntlet interview with Jeremy Clarkson

WYSIWYG had only covered 5.55m, but this was still more than Plunderbird 1, and WYSIWYG progressed.

Football

WYSIWYG and its opponents in the Football Trial

In the Football Trial, WYSIWYG was required to fall at this stage due to its status as a stock robot. Before the Trial, WYSIWYG and few of the other teams added extra panels to their robots to improve their ball control. WYSIWYG started by bumping into Robot The Bruce as it charged at the ball, before turning away and into Cruella. WYSIWYG then drove down the arena, away from the others, before turning around and driving into the front of Robot The Bruce, blocking it. WYSIWYG moved away from Robot The Bruce, and drove into the side of the arena. Whilst Wedgehog and Cruella fought for the ball, WYSIWYG drove into the side of Dead Metal. The House Robot spun, knocking WYSIWYG away. WYSIWYG escaped as Robot The Bruce got hold of the ball, and drove behind Wedgehog as Robot The Bruce scored the first goal.

WYSIWYG damage football Cruella

WYSIWYG pushes Cruella

In the second round, WYSIWYG reversed into Dreadnaut, then turned to push the ball away. However, it turned incorrectly, driving up the arena, allowing Wedgehog to reach the ball. Cruella took the ball, and WYSIWYG charged at Cruella.

"Ooh, go on WYSIWYG, that deserves a yellow card!"
— Jonathan Pearce

The two robots pushed at the ball together, but Cruella managed to turn, pushing WYSIWYG aside. As Cruella pushed WYSIWYG, WYSIWYG's metal front came loose. WYSIWYG turned around, and despite being hit by one of Dead Metal's pincers, managed to block Cruella. Dreadnaut and Wedgehog got the ball away, but Dreadnaut broke down, allowing Wedgehog to get the ball and dribble it into the goal.

DreadnautImmobile

Dreadnaut lies immobile as Cruella beats WYSIWYG to the ball

The game restarted, and Cruella blocked WYSIWYG as they both moved around the immobile Dreadnaut. Cruella pushed the ball into Dreadnaut, then pushed the ball onto the curved wall, and after a few attempts freed the ball into open play. Meanwhile, WYSIWYG attacked Dead Metal and was knocked into the goal post, and Cruella eventually scored the next goal.

BothRobotsImmobile

Dreadnaut and WYSIWYG, both immobile

Before the fourth round, both remaining robots had allegedly broken down, and the Judges had to decide on which one would progress to the Arena stage. As both robots had failed to score, the robot with the most touches of the ball was awarded victory, which they declared was Dreadnaut.

According to contemporary accounts from First Wars filming, stock robots were allegedly prohibited from qualifying for the Arena stage, supposedly as their presence was deemed to be 'unfair' to official competitors. WYSIWYG, despite having displayed more mobility than Dreadnaut, was eliminated from the series.[5][6]

Jeremy Clarkson: "Michelle, big commiserations. Perhaps nobody explained that in a game of football, you have to actually, sometimes, aim AT the ball!"
Michelle Wheeley: "Well, because they're all much bigger than me, I had to try and get in someway, if they didn't get out of my way, I bashed them out of my way! I thought that would be worth something anyway."
Jeremy Clarkson: "Yes, it's worth a trip home!"
— Post-Trial interview

1996 US Championship[]

"Hopefully, when they see it, they’re gonna get it!"
— Eric Dickinson, American Robot Wars 1996

WYSIWYG's competitive debut took place two years prior to the initial UK airing of The First Wars, at the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. Under the captaincy and controls of Eric Dickinson, it initially competed in the Featherweight Face-Off tournament, where it would fight Wedge of Doom in the opening round. This was one of a number of featherweight 'Dual Matches' to take place, occurring on one side at the arena at the same time as the first-round match between KMM and Gigan.[7]

The battle itself initially consisted of a straightforward pushing match, with both competitors shoving, but not able to breach each other's ground clearances. Eventually, WYSIWYG was scooped up and pushed against the wall by Wedge of Doom, which pinned it for a knockout win. WYSIWYG was thus eliminated from the Featherweight Face-Off tournament, though this would not be its only battle at the 1996 event.[1]

Later on, WYSIWYG was among the competitors to be involved in Grudge Matches, held to entertain the audience in between the Face-Off finals. One of these was an 'experimental team bout' featuring a total of eight robots, where it was partnered up with Melvin, Spike and Spiny Norman to form "Team X". The quartet would compete against "Team W", comprising of KMM, Arsenic, My Little Pony and The X-2.[1][8][9]

WYSIWYG immediately darted to the far side of the arena, swiping the front of Arsenic and dodging The X-2 in the process. It drove underneath a slow-starting My Little Pony, in an apparent attempt to pin the latter against the wall, though My Little Pony would later escape and deploy its tape to trap Melvin and an inverted Spiny Norman. WYSIWYG rejoined the fray moments later, chasing and briefly scooping The X-2 up on its wedge shape. While continuing to pressure Mike Winter's entry, it grazed the tape left out by My Little Pony, before ramming Arsenic as the latter became locked together with Spike and The X-2. WYSIWYG backed out, turned and drove towards the other side of the arena to pin My Little Pony once again, as KMM joined the melee.[8][10]

This manoeuvre, however, proved costly, as The X-2 lifted, dragged and held WYSIWYG aloft for several seconds. Once the pin was completed, WYSIWYG found itself under further attack from both The X-2 and KMM, which attempted to strike its bodyshell with its own pickaxe. The three robots separated; WYSIWYG exchanged brief shoves with The X-2, while dodging another lift. It nudged Arsenic as the latter was pinning the now-inverted Spike. WYSIWYG turned to face and collect the approaching KMM, pushing it across the arena perimeter while momentarily being flicked from the back by The X-2's forklift. Both The X-2 and My Little Pony pressured WSYIWYG as it attempted to complete the pin. WYSIWYG, undeterred, kept pinning KMM, just as My Little Pony briefly drove up and got stuck on its wedge shape.[8][10]

WYSIWYG eventually shot forwards into Arsenic and Spike again, releasing KMM. It then drove to the other side of the arena, where it suddenly lurched and stopped moving in the corner for several moments. Backing up across the perimeter, WYSIWYG turned and rammed the entangled Spiny Norman, flipping it back on its wheels in the process. Again, it rammed and tried to pin My Little Pony, only to be flicked from the right-hand side by The X-2. KMM approached the two robots and nudged My Little Pony free, with WYSIWYG appearing to have mobility issues as it took a swipe from a nearby arena flipper. By the end of the match, WYSIWYG was wedged underneath the flipper itself, which was enough to confirm that all of the "Team X" competitors had been pinned. WYSIWYG and its teammates would ultimately lose the match altogether to the "Team W" machines.[8][10]

A second Grudge Match involved WYSIWYG in a head-to-head battle against Steel At Work, a French heavyweight weighing 73kg. Featured alongside an interview with Eric Dickinson in American Robot Wars 1996, the battle was dubbed by host Michael Meehan as a 'continuation of the Hundred Years' War', intended to settle which of the two representing nations (England and France) would triumph. National flags of the United Kingdom and United States were attached to the back of WYSIWYG for this fight.

"The English robot hadn't travelled all this way to be denied to be taking on the French robot, Steel At Work."
— Paul Vallis' entire commentary of the fight
Wysiwyg vs steel at work

WYSIWYG knocks out Steel At Work

WYSIWYG sped across the arena and past Steel At Work, which turned round and began spinning in circles. The first slam by the British machine was enough to immobilise Steel At Work - itself suffering from technical issues – almost immediately, with WYSIWYG proceeding to force one of its opponent's sponsor decals loose with another ram. WYSIWYG, overcoming its size disadvantage, emerged as the winner for England, a feat which would also be mentioned in Heat B of the televised First Wars.[11]

WYSIWYG96

WYSIWYG, moments after being flipped over by The X-2 in its Featherweight Melee

Finally, WYSIWYG took part in the Featherweight Melee competition, comprising of a series of multi-robot battles. In its preliminary Melee, it would duel with Black Sheep 2, along with several opponents it had encountered in earlier fights – KMM, Melvin, My Little Pony, Spike, Wedge of Doom and The X-2.[8][12][13]

WYSIWYG began by pinning Spike against the wall, then pushing it deeper into the arena corner. Not long after, it was in turn attacked by The X-2, which succeeded in turning the British machine over with its forklift. Inverted and unable to self-right, WYSIWYG was eliminated from the Featherweight Melee early on, in what would be its final match of the 1996 US competition.[8][12][13]

Results[]

WYSIWYG - RESULTS
UK Series
Series 1
The First Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Trial
Heat C, Gauntlet 5.55m (5th) Qualified
Heat C, Trial (Football) Least Possession (5th) Eliminated
1994-1997 US Competitions
1996 US Championship
Featherweight Face-Off
Round 1
Round 1 vs. Wedge of Doom Lost
Featherweight Melee
Round 1
Melee vs. Black Sheep 2, KMM, Melvin, My Little Pony, Spike, Wedge of Doom, The X-2 Lost
Other Battles
Featherweight Team Battle
(Team X, partnered with Melvin, Spike and Spiny Norman)
Team Battle vs. Arsenic, KMM, My Little Pony & The X-2 (Team W) Lost
Other Battles
Grudge Match
(Representing England)
Grudge Match vs. Steel At Work (France) Won

Wins/Losses[]

  • 1994-1997 Wins: 1
  • 1994-1997 Losses: 3

Series Record[]

Series WYSIWYG Series Record
The First Wars Heat, Trial
The Second Wars Entered with Cruella (Michelle Wheeley)
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[]

As of August 2021, WYSIWYG is in the possession of Eric Dickinson's son, Daniel, who has the robot stored in his attic.[14] The robot is still in working condition and would only need a change of batteries to get it running again.[15] Daniel had also started building a WYSIWYG 2 in memory of Eric Dickinson, though the progress of it is unknown so far.[16]

Trivia[]

  • WYSIWYG was the only one of the three Series 1 Stock Robots to not complete The Gauntlet.
  • WYSIWYG is one of twenty robots never to to have fought a battle in the televised UK Series, having only ever appeared in the Gauntlet and Trial stages.
  • WYSIWYG was the only Series 1 Stock Robot to be given an introduction clip in The Pits.
  • Alongside frenZy and the American Prometheus, WYSIWYG was one of three robots to have competed in both the 1994-1997 US competitions and the televised UK Series in some form. Of those three, it is the only one not to have fought a battle in the latter.

References[]

Navigation[]

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