Man, doing this in 1995 was something else. All the advancements in tech have made this stuff so much easier to pull off present day, but 30 years ago seeing these things was wild.
I was at Fan Expo yesterday and Adam Savage told a story about Blendo: First year: In their first match, they hit their opponent, take them out. In their second match, they hit their opponent, take them out but a metal piece flies off right into the lap of the insurance provider. Next thing they know some very stressed out people come over to them and hand them first place because they had to disqualify them for the tournament because their bot was too powerful despite passing the safety checks that said “yeah, this isn’t a death machine” The next year, they come back with Blendo, first match, they take out their opponent. Second match, they take out their opponent, but despite the heightened box and the ceiling, a piece flies out and hits a lawyer. No one was hurt, but once again the organizers gave them first place as compensation for disqualifying them. They stopped the sport after that, and because Adam’s been out of the loop for so long, he’s not returning to Battlebots/Robot Wars.
I remember the 1st series of Robot Wars over here in the UK. Been a fan ever since. It's incredible to see how much robots have evolved. To have a spinner this destructive, this early in the history of Robot Wars is incredible. Bare in mind Battery tech is a thousand times better, motor technology is a thousand time better, Certain construction techniques just wern't available to the guys building robots in the 90's. Micro-controllers and radio control equipment is so so much more reliable nowadays. You young whipper snappers don't realise how good you've got it! It might not look it, but Blendo was so far ahead of it time! Some of the robots in this era could barely haul their own weight around, let alone shove another robot around the arena at 30mph while the opponents wheels are spinning up and screeching in protest. Truly amazing how far they've progressed.
The slow inevitable march of blendo may not be fancy, but it is the most existentially terrifying robot to have ever graced the stage with its presence.
Me, my brother, n all the homies used to meet up n watch battlebots when it was on. Most of them went on to extremely high paying jobs as various types of engineers at the big defense spending companies and the like. But me? I mow lawns with a remote control from the cab of my truck 4 days a week.
When universe is not ready for your invention. Whose idea was to build robot wars arena without bullet proof glass ceiling? Those barriers are clearly not high enough. Your robot too scary, here, take a prize and -please-, leave. They are afraid of Blendo until today, Blendo is the reason why robot's primary weapon must be powered down at the beginning of each battle. Combustion engine powered Blendo must be started by hand before battle begin.
I know the initial spark probably could've been anything in the end (they did special effects and prop work AFAIK,) as some people just seem like they could bubble to the top in any circumstances, but I like the idea that a salvaged lawnmower engine was a major stepping stone to seeing a cement truck explode or a ballistic gel goose going ballistic into a Fauxbio head a couple weeks back. And then like a huge chunk of the popular maker channels on this site. Knock-on effects be wild.
Funny enough this robot was knocked out by Cassidy Wright, the daughter of Will Wright (The Sims Will) So basically the irony of his name He has the same name as the guy who’s daughter beat him
