Robot Wars 1995 - Blendo vs DoMore 

Its not all that fair to expect the same action in these older fights as you would in the more recent ones...This was only the 2nd robot combat competition ever, and the sport has been evolving ever since. Honestly, I don't know what I would be able to build with the only reference being the robots from one year previous. Much easier now, when I can research what others have done and I know what works and what doesn't.

its like they say, aint about if you win or lose, its about how many rules you make them add to the rulebook

I love how Blendo's final design was spinning at "only" 400 RPM. Jamie's original plan wanted 30,000, lol.

Seeing Blendo at full speed with a live audience and a protective wall that flimsy is terrifying. What were they thinking? I guess they weren't ready for robots that dangerous yet.

I fucking love the strategy at 1:36 "fuck it, fight fire with fire"

Man.. if only Blendo came along later in the series when the safety regulations were better. Then again, it was the very reason they got stricter safety regulations in the first place.

I love how Jamie figured out the key to winning was spin to win.

DoMore has lots of ground clearance so its hard to see much, but Blendo was ripping small parts off and sending them flying...with some of it going into the audience, Blendo got disqualified from the event even though it won this match by audience decision

"Jamie honey, have you seen my wok?"

*I wonder if the guy who made this ever went on to do anything cool later in life*

That thing is horrifying; I especially love the Wikipedia quote "...tendency to tear itself apart"

DoMore spinning at 1:33 never fails to get a chuckle out of me.

I can practically hear Adam's maniacal laughter

If I remember correctly, Blendo entered twice in Robot Wars but was forced to quit because of the shrapnel, but they received co-champion.

i'll try spinning, that's a good trick

The 'third bot' is the camera bot, which had a camcorder mounted a tilting mechanism. It seemed pretty well made, and I'm not sure where the footage went from all the matches.

One thing that's really neat to note here is how totally ineffective DoMore's weapon is. That pneumatically driven spike is something that would be absolutely devastating if it could get a solid hit, but Blendo's entire design is the antithesis of things that make good targets for a weapon that drives straight in. Its dome shape from the heavy steel wok makes it impossible to get a straight shot(this is a principle of both historical armor design and even modern armored vehicle design; if you can't make impact at a perpendicular angle to the surface you're striking, you can't break through). That combined with the 400 RPM rotation means that spike will always glance off and be deflected without causing any damage.

day 348, still waiting for something to happen

Just watched Adam Savages Tested RU-vid channel. ‘How lethal was Blendo REALLY’

Any other robot: "ima destroy you" Blendo: spins menacingly.

Blendo was the first of its kind. No one knew how to counter a spinner like that yet.

Blends really is the perfect combination of defense and offense. Every vital component is encased in steel that spins fast enough to rip away anything that touches it.

Actually, Both Jamie and Adam worked on creating this destructive monster. Them alone is what makes Mythbusters. Even though it was before the creation of such show, it still is the work of Mythbusters.

Who will win, One fully operated machine with attached spikes that moves dangerously, or one spinning boi

I love that the silver dude just started spinning. Taunting an enemy that ferocious is a bold move.

2:47 "Why? Why was I programmed to feel pain?"

Blendo = When you have three green shells in Mario Kart 64

Thank you for having footage of Jamie’s monstrosity in action I have heard the legend but seeing it is something else entirely

beyblade, taken to its extreme.

DoMore: Ima DoLess blendo: RD2D screams while spinning in a circle

Interesting watching DoMore utilize its stationary, secondary weapon. At that point it's moving like Blendo, but it's purely defensive since it can't approach while spinning like that as it's using it's drive wheels to achieve that motion instead of a second motor.

Ah yes, Blendo, the grandfather to modern full body spinners like Gigabyte, Captain Shrederator and Chronos

I love it when someone ZOOMS in on a shot!! We get dizzy from the panning...we can't see what else is happening in the arena...we have no idea of the relationship of one robot to another! That makes for a wonderful viewing experience. ZOOM-PAN!! ZOOM-PAN!! ZOOM-PAN!! PAN! PAN PAN! PAN! DIZZYDIZZYDIZZYDIZZY!!!

The only problem that I see with Blendo's design is that while the shell is pretty heavy-duty, I think Jamie Hyneman sacrificed armor potential for somewhat better RPMs (too heavy of a shell or motors that don't have the torque to get up to speed after a hard strike and it would take forever to get the weapon up to usable speed-a problem with Whyachi). That being the case, when the armor gets dented up the shift in weight makes it move like a washing machine on spin cycle with shoes in it.

Blendo was like a BattleBots-robot in the mild early days of the original Robot Wars. The very first reason why a cage had to be built around this flying shrapnel 🤣😂

Watching these older videos, its impressive to see how far the technology for the various components used in the designs has evolved since the sport started.

The only reason I know about this is from a single video Adam Savage posted on his channel recently. It’s a strange phenomenon: lose, by being the most destructive and violent version so much so that you win by default

This is gonna be known as the darkest age in the entire history when the machines take control of the world

I love how Jamie just went about it as simplistically as possible and destroyed all these really complex machines. It's like the crushing blow of reality lol.

blendo was so awesome and destructive it was banned 3 times!

Blendo is the representation of let’s try spinning that’s a good trick

Blendo: Destroying the competition in the most boring way possible.

Nothing fucking happened

The stark contrast between this and now is crazyyyy. Considering thjs was banned for being too dangerous while robots now are literrally flying across the arena

Crazy to think that 4 years later a bot became even more devastating Instead did 80mph It did 300mph You know em You love em You’ve been terrified of him for the past 22 years NIGHTMARE

For a machine called "DoMore" it really didn't do a whole lot! It did run away a few times. lol

Blendo almost looks alien compared to the others, and completely unstoppable

Safety concerns? Like, 'I seem to have forgot which way I am pointing ? Oh well let's give the audience a scare'

I am amazed they didn't have plexiglass in place -- WHY WOULDN'T YOU PUT SAFETY GLASS !?!?!?!!!

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.

the moment when the other robot tries to copy his technique

I like how it not only looks intimidating, but sounds intimidating aswell.

From what i remember Blendo never lost.

I love the slow walk of doom in the start

Since that's the case I'd say that the spikes were primarily used to render moot any robots that use their shell as spinning weapons. A lot of other 'bots with similar low spike arrangements seem to get spikes beyond a certain length to fall prey to 'bots with lifting arms or wedge shaped shells. That's why I think the builder would remove them in the long term.

Jamie was really ahead of the curve with Blendo. That style of bot is a popular idea nowadays, with bonus points for the loud scary motor. I wonder what would happen if they brought it back with modern tech.

I agree! What's also interesting is that the builder of DoMore took off all the perimeter spikes in the 1996 event...you can still see all the (tapped?) holes in the frame for them.

1:35 _"What is he doing?"_ _"He's beginning to believe."_

Blendo was the one with the spinning dome of destruction

The fact this was a sport where people were barely protected by a thin sheet of plexi scares the hell out of me

1:35 *Beyblade theme starts playing*

The wok was called blendo and was eventually removed from competition because of a tendency to hurl its competitors pieces into the crowd. This was deemed too dangerous to continue.

This is *exactly what robots should be doing, not replacing artists, writers, and musicians.

14 years late and this video randomly pops up on my timeline.... Adam Savage from Mythbusters recently did a video on Blendo actually... Stating that Blendo was Jamie brainchild and that his 'first' intention, was to make a Robot that size, that spun at 30,000rpm...... till a scientist friend of his let Jamie know that if a 3foot wide Robot spun fast enough for the outer-edge to hit 30,000rpm, it would be moving so fast, that the 'blades' it had as weapons would be hitting Mach4 and would melt from the friction with the AIR. Needless to say, Jamie had to 'settle' on a mere 3600rpm give or take? The Robot only ever 'fought' 2 fights... and both times was taken out of competition because the creators of the Event had not envisioned anyone creating a robot like Blendo that could send a chunk of another robot flying away at Mach-Fudge. But, even though it was pulled from Competing twice, both times after only its first battle, they were still given a 'matching prize' to First-place, because the people running the event didnt feel it fair for them to get nothing after 'they' haddnt beefed up their safety enough for what 'could' be created.

It never lost, right up until battlebots, where it was first "disqualified" due to safety concerns and got to share the title with the winner, and then later on lost due to having become outdated, and no longer able to compete as well as it had.

DoMore's weapon looks like it would actually be more effective if it just had a bit more punch to it. At least when it comes to the standard sort of "block with a ramp/saw/flipper" design you see a lot these days. But against a bot like Blendo, it had no real chance. Also, that piston-spear needed to have a firmer base. A bot like Blendo would just tear that right off.

Oh, all I'd heard was that it was just Jamie. Thanks for clearing that up!

You spin me right round. Like a record.

@Bakumaster9 there's some sort of blade thing on it's side, it's just no visible when it's spinning. check for photos

Gotta admire DoMore's "sportsmanship"

Could you imagine if Jamie even got to build it to go 1/4 as fast as he originally hoped? This end product was only 400rpm, he wanted it to spin at 30k rpm lol.

Probably the main reason why Blendo was so damn effective was the amount of energy it was using at any given moment. Other robots weren't tapping into anywhere NEAR the amount of energy Blendo was. I think a pretty good way to level the playing field would have been to mandate a limit on how much energy the robots have access to. I haven't kept up with Robot Wars, so they may have already done this, but if I were running this competition, I'd specify that all competitors would have to use a battery specified and supplied by the competition organizers.

Blendo's super cool, the original spin bot built by pure logic, just can't help help but feel it stands massively below Last Rites and Megabyte due to its lack of power and control.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

That arena is so sketchy. If they held a competition with modern battle bots there would be audience fatalities the very first night, it would be horrifying. Picture Bronco just throwing Witch Doctor up over the wall and straight into the crowd with the main weapon spinning. Horrifying.

which one was Blendo? I keep hearing it's the spinning one but they both spin.

Simple beats complex. The other one could move around in strange ways and open its mouth and extend a pincer, but blendo could just spin with a blade and was unstoppable. Lesson learned.

Anyone here from Ifunny?

who's here after watching Adam's blendo video o Tested?

Other designers: We need mobility, versatility, different weapons, a self-righting system... Jamie Hyneman (in his usual deadpan): speeeeeeeeeeen.

That arena is crazy! It just can't stay still!

back when audience protection wasnt a high priority.

*Well, It's not like Jamie's gonna lose...*

"None of Blendo's matches lasted longer than 15 seconds." My ass.

Sitting behind 1/4" Plex? TOTALY SAFE!!!

Kinda amazed they didnt plexiglass the entire arena in like the later iterations of the show. Youd think hocky style boards would seem not enough.

was blendo made by the guy from mythbusters?

camera: shows domore kinda jostle forward camera pans back over to blendo: *ominous spinning saucer that looks like an alien craft slowing heading towards domore* i think we all predicted the outcome, although domore ended up doing quite alot and actually seems to be an ingenious design itself

At 2:37, one of the other bots was just kinda like 'rawr! *POUNCE*' on Blendo.

You just KNOW it's an engineer's favprite event when sharpnel ks regularly being sent flying and there ISN'T a barrier.

Blendo be just chillin

I bet this was savagely tested.

I can practically hear that lil bugger going EXTERMINATE!! as it spins

I miss the era of horizontal spinner dominance. They're still the best design out there IMO, there's just not a lot of teams building them for some reason.

@IdarkphoenixI i remember there being robots with shovels or wedge designs that were specifically made to flip and/or catapult their opponents.

and spinners forevermore dominated robot fighting, even when nerfed by a TON of rules to make them less terrifying

To quote the great warrior-poet Boatyard Booti Blinyot Binesauce: “SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEN”

Hyuga clan's ultimate technique

These matches where never as violent as i was hopping.

I'll try spinning, that's a good trick!