Roadblock (robot)
Constructed in 1997 by A-level students from Bodmin Community College, the robot was initially called "Road Rage" but was renamed in response to a request from the programme's producers.
Although Roadblock was armed with a circular saw weapon, its success was primarily due to its wedge-shaped body—Roadblock could drive underneath opponent robots and invert them, rendering many immobile.
This robot was equipped with the same circular saw blade weapon alongside fibre glass armour-plating and a powered lifting tusk to assist with flipping its opponents.
A modified electric wheelchair provided drive and a chassis; a strimmer engine was mounted onto the rear of this to power a hardened steel circular saw blade weapon.
This six-way battle immediately followed the final heat of the series, and pitted the winners of each respective heat—Roadblock, Recyclopse, Robot the Bruce, Cunning Plan, Bodyhammer and TRACIE—against one another.
Recyclopse was next to be eliminated with a broken drive chain, before Robot the Bruce mounted and drove too far up Roadblock's wedge and was tipped onto its side.
This second phase of the heat saw Roadblock knock down 34 barrels in a robotic version of skittles - just sufficient to reach the one-on-one battles.
Herein, it pushed an immobile Killerhurtz into the midst of the house robots before victory in the heat final over Onslaught, which failed to move.
Roadblock amassed 355 points, easily qualifying for a one-on-one battle against King Buxton to decide which would reach the grand final.
The fight was close until an internal fire rendered King Buxton immobilised, after which Roadblock used its tungsten-tipped circular saw to inflict further damage.
[12][13] From the third series of Robot Wars, the Gauntlet and Trial stages of each heat were dropped, with the main competition formed around head-to-head combat.
The Roadblock team participated with a robot called Beast of Bodmin, named after a phantom wild cat purported to range in Cornwall.
Beast of Bodmin was constructed from the chassis and weapons system from Roadblock, with new fibre glass armour, an additional lifting tusk, and two large animated eyes.
