Bucky the Robot

**Bucky the Robot**, often shortened to Bucky, was a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 10 of Robot Wars. It was built by Team Tomco, who were accompanied always by Bucky the Mascot, a large red mascot with a large mouth and moving eyebrows. The robot's name is derived from 'buck teeth', and is printed on the side of the robot as #BuckytheRobot.

## Design

Bucky the Robot's design and weapon is based upon chattering teeth, and the weapon is a large guillotine-type weapon with two large teeth, which snaps down on other robots with a third of a tonne in force, classed to be a crusher by Robot Wars: The Official Handbook, and a 'biter bot' on the Robot Wars website. The teeth can damage robots directly, or hold them in place for Bucky the Robot to push opponents. The jaw also served as a self-righting mechanism if the robot is directly on its back, although Bucky the Robot cannot self-right from all sides. A 'wind-up key' protrudes out of the side of the robot, reinforcing the theme, while an air-horn was used in its Group Battle to signal the jaw weapon firing.

Bucky the Robot's overall design was a very steep wedge, driven by two yellow wheels at the rear, creating top speeds of 18mph through its MPC T-64 gear motors running at 34V. However, its back end is unprotected, with certain components being completely exposed, and the rest of the armour consisted only of 10mm plastic and 10mm polycarbonate, on a steel chassis. Bucky had no base plate, which actually helped it when it fought Rapid.

### Etymology

The robot's name is derived from 'buck teeth', and is printed on the side of the robot as #BuckytheRobot. The full name "Bucky the Robot" was given to differentiate the competitor from its similarly named mascot, "Bucky the Mascot".

## Robot History

Bucky the Robot competed in Series 10, debuting in Heat C. In its Group Battle, it faced Series 9 returnee Rapid and fellow newcomer Track-Tion. Bucky the Robot immediately fired its jaw open and drove past Track-tion, its jaw shutting and opening again as it veered close to Matilda’s CPZ. It lowered its jaw again as it was being pushed by Rapid, and momentarily stopped as ‘Fog of War’ was activated; nevertheless, Bucky the Robot opened its jaw again, and chased Rapid across the arena. The three competitors converged around the arena spikes, with Bucky the Robot lingering in an empty CPZ as Track-tion was flipped over by the spikes and thrown out of the arena. As it drove away, it momentarily got caught on the Flame Pit, and proceeded to dodge a few shoves from Rapid. Firing its jaw, Bucky the Robot was rammed into the wall by Rapid, but drove away, and continued dodging Rapid until it was steered and flipped against one of the entry gates by the latter. After a few seconds, its jaw - suspended over the trench near the already-eliminated Track-tion – snapped shut on the entry gate, enabling Bucky The Robot to grasp the gate, lift itself off the floor and drop back onto its wheels. Bucky the Robot backed away and dodged Rapid once again, but was repeatedly pushed around the arena by the latter, almost being hit by Matilda’s flywheel and falling onto its side in the process. Rapid threw it onto its back close to another entry gate, although Bucky the Robot landed on its wheels and chased Rapid across the arena in response. The two robots charged head-on into each other, with Bucky the Robot firing its jaw and spinning close to Matilda as Rapid got underneath it once more. Matilda hit Bucky the Robot’s side with her flywheel, before Rapid pushed it onto the arena spikes. Already immobile on one side, Bucky the Robot was thrown onto its back by one of the spikes as it tried to drive off, where a depleted gas supply prevented it from self-righting. However, with the battle running for the full three minutes, Bucky the Robot avoided a count-out, and survived to a Judges’ decision. Needless to say, the decision unanimously went in favour of Rapid, consigning Bucky the Robot to the Robot Redemption stage along with Track-tion. There, it fought newcomer Vulture, for a chance to remain in contention for a Heat Semi-Final place. Before the battle, Sabrina Ferriggi worked on Bucky the Robot’s wedge in an attempt to bring it closer to the arena floor, while Bucky the Mascot wandered around the Pit area in anticipation.

Straight away, both robots darted towards each other, with Bucky the Robot pursuing and bumping into Vulture as the latter attempted to get its overhead bar spinner working. Bucky the Robot swung its jaw down, but without getting any purchase, before spinning and driving away from Vulture, dodging the latter as it drove onto the Floor Flipper. It capitalised on Vulture’s mistake by pushing the latter as it self-righted, and used its two front teeth to bite down on a gap behind Vulture's front wedge. Bucky the Robot pushed and dragged Vulture into Dead Metal, before letting go, only to be pushed towards Dead Metal and receiving a hit from the House Robot’s saw. It escaped, and drove away to meet Vulture again close to the pit, before the two robots pushed each other around the arena as Vulture’s weapon motor malfunctioned. Bucky the Robot shut its jaw again, but without grabbing hold of Vulture, and was pushed onto the Floor Flipper by its opponent. This resulted in it being thrown over onto its side; stranded, Bucky the Robot tried several times to shake itself onto its back, but was fully counted out and thrown across the arena by Matilda. As a result, Bucky the Robot was eliminated from Series 10; after the battle, Team Tomco took photos of Bucky the Mascot with the Judges, while Dara Ó Briain held Bucky the Mascot’s arm as they made their way back to The Pits.

## Results

Battle
Track-Tion
 Redemption
Battle

## Wins/Losses

* Wins: 0
* Losses: 2