Buster

**Buster** was a Super Heavyweight robot built by Hal Rucker that competed in RoboGames 2005 & the inaugural Combots Cup. It was box shaped, 2WD overhead bar spinner. Buster preformed poorly, winning only two out of its seven fights and was retired after Combots Cup 1.

Hal Rucker would later return to RoboGames with Black Widow!, Black & Blue & Whoops!

## RoboGames 2005

Buster's first fight of RG05 was against Ziggy. For this match, Buster opted to start upside, making their bar work as in undercutter. As the match begin, Buster got up to speed as Ziggy was having issues with drive right out the gate. This allowed Buster to come in and deliver a hit to the back of Ziggy, dealing little damage. Buster once again got up to speed and hit Ziggy again, however this hit seemed to fix Ziggy's drive issues as it then preceded to ram Buster into the wall and attempted to flip it but was unable to. Buster got away and spun up once more and hit Ziggy doing no noticeable damage. However, the next hit tore right side of wheel guards off, leaving the right side of wheels exposed. Buster hit Ziggy a few more times until Ziggy rammed Buster into the wall. However, Ziggy could not back up and the match was timed out. The match appears to have never got going again as the video cuts off as the match is timed. One can assume that Ziggy broke down and the team forfeited or it went to a JD. Regardless, Buster won this fight and advanced to face Tombstone

Both bots came out of the gate with their weapons spinning. At first both bots were trading shots that appeared to cause no damage, however it then became apparent that Buster was having issues driving, allowing Tombstone to come in and start tearing at the wheels. Tombstone appeared to have had a wheel damaged as well as it was limping while trying to attack Buster. Regardless, all of Tombstones attacks on Buster killed its drive and it was counted out. Tombstone won by KO and Buster was shoved down into the losers bracket where it faced Steel Piranha

No video or photos of this fight appear to be online. It is known that Steel Piranha won the fight, which knocked Buster out of the competition

## Combots I

Buster's first match in Combots 1 was a rematch against Ziggy. No photos or video exists, but it is known that Ziggy won this fight. Buster then preceded to fight SHOVELHEAD

Once again, no photos or video exists, its known that SHOVELHEAD won this fight. Buster now sat at 0-2. Its next opponent was Star Hawk

Both bots got their blades up to speed, Star Hawk attempted to flank Buster. Buster whipped around and hit the side of Side Hawk, which left no noticeable damage. Star Hawk got away and both bots spun up their blade. While Buster was turning towards Star Hawk, it stopped moving long enough for Star Hawk to come in and hit a wheelguard on a Buster. Buster retaliated with a hit of it's own. Though it appeared to do little damage still. Star Hawk manage to get around to the back of Buster and started to chip at it. Buster got away and was up to speed again, however it made a crucial mistake and turned sideways and Star Hawk delivered another glancing blow to the side of Buster. Star Hawk then preceded to push Buster into the wall, shortly letting go. After Star Hawk backed away, it was noticeable that Buster was now having issues with driving as it could not get away easily and Star Hawk delivered several hits to Buster, before Buster got away for a short bit. Buster continued to expose the sides and back of itself which allowed Star Hawk to get more damage points. Eventually, Buster started to smoke up which took its weapon out of commission. Star Hawk continued to hit Buster with its weapon and push it around before time ran out. The judges scored the win for Star Hawk, putting Buster at 0-3. It then had to face the powerful Super Megabyte

As both bots got up to speed, both bots came at each other. The first impact knocked both bots into separate corners. This hit left Super Megabyte slightly unstable, but both bots still worked. Buster and Super Megabyte continued to hit each other, one hit sent Super Megabyte into the wall. Shortly after, Super Megabyte stop spinning which allowed Buster to take advantage and hit Super Megabyte. One hit ricochet Buster up in the air and Super Megabyte pinned it for a few seconds before releasing. Buster continued to hit Super Megabyte while Super Megabyte occasionally pushed Buster into the walls. Buster at some point flipped itselfs on its head, making its blade be overhead. However it was still able to hit Super Megabyte before time ran out. The judges gave the match to Buster. This was Buster's first and only win of the event, as this was its last match

## Win/Losses

Wins: 2

Losses: 5

 Combots I
Shovelhead
Star Hawk