Beast

## Overview

**Beast** was the name given to a series of heavyweight robots which entered three different series of Robot Wars. In the original run of the show, the robot was spelt **8645T** in the style of a number-plate. The team claimed that squinting at this spelling made it look like the word "Beast", and it was often referred to as such by Jonathan Pearce, Stuart McDonald and Philippa Forrester.

The robots were entered by John Lear with his son, John Lear Jr., alongside his nephew, James Wood, who was replaced with Alex Marler for 2016. 8645T reached the second round in Series 5, failed to qualify for Series 4 and 6 and was defeated in the first round in Series 7 as 8645T 2, while Beast reached the Head to Head stage in the 2016 series.

## Robot History

### UK Robot Wars Series 5

8645T fought in Heat A of the Fifth Wars. 8645T's first round battle saw it go up against Team Roaming Robots' machine T-Bone. 8645T used its axe weapon unsuccessfully, and T-Bone charged into 8645T's side, but its disc was not working. 8645T flipped T-Bone up several times, before finally impaling T-Bone with its axe. The two robots dragged each other around until the end of the battle, where it went to a judges' decision, which went in favour of 8645T.

In the second round of the heat, 8645T fought S.M.I.D.S.Y., the 24th seed, who stood between 8645T and its dream adversary, Chaos 2. 8645T pinned S.M.I.D.S.Y. with its axe, and S.M.I.D.S.Y., unable to escape, pushed 8645T into the side wall where it was attacked by Shunt. Suddenly 8645T was on the defensive, taking damage from Shunt's axe and with S.M.I.D.S.Y. worming its way beneath it. S.M.I.D.S.Y. then used its jaws to tip 8645T onto its side in Shunt's CPZ. 8645T managed to escape, and charged S.M.I.D.S.Y. once more, with the Cyberspace machine mercilessly charging 8645T and tipping it onto its back once more. 8645T then was seized and taken to the floor flipper by Sir Killalot, but managed to flee as it was unintentionally dropped back onto its wheels. Cease was called, since 8645T had already been counted out.

### UK Robot Wars Series 7

8645T 2 went up against Mobot, Mighty Mouse and the 14th seeds Thermidor 2 in the first round of the Seventh Wars. 8645T 2 was immediately targeted by Thermidor 2, who flipped it onto its back straight away in an unoccupied CPZ. 8645T 2 swiftly self-righted, and got away from danger, then deciding to take on Mobot, trying to flip it but missing. But Thermidor 2 then came back with a run-up and threw 8645T 2 back onto its side. 8645T vented huge clouds of CO2 trying to self-right, but ultimately failed. After being counted out, 8645T 2 was righted by Thermidor 2 and assaulted by the House Robots. Pulling away, it charged across the arena, evading the House Robots. Suddenly, the arena floor flipper activated, throwing 8645T 2 through the air and causing it to land on the other side of the arena. 8645T 2 made one final attempt to pit the now immobilised Mighty Mouse, but drove straight into the pit itself.

### Live Events (Hiatus Era)

#### UK Championships 2005 (Winter Tour)

Beast signed up for its first UK Championship after Robot Wars in 2005. It lost its first qualifier match in Portsmouth to Kronic after it got thrown out of the arena but it managed to beat Big Nipper at Macclesfield by throwing it out the arena. After winning a battle, Beast qualified through to the finals at Folkestone. It won its first round battle without turning a wheel as its opponent Chompalot couldn't make the event and then won its quarter-final battle against the dutch Tough As Nails by throwing it out of the arena. It met Kronic in the semi-final where its own flipper gave up the ghost and was thrown until it landed in the pit. It met Behemoth in the play-off where its flipper wasn't working again and it didn't take long for Behemoth to put Beast down the pit. Beast finished 4th in the tournament.

#### UK Championship 2006

Beast signed up for the 2006 UK Championships as the 4th seed where it shared its pod with american Sewer Snake, Ka-Pow! and Robot Wars Annihilator Champion Kan-Opener. It beat Kan-Opener by stacking it against the arena wall where it couldn't get down and lost to Ka-Pow! after getting flipped out the arena. Next Beast threw the american robot Sewer Snake out the arena so Beast had to fight Ka-Pow! again and won which made it qualify for a place in the finals. In round 1, Beast easilly defeated Mighty Mouse by throwing it around the arena until it landed on its side where it couldn't self-right. Next it took on Robot Wars World Champion Storm 2 who proved too much for Beast as it got rammed all over the arena. Beast was then flipped over and couldn't self-right because the arena wall was there and was beaten. Beast then took part in the loser's melee with Ripper and PulverizeR, it did well getting flips on both robots, but lost the fight to PulverizeR on a judges decision.

Beast also came back for the Tag-Team Terror where it teamed up with Tiberius 4, but they didn't really do much and were beaten in the first round to Leveller 2 & Alien Destructor.

#### 2006 Winter Tour

Beast came back for the 2006 Winter Tour with a new version as the other shell was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. It lost its first qualifier match at Doncaster on a judges decision to Iron-Awe 3 after it got flipped around the arena and landed on its back where it couldn't right itself. However, Beast won another fight in another one of the qualifier battles and qualified for a place in the finals at Folkestone where it met Behemoth again who beat it in the play-off the previous year who beat it again.

#### 2007 UK Championship

Beast was signed up to the 2007 UK Championships which was the first time for the incarnation of it that is used today. It shared its pod with Tiberius 4 and Tanglefoot, it won its fight with Tanglefoot after flipping it around the arena and pitting it but it couldn't outdo Tiberius 4 who crushed into it and immobilised it. Beast fought in one of the loser's melee battles where it qualified along with Ka-Pow! after Obsidian and Scorpion were flipped out the arena. It met Ka-Pow! again in round 1 of the finals where it ended up out the arena and managed to immobilise both Envy and Velocirippa so it qualified on to the quarter-finals where it managed to get flips on Big Nipper but Beast lost the judges decision as Big Nipper was the more controlled and aggressive.

#### 2007 Winter Tour

Beast came back for the Winter Tour the same year where it won its 1st qualifier match at Doncaster where Kan-Opener was immobilised and was the more aggressive against Scorpion and won it on a judges decision. Next in its 2nd qualifier match at the same event, it beat both Storm Force and Dantomkia in the same fashion only that Storm Force died. All the wins gave Beast a place in the finals at Nottingham where it beat Dantomkia in the first round after Dantomkias flipper jammed open and it couldn't self-right which allowed Beast to flip it out the arena. Next it took on Iron-Awe 5 who managed to hit Beast with a big flip and get it out of the arena. Beast then lost the play-off to TillyEwe 2 after being flipped over where it couldn't self-right and was placed on the pit before it got lowered. Beast finished 4th in the Winter Tour 2007.

#### 2008 UK Championship

Beast won its qualifier match at the UK Championships where it threw Iron-Awe 6 out the arena after the first 7 seconds, then it beat Velocirippa who ended up in the pit and it met Dantomkia in the quarter-final. Dantomkia flipped Beast with it self-righting and then again where this time it broke down and was eliminated.

#### 2008 Winter Tour

Beast came back for the Winter Tour in 2008 where it won its first qualifier fight at Portsmouth where it flipped Hydra out of the arena which enabled it to qualify for a place in the finals at Maidstone. It lost to Pressure in round 1 after it was flipped and couldn't self-right and was dumped in the pit by Major Damage. It then lost the loser's melee to Ripper Evo after getting flipped out the arena.

The finals also saw the debuting for the Roaming Robots 2008 Awards, where Beast won the award for the "Best Paint Effects."

#### 2009 UK Championships

Beast also came back for the year-long 2009 UK Championships. It won its first qualifier match against St Hammer at Barnsley when St Hammer got flipped into the pit but lost its next battle at Cardiff to And His Army after it flipped itself over and immobilised itself. It then had 2 battles at Swindon where it lost to Tilly Evo in the first one and beat Big Nipper & Apocalypse in the second. Next at Portsmouth it lost to And His Army again and beat Ripper Evo & Orrion in its last qualifier match at Maidstone. Beast had earned points through to the finals at Wigan where for its first round fight against Tiberius 4 & Barbaric Response, the team added a claw to the flipped to take on Tiberius 4 which lead to it being unable to right itself after being flipped by Barbaric Response and was eliminated.

#### 2010 UK Championship

Beast is one of the competitors in the 2010 UK Championships seeded 9th, it beat St Hammer in its first fight at Barnsley and beat Dantomkia in its fight at Nottingham by throwing it around the arena. Beast had 8 points in the league table.

#### Other events

Beast competed in the first live event of the new Robot Wars at Barnsley in February 2013, where it was thrown out of the arena by Ripper in the first round. Beast also participated in the Robot Wars Winter Tour 2013 held at the end of the year where it qualified through to the finals after throwing Meggamouse out the arena during the secondary heats in held at Doncaster and won the separate competition held at that event. In the finals held at Gloucester, it beat Titan on a Judges' decision, but lost to Manta in the semi-finals after getting immobilised where it was stuck on top of the arena wall in a comical way.

For the purposes of the Live Events, a new version of Beast, known as Beast 2 was built, sporting a red colour scheme, and smaller wheels. However, the robot was not operating as well as the original Beast, thus, it was not used in the 2016 series of Robot Wars. Both versions of Beast made separate appearances at the Robot Wars World Championships in 2015, held at Colchester. Beast fought in the main competition, where it fought Brutus and Ka-Pow! in the first round. It qualified on a Judges’ decision, having thrown both robots around the arena. In the second round, it fought Tough as Nails and Gabriel. Beast started reasonably well, but was eventually grabbed by Tough as Nails, which damaged Beast’s tyre and pitted it, eliminating Beast from the competition. Meanwhile, Beast 2 fought in the Annihilator side event, with more success. Beast 2 made it all the way to the final, where it immobilised Ka-Pow! with a single flip, but lost a long match to Toon Raider, meaning Beast 2 placed 2nd overall.

Beast 2 has now been renamed Khaos (not to be confused with former Robot Wars champion Chaos 2). It first competed under its new name at the Robot Wars event in Colchester 2016 where it had moderate success.

### UK Robot Wars Series 8

Beast competed in Episode 5, where it fought Crazy Coupe 88, Gabriel and Infernal Contraption in its first round melee. Beast could not use its flipper effectively in the opening stages, failing to lift Infernal Contraption and Gabriel on separate attempts, but after stopping the spinning blades, Beast flipped Crazy Coupe 88 over, which eliminated itself by driving into Dead Metal afterwards. Although Beast pushed Gabriel, its efforts mostly turned towards Infernal Contraption, pushing it over the flame pit while missing with another flip. Beast turned Infernal Contraption around, which drove itself into the pit, allowing Beast to qualify alongside Gabriel.

Beast was next drawn against Ironside3, a dangerous spinner built by Trevor Wright, who Team BEAST had fought in the Seventh Wars. Beast needed to chase Ironside3 as quickly as it could in order to stop the spinning bar from gaining speed, but could not catch its equally fast opponent, and Ironside3 sent Beast spinning away with an attack. An attack to Beast's flipper seemed to hamper its mobility, and it failed to flip when Ironside3 drove over the top of it. At this stage, one of Beast's tyres had locked, and when Ironside3 tore into Beast's mobile tyre, it was rendered immobile after gas quickly escaped from it. Beast could only fire its flipper to feign mobility, but it was counted out, and lost the battle.

Beast then fought another spinning weapon, Pulsar. It slowly approached its opponent, but once again could not get underneath. It suffered from drive problems almost immediately, and stood almost still when Pulsar attacked the side. Beast was flung up by the drum, and completely immobilised by the second hit of the drum when it landed. Beast's second loss meant that it could no longer reach the Heat Final.

Despite its elimination, Beast still fought Gabriel for one last match. However, Beast suffered even more problems before the battle began, as its flipper fired shortly before the battle, and it had to be forced back into a neutral position. Thus, Beast entered the arena without a weapon. Team Saint also noticed Beast's exposed tyres, and intended to aim for them with their robot's sword swings. Beast barely crept forward in the match before Gabriel rained down blows on it, immobilising one side of Beast from the very beginning. When Gabriel pressed the pit release button, its team noticed that Beast was effectively immobile, and after a few more tentative swings, held off. Beast simply drove in circles to show signs of life, but the team admitted that they had lost the battle, and encouraged Gabriel to land more attacks. It nudged Beast closer to the pit, but held off once again, and cease was called. Dead Metal came in afterwards, and sliced through the top of Beast, to cause extra injury to the fallen robot. Although the match lasted the full three minutes, the Judges declared that Beast was immobilised during the battle, and it lost via KO.

It was later revealed that Beast's mobility was hampered in its final two battles because the magnets within one of its motors was broken, which the team did not realise until filming was complete.

## Results

* Wins: 30
* Losses: 29