Mad Rush

Mad Rush
Render of Mad Rush, created by Adam Hamilton
Participation Information
Series	King of Bots UK 2018
Team Information
Team	Hall and Hall
Team Members	Alex Hall
Robot Statistics
Armour	Composite Armor
Weapons	Grabber

Mad Rush was a British featherweight robot which attended the 2018 King of Bots UK International Championships. Built by Alex Hall, to a CAD design created by Adam Hamilton, it withdrew from the competition due to a gearbox issue which Hall could not resolve before its first qualification round.

Design

Early CAD render of Mad Rush

CAD render of Mad Rush, with the clamping arm raised

Mad Rush, partially completed

Mad Rush was a green and orange, four-wheel drive robot with a box-shaped profile and an electrically-operated clamping arm as its main weapon. The clamping arm incorporated a large angled wedge and a shield-like top plate, which were both designed to protect the robot from spinners.

Robot History

King of Bots UK 2018

Mad Rush's first battle was planned to take place during the second qualification round, where it was due to face Legion and Luna-Tic in a three-way melee. However, while Alex Hall was preparing the robot in the pits, the gearbox for its weapon broke, forcing Hall to approach another team for spare parts, albeit without success. As a result, Hall withdrew Mad Rush from the battle and the entire UK International Championships, with Legion and Luna-Tic fighting on alone. Mad Rush's place in its remaining qualification battles - first against Naughty Snake and Sabre20, then Neon and Binky - was subsequently taken by Mini ACE; however, its profile image and statistics were still shown before these battles.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 0

NOTE: Mad Rush's withdrawal is not considered to be a loss.

Outside King of Bots

Mad Rush

Mad Rush was present at the Robodojo featherweight event in March 2019, but ultimately did not compete, as the robot was not working. It was subsequently acquired by Anthony Murney in August the same year.

Mantis

In 2017, Alex Hall acquired the heavyweight Mantis, which previously competed in Series 7 of Robot Wars and several live events under various owners. Following upgrades including a HARDOX bodyshell and a green and orange paint scheme similar to that of Mad Rush, it competed at Robots Live! Grantham in 2018, its first event under Hall's ownership. There, it fought in five battles, but was unable to pick up a combat victory and was thrown out of the arena in four of them. After a few more years under his ownership, Hall eventually sold Mantis on to a new owner.

Shogun

Shogun at Robots Live!/MechMania Grantham, July 2024

Alex Hall presently competes in the featherweight category with Shogun, a four-wheel drive robot armed with an electrically-powered axe/hammer. Designed under commission once again by Team Immersion, an initial CAD render of the robot was shared in October 2019, revealing the robot to have brushless drive, interchangeable weapon heads and 'modular' armor configurations. Shogun itself was inspired by a variety of UK heavyweights with similar weaponry, including Vulcan, Switch and Beta.

Shogun made its first appearance at the January 2022 Robodojo event, wielding a traditional spiked axe in its battles against Feather Dozer and Ogre Lord. A series of updates for 2023 introduced sets of single-piece serrated axe arms, each incorporating spiked or bladed heads. With this updated arsenal, Shogun made recurring appearances at Robodojo, Robots Live! Grantham and Labman FightFest, ending the year with a 21-10 match record. Shogun's run at Labman FightFest saw it achieve a 2-3 record in the main competition, highlights of which included closely-fought split decisions against Barghest and defending champion Amnesia; and a Losers' Melee win over Kitchen Grill and Barghest again. It also claimed a whiteboard match win over Perfect Spin-etry, as well as the 'Best Design' award for the event.

For the 2024 live season, Shogun received further design updates, with a possible 48 different configurations for the axe, front and side armor. A return appearance at FightFest (24-26 August) saw it reach the Quarter-Finals of the main UK Featherweight Championship, where it was eliminated by Barghest once again, and emerge as the winner of the eleven-way Gladiator battle.

MechMania

Shogun was among the featherweight robots competing in the inaugural MechMania tour, run in collaboration with Robots Live!, with its presence being announced on July 9 2024. It first participated in the initial stage of the tour at Grantham (July 13-14), appearing in three competition rumbles which were all televised in the opening episode. The first of these resulted in Shogun duelling with and surviving to a judges' decision alongside match winner Euphoria, while also battling other machines including Pallas, Synthesis, Mayhem Axecellerated, Slingshot, Lukeachu 2, Explosion and house robot Gnasher. Shogun enjoyed less fortune in the remaining two melees, getting its axe stuck in the wall in the second, and being pitted in the third by a combined effort from Malachite and Slingshot.

External Links

• Team Hall & Hall Robotics Facebook page