What it takes to be on Robot Wars. — Interview with team Overdozer
Published in En Vague issue one.
When I heard they were making a new series of Robot Wars it represented not just the return of the greatest game show ever, but also the rekindling of a dream. For I, and I’m sure many other children of the 90’s, dreamt of being one of those beautiful socially inept weirdos that gave their lives to fighting robots.
However there’s always been one issue; I have no money, no mechanical skills and none of the equipment needed to build the next Hipno Disc, or even Diotoir for that matter. But one team didn’t let that stop them.
Comprised of Nicholas White, 25 ,Jonathan Young, 20 and Fhiannan McIvor, 22 team Overdozer are a fantastic example of what happens when a fun idea among some friends gets out of hand. The team soon found themselves on BBC 2 standing next to their very own remote controlled wooden box with an Argos petrol strimmer sticking out the front.
These guys are complete heroes and an inspiration to us all. They remind us than you can be whatever you want to be… even if there’s a strong likelihood you’ll be shit.
When did you decide to apply for the show? Was alcohol involved?
It was announced to be returning in the middle of January, quickly I scouted and found an email address to submit applications to — after speaking with my other two teammates during a LAN party (there was booze involved yes) we decided to go for it and I sent my first email saying we’re interested.
How on earth did Overdozer get onto the final show? Like surely there’s some qualification process or vetting or something?
We’re not entirely sure to be honest, there was no qualifier or the like — just the application form asking for a detailed breakdown of the robot. Looking back on it what we entered was drastically different to what I put down in the technical description, the only thing that carried over was the fact it was made from wood.
I do like to run with the belief that we got in because they wanted to show that anyone has the chance the be a part of it all. Beyond that fuzzy feeling we’re stumped just as much as anyone else.
You mentioned on the show that the build was rather last minute. How long did it take to construct?
The application process was open until the last week of January and it wasn’t until the end of the month that I received a phone call saying that they want us on the show. During that same phone call the production dude said that filming was at the start of March — so there was a little over a month to get something completed. The first half of February was a mixed feeling of dread and running around, collecting parts and tools and our design was barely even a doodle on a napkin.
We ended up using the frame for the donor wheelchair to save time, I cut and welded metal to the front of that but largely the robot was built over the course of 5 days under a Gazebo.
How much did Overdozer cost?
In total Overdozer cost less than £900 to build from scratch, excluding tools needed to do it.
What happened to the remains of Overdozer?
After the fight we stripped off all the broken panel and tossed it in the skip next to the arena. There was one intact segment covering one of the wheels which I took off and got the teams we fought against to sign (as well as Foxic, Razer and Dara O’ Brian). That is now mounted on my wall as a keepsake.
