Robot Wars is a show that has had many different machines making an appearance and leaving some kind of impact. Some are remembered for revolutionizing the sport of robot combat, some are remembered as cheap canon fodder, some are remembered as entertaining jokes and some are remembered for an impressive track record despite not winning anything major. The last one is the case for one such machine. This is a robot that had a lot of potential but didn't really reach it until the very end of the series. That robot...is X-Terminator.
Hailing from Herefordshire and operated by Marlon Pritchard alongside Simon Baldwin and Paul Lewis, X-Terminator is quite an old favourite and a machine that has made a name of itself despite never really winning anything that major. It even appeared in merchandise with at least a pullback toy and a die-cast minibot made of it, and the Series 3 incarnation appeared as a playable robot in the Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem video game for the Gameboy Colour. First appearing in Series 3, it would appear in all series going forward until the end of the classic era where Series 7 marked its best performance. Sadly, the team didn't return in the reboot, so X-Terminator's run will only cover the classic era. Still, there's a lot to talk about with this machine. Read along as we journey from a machine that was a simple axe-bot with potential it never reached and became a destructive force of nature that seemingly no one could stop at the end of its career. This is the career of X-Terminator...
Started Strong But Got X-Terminated By The Champions
X-Terminator first appeared in Heat K of Series 3. When it comes to the name, its suspected that the name is a reference to the Terminator machines from James Cameron's Terminator franchise. It was even said the machine was going to be called "Terminator" but because the name had already been taken, an "X" was added at the beginning so it became X-Terminator. Some suspected the name was a reference to the famous "exterminate" catchphrase by Doctor Who's famous alien villains, the Daleks, but this is a misconception. The name isn't a Dalek reference at all.
Series 3 X-Terminator had the general design that most versions of X-Terminator would follow until Series 7 with the boxy-body shape, sloped front, axe weapon and scoop bucket you see here. The axe used in Series 3 was a spiked axe and it had pneumatic spikes on the sides to help the robot self-right. It was armoured in 25mm thick aluminium sheet and powered by hatchback car starter motors, giving this machine a very nippy 20 mph top speed. It was painted the colours you see in the image above and further referencing the Terminator films that inspired the name, it even has artwork depicting the humanoid machines from the film. The words "Prepare To Be Terminated" were printed on the back of the robot, likely referencing how the team was going to be called "Team Prepare To Be Terminated". Bit of a mouthful, don't you think? It was four-wheel driven, though Jonathan Pearce would mistakenly think X-Terminator ran on tracks due to its exposed drive chains. Speaking of those, X-Terminator had a glaring weakness that cost it in the Heat Final, namely that it had no baseplate underneath. I wonder if this is considered the robot equivalent of not wearing pants under your trousers...?
Their first-round battle was against Hefty, a machine that they won against very easily. How easily? They stuck their axe into Hefty, hoisted them up and then caused them to topple over. Goes to show how crappy a design Hefty is when it got toppled over by an AXE! XD Their next battle was against Judge Shred, and that too was another easy win for them as Judge Shred wasn't able to do much to them and were subsequently pitted. Their Heat Final saw them facing the then reigning champions, Panic Attack. Because this model of Panic Attack was hard to control, X-Terminator started off strongly and looked as if it might win the battle, but eventually, Panic Attack was able to get underneath X-Terminator and exploit its lack of base plate with its forks. X-Terminator were toppled over and Panic Attack's forks broke X-Terminator's gas canister, rendering their axe and srimech useless. They were ultimately defeated, and Panic Attack went through to the semi-finals.
As is, X-Terminator definitely had a strong debut here, dominating its heat and even giving the champions a tough fight before eventually losing. I'd say they have nothing to be ashamed of here. The next series saw them go even further...
X-Terminator Exterminates Its Way To The Semi-Finals
The team returned with X-Terminator 2, seeded 22nd for the series. That's a lot of twos. XD
This version of the robot was faster than last time, moving at 25mph and used scrapyard materials for its construction. It was also a larger machine than the previous model, but it still lacked a baseplate. You'd think they'd have learned from last time. This version of X-Terminator also had interchangeable weaponry. Like before, the robot was armed with an axe. Despite benefitting from a larger cylinder, the bladed equivalent was...um...unimpressive to put it politely. It was little more than a wire and shrapnel combination and was so useless that even the team themselves didn't like it! They quoted as such:
"The axe? I don't even want to talk about it!"
— Summary of Series 4 on the X-Terminator website
Its other weapon was a lifting arm which they used in their battles against Behemoth and Wild Thing. This was the only version of X-Terminator to ever use a flipping weapon of any kind as other versions either stuck with the axe or in Series 7's case, swapped out for a spinning disc. X-Terminator 2 also had optional side-skirts to prevent flippers from breaching their ground clearance and they could swap the two spikes on top with a rollbar to make it easier for them to roll back on their wheels.
Their Series 4 campaign was a step-up from last time. They easily qualified their melee alongside Judge Shred 2 after Millennium Bug conked out, then they took out Arnold A. Terminegger in the second round before facing Behemoth in the Heat Final. It was a very close match with both bots lifting one another and pushing each other, but Behemoth started to suffer drive issues at the end and X-Terminator won the match on a Judge's Decision, making them Semi-Finalists for the first time. Their run ended when they faced Wild Thing in the first-round eliminators. Apparently, Sir Killalot had leaked hydraulic fluids on the floor and X-Terminator struggled for traction due to its small thin wheels while Wild Thing had bigger wheels and had better grip as a result. X-Terminator did start off strong with a big push, but Wild Thing started to perform stronger and eventually toppled them over where they couldn't self-right and Sir Killalot pitted them.
X-Terminator would appear again in the Sumo Basho and Tag-Team Tournaments. They performed amazingly in the Sumo, being the first robot in the competition to last the full minute against Shunt (only Behemoth would manage the same feat, ironic since X-Terminator beat them in their heat) and would've likely won the tournament had Panic Attack not caused Shunt to fall off. Great, first they lose the Heat Final to Panic Attack, now they lose the Sumo Basho to Panic Attack. They even blamed Panic Attack for their loss to Wild Thing, saying they're the ones that caused Sir Killalot's fluid leak! What's next, they lose an embarrassing vengeance battle to them? Oh wait...
They would also appear again in the Tag Team Terror Tournament. X-Terminator was partnered with Invertabrat, something that really screwed them over as Invertabrat was consistently useless throughout the tournament. X-Terminator and Invertabrat lost to eventual Tag Team champions King B3 and 101 and would face Bigger Brother and Plunderbird 4 for the Third Place Playoff. Funny enough, the fight was pretty much X-Terminator vs. Bigger Brother as their respective partners didn't really work. X-Terminator did well with their flipping arm flipping Bigger Brother a few times, but then suffered a complete epic fail when they drove straight into the pit. How the hell they didn't notice it was open, I'll never understand. How does one NOT notice the blooming pit's open?! XD As a result, X-Terminator conked out of the Tag Team Terror without a single victory.
As is, their Series 4 run was pretty good overall. Reaching the Semi-Finals, defeating the World Championship runner-up and 6th seeds Behemoth and finishing runner-up in the Sumo Basho is quite a feat. Pity their track record in Extreme wasn't anything to write home about...
X-Terminator's X-tremely Poor Run
X-Terminator returned in Extreme and like Pussycat and Napalm, they entered the series with two different machines.
This model you see in the photo above was used in the All-Stars and Vengeance battles. It was a larger version of the Series 4 model with a bigger axe powered by a 100mm diameter cylinder and, at long last, they included a baseplate under the machine! Curiously, this model lacked the trademark front scoop bucket. Not sure why they took it off. This model of X-Terminator had some drawbacks to it, namely reduced manoeuvrability as a consequence of the increased weight allowance available, and reduced drive power resulting from the switch to lighter 10Ah batteries. Humiliatingly, this version of X-Terminator is the only machine the team built to never win a battle. It lost its All-Stars battle to Chaos 2 thanks to its axe breaking down so they couldn't self-right. What's worse is that Chaos 2 was having flipper troubles where the flipper would stick open and X-Terminator...very foolishly knocked it back down again with the axe so Chaos 2 could flip again. Whoops. XD
And if you think THAT'S foolish, they fought Panic Attack in their Vengeance battle and made the incredibly baffling decision to...stick a spike on the front of the robot. I...I can't even...what was the point of that? All it did was screw them over as it prevented them from self-righting! This battle was just embarrassing, let me tell you. X-Terminator just dug their own grave by putting that stupid spike on it. They should've put their scoop on instead.
For the rest of Extreme and its appearances in Series 5 and 6, X-Terminator would use this model. Despite no longer being called "X-Terminator 2" like in Series 4, the machine did have an XT2 logo on the sides until Series 6. It was upgraded to four-weel drive and scuff-steering, had a low centre of gravity and a stronger base. It was still able to go at 25mph, which made it hard to control at times. It was powered by a 24V electric motor, had a ground clearance of 1cm and the axe was upgraded to a more powerful pneumatic, dilitihium-coated axe-tip weapon that operated at the maximum allowed pressure of 1,000psi. The axe and based together weighed 37kg. X-Terminator's front scoop also returned for this model and the self-righting spikes were replaced with self-righting arms similair to those that Behemoth would use. Originally, they were penumatic powered but the arms switched over to electric actuators in later series so a loss of CO2 wouldn't affect them. The armour was made of a combination of a 10mm aluminium baseplate (with some areas machined down to 6mm), 6mm aluminium sides and a 2mm duraluminium top shell. The Series 6 model had a flat rear end and a darker colour scheme while the Extreme and Series 5 version had a lighter colour scheme and pointed rear end.
This version of X-Terminator had better success, winning their Mayhem battle in order to qualify for one of the Annihilators later in Extreme. They were in the first one alongside Hypno-Disc, Thermidor II, Splinter, Pussycat and Arnold A. Terminegger. X-Terminator looked to be a strong contender in the Annihilator, bullying Hypno-Disc around a lot and axing opponents left and right, but they fell in the second round after Pussycat cut its safety link, thus bringing a pretty dominant battle to an abrupt end for X-Terminator. It was lucky for Hypno-Disc as they looked to be going out at this stage, but nope, X-Terminator did!
And that was it for X-Terminator in Extreme. Not a great run overall. Series 5 sadly wasn't any better...
A Surprisingly Brief Run
Seeded 14th for the series, X-Terminator returned for Series 5 in Heat F where they battled Immortalis and beat them with ease in the first round. The second round saw them facing newcomers Corkscrew. X-Terminator looked strong at first, but then started to become sluggish as the fight went on and just seemed to be getting weaker and weaker over time, costing them the fight on a Judge's Decision. Apparently, it was battery failure that proved to be their downfall and it's what caused them to lose in the end. It was quite a shocking end for X-Terminator, going out so soon when they usually perform so well.
A Better Run For Series 6
For Series 6, X-Terminator used of two Bosch 750W motors, two 4QD Pro 120 speed controllers and two 18Ah batteries. Together with a 6:1 gear ratio, this resulted in a reduced speed of approximately 16-18mph, giving greater control.
They performed better in this series, dominating their melee against Barbaric Response, Robochicken and Spirit of Scorpion and qualifying alongside Barbaric Response despite pitting them at one point. Then in Round 2, they defeated Mega Hurts and found themselves in yet another Heat Final where they were defeated by Firestorm 4 thanks to their axe (again) failing to work when they needed it most. No Semi-Final for them, but it was still a better run than in Series 5.
For Extreme II, they only appeared in the Tag Team Terror Tournament where they partnered up with Mini Morg (a slight improvement over Invertabrat at least). They won their first round match against S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Sumpthing but were beaten by Hydra and Barbaric Response thanks to Mini Morg conking out. Still, better than the last Tag Team where they didn't win anything at all, right?
After that, it was time for a change for X-Terminator, and boy did they change it for the better in Series 7...
X-terminator Exterminates Its Way To The Grand Final
Now for the part you've all been waiting for. Or at least I've been waiting for. XD
The original X-Terminator was sold on eBay and the team built a whole new machine for Series 7. I'm guessing they used the funds they made from selling the original robot to pay for building this one, but that's just speculation on my part. This X-Terminator was a complete departure from the original X-Terminator design, now sporting a somewhat pyramid-shaped appearance with blue and silver colours, two horn-shaped pneumatic spikes on the sides for self-righting and four-wheel drive with four-wheel steering. The wheels were go-kart wheels with treaded tyres, replacing the original smaller wheels. And of course, they finally ditched their unreliable axe and went with a completely new weapon. They had switched up for a two-toothed vertical flywheel that weighed 14-15kg and spun at 1,5000rpm. The motor powering the disc was a large pancake hybrid special that ran at 2,000w with a rotational speed of 100mph. The trademark scoop was now static and didn't have lifting capabilities. Compared to its original model, it was much slower at only 9mph.
Did all these changes do X-Terminator in favours? LIKE HELL THEY DID!!! X-Terminator, seeded 11th for the series, became an unstoppable killing machine for a good chunk of Series 7 thanks to its new disc! It chewed up Major Tom and Diabulous in the first-round melee while Tsunami finished the job by flipping them both out of the arena. The melee at 36 seconds holds the record for the shortest battle in Robot Wars history to require two immobilizations. In the second round, they faced Killer Carrot 2, and...
DAMN!
Yep, you saw correctly! X-Terminator's disc is so powerful that it can fling robots out of the arena! Only Matilda had been able to score ring-outs with a spinning weapon, but X-Terminator at least holds the record as the first contestant machine to pull off such a feat.
Their Heat Final saw them facing Tsunami, the German flipper who qualified their melee alongside them. Tsunami looked as if it would have this in the bag by flipping X-Terminator onto their back, but instead of wisely standing back and letting X-Terminator get counted out, they continued to flip them about, getting them on the wall. They flipped again...BUT X-TERMINATOR DIDN'T GO OUT! Believe it or not, despite what the picture suggests, they DIDN'T go out the arena! They landed back on their wheels and the entire battle turned on its head with X-Terminator ripping Tsunami apart, and then...
DAMN! They did it again! How ironic that Tsunami was trying to flip them out and instead, X-Terminator flipped THEM out. XD
This saw X-Terminator reach the semi-finals for the first time since Series 4, and their run didn't stop there for they chewed up St. Agro and put down Bulldog Breed, making them Grand Finalists for the first time in the show's history. At this point, X-Terminator just looked completely unstoppable! The new upgraded machine was just tearing opponents apart and despite a weakness to flippers, even flippers couldn't stop them! It looked like they were well on their way to winning the whole series!
Oh right, that happened.
Yeah, in the end it took Typhoon 2 to finally stop X-Terminator's destructive rampage. Funny isn't it how the destructive machine required another destructive machine to beat it. X-Terminator was too slow to stop Typhoon 2 from getting up to speed and thus Typhoon 2 tore into them. They broke the arena wall at one point, causing filming to stop for the rest of the day and then they had to resume the following day when the wall was fixed. However, the damage was done and X-Terminator got killed in one hit from Typhoon 2 after the fight restarted. Despite the damage done, they repaired the machine as best as they could for their 3rd Place Playoff against Tornado, but they couldn't really do much and ended up immobilized again. X-Terminator was finally stopped and it finished its incredible Series 7 run as the 4th place winner. This was X-Terminator's last appearance in the show as they weren't invited to participate in any of the side-events (which is weird, you'd think they'd at least have appeared in the All-Stars) and didn't return for the reboot. I have to say, what a way to end your career, finishing 4th overall with your best machine to date. I'm sure the team were quite proud of their results in the end.
So what became of X-Terminator after the classic era ended? The team entered Techno Games 2001 with a machine called Dave the Tortoise that was a walking robot and lost its heat because it was stuck going in circles. The Series 7 X-Terminator machine was later updated to feature a new silver and orange colour scheme and a straighter wedge and competed on the live circuit for a while. They even saw great success during live events too, winning the Cosford Robot Crusade event in June 2004 when they beat Terrorhurtz in the final. Much like Behemoth, X-Terminator finally won a tournament of some kind outside of Robot Wars. Sadly, the team did retire from robot combat after team member Marlon Pritchard moved to Australia and too X-Terminator with him. Starting in 2009, team member Simon Baldwin went on to work as a tattoo artist at Studio 100 in Herefordshire. As recent as 2021, Marlon Pritchard shared a video on Facebook that showed X-Terminator, minus its armour, is still in working condition even now with the machine having been upgraded with LiPo batteries.
In 2011, the Series 6/Extreme 2 model of X-Terminator was sold on eBay to Team ENIGMA, who also owned robots like Mr Nasty and The Steel Avenger at the time. X-Terminator was with the team for three years before John Findlay acquired it in 2014. The shell of X-Terminator was used for demonstration purposes during a 2022 event held at Cheltenham where the House Robot for the events, Major Damage, carried it around.
And that's pretty much the end of X-Terminator's story. Pity they didn't return for the reboot as they would've done really well in that era, I think. As is, the machine ended on a high note with a fourth place victory and who knows if it'll ever compete again in the future...
Conclusion
And that's the story of X-Terminator. What a career this machine had! It always performed relatively decently in its heats and despite never really winning anything major, it always left a memorable impression on fans and roboteers, and the Series 7 machine especially proved what it was truly capable of. Going from semi-finalists who struggled to repeat their success to finishing in the Top 4 of the last series of the classic era is no small feat and X-Terminator deserves to be remembered for finishing on such a high note. If there's anything to take away from X-Terminator, it's that you should never be afraid to try something new. The team stuck with the basic box design and axe weapon for a long time and while it did see some success, they saw greater success when they tried something new entirely. As mentioned, they outright WON one of the live events when they went with the pyramid shape and spinning disc! So sticking with something that does well can work for a while, but if you try something new and get creative, you may achieve bigger than you did before...
And that's it for this essay. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. What's your favourite X-Terminator battle and what do you think is X-Terminator's best moment? Do tell me.
Next week, I'm counting down my Top 10 Favourite Dragon-type Pokémon. See you then media fans!
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