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Blacksmith is a heavyweight robot from New Jersey built by Team Half Fast Astronaut, which has competed in four seasons of the BattleBots reboot, including Discovery Season 6.
Team captain Al Kindle previously entered the Comedy Central Season 2.0 of BattleBots with Enforcer, a two-wheel drive lightweight sporting a lifter with an in-built circular saw. However, his involvement with the sport dates even further back, having fought with a more primative version of the same bot as early as the 1996 US Robot Wars competition.
In each of its its iterations, Blacksmith has been a large, square-shaped robot with four-wheel drive and a hammer as it's primary weapon, which also served as a self-righting mechanism. Blacksmith's design was inspired by a 30lb sportsman class robot named Mangi which was also built by Al Kindle. The hammerhead of Blacksmith had a unique design aspect; It had a flamethrower mounted inside it which can be ignited. The original idea was suggested by Al Kindle's team as they were afraid they wouldn't get accepted into ABC Season 2, which also stressed that bots needed to have a "theme". Al Kindle thought it was absurd to create and there was little time left to construct it. Alan Young from the team swore he would make it work, and in the end, he managed to build it. The hammer drive of Blacksmith was powered by an electric motor called the 'Black Max' from NPC Robotics, in order to maintain a manageable current level without custom controllers, as well as being good for weight/torque/structure. The goal was not to deliver massive shots, but to be hit more rapidly, be more reliable, and have more controlled self-righting. The fire shooting from the flamethrower is fueled by propane. The frame of Blacksmith is a combination of tapped holes in the frame and through bolts and nuts in the side, front and rear panels, with the top armor consisting of all tapped holes in the frame. It has two thicknesses, one of which is 1/16" and the other being slightly thinner. Blacksmith won the qualifying round in its debut season before being defeated by Bronco. It received a wildcard to reach the Top 32, only to lose against Minotaur in spectacular fashion.
- "The first order of business is to make the hammer motor not self destruct in each fight... We should be able to maintain the same power level. The power was there, it's difficult to generate spinner level power with half of one rotation. It's a different type of strategy than always going for the KO. The hope is the shock of the hammer will shake something important loose inside... The secondary plan is for the steel tips to create dents, holes, or gaps for the fire to enter the opponent..."
- — Al Kindle of on plans to improve Blacksmith for Discovery Season 3 on a Reddit AMA[1]
Al Kindle and his team returned for Discovery Season 3 with a remade hammer head that swings at 30mph and was quoted to weigh around 11lbs. The hammer arm and head were both made from one piece of AR500 steel. The hammer arm also originally had HDPE around it, but was no longer used after fighting Bite Force. The team also had brought two full flame hammer assemblies and two plain steel non-flame hammers in case damage was done to the hammer. The hammer shaft is custom machined titanium that has a hollow path in two directions that minimized the hose twisting this time. Blacksmith now had a revised chassis in which the entire frame is welded from AR500 steel. Al Kindle stated the top armor is thin and light, but the sides and rear are heavily armored with 3/16 AR500 steel. Blacksmith notably now has additional front configurations/packages to adapt against different opponents, including two heavy front red forks specifically designed for drum spinners like Minotaur, and a "small heavy wedge" designed to counter horizontal spinners. There were oversized holes to allow the wedge to float and remain flat on the floor, resulting in multiple front end packages that bolt to the main frame for easy replacement. The front end caps also double the front armor thickness and reinforce the front corners. Speed controllers with current limiting were used as additional precaution so Blacksmith would not overheat during matches. It had a much better performance in the 2018 season, lasting the full three minutes against every opponent it lost to, but failed to make the tournament bracket.
- "The power of the hit is not small. Torque wise, it has enough to lift 250lbs at the tip. The head is 13lbs and it travels the full swing arc in 3 seconds. The hammer is more than a weapon to do damage. It delivers the fire, it acts as a self right device, and it may make it possible to free ourselves from precarious areas of the Battlebox..."
- — Al Kindle on Blacksmith's hammer on a Reddit AMA[2]
- "This season is probably the hardest it has hit. But most importantly, this is the season we figured out the magic combinations that keep the Black Max from blowing up in 3 minutes."
- — Al Kindle on Blacksmith's improvements for Discovery Season 4 on a Reddit AMA[3]
Returning for Discovery Season 4, Blacksmith had a new green color scheme based on one of their sponsors: Nuclear Blast. Blacksmith gained a new hammer shaft and a bulkier, more rounded out hammerhead with a little radioactive symbol cut out in it. The hammer was stated by Al Kindle to hit the hardest out of all the previous seasons. Blacksmith's front forks were now painted green, and the hammer axle now had green color lineage on it. It had yet again, another revised chassis/frame structure, with the armor thickness ranging between 1/8 to 1/2. The team had also figured out how to resolve the issues which kept causing the hammer's electric 'Black Max' motor from overheating. Depending on the flow rate, Blacksmith could keep the fire burning from the hammerhead for upwards of two minutes. The team's main success to date was seen in this competition, finishing 3-3 and making the Top 16 for the first time.
After being absent for the 2020 season, Blacksmith arrived at Discovery Season 6 with the hammerhead removed in place of a completely new primary weapon: a hammer saw dubbed the "power hammer" by Al Kindle himself. Keeping its green color scheme, the weapon was an asymmetrical green disc linked to a gear chain and weapon shaft which slams down on opponents. Blacksmith still retained its trademark weapon-flamethrower, which was connected to the back of the weapon axle. Blacksmith also had newly shaped front-forks which were attached and bolted differently. Besides receiving another revised chassis structure, the New-Jersey bot also received a new paint-job, with a graffiti-styled "Blacksmith" logo right next to the numerous drawn skulls on the left-side of Blacksmith, staying true to the 'heavy metal' theme. Its primary weapon proved to be very eye-catching, which led to Blacksmith being used in a lot of teaser footage for the show. Blacksmith's first fight since 2019 resulted in a win by judges' decision over Free Shipping, but it quickly fell to 1-2 after losing out to Adam Wrigley's Shatter! and Bunny Sauriol's Malice in consecutive fights.
Contents
Robot History[]
ABC Season 2[] |
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Blacksmith vs. Gemini vs. Basilisk ![]() Blacksmith attacking one half of Gemini. ![]() Blacksmith hammers away on Basilisk. ![]() Blacksmith attacking Basilisk. Blacksmith was one of twelve robots which were forced to fight in the three-way melees of the qualifier round in order to make it into the main bracket. It was placed up against two brand-new teams: Mini-bots Gemini and Flipper-bot Basilisk. As the match began, Blacksmith immediately charged at an approaching Basilisk, then began hammering away at Basilisk's flipping arm. This seemed to incapacitate Basilisk, so Blacksmith attacked the two Gemini robots, seemingly unfazed by their weapons. Soon, Blacksmith had cornered both Gemini robots and hammered away, knocking out Hydroxyl. However, the assault took a toll on Blacksmith, as it began to show control issues itself. Basilisk's drone counterpart, AfterByte, landed near Blacksmith, who scooped it up and smashed it with the hammer. Basilisk itself soon began moving again and attempted to attack Blacksmith, only to slow down and stop once again after taking more shots from Blacksmith's hammer. Blacksmith continued it's assault on Fred until the final 30 seconds of the match, where it stopped moving entirely due to a drive chain issue. Smoke began pouring from Blacksmith's internals, then catching on fire due to the weapon motor burning out, compounded with some spilled propane from the weapon system. It looked like Backsmith going to be counted out until halfway into the countdown, Blacksmith's drive chain problem resolved itself and Blacksmith moved for just long enough to show controlled movement before time ran out. The match went to the judges, who ruled a unanimous decision for Blacksmith. This win put Blacksmith to the Round of 48. |
Blacksmith vs. Bronco
![]() Blacksmith gets flipped by Bronco. Here, it faced the daunting challenge of fighting previous semi-finalist Bronco. After dodging each other for the first few seconds, Blacksmith missed its first hammer attack, which allowed Bronco to flip it three times in succession, the last one getting it caught on the screws. Blacksmith escaped, but its flamethrower wasn't working. It pushed underneath Bronco and rammed it into the side wall, hitting it with its hammer. Bronco flipped Blacksmith over and as Blacksmith righted itself, its hammer head broke off. Blacksmith immediately went on the defensive, keeping its wedge to Bronco and eventually getting underneath and hitting it with its hammer arm. Bronco retaliated by flipping Blacksmith into the pulverizer. Blacksmith was able to get under Bronco a few times and dodged the flipper, but eventually Bronco got underneath and flipped it on top of the screws again. This time, Blacksmith was unable to free itself and was counted out. Bronco won by KO at 2:16 and Blacksmith was eliminated. However, Blacksmith was awarded one of the eight wild cards most likely for its unique hammer/flamethrower weapon. This put Blacksmith to the round of 32 with its No.26 seeding, where it faced the No.7 seed Minotaur. |
Blacksmith vs. Minotaur ![]() Minotaur rips off Blacksmith's front wedge. ![]() What was left of Blacksmith after Minotaur's unanimous victory. |
Discovery Season 3[] |
Blacksmith vs. Bite Force ![]() Blacksmith gets hit by Bite Force's spinning bar. ![]() Blacksmith lands a hit on top of Bite Force. |
Blacksmith vs. The Four Horsemen ![]() Blacksmith takes a shot from Famine. ![]() Blacksmith charges Pestilence into the wall. ![]() Blacksmith immobilizes Famine.
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Blacksmith vs. Witch Doctor ![]() Blacksmith is damaged by Witch Doctor. ![]() Blacksmith shoves Witch Doctor into the screws. |
Blacksmith vs. Minotaur ![]() Blacksmith takes shots to its plow from Minotaur. ![]() Blacksmith gets kicked up by Minotaur. |
Blacksmith vs. Warhead ![]() Blacksmith and Warhead fire up their flamethrowers. ![]() Blacksmith starts attacking Warhead. ![]() Blacksmith grills Warhead's side. ![]() Blacksmith duelling with Warhead. Next for Blacksmith was a battle against Warhead in the USA vs. The World special tournament. The match was off to a pretty even start for Blacksmith, with both bots manoeuvring around and lighting up their flame weapons. Eventually, Blacksmith and Warhead clashed head on and the former fired a shot to Warhead's head before manoeuvring to the side and striking an area just behind the clamping head and firing a third shot that missed, instead tangling with one of Warhead's self-righting arms. After backing away, Blacksmith let Warhead grab onto its hammer, allowing Blacksmith to lift Warhead off the ground and continue to grill it. Blacksmith eventually let go and clashed head on again, but missed the hammer shot. Blacksmith then connected wedge to wedge to try and aim its hammer, but Warhead started spitting out flames and soon grabbed on the side of Blacksmith's wedge. Blacksmith fired its hammer in retaliation with some of its shots managing to strike the clamping head, but not doing much damage. Warhead eventually let go of Blacksmith and Al Kindle's bot continued to rain down hits on the head until Warhead started gaining a hold of Blacksmith, which by then was grilling Warhead's side. After the two bots separated, Blacksmith continued its barrage of jabs on Warhead's clamping jaw as Warhead continued to grab and push Blacksmith around. The hammer bot eventually got its weapon caught in Warhead's grasp and made a second lift. Blacksmith started pounding away again, but Warhead soon grabbed Blacksmith by the side and pushed it into the screws. After the two got hit by the killsaws, Blacksmith gave one more shot to the head before moving away to get a better position, before charging in and delivering more shots to the upper jaw of Warhead until they separated again. After some manoeuvring, Blacksmith charged in and continued to pound away, even as Warhead grabbed Blacksmith by the front. Eventually, however, Blacksmith's weapon motor started to burn up, its hammer slowing down and emitting smoke as Warhead slammed Blacksmith into the rails. Blacksmith got free after getting shoved into the killsaws and delivered another charge, firing its hammer one last time on the T-Rex head as its weapon motor started smoking before getting shoved into the arena wall as the time ran out. The judges awarded a 2-1 split decision to Warhead, a decision of which was debated amongst by fans. This gave 1 point to Warhead and The World. |
Discovery Season 4[] |
Blacksmith vs. Quantum ![]() Quantum with a hold on Blacksmith. ![]() Quantum sinks its teeth into Al Kindle's bot. ![]() Quantum and Blacksmith are separated off-camera. |
Blacksmith vs. Kraken ![]() Blacksmith fighting Kraken. Next for Blacksmith was against Matt Spurk and Kraken. As the match began, Blacksmith was having trouble landing hits but managed to start landing several in a row, though none causing significant damage. Blacksmith continued to fire the hammer, and was eventually grabbed by its opponent but thankfully this didn't cause much damage either. Blacksmith continued swinging its hammer as time ran out. The judges awarded Blacksmith a close 2-1 split decision. |
Blacksmith vs. SawBlaze ![]() Blacksmith topples SawBlaze ![]() Blacksmith is attacked by SawBlaze's hammersaw ![]() Blacksmith shoots fire as it's pushed by SawBlaze |
Blacksmith vs. Captain Shrederator ![]() Blacksmith roasts Captain Shrederator
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Blacksmith vs. Rotator ![]() Sparks fly as Blacksmith and Rotator come to blows. |
Blacksmith vs. Witch Doctor ![]() Blacksmith's long forks used against Witch Doctor. Having fought hard to make the Top 16, Blacksmith and Team Half Fast Astronaut were now facing a rematch with Witch Doctor. For the match, the team opted to use Blacksmith's long green front forks for the first time. As the match got underway, Blacksmith was ramming continuously straight into Witch Doctor's vertical disc spinners. Blacksmith could not find an opportunity to push or swing it's hammer and continued tanking Witch Doctor's shots. As the match progressed, Blacksmith's front forks were becoming increasingly bent. Blacksmith soon took a huge hit from Witch Doctor which launched it hammer-first onto the lexan glass on-top of the Screws. Eventually, Blacksmith escaped by swinging it's flaming hammer. Blacksmith began taking more punishment from Witch Doctor until smoke began to pour from one side of Blacksmith. The New Jersey bot was then knocked over under the Pulverizer, but self-righted. One half of Blacksmith was now completely on fire and smoking badly. Despite being engulfed in flames and severly damaged, Blacksmith kept on moving. However, Blacksmith was deemed to be crab-walking and not showing active movement. Blacksmith was counted out, giving Witch Doctor the win by KO. |
Discovery Season 6[] |
Blacksmith vs. Free Shipping ![]() Blacksmith lands a big shot to Free Shipping early on. ![]() Free Shipping overturns Blacksmith by the arena barriers. ![]() Blacksmith and Free Shipping do battle near the newest BattleBox hazard. |
Blacksmith vs. Shatter! ![]() Shatter! and Blacksmith meet in the BattleBox. ![]() Shatter! hits Blacksmith with the back of the Mary Special. ![]() Blacksmith rams Shatter across the arena.
Blacksmith attempted to outdrive Shatter! for much of the fight, but Adam Wrigley's team were able to utilize their omniwheels and keep the front forks pointed their way. However, Shatter!'s forks soon proved to work against them, becoming stuck in the killsaw slots. This allowed for Blacksmith to drive Shatter! into the Upper Deck and rack up valuable aggression points. Shatter! remained aggressive itself though and caught Blacksmith under the pulverizer as the fight wore on, continuing to deliver shots to its top armor with its own hammer. Blacksmith was still able to control Shatter! at times during the closing stages, but the fight went the distance and the judges rules unanimously in favor of Shatter!, pegging Blacksmith back to 1-1. |
Blacksmith vs. Malice ![]() Sparks fly as Blacksmith and Malice collide. |
Results[]
BLACKSMITH - RESULTS | ||
ABC Season 2 | ||
2016 Championship 26th seed | ||
Gears Awaken Rumble | vs. Basilisk, Gemini | Won (JD) |
Round of 48 | vs. Bronco | Lost (KO) |
NOTE: Blacksmith received a wildcard and moved on to the next round. | ||
Round of 32 | vs. Minotaur (7) | Lost (JD) |
Discovery Season 3 | ||
Fight Nights 1-2 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Bite Force | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. The Four Horsemen | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Witch Doctor | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night Main Event | vs. Minotaur | Lost (JD) |
USA vs The World Representing the USA | ||
US vs The World | vs. Warhead | Lost (Split JD) |
Discovery Season 4 | ||
Fight Nights 2-2, won Play-in | ||
Fight Night | vs. Quantum | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Kraken | Won (Split JD) |
Fight Night | vs. SawBlaze | Lost (Split JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Captain Shrederator | Won (KO) |
Play-in | vs. Rotator | Won (JD) |
Top 16 15th seed | ||
Round of 16 | vs. Witch Doctor (2) | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 6 | ||
Fight Nights 1-2 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Free Shipping | Won (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Shatter! | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Malice | Lost (JD) |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 11
Competition | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
ABC Season 2 | Gemini and Basilisk | Bronco |
Discovery Season 3 | The Four Horsemen (Undercard Match) |
Bite Force (Undercard Match) Witch Doctor (Undercard Match) Minotaur (Main Event/Undercard Match) Warhead (USA vs. The World) |
Discovery Season 4 |
Kraken (Undercard Match) Captain Shrederator (Undercard Match) |
Quantum (Undercard Match) SawBlaze (Undercard Match) Witch Doctor |
Discovery Season 6 | Free Shipping (Undercard Match) | Shatter! (Undercard Match)
Malice (Undercard Match) |
Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]
"Aww Snookie. From New Jersey so you know it's a shore thing. It's BLACKSMITH!"
"Bang Bang into the box. This bot rules the school of hard knocks. It’s BLACKSMITH!"
"It's got a flaming hammer to swing and its always thinking one thing, "Yeah! I hit that!" Here to get it on, it's BLACKSMITH!"
"Whoop, whoop! This is not a drill. It's hammer time. Here to pound you like Play-Doh, the jersey thornado, BLACKSMITH!"
"In west Philadelphia, born and raised where the slayed spent most of his days. You know who it is. It's the Death Prince of Hell Air, BLACKSMITH!"
"Hang with this bot and you will get hammered. Here to serve a round of bruise, the man, the myth, it's BLACKSMITH!"
"The Jersey Boss should be called Bot Springsteen. It'll leave you Torn in the USA, it's BLACKSMITH!"
"I don't know if this New Jersey bot is in the Mafia but it's definitely out to put a hit on ya. Bot-a-bing, bot-a-boom. Its flaming hammer will send you to your tomb. It's BLACKSMITH!"
"This bot's like a mob boss. It'll smash you into kapeashes. He's no good fella, so you better not flip, because he will never, ever forget about it. Here to amuse you is BLACKSMITH!"
"Back from the fiery furnace, this bot is bringing the heat. Prepare to be lathed to the ground. He dealt it, now he's gonna smelt it. It's BLACKSMITH!"
"You know his name. Al be Kindle, Al be quick. Al be swinging a big, flaming stick. Sorry you turned up, you're about to get burnt up. It's the flaming hammer of myth, the one and only, BLACKSMITH!"
"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill. It's a flaming hammer and it maims at will. It's BLACKSMITH!"
"A bot who's from Jersey like Kevin Smith and Jay, who makes his enemies think ‘I’m not even supposed to be here today!’. When his hammer comes down, the sound is quite violent. And the crowd gets so pumped, not even Bob could stay silent. Snooch to the nooch, it’s BLACKSMITH!”
"From Edison, New Jersey, home of Menlo Park, this bot’s forged to be stronger than the armor of Tony Stark. You’ll be dust when his hammer’s fired and slams. Other bots are like tin foil, but he’s the Iron Man. It’s BLACKSMITH!"
"From Edison, New Jersey, he forges weapons using an anvil, and when he hits you with them, you need an Advil. It's BLACKSMITH!"
Merchandise[]
Any appearances by Blacksmith in merchandise are listed below:
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/4p1gpj/blacksmith_ama/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/4p1gpj/blacksmith_ama/d4hbcit/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/cvuoi6/ask_me_anything_with_blacksmith_and_its_least/ey6kyr2/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/8qn3lm/ama_with_blacksmith_m/e0m1jrt/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/cvuoi6/ask_me_anything_with_blacksmith_and_its_least/ey6kyr2/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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