- "This spinning robot has deadly blades that will slice through anything that comes in contact with its path. We challenged ourselves to create an unbeatable machine that had power and intimidation on its side."
- — The M5 Industries website's description of Blendo
Blendo was a heavyweight robot built by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, who later found fame as the co-hosts of Mythbusters. It entered the first three Comedy Central BattleBots seasons as well as the Las Vegas 1999 event.
It was a low profile, shell spinner design powered by a 5hp lawnmower engine. The body, originally made out of a salvaged wok, was surrounded by a sharpened steel ring at the bottom, augmented by two blades. Blendo had a spin speed of 500rpm, reportedly having a top speed of up to 80mph, and its destructive power was described by Hyneman as "a piece of steel the size of a fist traveling at the speed of sound". [1]
Jamie Hyneman starting up Blendo's internal combustion engine with his power drill during Season 2.0.
Blendo's spinner was manually activated before the match by Jamie Hyneman inserting a power drill through a hole in Blendo's top to start the internal combustion weapon motor. Thus, Blendo would theoretically spin unabated for the entire battle. While this made for a persistent attack, it meant that if Blendo's spinner were to cut out mid-battle, it would not be able to start up again. In addition, according to an interview with fellow Mythbusters star Adam Savage, Blendo’s original drivetrain was also controlled by the internal combustion engine through a series of clutches, meaning that translational movement would be lost if the gas engine were to stall as well.
Blendo entered each of the first three seasons of BattleBots with the BattleBox being sufficiently protective against flying debris, but did not achieve any success. Blendo's slow and poorly controlled drive system compounded with its opponents' highly improved armor made it all but obsolete.
Ahead of Season 3.0, its final season, Blendo received several upgrades, which included replacing its iconic wok shell with a newly made titanium shell, which had teeth designed much differently from previous seasons for a better chance of damaging other bots. However, despite displaying improved effectiveness, it again lost its only battle against Bacchus, which proved to be its last competitive fight.
Outside BattleBots[]
Blendo debuted in the 1995 US Robot Wars tournament, and was arguably the most destructive robot of that period. Blendo was declared joint Heavyweight Champion in 1995 with The Master in exchange for withdrawing from the event after creating a safety hazard by launching pieces of its opponents out of the arena. Blendo returned for the 1997 tournament where it destroyed Hercules and Punjar, but was asked to withdraw for the same reason and given a special award to commemorate its unorthodox accolade.
A brief clip of Blendo and Jamie controlling it was displayed during the intro to the MythBusters pilot episodes explaining Jamie and Adam's 30 years of experience in special effects, especially model building, animatronics and toy prototyping, as qualifications.
Robot History[]
Las Vegas 1999[] |
|---|
Blendo vs. Punjar   Punjar and Blendo collide.   Blendo high-centered on the entrance ramp after its final clash with Punjar. |
Heavyweight Rumble   Blendo gets toppled by BioHazard. Blendo was still to compete in the Heavyweight Rumble. At the start, Blendo wandered around aimlessly, landing a few hits before it got attacked by BioHazard and lifted into the air multiple times, eventually causing its weapon to stall. After that it limply bumped other robots until the very end, where it was flipped over by BioHazard, who eventually won the rumble. |
Season 1.0[] |
Blendo vs. BioHazard   BioHazard lifting Blendo |
Heavyweight Royal Rumble Blendo also fought in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. When the rumble started, Blendo immediately got rammed into by Vlad the Impaler as it was spinning up, bumping it into the blue square. After a bit of moving aimlessly in circles, it got tapped by Vlad the Impaler's rear end, causing it to run into Kill-O-Amp, which ran over the dome and flipped itself over. Blendo then moved into Voltarc, bouncing off after hitting the corner of its wedge. After a tap from Tazbot, Blendo headed straight towards Mauler, clashing spinners and disabling Mauler's lid. After a moment of just standing still, Blendo got rammed by Mauler and Kill-O-Amp simultaneously, bumping it closer to a corner of the arena. After some off camera action, Blendo got hit by Kill-O-Amp and moved into the red square. When the camera cut away yet again, Blendo was seen riding the spikestrip with its shell, moving towards a corner of the BattleBox. Moments later, Blendo was seen pinning itself between a disabled Mjollnir and the spikestrip and getting out of it, eventually spinning back up. Blendo was last seen moving in circles near the corner of the BattleBox until, for unknown reasons, it stopped spinning and became incapacitated off camera. Blendo was left alone for the rest of the rumble, eventually losing overall to BioHazard once again. |
Season 2.0[] |
Blendo vs. GoldDigger   Blendo sends GoldDigger flying. Blendo received a first round bye yet again, where it faced GoldDigger. It started well, tossing GoldDigger around the arena, but once again stopped moving after the impact of its first hit as the battery had come loose and came open inside the shell upon impact, meaning GoldDigger went through. |
Heavyweight Consolation Rumble Blendo again participated the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble at the end of the tournament. When the rumble started, Blendo started spinning its shell, but it immediately backed into the wall, riding through the corner of the arena and eventually getting stuck on the spikestrip, where it was left alone for the rest of the rumble. Due to this, it lost overall to OverKill and Punjar. |
Season 3.0[] |
Blendo vs. Bacchus   Blendo hits Bacchus. |
Competitive Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 4
Exhibition Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
Total Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 7
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas 1999 | Bye | Punjar |
| Season 1.0 | Bye | BioHazard |
| Season 2.0 | Bye | GoldDigger |
| Season 3.0 | None | Bacchus |
Mark Beiro Introductions[]
“The battle is sure to end, in a screeching tortured crescendo, when opponents face, the spinning... BLENDO!”
