Fork-N-Stein, later simplified to Fork, was a heavyweight (later middleweight) robot built by American Performance Robotics which competed in the final three seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots.
It was a silver and green robot armed with lifting forks at the front. Despite its appearance, it was not completely invertible as its weapon would keep the wheels from gripping the arena floor. A self-righting arm was in the works for Fork-N-Stein's debut season, but it was not finished in time for filming. Fork-N-Stein was also very light for a heavyweight, weighing in at only 170lbs - 50lbs shy of the upper limit. It was built by Jim Snook, who also worked on heavyweight Bender.
It didn't perform very well in BattleBots, winning only two fights across three seasons. One of these came by forfeit in Season 3.0, and the other came in the middleweight division of Season 5.0. Fork-N-Stein managed to reach the televised rounds in Season 3.0, but never went further than the Round of 64.
For Season 5.0, Fork-N-Stein was changed into a middleweight and renamed Fork. Fork gained some changes when to make the weight limit including a remade lifting system.
Fork also participated in the 2006 Cisco Party, falling in the first round to Falcon. Returning for the JavaOne event a year later, Fork lost in a brutal fashion to The Mortician.
Robot History[]
Season 3.0[] |
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Fork-N-Stein vs. Dredge (Forfeit) Fork-N-Stein was scheduled to fight Dredge first, but Dredge had technical issues and was forced to forfeit. Fork-N-Stein won by default and advanced to the TV rounds. |
Fork-N-Stein vs. HexaDecimator Next up was HexaDecimator. In the match, HexaDecimator flipped Fork-N-Stein in less than 10 seconds. With no self-righting mechanism, Fork-N-Stein found it difficult to drive upside down and was mostly driving in circles. After nearly missing the killsaws, Fork-N-Stein was lifted again by HexaDecimator. HexaDecimator pushed Fork-N-Stein into the spikestrip, where Fork-N-Stein was temporarily stuck. Fork-N-Stein continued to maneuver while HexaDecimator opted not to use its lifting arm and somewhat inadvertently pushed Fork-N-Stein under the pulverizer. Fork-N-Stein was unable to escape and took several shots before being counted out. HexaDecimator won the fight by KO and Fork-N-Stein was eliminated from the tournament.Because it lost in the Round of 64, Fork-N-Stein could not participate the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble at the end of the tournament. |
Season 4.0[] |
Fork-N-Stein vs. I-Beam Fork-N-Stein's only match in Season 4.0 was against I-Beam. In the match, I-Beam kept hitting Fork-N-Stein with its iron girder, which kept Fork-N-Stein from getting close, and strong ramming ability that prevented Fork-N-Stein to lift it. Fork-N-Stein was also having steering problems and the time ran out moments after. I-Beam won the fight on a 29-16 judges' decision and Fork-N-Stein was eliminated from the tournament again. |
Season 5.0[] |
Fork vs. Sweet Fork's first match on Season 5.0 was against Sweet. Fork won the fight by knockout and advanced to the next preliminary round. |
Fork vs. BravePart Next up for Fork was BravePart. However, BravePart won on a 27-18 judges' decision and Fork was eliminated at this stage. |
Cisco Party 2006[] |
Fork vs. Falcon Several years after the end of Season 5.0, Fork returned for the private Cisco Party event in 2006. In its first fight, it took on Team Whyachi and Falcon.Fork was slow out of the red starting square, allowing Falcon to take full advantage from the off. Falcon got underneath Fork and tore away its plow. Now partially high-centered, Falcon struck the right wheel of Fork, tossing it over. It repeated this attack multiple times until it became evident Fork was no longer mobile. Fork lost by knockout, and was immediately eliminated. |
BattleBots JavaOne 2007[] |
Fork vs. The Mortician Fork's first match was against The Mortician. This fight started with The Mortician getting up to full speed, and slamming into the front wedge of Fork, which deflected the blow. The Mortician then hit the side of Fork, ripping the wedge off, as well as disabling one half of its drivetrain, and ripping a tire off. The Mortician then continued delivering hits until Fork could no longer move and was subsequently counted out, falling in Round 1 again. This proved to be Fork's final BattleBots fight. |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 4
Competition | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
Season 3.0 | Dredge (Forfeit) | HexaDecimator |
Season 4.0 | None | I-Beam |
Season 5.0 | Sweet | BravePart |
Cisco Party 2006 | None | Falcon |
BattleBots JavaOne 2007 | None | The Mortician |
Mark Beiro Introductions[]
"You'll pray for death as you're ripped limb from limb by the robot that mets out torture on a whim. Let's hear it for FORK-N STEIN!"
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