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"It is rewarding to compete at high level despite being a 'garage hacker'."
— Steve Buescher on Little Drummer Boy

Little Drummer Boy was a middleweight robot that competed in the final three seasons of Comedy Central's BattleBots. It was armed with a powerful 25lb spinning drum spinning at 5,000rpm, according to the show.

Despite its simplistic construction and comparatively weak armor, Little Drummer Boy enjoyed a strong debut in Season 3.0, reaching the finals of the middleweight division. After losing to Hazard in the final, the design was upgraded, giving the robot a steel rear wedge and sturdier hinged spikes. These spikes were removed entirely for Season 5.0, but the robot kept its basic design intact.

After BattleBots, Little Drummer Boy was painted blue and re-named Aneurysm. Team member Steve Buescher would later attempt to return for the 2018 season of the reboot with Raven, however the robot arrived to the event in pieces, and once completed ultimately burned out in the test box during a weapons test.

As late as April 2022, Little Drummer Boy/Aneurysm was still claimed to be in the possession of Steve Buescher, though its drums had been scrapped due to excessive rust.[1] By 2023, however, the entire robot was confirmed by Beuscher to have been scrapped later the same year.[2]

Robot History[]

Season 3.0[]

Little Drummer Boy vs. Short Circuit

Little Drummer Boy's first match was against Short Circuit. With the first contact from its spinning drum, pieces came flying off of Short Circuit. Little Drummer Boy then flipped Short Circuit multiple times with its spinning drum. Despite taking so much damage, Short Circuit was still moving at the end of the match. Little Drummer Boy won on a 41-4 judges' decision and advanced to the next preliminary round, where it faced Flip You Off.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Flip You Off

This match lasted less than a minute as the drum caught hold on the side of Flip You Off and flipped it over. Flip You Off couldn't right itself and the match was over. Little Drummer Boy won by KO in 45 seconds and advanced to the final preliminary round, where it faced Team Toad's IceCube.

Little Drummer Boy vs. IceCube

This was a relatively close match. IceCube was knocked around and flipped several times from its spinning drum, but it didn't sustain any real damage. Little Drummer Boy's weapon chain got dislodged about 75 seconds into the two minute match, so Little Drummer Boy turns around and used the wedge spikes to push IceCube around. The time ran out and Little Drummer Boy won on a 26-19 judges' decision. This win put Little Drummer Boy to the TV rounds, where it faced Bouncing Betty.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Bouncing Betty

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Little Drummer Boy hits Bouncing Betty.

Ldbvsbb 4 sf01

Little Drummer Boy pushes Bouncing Betty to the killsaws.

At the beginning, Little Drummer Boy had some driving difficulties mainly due to a spike next to the drum was dragging on the BattleBox floor. Bouncing Betty was almost able to flip Little Drummer Boy, but couldn't flip it on a couple of occasions. Little Drummer Boy's drum then knocked Bouncing Betty onto the killsaws a couple times and Bouncing Betty stopped moving. Little Drummer Boy's drum ran into the killsaws which put some gashes into the drum and it also bent the weapon frame allowing the chain to pop off. Despite this, Bouncing Betty was being counted out and Little Drummer Boy advanced to the Round of 16, where it faced Blade Runner.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Blade Runner

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Little Drummer Boy hits Blade Runner.

Both robots were really aggressive. Blade Runner put some small holes on the right side armor of Little Drummer Boy and a big one on the left side where it got stuck and both robots were separated as the match was halted. After the match was started again, Little Drummer Boy came back and started hitting the front of Blade Runner several times. As Blade Runner got pushed toward the killsaws, Blade Runner stopped moving as the signal wires were damaged by the Killsaws and Little Drummer Boy got underneath it with its drum. Blade Runner was counted out and Little Drummer Boy advanced to the middleweight quarter-finals, where it faced Eraser.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Eraser

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Eraser gets pummeled by Little Drummer Boy.

At the start, Eraser was unable to do anything to Little Drummer Boy as it took hit after hit from its drum. Eventually, the robot stopped moving altogether and was counted out after Little Drummer Boy used its drum to flip Eraser on its back. Little Drummer Boy won by KO at 1:36 and advanced to the middleweight semi-finals, where it faced SABotage.

Little Drummer Boy vs. SABotage

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Little Drummer Boy flips SABotage.

At the beginning, SABotage drove around Little Drummer Boy's side and managed to the flip it ten seconds into the match. Little Drummer Boy stopped and reversed the direction of the spinning drum. It then backed into the wall, since it was driving upside-down. SABotage tried to flip it again, but got pushed back by the spinning drum of Little Drummer Boy. SABotage then took a hit from Little Drummer Boy. It tried to flip Little Drummer Boy, but Little Drummer Boy didn't quite tip over. Little Drummer Boy retaliated with a hit that flipped SABotage onto its rear end. SABotage brought in its lifting arm, and with some help from Little Drummer Boy, landed right side up again. Unfortunately, now SABotage wasn't moving. Little Drummer Boy hit it from the back, then from the side. All SABotage could do was raise the lifting arm as it was being counted out. Little Drummer Boy won by KO at 1:16 and was now in the middleweight finals, where it faced Hazard.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Hazard

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Hazard hits Little Drummer Boy.

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Hazard pushed Little Drummer Boy under the pulverizer.

Little Drummer Boy got the first attack in, ramming Hazard before Hazard retaliated and struck Little Drummer Boy's drum, dislodging the chain that powered it and stopping the drum. Little Drummer Boy then received several rips and dents to the body shell from Hazard's weaponry before being pushed onto the ramrods. Little Drummer Boy continued to be pushed around until Hazard pushed Little Drummer Boy under the pulverizer. Little Drummer Boy suffered exactly 5 shots from the pulverizer, caving in the top panel. The fight became into a pushing match, with Little Drummer Boy being the receiver of the majority of the attacks. Little Drummer Boy's left drive chain was then taken out by a lucky attack from Hazard. This sent Little Drummer Boy spinning in circles before being struck 2 more times by Hazard, with the latter shot finally knocking the last inch out of Little Drummer Boy's life. Little Drummer Boy was now being counted out and Hazard won by KO at 2:54. Despite this loss, Little Drummer Boy became the middleweight runner up in its debut season.
Little Drummer Boy after Hazard

Little Drummer Boy after its match against Hazard.

Middleweight Royal Rumble

Little Drummer Boy also participated the Middleweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament despite the damage delivered by Hazard. Unfortunately, Little Drummer Boy's drum never got going and it was mainly moving around in circles due to damage from the left side. In the beginning, Little Drummer Boy bumped into Eraser and backed away. Little Drummer Boy then started pushing SABotage from the rear and got its rear spikes stuck on the ramrod holes. Complete Control freed Little Drummer Boy and almost clamped it, but it missed and Little Drummer Boy bumped into Sunshine Lollibot. After this, Bad Attitude got underneath the right side of Little Drummer Boy and pushed it around the BattleBox. Little Drummer Boy then started pushing Double Agent toward the corner of the BattleBox. Little Drummer Boy pushed an immobile Deadblow onto the blue square and bumped into Zion and SABotage. Toward the end of the rumble, Bad Attitude got underneath the front of Little Drummer Boy and the time ran out. Little Drummer Boy was one of few robots still moving in the end, but it lost overall to T-Minus.

Season 4.0[]

Little Drummer Boy vs. Bouncing Betty

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Bouncing Betty flips Little Drummer Boy.

Bouncing Betty vs LDB SF01B 1

Both bots finished fighting at the end.

Due to previously competing in Season 3.0, Little Drummer Boy was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 4.0, where it eventually fought Bouncing Betty again. After Little Drummer Boy was flipped by Bouncing Betty at one point, the time eventually ran out and Bouncing Betty won on a 34-11 judges' decision. This meant that Little Drummer Boy was eliminated from the tournament again.

Middleweight Consolation Rumble

Little Drummer Boy also participated in the Middleweight Consolation Rumble at the end of the tournament. It's unknown how well it performed, but it did lose out to T-Wrex and Malvolio.

Season 5.0[]

Little Drummer Boy vs. Wee Willy Wedgy

Due to previously competing in Season 4.0, Little Drummer Boy was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 5.0, where it faced Wee Willy Wedgy. Wee Willy Wedgy tackled Little Drummer Boy who hit with its drum. After escaping, Wee Willy Wedgy tried getting around Little Drummer Boy who circles in-place to keep the drum in the way. Little Drummer Boy got another hit on Wee Willy Wedgy on the scooper and then a wheel. Another hit knocked Wee Willy Wedgy into the air. Little Drummer Boy continued its assault, but Wee Wily Wedgy managed to push Little Drummer Boy to the killsaws, though Little Drummer Boy escaped the saws. Little Drummer Boy hit again and managed to flip Wee Willy Wedgy over. Another hit sent Wee Willy Wedgy onto the ramrods, which impaled Wee Willy Wedgy briefly. Little Drummer Boy attacked again and scored another hit. Wee Willy Wedgy attempted to retreat, but Little Drummer Boy struck again, flipping Wee Willy Wedgy again which resulted in Wee Willy Wedgy landing on top of Little Drummer Boy. After taking a hit on the killsaws, Little Drummer Boy carried Wee Willy Wedgy around and into the pulverizer. Wee Willy Wedgy was no longer functioning and was counted out. Little Drummer Boy won by KO, as Wee Willy Wedgy's battery became disconnected, and advanced to the Round of 16, where it faced Turtle.

Little Drummer Boy vs. Turtle

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Little Drummer Boy is pursued by Turtle.

Turtle was extremely aggressive in this battle, ramming Little Drummer Boy as much as possible, not caring where it rammed. However, Little Drummer Boy also managed to hit Turtle hard with its drum, and at one point Turtle was high-centered in the BattleBox. However, Little Drummer Boy freed Turtle to continue the fight. Despite this, Turtle managed to win on a 25-20 judges' decision. This meant the Little Drummer Boy was eliminated from the tournament once again.

Little Drummer Boy couldn't compete in the Middleweight Royal Rumble because the rest of the rumbles were canceled due to an accident with Nightmare during the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble.

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 8
  • Losses: 3
Competition Wins Losses
Season 3.0 Short Circuit

Flip You Off

IceCube

Bouncing Betty

Blade Runner

Eraser

SABotage

Hazard
Season 4.0 None Bouncing Betty
Season 5.0 Wee Willy Wedgy Turtle

Mark Beiro Introductions[]

"He marches to the beat of your excised still beating heart. Pa rum pum pum pum! Its LITTLE DRUMMER BOY!"

"Come we told you pa-rum pum-pum-pum and watch the pounding delivered by LITTLE DRUMMER BOY!"

"His rotating steel drum isn't here to play enchanting Caribbean music. It comes to perform a Mexican hat dance on your freakin' head! Here is the LITTLE DRUMMER BOY!"

"Everyone knows drummers live the hardest and die the hardest. He's got plenty of pounding to do before he ODs. LITTLE DRUMMER BOY!"

References[]

  1. Correspondence between Steve Buescher and Lars Bakker in April 2022
  2. Correspondence between Steve Buescher and User:Gibson Petree in 2023
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