Junkstrapped tankbots from old cars

This as “inevitable” written all over it’s face in black marker-pen:

tankbot1

from Botjunkie who faithfully quotes:

From the producers that brought you MYTHBUSTERS comes an explosive new series, WEAPONIZERS (3 x 60 min) premiering on Discovery Channel US, May 11, 2009 at 9pm.

This new program combines creativity, military-like strategy and engineering as two teams of master builders — dubbed “Weaponizers” — turn ordinary vehicles into remote-controlled machines of destruction. With the pace and intensity of a video game, the vehicles are completed with live-ammunition machine guns and other seemingly ordinary objects that are transformed into powerful weapons. Building on the teams’ expertise — hot rod restoration, pyrotechnics, special effects, crash engineering and military weaponry — the opponents harness their ingenuity in a competition face off where the goal is to achieve victory by creating an indestructible vehicle.

In each episode, the teams convert regular rides such as a shuttle bus, an ice cream van and muscle cars into vicious vehicles. Using science, special effects, engineering, metal fabrication and a bit of fantasy, they construct and test their vehicles to ensure that they pack the biggest punch and are fully remote-controlled. Once all testing is complete, each team descends into respective underground control bunkers to command their vehicles for the two-round competition.

In round one, the teams undertake a challenge-based phase where the vehicles race to destroy or defend exploding targets such as medieval castles or Mad Max style fuel depots. Then in round two, the “Weaponizers” are thrown into a Carmageddon Round — the rules are… there are no rules. It’s a gloves off test of what expertise these teams can draw on to achieve victory, which in WEAPONIZERS’ terms means there is only one vehicle left standing!

The blurring of the line between toys and weapons continues apace, and I think it’s a public service in some ways – saving the lives of would-be suicide-bombers by teaching them how to make cars remotely controllable and as strong as hell.

It had to happen though – sooner or later there had to be a “no rules” version of robot-wars.

weaponizer