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The flame game
The Anoraks took on the Up 'n Atoms in a race to build a motorised flame flinger that could throw a burning projectile at a set of combustible targets.
Up 'n Atoms drew inspiration from a tennis ball throwing machine and built a flinger with two sets of spinning wheels mounted on the end of an airport conveyor. Using the conveyor for elevation, the projectile ball was fed in between the wheels as they spun at speed and flicked the ball at the target.
The Anoraks opted for a motorised sling. Using a London taxi as their base, they mounted an arm on the rear axle, with a quick-release trigger holding the projectile in place. Once the arm was spinning at speed, the team fired the trigger at a pre-set point, hurling the projectile at the target. That was the theory anyway.
Come test time, Up 'n Atoms' machine hit the first three targets in five shots but it lacked the range to hit the final target. The Anoraks' slingshot was powerful but temperamental. They also hit the first three targets in five shots and survived near disaster when their third shot landed on their fuel tank.
On their final shot, their quick release misfired again but as the projectile scudded across the ground it looked as if they would hit the last target. It trickled to a halt just short but having got closer to the target than their opponents, The Anoraks were judged to be the winners.