previous period September 2000 to August 2001
next period April to December 2002
return to The Steve G Scrapheap Homepage
Saturday 19th January 2002 - The Channel 4 Scrapheap forum goes off-line.
The following was yesterday posted on the Channel 4 Scrapheap forum
LOOK
HERE - Forum transformation
posted
by Channel 4 -dan on 15:58 18/1/2002
As
you Scrapheap fans will know, the Channel 4 series is off the air. From
Monday 21st January 2002 this forum will mutate into a forum for
another series that is right up your street: (see below for information on this new program,
Steve G)
Salvage Squad
Lee Hurst, together with expert teams, rebuild a series of classic
vehicles - a steam roller, tank, Bristol car and an aeroplane, to name
but a few - over 10 episodes.
The Salvage Squad forum is launching on Monday, but do not adjust your
set. While your Scrapheap forum is taking a short holiday your forum
website bookmarks will take you to the Salvage Squad forum.
Do not fear for Scrapheap, however. Please note:
1. Scrapheap Challenge will be back in September 2002 with a new series
and this forum will magically revert to being Scrapheap's at around the
same time.
2. There's still time to apply to take part as a team - applications
close on Feb 1st.
3. Details of how to apply for Scrapheap are on Channel 4's Scrapheap
website and RDF (the production company's) site: http://www.rdfmedia.com/scrapheap/
5. I will keep a thread going within the Salvage Squad forum for
contributions relating to Scrapheap.
Look forward to seeing new mail about Salvage Squad and, of course,
regulars about Scrapheap.
Dan
This new series 'Salvage Squad' begins Monday 21st January at 8.00pm on UK Channel 4 television when Lee Hurst assisted by engineers Claire Barratt, Jerry Thurston and Axel Cleghorn have ten days (yes days) to restore a 1923 steamroller from many MANY old parts. Other projects will include a centurion tank and a Formula 5000 racing car. The object of the shows appears to be great so watch the box and enjoy.
The bad news therefore is that the Channel 4 Scrapheap forum web address at http://www.channel4.com./scrapheap/forumframe.html will now not relate to Scrapheap Challenge again until September 2002.
The good news however is that Scrapheap Challenge WILL BE BACK at the end of the year. As reported previously it is planned that the filming will again take place in the UK at a new scrapyard location. Despite rumours the new yard location is not yet finalised although a short list has been drawn up and a favourite is being thought about. The relocation of the Scrapheap series back into the UK may bring back some of that 'old flavour' that hold many fond memories.
The full run down of the challenges that took place in the 2001 series can still be found on the Scrapheap website. The Channel 4 homepage should also give more news on the series during September 2002. In the meantime keep an eye on this page for breaking news during the year regarding the new teams and behind the scenes information on the progress of the show.
Happy 2002 holidays to all you Scrapheap lovers.
Sunday 23rd December 2001 -
Two things new to report today my lovely Scrapheapers. Firstly last night on Saturday 22nd December 2001 we had a little gathering of a few old faces from Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars at a drinking establishment (where else) near to Coventry in the Midlands. The Megalomaniacs were there, as were Brian Long (team Captain, Long Brothers - JYW and World Trans-Atlantic champions), myself and we invited the well reputed Wardy of the Channel 4 Scrapheap forum fame. A few beers were flowing and Wardy finally 'crashed' in the home of Nosher for the night. Everyone brought along their good ladies and a dam good time was had by all. If you would like to see a few of the pictures from the night click here.
And of course tonight finally we got to see the MEGA Challenge where three teams got to battle it out as I originally mentioned on my pages way back on the 10th April 2001. The good old spirit of team rivalry returned and a dam good show it was as well. Read the full report at the Channel 4 Scrapheap site .
Monday 10th December 2001 -
The 2001 Christmas special 2 day build MEGA Challenge
American vs. Britain vs. Russia
The Scrapheap
MEGA Challenge is due to go out for your enjoyment on Sunday 23rd
December 2001 on UK Channel 4 television beginning at 5.30pm
until 7.00pm, so you get yet another one and half hours of fun.
They are going to build a multi-purpose amphibious vehicle. The teams
will consist of three groups, the American Raptors, the British
Bulldogs and the Russian Bears. The build will be 20 hours over two
days and their machines will be required to complete a three part
course consisting of a flat race against each other, next over a rocky
course against the clock and finally over water once again against each
other. This program is filled with everything to keep you Scrapheap and
Junkyard warriors delighted and will keep you full of joy for the
Christmas break. This program will be your best Christmas present from
Channel 4 and RDF television.
Happy Viewing
Wednesday 28th November 2001 -
Trans-Atlantic Car Crusher is on again.
Some of you
may be aware by now that nearly ALL the UK TV listing magazines are
promoting (in detail) that the Scrapheap program due to be transmitted
at 5.55pm on Sunday 2nd December 2001 is a repeat of the Cats vs. Megs
final from last week. We believe that this is not correct.
The program on 2nd December 2001 starts at 5.55pm and runs for one hour
thirty five minutes until 7.30pm on UK Channel 4 television and it is
in fact a repeat of last years Trans-Atlantic 'Car Crusher Challenge'
as already posted on my own website http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~garfirth/ . I have today checked this
with the series Producer at RDF and he said (quote)"Thanks
for pointing it out. Your theory was right - it's supposed to be Car
Crusher that's repeated next week, NOT Car Jouster (assuming they pull
the right tape off the shelf....!)(end quote)
So guys it looks like the Megs vs. Long Brothers (and my mugshot) are
back to haunt you.
Monday 26th November 2001 - Trans-Atlantic special
It does appear that the trans-Atlantic challenge special 'Car Crusher' first shown on Christmas day 2000 is due to be repeated at 5.55pm on Channel 4 UK television. So you will have my mugshot to spoil your view once again as I assist the Megalomaniacs with their build of a CAR CRUSHER.
Sunday 25th November 2001 - The Catalysts are the UK Scrapheap champions
Tonight the Catalysts won the UK Scrapheap title from the Megalomaniacs. The difference of 100 points of 'stroking chains' was enough to rip the Champion of Champions title from the ever loved Megs. A whole new World of Scrapheap is about to begin.
Sunday 18th November 2001 - The Catalysts are the series-4 2001 Scrapheap champions
Well done the the Catalysts in their victory over the Mulewrights in the 2001 final with their hydrofoil. It was regretful that the Mulewrights engine failed to run to enable the chalenge to be fully contested but that is the way the Scrapheap story goes. AND WHAT A SURPRISE ... to see Sim Oakey tonight as the expert for the Mulewrights. Sim, how could you make that old fashioned 'it turns the wrong way' mistake. Welcome to the club. For those who may not be aware, until the end of the previous series-3 Sim Oakey had been the other half of the Sim Oakey and Richard Curtis duo who were the behind the scene technical consultants, that is the people who used to seed the parts for the heap to you and me.
So it now down to next week. The Megalomaniacs take on this years 2001 Scrapheap winners the Catalysts for the title of overall UK Scrapheap champions.
The Grand Final Challenge is 'Car Jousting'
Monday 12th November 2001 -
We now know the two teams that meet head-to-head for the 2001 series finals to be shown on Channel 4 television in the UK next Sunday 18th November 2001 ............ the 'Mulewrights' verses the 'Catalysts'. Interesting final to say the least ! You see the final is between one American team and one English team, OK so the American team were only brought in at the eleventh hour due to the very unfortunate loss of the 'Farmers Team' who were not allowed US entry permits because of the UK Foot and Mouth epidemic, but let us think of the consequences of this final. This is after all the UK variant Scrapheap Challenge and therefore if the Mulewrights do win the 2001 series final they will then take on the might of the Megalomaniacs as they contend the UK title that they still hold unbeaten. This will therefore be more of another Trans-Atlantic Challenge by default of the team members home Countries. If however the Catalysts win the 2001 series final it will instead be them that take on the might of the Megalomaniacs as they contend the UK title, but let us hope that the rivalry does not continue after the challenge as the Catalysts place of work 'Jaguar' is very local to the Megs home stomping ground in the Midlands. The viewer opinions on this series final are very mixed, on one hand they want a UK team to win but they really seem to dislike the Catalysts team leader Garry (mind you it has never been a challenge based on personality but it would help their ratings with the viewers), and on the other hand the UK viewers appear to like the Mulewrights but they do not really want a US team to win what is primarily a UK version of the show. I mean if the Mulewrights do win the series final and the grand final, then how on earth could RDF consider a Trans-Atlantic Challenge if both teams are American.
There is only one answer ...............
The Megalomaniacs have to win the Grand Final program with the 'Car Jousting' challenge. That way they manage to uphold their UK title and at the same time prove their worth against the American teams. I do of course have a personal reason as many of you will recall because as expert to the Megs last year my hydraulic 'Car Crusher' did not quite cut the mustard against the brilliant Long Brothers 'Hammer' during the 2000 Scrapheap Challenge verses Junkyard Wars Trans-Atlantic challenge and the Megs therefore really need to get this win
..................... for everyone in the UK.
GOOD LUCK TO THE MULEWRIGHTS and the CATALYSTS for the 2001 SERIES FINAL !
VERY GOOD LUCK TO THE MEGALOMANIACS for the 2001 GRAND FINAL !
Wednesday 7th November 2001 - The series-4 final is getting closer ......
Who will be the finalists for this 2001 challenge series .... the 'Mulewrights' have won their half of the semi-finals when they beat the 'McCarknow Clan' in the Hill Climbers challenge (did you see that wonderful gas axe work by the Mulewrights cutting out the bolt holes for the track gripper bars) . We now await the other team to state their place for the final showdown. Will the 'Mulewrights' be up against the 'Catalysts' or the 'X-tinguishers' who meet head-to-head for the next semi-final challenge of Tunnelling machines ? All teams have produced some good Scrapheap engineering but grand-finally the winners for this 2001 series will meet the might of The Megalomaniacs as reigning UK Scrapheap champions for the Grand Final challenge 'CAR JOUSTING'.
Scrapheap may come back home to the UK for 2002.
I have been informed that the UK version of this popular series namely Scrapheap Challenge may possibly return to the UK for future filming. The good folks at Channel 4 television have recognised the popularity of the show and are to commission a new series with the makers RDF television. The growing popularity Stateside may mean that future Junkyard Wars episodes will continue to be filmed at the L.A. site and that Scrapheap Challenge could return to being filmed in the UK. There are no details of the possible new film set location but watch this space. Do you know of a good UK site that could be considered ? E-mail your new site suggestions and reasons to The New Scrapheap Site .
30th September 2001 - The Chaos Crew return but the Cats leave claw marks
My good friends the Chaos Crew tonight returned with their brilliant interpretation of a 'Street Cleaner' when they pitted their skills against the Catalysts team of Jaguar engineers. Both machines saw out the challenge without mortal failure of the mechanical system. The suction method preferred by the Catalyst team enabled them to raise the smaller, and heavier, dirt and grit from the road surface. The conveyor method implemented by the Chaos Crew enable the debris to be collected in the volume, in fact they really needed to have the team Catalysts hopper size to avoid having to empty their hopper. The challenge was however to be measured on final weight not volume and this meant that the heavier dirt and grit collected by the Catalyst team just won the day by a very small margin. It was without doubt the team spirit and humour of the Chaos Crew that was much loved by the viewing public with the series-3 Muncher that ensured their return to the television screen, and the humour and team spirit they again showed tonight will still leave us the viewing public clamouring for a future return of the Chaos Crew. We hope so.
May I apologise for all of you in the UK Scrapheap scene that once again had to endure to find my 'mug shot' on the screen this evening when they replayed the moments from the 'Muncher' episode. Oh those tears to my eyes.
To keep you up to date the following is a rundown of the builds remaining for this series-4 of Scrapheap Challenge each Sunday at 6pm :-
23rd
Sept 2001 - Torpedo
30th Sept 2001 - Street cleaner (My old
buddies the Chaos Crew take on the Catalysts)
7th
Oct 2001 - White Water Rider
14th Oct 2001 - Snowmobile
21st Oct 2001 - Mobile Crane
28th
Oct 2001 - Minesweeper
Semi Finals
4th Nov 2001 - Hill Climber
11th Nov 2001 - Tunnelling Machine
Series Finals (This will determine the winners for this series-4)
18th Nov 2001 - Hydrofoil
Grand Final (This will determine the overall UK champions for 2001
series-4)
25th Nov 2001 - Car Jousting (Look out for my
other buddies the Megalomaniacs to uphold their UK crown against this
years series-4 winners)
Finally if you now visit the new Scrapheap Challenge series-4 website you will be pleased to learn that further to requested from the Channel 4 Scrapheap Challenge chat forum they now have a TEXT ONLY version of the website for those of you who may not have the Macromedia Flash bits on your PC for it to work properly. To access this new text only version visit the site Scrapheap Challenge series-4 website as normal and click on 'TEXT ONLY' at the top of the page.
9th September 2001 -Monster Trucks
Tonight brought to us the Monster Truck challenge between the Mulewrights and the Abominable Snowmen and a dam good show it was. The Mulewrights expert suggested that they build a spaceframe chassis using materials sourced from the heap but unfortunately things did not go to plan and they reverted to the same method as the Abominable Snowmen in using a complete chassis taken from the heap. Both machines were fine examples of Scrapheap engineering and the times were all very close but an excellent piece of driving by the Mulewrights expert Nigel brought their time down to just over 39 seconds and the final run by Tim the expert for the Abominable Snowmen was just over 40 seconds that left the Mulewrights going through to the next round.
So far we have had the 'Giant Egg Shooter' and the 'Monster Trucks', next week we shall see the 'Torpedo' episode. Things to look out for in the next few weeks are a 'Street Sweeper', 'Snowmobile' and 'Whitewater Rider' amongst other great challenges. For the full rundown on each challenge don't forget a visit to the Scrapheap Challenge series-4 website. You may be in for treat with a couple of old faces before the end of the year .......... keep watching.
9th September 2001 - SCRAPHEAP HAS ARRIVED BACK INTO YOUR HEARTS !
Well tonight saw the return of Scrapheap Challenge for the kick off episode for series-4 which is now filmed in Los Angeles. As reported by me earlier the first show saw the Dirty Dancers take on their opposition Storm Force. It was Storm Force who went on to win the first challenge for this new series when they managed a good 50 mtr distance for the Ostrich Egg shoot out. You can follow the full events of each challenge at the excellent new Scrapheap Challenge series-4 website.
There will also be a new VHS video available from Channel 4 on 15th October 2001 named 'Scrapheap Challenge - The Commandments'. This can soon be obtained direct from the Channel 4 shop or you can place an advance order from Amazon, The Commandments which shall be dispatched to you on the release date October 15th 2001.
One last thing for now relates to my past predictions regarding the rumoured MEGA 2-DAY BUILD CHALLENGE. It does now appear that this MEGA challenge WILL be happening. The lead up will consist of this series-4 final winners taking on my old buddies the Megalomaniacs in a grand-final. The Megalomaniacs still remain as the undefeated UK Scrapheap champions, even though my Car Crusher design failed to allow them the Trans-Atlantic World title in 2000. Good luck to them for 2001. It will then be the overall winners of the 2001 series-4 Scrapheap that will take on the overall winners of the new Junkyard Wars series AND A THIRD TEAM. Who do you think they are ? did RDF find the Russians they were looking for or have maybe the Aussies or Canadians finally got the chance they deserve ? All will be revealed in good time and it will be one hell of a challenge consisting of three teams of the Worlds best and a two day build, but you may have to wait until 2002 before you see it. Watch these pages for the latest information.
9th September 2001 - A thank you to Channel 4 and RDF television !
I would like to say thank you to both Channel 4 and RDF for including my website within the official links section of their brand new series-4 Scrapheap website.
31st August 2001 - SCRAPHEAP IS BACK !
The C4 chat forum received a posting tonight from the TV guys themselves. SCRAPHEAP IS BACK !
The entry read ........
It's back - Scrapheap's new series
posted by Channel 4 - Dan
on 19:34 31/8/2001
A brand new series of TV's number-one engineering
game show,
Scrapheap Challenge,
kicks off on 9th September 2001 at 6pm on Channel 4 UK television.
Presenters Robert Llewellyn and Cathy Rogers will be putting the
various mechanical creations to the test.
Tune in, watch the challenges and see the excitement spill over on to
this site.
I understand that the first program on Sunday 9th September 2001 at 6.00pm see the Dirty Dancers take on their opposition Storm Force. Oh, and yes Robert and Cathy are still your presenters. Have fun watching, I know I will.
previous period September 2000 to August 2001
next period April to December 2002
return to The Steve G Scrapheap Homepage