Name: Operation Junkyard
Genre: Family, Action & Adventure, Reality
Released: 2002-10-01
Rating: 4.5

Overview

Operation Junkyard debuted in fall 2002 as part of the Discovery Kids Saturday morning programming schedule. Essentially a spin-off of TLC's popular series Junkyard Wars, OP/JY featured teams of teens that were challenged to build gadgets out of junk in six hours. Teams featured on the show include the Rummaging Robots and Jurassic Junkers, and the teams were tasked to build gadgets like water bailing machines, mud scooters, and remote control battleships. At the beginning of each show the challenge of the day was revealed and teams attempted to collect "bodgits" by completing small challenges. "Bodgits" were helpful advantages that teams could earn, including time with the on-set engineer or special parts for use in their build.

Seasons

Season 1

12 Episodes

2002

E01

Cannon

10/5/2002·30m

A real blast! Kids love to knock things down, which makes this a slammin' game. Teams have to build a cannon powerful enough to knock a junkyard dog from a foam brick wall. No explosives are allowed, so springs, rubber bands and ingenuity must win the game. The teams were The Junkyard Jugglers(Blue Team) and The Renegade Recyclers(Red Team). The winners of this challenge were The Blue Team.

E02

Water Bailer

10/12/2002·30m

Sink or swim! The junketeers have to build an automatic bailing machine. Each team's boat will have the same amount and size of holes, plugged by rubber stops. At test time, the stops are pulled out and the boat starts filling up with water. Whose boat will stay afloat the longest? The most effective bailing machine, that keeps its boat floating the longest, wins.

E03

Water Bike

10/19/2002·30m

Why walk on water when you can bike? Teams must build a bike that can travel on water. The test for this challenge is a relay race across a pool. The first team to win the relay, on what must be the fastest bike, wins the challenge and moves on to the next round.

E04

Catapult

10/26/2002·30m

It's time to make a mess! The teams have to build a device that can shoot mud-filled balloons. Each team gets 10 mud bombs to shoot at a mud pie. They're are allowed to change machine settings, but not move them. The team landing the most mud bombs wins!

E05

Baseball Pitcher

11/2/2002·30m

This time, the All-Star Game has a winner! Teams have to build machines to pitch to a major league player. Each team will get 15 balls, each of which has to be hurled toward the plate and counted by the umpire as a pitch. If possible, the player must try to hit it. To do this, the ball will have to pass through a square frame that indicates its accuracy and ability to be called a good strike. Extra points come if the team manages to ""throw"" three good pitches that the player is unable to hit (like, as in Major League Baseball, pitching him out).

E06

Master Water Blaster

12/7/2002·30m

It's a gusher! Watch out, 'cause these water guns make store-bought super soakers look like little squirts! The teams will design and build mega super soakers to battle the opposing team. The winner will be determined by the amount of measured water the teams use in a 10-minute battle.

E07

Go-Cart

12/14/2002·30m

Wheeling and dealing! The teams get enough junk to build go-karts, but whose design will be fastest and handle best? Each team will get the same lawn mower engine. The team's driver must weigh within five pounds of the other ... the rest is left to the team's design and building expertise and to the skill of the driver. - Contributor: weathrboy Both teams are to build go-karts. Problems arise on the Red Team with fitting the chain at the right length, easily solved with the Engineer Clint. Two minutes before preparation time ends, the steering handle breaks off, another problem for the red team. The Blue Team appears to be cruising with ease when a problem with weight bending the frame causes slack on the chain. An extra cog is added to remedy the problem, but they only get the job half done when time runs out. During the race, both teams appear to be moving efficiently. Blue team has a problem switching drivers because of the steering wheel being too close to the petals.

E08

Mechanical Crane

1/4/2003·30m

Ever wanted to win one of those stuffed toys at the bowling alley in the mechanical ""Grab and Get"" machines? Well these teams get the chance to practice a little. They have to build a mechanical hand, which a team member will operate. The challenge: Lift various objects from one crate and deposit them in another crate five feet away. Each team will have an equal number of objects to move. The first team to move all objects, or the team with the most objects moved, wins the game. Contributor: Thats_Good_Eatin The objective is to build cranes and have 10 minutes to move the 15 objects from one crate to another. The red team wins 10 minutes of design time while the blue team only gets 5. The blue team argues over the crane's design. Red team's problem comes to that they haven't settled on an idea for the base. At the last minutes, Red Team struggles with the grabber. Blue is coasting smoothly until they argue again on the claw's design. Red team is proud of finishing one second e

E09

Ice Drag Racer

1/11/2003·30m

Get bundled up for this challenge! The teams have to build machines that actually race on ice, powered by a team member. They've got to build slippery speed demons to compete in a relay race. The most effective machine that can maneuver around the course and make it across the finish line first wins the game. Contributor: Thats_Good_Eatin State The teams are to build ice drag racing machines. The race will be relays on ice. Both teams win 10 minutes of design time. The machines must be human powered and can only have one wheel. Blue team has trouble thinking of a design while the Red Team quickly comes up with one, using a bike frame. The Blue Team also decides on using the bike frame. Both teams use skies for stability, the difference is the Red Team puts the skies in the back while the Blue Team places along the entire frame. The Red Team adds spikes to the wheel for traction; the Blue Team uses snow chains. Blue Team eventually find the spikes and add them too and use a s

E10

Mud Scooter

1/18/2003·30m

Let's get down and dirty! The teams have six hours to build a scooter that will travel over grass and mud. They will compete in a relay race against each other over a track that runs from dry grass to very wet mud. The first team to complete the relay race wins. Contributor: Thats_Good_Eatin To build off road motor scooters in 6 hours is the goal. Team to travel furthest wins. The engine is provided, everything else is up to the teams to build. Red team gets 15 minutes design time while the Blue Team gets zero (0). Building, Red Team uses a large wheel in the front and puts the battery in the front also, but the Blue Team uses a smaller wheel in the front and places the battery in the back. Red Team is hard at work while the Blue Team is relaxing and slacking off, sitting down and eating ice cream. Blue Team solves all their problems of attaching things with duct tape. Red Team is at full efficiency but the Blue Team actually finishes early. In the race, Red Team leads with Blu

E11

Pie-Filling Machine

1/25/2003·30m

Who doesn't love pie?! Well, these teams have the chance to make a whole lot of them â€“ although not quite in a conventional way. They have to build a machine that will fill pie crusts and top them with whipped cream. The machines must fit over a conveyer belt. The team that fills the most pies most fully in 15 minutes wins. Contributor: Thats_Good_Eatin State Pie filling machines is the objective. Both teams get limited ingredients and have requirements for each pie, which are junkyard slick, 1 junkmallow, 1 junky worm for each pie. One team member is the human conveyer belt, while the two others pull them back and forth along the track and the last member operates the machine. Blue Team gets 15 minutes design time while the Red Team gets 20 minutes. Blue Team decides on a design to put all 3 ingredients from 3 funnels into 1 big funnel with release mechanisms to regulate the ingredients, while the Red Team focuses on filling 2 pies at once with the ingredients releasing separately

E12

Battleship

2/15/2003·30m

Full steam ahead! Finalists must design and build a ship that they can manipulate via a remote control unit (provided). Each battleship has to have a weapon on board, whether a battering ram or a cannon. The ships do battle aboard a real live battleship, the U.S.S. Nimitz, and the team that can sink the opponent's ship fastest, wins. Contributor: Thats_Good_Eatin The mission is to build battleships to sink the opponent's flag ship. The reward is glass trophies for each person (both teams), gold dog tags (both teams), and the winner's names are put on the Operation Junkyard trophy. Both teams are given (no contest) 15 minutes engineering time. At first, both teams are unsure of their designs as they have difficulty explaining their ideas but settle on a catamaran design with a flat frame, allowing weapons to be built onto the ship. Blue team's saw makes the battleship's front too heavy, a problem they need to solve. Blue Team's weapons consist of a miniature rake (""The Rake of Doom""