Dantomkia

Dantomkia was an unusually shaped robot from Surrey that competed in the sixth and seventh series of Robot Wars. Basically a box-wedge in design, the tips of the wedge stuck out fairly significantly to form two large chisel spike-wedges. By rearing back on its pneumatic rear castor, Dantomkia could spin rapidly on the spot (at 450 rpm), using these chisels to cut into opponents. Dantomkia's main weapon, however, was a powerful full pressure flipping arm closing to opening in less than a 25th of a second with two tonnes of pressure. This flipper saw Dantomkia through to the semi-finals of both series it competed in, was fast, agile, reliable, hard-hitting ("a proven track record for its design and construction" as Jonathan Pearce summarised) and quick at 20mph but the driver suffered from nerves from time-to-time and was fearful of spinners hence the re-armoured front in Series 7. The Dantomkia from Series 6 was Dantomkia Mk 3, and Dantomkia from Series 7 was Mk 4, the same version which continues to fight to this day. Dantomkia was created by Michael Lambert. He gave it its unusual name after his three children, Daniel, Thomas and Kiara. Dantomkia won the Most Promising Newcomer award in Series 6 and also holds the record for flipping other robots out of the arena, with a total of ten opponents defeated this way. Perhaps ironically, one of these robots was the original record holder, Chaos 2, who was also the first to perform the action. Dantomkia also broke Cerberus's long standing Shortest Battle Record, after flipping IG-88 out of the arena in approximately 8 seconds. Ironically, Dantomkia's record was broken in its very next battle, as it was thrown out itself in less than 6 seconds by the Dutch robot Gravity, who, even more ironically, had based its weapon system on Dantomkia itself.

The original Dantomkia (known in modern day as Dantomkia 1.0) was little more than a body with the two cutting wedges attached. It failed to qualify for Series 4, as its qualifier battle with Anorakaphobia, which also failed to qualify, was deemed to be boring, despite Dantomkia winning the battle. Because of this, Mike Lambert endeavored to create a new version of Dantomkia. "Basically I took 3 of the best robot designs ( weapons : Bigger Brother, shape : Firestorm and build strength : Dantomkia ) and combined them all into one new robot."

- Mike Lambert

During a relaxing session in the pub with Ian Watts from Bigger Brother and Sam Smith from Tiberius, Ian Watts explained to Mike Lambert the working of Bigger Brother's flipper, so Mike Lambert decided to use a flipper.

Series 6
Dantomkia’s first battle in Robot Wars was against Doctor Fist, Mr Nasty, and Crushtacean. "If you were to ask me for a favourite for this four way melee, this would be the one."

- Jonathan Pearce before the melee

After it slammed Doctor Fist into the wall, Doctor Fist stopped moving. Dantomkia then used its flipper to place Crushtacean and Mr. Nasty up against the wall. Although it couldn’t flip either one out of the arena, Mr. Nasty had broken down, sending Dantomkia through. Dantomkia dominated in its second match against Mighty Mouse, flipping the mouse-like robot repeatedly. It eventually got Mighty Mouse stuck sideways on the disc button, but Refbot freed it. The robots charged into each other and Mighty Mouse flew up Dantomkia’s wedge, landing stuck on its side. Dantomkia shoved Mighty Mouse over to the arena wall, where Mighty Mouse became the first of many robots that Dantomkia would flip out of the arena. Dantomkia faced an intimidating heat final, against two-time champion Chaos 2. "I'm going to go with the new kids on the block, Dantomkia."

- Craig Charles backs Dantomkia in the heat final

Indeed, Chaos 2 began by flipping Dantomkia high into the air, but Dantomkia landed right side up. It then pushed Chaos 2 into the CPZ, where Chaos 2 flipped it again. The force of the flip was so great that both robots ended up on their backs. Dantomkia managed to self right, but Chaos 2 was having difficulty getting back onto its wheels after being pushed into a CPZ by Shunt and was also appearing to have some problems with its CO2 system in this state. By this point, Chaos 2 was in real danger and Dantomkia confirmed this by charging it and flipping it out of the arena, ending the hopes of the previous champions in a major upset.

In the Series Semi-Finals, Dantomkia’s first battle saw it go up against the number 7 seeds S3. In the battle, Dantomkia tried to get underneath S3, but S3 was low enough to prevent Dantomkia from doing so. Dantomkia did manage to get under S3, but S3’s odd shape allowed it to slide right off. Dantomkia then drove itself under an angle grinder and couldn’t free itself. S3 capitalised on this opportunity and struck Dantomkia’s rear with its flywheel. Refbot freed Dantomkia from the wall, but S3’s attack had immobilised Dantomkia and it was subsequently counted out. In the losers’ melee, Dantomkia faced 13 Black and the 9th seeds Wild Thing 2. It flipped Wild Thing 2 once before taking a glancing blow from 13 Black. It then got underneath 13 Black and, while it couldn’t get it out of the arena, it did manage to flip it over. Dantomkia then hit the pit release at the exact moment that Wild Thing 2 was driving over the pit. Wild Thing 2 couldn’t get away from the descending pit in time, so it went out. 13 Black meanwhile, was still on its back but managed to achieve mobility by shuffling around with its discs. The two robots began spinning round and round in a bizarre sort of dance, before Dantomkia tried and failed again to flip 13 Black out of the arena. 13 Black landed on its wheels and shoved Dantomkia into an angle grinder. Just like in its match against S3, Dantomkia was stuck, so the house robots freed it. Dantomkia flipped 13 Black once more just before time ran out. Since 13 Black and Dantomkia were both mobile, the judges were called upon to make a decision, and they ruled that Dantomkia would move on to the next round. It then fought Razer, the defending champion. Razer moved in quickly and grabbed hold of Dantomkia, but it was able to break free. Dantomkia then went on the offensive and pushed Razer across the arena and into the arena wall. Razer grabbed Dantomkia again but was unable to cause any major damage to the outer shell. Razer then attacked the front of Dantomkia and finally pierced through the armour of its opponent, but Dantomkia broke free and pushed Razer into the CPZ. Both robots were mobile at the end of the battle and the judges went for Razer, putting an end to Dantomkia's run. It still completely outshone any other newcomers, and this was shown in its winning of the Most Promising Newcomer award.

Extreme 2
Dantomkia competed in the All-Stars tournament in Extreme 2. In its first match, it teamed up with Tornado to gang up on Terrorhurtz. Tornado pushed Terrorhurtz into a wall and Dantomkia attempted to flip the axe robot out of the arena, nearly succeeding in doing so. The robots spent the rest of the match pushing Terrorhurtz into corners and walls. Terrorhurtz tried to fight back, but didn’t gain any purchase. Eventually, it got flipped over by Shunt and didn’t have the power left to self-right, so Dantomkia pushed it into the pit. It was up against Firestorm 4 in the next round who flipped it repeatedly until its safety link fell out of the back. Firestorm 4 then pushed it into the pit of oblivion.

Dantomkia also entered the Challenge Belt competition. It dominated its opening match, flipping Hypno-Disc out of the arena almost immediately. Mr. Psycho pinned it in the CPZ for a while, but eventually let it go. Dantomkia flipped S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Sir Chromalot a few times, eventually propping S.M.I.D.S.Y. up against the wall. It then pushed Sir Chromalot into a CPZ, where Matilda finished it off by flinging it out of the arena with her flywheel. Dantomkia then managed to flip S.M.I.D.S.Y. out of the arena, although this was not shown on the televised version. Dantomkia easily flipped out Iron-Awe 2 in the semi-final, allowing it to face Terrorhurtz in the final. Dantomkia found it difficult to get under Terrorhurtz’s skirts and its inability to do so left it vulnerable to Terrorhurtz’s axe blows. It did manage to flip Terrorhurtz, but Terrorhurtz effortlessly self righted with its axe. Terrorhurtz came back on the attack, and smashed Dantomkia’s top until it stopped moving, taking Dantomkia out of the running for the Challenge Belt.

Series 7
Dantomkia was seeded fifth in Series 7. In its first match, it immediately flipped Hassocks Hog 2 over before attempting to flip Rick out of the arena. It then planted King B Powerworks on an angle grinder momentarily, before flipping Rick and King B Powerworks a few more times. Rick flipped it over, but it self righted and attempted again to flip Rick out of the arena. All the robots except Hassocks Hog 2 were still mobile, so the judges had to make the decision, and they ruled than Dantomkia and King B Powerworks had qualified. Dantomkia’s next match was against Scorpion. Dantomkia immediately got underneath Scorpion and pushed it over to the wall. It almost flipped Scorpion out of the arena, but the arena lighting was in the way, and blocked Scorpion from exiting the arena. Unfazed, Dantomkia pushed Scorpion into a corner and successfully lifted it out of the arena. Dantomkia was through to the heat final, where it met IG-88. All Dantomkia had to do was get under IG-88, charge over to the wall, and flick it out. This match lasted only eight seconds, but surprisingly, it was not Dantomkia’s shortest battle in Robot Wars. "I nearly passed out after our fight. I was worried so much that I had more than my normal high adrenaline level and after the fight it all let go. Luckily I didn't puke..."

- Mike Lambert in a comment to Paul Rose, captain of IG-88

In the semi-final, Dantomkia was swiftly eliminated when Gravity flipped it out of the arena just six seconds after the match began. This was the shortest battle ever in the history of Robot Wars. Dantomkia returned for the All-Stars, as a "filler robot". This was because many of the robots that fit the All-Stars criteria were unavailable. In the first round, Dantomkia shone. It rammed Behemoth into the side wall, failing to get beneath the scoop, but managed to reach the rear. Dantomkia then rammed Behemoth into the side wall and threw the series 2 semi-finalists out of the arena. Moving on, Dantomkia found a new target in King B Powerworks, whom it separated from Pussycat. King B Powerworks struggled, until glancing blows from Pussycat caused resistance to vanish. Dantomkia then charged towards the opposite wall from where the motionless Behemoth lay, throwing King B Powerworks from the arena. This put Dantomkia through to fight Panic Attack. Here, Panic Attack managed to hold off Dantomkia for a short time, but was flipped over. Dantomkia patiently waited for some signs of self-righting, but when none came, Dantomkia threw the former champions out of the arena. "...is this necessary? Is this wise?"

- Jonathan Pearce on Dantomkia's attack on the House Robots

Dantomkia then assaulted and defeated both Dead Metal and Growler, by flipping Dead Metal onto Growler, effectively pinning both robots down. Dantomkia then activated the pit, but cease was called before further action. This put Dantomkia through to fight Pussycat in the All-Stars Final. After dominating the earlier stages of the fight; surviving Pussycat's blade and almost throwing it from the arena. However, Pussycat landed a deadly blow on Dantomkia's aerial, immobilising it. This unanticipated turn of events showed Pussycat managing to hook Dantomkia and drag it into the pit release. Pussycat was then attacked by House Robots, and in the confusion, Dantomkia and Pussycat were both pitted. Pussycat was named as All-Stars Champion, and Dantomkia placed second.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 12
 * Losses: 6

Series Record

 * Series 1-3: Did not enter
 * Series 4: Failed to qualify
 * Series 5: Did not enter
 * Series 6: Semi-Finals, Round 2
 * Series 7: Semi-Finals, Round 1

Robot Wars Live Events
Dantomkia made its first appearance at the new Robot Wars live events in Colchester in April 2013 under the ownership of Team Batter.

Spitfire made its UK début at the Robot Wars live event in Guildford in June 2013, where it faced Dantomkia amongst other robots.

Outside Robot Wars
Dantomkia Mk2 was built at the original 80KG weight limit to compete on the live event circuit. The team joined forces with The Lancaster Bombers who built Wolverine and rebuilt this incarnation into Spitfire for Season 5.0 of BattleBots. Spitfire was nearly identical in design to Dantomkia Mk3, but narrower at the rear. It had less CO2 but more armour, as out-of-the-arena flips were not possible in BattleBots. It could also spin on the spot faster than its successor could at 600 rpm. It beat four opponents, including Vlad The Impaler 2, before losing to Surgeon General. Contractual obligations to Battlebots forced a new incarnation to be built for Robot Wars.

In 2013, Spitfire, still in the hands of Gareth Dean from Team Lancaster Bombers, made its UK debut at Robot Wars Guildford 2013.

In 2006, Mike Lambert sold Dantomkia Mk4 to Team Batter. Under their wing, this Dantomkia won the annihilator at the 2006 UK Championships, finished fourth at the UK Championships in 2007 and was runner-up at the 2008 UK Champs. In December 2009, Dantomkia was sold to Team Cylon, before being re-sold back to Team Batter. In order to avoid confusion with Mike's new Mk5, Dantomkia Mk4 has been renamed to DTK, the same as the teams once successful featherweight.



Mike Lambert & Karoline Pannell of Team Torque began building a stronger and more powerful Mk5 in late 2012, with the intention of entering the new live Robot Wars Events. The machine was finished and painted in September 2013, and competed for the first time in the 2013 European Championships, losing in its heat to Terrorhurtz.

Dantomkia Mk3, now an empty chassis, is used for static display & publicity purposes.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Dantomkia/Pullback

Trivia

 * Dantomkia was one of nine robots to compete in BattleBots.
 * It competed in Heat C in both its main series appearances and won both after flipping both its heat semi-final and heat final opponents out of the arena. Interestingly it also lost the first round of the semi finals both times, the only difference being Series 6 had a loser's melee and Series 7 did not.
 * Dantomkia was the fifth (and last) robot to flip two robots out of the Arena in one battle.
 * For some reason, the Robot Wars announcer, Stuart McDonald, had trouble pronouncing Dantomkia correctly (DAN-tom-kee-a). He instead pronounced it in a variety of incorrect ways (such as Dan-TOMA-ky-a and Dan-TOM-kee-a).
 * According to Mike Lambert, Dantomkia is female.

Debut similarity with S3

 * S3 and Dantomkia had a very similar debut season.
 * Both robots debuted into Heat C, reaching the heat final and overcoming the fifth seed (Stinger for S3, and Chaos 2 for Dantomkia).
 * Both lost in the first round of the Semi-Finals (ironically, it was S3 who defeated Dantomkia).
 * Both won a loser's melee against Wild Thing and another robot.
 * Both were then defeated by Razer, who qualified for the Grand Final.
 * Both were nominated for "Most Promising Newcomer"