International Wreck Crew

"We just had to kick ass"

- Mike Onslow on the team's goals

The International Wreck Crew (or the Plunderbird boys, as they were simply known) were responsible for the creation of the series of Plunderbird robots that were entered into Robot Wars through Series 1 to 5.

The team were famous for their striking demeanour, although behind the tough talking and bravado, they were one of the more sporting teams of the sport, who tended to be more concerned about their image than their robot's performance, example in Series 4, the team arrived with their robot, Plunderbird 4, in a Chinook helicopter.

Despite their light-hearted attitude, the team were not unsuccessful, being awarded the Best Design trophy in Series 1 for their robot Plunderbird 1 and receiving the Sportsmanship award in Series 2 for their entertaining of the audience with their 'tough guy' attitude and their fearless aggression toward the house robots. Plunderbird 2 also reached the Semi-Finals of the Second Wars, only just losing out to Haardvark in the Gauntlet stage.

The name International Wreck Crew was a pun on International Rescue, the rescue organisation in the television show Thunderbirds, after which the robots are also named. The team also competed in the 2001 edition of Techno Games with a walking robot named Junior, claiming the bronze medal in the Lightweight Sprint with the intention of building a bigger version of Junior for Robot Wars.

Image
"It's about time you pair of girlies got yourself a decent hard image"

- Mike Onslow taunts the Sir Chromalot team

The team were famous for their image, arriving in numerous different ways, clad in khaki clothing and sunglasses, which they admitted made it hard to see.

The team fought two grudge matches during Extreme 1 with the Sir Chromalot and Mega Morg teams. The grudge with Sir Chromalot related to the teams' mutual entertainment value and a staged feud as to which was the better entertainers. The battle with Mega Morg regarded which of the teams was the better singers, both having sung previously during the wars (see below). The fight with Mega Morg resulted in a victory for the Plunderbird team, while they lost against Sir Chromalot.

The International Wreck Crew even took the time to write their own entrance theme (in Series 2), their own rap song (in Series 3) and then two another jingles in Series 4 and Extreme 1.

"Our strength has gone, the power packs depleted. Then the mercy of their foe will surely be defeated. With ball and chain, hammer and saw, metal is destroyed. Cryo circuits torn apart, cast into the wind. Mechanical minds that have no soul and machines that have no fear. Metallic monsters fight it out, Judgement Day draws near. As the world spins to its doom, towards the end of time. The earth is silent once again, from mankind's dirty crime."

- The Series 2 Theme Song

"We are the Wreck Crew and we're here to tell you, we're gonna bash them, we're gonna trash them, in the wars you know we're gonna thrash them, the forecast's bad, you'd better get runnin', it's gonna be tough - there's a Plunderstorm comin! There's danger in the air, so you'd better take care, the crew is back and we're gonna attack, we're comin' for you down in the arena, ain't nobody ever gonna be meaner! Your dreams will be gone, but we don't care, we just carry on, we'll always be there, we never give up or run away, cos the Wrecking Crew is here to stay! We spell trouble with a capital 'T', so don't go takin' no liberty, if you think you're tough, then be our guest, 'cos we are the best, we destroy the rest, The metal monster is big and mean, no-one inside, it's just a machine, shows no fear, will not surrender, so you'd better get ready for a fender bender!"

- The Series 3 rap

"Shout out loud, make lots of noise! There's damage to be done by the Plunderbird boys! Gonna stamp on you, gonna hit you hard! Gonna send your robot to the breaker's yard! What's the word? PLUNDERBIRD!!"

- The Series 4 Song

"We're big boys, we build big toys, we're handy with a spanner, if it don't work we go berserk and hit it with a hammer! We took six months to build it, when we got there it won't go, now we've got to fix it, five minutes before the show! 'Ave you got a srimech? Course we 'ave? We all love our robots, they're shiny and they're clean, but when they're in the arena, they're nasty and they're mean! We're big boys, we build big toys, we're handy with a spanner, if it don't work we go berserk and hit it with a hammer! We're all nice and friendly, when we're in the pits, but when we're in the arena, we smash each other to bits! 'Ave you got a srimech? Course we 'ave!"

- The Extreme 1 Song

After Robot Wars
After their Series 5 defeat, Mike Onslow and Bryan Kilburn, what was left of the team, retired from Robot Wars. However, Onslow and Kilburn continued to use Plunderbird 4 in live events (as Plunderbird 5 had been damaged beyond repair), with some degree of success, before later deciding to retire it for good. Since then, Onslow and Kilburn have brought the shells of their remaining Plunderbird machines for display purposes to certain Robotic fighting events. They continue to do this today, most recently coming along to the 2011 UK Championships with Plunderbirds 2 and 4, as well as the cutting disc weapon pod used on Plunderbird 1.

Trivia

 * International Wreck Crew are one of five teams to win more than one award, the others being Team Mace, Team Nemesis, Team Razer and The Pneumatic Fanatics (if the unseen Best Costume Award given to The Steel Avenger in Robot Wars Extreme 1 is included).

Wins/Losses

 * UK Wins: 5
 * UK Losses: 8
 * US Wins: 0
 * US Losses: 1

Series Record

 * Series 1: Heat, Gauntlet with Plunderbird 1
 * Series 2: Semi-Finals, Gauntlet with Plunderbird 2
 * Series 3: Heat, Round 1 with Plunderstorm
 * Series 4: Heat, Round 2 with Plunderbird 4
 * Series 5: Heat, Round 1 with Plunderbird 5
 * Series 6-7: Did not enter