Dantomkia

Dantomkia is a competitor robot from Surrey that fought in Series 6 and 7 of Robot Wars as well as the 2016 series. Originally built and entered by Michael Lambert as part of Team Dantomkia, it was subsequently bought by Wolverhampton-based Team S.Tek for its entry into the 2016 series, and was named after Lambert's three children, Daniel, Thomas and Kiara.

Dantomkia enjoyed a considerable amount of success, reaching the Semi-Finals in Series 6 and Series 7 and the Heat Final in the 2016 series. It also won the Most Promising Newcomer award in Series 6 and is the current record holder for flipping the most robots out of the arena, defeating nine robots this way in addition to another which was not televised. 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 in Series 7, after flipping IG-88 out of the arena in approximately eight seconds, which was ironically broken in its next battle after being thrown out by Dutch competitor Gravity in six seconds.

Design
Dantomkia is a tall, boxy bi-wedge shaped robot painted yellow and black and armed with a narrow pnuematic flipper. The flipper could fire with two tonnes of pressure and in less than one twenty-fifth of a second, and was inspired by the weapons system of Bigger Brother (see below) and helped to inspire the pneumatics system for the Series 7 version of Gravity. The front wedges were chisel-shaped so that when Dantomkia reared back on its retractable rear castor - intended to keep the robot's ground clearance low to the floor - they could cause gashes in other opponents when Dantomkia spun on the spot at 450rpm in Series 6-7. Dantomkia immediately proved fast, agile, reliable and hard-hitting in its first series appearances ("a proven track record for its design and construction" as Jonathan Pearce summarised), helped by its top speed of 20mph and a flipper that was reliable and capable of flipping other opponents out with ease. However, Michael Lambert was known to suffer from nerves from time to time and was fearful of spinners hence the re-armoured front in Series 7. Additionally, Dantomkia's wedges were prone to getting wedged underneath angle grinders and the Disc of Doom, and its aerial was susceptible to being dislodged, which contributed to many of its defeats. The Dantomkia from Series 6 was known as Dantomkia Mk 3, and Dantomkia from Series 7 was referred to as Dantomkia Mk 4.

Dantomkia Mk5 was built in 2013, but sold to Team S.Tek in 2015, who upgraded the machine further when the new series was announced. Its armour now consists of tank-grade steel, its weight has been increased from 96kg to 108kg, and the robot can now spin at up to 500RPM on the spot. Team S.Tek's logo replaces the classic bulldog design on the robot, and the robot's name is also no longer present on the paintjob.

Qualification
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 endeavoured 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.

Dantomkia had managed to stand Iron-Awe 2.0 onto it rear in its Series 6 qualifier, overturning Maximus and beating Destruct-A-Bubble after flipping it around until cease was called. Dantomkia won the battle and qualified for Series 6.

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, referring to Dantomkia 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. "Dantomkia through to the Series Semis. What a performance, what a machine! This could go all the way."

- Jonathan Pearce after Dantomkia flips Chaos 2 out of the arena

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. "Dantomkia looks much stronger now, don't you agree?"

- Jonathan Pearce

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. "This is your first foray in Robot Wars and you got so far!"

- Craig Charles after the Judges' Decision

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, as Dantomkia's flipper had lost full power. 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. In the second round, Dantomkia faced Firestorm 4. Dantomkia's ground clearance was inferior, and Firestorm pushed it into a CPZ straight away and flipped it against the wall. After self-righting repeatedly, Dantomkia escaped, and managed to flip Firestorm over in the centre of the arena. However this proved to be Dantomkia's only attack, as Firestorm regained the lead, throwing Dantomkia into another CPZ, where it received damage from Shunt. Dantomkia had lost power to its batteries, and when Firestorm threw Dantomkia onto the arena wall, it self-righted and became completely immobile. Dantomkia was counted out by Refbot, and was pitted, putting it out of the All-Stars. 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."On cue, the second battle in this, the first semi-finals. Dantomkia! Ha ha ha! Over and out! Simple as that! How quick was that done?"

- Jonathan Pearce's entire commentary during the match.

Dantomkia returned for the All-Stars, as a "filler robot", because many of the robots that fit the All-Stars criteria (fighting in five wars or more) 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.

2016 Series
Dantomkia competed in Episode 3, where it was once again placed in a first-round melee with King Buxton, as well as newcomers Glitterbomb and Overdozer. It was entered by Team S.Tek, who decorated their bench in the pits with various graphics, Dantomkia pullbacks, and Dantomkia emitted smoke as special effects.

Although Dantomkia started tentatively, sustaining an axe blow from Glitterbomb, it got into the action when it overturned Glitterbomb in a CPZ. Leaving it with King B Remix, Dantomkia attacked the already defeated Overdozer, tossing it into the air, removing wood from the robot. Dantomkia returned to Glitterbomb and flipped it again, this time immobilising the pink robot. The victorious Dantomkia flipped Overdozer again, tossing its MDF high off the ground, and qualified alongside King B Remix. It was later revealed that Overdozer's spike had pierced Dantomkia's steel armour by landing on it after a flip.

In its first head-to-head, Dantomkia fought King B for the fourth time in Robot Wars history. King Buxton Team had signed a panel of Dantomkia's armour before the battle bagan, which Dara Ó Briain used to create a grudge scenario. "They creeped in to sign it, and they're going out of the arena for it now!"

- Stuart Barnwell

Although Dantomkia's start was imperfect, being slammed by King B Remix and getting caught on a raised arena spike, although Dantomkia quickly turned the battle around, sliding underneath King B Remix and throwing it into the arena wall. Narrowly failing to throw another robot out of the arena, King B Remix remained stuck, and Dantomkia kept its distance, satisfied with its victory despite the earlier claim that King B Remix would be thrown into the trench. Matilda instead did the honours, while Dantomkia lifted Dead Metal. "Great performance by Dantomkia, showed perfect control, precision, great aggression, and the way they it flipped it in behind the tyre, they couldn't have done better!"

- Professor Noel Sharkey

Dantomkia next fought fellow flipper, TR2. The high ground clearance of Dantomkia was quickly exposed, and it was thrown into the arena wall by TR2. Self-righting high into the air, Dantomkia was thrown once more, before landing a flip of its own on TR2. When Dantomkia was flipped again, its flipper became stuck open when self-righting, causing a gas leak when it was thrown over for the last time. Dantomkia was rendered immobile, and sustained a glancing blow from TR2's axe. Unable to find the source of the error, Shane Swan hit his robot with a hammer in anger. On a total of three points, Dantomkia needed to defeat Big Nipper in order to qualify for the Heat Final. Team S.Tek's strategy was to make full use of the House Robots, and they flipped Big Nipper around in Sir Killalot's CPZ, where the house robot held its prey over the flame pit. After keeping Big Nipper in this area for a while, Dantomkia sustained a big hit from the spinner which removed the end of its flipper. Back in Sir Killalot's CPZ, Dantomkia launched Big Nipper high into the air, and then pushed it towards Dead Metal, although took damage from another big spinner blow. Cease was called, and the Judges decided the outcome, which was a unanimous vote in favour of Dantomkia. In the Heat Final, Dantomkia fought a rematch with TR2. Although Dantomkia flipped TR2 after the latter was thrown by the floor flipper, its performance was otherwise unimproved, straying too near Matilda, which buffeted the side of Dantomkia. Thrown over by TR2 again, Dantomkia was pushed towards Matilda again, which landed another heavy blow. This dislodged Dantomkia's flipper, affecting its self-righting, while gas leaked again. Dantomkia employed a sit-and-spin tactic, but when pushed onto the floor flipper, Dantomkia was thrown over, and could not self-right, being thrown into the arena wall one last time before cease was called. After the battle, Shane Swan gave Team Toon the thumbs down, and insulted their robot, but still performed the team's signature pose at Dara Ó Briain's request. "It's a boring doorstop, look at it, how did that win?"

- Shane Swan on TR2

Although Dantomkia was defeated at this stage, it remained in contention for a wildcard, alongside Behemoth, Thor, Storm 2 and Gabriel. However, Thor was chosen, and Dantomkia was fully eliminated from the competition.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 15
 * Losses: 8

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
 * 2016 Series: Heat Final
 * 2017 Series: Did not enter

Team S.Tek also participated in Extreme 2 with Hell's Teeth, and Series 7 with Trax.

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. It took part in the events competition where it faced Iron-Awe 5 and Eruption in the heats, but it didn't make much of an impact on the other two robots and fell at this stage. It also took part at Guildford 2013 where it fought in the competition and faced The Steel Avenger, Manta & St Hammer. Here it did slightly better until it got immobilised in the last seconds of the fight and lost a body panel. In the Robot Wars UK Championships at Newport 2013, it did well in the heats finishing second in its fight against Iron-Awe 5, Titan & Noisy Cricket, but lost again. It did better in the Robot Wars Winter Tour 2013 under the name of DTK. It fell in the Primary heats against Eruption and St Hammer, but won its Secondary heat against Dystopia & Tanto. This gave DTK enough points to qualify for the finals at Gloucester but it made little impact in the quarter-finals and lost against St Hammer.

Spitfire made its UK début at the Robot Wars live event in Guildford in June 2013, where it faced Dantomkia amongst other robots. In the main competition of Guildford, it faced Toon Raider & Titan, but it fell at this stage when it was flipped over and couldn't right itself.

DTK is now owned by John Findlay. DTK participated in the Robot Wars World Championship, held at Colchester in 2015. DTK fought Apex, Titan and Manta, but was thrown out of the arena by Manta within the opening stages.

DTK has attended every live tour of 2016 so far as an extra feature for VIP ticket holders, who are allowed to drive DTK after the show has concluded.

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 the original series of 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. Team Hydra sold it back to John Bell who then renamed it in order to avoid confusion with Mike's new Mk5. Dantomkia Mk4 was renamed to DTK, the same as the team's once successful featherweight. John Bell retired from roboteering entirely in late 2014 and donated DTK to John Findlay.



Mike Lambert & Karoline Denisha of Team Torque built 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. As of November 2015, this version of Dantomkia is now acquired by Shane Swan, and it is this version which competed during the 2016 Series.

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

After the 2016 Series, in October, Team S-Tek made a Facebook message saying that Dantomkia has been sold on once again, with the new owners yet to publicly reveal themselves.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Dantomkia/Pullback

Trivia
"Scorpions disk is very powerful. It's based on a cars flywheel and stores massive amounts of energy. Its not to be taken lightly. Also, Scorpion was well built and well driven by a team who know how to deliver their killer blow. If memory serves me I put them out at the same place that I put Chaos II. As much as I like S.M.I.D.S.Y I didnt rate the disk as any posibility of damage. It's far too small to be able to get a decent bite. Other than that their machine was first rate. The best that it could do was cosmetic damage. Hypno Disk on the other hand had a weapon that can not only hurt but do some serious damage. It was never going to get through to the inner workings of Dantomkia but its damage potential was real and I treated it with great respect. IG-88, well that was a new robot for me. I had seen its disk in an earlier fight but I knew that if I took it head on then it had no chance to damage Dantomkia but if I got it wrong then it was good night from us. Mind you, out of all the spinners that I have fought (inc battlebots) IG-88 is the one that caused the worst damage. As it went over the arena wall its disk hit the tip of Dantomkias flipper and sent a surge through the radio interface electronics and fried a load of relays and their driver ccts. This plagued us for the rest of that RobotWars series. The weapon often wouldnt work, relays would jam or refuse to operate and even the Radio Control deadband would drift. Unfortunately I didnt have a spare set of electronics with me so I had to use what I had. I feel guilt at having put Behemoth out of the arena. That was under instruction from Mentorn and I think it was unfair to ask me to do that to them. I even put them out where Mentorn asked me to hence the cameras were already setup for the shot. Mighty Mouse flipping was the best one. It was a very funny fight. So hard to catch because it was well driven. But when I did catch it I found that its point of gravity was not where I expected it to be hence it took quite a few shots to get it over the side. I hated putting Panic Attack out. It is from a time of RobotWars history and deserved better than I gave it. The same goes for King B. Iron Awe, now thats a fight where I admired the team more than their robot. This is because some time after that was filmed we all met at a live event some place. Iron Awe team drove Dantomkia and I drove Iron Awe. I was unable to get Iron Awe to do anything that I wanted it to do but they were able to make it dance to music! I have so much respect for Gilbert and Robert. Mind you, after they drove Dantomkia they decided to bite the bullet and get decent drive electronics. So maybe I did have a positive impact upon them. So, there you have it."
 * Team Dantomkia was one of ten Robot Wars teams to compete in BattleBots.
 * It competed in the third heat of all 3 of its main series appearances and won the first two 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 competed in the third episode of all three series it fought in.
 * Dantomkia was the fifth (and last so far) 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's name correctly (DAN-tom-kee-a) during its appearances in the original series. He instead pronounced it in a variety of incorrect ways (such as Dan-TOMA-ky-a and Dan-TOM-kee-a).
 * This was also evident in the 2016 series, when the arena announcer pronounced Dantomkia's name as Dan-TOM-kee-a during its introduction in Episode 3. Dara Ó Briain also pronounced it this way throughout the episode.
 * Within two series of Robot Wars, Dantomkia fought King Buxton in three different first-round melees.
 * According to Mike Lambert, Dantomkia is female.
 * In 2015, Mike Lambert provided information and his opinion on Dantomkia's opponents that were flipped out of the arena:

- Mike Lambert on the Official Robot Wars Facebook Group