Iron-Awe

"Could this be the "Grimm" Reaper of the competition?"

- Jonathan Pearce in Series 4

Iron-Awe was a series of robots which participated in Series 4, 6, 7 and 10 of Robot Wars, also competing in the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. After the original Iron-Awe fell in the second round of Series 4, Iron-Awe 2 competed in Series 6 and Extreme 2, but without great success. Iron-Awe 2.1 was the most successful of the team's machines in UK Robot Wars, reaching the Heat Final after flipping the seeded Bigger Brother out of the arena in its second round battle, before falling to the eventual champion Typhoon 2. However, it was repaired in time to win the Axe Attack special event. Thirteen years later, the team competed on TV with the modernised Iron-Awe 6, which finished third in Heat 4 - thus qualifying for the 10 Robot Rumble.

The team also entered Series 5 with Axe-Awe. The robot's name was a pun on "iron ore", a mineral used to make iron.

Versions of Iron-Awe
''NOTE: This section only includes televised versions of Iron-Awe. Other versions of Iron-Awe which competed at live events are detailed further down the page, including two versions which attempted to enter Series 8. Axe-Awe is considered to be a separate competitor.''

Iron-Awe
"The Grimm family have their mighty axe weapon, a zero turning circle. It's electrically powered. Most parts come from packaging machinery. They have steering problems, but could this be the 'grim reaper' of the competition?"

- Jonathan Pearce introducing Iron-Awe in its first appearance

The original Iron-Awe which entered Series 4 was a box-wedge shaped robot, made mostly metal from packaging machinery and aluminium. The robot had 2 Bosch 750w drive motors and 4QD NCC70 speed controllers and mixer board. Iron-Awe's weapon was a 3kg felling axe on a wooden handle, powered by CO2 at 175PSI. It also had an additional cylinder behind the axe head. The power behind the axe led to it being the first robot to self-right by using an axe. The main axe support and motor shell were made of steel. The message "It's not over 'til it's over!" was written on the base.

The 80kg weight limit being a problem, Iron-Awe ended up much shorter than intended, with around 6 inches being cut from the back, the wedge front that was intended was changed to a cut-off wedge design, and holes were drilled over the robot, including on the shell, to keep Iron-Awe under 80kg.

It was driven by tracks, which were powered by Bosch motors. The team chose to use tracks in order to create more traction and a zero turning circle. The robot was supposed to have a variable height mechanism to give extra ground clearance, but this idea was scrapped because the additional pneumatic cylinders would have pushed the robot over the weight limit.

The robot moved fairly sluggishly due to its poor choice of batteries, and the robot was generally unreliable. "The batteries, 2 Hawker SBS15’s, were the items that ultimately led to our demise in the wars. The fact that they were 5 years old probably didn’t help combined with the huge amount of power needed just to turn the tracks."

- Iron-Awe website

Iron-Awe 2
After competing in Series 5 with Axe-Awe, the team returned to Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2. It retained the weapon combination of Axe-Awe, that being a powerful front flipper, with the robot's signature axe resting on top to strike the surface of the flipper. The power of these weapons was now much greater than that of Axe-Awe "After Robot Wars 5 we carried out some modifications to the plumbing on the axe circuit and managed to achieve a significant performance improvement. However, it became clear after this that the axe on Iron-Awe 2 would have to have a counterbalance weight, as without it the robot leaps about 8" in the air on firing!! The new axe cylinder is 60% bigger compared to last year (63mm bore * 150mm stroke) and on the test rig it seems to be a lot quicker with the axe traveling from its rest position to its full forward position in around 1/10th of a second!! Iron-Awe 2's flipper plate will be physically larger than last years with a maximum lift height of about 700mm, using two 50mm bore * 200 stroke cylinders to operate it."

- Iron-Awe website

Iron-Awe was built on a 40mm square aluminium box section frame, originally part of a workshop table and was sourced from a local scrap yard. The robot was armoured in 3mm aluminium with 8mm polycarbonate on top. Kart wheels were chosen to carry the robot, because of the size:weight ratio. The flipper could lift a ton, the robot was manoeuvrable and had self-righting capabilities but was easily flippable.

Iron-Awe 2.1
"Due to the lack of time available we were unable to build a completely new robot for Series 7. Instead we opted to make a few minor changes to Iron-Awe 2. ... We were fairly happy with the way the robot had been performing in live events but the robot was still fairly sluggish and lacked pushing power."

- Team Iron-Awe website

The Series 7 entry Iron-Awe 2.1 was largely the same robot as Iron-Awe 2, but had improved manoeuvrability and a lower ground clearance, as the team had abandoned the kart wheels of Iron-Awe 2 in favour of small aluminium wheels, which changed the gearing, improving the manoeuvrability and pushing power. Both weapons now operated at approximately one-tenth of a second.

The robot now featured rear spikes to prevent Iron-Awe from getting stranded on its flat rear panel, as it had been in the Series 6 qualifiers. Its top armour was now coloured yellow instead of black. Its total weight was 98kg, with the dimensions 0.65m x 1.38m x 0.79m, driven by two 800W electric motors. The team changed the interface board to the quazer board designed by the Dominator 2 team, which allowed them to bring the weapons control on-board instead of the previous servo/micro switch setup.

Iron-Awe 6
"Flippin’ awesome!"

- Robot Wars: The Official Handbook

Over a period of competing on the live circuit, Team Iron-Awe refined their design to lose the axe, and focus purely on their powerful flipper. The full-pressure flipper of Iron-Awe 6 was easily capable of launching robots out of the arena, and fixed the issues that previous Iron-Awe machines had with self-righting. Iron-Awe 6 could be distinguished from other active Iron-Awe machines such as Iron-Awe 5 and 7 due to its toothed black wedge, and is armed in 3.2mm of HARDOX. With slanted sides, Iron-Awe 6 was essentially wedge-shaped from all sides, albeit with a high ground clearance on the sides. On a two-wheel chain driven system, it was relatively quick at 11mph, but the Robot Wars website questioned its radio reception, and Robot Wars: The Official Handbook stated the reliability of its flipper as a potential weakness, which proved to be true when Iron-Awe 6's flipper did not work in any of its battles.

Only for television were the sides of Iron-Awe 6 protected by pneumatically-powered “cannons”, attached externally. A form of an entanglement device, the cannons were intended to disable spinners from a distance. The structure of the cannons also prevented weapons such as drum spinners from hitting the main body of the robot. An alternative entanglement device was used in Iron-Awe 6's battle with Concussion, consisting of a line of maces in the same place the cannons were held.

"The highlight of Robot Wars is flipping a robot out of the arena, it's a wonderful feeling, because once they're out of the arena, they can't hurt you anymore!"

- Gilbert Grimm

Qualification
"When they tested this machine for the qualifiers, right was going left, and left was going right, so fingers crossed."

- Julia Reed

Despite having control problems in its Series 4 qualifier, Iron-Awe managed to defeat Bolt from the Blue after an axe blow immobilised it, and qualified for the series. "We drove up to Park Street Studios near St Albans for the qualifying round and we were told that we would have to win a couple of fights to qualify. However, in our one and only fight we managed to disable Bolt from the Blue by hitting their main kill switch with our axe. This obviously impressed them and we were told we were through!"

- Team Iron-Awe website

After competing in Series 5 with Axe-Awe, Iron-Awe 2 competed in the qualifiers for Series 6 where it fought Dantomkia, Maximus and Destruct-A-Bubble. After Dantomkia managed to stand Iron-Awe 2.0 up on its back with its axe hanging over the perimeter barrier of the arena, it proved unable to self-right. Despite losing, the team was given a discretionary place to compete in the Sixth Wars.

In its Series 7 qualifier, Iron-Awe 2.1 fought three robots, including Mute. Iron-Awe flipped a robot onto its back end, and used its axe to damage another robot, allowing Iron-Awe 2.1 to qualify alongside Mute.

"We were up against Mute (a very good robot) and a couple of newcomers who didn't pose much of a threat. With strict instructions not to flip anything over the edge, we went straight in and stood one of the newcomers on their end before setting into the other with the axe. Needless to say both us and Mute got the nod."

- Team Iron-Awe website

When Robot Wars returned for its eighth series in 2016, Team Iron-Awe applied with two versions of the robot that they had built since the show went off-air; Iron-Awe 5, a full-pressure flipper with a sloped wedge design, and Iron-Awe 7, a wider, conventional wedge, also with a full-pressure flipper. Neither were selected to compete, nor were the team successful in qualifying for Series 9. The team were more successful in Series 10, and qualified using Iron-Awe 6. The team also brought Iron-Awe 5 to filming, as a source of spare components.

Series 4
"A fairy tale end, or a "grim" end for the father-and-son team from Somerset with Iron-Awe?"

- Jonathan Pearce at the start of the Round 1 battle

Iron-Awe's first appearance was against fellow newcomers Mazakari and the 23rd seeds Mortis. Mortis immediately targeted Mazakari and rammed it into Sergeant Bash, before going after Iron-Awe and hitting it once with the axe. Mazakari escaped Bash, as Mortis lifted the front of Iron-Awe and moved it towards the arena wall. Iron-Awe slammed down onto Mortis with its axe, but the axe merely bounced off. Mazakari came back to fight Mortis, but was flipped over. Mortis continued to attack Mazakari, lifting it up, which also allowed Iron-Awe to axe. Mortis' lifting arm appeared to get stuck on Mazakari, allowing it to easily carry it across the arena and into Sir Killalot's CPZ. Mortis - with Mazakari still stuck on its lifting arm - gave a seemingly immobile Iron-Awe a couple of shunts. Mortis continued to carry Mazakari around the arena, this time offering it to Shunt, who axed into it. Meanwhile, Iron-Awe was still sat motionless next to a now open pit, and Dead Metal tried to push it in, but Sir Killalot lifted it up with the lance and spun it round a bit. "Iron-Awe dangerously close towards the pit... Dangerously close towards the pit... Dead Metal and Killalot combine; over the pit for Iron-Awe. Spinning around, Killalot, look at this, toying with it, slamming it to the ground in the arena floor."

- Jonathan Pearce

Bash came in on Mazakari, grabbing it, lifting Mortis off the ground as well. It went to the judges and Mazakari was unanimously voted out due to the damage taken, despite its wheels visibly spinning, unlike the immobile Iron-Awe. "We were lucky to progress through as near the end of the battle our batteries died and Sir Killalot picked us up and almost dropped us in the pit."

- Team Iron-Awe website

In the second round, Iron-Awe was drawn against the 7th seeds Steg 2.

The fight started slowly, with both robots sizing each other up. Iron-Awe then tentatively fired the axe, before Steg 2 threw Iron-Awe over. Iron-Awe quickly self-righted, the first robot to do so with an axe. Steg 2 then flicked Iron-Awe up again, but not over, and Iron-Awe fought back with an axe blow from behind, which merely bounced off. Steg 2 flipped Iron-Awe, and Iron-Awe landed on its wheels. Steg 2 tried to get under the side of Iron-Awe, but missed when it tried to flip. Iron-Awe tried to axe Steg 2, but also missed. Steg 2 failed to throw Iron-Awe over with its next attack, as the flipper was not under Iron-Awe properly, but Iron-Awe appeared to stop moving, with only the axe still working. "Very tentative stuff, though. They may be leaping around a little bit, but it's ponderous."

- Jonathan Pearce

Steg 2 flipped Iron-Awe over, but it self-righted straight away again. The House Robots came in and dragged Iron-Awe away; Shunt slammed its axe into Iron-Awe's top. Steg 2 subsequently flipped Matilda over, whilst Sir Killalot sliced off Iron-Awe's axe with his claw. "Killalot exacts revenge, and Iron-Awe's weapon goes. Snapped off like some flower stalk, there."

- Jonathan Pearce

Time ran out and the judges gave Steg 2 the win.

Iron-Awe returned to fight in the Celebrity Special, where it was driven by actress Natalie Cassidy. "My brother, who is eighteen years older than me, got me a remote-control Ferrari. I was about seven or eight and I used to love it. All the other kids had Barbies and stuff, but I had my remote control car. So I've had a bit of practice with the remote control."

- Natalie Cassidy, interviewed by Robot Wars Magazine

Iron-Awe was garbed in 'L' plates, due to Natalie Cassidy's inexperience with the controls, and in reference to her taking driving tests at the time of filming. In Round 1, Iron-Awe against Pussycat, recent runners-up for the main competition, which was being driven by Natalie's EastEnders co-star Adam Woodyatt. However, before the battle, Iron-Awe's front wheels jammed. Fortunately, Gilbert and Robert Grimm were able to fix the robot before the battle. At the start of the battle, the two robots moved slowly towards each other. Pussycat attacked Iron-Awe's side, and Iron-Awe fired the axe, but missed as it was facing away from Pussycat. Pussycat rammed the front of Iron-Awe and pushed it back a few feet. Iron-Awe used the axe to flip Pussycat over, but Pussycat kept pushing back. Another axe blow from Iron-Awe allowed it get free of Pussycat's pushing. Cassidy had passed the controls on to Robert Grimm at this stage. Iron-Awe appeared to be stuck, firing its axe but not moving. It did start moving again, but drove into the arena wall. Pussycat charged at Iron-Awe, and much to Cassidy's dismay, the NAT 1 license plate attached to Iron-Awe was shattered after a strong charge from Pussycat. Dead Metal grabbed Iron-Awe and tried to cut it with its saw, but Iron-Awe fired the axe to prevent Dead Metal close enough. Dead Metal pulled Iron-Awe away from the wall, Iron-Awe seemed sluggish after this, and Dead Metal came in to attack. Iron-Awe drove away, but drove straight into Matilda. Matilda lifted Iron-Awe up, and Pussycat charged in, getting underneath Iron-Awe and overturning it. "It's not all over till its over- it is now!"

- Jonathan Pearce does a bad impression of Kenneth Wolstenholme on seeing the message on the base of Iron-Awe

The House Robots then shoved Iron-Awe onto the flame pit, where Sir Killalot then snapped off the axe. Sergeant Bash then pushed Iron-Awe into Sir Killalot, who plucked it up and pitted it. Later it was revealed that Iron-Awe's battery ran out, and that Pussycat hadn't had its disc connected. "Well the Grimms are out, but I said I was going to win, so I'm joining Adam's team, to be not "Girls vs Boys", "EastEnders vs whoever"!"

- Natilie Cassidy changes allegiances

Natalie Cassidy was initially upset that her personalised licence plate had been broken during the battle, but she joined the Pussycat team after the battle, and they eventually went on to win.

Series 6
"I'm glad to see you're wearing team colours, yellow and black!"

- Gilbert Grimm to Philippa Forrester, commenting on her yellow and black outfit

Team Iron-Awe entered Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2 and came up against the 5th seeds Chaos 2, newcomers Destructosaur and veterans Mighty Mouse in the first round. The team were happy with this draw, confident that they could damage Chaos 2.

Iron-Awe 2 started by chasing after Chaos 2, but Destructosaur drove between it and Chaos 2. Chaos 2 flipped Destructosaur over, and Iron-Awe axed the barrel shaped robot, holding the rollover design in place, although Iron-Awe then moved too close to the arena wall, and began spinning over a steam vent. This allowed Chaos 2 to get underneath Iron-Awe 2 before it could drive away, and Chaos 2 pushed it against the arena wall to flip it over the arena wall, meaning Iron-Awe 2 had been beaten by the machine it wished to defeat. "I think the next robot, we'll have to put wings on it. It's getting quite annoying, this 'flying out of the arena' business!"

- Gilbert Grimm

Extreme 2
"After many changes of plans we were eventually told we would be taking part in the Challenge Belt competition."

- Team Iron-Awe website

Iron-Awe 2 took part in the Challenge Belt competition in Extreme Series 2. In the first round, it fought two Heat Finalists from the Sixth Wars in Barber-Ous 2 and Vader, as well as the reigning fourth place Terrorhurtz. Iron-Awe 2 started by sneaking around Terrorhurtz, which was attacking Vader, and attempting to flip it, but Terrorhurtz toppled back onto its wheels. Iron-Awe 2 was then attacked by the spinning drum of Barber-Ous 2, the impact knocking off a polycarbonate panel and turning Iron-Awe 2 over, but it was able to self-right. Iron-Awe drove into the wall, and found itself caught between Vader and Barber-Ous. Barber-Ous drove away, but Vader kept Iron-Awe pinned under an angle grinder. However, Vader was being axed by Shunt and Terrorhurtz, and broke down. This allowed Iron-Awe to escape. Iron-Awe 2 axed Barber-Ous for a while, but was able to puncture it, then chased after Terrorhutz. Terrorhurtz opened the pit, and Iron-Awe went back after Barber-Ous. "Iron-Awe 2 slightly fortuitous to sill be in the fight, but getting a great axe blow into Barber-Ous 2 and the plastic shell ripped apart there!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Iron-Awe was able to axe through the plastic shell of Barber-Ous 2, but on attempting to retract its axe, the weapon proved to be stuck tight, and Iron-Awe 2 pulled itself over. Still stuck in Barber-Ous 2, Iron-Awe 2 was left with no way to self-right. Although Iron-Awe 2 was completely immobile, Vader had already been counted out, and Terrorhurtz pushed Barber-Ous 2 into the pit. The battle was sent to a Judges' decision to confirm whether or not Iron-Awe 2 was mobile enough to progress, but the Judges declared that Barber-Ous 2 had been immobilised before Iron-Awe 2, so the Grimm family progressed alongside Terrorhurtz.

In the second round, Iron-Awe was drawn against series semi-finalist Dantomkia. Iron-Awe charged straight at Dantomkia, but its flipper got wedged underneath the Disc of Doom, where it became stuck. Dantomkia tried to get under Iron-Awe, but Iron-Awe reversed, freeing itself from the floor spinner. Dantomkia got its front wedges under Iron-Awe, but Iron-Awe turned and drove away. It turned to fight Dantomkia again, but drove at the wrong angle, and did not get under their opponent, ending up side-on instead. Iron-Awe tried to axe Dantomkia, but missed, so resorted to running away from Dantomkia. Eventually, Dantomkia caught up and the two met head-on. Iron-Awe fired its axe, but Dantomkia's front was too low for the axe to have any effect. Iron-Awe turned away from Dantomkia, which allowed Dantomkia to get the wedges underneath and ram Iron-Awe to the arena entrance gate and flip it out. "The idea was: we needed to run the flipper very low to get underneath Dantomkia, because we knew that once he got underneath us, that would be the end of it! ... We weren't wrong there, but we just couldn't get the axe into play, really."

- Gilbert Grimm after the battle

Series 7
The team returned for Series 7 with Iron-Awe 2.1, and in the first round it fought three newcomers to the UK wars DisConstructor, Xenomorph and Hammerhead 2 in the first round. Iron-Awe 2.1's questionable first move was to chase Refbot, and it sustained a glancing blow from DisConstructor, but Iron-Awe 2.1 was then able to launch Hammerhead 2 over, and onto Xenomorph. Iron-Awe continued to dominate the battle alongside DisConstructor, flipping Xenomorph back onto Hammerhead 2, and at this point, DisConstructor drove into the pit, giving Iron-Awe 2.1 a strong chance to progress. It buried its axe into a gap in Hammerhead 2's frame and dragged it back, flipping it again, while surviving a glancing blow from Xenomorph. "For me it would be Iron-Awe, certainly at this stage, because they've been the more aggressive and the more experienced, the more stylish, if it goes to a Judges' decision"

- Jonathan Pearce on the most aggressive robot in the battle

With assistance from Hammerhead 2, Iron-Awe buried its axe into Xenomorph and flipped it once again, leaving it with limited mobility, but regardless Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Hammerhead 2 again, and curiously drove under Sgt. Bash. Iron-Awe 2.1 finally seemed to slow down towards the end of the battle, but still penetrated Xenomorph's tyre with its axe, but then drove straight under Sir Killalot and surprisingly managed to lift it from the arena floor. Iron-Awe 2.1 caused further embarrassment to the House Robots, removing the LED eyes from Sir Killalot. Iron-Awe kept away from danger until 'cease' was called, where the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, where Iron-Awe 2.1 qualified alongside Hammerhead 2. "We managed to get several good flips and axe attacks on the other two robots. We were having control difficulties during the bout and we discovered after the bout that one of our motors had fallen apart. The bout went to a judges decision and we won along with Hammerhead."

- Team Iron-Awe website

In the second round, Iron-Awe 2.1 had an unfortunate draw, against the fourth seed, Bigger Brother. "We always get a difficult second round. This is no exception. However, we have fought Bigger Brother before. We know they're a good robot, we have on occasion beaten them, so we know they can be beaten, and we have the weaponry to do it."

- Gilbert Grimm

Going into the battle with Bigger Brother, the team told Jayne Middlemiss their tactic of using Iron-Awe 2.1's axe, claiming their weapon can pierce 4mm steel, while Bigger Brother's top armour was only 1.5mm steel and polycarbonate. However, Iron-Awe 2.1's first axe attack missed completely, and the robot was thrown over by Bigger Brother. Iron-Awe 2.1 failed to self-right, and Bigger Brother pressed it against Refbot and hoisted it into the air, and back onto its wheels. This proved to be a turning point, as in a surprise move, Iron-Awe 2.1 capitalised on Bigger Brother's moment of vulnerability while it was stuck behind Shunt, and Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Bigger Brother onto the arena wall, where it toppled out. "They get knocked out every year, they're always flipped out of the arena, and this time... they've flipped you!"

- Craig Charles to Joe Watts

Iron-Awe was through to the Heat Final, where it fought Typhoon 2. Iron-Awe 2.1 entered the match at an immediate disadvantage, as a slippery substance had coated the floor for Sir Killalot's benefit, and could not gain strong traction on the arena floor. It still attempted to attack quickly, but Typhoon 2 dodged and span up to full speed immediately. Iron-Awe 2.1 came in for an attack, but was spun away spectacularly by the force of Typhoon 2's spinning blades. Another slam caused the front flipper on Iron-Awe 2.1 to buckle. Iron-Awe 2.1 headed for the pit release button but Typhoon 2 gave chase and caused more damage to its opponent. "I'm impressed, very impressed. He's worried, very worried!"

- Jonathan Pearce as the camera films Robert Grimm driving Iron-Awe

The flipper was now destroyed and CO2 came out the front of the robot. Another couple of slams by Typhoon 2 finally immobilised Iron-Awe 2.1. "Iron-Awe get down that pit! Save yourself!"

- Jonathan Pearce after Typhoon 2's final blow on Iron-Awe 2.1

Refbot counted Iron-Awe 2.1 out, and Sir Killalot put it on the Drop Zone, where a gas cooker was dropped on it. As a joke, Typhoon 2 came in and smashed the cooker as well. "We had to get them before they span up. We knew once they got up to speed, they could, as they did, break us!"

- Gilbert Grimm after the battle

The team put the robot back together to take part in the Axe Attack battle against Hydra and Kat 3. The flipper had to be activated every time Iron-Awe 2.1's axe was to be fired. "They delayed the filming to enable us to complete the rebuild of the 'bot and we amazingly came through to win"

- Team Iron-Awe website

Hydra was attacked first, getting underneath Iron-Awe 2.1 but missing with its axe. The three robots engaged in battle, but most of the early attacks with the axes missed their targets. Hydra rammed Iron-Awe 2.1 into the arena wall twice, while Kat 3 stopped moving and appeared to be immobilised. As Iron-Awe 2.1 attacked the defeated Kat 3, Hydra got underneath and turned it over. It then rammed Iron-Awe 2.1 into the arena wall again, then into Shunt's CPZ, where Iron-Awe 2.1 managed to escape after an axe blow from the House Robot. The two robots then attacked Kat 3, but it was already immobilised and was counted out by Refbot. Hydra and Iron-Awe 2.1 then fought by Shunt's CPZ, but the House Robot came in nevertheless with another attack on Iron-Awe 2.1. Meanwhile, Cassius Chrome had drifted out of its CPZ, and Iron-Awe 2.1 and Hydra switched their attentions to the House Robots, with Iron-Awe 2.1 trying in vain to flip Cassius Chrome, while Hydra managed to throw Shunt onto its side after a short tussle. Both robots then attacked Cassius Chrome, with Hydra slamming it into the arena wall, before Hydra reversed Iron-Awe 2.1 back across the arena and into a CPZ. Iron-Awe 2.1 and Cassius Chrome became locked together, but Hydra helped to separate the two. As both robots continued to attack the House Robot, Refbot activated the pit release button and Hydra drove onto the pit just as it began to descend. "OH! And Hydra caught as the pit started to descend! How unlucky is that? And it'll leave Iron-Awe the winner of the battle of the axes."

- Jonathan Pearce

This left Iron-Awe 2.1 as the winner. "This was some what unfortunate for Hydra, as they were by far the best robot on the day. The problem was they annoyed the house robots by turning Shunt over, Refbot went and opened the pit and down Hydra went! Kat 3 had died early in the fight meaning that although our weapons had stopped working we won!!"

- Team Iron-Awe website

Series 10
"All rise for the grandaddy of Robot Wars."

- Gilbert Grimm prepares for yet another Robot Wars adventure

Iron-Awe 6 competed in Heat 4, where it faced Series 9 returnee Tauron Mk 2, and Team Terror Turtle's new machine, The Kegs, in its Group Battle. Iron-Awe 6 started the battle by bumping into Tauron Mk 2, before it found itself stuck on the Flame Pit, which allowed one of The Kegs to rip away part of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement cannons. After getting in too close to Sir Killalot, Iron-Awe 6 moved away and then charged across the arena floor and into Tauron Mk 2 again. After following up this drive by forcing Tauron Mk 2 over the Arena Spikes, another of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement cannons was opened by Tauron Mk 2, spreading more debris on the arena floor. Noticeably, Iron-Awe 6 had not used its flipper during the opening period. "Why no flip? That was an opportunity to get a flip in!"

- Jonathan Pearce

After finding itself in a scuffle with him earlier in the fight, Iron-Awe 6 was once again pressurised by Sir Killalot after The Kegs had pressed the Arena Tyre and activated Rogue House Robot mode. In the meantime, Tauron Mk 2 had finished off the hopes of The Kegs, which left Iron-Awe 6 and Tauron Mk 2 to fight after the former escaped from Sir Killalot. An initial Iron-Awe 6 charge was then met by grazing hits from Tauron Mk 2's bar, with the spinning weapon then connecting with a big blow to the rear of Iron-Awe 6. Both machines remained in close-quarters with each other, before a Tauron Mk 2 charge left it stranded up on Iron-Awe 6. Sir Killalot's intervention was necessary to separate the two, but after this, both machines ground to a halt. Iron-Awe 6 was able to prove its mobility for slightly longer though, so Tauron Mk 2 - which was stuck on some debris - was counted out, and cease was called. "Tauron was out first, and the other one moved at least a metre and a half."

- Noel Sharkey as the countdown begins for Tauron Mk 2

Through to the Heat Semi-Finals, Iron-Awe 6 faced Series 9 Grand Finalists Concussion, with emphasis on Iron-Awe 6's weapon needing to work after a no-show from it in the Group Battle. Entanglement devices were also hung over the sides of the machine in preparation for the drum spinner.

Iron-Awe 6 immediately charged at Concussion as the spinning drum of the Dorset Roboteering Team attempted to get up to speed. Iron-Awe 6 was quickly forced onto the back foot after this though, as Concussion caught it broadside on, before clipping the right back corner of Iron-Awe 6, knocking it in towards Shunt. As Iron-Awe 6 narrowly escaped an axe blow from the House Robot, its front was caught by Concussion's weapon again, spinning Iron-Awe 6's front around and knocking the machine across the arena floor. The next collision between the two knocked Iron-Awe 6's front flip upwards, with Concussion's follow-through attack throwing Iron-Awe 6 over. "Over go Iron-Awe 6. Gilbert and Robert Grimm's fairy tale about to end in a nightmare."

- Jonathan Pearce

Unfortunately for the Grimm's, their worst fears came true, as the flipper failed to work for a second battle in a row. After further damage from Dead Metal, Iron-Awe 6 was counted out, and dropped into the Third Place Playoff, where it faced Androne 4000. Struts were added to the back end of Iron-Awe 6, in front of its wheels, to keep the robot's wedge grounded.

Iron-Awe 6 slid underneath Androne 4000 straight away, guiding it onto the Floor Flipper, before pushing it towards Matilda - where the House Robot's flywheel caused damage to Androne 4000. Despite this strong start, it was clear that Iron-Awe 6's flipper was, once again, not working. "The experienced Gilbert and Robert at the controls of Iron-Awe 6. What will be the legacy for the grandson: a place in the first ten-way mega battle? Well only if they win this one."

- Jonathan Pearce

Both machines jostled for position for a short period afterwards, before Iron-Awe 6 moved Androne 4000 over the Flame Pit and then into Matilda again with a long drive across the arena. Iron-Awe 6 then pushed Androne 4000 into the Arena Tyre, which descended the Pit. With Androne 4000 starting to suffer with its mobility, Iron-Awe 6 attempted to pit the newcomers with a drive. However, with Androne 4000 still moving around on the spot, Iron-Awe 6 struggled to get to grips with Androne 4000, and nearly overshot one of its own drives into the Pit. "Keep away from Matilda's tail."

- Gilbert Grimm to his son, Robert

After avoiding the crushing claw of Androne 4000, Iron-Awe 6 suddenly found itself in further danger, as Matilda connected with a big blow with her flywheel to the rear of Iron-Awe 6. Robert Grimm found himself in more danger from the House Robot shortly after, as Matilda's tusks sent Iron-Awe 6 hurtling through the air. Thankfully for Iron-Awe 6, it landed on its wheels, and was then able to finally finish off Androne 4000 with only 3 seconds remaining by sliding it down into the Pit. Iron-Awe 6 was victorious, and secured a place in the 10 Robot Rumble as a result. "Iron-Awe 6 knew what they were doing - they were on top. Androne 4000 took too much damage in the previous battle. Edged onto the Pit, and over she goes."

- Jonathan Pearce

In the 10 Robot Rumble, Iron-Awe 6 fought Apollo, Big Nipper, Concussion, Eruption, Expulsion, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, Thor and Track-tion in one last-man standing battle. It maintained its rear struts from the previous battle, and once again lacked a functioning flipper.

After briefly colliding with Thor, Iron-Awe 6 was the first robot to challenge Eruption, sitting in a CPZ. However, Iron-Awe 6 rode straight up the wedge of Eruption and was forced to retreat, as a single flip could have ended Iron-Awe 6's challenge. Iron-Awe 6 cruised around the arena while both Expulsion and Track-tion were resigned to the pit. Iron-Awe 6 then pressed the Arena Tyre, unleashing the Fog of War. Iron-Awe 6 held off, avoiding danger until it was caught by Apollo, which threw it high into the air, although Iron-Awe 6 landed on its wheels. It then crashed into Thor, beside the pit, but could not drive under its opponent's wedge to achieve a pitting. It briefly joined in the pincer attack on Eruption, alongside Terrorhurtz, Concussion and Big Nipper, but did not make an impact. After this, Iron-Awe 6 was able to make a second usage of the Dial of Doom, this time triggering Rogue House Robot. It was briefly pressed against the wall by Sir Killalot, but escaped to drive under Thor, pushing across the arena. "And once again, Iron-Awe go for the tyre!"

- Jonathan Pearce notes Iron-Awe 6's repeated tactic

Curiously, after pressing the Arena Tyre again, Iron-Awe 6 was awarded a third use of the Dial of Doom, which once again released the Fog of War. Here, Iron-Awe 6 made a critical mistake, and drove over the floor flipper, which tossed it over. Iron-Awe 6's continuing problem of a failing flipper struck once again, and Iron-Awe 6 landed inverted, unable to self-right. Terrorhurtz landed two axe blows on the beaten Iron-Awe 6, and edged it towards the pit, where Concussion ultimately pushed it in. Iron-Awe 6 was therefore the third robot to fall in the 10 Robot Rumble ultimately won by Eruption. "Oh, who's that, gone down? Iron-Awe 6 in the pit!"

- Jonathan Pearce amidst the chaos

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 7
 * Losses: 7

Outside Robot Wars
During the time Robot Wars was on hiatus from television, five new models of Iron-Awe were built, ranging from versions 3 to 7. Iron-Awe 5 proved to be the most successful, winning the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships and becoming one of the few robots to win the championship twice, and would later finish in second place in the 2017 championship. Iron-Awe was particularly active at Roaming Robots, and remains active at Robots Live! and Extreme Robots events, with each version's highlights and statistics detailed below.

Iron-Awe
As Axe-Awe was built so soon after Iron-Awe competed in Series 4, the team’s original machine had a limited period on the live circuit. However, the team used this as an opportunity to test the idea of running a flipper on a robot, essentially making the original Iron-Awe a prototype for Axe-Awe. In this formation, Iron-Awe fought Tornado in 2000.

Iron-Awe 2.1
Although Iron-Awe 2 and Iron-Awe 2.1 spent a brief period on the live circuit while Robot Wars was still on television, it was quickly succeeded by Iron-Awe 3 in 2004. However, the retired Iron-Awe 2.1 was still used as an exhibition piece right up until 2017, particularly at Roaming Robots events. The empty shell of the robot would be used as a static display alongside Axe-Awe, right up until one of its front armour panels was sold as part of Team Toon's charity auction in 2017.

Iron-Awe 3
While it was initially meant to have a front-hinged flipper, Iron-Awe 3 was then hastily revised to have a rear-hinged flipper after the front-hinged flipper was found to be not powerful enough. Built in 2004, it featured rolled edges on the flipper. Team Iron-Awe did well with this version, finishing runner-up in the Roaming Robots 2006 Winter Tour to Behemoth and also winning the Robot Rumble 2007. It was sold to Team Wind Power in 2007, who renamed it L and then White Knight. In April 2016, White Knight was sold again, this time to Team Shock who have renamed it Earthquake and competed with it at live Robot Wars and Robots Live! events, throwing Behemoth out of the arena in one battle.

Iron-Awe 4
In 2005, Iron-Awe 2.1 was deemed ‘worn out’ and was rebuilt into Iron-Awe 4. Iron-Awe 4 was smaller than Iron-Awe 2.1 but still armed with a flipper and an axe. It was sold to Team Orr and renamed Orrion in 2009 to replace Team Orr's retired heavyweight, Golden Eye. It competed in two events in 2009- Robots Live! and the UK Championship of that year, but has not competed since.

Iron-Awe 5
Iron-Awe 5 was built in 2006 following the success of Iron-Awe 3, and as such uses a very similar wedge-shaped design with a full-pressure flipper. Iron-Awe 5 featured a modular construction to make it easy to repair, and became notable for using its powerful flipper to throw five robots out of the arena in a single battle. Iron-Awe 5 won the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships, becoming the third robot to reclaim the UK title after Chaos 2 and Terrorhurtz. Iron-Awe 5 would also finish in second place in the 2017 UK Championship. At Mechatrons held in Dublin in 2018, Iron-Awe 5 reached the final by defeating robots such as Thor, but ultimately lost to Iron-Awe 6. This iteration's most recent appearance came at the Robots Live! event in Stevenage in September 2018, where it competed alongside Iron-Awe 6 and the brand-new Iron-Awe 8 (see below). However, technical issues precluded it from fighting on the Sunday shows.

Iron-Awe 6
After the success of Iron-Awe 5 in 2007/8, the team built Iron-Awe 6, which would eventually compete on television. It featured the same modular construction as before and had rolled edges like the ones on Iron-Awe 3 for extra strength. Iron Awe 6 was originally painted yellow like its predecessor, but was soon re-painted red like Axe-Awe. In the first five years since being built, Iron-Awe 6's flipper never ran out of CO2 in a battle. It managed to flip itself out of the arena during the 2011 UK Championship at the O2 Arena. In June 2013, Iron-Awe 6 was retired, and its internal components were used for the new Ripper, but was restored and made a comeback appearance in Maidstone in 2016. It is now the team's most active robot in 2017, and has been repainted yellow, distinguished by its toothed wedge. In its first 2017 event, it fought Eruption in a head-to-head battle, but lost mobility. It was selected to compete in Series 10 of Robot Wars. At Mechatrons in 2018, Iron-Awe 6 was the most successful of the three Iron-Awe robots present, defeating all of its opponents including Thor, and Iron-Awe 5 in the final, driven by Shane Lale. In June 2018, Shane Lale drove Iron-Awe 6 to victory at Robots Live! in Grantham, defeating Eruption in the final. Iron-Awe 6 most recently appeared at the Robots Live! event in Stevenage, in September 2018, where it finished third overall in the main FRA UK Heavyweight Championship.

Iron-Awe 7
Iron-Awe 7 made its debut in July 2013 at the Robot Wars Live! Newport UK Championship. Iron-Awe 7 had a wide flipper, much like TR2, and at the time used the largest internal ram of any flipper in the UK. Like all the other Iron-Awe models, Iron-Awe 7 has a toothy grin and eyes decoration, and the number 7 is printed on top. Like Iron-Awe 6, there is a small ridge on its flipper to stop other robots from driving too far up the wedge, and its rounded back end allows Iron-Awe 7 to reverse away even when other robots wedge underneath it. At Mechatrons in 2018, Iron-Awe 7 was driven by Peter Redmond, but ultimately its two predecessors progressed further than it.

In January 2018, Team Nemesis bought Iron-Awe 7 for conversion into a new version of their seasoned competitor Diotoir. Sporting Diotoir's trademark eyes, eyebrows, polka-dot fur and toothed grin, as well as an extra front wedge, it competed at the FMB (Fight My Bots) World Finals in China at the end of the month. There, the new Diotoir won its first battle after throwing an Indian competitor, Gravity, into the arena ceiling and out of the arena. It would ultimately finish the 110kg class tournament as runner-up, after New Zealand vertical spinner Death Toll immobilised it in the final round.

Iron-Awe 8
In September 2018, a brand-new version of Iron-Awe, Iron-Awe 8, debuted at the Robots Live! event in Stevenage. Sporting a lower profile and a narrower flipper, Iron-Awe 8 entered the event unpainted, and participated in several battles throughout the weekend shows. Despite suffering from various teething issues with its flipper, it scored at least one knockout victory in a whiteboard match against Tango and Apollo, throwing the Series 8 champion out of the arena in the process.

Robot Wars Live Events
Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 6 made their first appearances at the new Robot Wars live events in Colchester in April 2013. Both also fought at Widnes in May 2013 where Iron-Awe 6 got to the semi-final only to be beaten by the team's fellow robot Iron-Awe 5, which went on to win the event. Iron-Awe 7 would later become competitive at these events.

Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 7 both fought at the Robot Wars World Championship, held at Colchester in 2015. Iron-Awe 5 threw Tanto out of the arena in the first round, but still lost the resulting Judges' decision to Thor and Tiberius. Iron-Awe 7 performed better, throwing Weird mAlice out of the arena in the first round, a battle from which it qualified alongside Nuts when Meggamouse drove into the pit. Iron-Awe 7 lost in the second round via Judges' decision, as the winner of the battle, Manta, threw Dystopia out of the arena.

Both versions made their 2016 debuts in Manchester, where Iron-Awe 5 won a melee, flipping Cherub out of the arena, while Iron-Awe 7 competed in a tag team match, immobilising Ceros before breaking down itself, Iron-Awe's team losing the battle altogether due to Crushtacean breaking down. In the last ever Robot Wars live event, Iron-Awe 5 defeated Beast and Iron Heart 88, fighting Iron Heart 88 again later on, in a battle with Mangler, but was defeated by Ripper. Iron-Awe 7 managed to throw Behemoth out of the arena.

Trivia

 * The original Iron-Awe was the first robot in UK Robot Wars to successfully self-right using an overhead weapon of any kind.
 * Of all of the out of the arena flips, Iron-Awe's was against the highest seed ever to go out, Bigger Brother (4).
 * The Iron-Awe 2 version of the machine is the only robot that went out of the arena in every episode of its career, having appeared in more than one episode.
 * Alongside Firestorm, Iron-Awe is the only machine to have been thrown out of the arena, and then gone on to flip a robot out of the arena itself.
 * Iron-Awe 2 was the last robot to be flipped out of the arena by Chaos 2.
 * The team also brought Iron-Awe 5 to the filming of Series 10, in case Iron-Awe 6 needed to use its components.
 * Iron-Awe 2.1, Barber-Ous 2'n a Bit, Judge Shred 2½, Malc 1.5 and Sub-Version 1.1 are the only robots to name a robot part-sequentially.
 * In 2009, one of the later Iron-Awe robots, Iron-Awe 5, was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame. Its induction resulted from its success in the 2008 UK Championships, 19-battle winning streak and flipping 33 opponents out of the arena at live events in its first year of competition.