- "We built it out of polypropylene, which is an industrial plastic, basically because it's really light, which allows us to get lots of big nasty weapons in."
- — Phil Duncanson
Agent Orange was a competitor robot that entered Series 3 of Robot Wars. It reached the second round of its Heat before losing to Blade, and was painted orange and named after the toxic poison used in chemical warfare, most famously in the Vietnam War.
The team had previously entered Series 2 with Spin Doctor. Agent Orange was upgraded with a self-righting mechanism for Series 4, but failed to qualify despite winning its qualifier battle.
- "We had a great fight, many of the crew came up afterwards and said it was a real good one (one even said it was the best so far). We did fry our speed controller though which in turn took all our wiring with it sending huge clouds of white smoke out the top. Looked great. And all because the producers asked us to get our fur covered opponent on to the flame pit. We tried pushing them (some thing the Agent is not really designed for) and bang! I assume that although it was a great fight (our best yet) we showed a weakness and that was all the excuse they needed to strike us off the list. Worst bit was we got her home, changed 2 wires and she ran straight away."
- — Peter Duncanson on failing to qualify for Series 4
The team also attempted to enter Series 5, but failed to qualify again, before retiring from Robot Wars altogether.
- "... its getting harder and harder to stay competitive. Plus, I have other things in my life now. A new wife, new house, new job all of which takes up more and more of my time and money. I'd also lost some of that zest after the shambles that was Series 3. I was just not enjoying the tv part of it anymore. ... I was going to back down after Series 4, hopefully having gone out with a bang, but we did not make it on. Then Dave (my team mate) said he really wanted to give it another go but would not unless I went with him."
- — Pete Duncanson on retiring from Robot Wars
Design
As its name suggested, Agent Orange was an orange box-shaped robot armoured in plastic and equipped with two potent weapons - a front set of hydraulic pincers and a rear-facing pickaxe made out of a garden fork. The pincers were capable of cutting through scaffolding pipes and metal box sections, while the axe swung quickly at a range of 180 degrees and was capable of causing considerable damage to other opponents. The robot was also fast and manoeuverable, but had fragile armour, no self-righting mechanism when it appeared in Series 3, and poor reliability.
Robot History
Series 3
Agent Orange attacks the immoblie Max Damage
Agent Orange's first battle of the Third Wars saw it get placed up against newcomers Max Damage. This battle proved relatively easy for Agent Orange, as Max Damage did not get under way at all. Agent Orange then sunk its pickaxe in and dragged Max Damage across the arena floor, before pushing it into the pit, putting it through to the next round of the Heat.
Matilda lifts and nearly overturns Agent Orange
Agent Orange's second round battle saw it get placed up against Blade, where it attempted to grab hold of Blade with its pincers, but failed. Agent Orange then pursued Blade around the arena until Blade was flipped onto its side by an arena spike, only for Matilda to right them. Blade pushed Agent Orange into Matilda's CPZ. Agent Orange escaped, but then broke down, thus sending it out of the competition.
Results
| AGENT ORANGE - RESULTS | ||
| Series 3 | ||
| The Third Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 2 | ||
| Heat C, Round 1 | vs. Max Damage | Won |
| Heat C, Round 2 | vs. Blade | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 1
Series Record
- Series 1: Did not enter
- Series 2: Entered with Spin Doctor
- Series 3: Heat, Round 2
- Series 4-5: Failed to qualify
- Series 6-7, 2016: Did not enter
Trivia
- Agent Orange was originally going to be paired up with Milly-Ann Bug for the Tag Team Terror competition in Series 3, before the event was cancelled.
- According to Peter Duncanson, Agent Orange is female.