- "DTK, son of Dantomkia."
- — Jonathan Pearce in the Featherweight Final
DTK was a featherweight robot that competed in the Featherweight Championship of the seventh series of Robot Wars. It was built and entered by Team Dantomkia, who also entered Series 6, 7 and Extreme 2 with the heavyweight Dantomkia, and won the Featherweight Championship outright in its first and only attempt.
Design[]
DTK was essentially a miniature version of Dantomkia, sporting the same boxy bi-wedged shape and a similar yellow and black paint scheme, although the black lines were less pronounced compared to Dantomkia's. Just like Dantomkia, DTK possessed a rear castor to prevent it from rearing, as well as a narrow pneumatic flipper, which the team claimed was capable of lifting 75kg.
Etymology[]
The name DTK was a derivative of the heavyweight Dantomkia. Michael Lambert initially named Dantomkia after three of his children, Daniel, Thomas and Kiara. The name was then shortened to DTK for the featherweight machine, while still standing for the same three names.
The Team[]
- Main article: Team Dantomkia
DTK was entered by the Surrey-based Team Dantomkia, traditionally captained by Michael Lambert, also featuring his son Daniel Lambert, and friend Steven Gadsby. However for the featherweight DTK, Steven Gadsby was the lead builder, and captained the team in featherweight competitions, also driving the robot to victory in the Seventh Wars. He was accompanied by his son Ian[1], who was uncredited because the featherweight competitors did not have their own statistic boards. For Round 1, Mike Lambert was part of the team, but due to him being busy fixing Dantomkia[2], Daniel Lambert took his place for the final.
Robot History[]
Series 7[]
In its first round melee, DTK faced off against previous finalists Bernard and Cutlet, Staglet, Alienator, Typhoon Cadet and the walker Mammoth. DTK was in the thick of the action from activate, immediately targeting Bernard and flipping over the invertible machine. It then attacked Alienator, but couldn't get its flipper under it far enough to overturn it, and received a hit from Alienator's spinner in response.
- "Little DTK is doing good work there."
- — Jonathan Pearce
DTK held back for a brief period, before moving in to attack Bernard again, this time missing its flip. After barely lifting Mammoth off the floor with its next attack, DTK retreated and missed another flip on Alienator, before attacking Mammoth once more, this time nearly tipping the walker over completely. DTK turned its attention to Staglet, flicking it over completely, then chased after Cutlet for a brief period.
After missing a flip on Cutlet, DTK flipped Staglet over again, before DTK flipped Cutlet onto its back. As the overturned Cutlet was edged towards the pit by Mammoth, DTK bumped into Refbot, before flipping Typhoon Cadet over and engaging with Staglet and Bernard. With DTK pressuring it, Staglet drove itself into the pit soon after Cutlet was pitted, and DTK finally flipped Mammoth onto its side, the walker unable to self-right without a srimech.
- "Oh, you're never gonna lift Mammoth, surely! Look at that for guts and determination out there!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as DTK flips Mammoth onto its side
Meanwhile, Alienator suddenly came back to life after nearly being counted out, and DTK shoved it across the arena floor, only able to push its opponent forwards with the front of its flipper. Bernard then slid up DTK's flipper soon after, but it was unable to register a flip before Bernard slipped off again. With Mammoth smashed by the drop zone, Typhoon Cadet pitted and Bernard trying to push Sir Killalot, DTK focused on Alienator for the final few seconds, flicking it away and getting one last shove across the arena floor before time expired, and the judges' decided to send DTK through along with Bernard, eliminating Alienator.
- Craig Charles: "I like the Featherweights and the little ones, cos it just seems like harder work, really."
- Daniel Lambert: "Yeah, it is, but it's more fiddly than the big one."
- — Post-battle interview
In the final, DTK faced Bernard again, alongside Prince of Awe, Rampage 2, Rip and Whipper. DTK began with a missed flip on Rip, followed by similarly unsuccessful attacks on Whipper and Prince of Awe. As Bernard activated the pit, DTK flipped Prince of Awe over, who self-righted quickly, before flipping Whipper too. Whipper replied quickly, flicking over DTK with an attack of its own, but DTK righted itself immediately.
- "Whipper gets rid of DTK - no it doesn't - DTK self-rights!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
After flipping Bernard, DTK was lifted slightly from behind by Prince of Awe, before deciding to shove Rampage 2 from the side. DTK was then completely flipped over by Prince of Awe, but it self-righted quickly once again. It engaged again with Whipper, but both machines missed their respective flips; DTK turned to face Rampage 2, who appeared to be only driving on one wheel, flipping it up and over Bernard. Although Bernard chased DTK briefly, DTK escaped when Prince of Awe attacked Bernard. DTK then appeared to turn and face Rip, but the green machine drove itself into the pit, and DTK turned back to face the rest of the action. It then beached Bernard on its wedge while its flipper was raised, and this allowed DTK to guide Bernard into the pit.
- "Bernard edged towards the pit by DTK; three remain..."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Bernard is pitted
DTK shifted its attention to Prince of Awe, flicking it away from Whipper's flipper. After overturning Whipper, DTK was able to get behind Prince of Awe, and pushed it across the length of the arena and down into the pit.
- "There, you can see DTK pushing Prince of Awe across the arena floor, and continuing to do so towards the pit! And Prince of Awe has gone! And then, there were two!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
With seconds remaining, Rampage 2 was launched out of the arena by the Floor Flipper, and cease was called, with only DTK and Whipper surviving to the judges' decision. The judges awarded the battle to DTK due to its aggression, and it became the new Featherweight Champion.
Results[]
DTK - RESULTS | ||
Series 7 | ||
Special Events Featherweight Championship, Champion | ||
Round 1 | vs. Alienator, Bernard, Cutlet, Mammoth, Staglet, Typhoon Cadet | Qualified |
Final | vs. Bernard, Prince of Awe, Rampage 2, Rip, Whipper | Won |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 0
Series Record[]
Main Series | DTK Series Record |
---|---|
The First Wars | Did not enter |
The Second Wars | Did not enter |
The Third Wars | Did not enter |
The Fourth Wars | Failed to qualify with Dantomkia |
The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
The Sixth Wars | Entered with Dantomkia |
The Seventh Wars | Featherweight Champion Entered with Dantomkia |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
Series 1 | Did not enter |
Series 2 | Entered with Dantomkia |
Although Dantomkia appeared in Series 8, it was not under ownership of Team Dantomkia, builders of DTK
Outside Robot Wars[]
Before making its televised debut in the Seventh Wars, DTK first competed at the Dutch Robot Games in 2003. All three of its fights were rumbles against Katrip, RC 2, Peagal, and in the latter two, Inexistence. DTK won the initial four-way rumble, but otherwise lost the two five-way rumbles to Katrip[3].
Trivia[]
- DTK was the last robot to win a non-heavyweight tournament during the TV show's run.
- DTK was the only featherweight robot to push multiple opponents into the pit during a single fight, although Argh! notably pitted Katnip and beached Bernard on the edge of the pit in the Extreme 2 Featherweight Final.
- With DTK, Team Dantomkia were the only team to directly defeat Team Typhoon in a non-heavyweight competition, after flipping Typhoon Cadet over in its first round battle.
Honours[]
References[]
- ↑ Correspondence with Wiki user Drop Zone mk2
- ↑ Correspondence with Wiki user Drop Zone mk2
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060128030110/http://www.dutchrobotgames.nl/cgi-bin/pda
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