Dantomkia

Dantomkia
Participation Information
UK Series	6-8, Extreme 2
Robot Wars Live Circuit	2013-16
Team Information
Team	Team Dantomkia (Series 6-7, Extreme 2) Team S.Tek (Series 8)
Team Members	Team Dantomkia Michael Lambert Daniel Lambert Steven Gadsby Team S.Tek Shane Swan Stuart Barnwell Kevin Tonry Aimee Burch
From	Chertsey, Surrey (Series 6-7, Extreme 2) Wolverhampton (Series 8)
Robot Statistics
Weight	108kg
Dimensions	0.36m x 1.18m x 0.83m
Clearance	5cm
Top Speed	20mph
Power	Lithium polymer battery (28.8v)
Drive	750W motors (24v)
Weapons	Pneumatic flipper
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"The oil of opponents bubbles with fear, when they face the wrath of Dantomkia! Named after Mike's children (Dan, Tom and Kia), this is a fast, agile and aggressive robot with a superb high-pressured flipper. A definite contender, this is one of the toughest 'bots on the block."

— From an article on Dantomkia in the Series 7 Programme

Dantomkia was a competitor robot which fought in Series 6-8 of Robot Wars, and the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. Originally built and entered by the Surrey-based Team Dantomkia, it was subsequently bought by Lincolnshire-based Team S.Tek for its entry into Series 8.

Dantomkia enjoyed a considerable amount of success and is considered one of the few "All-Star" robots to debut after the Fourth Wars. It reached the Semi-Finals in its inaugural campaign, defeating the seeded Chaos 2 in the Heat Final, but going on to lose to S3 and ultimately Razer after it won the Losers' Melee. It also reached the Semi-Finals of Series 7, defeating IG-88 in a manner of seconds, before being dispatched by Dutch competitor Gravity with similar speed in the Semi-Finals. Dantomkia also achieved reasonable success in side competitions, such as the Extreme 2 Challenge Belt and the Series 7 All-Stars. Under new management, Dantomkia entered Series 8 and reached the Heat Final with wins over Overdozer, GlitterBomb, Big Nipper and King B Remix but was defeated twice by TR2.

Dantomkia holds the record for the most robots flipped out of the arena (nine, plus one untelevised), a trend it began in its second ever battle with Mighty Mouse and extended all the way to its penultimate battle of the original show with Panic Attack. One of these robots was the original performer of the feat and then-record holder, Chaos 2. Dantomkia also broke Cerberus's long standing shortest battle record in the fight with IG-88, but this record was broken quickly in its own fight with Gravity, where it was defeated in six seconds; a record that stood for 14 years before Rapid defeated Track-tion in 5.6 seconds in Series 10.

Design

"Fast, agile - with a full pressure flipper and full-bodied spinner capability - it's aggressive, it has a proven track record for its design and construction. Good, interesting robot, this."

— Jonathan Pearce in Extreme 2

Dantomkia in Series 6

Dantomkia in the pits for Series 6

Dantomkia was a boxy bi-wedge shaped robot painted yellow and black and armed with a narrow pneumatic flipper. It took three weeks to build for its Series 6 guise. The flipper could fire with two tonnes of pressure and in less than one twenty-fifth of a second, and was capable of between 35 and 40 flips at a time. The weaponry was inspired by the weapons system of Bigger Brother (see Qualification) and helped to inspire the pneumatics system for the Series 7 version of Gravity.

"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

Official photo of Dantomkia in Extreme 2

Dantomkia in the arena during Extreme 2

Dantomkia's shape and weight distribution meant that it was rear-heavy. To overcome this, a pneumatic ram was linked to a rear castor, pushing the front of Dantomkia down. 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.

Top view of Dantomkia in the Seventh Wars

Dantomkia with its wedges raised in Series 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. The robot's frame was made from box-section steel, 25mm thick at the front, and 20mm on the rest of the robot, drilled to keep the weight down. The armour was grade 5 titanium, with a an extra layer of polycarbonate (Between 10 and 12mm thick) on top. For Series 7, the front was upgraded, with 3mm of HARDOX

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, as it featured a new set of HARDOX cone wedges.

The robot had Hawker Odyssey batteries, Bosch 750 Watt motors and Vantec RDFR 47E speed controllers. The flipper was powered by high-pressure pneumatics with liquid CO₂, at 1000psi.

Dantomkia in Series 8 with its flipper in the fired position

Dantomkia in Series 8 with its flipper rested

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 consisted of tank-grade steel, its weight was increased from 96kg to 108kg, and the robot could 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 was removed from the paint-job.

"This team of friends have the moves like Brucey, and a flipper-bot made of tank-grade armour steel! One of the quickest robots in the competition, Aimee Burch's role is team counsellor - rehabilitating the rest of the team, after harrowing robot battles!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Dantomkia

Etymology

Dantomkia in Series 8 notably did not have the robot's name painted on it

Dantomkia's name was derived from Michael Lambert's three children: Daniel, Thomas and Kiara. The name Dantomkia was kept even after the robot was entered into the show by new owners unrelated to the Lambert family. Notably, builder Michael Lambert pronounced the name as "Dan-tom-key", despite all official sources (barring one error from Stuart McDonald) and Team S.Tek using the pronunciation "Dan-tom-key-a".

The Team

Main article: Team Dantomkia

Team Dantomkia in Extreme 2

Dantomkia was originally built by Michael Lambert, the captain of the Surrey-based Team Dantomkia, which also featured his son Daniel Lambert, and friend Steven Gadsby. This static roster completed the line-up of Dantomkia's team for all of its appearances in the original run of Robot Wars.

Team S.Tek in Series 8

For its return to the show in 2016, Dantomkia entered Series 8 under the ownership of Team S.Tek, captained by Lincolnshire-based arcade manager Shane Swan. Former Team Kat captain and driver of Pussycat, Stuart Barnwell, also featured on the team alongside his partner Aimee Birch, and pub manager Kevin Tonry.

Dantomkia would then be purchased by Team Slam, captained by Matthew Pearman, who attempted to enter Series 9 with the robot, although it ultimately was not selected to compete.

Qualification

The original Dantomkia, which failed to qualify for Series 4. Note the lack of weapon, and the box-shaped rear

The original Dantomkia (retrospectively named Dantomkia 1.0) had a significantly different form to its televised counterpart, being a wedged box-shaped robot with twin cutting wedges and 8-12mm polycarbonate armour. Otherwise running without an active weapon, it attempted to qualify for Series 4 by attending the Robot Mayhem live event, fighting two battles against Anorakaphobia and Last Rights respectively.

"The first fight was against a robot called Anoraknaphobia {sic} - it was so boring I nearly went to sleep! The second fight was against Last Rights, a very powerful spinner. I won that easily. It was a very good and hard fight."

— Michael Lambert on Dantomkia 1.0's qualifiers battles

Although Dantomkia beat both of its opponents, it ultimately failed to qualify, which Mike Lambert believed was due to the battles being seen as "boring". Because of this, Lambert endeavoured to create a new version that was more powerful, faster and more effective.

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. Inspired by this conversation, Lambert opted to equip all subsequent incarnations of Dantomkia with a flipper inspired by the future Series 5 runner-up.

"I had a long hard head to head with Ian Watts of Bigger Brother and Sam Smith from Tiberious {sic} over a nice pint of beer and during this discussion I decided to make a flipper. Ian showed me how Bigger Brother worked and said that I could use his method and here I am. A Flipper robot was placed on the drawing board."

— Michael Lambert on the Dantomkia website

Dantomkia did not enter Series 5, due to Mike Lambert vowing not to return after not being selected for Series 4.

"No. Series 4. I refused to do 5 and 6. Yes, I know I was in 6. But that was by request. I went a few years where I refused to have anything to do with it. … I entered 4, went to auditions and slaughtered the opposition. I did 2 fights, not 1. Was told at the time that we were in. (This was the first version of Dantomkia) but in the end we were not called up. So I vowed to not do it again. I had been active on the live cct since before ser 3 and knew all the roboteer and robots. Any way, Ian Watts (bigger brother) asked me to take my new version of Dantomkia (became Spitfire) to the States to do BattleBots. I did pretty good. The day after I returned to the UK from doing that Mentorn called me and asked why I hadn't entered Robotwars. So I told them. Within 30 mins of that call I had the producer (I can't remember his name) call me and apologise for past treatment and to formally request that we attend trials. "Win and your in" was the new promised way. That gave me 10 days to build a new robot. Spitfire (name and likeness) was signed over to comedy central so I needed a new robot that was the same but different enough. Dantomkia Mk3 was born. The rest is history."

— Mike Lambert on not entering Series 5 (Edited)

Dantomkia at the Sixth Wars qualifiers

Dantomkia MK2 was only finished the morning of the Series 6 auditions.

"We finished at 1.00am. So we had to test-drive it in the kitchen. It ripped up the lino and took the bottom off the oven!"

— Steven Gadsby, interviewed in Ultimate Real Robots magazine Issue 60

In its qualifier battle, Dantomkia fought Destruct-A-Bubble, Iron-Awe 2 and Maximus. Dantomkia went straight for Iron-Awe 2, flipping it against the wall and managed to stand it up on its back with its axe hanging over the perimeter barrier of the arena. Dantomkia then went after Maximus, which was fighting with Destruct-A-Bubble, and flipped Maximus over against the arena wall. Maximus was unable to right itself, and Dantomkia spent the rest of the battle fighting with Destruct-A-Bubble. Although it was not able to immobilise Destruct-A-Bubble, Dantomkia was named the winner of the battle and qualified for Series 6, with Iron-Awe 2 also being given a discretionary place.

Official Series 7 photo

Dantomkia automatically qualified for Series 7 as a seeded machine, and was selected for Series 8 based on its pedigree.

Before Series 9 was filmed, Dantomkia changed hands to Team Slam, who applied to enter the series with a largely unchanged version of the robot, but they were not chosen to compete.

Robot History

Series 6

"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

Competing in Heat C, Dantomkia’s first battle in Robot Wars was against Series 5 Heat Finalist, Crushtacean, and fellow newcomers Doctor Fist, and Mr Nasty. Mike Lambert appeared confident in the pre-battle interview with Philippa Forrester, but in a interview in Robot Wars: The Official Magazine Issue 2, Mike Lambert claimed "The only weakness that we have is that we're nervous!"

Philippa Forrester: "Now you have a range of weaponry here, which I want you to talk me through."

Mike Lambert: "Ok. First we have a high-pressure flipper - closed to fully open, less than 25th of a second. Two tonnes of force at this point here {just above the ram}. We have some chisel spikes at the front."

Philippa Forrester: "So you can flip the likes of Doctor Fist and Crushtacean?"

Mike Lambert: "Oh yes! We'll take them out of the arena! Doctor Fist's wheels are coming off, Crushtacean's going out!"

Philippa Forrester: "Anything else we need to know about?"

Mike Lambert: "It's a full-body spinner."

Philippa Forrester: "It's a full-body spinner?"

Mike Lambert: "Yep, tail goes down, the nose goes up and it spins!"

Philippa Forrester: "You lucky, lucky people! This is going to be a battle to remember!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia shoves Doctor Fist into an angle grinder

Dantomkia went after Mr Nasty first, which drove to the centre of the arena as Dantomkia drove towards it, and as Dantomkia turned to face it and chased after it, Mr Nasty turned, then reversed up the arena. Dantomkia kept in pursuit, catching up with Mr Nasty by the floor flipper, trying to get under the back, but Mr Nasty drove away, driving into Refbot. Dantomkia turned away and drove around Crushtacean, but Crushtacean drove at Mr Nasty as it drove down the arena. As Crushtacean pushed Mr Nasty down the arena, Doctor First drove into Dantomkia. Dantomkia rammed Doctor Fist against one of the angle grinders on the arena side wall, whilst Crushtacean cut off Mr Nasty's aerial, leaving it immobile. With Doctor Fist immobile, Dantomkia drove at Crushteacean, getting under the side and pushing it across the arena towards the side wall.

"Mr Nasty seems to have got problems. Crushtacean also, as Dantomkia comes in underneath. That ground clearance, 4 centimetres, it is an Achilles heel for Crushtacean."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia rams Crushtacean

Dantomkia tries unsucessfull to flip Mr Nasty out of the arena

Crushtacean tried to turn away from Dantomkia, but Dantomkia kept pushing it. Crushtacean reversed away from Dantomkia, backing towards an empty CPZ at the bottom of the arena. Dantomkia kept after it, getting under the front, pushing it into the CPZ and flipping it up against the arena wall. Crushtacean slid down the wall, but one of its claws was stuck on the wall, preventing the robot from slipping back to the floor. Dantomkia then went after the immobile Mr Nasty, pushing it to the bottom arena wall, leaving it resting on its back. Dantomkia reversed for another charge, then charged back at Mr Nasty to try and flip it out of the arena. However, it failed to get its flipper properly under the back of Mr Nasty, which slipped off the flipper. Dantomkia reversed, then drove back at Mr Nasty to try again, and as Dantomkia drove back into it, Mr Nasty fell off the wall and onto the flipper, so when Dantomkia fired, it was thrown over Dantomkia's side rather than over the fence.

"Meanwhile Dantomkia has another go at Mr Nasty, who I'm sure by now has been technically immobilised. ... There's Dantomkia coming in again, I thought it was going to be a good machine. Poor Mr Nasty."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia tries to flip Mr Nasty out

Dantomkia flips Crushtacean into the pit release button

Meanwhile, Sir Killalot grabbed Crushtacean with his claw, pulled it off the wall, carried it out of the CPZ and span around with it. As Sir Killalot dropped Crushtacean, Dantomkia went back at Doctor Fist, flipping it up onto its side, then charged across the arena at Doctor Fist, getting under the side and flipping it over. One of Crushtacean's claws was fully open, and it failed to drive away, so Dantomkia rammed into its back, pushing it down the arena. Dantomkia tried to get under its side and flip, but missed, with the flipper going between Crushtacean's claws.

"Dantomkia is certainly the most effective, dominant, agile, destructive machine in this particular four-way melee."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia rams Crushtacean down the arena

Dantomkia dropped Crushtacean, and it reversed away. Dantomkia then drove at Doctor Fist, which was being counted out by Refbot. Dantomkia pushed Doctor Fist, pushing it back onto its wheels, but it was still immobile, so Dantomkia turned away, leaving it to be counted out, and went back after Crushtacean, getting under its front and pushing it to the side of the arena, then turning and ramming it down the arena, flipping it against the Pit release button. Dantomkia backed off, as Refbot counted out Mr Nasty, and Sir Killalot knocked Crushtacean off the Pit release button with his claw. Dantomkia went back after Doctor Fist, flipping it against the Disc of Doom button,

"Dantomkia shuffling around, doing as much damage as it can do for later on, and very impressive too!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia flips the immobile Doctor Fist

Dantomkia backed off to allow Sir Killalot to pull it away from the wall, and push it down the arena towards the Pit, where Sgt. Bash was backing Mr Nasty towards the Pit. Sgt. Bash pushed Mr Nasty to the edge, then Sir Killalot pushed the two competitors in together. Crushtacean had also been immobilised after being flipped against the Pit release button by Dantomkia, but went through along with Dantomkia.

"That was good... but we're still nervous!"

— Mike Lambert after the battle, interviewed in Robot Wars: The Official Magazine

Dantomkia's next fight was against Trevor Wright's new robot Mighty Mouse. In Robot Wars: the Official Magazine, Mike Lambert claimed he was "still nervous, but getting more confident".

Philippa Forrester: "You're up against Mighty Mouse, how do you feel?"

Mike Lambert: "Pretty good, pretty calm."

Philippa Forrester: "Technically, they can flip and work on, you know, both sides anyway."

Mike Lambert: "They can't work outside the arena!"

Philippa Forrester: "Oh ho, that's it is it?"

Mike Lambert: "Rather easy, I get the timing right this time, they're history! Get 'em a parachute for Christas!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia shoves Mighty Mouse across the arena in the early stages

Dantomkia tried to drive at Mighty Mouse, but Mighty Mouse was too fast for it - as Dantomkia drove towards it, Mighty Mouse speedily drove across the arena. Dantomkia turned to face it, and as Mighty Mouse tried to drive around Dantomkia, Dantomkia got under the side, but Mighty Mouse slipped of the front wedges and Dantomkia turned too far. Mighty Mouse drove across to the other side of the arena, with Dantomkia chasing after it. Mighty Mouse nearly drove onto the flame pit, but stopped in time and turned away as Dantomkia drove at it. Dantomkia turned and charged at Mighty Mouse, but Mighty Mouse swerved to avoid it, then drove past Dantomkia as it turned around. Mighty Mouse turned to face Dantomkia, but as it charged at it, Dantomkia got underneath it, getting under the side, then rammed it down the arena towards a CPZ, but missed with the flipper as Mighty Mouse slid off as Dantomkia pushed it into the CPZ.

"Dantomkia, I think looking to get a hold of Mighty Mouse, but Mighty Mouse is too quick across the arena floor. Now here's the trouble, Dantomkia straight in underneath Mighty Mouse..."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia chases Mighty Mouse, then gets under it

Dantomkia nearly chucks Mighty Mouse out of the arena

Mighty Mouse reversed up to the top of the arena, and Dantomkia chased after it, catching up with it at the top of the arena. Mighty Mouse tried to turn away, but Dantomkia turned with it, and got into Mighty Mouse's side again and rammed it to the top arena wall, flipped it on top of the middle arena entry gate, but it failed to get it over the fence, with Mighty Mouse bouncing back down.

"Look at this, how close was this? Almost out of the arena! Right on top! Bounced down on the side wall, came back down into play, Mighty Mouse, bounced away. That was a close squeak!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Mighty Mouse narrowly avoids being flipped out of the arena

Mighty Mouse, up against the Disc of Doom release bumper, having been flipped against by Dantomkia

Mighty Mouse turned and reversed away, then charged back at Dantomkia, but Dantomkia got under the side and then shoved Mighty Mouse over to Sir Killalot's CPZ, pushing it into Sir Killalot's claw. Sir Killalot pushed Mighty Mouse away from the CPZ, and as Sir Killalot reversed, Mighty Mouse turned to drive at Dantomkia as it charged at it. The two crashed into each other, and Dantomkia quickly got under Mighty Mouse's side, then rammed it over to the side of the arena, then threw Mighty Mouse onto the Disc of Doom button, leaving it stranded on its side, but Refbot freed it.

"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."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015

Dantomkia gets the desired flip

Dantomkia charged in again, knocking Mighty Mouse onto its side, but as Dantomkia drove at Mighty Mouse, it was thrown away by the Disc of Doom as it drove all it drove over the Disc of Doom before it could launch another attack. Dantomkia turned, and drove into the base of the upturned Mighty Mouse, righting it, and tried to flip it, but Mighty Mouse slid off the front wedges so Dantomkia missed. Mighty Mouse drove around Dantomkia, then drove away from it, but then stopped, and Dantomkia charged at it, getting under the back. Dantomkia shoved Mighty Mouse over to the arena wall, pinning it against an angle grinder, where Mighty Mouse became the first of many robots that Dantomkia would flip out of the arena, with Dantomkia spinning around in celebration as 'cease' was called.

"...Mighty Mouse, finally, is flicked from the arena floor and out! The tail came off, but the end of this particular tale, is gory for fans of mice! Out of the arena - are you a mouse, or a metal-mayhem-mashing machine? Dantomkia is just that, and Mighty Mouse is no more!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Mighty Mouse is flipped out of the arena

Dantomkia had therefore reached the Heat Final in its first appearance.

Dantomkia faced an intimidating Heat Final, against two-time champion and number 5 seed Chaos 2. Before the battle, Jonathan Pearce backed Chaos 2 to win based on its experience, but Craig Charles actually backed them to win despite their experience, based on how Chaos 2 had not adapted for the newer robots.

Philippa Forrester: "Chaos 2, I mean you're really in with the big boy now! You've not shown any, any sign of fear or nervousness, are you gonna show any now?"

Mike Lambert: "Well to fear something I have to have something to fear about, and they're not it!"

Philippa Forrester: "They've replaced their motors, they're on fine form..."

Mike Lambert: "They need to! They're gonna be retired, big time!"

Steve Gadsby: "No problem!"

— High confidence from Team Dantomkia in the pre-battle interview

Dantomkia is thrown through the air by Chaos 2

Dantomkia started by cautiously driving towards the arena centre, then stopping as Chaos 2 drove towards it. Dantomkia drove past Chaos 2, but nearly drove onto the flame pit. It stopped in time, and turned to face Chaos 2, then drove at its opponent, but couldn't breach the ground clearance and drove onto Chaos 2's flipper, allowing the fifth seed to flip Dantomkia high into the air, but Dantomkia landed right side up.

"Naïve and inexperienced driving there I thought from Dantomkia. They exposed themselves for Chaos 2."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia and Chaos 2 desperately try to escape from their positions

Dantomkia drove back at Chaos 2, driving around to its side. Chaos 2 turned, but Dantomkia got at Chaos 2's front corner, then pushed it nto the CPZ. Chaos 2 tried to turn away, but Dantomkia kept pushing. Chaos 2 got its flipper under the front of Dantomkia, but Dantomkia pushed it into the corner, where Chaos 2 flipped it over again. The force of the flip was so great that both robots ended up on their backs. Dantomkia failed to right itself first time as it was too close to the arena wall, and then propped itself up against the arena wall with its second attempt, as Sir Killalot came into the CPZ. Sir Killalot gave Dantomkia a little push, but it was still caught on the wall, and Dantomkia fired the flipper again as Sir Killalot tried to give it another push, but the flip wasn't powerful enough to shake Dantomkia off the wall, whilst also causing it to slide along the wall, so Sir Killalot missed with its push. While Chaos 2 was attacked by Shunt, Dantomkia took two more flips to flick itself off of the arena wall, but Chaos 2 was having difficulty getting back onto its wheels, as it appeared that it did not have enough CO₂ to flip themselves over.

"Dantomkia, they're ok! They're first up and away, and they'll come in now with a full-frontal slam on Chaos 2."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia self-rights, whilst Chaos 2 fails

Dantomkia crashes into Chaos 2

Dantomkia seals its place in the Series Semi-Finals

Dantomkia turned around and charged into Chaos 2, pushing it against the arena wall and lifting it up slightly with the flipper before backing away and receiving a light push from Shunt. Despite multiple flips, Chaos 2 could not right itself, and Dantomkia took advantage by charging at it again and flipping it out of the arena, ending the hopes of the previous champion in a major upset.

"Chaos 2 have gone! For the first time ever, that machine has failed to reach a series Semi-Final! And Dantomkia; Michael Lambert, Daniel his son, Steven Gadsby - brilliant! Dantomkia are through to the series Semi! What a performance, what a machine! This could go all the way!"

— Jonathan Pearce in shock as Dantomkia flips Chaos 2 out

Dantomkia spun round in delight once again as cease was called.

Craig Charles: "New kids on the block, and you're turning some heads!"

Michael Lambert: "We've worked hard for it."

Craig Charles: "People are quaking in the pits, no one wants to fight you now!"

Michael Lambert: "We'll have to pick some victims!"

— The interview after the fight with Chaos 2

In the Series Semi-Finals, Dantomkia’s first battle saw it go up against the number 7 seed S3.

Philippa Forrester: "How are you doing?"

Mike Lambert: "Not bad!"

Philippa Forrester: "S3 don't like flippers, that's quite good news for you, isn't it?"

Mike Lambert: "Parachutes!"

Philippa Forrester: "You took Chaos out, can you take them out?"

Mike Lambert: "Oh yes!, you watch!"

Philippa Forrester: "Oh absolutely! Not a shred of nerves!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia gets under S3, but is unable to flip

Dantomkia got off the line faster, whilst S3 stayed still, waiting for its opponent. Dantomkia drove straight at S3 and pushed it slightly towards the arena wall, getting its flipper under S3's disc, but S3 turned and slid off before Dantomkia could activate its flipper. Dantomkia chased after S3 as it reversed, trying to get under one of the wheels, but S3 turned, so Dantomkia was forced to turn away to avoid its disc. Dantomkia turned back at S3, then turned around to try and get under one of its wheels, but S3 turned to face Dantomkia again, so Dantomkia was forced to turn away to avoid the flywheel. S3 drove towards the arena wall, and turned to face Dantomkia, and Dantomkia charged at S3, getting at its side, but struggled to get underneath S3. The two span together as Dantomkia tried to get underneath, and Dantomkia turned away, and received a hit to its side from the flywheel. Dantomkia was knocked aside, and S3 went in for another attack, but Dantomkia turned, and as S3 tried to turn away, Dantomkia at the side of its flywheel, then pushed S3 across the arena. S3 tried turning to get away, and Dantomkia kept pushing, but S3 turned off the front wedges and slipped off again.

"Dantomkia has the full bottle pressure flipper to get in underneath S3's 3 cm ground clearance...didn't flip, why? I wonder. Is it working properly?"

— Jonathan Pearce as S3 gets off Dantomkia's front wedge

Dantomkia wedges itself under an angle grinder

Dantomkia kept chasing after, getting under the side of the flywheel, but S3 toppled over and fell off. Dantomkia then tried to charge S3, but missed and drove itself under an angle grinder, which it became wedged under and couldn’t free itself.

"They could have wedged themselves in underneath. What do you think? I think they're wedged there...so S3 can come in and slice!"

— Jonathan Pearce

S3 further damages the immobilised and pinned Dantomkia

Dantomkia is pitted by Sir Killalot

S3 capitalised on this opportunity and reversed into Dantomkia, then turned around and struck Dantomkia’s rear with its flywheel. Refbot freed Dantomkia from the wall, but S3's attack had immobilised Dantomkia by knocking out the safety link. Sgt. Bash pushed it away from the arena wall, but it was immobile and it was subsequently counted out. Sir Killalot came in and attacked Dantomkia, while Sgt. Bash activated the Pit release. Dantomkia was lifted up into the air by Sir Killalot's claw and paraded around the arena in the House Robot's grip before carrying it to the Pit and dropping it in.

"This is a surprise for me, and a disappointment as well because Dantomkia were hugely impressive in the heats, but in the Semi-Finals, they go into the Losers' Melee. Stunned. Both teams to be honest. So am I."

— Jonathan Pearce as Refbot counts Dantomkia out

Dantomkia had lost for the first time, but it was not out of the competition because it went into the Losers' Melee.

Philippa Forrester: "There's not much damage sustained?"

Mike Lambert: "No, minimal. Killalot did this {a hole in the front}, I have a small hole here {on the side}, and I have a dent at the back, and I had to put the link back in."

Philippa Forrester: "'Cause what happened? It's tragic! What happened?"

Mike Lambert: "I hit the wall so hard, my link popped out, no doubt."

— Post-battle interview

In the Losers’ Melee, Dantomkia faced 13 Black and the 9th seed Wild Thing. The Dantomkia team was one of several which helped to repair Wild Thing for this battle beforehand, with Steven Gadsby having to the pre-battle interview with Philippa Forrester as Mike and Daniel Lambert were busy working on Wild Thing.

Philippa Forrester: "Now, if I was you, I wouldn't be helping the competition."

Steven Gadsby: "Well, the way we see it, I mean we're all roboteers, we're all helping each other out, my other two teammates are over there helping Wild Thing out at the moment, putting it back together. I'm just checking this one over, we didn't really sustain any damage in the last fight, just a technical fault with one of the links, as you know. So, I'm just giving this the once-over, they're helping 'em out just to get it sorted really."

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia flips over Wild Thing early on

On activate, Dantomkia immediately targeted Wild Thing, which also charged at Dantomkia. The two charged into each other head-on in the arena centre, and Dantomkia got underneath Wild Thing, then rammed it up the arena and flipped it over into an empty CPZ. Dantomkia then took a glancing blow from 13 Black before turning to face Wild Thing once more. Wild Thing drove over its front wedges, and Dantomkia turned around and took another hit from 13 Black as it span on the spot, but Dantomkia pushed on, trying to get under 13 Black as it span. It briefly got under 13 Black's front, but 13 Black reversed off, backing to the arena wall, then turning away as Dantomkia drove after it. Dantomkia tried to get under 13 Black's side, but it turned away, and Dantomkia accidentally drove into Sir Killalot's CPZ.

"Dantomkia very much on the prowl, smashing onto 13 Black, looking to come again."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia chases after 13 Black

Dantomkia throws 13 Black over

Dantomkia quickly got out of the CPZ before Sir Killalot could grab it, and it drove past 13 Black, which hit Wild Thing with its discs. Dantomkia accidentally bashed into the Refbot's side, then turned. 13 Black reversed to the arena side wall, so Dantomkia drove over and blocked it as it tried to get away from the wall, before finally driving in underneath 13 Black's side, ramming it across the arena and flipping it onto its back against the arena wall by a CPZ. Wild Thing rammed past Dantomkia into the CPZ, so Dantomkia then flipped it against the arena wall before Dead Metal came in and attacked the trio, grabbing the back of Dantomkia and pulling it away from Wild Thing. Dantomkia escaped as Dead Metal let go, leaving 13 Black to Dead Metal and Wild Thing to Sir Killalot before it activated the Pit release. As the Pit was activated, Sir Killalot let go of Wild Thing, and it charged away from the CPZ, but drove over the Pit as it started to lower, and couldn’t get off of the descending Pit in time, so it went out.

"Dantomkia, trying to... OH! Wild Thing has driven straight into the Pit! Dantomkia just pressed the release button, Wild Thing unawares, drove themselves onto it!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Wild Thing drives into the pit as Dantomkia opens it

Dantomkia joins a spinning 13 Black

Dantomkia wedges itself under the angle grinder again

Meanwhile, Dead Metal had been cutting into the base of the overturned 13 Black, but he let go, and though it was still on its back, 13 Black managed to achieve mobility by shuffling around with its discs, as Dantomkia looked on. It turned away from the CPZ, then hobbled away from the CPZ. 13 Black began spinning round and round on the spot, and Dantomkia joined in, like a bizarre sort of dance, before Dantomkia tried to flip 13 Black up onto the arena wall. It failed on its first attempt as it didn't have the flipper fully under its opponent, so 13 Black slipped off as the flipper fired. With 13 Black caught against the arena wall, Dantomkia fired the flipper again, but fired too early, before it was under 13 Black, so missed again. Dead Metal cut into 13 Black, but as he let go, Dantomkia nudged 13 Black over to the Pit release button. Dantomkia flipped 13 Black onto the button, and it then landed back upright.

"Dantomkia looks much stronger now, don't you agree? ... I think Dantomkia want 13 Black out of the arena! Just as they flipped Mighty Mouse earlier on in the series, and Chaos 2. 13 Black wants none of it!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia pushes the overturned 13 Black over to the Pit release button

Dantomkia gets underneath 13 Black

Dantomkia reversed, which allowed 13 Black to fall back down and flee up the arena, and Dantomkia gave chase before managing to drive under the same angle grinder for the second battle in a row after missing a charge on 13 Black. Just like in its match against S3, Dantomkia was stuck, so the House Robots freed it, with Sir Killalot reversing into Dantomkia's side to push it free. 13 Black slammed into Dantomkia, connecting with both discs and leaving one of Dantomkia's rear outer panels hanging off. 13 Black drove to the arena centre, and Dantomkia charged at it, driving around and getting at its side, then pushed it to the side of the arena. Dantomkia flipped 13 Black over once more and then pushed it towards the opposite arena wall, flicking the spinner up one last time just before time ran out.

"Dantomkia, one or two shoves more. It's gonna go to the Judges this; I don't think they'll have too much work to do to decide the winner."

— Jonathan Pearce

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.

Craig Charles: "Well, the new kids on the block. Mixed reception from the crowd, but I tell you what, it was obvious you won to me!"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah, when you turn them upside down and leave them there, and they stay upside-down for the fight, they're dead!"

Craig Charles: "Yeah, they were upside-down for ages, weren't they?"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah. The other one was in the Pit, they're dead!"

Craig Charles: "You were gutted when you lost your last fight, and you've come in through the back door!"

— Post-battle interview

It then fought Razer the defending champion, two-time World champion and number 1 seed for a place in the Grand Final.

Philippa Forrester: "It's interesting that they {Team Razer} should mention the gearbox, because between you {the viewer}, me and this lot, the gearbox is kind of stuck together isn't it?"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah."

Philippa Forrester: "I think they might have a go at your gearbox."

Mike Lambert: "They've got to get to them!"

Philippa Forrester: "So what are your tactics?"

Mike Lambert: "I can turn faster than them, so if I can get to the side of them or the rear, we might have the advantage."

Philippa Forrester: "On and on and on and keep moving! Get them over, get them out!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia is gripped for the first time by Razer

Razer moved in quickly, whilst Dantomkia moved cautiously towards Razer. As the two competitors came together, Dantomkia turned to avoid Razer's claw, then turned away, but Razer got under Dantomkia's side and grabbed hold of it. Dantomkia flicked the flipper in an attempt to free itself to no avail. Dantomkia was helpless as Razer held onto it for several seconds from the side, and Dantomkia used its one wheel that was touching the floor to turn Razer around, but Razer kept hold, before letting go of it.

"Can the unseeded underdogs create one of the greatest surprises in Robot Wars history? Or will Dantomkia's impressive run end right here and now? They try a flick, but Razer's already got them gripped."

— Jonathan Pearce as Razer grabs Dantomkia

Dantomkia avoids Razer's beak for the moment

Dantomkia twisted away as Razer drove after it again, before turning head-on into Razer, getting under its front and pushing the reigning champion across the length of the arena and slammed it into the bottom arena wall. Dantomkia reversed, and as Razer drove after it, Dantomkia drove around it. Razer turned to face it, and Dantomkia drove around Razer again, brushing past it. Dantomkia turned around again, but this time turned too far, turning right in front of Razer, which grabbed Dantomkia again, puncturing the top but was unable to cause any major damage to the outer shell. Once more, Dantomkia attempted to flip itself free, but Razer's grip was too strong.

"Razer, very low ground clearance, Dantomkia are gonna have to go some to get in underneath, and Razer's got them again here!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Razer crushes into Dantomkia

Dantomkia is hammered by Mr. Psycho

Dantomkia tried to reverse and circle away from Razer's wedge, but couldn't get free until Razer loosened its grip. Dantomkia span around, getting free of Razer, then drove away. Dantomkia turned around and charged at Razer, ending up on the wedge again, but slipped off to the side before Razer could lower its beak in time. Razer lowered its claw between the two front wedges, and Dantomkia fired the flipper in an unsuccessful attempt to shake itself free. Razer turned and let go of Dantomkia, but kept in close pursuit, and soon got under the front and pierced through the armour; Dantomkia was pushed back towards the Flame Pit all the while. Razer let go of Dantomkia, and it drove around the flame pit. It drove around Razer and tried to get under its side, but Razer turned, getting under its front, and crushed into its front. Dantomkia used its flipper to try and lift Razer's beak up, but the crushing force was too powerful and the flipper was pushed back down again.

"Look at that, just crumpling down and preventing the Dantomkia flipper working because of its awesome power, Razer. They simply can't get the weaponry working, Dantomkia."

— Jonathan Pearce

Razer pierces Dantomkia

Dantomkia pushes back at Razer near the end of the fight

Dantomkia was then pushed towards Mr. Psycho's CPZ and absorbed a hit from the House Robot's hammer. Dantomkia broke free from Razer's grip and the two robots turned to face each other. Dantomkia pushed Razer across the arena and into Sir Killalot's CPZ, but Razer turned to avoid the House Robot's claw as he tried to grab it, causing Dantomkia to drive into the CPZ as well. It quickly reversed out, Dantomkia then held off for the last few seconds, turning away from Razer as it drove towards it, then driving away and turning to face Razer. It swerved around Razer, then turned to face it, driving up Razer's wedge again for a split second, but it reversed off before Razer could attack just before the battle ended.

"Now Dantomkia pushing Razer back towards Sir Killalot! This is intriguing stuff, because Razer are not through yet! Not by a long chalk! Dantomkia right back in the fight!"

— Jonathan Pearce in the last few seconds

Both robots were mobile at the end of the battle. Unsurprisingly, the Judges went for Razer, putting an end to Dantomkia's run.

Craig Charles: "Guys, you beat Chaos 2 - 4th seed, you beat Wild Thing - 9th seed. You came up aginst the top seed, and it all went pants!"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah."

Craig Charles: "But come on guys, you're the new kids on the block. This is your first foray in Robot Wars and you got so far! And it wasn't like a humiliation was it? You know, they didn't like, count you out or anything, it went to the Judges!"

Mike Lambert: "We went the distance, if things had been a little bit better for us it would have been... different. But, yeah it's good."

Craig Charles: "So listen, now that you've started, and you've got your first war under your belt, looking at the robot, what can you change to ensure that next time you're up against Razer, you bash 'em?"

Mike Lambert: "A different driver!"

— Post-battle interview

Dantomkia still completely outshone all other newcomers, and this was shown in its winning of the Most Promising Newcomer award.

"Well any machine that can toss Chaos 2 out of the arena deserves something...the most promising newcomer - Dantomkia!"

— Jonathan Pearce announces the winner of the Best Newcomer award

Extreme 2

"Black and yellow, nature's warning colour!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Dantomkia

Dantomkia competed in Heat A of the All-Stars tournament in Extreme 2. In its first match, it was against two Grand Finalists from the Sixth Wars, reigning champion Tornado and Terrorhurtz.

Philippa Forrester: "The thing is I don't think you'll care about that fine-tuning once you're in there with Terrorhurtz, 'cause Terrorhurtz is absolutely bonkers!"

Mike Lambert: "They are!"

Philippa Forrester: "We'll see you then, good luck!"

— In the pre-battle interview

Dantomkia and Tornado concentrate their efforts on Terrorhurtz

Dantomkia comes close to flipping Terrorhurtz out

It began by driving into the arena centre, as Tornado drove at Terrorhurtz, driving around it and narrowly avoiding an axe blow. Dantomkia drove underneath Terrorhurtz's side, and got under the back, but Terrorhurtz slid off Dantomkia's flipper before it activated it, helped by a push from Tornado. While Tornado rammed Terrorhurtz across the arena and slammed it into the Floor Spinner's release button, Dantomkia followed Tornado, then got beside it as it pinned Terrorhurtz against the wall, and flicked Terrorhurtz up slightly from the front, but failed to lift Terrorhurtz over as the flipper wasn't fully underneath. Tornado reversed, letting Terrorhurtz free of the wall, Dantomkia tried to get underneath it, but Terrorhurtz fired the axe to shake itself free. Dantomkia kept pushing, getting drove underneath Terrorhurtz's front and pushed it across the arena and into the opposite wall. It then flipped Terrorhurtz onto its side against an angle grinder, but Terrorhurtz swung its axe, pushing against the arena wall and righting itself.

"Dantomkia too strong to be thrown away by the centrifugal force, and now pinning Terrorhurtz against the arena side wall! If they can get their flipper to work - and they can! - they can leave Terrorhurtz teetering on the brink of oblivion!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia is axed by Shunt

Terrorhurtz landed back on Dantomkia's flipper. Dantomkia's next flip almost sent Terrorhurtz out of the arena, but Terrorhurtz fell back against Dantomkia's open flipper instead. Dantomkia backed away, allowing Terrorhurtz back onto its wheels, but Tornado and Dantomkia kept Terrorhurtz pinned against the wall, seemingly not focusing on each other at all. Dantomkia breached Terrorhurtz's ground clearance once more, but didn't activate the flipper. Dantomkia reversed a little, but Tornado and it still kept Terrorurtz trapped by the wall. Dantomkia drove back under Terrorhurtz again, but didn't fire the flipper and Shunt came out of its CPZ to axe Dantomkia's top and pulled it out from under Terrorhurtz. Dantomkia turned away as Sgt. Bash came over to try and separate Tornado and Terrorhurtz, and as Tornado pushed Terrorhurtz away from the wall. Dantomkia drove at the side of Tornado, but couldn't get under Terrorhurtz, so turned away, leaving Tornado to push Terrorhurtz as it drove down to the bottom arena wall and activated the Pit release. Terrorhurtz got off of Tornado's wedge, and it tried to axe Tornado, but Tornado turned away, and Dantomkia drove at Terrorhurtz's side as it drove back at Tornado. Tornado charged back at Dantomkia, and Dantomkia got under Terrorhurtz and tried to flip it, but Terrorhurtz slipped off the front as Dantomkia pushed, so the flipper only lifted it up slightly off the floor.

"Dantomkia, trying to get in underneath Terrohurtz there."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia tried to flip Terrrorhurtz

Dantomkia backed off, and Tornado pushed Terrorhurtz against the arena wall. Dantomkia helped Tornado pin Terrorhurtz against the wall, but Terrorhurtz pushed against Tornado, managing to get away from the wall. Tornado pushed Terrorhurtz to the edge of an empty CPZ, but Terrorhurtz got away as Shunt and Sgt. Bash rushed over. Tornado rammed Dantomkia against the wall, then blocked it with the help of Dantomkia as it tried to drive away from the wall. Tornado turned away, and Dantomkia pushed Terrorhurtz against an angle grinder.

"Dantomkia and Tornado have ganged up, it seems, on John Reid's machine!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia and Tornado pin Terrorhurtz against an angle grinder

Dantomkia pushes Terrorhurtz into the Pit

Tornado rammed Terrorhurtz as Dantomkia kept Terrorhurtz pinned, and though Dantomkia reversed a little, Tornado blocked Terrorhurtz as it tried to get away. Dantomkia turned around, and with the help of Tornado, it pushed Dantomkia to Shunt in the CPZ. Dantomkia and Tornado both prevented Terrorhurtz from escaping the CPZ as Shunt axed it, and eventually, Terrorhurtz was lifted up, pushed out of the CPZ and flipped over by Shunt. Terrorhurtz's axe didn’t have the power left to self-right, so Dantomkia pushed it into the Pit, then turned to attack Sgt. Bash briefly - who was busy attacking Tornado, gripping it in his front pincer. Dantomkia rammed into his back, helping Tornado get free before 'cease' was called.

In the second round, Dantomkia faced Firestorm 4, meaning that Dantomkia had now faced all four of the Series 6 Grand Finalists.

Philippa Forrester: "You're up against the Firestorm team, you've had a good look. I think this is going to be quite interesting because you're quite evenly matched, aren't you?"

Mike Lambert: "Very evenly matched."

Philippa Forrester: "But there's one thing you've thought through, one way that you're going to beat them."

Mike Lambert: "We have a high-power flipper system, but it only works when the gas is high pressure, so my poor son Daniel is going to be cuddling the bottle like a teddy bear!"

Philippa Forrester: "Cuddling the bottle, why though?"

Mike Lambert: "Couple of extra degrees of body heat into the gas, makes it flow and expand much, much quicker."

Philippa Forrester: "Does it? So it gives you that bit more power?"

Mike Lambert: "I hope so!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia is pressured in the CPZ

Dantomkia's ground clearance was inferior and Firestorm 4 got straight underneath as the two competitors first charged together. Firestorm 4 rammed Dantomkia down the arena, and fired the flipper, but Dantomkia slid off the side of the flipper. Without a pause, Firestorm 4 then pushed it into a CPZ straight away, nudging into Sgt. Bash, then turning it around, pushing it against the wall. Dantomkia tried to flip itself off of Firestorm 4's wedge to no avail, and it was overturned in the corner. Dantomkia quickly self-righted, but landed on top of Firestorm 4 again, and it was flipped onto its side against the wall, but quickly righted itself a second time, using the flipper to push itself off of the wall and over Firestorm 4.

"They're over, they're up, they're over, they're on their side! Well, look at this, this is brilliant stuff! They're like a little frog hopping about out there, Dantomkia! A little frog, in a big arena pond..."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia's wedge struggles to breach Firestorm 4

However, Firestorm 4 turned around straight away, pinning Dantomkia against the wall, and Dantomkia was flipped over for a third time, falling onto its side against the wall in the CPZ, and took two attempts to right itself this time, as the first time, Sgt. Bash closed in as Dantomkia tried to flip itself away from the wall, and the flipper caught on Sgt. Bash. Sgt. Bash pushed Dantomkia into the corner, and pinned it there, but then reversed, letting go, allowing Dantomkia to right itself. Dantomkia reversed into Sgt. Bash as it tried to escape, and finally did so when Firestorm 4 drove underneath the House Robot. Dantomkia got away from the CPZ, but Firestorm 4 soon abandoned its attack on Sgt. Bash and drove after its opponent, and Dantomkia was then flipped over again, self-righting once more.

"This is brilliant theatrics, almost balletic from Dantomkia. Jumping around, quicker than Fred Astaire out there!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia self-rights again

Dantomkia manages to flip Firestorm 4

Firestorm 4 drove under the back of Dantomkia and tried to flip, but turned as it pushed and Dantomkia slid off the side, with Firestorm 4 driving into Sgt. Bash. Firestorm 4 reversed towards the centre of the arena, and Dantomkia followed it, getting under the front and flipping its opponent over. Firestorm 4 tried to self-right, and Dantomkia used its flipper to hold it up, but then reversed, letting Firestorm 4 fall back down. However, this proved to be Dantomkia's only attack, as Firestorm 4 regained the lead, turning around and ramming it toward the CPZ and throwing Dantomkia over, where it self-righted.

"In underneath Firestorm now. OK boys we've had the dancing, we've had the prancing, now let's get that metal munching mayhem together!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia, immobilised in the All-Stars

Firestorm 4 prevented Dantomkia from getting away from the CPZ as it self-righted, getting underneath, then reversing a little, only to drive back under Dantomkia, flipping it up against the wall, then lifting it up onto its side where it took a glancing blow from Shunt. While being pinned in the corner by Firestorm 4, Dantomkia took a more direct hit from Shunt's axe. Firestorm 4 reversed a little, and Dantomkia drove between it and Shunt, but stopped as it nearly drove into the top arena wall. Firestorm 4 rushed out of the CPZ while Dantomkia turned around, but drove into Shunt and took another hit from his axe. Shunt pushed Dantomkia out of the CPZ, and Firestorm 4 charged in, trying to get in underneath, but Dantomkia slid off, so it turned away for another attack. Dantomkia was unable to get away from the top arena wall, as it was only able to turn around, and Firestorm 4 rushed in and flipped Dantomkia onto the arena wall. Dantomkia self-righted straight away, but became completely immobile, having lost power, and its flipper was also stuck open.

"Are they still mobile? I don't think they are! ... It's stuck, it's not moving, and any moment Graham Bone's going to come in for the kill, unless Shunt gets there first. Well a terrific battle, but all that self-righting must have taken something out of Dantomkia."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia suddenly stops

A beaten Dantomkia is pitted

Firestorm 4 attacked the beaten Dantomkia again, pushing it into the arena wall and flicking it up. It suffered more damage from Shunt's axe, which punctured Dantomkia's side, before being pulled into the CPZ by Shunt's axe. There was a brief moment of respite as Firestorm 4 got under Shunt and lifted it with the flipper, but Firestorm 4 didn't have enough power to turn it over, so it drove out of the CPZ. Shunt was pushed towards the centre of the arena by the House Robot, with Firestorm 4 ramming into it a couple of times. Dantomkia was counted out by Refbot, and subsequently pushed down the arena towards the Pit by Firestorm 4 before being nudged in.

"The trouble is they weren't using their flipper as offensively as the Firestorm machine. Defensively, they were working hard, but it was energy sapping."

— Jonathan Pearce after Dantomkia is counted out

Dantomkia was therefore eliminated from the All-Stars.

Craig Charles: "Dantomkia, ah you see, you're not the new kid on the block anymore, people are preparing for you now! Twon really evenly matched robots, and some of the best driving we've seen from you guys in years!"

Mike Lambert: "I fought very, very hard that time, I tried very hard, did my best, link came out again, they beat me fair and square!"

Craig Charles: "Just wasn't your day?"

Mike Lambert: "No."

Craig Charles: "But you will to fight another one, won't you?"

Mike Lambert: "Most certainly"

— Post-battle interview

After the battle, it was discovered that the robot had lost power due to the batteries failing.

"These two cells, of this battery, are dead. If you run your hand along here and feel it; cold, and then these two are hot. So this battery has died, batteries are linked together to give 24 Volts, and the whole system runs on 24 Volts. Two dead cells, it's dead."

— Mike Lamberts explains the damage in the Pits with Philippa after the battle

Dantomkia also entered the Challenge Belt competition, where three straight victories would earn it the right to challenge Tornado for the Challenge Belt. In its opening melee, Dantomkia fought Hypno-Disc, S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Sir Chromalot, with Mike Lambert understandably most fearful of the experienced Hypno-Disc.

Philippa Forrester: "Now, out of all of the things that happened to you in Robot Wars, what do you hate the most?"

Mike Lambert: "Spinners."

Philippa Forrester: "Who are you not happy to be with now?"

Mike Lambert: "Two of them; Hypno-Disc and S.M.I.D.S.Y.!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia flips Hypno-Disc out of the arena

Dantomkia began by charging at S.M.I.D.S.Y. as it charged to the centre, getting under its side, but S.M.I.D.S.Y. drove over Dantomkia's front wedges before it could flip, and drove at Hypno-Disc. S.M.I.D.S.Y. drove into Hypno-Disc's disc head-on, and Hypno-Disc was deflected away, and S.M.I.D.S.Y. then pushed Dantomkia from the side. Dantomkia took a glancing hit from Hypno-Disc as S.M.I.D.S.Y. pushed it against it, but then turned to face it, pushing Hypno-Disc into the CPZ and flipping it onto its back, propped up on the arena wall in the corner, with S.M.I.D.S.Y. still behind it, pushing the back of Dantomkia. As S.M.I.D.S.Y. backed off, Dantomkia tried to get under Hypno-Disc and flip it out, but it missed its second flip due to not lining itself up properly, but after reversing for another charge, it drove under the back of Hypno-Disc then threw it out of the arena with its next attack.

"In the CPZ, under pressure from Dantomkia, Mr. Psycho came in, had a look; Dantomkia flew in for a second attack and out they went! Out of the arena!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Hypno-Disc are eliminated by Dantomkia

Dantomkia is pinned by Mr. Psycho

Mr. Psycho came over to the CPZ as Dantomkia flipped Hypno-Disc out, and he blocked Dantomkia as it tried to reverse out of the CPZ, then pinned it up against the arena wall, then reversed away. Dantomkia tried to dodge past Mr. Psycho, but the House Robot blocked its escape from the CPZ, before Dantomkia was pinned in the corner again. Dantomkia then freed itself from the CPZ as Mr. Psycho backed off, but it drove straight into Mr. Psycho, and as it tried to drive away, Mr. Psycho still chased Dantomkia as it drove by the Flame Pit. Dantomkia turned away from the House Robot, but drove into an angle grinder. Mr. Psycho returned to the CPZ as S.M.I.D.S.Y. drove into its front, let letting Dantomkia get back into the fight.

"Dantomkia needs to get away from Mr. Psycho - {he} could literally crush it in that CPZ! What can we see of Sir Chromalot and S.M.I.D.S.Y.? Nothing much, because Dantomkia's having all the trouble from Mr. Psycho. Get out of there! Don't try and take on Mr. Psycho! He has a long reach, and an even longer memory."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia throws S.M.I.D.S.Y. over

Dantomkia targeted Sir Chromalot, but missed its flip as it failed to get under Sir Chromalot's low ground clearance. It then attacked S.M.I.D.S.Y., flipping it over the Flame Pit, but in doing so it drove onto the Flame Pit itself, so it had to quickly reverse off. It drove back at S.M.I.D.S.Y. as it drove over the Flame Pit, but S.M.I.D.S.Y turned away to attack Sir Chromalot. Dantomkia got under S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s side, pushing it past Sir Chromalot and flipped it over again.

"S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s under pressure and flipped by Dantomkia with the full-bottle pressure flipper, can act as a powerful spinner as well. S.M.I.D.S.Y., well meat in the sandwich there, from Dantomkia and Sir Chromalot."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia flips S.M.I.D.S.Y again

Dantomkia flips S.M.I.D.S.Y again

Dantomkia reversed, and S.M.I.D.S.Y rammed Sir Chromalot. Sir Chromalot turned away and drove straight at, but Dantomkia got under Sir Chromalot's front, pushed it against S.M.I.D.S.Y before flipping Sir Chromalot over S.M.I.D.S.Y., with Sir Chromalot rolling over and falling over the back of S.M.I.D.S.Y, back on its wheels. Dantomkia got under S.M.I.D.S.Y and tried to push it onto the Flame Pit, but S.M.I.D.S.Y slid off the side of Dantomkia's front wedges just before Dantomkia pushed it onto the Flame Pit. As S.M.I.D.S.Y reversed off, Dantomkia appeared to get stuck briefly next to the Flame Pit and flicked its flipper to free itself, helped by a push from S.M.I.D.S.Y., which pushed Dantomkia up the arena, but Dantomkia reversed, then got under S.M.I.D.S.Y's side and flipped it once more, flipping it up on its side, and Dantomkia then started to push Sir Chromalot towards the Flame Pit, before abruptly stopping and turning back at S.M.I.D.S.Y..

Dantomkia flicks Sir Chromalot over

Dantomkia carries S.M.I.D.S.Y. to the arena wall. Although this flip did not throw S.M.I.D.S.Y. out of the arena, Dantomkia completed this in an untelevised attack

Dantomkia tried to get under S.M.I.D.S.Y, but S.M.I.D.S.Y kept turning away, then turned around to use its discs, but this allowed Dantomkia to get under the back and push S.M.I.D.S.Y. up against the top arena wall, flipping it against the wall by the CPZ, but Mr. Psycho came over and pushed into both machines, causing S.M.I.D.S.Y. to become propped up on the arena wall in a similar fashion to Hypno-Disc earlier in the fight. Dantomkia reversed out of the CPZ to get away from Mr. Psycho, then pushed Sir Chromalot into a CPZ, and flipped it over, where it's flipper no longer had enough power to self-right. While Matilda finished Sir Chromalot off by flinging it out of the arena with her flywheel, Dantomkia continued to attack S.M.I.D.S.Y., pinning it against the bottom arena wall and flipping it, but it fell over its side. 'Cease' was called, but unseen on the televised version, Dantomkia then managed to flip S.M.I.D.S.Y. out of the arena.

"As much as I like S.M.I.D.S.Y., I didn't rate the disk as any possibility 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-Disc 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."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015 (edited)

Dantomkia next fought a robot that it had fought before in the Series 6 qualifiers, Iron-Awe 2.

"Iron Awe, now that's 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."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015 (edited)

Dantomkia fails to get underneath Iron-Awe 2 early on in the fight

In response to the draw against Dantomkia, Team Iron-Awe specifically lowered their ground clearance, but this led to it becoming stuck under the Disc of Doom as both machines edged towards each other. Dantomkia tried to get underneath from the side, but failed to breach Iron-Awe 2's ground clearance, and Iron-Awe 2 reversed out from under the Disc of Doom. Dantomkia tried to get under Iron-Awe 2's side, but as it tried to get the wedges underneath, Iron-Awe 2 turned and drove down the arena. Iron-Awe 2 turned around and drove back at Dantomkia, which turned so it was side-on, then pushed against Iron-Awe 2's side as it tried to turn around. Iron-Awe 2 got behind Dantomkia and fired the axe, but Dantomkia turned in time to avoid the axe. Dantomkia tried to get under Iron-Awe 2's side, but Iron-Awe 2 drove around it. Dantomkia pursued it for a short while, but Iron-Awe 2 continued to drive around it.

"Robert Grimm, a marketing analyst by trade, at the controls of Iron-Awe 2, running away from Dantomkia! Trying to get out of trouble. Dantomkia lurches after it with the two 750 Watt electric motors."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia chases Iron-Awe 2

Dantomkia flips Iron-Awe 2 out of the arena

Dantomkia turned, managing to intercept Iron-Awe 2 as it drove around. Iron-Awe 2 fired the axe, but it merely glanced off. Iron-Awe 2 turned away from Dantomkia, but this exposed its back, and Dantomkia slipped fully underneath from behind, it rammed Iron-Awe 2 towards the arena entry gates, and threw it over the wall.

"Out of the arena! Got themselves in trouble, and Dantomkia always likely to push, shove, hoist and KO from that position. It was grim for the family from Somerset, and Dantomkia romped it really."

— Jonathan Pearce after Dantomkia flips Iron-Awe 2 out of the arena

Dantomkia celebrated by spinning on the spot, firing its flipper as it did so.

Craig Charles: "Dantomkia, named after the kids - the kids have gotta be proud!"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah, they're as bad as the robot!"

Craig Charles: "Are they as hard as the robot?"

Mike Lambert: "Oh yeah!"

Craig Charles: "I tell you what, people are scared of your robot now, I mean you're relatively new to this game, but you've caught everyone's imagination, and everyone's so scared of you!"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah, it's getting hard to live up to it."

Craig Charles: "Is it really? The more success brings the more pressure?"

Mike Lambert: "Yeah, I'm getting more and more panicked about it!"

Craig Charles: "Are you going to go all the way this time?"

Mike Lambert: "I sincerely hope so."

— Post-battle interview

In the battle for the right to fight Tornado, Dantomkia faced Terrorhurtz again.

Philippa Forrester: "Have you got more power than him, in your weapon?"

Mike Lambert: "Erm... yes."

Philippa Forrester: "Okay, to flip him though, you've only got to get in the front or the back."

Mike Lambert: "Or the sides!"

Philippa Forrester: "No, you can't flip him from the sides, 'cause they've got no ground clearance at all!"

Mike Lambert: "Done it before!"

Philippa Forrester: "Have you? So you think you can do it again!"

Mike Lambert: "(Pause) Yeah!"

Philippa Forrester: "And you think also that Tornado are a walkover, don't you? I can't believe this man! You'll be so embarrassed if you lose!"

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia drives Terrorhurtz into the CPZ

Both robots charged at each other, but Dantomkia couldn't get under Terrorhurtz's front ground clearance, and it took a hits from Terrorhurtz's axe. Dantomkia turned around to Terrorhurtz's side, but Terrorhurtz turned to face it and hit Dantomkia's front with the axe again. Dantomkia reversed and drove back at Terrorhurtz, but reared up onto Terrorhurtz's front when attempting to breach its ground clearance. It reversed and charged at Terrorhurtz again, trying to get under the front corner, but failed to get underneath once again. As it failed to get under Terrorhurtz, it was hit twice more by the axe. Dantomkia turned away, turning to face Terrorhurtz as it followed, but the rear tail failed to work, so Terrorhurtz hit it with the axe a couple of times as it backed away, then drove back at Terrorhurtz. Dantomkia reversed and drove back at Terrorhurtz, but again, the rear tail failed to keep the robot's front down, so it couldn't get under Terrorhurtz, and Dantomkia sustained another glancing hit from Terrorhurtz's axe.

"Down comes the axe of Terrorhurtz once again, onto the top of Dantomkia, whose main hope here will be to lift Terrorhurtz and try and flip it, try and get it to the arena side wall and flip it out; it's gonna be a hard, hard job."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia fails to get under Terrorhurtz

Dantomkia gets battered into submission by Terrorhurtz

Dantomkia reversed, then turned around Terrorhurtz, and this time, as Terrorhurtz drove at it, the rear tail worked, keeping Dantomkia's front wedges down, and it got under Terrorhurtz's front ground clearance. Dantomkia pushed Terrorhurtz to the middle arena entry gate, but it missed its flip as the flipper was not underneath its opponent, so Dantomkia reversed a little to avoid the axe. Dantomkia came at it again, but the front wedges were raised, so it couldn't get underneath and Terrorhurtz hit it with the axe. After reversing a little and receiving another blow from Terrorhurtz's axe, Dantomkia got under Terrorhurtz, and this time flipped Terrorhurtz over towards Shunt's CPZ. Dantomkia flipped Terrorhurtz further into the CPZ to prevent it from self-righting, but Shunt obstructed Dantomkia in its attempts to follow up, and it had to reverse out of the CPZ. Terrorhurtz quickly self-righted while Dantomkia was blocked by Sgt. Bash as it reversed away from the CPZ.

"Terrorhurtz; 99 kilos, 11mph, fairly nippy, not as quick as Dantomkia, but protected by those side flanges to prevent it being flicked over just like that, but did you see how quickly it self-righted? ... Now, is that as good as Dantomkia can give to Terrorhurtz?"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia finally flips Terrorhurtz over, only for Terrorhurtz to quickly self-right

Dantomkia drove around Sgt. Bash and came back on the attack as Terrorhurtz drove towards the arena centre, but couldn't get under Terrorhurtz's ground clearance, and Terrorhurtz smashed Dantomkia’s top four times in quick succession as it continued to try and get under Terrorhurtz's front to no avail. Eventually, Terrorhurtz got at Dantomkia's side and Dantomkia received more relentless blows from Terrorhurtz's axe until it stopped moving.

"Have they been immobilised? Is there any movement left in Dantomkia? I don't think so...Persistent pressure from the axe of Terrorhurtz did it for them. Dantomkia have come a long, long way, but no further will they travel!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia is immobilised

Dantomkia is pitted

As Terrorhurtz pushed it around the arena, more hits reigned down on the beaten Dantomkia, until Terrorhurtz left it on the Drop Zone, and went off to open the Pit. Refbot closed in to officially count Dantomkia out, but Terrorhurtz simply pushed Dantomkia into the Pit, eliminating it.

Craig Charles: "Some power out of that axe!"

Michael Lambert: "Yeah, it's very, very strong!"

Craig Charles: "I tell you what, we thought you had him, right at the beginning, you flipped him over, and then I thought "Ooh, he's going over, he's going out of the arena!", but he got back on his wheels!"

Michael Lambert: "The house bots got in the way!"

Craig Charles: "Oh, blame it on the house 'bots eh? Because he came back with such ferocious power, gave you such a battering! What happened to you, 'cause you just died?"

Michael Lambert: "Erm, it's either the link or the battery."

— Post-battle interview

Series 7

"Has a high-powered CO2 flipper and full-body spinner capability. Strong, reliable, is the quickest in this battle with 20 mile-an-hour top speeds, but is the driver a wee bit nervy?"

— Jonathan Pearce describes Dantomkia

Dantomkia was seeded fifth in Heat C. In its first match, it fought Hassocks Hog 2, and two former Tag Team Terror champions: King B Powerworks and Rick.

Jayne Middlemiss: "OK, Dantomkia. What have you done to this robot that is better than last year, what modifications?"

Michael Lambert: "We've cured all the original design problems in the system, we have retained link, new batteries, the crystal won't come out any longer, and we've re-armoured the complete front end, so we'll hopefully defend against spinners. But these panels, across the front of the robot..."

Jayne Middlemiss: "{She knocks on the front wedges} That is, I've just gotta tell you, that is rock hard!"

Michael Lambert: "That is seriously hard!"

Jayne Middlemiss: "Nothing's gonna go through that, surely?"

Michael Lambert: "No, we hope not!"

— Michael Lambert describes the improvements to Dantomkia in the pre-battle interview

Dantomkia flips Hassocks Hog 2 over

Dantomkia began by holding back as the other three competitors came together in the top half of the arena, and as the three separated, Dantomkia drove up the arena, slipping past Rick and immediately pushing Hassocks Hog 2 against the arena and flipping it over and onto the Flame Pit, from which it could not self-right due to the terminals falling off the battery, leaving it immobile.

"Dantomkia, I think, is the most impressive we've had so far in this series, and Hassocks Hog 2 obviously agrees, because that was a mighty shove from Dantomkia! In underneath at speed!"

— Jonathan Pearce after Dantomkia's first attack

Dantomkia almost throws Rick out

Dantomkia turned away and Rick tried to drive round its side, but Dantomkia turned, getting its flipper under Rick and flipped Rick over. It got behind Rick and rammed it, before being rammed from the side by King B Powerworks. Dantomkia kept pushing Rick as King B Powerworks reversed, and after flicking Rick up slightly, Dantomkia drove it across the arena floor and almost flipped Rick out of the arena.

"...we have a little flick for Rick! And teetering, and tottering... and down it came again! But already, Dantomkia - worthy seeds it would seem!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia almost flips Rick out of the arena

Dantomkia flips King B Powerworks against an angle grinder

Dantomkia is hammered by Mr. Psycho

Rick landed back on its back, propped up against the wall, and Dantomkia was briefly distracted as King B Powerworks, which had rushed across the arena alongside Dantomkia. As King B Powerworks drove at it, Dantomkia turned to face it, getting under it, but King B Powerworks reversed off of Dantomkia's front wedges. Meanwhile, Rick tried to right itself by firing the flipper, but Dantomkia turned to catch it as it fell off the wall, and flipped it up onto its side against the wall. As Dantomkia tried to get its flipper under Rick to try and flip it out of the arena, it sustained another slam from King B Powerworks, so Dantomkia turned its attention towards the former Semi-Finalist, flipping it up onto an angle grinder momentarily. Rick slid off the arena wall, and King B Powerworks slid back down off the angle grinder, but Dantomkia pushed it into Mr. Psycho's CPZ, flipping it against the House Robot. However, it was Dantomkia who took a hit from the House Robot's hammer as it rammed King B Powerworks to the bottom arena wall, bending the top of the flipper inwards and causing damage to Dantomkia's chassis. Hassocks Hog 2 was counted out, whilst Dantomkia chased King B Powerworks up the arena into another CPZ, flipping it over before driving down to get under Rick again, flipping it against the arena wall again.

"Dantomkia is roughing them all up; this is a very, very good overall display from the seeded robot. Plenty of power, and thrust, control, good weaponry!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia continues to flip Rick

Rick used its flipper to tip itself off of the wall, Dantomkia pushed Rick back against it and tried to flip it out, but it fell sideways by the beaten Hassocks Hog 2. Rick failed to get away, accidentally driving into the wall instead of reversing away, and Dantomkia got beside it, and King B Powerworks charged in to trap Rick, reversing into it. Dantomkia tried to attack King B Powerworks, but its tail failed to keep the front end down, so King B Powerworks reversed into it, getting under Dantomkia and slammed it into the arena wall with a reverse push. Dantomkia got away from the wall, with King B Powerworks driving alongside, but Dantomkia responded with another flip.

"It's a case now of course, you see for Dantomkia, to cause as much damage for later on in this programme."

— Jonathan Pearce as Dantomkia flips King B Powerworks over again

Dantomkia carries King B Powerworks

Dantomkia reversed down to the bottom of the arena as King B Powerworks turned around, and as King B Powerworks charged at it, Dantomkia drove underneath it, but Mr. Psycho reversed into Dantomkia as it carried the immobile Hassocks Hog 2, allowing King B Powerworks to slip off of Dantomkia's front wedges, causing Dantomkia to miss with the flipper. King B Powerworks pushed Rick, and Dantomkia drove beside the two, getting under Rick as King B Powerworks reversed, and pushing it onto the flame pit. Dantomkia then chased King B Powerworks to the bottom arena wall, and though it turned and drove away, Dantomkia kept chasing after it, getting King B Powerworks up on its top, but as it turned, King B Powerworks slipped off the top, so Dantomkia missed a flip. King B Powerworks escaped across the arena, bumping into the immobile Hassocks Hog 2 and turning away as Dantomkia chased after it. Dantomkia turned its attentions to the immobile Hassocks Hog 2, flipping it away from the Drop Zone, where it had been placed by Mr. Psycho. Rick took advantage and charged at Dantomkia whilst it was distracted and flipped it over, but it self righted immediately.

Dantomkia is suddenly thrown over by Rick

"Dantomkia got overturned, but look how swiftly it self righted! But they switched off there momentarily!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia got under the back of Rick, rammed it to the arena side wall in on of the top CPZ, and attempted to flip Rick out of the arena again, but was unsuccessful, so reversed, then flipped Rick up against the wall one last time, with King B Powerworks helping trap Rick by the wall. Rick fell onto King B Powerworks' lifting spikes, and it held it up and carried it away from the CPZ, but let it go, and Dantomkia rammed it back to the CPZ, where it was hit by Mr. Psycho's hammer before 'cease' was called.

"We know Hassocks Hog 2 went out, Rick I think will be the other decision from the Judges to be excluded because Dantomkia and King B Powerworks looked too strong!"

— Jonathan Pearce whilst reviewing the highlights

All the robots except Hassocks Hog 2 were still mobile, so the Judges had to make the decision, and they ruled that Dantomkia had qualified unanimously - King B Powerworks only qualified through a split decision.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Well done, you're through Dantomkia, how are you feeling about that?"

Michael Lambert: "Erm, pretty good. We worked hard, it's a very slippery fight out there, worked hard and it went well."

Jayne Middlemiss: "You did get a bit of a battering from Psycho though, didn't you?"

Steven Gadsby: "Yeah, he got us right in the middle, right on the flipper arm! He bent it up a treat actually, we were surprised it still works but fortunately it does."

— Discussing the Round 1 battle before Round 2

Dantomkia’s next match was against Scorpion, which boasted a powerful spinning disc that Michael Lambert was fearful of.

"Scorpion's disk is very powerful. It's based on a car's flywheel and stores massive amounts of energy. It's not to be taken lightly. Also, Scorpion was well built and well driven by a team who know how to deliver their killer blow."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015 (edited)

Dantomkia thrusts Scorpion against the arena wall

Dantomkia started by trying to drive around Scorpion as it reversed towards it, but Scorpion turned after Dantomkia, and Dantomkia was the first to take damage, with Scorpion's blade carving out a large gash in Dantomkia's side. Scorpion drove past, and both competitors turned around, and as Dantomkia tried to turn towards Scorpion, it took another hit from the spinner. Undeterred, Dantomkia turned around to Scorpion's side and got underneath Scorpion and rammed it into the middle arena entry gate and flipped it onto the arena wall.

"Straight onto the side of Dantomkia. Very strong armament though, Dantomkia has, and good pace, and good power, and Scorpion upended."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia comes very close to flipping out Scorpion

Scorpion was left hanging from the wall, and Dantomkia then almost flipped Scorpion out of the arena, but the arena lighting was in the way, and blocked Scorpion from exiting the arena. Dantomkia flipped Scorpion against the arena wall again before backing away. Shunt pushed Scorpion off the arena wall, and Dantomkia came in for another attack, but struggled to get underneath, and took a glancing hit from Scorpion's disc, which was spinning on the spot to defend itself.

Dantomkia flips Scorpion over

"Dantomkia now a little bit more cagey, a bit conservative in the approach. Good driving by Michael Lambert there, shoving Scorpion again."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia throws out Scorpion

Dantomkia drove around Scorpion, got the tips of its front wedges under Scorpion's front, then rammed Scorpion down and across to the arena side wall, slamming it into an angle grinder before flipping it over, propping it up onto the arena wall once more. Once again, the House Robots freed Scorpion, this time Sgt. Bash, so Dantomkia rushed in before Scorpion could get away, getting under Scorpion's side, turning around and flipping it over. flipped Scorpion from the side, before being pushed briefly by the invertible machine, who got its front prongs under Dantomkia and pinned it against an angle grinder. Scorpion then backed into Shunt, who attacked it with its axe, and Dantomkia capitalised with two quick flips, the first crashing Scorpion into Shunt, the second propping it up onto the arena wall in the CPZ. From this position, Dantomkia was able to lift Scorpion out of the arena at last.

"Very steady work from Dantomkia ended with that. But it all built up to the moment with steady, steady progress."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia was through to the Heat Final again.

Craig Charles: "Well, Dantomkia - it's named after the three kids, they must be proud!"

Mike Lambert: "They're very proud!"

Craig Charles: "You were Best Newcomer last time, I mean you were newcomers, now you're like old hands, fifth seeds!"

Mike Lambert: "It's a very big hat to wear, we've got to defend it now!"

Craig Charles: "Well you've got rid of one, do you think you can go all the way and get rid of them all?"

Mike Lambert: "We've got a machine to do it this year, it's down to me now, but we have the machine!"

— Post-battle interview

However, after the battle, Michael Lambert revealed that Scorpion's disc had not only ripped a gash in the side armour, but had badly shaken the robot's insides, causing the main pressure gas valve that controlled the weapon to not open, leaving the team very limited time to test the robot and fix the damage.

However, Dantomkia was repaired in time for the Heat Final, where it met Team Vader's new robot IG-88. Mike Lambert described the valve as "good as new" was apprehensive of IG-88's powerful bi-rotational axe weapon.

"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."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015

Dantomkia flips IG-88 out of the arena after eight seconds

Dantomkia's eight second triumph over IG-88

Dantomkia drove around IG-88 as the battle started, and as IG-88 got its axe up to speed and tried to attack, Dantomkia twisted left and right to avoid the spinner, then drove under the front of IG-88 with its spikes, pushed it over to the wall, and flicked it out straight away, with IG-88's blade catching the tip of Dantomkia's flipper on the way out of the arena.

"Dantomkia trying to dodge that flailing axe of IG-88 - OH it's all over! They dodged it, they thrust it, they squeezed it, they flipped it. They've won it! Dantomkia, heat winners, number five seeds, I'll tell you something, they could go all the way! That was the most impressive thing we've seen so far in this series!"

— Jonathan Pearce's entire commentary for the battle

This match lasted only eight seconds, the fastest battle ever recorded on the show at the time, but surprisingly, it would prove not to be 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

Despite the brevity of the battle, Dantomkia suffered significant damage from the spinner of IG-88, which would continue to affect Dantomkia for the rest of the series. This was a result of IG-88's bi-rotational spinning axe hitting the lip of Dantomkia's flipper, sending a surge through the robot to overheat radio relays and driver CCT's, resulting in Dantomkia's weapon becoming less responsive.

"Out of all the spinners I have fought (including BattleBots), IG-88 is the one that caused the worst damage. As it went over the arena wall, its weapon hit the tip of Dantomkia's flipper and sent a surge through the radio interface electronics and fried a load of relays and their driver CCT's. This plagued us for the rest of that Robot Wars series. The weapon often wouldn't work, relays would jam or refuse to operate and even the Radio Control deadband would drift. Unfortunately I didn't have a spare set of electronics with me so I had to use what I had."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015 (edited)

In the first round of the Semi-Finals, Dantomkia fought the powerful flipper of Dutch entry and Dutch Robot Wars Heat Finalist, Gravity.

Jayne Middlemiss: "What is the feeling like when it gets down to this stage in the Pits, between all the roboteers? Does it start to get sort of, you look at each other's machines, sizing each other up, or is it still a friendly atmosphere?"

Michael Lambert: "It's a very friendly atmosphere, we make sure that each other's machines are in tip-top condition, so when we fight them, beat them hopefully, we have beaten the best that they can produce, which is a much better feeling."

Jayne Middlemiss: "Right, now you are up against the bad boys of the Seventh Wars, that's what I've been calling them. They're very naughty, they've had a yellow card and they've flipped millions of House Robots, but I believe their machine is taken from your design!"

Michael Lambert: "Yeah, my pneumatic system, which is rather unique, was copied by the Dutch while we went to Holland to have a robot rumble out there. They stripped our machines apart to find out how we did things. Well, we helped them, there's no problem at all. Camaraderie - you've got to beat the best to be the best!"

— Pre-battle interview

"On cue, the second battle in this, the first semi-finals. Dantomkia! Ha ha ha! Over and out! Simple as that!"

Gravity launches Dantomkia into the air

Dantomkia flies through the air before crashing out of the arena

Dantomkia tried to get round the back of Gravity, but Gravity turned very quickly and slid under Dantomkia's front. As Gravity pushed it towards the bottom arena wall, Dantomkia tried to flip itself off Gravity, but it was swiftly eliminated when Gravity flipped it out of the arena just 5.8 seconds.

"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

This set the record as the shortest battle ever in Robot Wars, which stood until Series 10.

Craig Charles: "Hey, the wife's here, I hear!"

Michael Lambert: "Yeah, she's a nerd!"

Craig Charles: "Can't be good in front of the wife - all those hours spent in the shed - six seconds!"

Michael Lambert: "It was quick, wasn't it?"

Craig Charles: "So you were going in for a flip first I suppose, it was like who got the first flip won the bout, is that the way it sort of worked out?"

Michael Lambert: "Yeah, I was trying to come round to their side and get round them because I can, well, I COULD out-drive them, stupid! And they turned on me, and I had to go wider and wider to get around them, and it didn't work!"

— Post-battle interview

Dantomkia later returned for the All-Stars competition. Despite the competition being for contestants who fought for five years, Dantomkia had five years, Dantomkia had five years of experience competing in live circuits. In the first round, Dantomkia faced Behemoth, Pussycat, as well as King B Powerworks for the second time in the series.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Right, what are you gonna do out there?"

Steven Gadsby: "Try and pick up where we left off from last time where we got thrown out in our last fight in the main programme. It was a little bit embarrassing, so now we're gonna show 'em whose boss!"

Jayne Middlemiss: "Mike, you are the driver, who is your biggest threat?"

Mike Lambert: "Erm, Behemoth, or... Well, I've actually got a grudge against King B at the moment! Put some spikes through me they did, and I wasn't impressed!"

— Team Dantomkia before the fight

Dantomkia is lifted up by Behemoth

Dantomkia flips Behemoth out

Dantomkia began by trying to circle round Refbot as Behemoth drove at it, while Pussycat disabled King B Powerworks' drive. Dantomkia tried to get under Behemoth's side, but Behemoth turned and slipped off the wedges. As Behemoth turned back, Dantomkia turned and briefly wedged underneath Behemoth's front, but couldn't release a flip in time, as Behemoth slipped off Dantomkia as it pushed. Behemoth reversed, then drove around Dantomkia as it drove at it for another attack. Dantomkia turned around and drove at Behemoth's front, but couldn't get under the scoop, and it was lifted up slightly by Behemoth. Dantomkia slid off the scoop, then drove back at Behemoth and tried to push it, but Behemoth pushed harder. Dantomkia turned, and Behemoth drove around Dantomkia, driving near the CPZ. Danotmkia chased after it, getting under the side of its scoop, forcing it into the CPZ, before driving in underneath Behemoth's rear. Dantomkia proceeded to ram Behemoth into the arena wall, pin it in the corner and threw the experienced machine out of the arena. Mike Lambert would later assert that this attack was a direct instruction from Mentorn.

"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."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015

Dantomkia throws King B Powerworks out of the arena

Moving on, Dantomkia found a new target in King B Powerworks, whom it pushed away from Pussycat, pushing it all over the arena floor in a large circle, while Pussycat chased after Dantomkia, managing a glancing blow. Dantomkia sustained a small hit to its side from Pussycat's blade as it turned, with King B Powerworks slipping off its front, but Dantomkia then charged towards the top arena wall and flipped King B Powerworks out of the arena over one of the arena entry gates.

"Now they try a carbon copy on King B - hahaha! And out they go! Dantomkia and Pussycat through."

— Jonathan Pearce

This put Dantomkia through to the second round, along with Pussycat.

Craig Charles: "Well, both robots flipped out of the arena, easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

Mike Lambert: "It's never easy!"

Craig Charles: "It's never easy?"

Mike Lambert: "Never easy, I had to dance with King B, and Behemoth was a wily fish to get hold of!"

— Post-battle interview

There, it fought Panic Attack, Dantomkia's fourth time in the arena with a Robot Wars champion. Before the battle, Mike Lambert was concerned about a lack of traction on the arena floor, after Sir Killalot leaked oil in an earlier battle.

Jayne Middlemiss: "The All-Stars semi-final, it's Dantomkia versus Panic Attack. They did take on the House Robots last time, with a little bit of help from three of their friends, what did you think of that?"

Mike Lambert: "It was a rather stupid thing to do!"

Jayne Middlemiss: "Was it, why?"

Mike Lambert: "'Cause I think somebody's gonna get their vengeance on them, and I'm gonna have to run away from the House 'bots as they take out poor old Kim's machine!"

Jayne Middlemiss: "Now you're just gonna flip them out, surely?"

Mike Lambert: "Erm, yeah, it depends what the arena's like. Sir Killalot's been out there and he's... had an accident shall we say."

— Pre-battle interview

Dantomkia struggles to get underneath Panic Attack in the opening moments

At the start, Panic Attack was quicker, and charged head-on into Dantomkia, getting underneath the front flipper with the forks. Dantomkia reversed off the forks as Panic Attack pushed it, and tried to circle behind Panic Attack as it turned and reversed up the arena, but failed to get an opening. Dantomkia charged at Panic Attack again, but slid up and over the forks once more. Dantomkia slid off to the side, then reversed, but with its next attack, it finally breached Panic Attack's side skirts and flipped it over.

"It's tactical and tense in this first semi-final of the All-Stars Championship, but Dantomkia getting in underneath there, and flipping Panic Attack!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia flips over Panic Attack

Dantomkia patiently waited for some signs of self-righting, but when none came, Dantomkia slid under Panic Attack's overturned forks, pushed it into the CPZ and then threw the former champion out of the arena. Dantomkia spun around in celebration while activating its flipper.

"No, you don't really wanna do that, unless you're gonna toss them out, and that's what happened! I thought for a minute there Dantomkia were gonna help Panic Attack to self-right, but they knew exactly what they were gonna be doing."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia throws Panic Attack out of the arena

Dantomkia then turned its attention towards the House Robots, first ramming into Dead Metal and getting under its side, lifting it up slightly as it did so. However, Dead Metal slid off the flipper, and fell right in front of Dantomkia, with his arms around it. Dantomkia pushed Dead Metal back, but was forced to avoid the pincers and saw of Dead Metal by reversing away, as Growler lingered in the background. Dead Metal chased after Dantomkia, which rammed into its side as he drove across the arena. As Dead Metal tried to line up another attack, Dantomkia got at the House Robot's side and pushed Dead Metal to the side wall, where it lifted it again.

"Now...you've won, you're through to the All-Stars final. Is this necessary? Is it wise?"

— Jonathan Pearce on Dantomkia's attack on the House Robots

Dantomkia lifts up Dead Metal

Dantomkia reversed out from under Dead Metal, then drove back at him, getting under the side and lifting him up again. Growler pushed against Dead Metal to try and force his fellow House Robot free, then bashed into Dantomkia, forcing it to drop Dead Metal. Dantomkia was then sandwiched briefly between both House Robots as Growler it against Dead Metal. Growler drove into an angle grinder, and Dantomkia reversed, then continued to focus on Dead Metal, getting under the front, pinning it against the wall and flicking it up once more. Growler pushed Dantomkia, but as Dead Metal slid off the flipper, Dantomkia got under his side, using the flipper to clamp down on the side. Dantomkia pushed Dead Metal around in a circle, despite Growler's attempts to stop it, then pushed Dead Metal into the side of Grower, which effectively pinned both House Robots down, rendering both of them immobile, and Dantomkia was issued a yellow card by Refbot. Ignoring this, Dantomkia activated the Pit release and started to move towards Growler and Dead Metal, but cease was called before further action.

"I hated putting Panic Attack out. It is from a time of Robot Wars history and deserved better than I gave it. The same goes for King B."

— Mike Lambert on Facebook in 2015

Dantomkia's win put it through to fight Pussycat in the All-Stars Final.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Dantomkia, how confident you're gonna have the cat for dinner?"

Mike Lambert: "Erm, pretty confident. They should fly pretty well!"

Jayne Middlemiss: "That sounds pretty difficult, he's a bouncy spinner, who's gonna drive all over and carve you to shreds if he gets near ya!"

Mike Lambert: "If we can get him to the front end of Dantomkia, we have a much batter chance. If he gets at the side of us, he's gonna hurt, which is why I intend to go down his front again, and just push him out of the arena, flip him over the wall!"

— Mike Lambert's tactics

Dantomkia starts promisingly against Pussycat

It began by charging at Pussycat, but Pussycat bounced off one of its prongs and away from Dantomkia's flipper, having turned as Dantomkia charged at it. Dantomkia turned around and tried to get underneath Pussycat. Pussycat turned, and Dantomkia kept pushing, trying to get under the side. Dantomkia pushed Pussycat across the arena as it tried to get under it, Pussycat kept turning to prevent Dantomkia getting its flipper underneath. Dantomkia turned, and Pussycat slipped off the front wedges. Dantomkia drove at Pussycat, which turned to use its cutting disc, then reversed as Dantomkia pushed it. Dantomkia pressured Pussycat to the arena wall, before flicking it up against the wall, leaving Pussycat up on all four wheels. Pussycat turned away from the wall, and turned away as Dantomkia drove at it, tipping up onto four wheels. Dantomkia got under its side, tipping it down and pushed it down the arena, and flipped it into Mr. Psycho. As Pussycat turned back to face Dantomkia, but rode up the front wedge, and Dantomkia rammed it against the arena wall, then flipped it against the wall, with Pussycat falling into the CPZ

"Dantomkia doing exactly what we thought he would do here. Can they get them over and out of the arena side wall? No, and Pussycat is away."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia is immobilised by Pussycat

Dantomkia missed its next flip as it did not get properly under Pussycat, and Pussycat was able to escape, driving to the arena centre. Once more, Dantomkia gave chase, getting under Pussycat, but Pussycat then rode up Dantomkia's front and landed a deadly blow on the aerial, immobilising it. Pussycat continued to attack it, but Dantomkia was only able to flip once on the spot in reply. Pussycat hooked its blade into the back of Dantomkia and started pushing it across the arena. After pushing it around the flame jet, Pussycat dragged Dantomkia to the bottom of the arena, then activated the Pit release and nudged Dantomkia slowly towards the Pit.

"This whole All-Stars final has turned! They were on top, they were pressurising Pussycat, and to use a very high-tech term, they conked out. And Pussycat has Dantomkia not on the ropes, but on the very side of the pit of doom and gloom!"

— Jonathan Pearce

The beaten Dantomkia is hooked by Pussycat

Dantomkia about to go down the pit in the All-Stars final

Pussycat then pushed Dantomkia again, but it rolled past the Pit. Pussycat then turned its attention towards Cassius Chrome and Mr. Psycho, leaving Dantomkia to be counted out by Refbot. Pussycat eventually went back and tried to reverse Dantomkia into the Pit, but Mr. Psycho pushed Pussycat out of the way and pitted Dantomkia himself, with Pussycat falling in soon afterwards. As a result, Pussycat was named as All-Stars Champion, and Dantomkia placed second.

Craig Charles: "What happened?"

Michael Lambert: "Battery died, I should think, or the link came out."

Craig Charles: "Yeah, cos it just looked like one bang and it was just all gone then."

Michael Lambert: "Yeah, we kept trying to resuscitate it, but it was dead!"

— Interview after the fight

Series 8

"The thing I love about robot fighting is watching other people lose! The faces, it's great! You're not gonna beat us, just go and play with your little robot and dream on!"

— Shane Swan in the team's VT

Now under the captaincy of Team S.Tek, Dantomkia was among the Classic Series veterans returning for Series 8, competing in Heat C. Here, it was once again placed in an opening first-round melee with King B Remix, along with newcomers GlitterBomb and Overdozer. As shown in an interview aired before the Group Battle, Team S.Tek went out of their way to theme their workbench and equipment around the two-time UK Semi-Finalist. Visible additions included monitor screens displaying sci-fi inspired 'readouts' of Dantomkia and their logo; a weapon/rear castor switch repurposed from the Dantomkia pullback; and smoke effects generated from beneath the robot's support cradle.

Dara Ó Briain: "Where's the smoke coming from, by the way, a bad thing hasn't happened?"

Stuart Barnwell: "Not yet!"

— As Team S.Tek demonstrate the smoke effects added underneath Dantomkia in The Pits

Dantomkia is axed by GlitterBomb

Once the battle got underway, Dantomkia started tentatively, initially slowly approaching GlitterBomb, driving behind it as it attacked Overdozer. GitterBomb turned to face Dantomkia, which got its front wedges under GlitterBomb, and pushed it past the flame pit, but GlitterBomb slid off the front wedges. Dantomkia turned and drove past GlitterBomb, sustaining an axe blow from GlitterBomb, after which the axe became stuck in the fired position. Whilst King B Remix immobilised Overdozer, Dantomkia proceeded to engage in a brief shoving contest with the pink machine, getting under its side and pushing it towards the side of the arena, but GlitterBomb slid off, and when Dantomkia drove at GlitterBomb's front, it drove onto its front wedge, and GlitterBomb pushed it to the arena tyre. Dantomkia got away, driving to the arena centre, but GlitterBomb followed close behind. Dantomkia rammed into GlitterBomb's front, but failed to breach its ground clearance, and GlitterBomb reversed away. GlitterBomb drove into Dantomkia's side, then drove around Dantomkia as it turned around to try and attack.

"Dantomkia, chasing down on GlitterBomb. Has that powerful axe, GlitterBomb, got a good blow from that axe in early on!"

— Jonathan Pearce as GlitterBomb flees from Dantomkia

Dantomkia flips GlitterBomb

GlitterBomb drove to the side of the arena, by the arena trench, and Dantomkia charged at it, but failed to get under the ground clearance, being deflected away on impact. GlitterBomb rushed away across the arena, driving into a CPZ, with King B Remix chasing after it, ramming into it. While GlitterBomb was distracted by King B Remix, Dantomkia charged over to the CPZ, driving underneath then overturning GlitterBomb in the CPZ. Leaving it with King B Remix, Dantomkia attacked the already defeated Overdozer, tossing it into the air, removing wood from the robot. Meanwhile, King B Remix rammed GlitterBomb, which turned it back upright.

"Look at the flipping power out there in the arena! Sensational! Dantomkia in underneath Overdozer and lifting 86 kilos as if it were a leaf!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia tosses Overdozer into the air

Dantomkia defeats GlitterBomb

Dantomkia returned to GlitterBomb as it fought King B Remix in the CPZ, getting under the back and flipping it over again, this time immobilising the pink robot, which could not self-right as its axe was not working due to a gas leak. The victorious Dantomkia flipped Overdozer again, then tossed its MDF high into the air. with a second flip, and qualified alongside King B Remix.

"I don't think GlitterBomb, and little April, can get out of that trouble now! I think they've been immobilised. Dantomkia, very impressive; the quickest robot out there, very manoeuvrable, can use the spikes and the flipper to cause real mayhem, and they have done!"

— Jonathan Pearce after GlitterBomb is left unable to self-right

It was later revealed that Overdozer's spike had pierced Dantomkia's steel armour by landing on it after a flip.

Dara Ó Briain: "Dantomkia, congratulations! Very good, I thought that actually was quite an awesome performance by you guys!"

Stuart Barnwell: "It was alright, it was good."

Dara Ó Briain: ""It was alright"? That sounds like a man who thinks there's more in the can there!"

Stuart Barnwell: "We're getting used to it, there's more to come."

— Post-battle interview

In its first Head-to-Head battle, Dantomkia fought a King B Remix for the fourth time in Robot Wars history. The King Buxton team had signed a panel of Dantomkia's armour with the message "1st of many! By King B Remix xx" before the battle began, referencing a puncture on the front wedges, which Dara Ó Brian used to create a grudge scenario.

"They crept in to sign it, and they're going out of the arena for it now!"

— Stuart Barnwell

Dantomkia is caught on a Spike

Dantomkia began by missing a charge at King B Remix, which started by swerving to avoid Dantomkia, then rammed into Dantomkia's side as it turned around for another attack. Dantomkia briefly got underneath King B Remix with one of its front spikes but wasn't able to take advantage, as King B Remix turned to avoid Dantomkia and drove over the side. King B Remix turned around, then charged into Dantomkia, and the impact bent Dantomkia's flipper inwards slightly. Dantomkia quickly twisted away, driving down the arena, and as King B Remix drove at it, Dantomkia pushed past and drove towards the side of the arena then turned to face its opponent, but drove onto the Arena Spikes, one of lifted up Dantomkia's front.

"Dantomkia forgot about the Floor Spikes. Now he loves to watch the others lose, says Shane Swan, the captain, the driver. Will his team be the winning team?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia secures the KO on King B Remix

Dantomkia slid off finally got underneath King B Remix near the Flame Pit, but wasn't able to get the flipper into a good position. As King B Remix reversed onto its flipper, Dantomkia pushed it across the arena floor and threw it into the wall housing the Arena Tyre. Narrowly failing to throw another robot out of the arena, King B Remix remained stuck, and Dantomkia kept its distance, spinning and flipping on the spot in celebration, satisfied with its victory despite the team's 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 flipped it in behind the tyre, they couldn't have done better!"

— Professor Noel Sharkey

Dantomkia next fought a fellow flipper, TR2. This came to the pleasure of Team Toon, as driver Alex Brown regarded Dantomkia as his favourite robot from his childhood.

"We've sustained one tiny little bit of damage, other than that we're pretty much unscathed. We're ready to go the whole distance!"

— Kevin Tonry before the battle

Dantomkia self-rights after a flip from TR2

Dantomkia's flip on TR2

TR2 was off the line faster, but Dantomkia dodged its attack by stopping as TR2 charged at it, then driving away as TR2 got close, and twisted round to face TR2. As they came together, TR2 proved to be lower, getting under Dantomkia's side and pushing it over the Pit. Dantomkia managed to turn off of TR2's flipper, but TR2 drove around and got under Dantomkia's side again. TR2 pushed it towards the arena centre, but Dantomkia reversed off of the flipper. Dantomkia turned and drove away, but drove into the arena side wall as it was chased by TR2 and TR2 got under the back and flipped it against the arena wall. Self-righting high into the air, Dantomkia appeared to bend its flipper again slightly, and it rushed away from TR2, escaping the CPZ. TR2 chased after it, but Dantomkia swerved to avoid it, turning around. As TR2 turned around, Dantomkia tried to get under it, but couldn't get under the front ground clearance, and TR2 got its flipper underneath. Dantomkia was thrown once more, this time against the lower part of the arena side wall, but it self-righted very quickly again.

"Slammed onto the arena wall, but bounce up they come again like Tigger."

— Jonathan Pearce

The flip from which Dantomkia did not recover

TR2 pushed Dantomkia into the CPZ, but Dantomkia got away, driving into the centre of the arena, where it slipped under TR2's side and landed a flip of its own, but it was unable to throw TR2 over, with TR2's rear axe preventing it from being turned over. TR2 got under Dantomkia's side as it turned and tried to drive away, but Dantomkia turned and reversed away before TR2 could flip. TR2 chased after it, and eventually managed to get under the side and flip Dantomkia again.

"This is a really good contest, isn't it? It's flipping fantastic for me!"

— Jonathan Pearce

The overturned Dantomkia is axed by TR2

This time, its flipper became stuck open when self-righting, causing a gas leak. TR2 got behind Dantomkia and pushed it across the arena, tossing it over the floor flipper and into a CPZ.

"And now they come in for the kill, TR2, and I wonder what's happened there to Dantomkia. That final flip, I think, immobilised them. They cannot move, it seems to me."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia was rendered immobile, and TR2 came over to use its rear axe on its beaten opponent, reversing into its front and axing it, then driving around to the side, and using the axe again, but each time it merely glanced off.

"When it first started, the robot didn't seem itself anyway, and it was like a slippery slope, it got worse and worse and wore and then died, which points to batteries, but I just really don't know at this moment."

— Shane Swan after the battle

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.

"We're gonna go for it, hell for leather. It's full on from now on."

— Shane Swan before the fight

Dantomkia's first flip on Big Nipper

Dantomkia slid past Big Nipper during its initial charge and as the two competitors turned to face each other, Dantomkia managed to get underneath the corner of Big Nipper, flicking it up slightly with the flipper as it did so. It then shoved Big Nipper into Sir Killalot's CPZ, but in doing so, it drove into the arena wall, then turned straight into Sir Killalot. Fortunately for Dantomkia, Sir Killalot attacked Big Nipper, pushing it away from the wall with his claw. Meanwhile, Dantomkia backed out of the CPZ and waited for Big Nipper, and as it charged at it, Dantomkia flipped Big Nipper against the arena wall. Dantomkia chased Big Nipper as it got away from the wall, and Big Nipper drove into the CPZ, driving out before Sir Killalot could attack. Dantomkia chased Big Nipper over the Flame Pit, pressuring it back into the CPZ. Sir Killalot caught Big Nipper, lifting it up and holding it over the Flame Pit. Dantomkia drove at Sir Killalot, ready for him to drop Big Nipper, but in doing so, it drove onto the flame pit, so it had to reverse off. Sir Killalot dropped Big Nipper and it escaped. Dantomkia tried charging at Big Nipper as it drove away from Sir Killalot, but Big Nipper was fast enough to avoid it, driving into the arena centre. The two competitors turned to face each other, and charged at each other. Big Nipper drove around Dantomkia as it tried to get underneath, but as it tried to attack the back of Dantomkia, and it twisted round, so Big Nipper turned to the other side of Dantomkia, and Dantomkia turned and drove at Big Nipper, and shoved it into Sir Killalot once again.

"They're now trying to get behind Dantomkia, then come for a frontal assault - that's not the right way to do it because Dantomkia can flip and push from there!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia's biggest flip on Big Nipper

Sir Killalot pushed Big Nipper against the wall, but it slipped away and chased after Dantomkia. Dantomkia was waiting for it in the arena centre, but as Big Nipper charged at it, Dantomka sustained a big hit from the spinner which removed the end of its flipper. Dantomkia was unperturbed, slamming Big Nipper back into the CPZ, where Sir Killalot pinned Big Nipper in the corner. Big Nipper escaped from the House Robot once Sir Killalot pinned himself to the arena wall by piercing the wall with his lance, but before it could get out of the CPZ, Dantomkia rushed into the CPZ, but was unable to flip it, so drove out. Big Nipper drove after it, driving over the Flame Pit, and Dantomkia took advantage, rushing at Big Nipper, getting underneath, ramming it against the wall and launching it high into the air.

"Dantomkia well on top, getting underneath to flip again. Look at the sheer power of that flipper robot out there."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia's flipper is clipped by Big Nipper

Dantomkia then pushed Big Nipper across the length of the arena and towards Dead Metal, but Big Nipper slipped out of the House Robot's grasp and caused more damage to Dantomkia's front with the spinner when Dantomkia charged at it head-on. As the seconds ticked down, Dantomkia was almost caught by Dead Metal in the CPZ, before getting a final push on Big Nipper - missing with the flipper as it did so - and 'cease' was called.

"The aggression, I think, was dominated by Dantomkia."

— Jonathan Pearce gives his thoughts after the fight

The Judges decided the outcome, which was a unanimous vote in favour of Dantomkia. This gave Dantomkia an additional two points, for a total of five - enough to earn Dantomkia a position in the Heat Final.

Dara Ó Briain: "Are you happy to face TR2 again?"

Shane Swan: "Well, yeah, we've got to face TR2 again, he's a difficult robot, but we're treating every fight as our last fight and just going hell for leather, what the hell!"

— Post-battle interview after the Big Nipper battle

There, it would face the only robot to have defeated it so far, TR2.

"Who will flip, flap, fly or flop? If it's as good as the first battle between the two, this could be sensational!"

— Jonathan Pearce at the start of the battle

Dantomkia is flipped into the Arena Tyre

Dantomkia held back, allowing TR2 to make the first attack, getting under the side and pushing it towards an empty CPZ. The Pit opened, despite neither competitor hitting the Arena Tyre. Dantomkia escaped the CPZ, with TR2 driving close behind it, until Dantomkia turned, getting at TR2's side. Dantomkia reversed away from TR2 before it could try and get under it, and as TR2 charged at it, trying to get under the side, Dantomkia slipped away to the side, causing TR2 to drive over the Floor Flipper, which threw TR2 over Dantomkia.

"TR2 doing the pushing. Dantomkia the heavier and quicker machine, but they do have that vulnerable ground clearance..."

— Jonathan Pearce early in the battle

Dantomkia's solitary flip on TR2 in the heat final

Dantomkia managed to get a flip in from the side of TR2, but the attack didn't turn it over, instead pushing it towards Matilda and the Arena Spikes. TR2 quickly got away before the House Robot could attack, and tried to get under the side of Dantomkia, which turned to avoid it, then turned around and drove past TR2. However, Dantomkia drove into the CPZ and strayed too near Matilda as it tried to avoid TR2, and the House Robot buffeted the side of Dantomkia with the vertical flywheel. Dantomkia narrowly avoided Matilda's flywheel as she reversed at it, driving around TR2 onto the arena spikes. TR2 drove around to Danomkia's side and pushed it into Matilda's flywheel, which hit the rear of Dantomkia, and it was then flicked up by TR2. Dantomkia fell back onto its wheels, and as TR2 drove at it, Dantomkia drove around it, driving across the arena to near the floor flipper. TR2 chased after it, soon catching up and breached Dantomkia's side again before flipping it into Matilda's CPZ.

"It's TR2 on the offensive, again getting in underneath Dantomkia, and every lift, every shove surely is causing damage."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dantomkia is thrown by TR2

Dantomkia tried to self-right, but was unable to do so with the arena wall in the way, and Matilda came in and slammed into Dantomkia. Dantomkia flipped itself up against the wall, but Matilda flipped it over with her tusks. As Dantomkia was thrown away from the CPZ, TR2 charged at it, flipping it back upright, only for it to be immediately flipped up against the side wall again, and Dantomkia reversed into the CPZ to escape the onslaught. However, this put it in the path of Matilda again. Dantomkia managed to narrowly avoid her flywheel, and reversed into the corner, but when it tried to turn and escape the CPZ, it turned too far, driving into the side wall. Matilda rushed over to block its escape and push it into the corner. Dantomkia squeezed around Matilda, and escaped the CPZ, only for TR2 to drive at it, so Dantomkia reversed across the arena. Dantomkia's flipper had becomed dislodged after being flipped over by TR2, affecting its self-righting, while gas leaked again. Dantomkia drove at TR2 and employed a sit-and-spin tactic, but when pushed onto the Floor Flipper with a little help from a TR2 flip, Dantomkia was thrown over, and could not self-right.

The Floor Flipper eliminates Dantomkia

"Can we see gas being vented from Dantomkia, I wonder? Spinning wildly to get away from TR2...TR2 might have got a bash from the Floor Flipper, but I'll tell you what, Dantomkia certainly did. And now I don't think there's enough power in Dantomkia to self-right."

— Jonathan Pearce

It was then thrown into the arena wall one last time before 'cease' was called, and Dantomkia had lost the battle. After the fight, 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

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 15
• Losses: 8

Series Record

Bolded and italicised entries refer to Dantomkia.

Main Series	Team Dantomkia	Team S.Tek	Team Slam
The First Wars	Did not enter	Did not enter	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter	Did not enter	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter	Did not enter	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	Failed to qualify	Did not enter	Did not enter
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter	Failed to qualify with Hell's Teeth	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Semi-Finals, Round 2	Failed to qualify with Hell's Teeth	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Semi-Finals, Round 1 Entered with DTK	Entered with Trax	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter	Heat Final	Pilot only with Tanto
Series 9	Did not enter	Entered with Push to Exit	Not selected
Series 10	Did not enter	Entered with Push to Exit	Not selected with Nelly the Ellybot
Extreme	Team Dantomkia	Team S.Tek	Team Slam
Extreme	Did not enter	Did not enter	Did not enter
Extreme 2	Entered	Entered with Hell's Teeth	Did not enter

NOTE: Shane Swan also competed in Battle of the Stars as mentor for Episode 1 third-place finisher Interstellar: MML.

Gallery

Dantomkia at the time of Series 5

Dantomkia in construction (Series 6)

Michael Lambert with Dantomkia in 2001

Dantomkia in the arena (Extreme 2)

Dantomkia in the arena (Series 7)

Dantomkia in the pits (Series 8)

Dantomkia enters the arena (Series 8)

Dantomkia in the arena (Series 8)

Dantomkia in the arena with wedge raised (Series 8)

Dantomkia with Team S.Tek in its VT (Series 8)

Dantomkia resting on its back end in its VT (Series 8)

Dantomkia outside in its VT (Series 8)

Outside Robot Wars

Prior to its appearance on Robot Wars, Dantomkia 1.0 fought in numerous head-to-heads and melees, battling robots such as Tornado, Bigger Brother, M2, Tiberius and Edge Hog several times. Dantomkia 1.0 also won a rumble containing M2, Shear Khan, Overkill, Bigger Brother and Tornado before being retired.

An unpainted Dantomkia 1.0 fights an early Tornado, some time before The Fourth Wars

Dantomkia 1.0 battles Tornado and the earliest version of Edge Hog

Dantomkia 1.0 is pierced by Tiberius 2

Dantomkia 1.0 overturns M2

Dantomkia 1.0 unpainted at Robot Wars charity event at Wilson's Day in 2000

Dantomkia 2.0 at a live event

Dantomkia 2.0 with a yellow and black paint job

Spitfire

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. Originally intended to be called Bad Attitude, this change was likely made to ensure it did not share names with the existing middleweight competitor. Spitfire was nearly identical in design to Dantomkia Mk3, but with a narrower rear end and a decreased CO₂ supply, as out-of-the-arena flips were not possible in the original series of BattleBots. However, the robot was more heavily-armoured, and could spin on the spot at 600rpm, faster than its successor. In Season 5.0, Spitfire beat four opponents, including Vlad the Impaler 2, to reach the Round of 32, before losing to Surgeon General there after being severely damaged by the latter's disc. Contractual obligations from the BattleBots producers forced a new incarnation to be built for Robot Wars. In 2013, Spitfire, still in the hands of Gareth Dean from Team Lancaster Bombers, fought at Team Roaming Robots' Robot Wars Guildford 2013.

Dantomkia 2.0 fights M2 at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001

Dantomkia 3.0 fights Tornado and Pussycat

Prior to Series 5, Dantomkia competed at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001, but lost its competition fight to M2 on a close Judges' decision. Nevertheless, it did win a non-competition rumble over Flextreme and The Lethal Swan. Between Series 6 and 7, Dantomkia competed at the Dutch Robot Games 2003, where it lost its only competition melee to the eventual winner Tough as Nails after pitting itself, despite stranding Black Hole against the arena wall earlier in the fight. Dantomkia nevertheless won a melee over Hammerhead 2 and RCC 2 by pitting RCC 2 and then stranding Hammerhead 2 on its flipper. Dantomkia also competed in the Flipper Frenzy, which was won by Bigger Brother.

Dantomkia in a TV advertisement for the FRA World Championship 2004

Dantomkia and Spitfire at Roaming Robots Northampton 2004

Dantomkia was slated to compete in the FRA World Championship 2004. It was featured prominently in a television advertisement promoting the event, firing its flipper in original footage. Dantomkia would have been a seeded robot due to its Series 7 heat win, where it would have faced Ripper in its first fight. However, the event was cancelled last-minute, and Dantomkia instead competed at the replacement Roaming Robots event in Northampton over the same dates, with Spitfire also competing alongside it, including one battle where Dantomkia and Spitfire were in the same fight.

The internals of Dantomkia at Robot Rampage 2004

Michael Lambert driving Dantomkia at Roaming Robots Northampton 2004

Dantomkia 4.0 in 2013

In 2006, Mike Lambert sold Dantomkia Mk 4 to Team Batter. Under their wing, this version won the Annihilator at the 2006 FRA UK Championships, defeating two-time Robot Wars Annihilator champion Kan-Opener, DisConstructor, Iron-Awe 3, Tanto and Spike in order to do so. Despite losing its Heat Final in that year's main competition - after Ripper threw it out of the arena - this incarnation recovered with a fourth-place finish at the main 2007 UK Championships, only being defeated by Terrorhurtz and Iron-Awe 5 in the 3rd Place Playoff on this occasion.

Dantomkia would go one better at the 2008 UK Championships, defeating the likes of Thor, Beast and Ripper Evo to fight Iron-Awe 5 in the final. After having its removable link fall out and getting thrown out of the arena by the Team Iron-Awe machine, Dantomkia would finish the championship as runner-up. During the same year, it also reached the Semi-Finals of the Roaming Robots Winter Tour, and competed at the Robots Live! Reading event, fighting Barbaric Response, Edge Hog and Puck in the first round. In the latter, Dantomkia managed to throw itself out of the arena after being overturned by Barbaric Response near the wall, eliminating itself in the process.

In December 2009, Dantomkia was sold to Team Hydra, who fought with it in the 2010 UK Championships. However, it was found to be overweight, and thus the gas supply to the flipper was sacrificed in order to reduce weight. This left Dantomkia weaponless and vulnerable to a one-flip knockout against Iron-Awe 5 in the first round, eliminating it from the championship early. Team Hydra sold the Mk4 model back to John Bell in 2013, who renamed it DTK (not to be confused with the Series 7 featherweight) and repainted it black and silver to distinguish it from Mike Lambert's newly-completed Mk 5 version. John Bell retired from robot combat entirely in late 2014, opting to donate DTK to John Findlay. From 2016, DTK was reserved as a robot used for the Platinum Experience available at Robot Wars and Extreme Robots-branded live events, where VIP audience members could battle with it at the end of shows against other 'retro' robots in Findlay's collection. In February 2019, DTK regained the yellow and black colour scheme that was formerly applied to Dantomkia Mk 4, an appearance it maintains as of November 2023, albeit with armour damage that remains unrepaired.

Dantomkia 5.0 in the process of being built

Dantomkia Mk5 at the 2013 European Championships

Dantomkia in the pits at Burgess Hill 2014

Mike Lambert & Karoline Denisha of Team Torque built a stronger and more powerful Dantomkia Mk 5 in late 2012, with the intention of entering the then-new Robot Wars live events. The machine was finished and painted in September 2013, competing for the first time in the 2013 Robots Live! European Championships, losing in its heat to Terrorhurtz. In November 2015, this version of Dantomkia was acquired by Shane Swan, and it is this version which competed during Series 8.

Dantomkia Mk 3, now an empty chassis, was used for static display and publicity purposes. The entire chassis, complete with flipping arm and armour, was later auctioned as one of the items for Alex Brown's 2017 charity auction, to its present owner Sarah Bird.

Dantomkia as of October 2017

After Series 8, in October 2016, Team S.Tek made a Facebook post revealing that Dantomkia has been sold on once again, this time to Matthew Pearman of Team Slam. Under their ownership, the robot received numerous modifications including revised armour and a larger flipper plate, and returned to live events in 2017, competing at the Robots Live! event in Stevenage that October. In a battle with Saint and Ka-Pow!, Dantomkia's pneumatic system mounts broke, and the robot eventually became stuck against the arena wall, and against Ka-Pow!, Dantomkia was pitted.

Dantomkia at RoboNerd in August 2019

On a Facebook post uploaded in December 2018, Team Slam revealed that they were upgrading Dantomkia’s drive system and flipper mechanism, in anticipation of building a new version for live events. The team also brought Dantomkia to RoboNerd as a display piece in August 2019. For more information on Team Slam's excursions aside from Dantomkia, see here.

Michael Lambert's nephew Liam currently competes in featherweight tournaments with flippers such as Terabyte and Xcelerator as of 2024 under the tuition of Will Thomas.

Robot Wars Live Events

Dantomkia made its first appearance at the then-new Robot Wars live events in Colchester in April 2013 under the ownership of Team Batter. It took part in the main competition where it faced Iron-Awe 5 and Eruption in the heats, but was eliminated at that stage. It also took part at Guildford 2013 where it fought in the main competition, facing The Steel Avenger, Manta and 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, Dantomkia performed well in the heats, finishing second in its fight against Iron-Awe 5, Titan and Noisy Cricket, but lost at that stage once again.

DTK, a renamed Dantomkia 4.0 as it fought under John Bell's ownership

Spitfire in 2013

Following the Mk 4 version's renaming to DTK, it achieved greater success in the 2013 Robot Wars Winter Tour. While falling in the Primary heats against Eruption and St Hammer, it would win its Secondary heat against Dystopia and Tanto, accumulating enough points to qualify for the finals at Gloucester. However, DTK would later be eliminated at the quarter-final stage following a loss against St Hammer.

Spitfire made its UK debut at the Robot Wars live event in Guildford in June 2013, where it faced Dantomkia amongst other robots. In the main competition, it faced Toon Raider and Titan, but it fell at this stage when it was flipped over and could not re-right itself.

Following its subsequent transfer in ownership to John Findlay, DTK participated in the 2015 Robot Wars World Championship at Colchester. Fighting Apex, Titan and Manta in the opening stages, it would not progress any further upon getting thrown out of the arena by the Team Shock machine.

In 2016, DTK attended every Robot Wars live event of the year as a driveable robot for VIP ticket holders.

Appearances in Merchandise

• Dantomkia/Pullback

The Dantomkia pullback

Trivia

• Dantomkia competed in the third Heat of all three UK Championships it fought in, winning the first two after flipping both its second round and Heat Final opponents out of the arena.
  • In each of its Classic Series runs, it also lost the first round of the Semi-Finals both times, the only difference being Series 6 had a Losers' Melee and Series 7 did not.
  • In both series where Dantomkia reached the Semi-Finals, it lost in the first round to the winner of Heat D, which then went on to lose in the second round of the Semi-Finals to the eventual third-place finisher.
• Dantomkia was the fifth robot to flip two robots out of the Arena in one battle.
  • If the unaired out-of-the-arena flip on S.M.I.D.S.Y. is counted, then Dantomkia is the only robot to flip multiple robots out of the arena in more than one fight.
• Dantomkia was the last robot to flip a competitor out of the arena during the Classic Series, when it threw out former champion Panic Attack in the second round of the Series 7 All-Stars event.
• Dantomkia is the only robot to have flipped out multiple UK Grand Champions, having done so twice to Chaos 2 and Panic Attack respectively.
  • It is also the only robot to have flipped out a Grand Champion after they had won their championship, as Chaos 2's flip of Tornado in The Fourth Wars predated the latter's title victory in The Sixth Wars.
• Dantomkia was one of the few competitors to never lose in the first round of any competition it competed in.
• In the Classic run, Sgt. Bash was present in four of the six fights that Dantomkia lost.
• For some reason, the original Robot Wars arena announcer, Stuart McDonald, had trouble pronouncing Dantomkia's name correctly (DAN-tom-kee-a) during its appearances in the Classic Series. He instead pronounced it in a variety of different ways (such as Dan-TOMA-kai-a and Dan-TOM-kee-a).
  • This was also evident in Series 8, when the arena announcer pronounced Dantomkia's name as Dan-TOM-kee-a during its introduction in Heat C. Dara Ó Briain also pronounced it this way throughout the same episode.
• Within two series of Robot Wars, Dantomkia fought an incarnation of King Buxton in three different first-round melees. The pair also fought in a Head-to-Head match in Series 8.
• Dantomkia has qualified from more melees than any other robot without losing a melee itself, having fought in seven melees without being eliminated.
• In every episode that Dantomkia featured in, there was at least one battle where a robot was thrown out of the arena. In four out of the six episodes, Dantomkia flipped a robot out itself and in one of them, it was thrown out itself.
  • Every time Dantomkia threw an opponent out of the arena for the first time in a Classic Series episode, it managed to throw another out in the following fight.
• Michael Lambert often used female pronouns when describing Dantomkia.
• Dantomkia is one of only two robots to have scored an out of the arena flip from all four sides of the arena, the other being Firestorm.
• In both of Dantomkia's heat victories, Jonathan Pearce made the same statement that it 'could go all the way'.

See Also

• Spitfire (BattleBots)

External Links

• Archived Dantomkia Website
• Team S.Tek Facebook page (defunct)
• Dantomkia on the Robot Wars website (Series 8)