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"Could this be the "Grimm" Reaper of the competition?"
— Jonathan Pearce in Series 4

Iron-Awe was a series of robots which participated in Series 4, 6, 7 and 10 of Robot Wars, also competing in the second series of Robot Wars Extreme.

The original incarnation reached the second round of its Series 4 Heat, where it lost to the seeded Steg 2, with a further appearance in the Celebrity Special. After entering Series 5 with Axe-Awe, Iron-Awe 2 became Team Iron-Awe's entry for Series 6 and Extreme 2, where it was flipped out of the arena by Chaos 2 and Dantomkia respectively.

Competing in Series 7, Iron-Awe 2.1 was the most successful of the team's machines in Robot Wars. After a shock victory in the second round - where it threw the fourth seed Bigger Brother over the arena wall - it reached the Heat Final before falling to the eventual champion Typhoon 2. The damage sustained was later repaired in time for Iron-Awe 2.1 to win the Axe Attack special event in the same series.

Thirteen years later, the modernised Iron-Awe 6 competed in Series 10. Despite suffering recurring technical issues with its flipper - which could not function in any of its battles - it would finish third in its Heat, qualifying for the 10 Robot Rumble as a result. Iron-Awe 6 is among the more modern incarnations to have been built during Robot Wars' hiatus, and remains a highly successful competitor on the live events circuit in the UK.

Versions of Iron-Awe[]

NOTE: This section only includes versions of Iron-Awe which appeared in televised Robot Wars events. Other versions of Iron-Awe which competed at live events are detailed in 'Outside Robot Wars', including two versions which initially attempted to enter Series 8. Axe-Awe is considered to be a separate competitor.

Iron-Awe[]

"The Grimm family have their mighty axe weapon, a zero turning circle. It's electrically powered. Most parts come from packaging machinery. They have steering problems, but could this be the 'grim reaper' of the competition?"
— Jonathan Pearce introducing Iron-Awe in its first appearance
Ironawe1 arena

Iron-Awe in the arena during Series 4

The original Iron-Awe which entered Series 4 was a box-wedge shaped robot, made mostly metal from packaging machinery and aluminium. The robot had 2 Bosch 750w drive motors and 4QD NCC70 speed controllers and mixer board. Iron-Awe's weapon was a 3kg felling axe on a wooden handle, powered by an 80mm bore, 100mm stroke CO2 cylinder at 170 psi. It also had an additional cylinder below the axe head, mounted vertically to give the axe enough power to self-right. The power behind the axe led to it being the first robot to self-right by using an axe. The main axe support and motor shell were made of steel. The message "It's not over 'til it's over!" was written on the base.

Ironawe mag

Iron-Awe in the Robot Wars Magazine

The 80kg weight limit being a problem, Iron-Awe ended up much shorter than intended, with around 6 inches being cut from the back, the wedge front that was intended was changed to a cut-off wedge design, and holes were drilled over the robot, including on the shell, to keep Iron-Awe under 80kg[1].

IronAweInsides

The insides of Iron-Awe, as shown during the Celebrity Special

The robot was powered by Hawker SBS15 sealed lead acid batteries, and was driven by tracks, which were powered by Bosch motors. The team chose to use tracks in order to create more traction and a zero turning circle. The robot was supposed to have a variable height mechanism to give extra ground clearance, allowing the robot to negotiate obstacles, but this idea was scrapped because the additional pneumatic cylinders would have pushed the robot over the weight limit.

The robot moved fairly sluggishly due to its poor choice of batteries, and the robot was generally unreliable.

"The batteries, 2 Hawker SBS15’s, were the items that ultimately led to our demise in the wars. The fact that they were 5 years old probably didn’t help combined with the huge amount of power needed just to turn the tracks."
— Iron-Awe website[2]

Iron-Awe 2[]

Iron awe-removebg

Iron-Awe 2 in Series 6

After competing in Series 5 with Axe-Awe, the team returned to Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2. It retained the weapon combination of Axe-Awe, that being a powerful front flipper, with the robot's signature axe resting on top to strike the surface of the flipper. The power of these weapons was now much greater than that of Axe-Awe

"After Robot Wars 5 we carried out some modifications to the plumbing on the axe circuit and managed to achieve a significant performance improvement. However, it became clear after this that the axe on Iron-Awe 2 would have to have a counterbalance weight, as without it the robot leaps about 8" in the air on firing!! The new axe cylinder is 60% bigger compared to last year (63mm bore * 150mm stroke) and on the test rig it seems to be a lot quicker with the axe traveling from its rest position to its full forward position in around 1/10th of a second!! Iron-Awe 2's flipper plate will be physically larger than last years with a maximum lift height of about 700mm, using two 50mm bore * 200 stroke cylinders to operate it."
— Iron-Awe website[3]
Iron-Awe 2 Arena

Iron-Awe 2 in the arena for Series 6

Iron-Awe 2

Iron-Awe 2 in Extreme 2

Iron-Awe was built on a 40mm square aluminium box section frame, originally part of a workshop table and was sourced from a local scrap yard. With the team wanting stronger armour than Axe-Awe's fibreglass shell in order to stand up to powerful spinners, the robot was armoured in 3mm T6 aluminium with 8mm polycarbonate on top. Kart wheels were chosen to carry the robot, because of the size:weight ratio. The robot had two 800 Watt motors, giving a top speed of 10mph. The flipper could lift a ton, the robot was manoeuvrable and had self-righting capabilities but had a ground clearance of 20mm, which led to it being flipped out of the arena in both of its appearances.

Iron-Awe 2.1[]

"Due to the lack of time available we were unable to build a completely new robot for Series 7. Instead we opted to make a few minor changes to Iron-Awe 2. ... We were fairly happy with the way the robot had been performing in live events but the robot was still fairly sluggish and lacked pushing power."
— Team Iron-Awe website[4]
Ironawe s7 arena

Iron-Awe 2.1 from the front

Iron-Awe 21

Top view of Iron-Awe 2.1

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

Jayne Middlemiss: "Are you stronger with the flipper or stronger with the axe?"
Gilbert Grimm: "We're pretty strong with both of them!"
— Team Iron-Awe's confidence in their balanced weaponry

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

Iron-Awe 6[]

"Flippin’ awesome!"
Robot Wars: The Official Handbook
Iron-Awe 6

Official shot of Iron-Awe 6 in Series 10

Team Iron-Awe S10

Iron-Awe 6 with its team

Over a period of competing on the live circuit, Team Iron-Awe refined their design to lose the axe, and focus purely on their powerful flipper. The full-pressure flipper of Iron-Awe 6 was easily capable of launching robots out of the arena, and fixed the issues that previous Iron-Awe machines had with self-righting. Iron-Awe 6 could be distinguished from other active Iron-Awe machines such as Iron-Awe 5 and 7 due to its toothed black wedge, and is armed in 3.2mm of HARDOX. With slanted sides, Iron-Awe 6 was essentially wedge-shaped from all sides, albeit with a high ground clearance on the sides. On a two-wheel chain driven system, Iron-Awe 6 had a top speed of 11mph, and was capable of rearing back on its hind wheels to drive off other wedges. However, the radio reception of Iron-Awe 6 was dated by Series 10 standards, and this led to the flipper of Iron-Awe 6 failing to respond inside the Robot Wars Arena during any of its battles, despite consistently working in the testing arena.

"The highlight of Robot Wars is flipping a robot out of the arena, it's a wonderful feeling, because once they're out of the arena, they can't hurt you anymore!"
— Gilbert Grimm
IA6 pits

Iron-Awe 6 in the pits, with four side cannons

Iron-Awe 6 entanglements

Iron-Awe 6 with its alternative entanglement devices before Round 2

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

Etymology[]

The robot's name was a pun on "iron ore", a mineral used to make iron, combined with "awe", the feeling of surprise and admiration. Notably, Iron-Awe 2's logo was written on the robot in the Comic Sans font.

The Team[]

Main article: Team Iron-Awe
TeamIronAweS7

Team Iron-Awe in Series 7

Team Iron-Awe

Team Iron-Awe in Series 10

All versions of Iron-Awe, alongside their Series 5 entry Axe-Awe, were entered by the Somerset-based Team Iron-Awe and its long-standing captain Gilbert Grimm, with his son Robert Grimm. Aged 68 in Series 10, Gilbert Grimm was the lead builder and designer of the robots, who was also the driver of the machine during the original run of Robot Wars, while 43-year old son Robert took on the driving role in Series 10. In Series 6 only, Adrian Moore was a member of the team, while for Extreme 2 and Series 7, the third team member was Ian Bilboe, who also captained Prince of Awe in the Featherweight Championship of Series 7. In Series 10, Robert Grimm's newborn son William was also featured on-screen, and was referenced as the team's main motive to perform well.

Qualification[]

"When they tested this machine for the qualifiers, right was going left, and left was going right, so fingers crossed."
Julia Reed before Iron-Awe's Round 1 battle

Iron-Awe first qualified for Series 4 through participating in the Robot Mayhem live event, with its session taking place on 30 July 2000.[5] Despite having control problems in its fight against Bolt from the Blue - as briefly mentioned by Julia Reed in the televised series - the original incarnation managed to defeat the fellow newcomer by immobilising it with an axe blow. Both machines would end up qualifying for the series, sparing Team Iron-Awe from having to take part in a second qualifier.[6]

"We drove up to Park Street Studios near St Albans for the qualifying round and we were told that we would have to win a couple of fights to qualify. However, in our one and only fight we managed to disable Bolt from the Blue by hitting their main kill switch with our axe. This obviously impressed them and we were told we were through!"
— Team Iron-Awe website[6]
Iron awe2qual

Iron-Awe 2 at the Sixth Wars qualifiers

After the team competed in Series 5 with Axe-Awe, Iron-Awe 2 returned to qualify for Series 6, facing Dantomkia, Maximus and Destruct-A-Bubble in its qualifying melee.

"Now, I am not the biggest fan of mellees [sic], as whilst they might be good to watch, they are far to unpredictable and you can quite easily be taken out by a robot whilst you are busy fighting one of the others. This would be the first real outing for our new robot Iron-Awe 2.0. and it had been a bit of a rush to get it finished in time. Now we were slightly apprehensive when we found one of the robots we were up against was Dantomkia, a robot that had had never appeared in Robotwars before but was well known to us on the live event circuit."
— Team Iron-Awe website on their Series 6 qualifier[6]

Dantomkia went straight for Iron-Awe 2, got underneath and rammed it to the arena wall. Dantomkia flipped Iron-Awe 2 against the wall and managed to stand it up on its back with its axe hanging over the perimeter barrier of the arena. Iron-Awe 2 fired the axe repeatedly to try and get down, but remained stuck[6]. Despite losing, the team was given a discretionary place to compete in the Sixth Wars.

"So we left dejected convinced that there was no way they would give us a place, only for them to phone us later in the evening to say we had got in."
— Team Iron-Awe website[6]

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

"We were up against Mute (a very good robot) and a couple of newcomers who didn't pose much of a threat. With strict instructions not to flip anything over the edge, we went straight in and stood one of the newcomers on their end before setting into the other with the axe. Needless to say both us and Mute got the nod."
— Team Iron-Awe website[7]
Iron-Awe5

Iron-Awe 5

When Robot Wars returned for its eighth series in 2016, Team Iron-Awe applied with two versions of the robot that they had built since the show went off-air; Iron-Awe 5, a full-pressure flipper with a sloped wedge design, and Iron-Awe 7, a wider, conventional wedge, also with a full-pressure flipper. The team had presumed that the series would be short of potential entrants[8], hence their two applications, but ultimately neither were accepted. The team did not apply for Series 9[9]. Team Iron-Awe were more successful in Series 10, and qualified using Iron-Awe 6. The team also brought Iron-Awe 5 to filming, as a source of spare components.

Robot History[]

Series 4[]

"A fairy tale end, or a "grim" end for the father-and-son team from Somerset with Iron-Awe?"
— Jonathan Pearce at the start of the Round 1 battle

Iron-Awe's first appearance was against fellow newcomer Mazakari and the 23rd seed Mortis, in the first-round melee of Heat D.

Ironawe vs mortis

Iron-Awe axes Mortis after being slammed against the arena wall

MortisIronAwe

Mortis lifts Iron-Awe up

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

"Iron-Awe dangerously close towards the pit... Dangerously close towards the pit... Dead Metal and Killalot combine; over the pit for Iron-Awe. Spinning around, Killalot, look at this, toying with it, slamming it to the ground in the arena floor."
— Jonathan Pearce
Ironawe killalot and dead metaal

An immobile Iron-Awe picked up by Sir Killalot

Sirkillalot vs ironawe

Iron-Awe is left in the grasp of Sir Killalot

Sgt. Bash came in on Mazakari, grabbing it, lifting Mortis off the ground as well. It went to the judges and Mazakari was unanimously voted out due to the damage taken, despite its wheels visibly spinning, unlike the immobile Iron-Awe.

"We were lucky to progress through as near the end of the battle our batteries died and Sir Killalot picked us up and almost dropped us in the pit."
— Team Iron-Awe website[10]

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

Julia Reed: "I know it's your ambition to win Robot Wars, isn't it?"
Robert Grimm: "Well, it would be nice, but maybe not this year, maybe wait until next year!"
Julia Reed: "Come on guys! Don't give up yet!"
— Before the battle
Steg 2 Iron-Awe

Iron-Awe goes head-on with Steg 2

Steg 2 flipper

Iron-Awe is flipped over by Steg 2

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

"Very tentative stuff, though. They may be leaping around a little bit, but it's ponderous."
— Jonathan Pearce
Shunt vs iron-awe

Iron-Awe is axed by Shunt

Steg 2 flipped Iron-Awe over, but it self-righted straight away again. The House Robots came in and dragged Iron-Awe away; Shunt slammed its axe into Iron-Awe's top. Steg 2 subsequently flipped Matilda over, whilst Sir Killalot sliced off Iron-Awe's axe with his claw.

"Killalot exacts revenge, and Iron-Awe's weapon goes. Snapped off like some flower stalk, there."
— Jonathan Pearce

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

Craig Charles: "That hammer looked like an awesome weapon, you were bashing that thing with it, but it didn't seem to make a mark! And then of course, you mess with Killalot, and you lose your axe altogether!"
Robert Grimm: "Yeah, it's a matter of hitting them in the right place, it's obviously a bit difficult, and we lost power, the drive for the batteries, at the end, so we just couldn't get away!"
— Post-battle interview
NCIronawe

Iron-Awe under Natalie Cassidy

Iron-Awe returned to fight in the Celebrity Special, where it was driven by actress Natalie Cassidy. Iron-Awe was garbed in 'L' plates, due to Natalie Cassidy's inexperience with the controls, and in reference to her taking driving tests at the time of filming. In Round 1, Iron-Awe against Pussycat, recent runner-up for the main competition, which was being driven by Natalie's EastEnders co-star Adam Woodyatt. However, before the battle, Iron-Awe's front wheels jammed. Fortunately, Gilbert and Robert Grimm were able to fix the robot before the battle.

"My brother, who is eighteen years older than me, got me a remote-control Ferrari. I was about seven or eight and I used to love it. All the other kids had Barbies and stuff, but I had my remote control car. So I've had a bit of practice with the remote control."
— Natalie Cassidy, interviewed by Robot Wars Magazine[11]
CelebPussycatvsIronAwe

Pussycat pins Iron-Awe to the arena wall

At the start of the battle, the two robots moved slowly towards each other. Pussycat attacked Iron-Awe's side, and Iron-Awe fired the axe, but missed as it was facing away from Pussycat. Pussycat rammed the front of Iron-Awe and pushed it back a few feet. Iron-Awe used the axe to flip Pussycat over, but Pussycat kept pushing back. Another axe blow from Iron-Awe allowed it get free of Pussycat's pushing. Cassidy had passed the controls on to Robert Grimm at this stage. Iron-Awe appeared to be stuck, firing its axe but not moving. It did start moving again, but drove into the arena wall. Pussycat charged at Iron-Awe, and much to Cassidy's dismay, the NAT 1 license plate attached to Iron-Awe was shattered after a strong charge from Pussycat. Dead Metal grabbed Iron-Awe and tried to cut it with its saw, but Iron-Awe fired the axe to prevent Dead Metal close enough. Dead Metal pulled Iron-Awe away from the wall, Iron-Awe seemed sluggish after this, and Dead Metal came in to attack. Iron-Awe drove away, but drove straight into Matilda. Matilda lifted Iron-Awe up, and Pussycat charged in, getting underneath Iron-Awe and overturning it.

"It's not all over till its over- it is now!"
— Jonathan Pearce references Kenneth Wolstenholme when seeing the message on the base of Iron-Awe
CelebPussycatvsIronAwe2

Sir Killalot snaps off Iron-Awe's axe

The House Robots then shoved Iron-Awe onto the flame pit, where Sir Killalot then snapped off the axe. Sgt. Bash then pushed Iron-Awe into Sir Killalot, who plucked it up and pitted it. Later it was revealed that Iron-Awe's battery ran out, and that Pussycat hadn't had its disc connected.

"Well the Grimms are out, but I said I was going to win, so I'm joining Adam's team, to be not "Girls vs Boys", "EastEnders vs whoever"!"
— Natalie Cassidy changes allegiances

Natalie Cassidy was initially upset that her personalised licence plate had been broken during the battle, but she joined the Pussycat team after the battle, and they eventually went on to win. This was Iron-Awe's final appearance in Series 4, before the team appeared in Series 5 with Axe-Awe.

Series 6[]

"I'm glad to see you're wearing team colours, yellow and black!"
— Gilbert Grimm to Philippa Forrester, commenting on her yellow and black outfit, this being her leather jacket

Following on from their Fifth Wars campaign with Axe-Awe, Team Iron-Awe entered Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2 and came up against the fifth seed Chaos 2, newcomer Destructosaur and Trevor Wright's new robot Mighty Mouse in the first round. The team were happy with this draw, confident that they could damage Chaos 2.

Philippa Forrester: "You're up against Chaos 2, guys."
Gilbert Grimm: "Yep. We've always wanted to fight Chaos 2."
Philippa Forrester: "What are you going to get them with?"
Gilbert Grimm: "Well, he's very vulnerable to an axe."
— Misplaced confidence from Team Iron-Awe
Chaos 2 vs Mighty Mouse vs Iron-Awe 2 vs Destructosaur

Iron-Awe 2 pierces Destructosaur

Chaos2ironawe

Chaos 2 flips out Iron-Awe 2

Iron-Awe 2 started by chasing after Chaos 2, but Destructosaur drove between it and Chaos 2. Chaos 2 flipped Destructosaur over, and Iron-Awe axed the barrel shaped robot, holding the rollover design in place, although Iron-Awe then moved too close to the arena wall, and began spinning over a steam vent. This allowed Chaos 2 to get underneath Iron-Awe 2 before it could drive away, and Chaos 2 pushed it against the arena wall to flip it over the arena wall, meaning Iron-Awe 2 had been beaten by the machine it wished to defeat.

"I think the next robot, we'll have to put wings on it. It's getting quite annoying, this 'flying out of the arena' business!"
— Gilbert Grimm

Extreme 2[]

"After many changes of plans we were eventually told we would be taking part in the Challenge Belt competition."
— Team Iron-Awe website[12]

Iron-Awe 2 took part in the Challenge Belt competition in Extreme Series 2. In the first round, it fought two Heat Finalists from the Sixth Wars in Barber-Ous 2 and Vader, as well as the reigning fourth place finisher Terrorhurtz.

Ex2ChallengeBeltRound1.2

Iron-Awe 2 sustains damage from its opponents

Ex2ChallengeBeltRound1.2

Iron-Awe 2 is dragged over by the weight of Barber-Ous

Iron-Awe 2 started by sneaking around Terrorhurtz, which was attacking Vader, and attempting to flip it, but Terrorhurtz toppled back onto its wheels. Iron-Awe 2 was then attacked by the spinning drum of Barber-Ous 2, the impact knocking off a polycarbonate panel and turning Iron-Awe 2 over, but it was able to self-right. Iron-Awe 2 drove into the wall, and found itself caught between Vader and Barber-Ous 2. Barber-Ous 2 drove away, but Vader kept Iron-Awe 2 pinned under an angle grinder. However, Vader was being axed by Shunt and Terrorhurtz, and broke down. This allowed Iron-Awe 2 to escape. Iron-Awe 2 axed Barber-Ous 2 for a while, but was able to puncture it, then chased after Terrorhurtz. Terrorhurtz opened the pit, and Iron-Awe went back after Barber-Ous 2.

"Iron-Awe 2 slightly fortuitous to sill be in the fight, but getting a great axe blow into Barber-Ous 2 and the plastic shell ripped apart there!"
— Jonathan Pearce

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

In the second round, Iron-Awe 2 was drawn against series semi-finalist Dantomkia.

Ex2ChallengeBeltRound2.1

Iron-Awe 2 wedges under the floor spinner

Ironawe vs dantomkia

Iron-Awe 2 misses with the axe

Iron-Awe 2 charged straight at Dantomkia, but its flipper got wedged underneath the Disc of Doom, where it became stuck. Dantomkia tried to get under Iron-Awe 2, but Iron-Awe 2 reversed, freeing itself from the floor spinner. Dantomkia got its front wedges under Iron-Awe 2, but Iron-Awe 2 turned and drove away. It turned to fight Dantomkia again, but drove at the wrong angle, and did not get under their opponent, ending up side-on instead.

"Iron Awe, 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 Iron-Awe 2 in 2015
Dantomkia vs Iron-Awe 2

Dantomkia throws Iron-Awe 2 out

Ex2ChallengeBeltRound2.1

Iron-Awe 2 sits outside the arena

Iron-Awe 2 tried to axe Dantomkia, but missed, so resorted to running away from Dantomkia. Eventually, Dantomkia caught up and the two met head-on. Iron-Awe 2 fired its axe, but Dantomkia's front was too low for the axe to have any effect. Iron-Awe 2 turned away from Dantomkia, which allowed Dantomkia to get the wedges underneath and ram Iron-Awe 2 to the arena entrance gate and flip it out.

"The idea was: we needed to run the flipper very low to get underneath Dantomkia, because we knew that once he got underneath us, that would be the end of it! ... We weren't wrong there, but we just couldn't get the axe into play, really."
— Gilbert Grimm after the battle

Series 7[]

The team returned for Series 7 with Iron-Awe 2.1, and in the first round it fought three newcomers to the UK wars DisConstructor, Xenomorph and Dutch Robot Wars veteran Hammerhead 2 in the first round.

Iron Awe flips Hammerhead 2

Iron-Awe 2.1 hurls Hammerhead 2 onto Xenomorph

Iron-Awe 2

Iron-Awe 2.1 buries its axe in Hammerhead 2's wheel housing

Iron-Awe 2.1's questionable first move was to chase Refbot, and it sustained a glancing blow from DisConstructor, but Iron-Awe 2.1 was then able to launch Hammerhead 2 over, and onto Xenomorph. Iron-Awe 2.1 continued to dominate the battle alongside DisConstructor, flipping Xenomorph back onto Hammerhead 2, and at this point, DisConstructor drove into the pit, giving Iron-Awe 2.1 a strong chance to progress. It buried its axe into a gap in Hammerhead 2's frame and dragged it back, flipping it again, while surviving a glancing blow from Xenomorph.

"For me it would be Iron-Awe, certainly at this stage, because they've been the more aggressive and the more experienced, the more stylish, if it goes to a Judges' decision"
— Jonathan Pearce on the most aggressive robot in the battle
Iron-Awe Xenomorph

Iron-Awe 2.1 uses its axe on Xenomorph

Sir Killalot Iron-Awe

Iron-Awe 2.1 axes the eyes away from Sir Killalot

With assistance from Hammerhead 2, Iron-Awe 2.1 buried its axe into Xenomorph and flipped it once again, leaving it with limited mobility, but regardless Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Hammerhead 2 again, and curiously drove under Sgt. Bash. Iron-Awe 2.1 finally seemed to slow down towards the end of the battle, but still penetrated Xenomorph's tyre with its axe, but then drove straight under Sir Killalot and surprisingly managed to lift it from the arena floor. Iron-Awe 2.1 caused further embarrassment to the House Robots, removing the LED eyes from Sir Killalot. Throughout the late stages of the bout, Iron-Awe 2.1 lost the use of a motor[13] and was forced to move around the arena largely by driving on one wheel and free-wheeling on the other. Iron-Awe 2.1 largely kept away from danger until 'cease' was called, where the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, where Iron-Awe 2.1 qualified alongside Hammerhead 2.

"We managed to get several good flips and axe attacks on the other two robots. We were having control difficulties during the bout and we discovered after the bout that one of our motors had fallen apart. The bout went to a judges decision and we won along with Hammerhead."
— Team Iron-Awe website[14]

In the second round, Iron-Awe 2.1 had an unfortunate draw against the fourth seed, Minor Meltdown champion and Series 5 runner-up Bigger Brother. Going into the battle with Bigger Brother, the team told Jayne Middlemiss their tactic of using Iron-Awe 2.1's axe, claiming their weapon can pierce 4mm steel, while Bigger Brother's top armour was only 1.5mm steel and polycarbonate.

"We always get a difficult second round. This is no exception. However, we have fought Bigger Brother before. We know they're a good robot, we have on occasion beaten them, so we know they can be beaten, and we have the weaponry to do it."
— Gilbert Grimm
Iron-Awe 2

Iron-Awe 2.1 is hoisted by Bigger Brother

IronAweOOTABiggerBrother

Iron-Awe 2.1 flips Bigger Brother out of the arena

However, Iron-Awe 2.1's first axe attack missed completely, and the robot was thrown over by Bigger Brother. Iron-Awe 2.1 failed to self-right, and Bigger Brother pressed it against Refbot and hoisted it into the air, and back onto its wheels. This proved to be a turning point, as in a surprise move, Iron-Awe 2.1 capitalised on Bigger Brother's moment of vulnerability while it was stuck behind Shunt, and Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Bigger Brother onto the arena wall, where it toppled out.

"They get knocked out every year, they're always flipped out of the arena, and this time... they've flipped you!"
— Craig Charles to Joe Watts

Iron-Awe 2.1 was through to the Heat Final, where it fought Typhoon 2, the eventual champion of the series.

Typhoon2Ironawe

Typhoon 2 sends Iron-Awe 2.1 spinning

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

Typhoon 2 vs Iron Awe 2

The final blow from Typhoon 2

"I'm impressed, very impressed. He's worried, very worried!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the camera films Robert Grimm driving Iron-Awe

The flipper was now destroyed and CO2 came out the front of the robot. Another couple of slams by Typhoon 2 caused enough damage to Iron-Awe 2.1 for a drive chain to come loose from one wheel - it was at this point where Iron-Awe 2.1 was either immobilised entirely, or feigned full immobility to avoid further damage.

"Iron-Awe get down that pit! Save yourself!"
— Jonathan Pearce after Typhoon 2's final blow on Iron-Awe 2.1
Iron Awe dropzone

Iron-Awe 2.1's run comes to an end as the stove crashes down on it

Refbot counted Iron-Awe 2.1 out, and Sir Killalot put it on the Drop Zone, where a gas cooker was dropped on it. As a joke, Typhoon 2 came in and smashed the cooker as well. Nevertheless, Iron-Awe 2.1 had been eliminated from the main competition.

"We had to get them before they span up. We knew once they got up to speed, they could, as they did, break us!"
— Gilbert Grimm after the battle

The team put the robot back together to take part in the Axe Attack battle against Hydra and Kat 3, which was aired prior to Iron-Awe 2.1's debut in the main competition. Due to lasting damage, Iron-Awe 2.1's flipper had to be activated every time its axe was fired.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Who is going to win this Iron-Awe?"
Gilbert Grimm: "I am."
Jayne Middlemiss: "Right, why?"
Gilbert Grimm: "I have the most powerful axe, and I've just spent a lot of time putting this robot back together for the competition and I'm not doing that for nothing"
Jayne Middlemiss: "So you're angry?"
Gilbert Grimm: "Oh I'm more than angry, I'm here to win!"
— Determination from Team Iron-Awe in the pre-battle interview
Axe attack

Iron-Awe 2.1 axes the immobile Kat 3

Hydra was attacked first, getting underneath Iron-Awe 2.1 but missing with its axe. The three robots engaged in battle, but most of the early attacks with the axes missed their targets. Hydra rammed Iron-Awe 2.1 into the arena wall twice, while Kat 3 stopped moving and appeared to be immobilised. As Iron-Awe 2.1 attacked the defeated Kat 3, Hydra got underneath and turned it over. It then rammed Iron-Awe 2.1 into the arena wall again, then into Shunt's CPZ, where Iron-Awe 2.1 managed to escape after an axe blow from the House Robot. The two robots then attacked Kat 3, but it was already immobilised and was counted out by Refbot.

"They delayed the filming to enable us to complete the rebuild of the 'bot and we amazingly came through to win"
— Team Iron-Awe website
Cassius Chrome Iron Awe

Cassius Chrome shoves Iron-Awe 2.1

Hydra and Iron-Awe 2.1 then fought by Shunt's CPZ, but the House Robot came in nevertheless with another attack on Iron-Awe 2.1. Meanwhile, Cassius Chrome had drifted out of its CPZ, and Iron-Awe 2.1 and Hydra switched their attentions to the House Robots, with Iron-Awe 2.1 trying in vain to flip Cassius Chrome, while Hydra managed to throw Shunt onto its side after a short tussle. Both robots then attacked Cassius Chrome, with Hydra slamming it into the arena wall, before Hydra reversed Iron-Awe 2.1 back across the arena and into a CPZ. Iron-Awe 2.1 and Cassius Chrome became locked together, but Hydra helped to separate the two. As both robots continued to attack the House Robot, Refbot activated the pit release button and Hydra drove onto the pit just as it began to descend. This suddenly left Iron-Awe 2.1 as the winner of the Axe Attack.

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

Series 10[]

"All rise for the grandaddy of Robot Wars."
— Gilbert Grimm prepares for yet another Robot Wars adventure

Following a long absence from televised robot combat, the Iron-Awe name returned in Series 10 when Iron-Awe 6 competed in Heat D. In its opening Group Battle, the live event veteran faced Team Terror Turtle's new clusterbot, The Kegs, and reserve entry Tauron, the latter substituting for Triforce.

Iron-Awe 6 The Kegs

The Kegs rips open one of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement cannons

Iron-Awe 6 Sir Killalot

Iron-Awe 6, under pressure from Sir Killalot

Iron-Awe 6 started the battle by bumping into Tauron, before it found itself stuck on the Flame Pit, which allowed one of The Kegs to rip away part of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement cannons. After getting in too close to Sir Killalot, Iron-Awe 6 moved away and then charged across the arena floor and into Tauron again. After following up this drive by forcing Tauron over the Arena Spikes, another of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement cannons was opened by Tauron, spreading more debris on the arena floor. Noticeably, Iron-Awe 6 had not used its flipper during the opening period.

"Why no flip? That was an opportunity to get a flip in!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Tauron Iron-Awe 6 1

Iron-Awe 6 and Tauron, locked together

Tauron Iron-Awe 6 2

Iron-Awe 6 edges along as Tauron is stuck on debris

After finding itself in a scuffle with him earlier in the fight, Iron-Awe 6 was once again pressured by Sir Killalot after The Kegs had pressed the Arena Tyre and activated Rogue House Robot mode. In the meantime, Tauron had finished off the hopes of The Kegs, which left Iron-Awe 6 to fight the Bedfordshire machine upon escaping from Sir Killalot. An initial Iron-Awe 6 charge was then met by grazing hits from Tauron's bar, with the spinning weapon then connecting with a big blow to the rear of Iron-Awe 6. Both machines remained in close-quarters with each other, before a Tauron charge left it stranded up on Iron-Awe 6. Sir Killalot's intervention was necessary to separate the two, but after this, both machines ground to a halt. While Tauron became stuck on debris and did not attempt to drive off it in time, Iron-Awe 6 crawled for a few seconds before it too became immobilised. The Judges immediately ruled Iron-Awe 6 to have survived for longer, thus deciding to count Tauron out.

"Tauron was out first, and the other one moved at least a metre and a half."
— Noel Sharkey as the countdown begins for Tauron

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

Dara Ó Briain: "Is this weapon going to go? Because it wasn't in the last bout."
Gilbert Grimm: "We hope so. Every test it worked perfectly."
— Talk before the Heat Semi-Final
Iron-Awe 6 Concussion

Iron-Awe 6 charges into Concussion

Iron-Awe 6 Concussion 1

Iron-Awe 6 narrowly avoids the axe of Shunt

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

"Over go Iron-Awe 6. Gilbert and Robert Grimm's fairy tale about to end in a nightmare."
— Jonathan Pearce
Concussion Iron-Awe 6

Iron-Awe 6 is tossed over

Dead Metal Iron-Awe 6

The beaten Iron-Awe 6 is sliced by Dead Metal

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

Dara Ó Briain: "Will it work this time, lads?"
Robert Grimm: "Maybe."
Dara Ó Briain: "Maybe? That's the best we can do for a little eight-month-old baby. Who says we don't tug at the heartstrings on Robot Wars?"
— A third chance for Gilbert Grimm to make grandson, William, proud
Iron-Awe 6 Androne 4000

Iron-Awe 6 gets underneath Androne 4000

Iron-Awe 6 Androne 4000 1

Androne 4000 takes damage inside Matilda's CPZ

Iron-Awe 6 slid underneath Androne 4000 straight away, guiding it onto the Floor Flipper, before pushing it towards Matilda - where the House Robot's flywheel caused damage to Androne 4000. Despite this strong start, it was clear that Iron-Awe 6's flipper was, once again, not working.

"The experienced Gilbert and Robert at the controls of Iron-Awe 6. What will be the legacy for the grandson: a place in the first ten-way mega battle? Well only if they win this one."
— Jonathan Pearce

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

"Keep away from Matilda's tail."
— Gilbert Grimm to his son, Robert
Iron-Awe 6 Androne 4000 3

Iron-Awe 6 is clattered by Matilda's flywheel

Iron-Awe 6 Androne 4000 2

Iron-Awe 6 pits Androne 4000

After avoiding the crushing claw of Androne 4000, Iron-Awe 6 suddenly found itself in further danger, as Matilda connected with a big blow with her flywheel to the rear of Iron-Awe 6. Robert Grimm found himself in more danger from the House Robot shortly after, as Matilda's tusks sent Iron-Awe 6 hurtling through the air. Thankfully for Iron-Awe 6, it landed on its wheels, and was then able to finally finish off Androne 4000 with only three seconds remaining by sliding it down into the Pit. Iron-Awe 6 was victorious, and secured a place in the 10 Robot Rumble as a result.

"Iron-Awe 6 knew what they were doing - they were on top. Androne 4000 took too much damage in the previous battle. Edged onto the Pit, and over she goes."
— Jonathan Pearce

In the 10 Robot Rumble, Iron-Awe 6 fought Apollo, Big Nipper, Concussion, Eruption, Expulsion, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz (a robot it qualified along side in the Extreme 2 Challenge Belt), Thor and Track-tion in a one last-man standing battle. It maintained its rear struts from the previous battle, and once again lacked a functioning flipper.

Iron-Awe 6 vs Eruption

Iron-Awe 6 challenges Eruption

Apollo vs Iron-Awe 6

Iron-Awe 6 is blasted into the air by Apollo

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

"And once again, Iron-Awe go for the tyre!"
— Jonathan Pearce notes Iron-Awe 6's repeated tactic
Iron-Awe 6 flipped

Iron-Awe 6 is thrown over amidst Fog of War

Eruption vs Iron-Awe

Iron-Awe 6 once again proves unable to self-right

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

"Oh, who's that, gone down? Iron-Awe 6 in the pit!"
— Jonathan Pearce amidst the chaos

Results[]

IRON-AWE - RESULTS
Series 4
The Fourth Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 2
Heat D, Eliminator vs. Mazakari, Mortis (23) Won
Heat D, Semi-Final vs. Steg 2 (7) Lost
Celebrity Special
Round 1
Round 1 vs. Pussycat Lost
IRON-AWE 2 - RESULTS
Series 6
The Sixth Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat C, Round 1 vs. Chaos 2 (5), Destructosaur, Mighty Mouse Eliminated
Extreme Series 2
Challenge Belt
Round 2
Round 1 vs. Barber-Ous 2, Terrorhurtz, Vader Qualified
Round 2 vs. Dantomkia Lost
IRON-AWE 2.1 - RESULTS
Series 7
The Seventh Wars - UK Championship
Heat Final
Heat O, Round 1 vs. DisConstructor, Hammerhead 2, Xenomorph Qualified
Heat O, Round 2 vs. Bigger Brother (4) Won
Heat O, Final vs. Typhoon 2 Lost
Special Events
Axe Attack
Axe Attack vs. Hydra, Kat 3 Won
IRON-AWE 6 - RESULTS
Series 10
Series 10 - UK Championship
Heat, Third Place
Heat D, Group Battle vs. Tauron, The Kegs Won
Heat D, Semi-Final vs. Concussion Lost
Heat D, Third Place Playoff vs. Androne 4000 Won
10 Robot Rumble vs. Apollo, Big Nipper, Eruption, Expulsion, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, Thor, Track-tion Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 7
  • Losses: 7

Series Record[]

Main Series Iron-Awe Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Heat, Round 2 as Iron-Awe
The Fifth Wars Entered with Axe-Awe
The Sixth Wars Heat, Round 1 as Iron-Awe 2
The Seventh Wars Heat Final as Iron-Awe 2.1
Series 8 Not selected with Iron-Awe 5
Not selected with Iron-Awe 7
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Heat, Third Place as Iron-Awe 6
Robot Wars Extreme Appearances
Series 1 Entered with Axe-Awe
Series 2 Entered as Iron-Awe 2

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

During the time Robot Wars was on hiatus from television, five new models of Iron-Awe were built, ranging from versions 3 to 7. Iron-Awe 5 proved to be the most successful, winning the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships and becoming one of the few robots to win the championship twice, later finishing second in the 2017 UK Championship.[15][16] Iron-Awe was particularly active at Roaming Robots, and remains active at Robots Live! and Extreme Robots events, with each version's highlights and statistics detailed below.

As of June 2019, the team's active Iron-Awe machines are Iron-Awe 5 (driven by Robert Grimm), Iron-Awe 6 (driven by Shane Lale) and Iron-Awe 8 (usually driven by Gilbert Grimm).

Iron-Awe[]

Axe-awe before robot wars

The original Iron-Awe battles Tornado

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

Iron-Awe 2.1[]

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

Iron-Awe 3[]

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

Iron-Awe 4[]

IA4

Iron-Awe 4

Orrion

Iron-Awe 4 as Orrion

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

Iron-Awe 5[]

Iron Awe V

Iron Awe 5 in 2009

Iron-Awe 5

Iron-Awe 5 with an additional top panel

Iron-Awe 5 was built in 2006 following the success of Iron-Awe 3, and as such uses a very similar wedge-shaped design with a full-pressure flipper. Iron-Awe 5 featured a modular construction to make it easy to repair, and became notable for using its powerful flipper to throw five robots out of the arena in a single battle. Iron-Awe 5 won the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships, becoming the third robot to reclaim the UK title after Chaos 2 and Terrorhurtz.[15]

Iron-Awe 5 Stevenage 2018

Iron-Awe 5 at Robots Live! Stevenage, September 2018

IA5

Iron-Awe 5 in January 2020

Iron-Awe 5 would also finish second place in the 2017 UK Championship.[16] At the Mechatrons Dublin event in 2018, Iron-Awe 5 reached the final by defeating robots such as Thor, but ultimately lost to Iron-Awe 6. This iteration still competes at live events as of September 2023, usually under the controls of Robert Grimm. On 17-18 June, it won both of its scheduled Tag Team battles at Extreme Robots Guildford, partnered with the brand-new TR4.[17][18][19]

A busy September saw Iron-Awe 5 make further appearances at Robots Live! Crawley and Extreme Robots Colchester, both taking place a week apart. During the former, it once self-righted out of the arena during a melee involving YOTON, Audacious and Two-Headed Death Flamingo.[20] At Colchester, Iron-Awe 5 made recurring appearances throughout the weekend, twice appearing in the end-of-show 'Gladiator' battles. On Sunday 17th, it prevailed in an all-flipper clash against Eruption and current Extreme Robots Heavyweight Champion Tectonic, but was left with very little CO2 reserves to challenge Gabriel in the overall final. Despite pushing and occasionally lifting Team Saint's axlebot, Iron-Awe 5 lost the Judges' decision and the Sunday show to the more aggressive Gabriel.[21][22][23]

Iron-Awe 5 made its most recent appearance at Robots Live! Grantham on 14-15 September 2023, competing as part of the full Team Iron-Awe line-up.[24]

Iron-Awe 6[]

IronAwe 6

Iron-Awe 6 when it was painted red

Iron Awe 6

Iron-Awe 6 painted red and with some battle scars

After the success of Iron-Awe 5 in 2007/8, the team built Iron-Awe 6, which would eventually compete on television. It featured the same modular construction as before and had rolled edges like the ones on Iron-Awe 3 for extra strength. Iron Awe 6 was originally painted yellow like its predecessor, but was soon re-painted red like Axe-Awe. In the first five years since being built, Iron-Awe 6's flipper never ran out of CO2 in a battle. It managed to flip itself out of the arena during the 2011 UK Championship at the O2 Arena. In June 2013, Iron-Awe 6 was retired, and its internal components were used for the new Ripper, but was restored and made a comeback appearance in Maidstone in 2016.[25]

Iron-Awe6

Iron-Awe 6 in June 2019

Iron-Awe 6 became the team's most active robot in 2017, and was repainted yellow, distinguished by its toothed wedge, and was usually driven by Shane Lale. It was in this aesthetic that it competed in Robot Wars Series 10, the most major change being the addition of entanglement cannons.

At Mechatrons in 2018, Iron-Awe 6 was the most successful of the three Iron-Awe robots present, defeating all of its opponents including Thor, and Iron-Awe 5 in the final. In June 2018, Shane Lale drove Iron-Awe 6 to victory at Robots Live! Grantham, defeating Eruption in the final, also finishing third at the following year's Grantham event. Iron-Awe 6 finished in third place during the FRA UK Heavyweight Championship in 2018.[26]

UK Championship 2019

Iron-Awe 6 with its UK Championship trophy in September 2019

In September 2019, Iron-Awe 6 and Shane Lale finally won the FRA UK Heavyweight Championship at Stevenage, flipping Eruption out of the arena in the Grand Final. For this event, the robot's chassis was also repainted red and yellow, and gained a new set of wedges that covered the entire outer rim of its front end. By January 2020, a large '6' was also added to the wedge; Iron-Awe 6 gained two dominant victories at Mechatrons in this form, only to be knocked out of the competition by Beast.

IronAweRN

Iron-Awe 6 at RoboNerd in September 2022

In 2021, Iron-Awe 6 returned to combat at Robots Live! Crawley in its red, yellow and grey paint scheme, once again proving to be a dominant performer. Reaching the final round of the main competition against Eruption, it would ultimately finish the event runner-up after getting flipped over and stranded on its back between the arena corner railings.[27] Iron-Awe 6 maintains an active presence on the UK live circuit to this day. Alongside an appearance at RoboNerd as a static display, it would reach the final of the Robots Live! Crawley event in September 2022, where it again finished runner-up to Eruption.[28]

Iron-Awe 6 began its 2023 campaign at Extreme Robots Brentwood on 27-28 May, competing alongside Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 8.[29] It would later attend the Newcastle leg of the tour in July, having reverted to its original all-red paint scheme with rear hazard stripes. There, it united with Meggamouse to win a team match for Team Wolfpack, and fought Tectonic for the Extreme Robots Heavyweight Challenge Belt during the same weekend. Having been dominated and dispatched to the Fire Pit in the latter, Iron-Awe 6 succeeded in throwing itself out of the hazard, just as it had been counted out. While the match was resumed seconds later, Tectonic was still considered to have won the battle and kept its belt.[30][31]

Iron-Awe 6 next joined its counterparts at Robots Live! Crawley and Extreme Robots Colchester in September. At Crawley, it took part in just two melee battles, each one involving it being left in a position where its flipper was stuck open or could not self-right.[20] At Colchester, it initially lost to Ripper in a four-way melee during the first 16 September show, but dominated over Tectonic and Gabriel in the end-of-show 'Gladiator' battle. Despite it having consistently thrown the Team Shock machine across the arena for the whole two minutes, the resulting Judges' decision controversially ruled against Iron-Awe 6, denying it a place in the show final. Shane Lale later revealed on an official livestream that Iron-Awe 6's drive had locked up during the Gladiator match, though this was repaired in time for it to earn victory over Gabriel in the second show of the day.[21][22]

In October, Iron-Awe 6 first joined its counterparts at Robots Live! Grantham (14-15 October), before fighting solo at Extreme Robots Maidstone (21-22 October). The latter saw it collect a head-to-head win over Weird mAlice and a Tag Team victory over Tectonic and ThunderChild, partnered with returning Dutch veteran Tough as Nails. Iron-Awe 6 also won the Sunday Gladiator battle - one of three against Ripper 6 and Tectonic - but was thrown into the Fire Pit by Eruption in the final.[24][32][33][34]

Iron-Awe 7[]

IronAwe 7

Iron-Awe 7

Completed in 2013, Iron-Awe 7 first publicly appeared at the Newport leg of the live Robot Wars tour, taking place in July that year.[35] While maintaining the signature eyes and toothy grin of its counterparts, it differed in having more compact dimensions and a wider flipper arm similar to TR2, with the aim of being potentially able to fight and survive against powerful spinners.[36] At the time of completion, Iron-Awe 7 used the largest ram of any pneumatic flipper in the UK. Like Iron-Awe 6, it incorporated a small ridge on its flipper to stop other robots from driving too far up the wedge shape, along with a rounded back end, enabling it to reverse away while opponents attempted to breach its front ground clearance.

Iron-Awe 7 generally saw less usage than its two predecessors, which continued to fight alongside it at most live events Team Iron-Awe attended. Its most recent appearance at an FRA event under its original guise occurred at the 2017 UK Heavyweight Championship in Stevenage, where it finished in the quarter-finals.[16] At Mechatrons in 2018, Iron-Awe 7 was driven by Peter Redmond, but ultimately its two predecessors progressed further than it.

Diotoir live events official

Iron-Awe 7 as Diotoir

In January 2018, Team Nemesis bought Iron-Awe 7 for conversion into a new incarnation of their seasoned competitor Diotoir. Sporting Diotoir's trademark eyes, eyebrows, polka-dot fur and toothed grin, as well as an extra front wedge, it competed at the FMB (Fight My Bots) World Finals in China at the end of the month. There, the new Diotoir won its first battle after throwing an Indian competitor, Gravity (not to be confused with the Dutch Robot Wars competitor), into the arena ceiling and out of the arena.[37] It would ultimately finish the 110kg class tournament as runner-up, after New Zealand vertical spinner Death Toll immobilised it in the final round.

The ex-Team Iron-Awe Diotoir, now renamed Diot-Awe, went on to become a staple of Mechatrons' RoboRiot events held in Dublin. At the 2020 edition, it won at least two battles against Nibbler and ThunderChild before losing to eventual champion Immersion. [38] Following a hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Diot-Awe claimed the national Irish heavyweight championship upon RoboRiots' return in 2022, defeating two incarnations of King Buxton to do so.[39] Diot-Awe returned in 2023 to defend its title, and is documented to have fought Two-Headed Death Flamingo at one point throughout the weekend.[40] However, it ultimately relinquished the Irish heavyweight championship, currently held by 2020 winner Immersion.[38]

Iron-Awe 8[]

Iron-Awe 8

Iron-Awe 8 in March 2019

Iron Awe 8

Iron-Awe 8 in June 2019

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

Iron-Awe 8 began its 2019 campaign at Robots Live! Burgess Hill, sporting new grey and yellow colours reminiscent of the original Series 4 machine. A more conventional Iron-Awe paint scheme was applied ahead of its Extreme Robots debut at Guildford in June, where it fought multiple melee battles,[41] and Robots Live! Grantham. The latter saw Iron-Awe 8 throw Mean Machine and Real Steel out of the arena in its opening melee of the main competition, only to lose the same fight to Immersion.[42] Iron-Awe 8 attended two further events in September - Extreme Robots Colchester and Robots Live! Stevenage - but was at one point thrown out of the arena by Iron-Awe 6 in the latter.[43][44] In January 2020, Iron-Awe 8 collected various wins in Ireland, but notably burned out both of its drive motors against Audacious despite winning the battle.

Alongside Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 6, Iron-Awe 8 continues to compete at live events as of September 2023.[29] At Extreme Robots Guildford (17-18 June), it would enjoy a particularly successful run as a representative of Team Wolfpack. In addition to winning two head-to-heads against Tectonic and Ripper respectively, Iron-Awe 8 won two show finals against the former, plus Gabriel and Eruption, enabling Team Wolfpack to win the first and third shows of the weekend.[17][18][19] On 9-10 September, further success awaited Iron-Awe 8 at Robots Live! Crawley, as it would win the main competition by throwing Behemoth out of the arena in the final. A memorable moment also occurred in its first-round melee against Apocalypse and YOTON. Iron-Awe 8 threw YOTON towards the wall as it tried to self-right, causing the latter's flipper to catch and leave it suspended from the upper polycarbonate section.[45][46] However, it would suffer major problems the following week at Extreme Robots Colchester; despite dominating the initial moments of its head-to-head against The Saint, Iron-Awe 8 succumbed to mobility issues after getting thrown over by the floor flipper.[21]

Robot Wars Live Events[]

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

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

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

Trivia[]

IA5 S10

Iron-Awe 5 under the team's workbench in Series 10 (bottom-right)

  • The original Iron-Awe was the first robot in UK Robot Wars to successfully self-right using an overhead weapon of any kind.
  • Of all of the out of the arena flips, Iron-Awe's was against the highest seed ever to go out, Bigger Brother (4).
  • The Iron-Awe 2 version of the machine is the only robot that went out of the arena in every episode of its career, having appeared in more than one episode.
  • Alongside Firestorm, Iron-Awe is the only machine to have been thrown out of the arena, and then gone on to flip a robot out of the arena itself.
  • Iron-Awe was the only robot in its Series 4 heat to compete in another series, and was one of only two teams in the heat to return, alongside Jurassic Park.
  • Iron-Awe 2 was the last robot to be flipped out of the arena by Chaos 2.
  • The team also brought Iron-Awe 5 to the filming of Series 10, to provide an additional source of components for Iron-Awe 6 to use.
  • Iron-Awe 2.1, Barber-Ous 2'n a Bit, Judge Shred 2½, Malc 1.5 and Sub-Version 1.1 are the only robots to name a robot part-sequentially.
  • The only House Robot which never shared the arena with Iron-Awe was Mr. Psycho.
  • In Iron-Awe's first and last appearances, it appeared in the fourth episode.
  • Iron-Awe 6 was the only robot in Series 10 to win its first round battle and not subsequently reach the heat final.
  • In 2009, one of the later Iron-Awe robots, Iron-Awe 5, was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame. Its induction resulted from its success in the 2008 UK Championships, 19-battle winning streak and flipping 33 opponents out of the arena at live events in its first year of competition.[47]
  • All of the robots or teams that defeated Iron-Awe machines were either previous or future semi-finalists or grand finalists.
  • All of Iron-Awe's first round victories involved a Judges' Decision.

References[]

Iron-Awe S7

Official Series 7 photo

  1. [1]
  2. Team Iron-Awe Website: Robots - Iron-Awe (Archived)
  3. Team Iron-Awe Website: Robots - Iron-Awe 2 (Archived)
  4. Team Iron-Awe Website: Robots - Iron-Awe 2 (Archived)
  5. Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Keith Williams, 23 January 2023
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Team Iron-Awe Website: History
  7. Team Iron-Awe Website: Events History (Archived)
  8. Private correspondence between ToastUltimatum and Robert Grimm
  9. Private correspondence between ToastUltimatum and Robert Grimm
  10. http://web.archive.org/web/20050210064313fw_/http://website.lineone.net:80/~iron-awe/Events%20Page.htm
  11. [2]
  12. http://web.archive.org/web/20050210131834fw_/http://website.lineone.net:80/~iron-awe/Events%20Page.htm
  13. http://web.archive.org/web/20050210131834fw_/http://website.lineone.net:80/~iron-awe/Events%20Page.htm
  14. http://web.archive.org/web/20050210131834fw_/http://website.lineone.net:80/~iron-awe/Events%20Page.htm
  15. 15.0 15.1 https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/content/134-iron-awe-5
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/content/438-fighting-robots-association-heavyweight-championship-2017
  17. 17.0 17.1 https://www.facebook.com/extremerobotshow/posts/pfbid0XX2swRozEHNgW42u6qA8TBc8DfWN8i8vPX268CHoTvVGADRVRtEEr3t9A1gr88Mpl
  18. 18.0 18.1 https://www.facebook.com/extremerobotshow/posts/pfbid0aDrkDDyFXkRVejmkk3ENWP1kkbbssydS1bjwy3y9sgs8y1oiu9sKBGyRiUVyf5MPl
  19. 19.0 19.1 https://www.facebook.com/extremerobotshow/posts/pfbid05BWbDUhBHgE3KaBgSzBQG9E2gvS1pbenKrfejt2Y3iaYJk1XvmXipcFT89GbY9yzl
  20. 20.0 20.1 'Robots Live! Crawley 2023', Team Panoramic (YouTube), uploaded 13 September 2023
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 'Extreme Robots Colchester Show 1 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 16 September 2023
  22. 22.0 22.1 'Extreme Robots 2023 Colchester Show 2 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 16 September 2023
  23. 'Extreme Robots 2023 Colchester Show 3 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 17 September 2023
  24. 24.0 24.1 https://www.facebook.com/robotsliveshow/posts/pfbid02Gkg91JmGjogavuy5FZjwSb2DoxWWg1o1fLtxV4DWm5egUG5JsNYKAYYCvUPy8TLTl
  25. https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/content/135-iron-awe-6
  26. https://www.facebook.com/robotsliveshow/photos/a.481517398586604/2309008252504167/?type=3&theater
  27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MBEa6bndz0
  28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b-RRx0pb3c
  29. 29.0 29.1 https://www.facebook.com/extremerobotshow/posts/pfbid0yedu9HuwSRo2S76fDovbqKeAaWEaNv2DmqABYCnQjzBtoaMdCzS5EvhmjhoSHhAbl
  30. 'ReActivate: The Extreme Robots Podcast #2', Extreme Robots (YouTube), uploaded 25 July 2023
  31. 'Tectonic Vs Iron-Awe 6', Liam Bryant (YouTube), uploaded 1 August 2023
  32. 'Extreme Robots 2023 Maidstone Show 1 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 21 October 2023
  33. 'Extreme Robots 2023 Maidstone Show 2 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 21 October 2023
  34. 'Extreme Robots 2023 Maidstone Show 3 LIVESTREAM', Extreme Robots (YouTube), streamed 22 October 2023
  35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-KNwtEpZv8
  36. https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/content/136-iron-awe-7
  37. https://www.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/7t3vtm/diotoir_4_diotawe_7_spotted/
  38. 38.0 38.1 https://www.facebook.com/teamimmersionrobotics/posts/pfbid02ESam2YzzNhb5zbXBmkM4CcvbF8gorNgejhCHrc9iL6JfDLxNhVWgWb7ZQEsN6ttl
  39. https://www.facebook.com/KingBuxtonCombatRobot/posts/pfbid0yb1cKHXUnNjQ3NAwS9prMpoEPbxubiVpeSLBXiB1YGYso542sc6QFBD6XK3Cxtxdl
  40. Facebook video of Diot-Awe vs Two-Headed Death Flamingo, RoboRiots 2023, Kinetic Energy Robotics
  41. 'Iron Awe 8 Gnahser Iron Heart & Beast Guildford 2019', Extreme Robots (YouTube), uploaded 22 October 2019
  42. 'Robots Live! Grantham 2019 Episode 1', John M Denny (YouTube), streamed 13 July 2019
  43. 'Ignition vs Iron Awe 8 vs Ironheart - Extreme Robots: Colchester 2019', World of Woodrow (YouTube), uploaded 8 September 2019
  44. 'Robots Live Stevenage 2019: IA8 Vs IA6', TEAM IRONCLADS (YouTube), uploaded 29 September 2019
  45. https://www.facebook.com/behemothrobotwars/posts/pfbid0UqZih2Hknf19TVZAuyRgHogMQTkzG8h1XVZZsM4CyQZwS9eWUp3msSjMdRs1jWdhl
  46. 'Robots Live K2 Crawley 2023 Grand Final: Behemoth Vs Iron Awe 8', TEAM IRONCLADS (YouTube), uploaded 10 September 2023
  47. The Combat Robot Hall of Fame ®, Team Run Amok website

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