ThunderChild

ThunderChild
Participation Information
UK Series	8 (not selected)
Robot Wars Live Circuit	2015-16
Other Names	Air
Team Information
Team	Team Ironclads
Team Members	Joseph Jack Prophet Stephen Prophet Iain Prophet Grace Prophet
From	Swanage, Dorset
Robot Statistics
Weight	100kg
Power	AmpFlow motors
Weapons	Flipping arm
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

ThunderChild was a heavyweight robot which attempted to enter Series 8 of Robot Wars. It was not selected to take part in the series, although the robot and Team Ironclads had experience in live events prior to applying for the series.

ThunderChild was originally built by Shane Swan of Team S.Tek, who competed in both runs of Robot Wars with Trax, Dantomkia and Push to Exit. The robot was originally known as Air under Team S.Tek's ownership, but received its current name after being bought by Team ThunderCheese (now Team Ironclads) sometime before January 2015.

Design

Side view of ThunderChild

ThunderChild was a T-shaped robot armed with a pneumatic flipping arm. It was painted grey with its name painted in white letters, and featured a pair of small White Ensign flags along its rear wheel covers. Although its flipper was powerful enough to overturn opposing robots, it suffered chronic reliability issues. The robot originally cost £1500 to build.

Etymology

The robot's name and design are inspired by HMS Thunder Child, a fictitious ironclad torpedo ram from H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which is destroyed in the novel while protecting refugee ships from Martian fighting machines.

Qualification

When Robot Wars was announced to be returning for its eighth series in 2016, Team Ironclads submitted an online application for ThunderChild to compete in the series. However, ThunderChild was not selected to compete in the series, and did not qualify as a result.

The team did not apply for Series 9 due to time constraints, and then applied for Series 10 with Audacious.

Series Record

Series	ThunderChild Series Record
Series 1-7	Did not enter
Series 8	Not selected
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Not selected with Audacious

Outside Robot Wars

Live events

ThunderChild in 2014

Under Team Ironclads' ownership, ThunderChild has become a regular competitor in live events held in the UK and Ireland, such as Robots Live!, Extreme Robots and Mechatrons, Dublin. The team began a tradition of recording battles from events featuring it and other competitors, uploading much of the footage obtained to their YouTube channel. ThunderChild itself made its first Mechatrons appearance in 2015, defeating Merlin, before being knocked out by Iron-Awe 7. In 2016, it returned to Dublin and defeated Stinger, and also faced Beast and Toxic 2. ThunderChild appeared again for the 2017 event, attaining one victory against Beast despite encountering issues with its flipper.

ThunderChild became a regular attendee at Extreme Robots events upon the brand's inception in 2017; an appearance at their Manchester event coincided with the debut of Team Ironclads' thwackbot Audacious. At Gloucester the same year, ThunderChild fought the recently crowned FRA UK Champion Manta, Eruption and The Saint, but was thrown out of the arena by the former. It also fought alongside The Saint in a Tag Team match against TR3 and Two-Headed Death Flamingo, but was left to fight alone when The Saint was pitted, and was eventually pitted by TR3. ThunderChild's biggest Extreme Robots success of the year came at Maidstone; after being eliminated by eventual champion Ripper, it claimed third overall in the main competition upon winning the Play-off against TMHWK.

ThunderChild's 2018 debut came at that year's Mechatrons event in Dublin, where it lost to Beast, Harpy, Iron-Awe 7 and Thor, but collected a win over Coyote by stranding it on the wall. It was defeated by Iron-Awe 5 due to its inability to self-right, and then lost a close Judges' decision to the axe-wielding Harpy. Audacious was also intended to compete at the same event, but its speed controller broke before its first battle. Both robots would subsequently attend Extreme Robots Manchester later in the same year, with varying degrees of success. ThunderChild scored two victories against Luna-Tic and Griffalo before being defeated by Donald Thump, while Audacious lost to Ripper in its first battle after getting thrown into the arena ceiling and the Pit, before fighting in several whiteboard battles.

ThunderChild in July 2019

The original version of ThunderChild was retired at the end of 2018, being replaced with a new version featuring a revised chassis with a more prominent wedge-like profile and a refined flipper system. This incarnation appeared at the 2019 FRA UK Championship in Stevenage, where it reached the second round of the main competition before being knocked out by Immersion, and fought in various whiteboard battles. It also competed at the Irish Mechatrons event in January 2020, collecting one win before being eliminated.

Red Leicester

Small Cheese, bearing a trident

Team Ironclads also participated in featherweight events with two machines, Small Cheese and Red Leicester. Both were yellow, wedge-shaped robots with different weapons; Small Cheese was equipped with a hanging mace with interchangeable ends, while Red Leicester featured a red lifting arm. In July 2017, Small Cheese was retired from robot combat due to various issues, with a combat record of 80 battles and one victory. A new version of Small Cheese, Small Cheese GTI, debuted at the Extreme Robots Manchester event in 2018. Among the team's newer featherweights is Pallas, a simple two-wheel driven invertible wedge sharing the same battleship grey paint scheme as ThunderChild. In 2022, it was upgraded to feature a reciprocating spike weapon, powered by a 12V electric system.

Agamemnon, as it competed in MechMania Grantham, July 2024

In 2021, Team Ironclads rebuilt Red Leicester into Agamemnon (not to be confused with the 1996 US Robot Wars middleweight of the same name), which now sports a similar grey colour scheme to its counterparts. Design features as of 2024 include a four-wheel drive system, alongside a linear-actuated lifting/clamping arm with self-righting capabilities. Agamemnon, along with ThunderChild, Audacious and Pallas, appeared at a number of 2021 events including RoboNerd and Robots Live! Crawley, with all robots attending the latter as active competitors.

Team Ironclads continue to compete at live events in multiple weight classes as of 2025, including those run by Bristol Bot Builders, Extreme Robots, Mechatrons and Robots Live! During 2024, ThunderChild made more recurring appearances at Extreme Robots, in tandem with a full campaign at Robots Live!/MechMania (see below). At Guildford (15-16 June), it helped Eruption win a Tag Team match against King Buxton 20 and Tectonic late into the weekend. ThunderChild also fought at the main shows at Newcastle, Maidstone and Gloucester; the latter in both exhibition battles and the main European Heavyweight Championships. Entering the championship as the twelfth seed, ThunderChild was eliminated in a first-round melee won by Poseidon. It and Audacious concluded their Gloucester appearances by appearing in the thirteen-way Gladiator bout, a match won by Gabriel.

ThunderChild with an extended flipper lip and Union Jack (MechMania - Duel of the Crates, 2025)

For the 2025 events season, ThunderChild's flipping arm was modified to sport an extended lower lip, dubbed by Joseph Jack Prophet in MechMania as the 'torpedo ram'. Other changes to the robot included a new battery box, 'streamlined' electronics and replacement top panels. ThunderChild first utilised these modifications at Robots Live! Maidenhead on 29-30 March, where it and Team Ironclads' featherweights fought in the corresponding MechMania - Duel of the Crates special (see below). It also attended Extreme Robots Doncaster on 27 April in this updated form, the day after Team Ironclads attended Bristol Bot Builders' Northdown Havoc event with Pallas and Agamemnon.

ThunderChild made its next 2025 appearance at Extreme Robots Guildford on 7-8 June, again participating in multiple "Fight Club" melees. On 12 September, it and Audacious travelled with Team Ironclads for the Colchester leg, taking place on 13-14 September. Further 2025 Extreme Robots appearances by ThunderChild included Maidstone on 10-11 October, and Gloucester on 8-9 November, where it competed in the main Heavyweight Championships as the fifteenth seed.

In August 2025, Team Ironclads completed a new sportsman featherweight, Blue Dragon, equipped with an electric front-hinged lifter. Blue Dragon attended the BBB Big Bot Bash BEVs event alongside Pallas and Agamemnon, though only the latter two would compete in the head-to-head and doubles competitions. Along with Audacious, the team brought Agamemnon and Pallas to Robots Live! Crawley on 6-7 September, appearing in all six featherweight melees. All four of the main Team Ironclads machines subsequently returned to RoboRiots in Dublin (4-5 October), in which both Agamemnon and Pallas reached the overall Irish Featherweight Final. ThunderChild, Pallas and Agamemnon subsequently travelled to Robots Live! Stoke-on-Trent on 25-26 October, and are known to have taken part in multiple whiteboard battles throughout the weekend.

As well as fighting with ThunderChild, Audacious and the team's featherweights on the live events circuit, Joseph Jack Prophet also bought the shell of The Big Cheese in 2008, which appeared at RoboNerd 2021 alongside Team Ironclads' machines. A more recent public appearance by The Big Cheese took place over the weekend of 8-9 February 2025, when it was displayed at The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset as part of their Spring Model Show event.

In November 2023, the team purchased Series 3 competitor Red Dragon on eBay, but did not reveal this purchase until August 2024 to coincide with bringing the robot to RoboNerd Lite.

MechMania

2024

Following the announcement that Audacious would compete in the inaugural MechMania live tour, ThunderChild itself was also confirmed to participate alongside it via a separate announcement on 17 June 2024. On 9 July, it was announced that both heavyweights would be joined by Agamemnon and Pallas, themselves competing in the featherweight class.

All four robots attended the opening stage at Grantham on 13-14 July, held as part of that weekend's Robots Live! shows. Throughout the series, Joseph Jack Prophet adopted the in-event persona "Doomsano", portraying a mad scientist. ThunderChild itself endured a difficult first competition battle against Six, getting thrown around and eventually out of the arena by Shane Lale's newly-renamed entry. Outside of the main competition, it and Six also participated in the opening whiteboard rumble of the 14 July show, won by King Buxton. Agamemnon and Pallas also fought separately across all five featherweight rumbles to be televised. For more information on Audacious' performances throughout the 2024 MechMania tour, see Audacious.

Team Ironclads brought all four of their machines to the following stage in Crawley (7-8 September), for which ThunderChild received upgrades to its pneumatics system. However, ThunderChild's flipping arm would not inflict any attacks in its competition match against Apocalypse, whose axe blows damaged the arm and the robot's top panels. ThunderChild resorted to wedging, ramming and pushing Apocalypse during a three-minute match, ending in a 22-18 Judges' decision for Ed Wallace's machine. Meanwhile, Agamemnon collected the team's first MechMania win in the second of its three featherweight Rumbles.

ThunderChild flicks Thunderbolt at MechMania Stoke-on-Trent, 2024

The third Heat in Stoke-on-Trent (26-27 October) also brought mixed fortunes for Team Ironclads. ThunderChild initially performed strongly in its match against Thunderbolt, repeatedly flicking, controlling and turning the Team Darklight axe robot over. However, a malfunction in its right drive left it partially immmobilised, while Thunderbolt's dual-headed axe also inflicted noticeable damage to its top panels. ThunderChild was eventually beached on the corner of the opened pit; with its left wheel off the arena surface, it was soon counted out. By contrast, Pallas scored Team Ironclads' second featherweight victory in as many events, in the last of the six competition rumbles held and shown in Episode 3.

Though ThunderChild did not earn any more points by the end of the Heats, it would still be awarded the sixteenth seed for the Grand Final in Llandudno, Wales (23-24 November), due to a number of higher-scoring robots not participating. In its first-round melee, it survived numerous flips and 'suplex' attacks from the dominant Jasper. While eventually being pitted, ThunderChild was deemed to have finished second through outlasting Apocalypse and Mako. ThunderChild survived an equally challenging Quarter-Final against eventual champion Immersion, holding out to and losing on a judges' decision. Both Agamemnon and Pallas also qualified for the top fourteen in the featherweight category; the former finishing in the overall final won by Explosion.

2025

Agamemnon (left) and Pallas (centre-right) in battle at MechMania - Duel of the Crates, March 2025

ThunderChild once again lead Team Ironclads' representation in the 2025 special MechMania - Duel of the Crates, filmed on 29-30 March as part of the Robots Live! Maidenhead event. In Episode 1, it fought returning Collingwood College entrant Oblivion in the heavyweight class. Allocated to the blue zone, it succeeded in pushing the Battle Crate backwards into its area during an otherwise closely-fought duel. ThunderChild proceeded to defeat Oblivion altogether by flipping it against the wall railings, taking advantage of issues preventing Oblivion's axe from working. It thus became the first heavyweight to win a Duel of the Crates match onscreen, taking the £300 cash prize. Featherweights Agamemnon and Pallas also fought across all three of their category qualifiers, but in this instance would not secure places in the overall Grand Final.

Robot Wars Live Events

ThunderChild also competed at various Robot Wars live events, albeit with no major success. In 2015, it competed at the Robot Wars World Championships held in Colchester, reaching the second round. It qualified out of the first round with ease, as An Adorable Kitten never moved in the battle, immediately giving the win to ThunderChild and TR2, although TR2 flipped ThunderChild and AAK out of the arena regardless. In the second round, ThunderChild faced Apex and Nuts, but its flipper was not working. It still started the battle aggressively, but after driving over the Floor Flipper, ThunderChild was turned over and could not self-right, eliminating it.

ThunderChild in 2015

ThunderChild was in attendance at the first show of 2016, held in Manchester, but did not compete until the second day due to mechanical problems. It battled Eric and Ripper, surviving longer than Eric, but eventually lost the battle to Ripper. ThunderChild's next appearance came at the Colchester event - after initially being pitted by Behemoth in its first-round battle, it and The Saint outlasted TR2 and Iron Heart 88 in their losers' melee to progress, resulting in ThunderChild facing Eruption and Kan-Opener in the second round. Despite getting thrown out of the arena by Eruption, ThunderChild survived long enough to progress to the third round, where it was finally defeated by Earthquake. At its final Robot Wars live event in Gloucester, ThunderChild initially fought Thor and Ripper, but was forced to withdraw from its second battle against Gabriel and Eruption due to technical issues and a blown speed controller.

Team Ironclads' featherweights, Small Cheese and Red Leicester, also frequently attended the Robot Wars live events, competing in featherweight battles until the final event in Maidstone, in November 2016.

External Links

• Team IRONCLADS YouTube channel
• Team Ironclads Facebook group