Dead Metal

From Robot Wars Wiki

Dead Metal
Dead Metal
Participation Information
Series	1-7, Extreme 1-2
Robot Statistics
Weight	112 kg (247 lb)
Dimensions	160 cm (63 in) x 100 cm (39 in) x 70 cm (28 in)
Speed	12 mph (19 km/h)
Power	Battery powered engine
Weapons	3000 rpm circular saw and pneumatically driven pincers
Strengths	Powerful weaponry. Large wheel base makes flipping very difficult
Weaknesses	Poor manoeuvrability

Dead Metal (also known as Death Metal in Dutch Robot Wars) was one of the four original House Robots alongside Matilda, Sergeant Bash and Shunt. Designed to resemble a scorpion, it fights by grabbing hold of contestant robots with its front-mounted claws and cutting into them with the circular saw on its "head". It is driven by a battery powered engine, and moves at a speed of 5.4 metres per second (12 mph). Dead Metal is protected by a steel exoskeleton consisting of jagged armour plates and spiked struts as wheel guards. Dead Metal was originally going to be painted pink to match its lobster-like appearance, but was left grey to give it a more 'menacing' look.

In Series 1 and 2, Dead Metal had a more scorpion-like appearance and its circular saw was attached to a tail-like arm that would move forward from the robot's back. The circular saw used during series 1 was powered by a petrol motor and was hardly ever used. This was replaced in series 2 by an electric motor and metal blade. The steel exoskeleton was also changed to accommodate the new saw. This created sparks whenever Dead Metal attempted to saw through other robots. However it didn’t give the team the destructive power they wanted. It was also unreliable and constantly needed maintenance. In Series 3, this was replaced with a larger blade mounted at the front which moved forward to attack. This in turn was replaced in Series 4, with an angle grinder used on building sites to saw through steel girders. This blade had to be moved forward very slowly, otherwise the mechanism would jam.

Dead Metal was one of the fastest House Robots, and its metre-wide body made it very difficult to flip over. Only Gravity ever acheived this; Cassius came close in the Series 2 final but did not succeed.

Dead Metal was also able to lift the front of its body up. This was generally seen when it was introduced before a battle.

[edit] Notable appearances

The circular saw produced fantastic sparks when up against titanium. Examples of this included a battle between Hypno-Disc, Ming 3 and Wheely Big Cheese in Robot Wars Extreme. When Gravedigger faced Darke Destroyer in Series 3 the saw produced great sparks again after Darke Destroyer was immobilised.

In a battle between Bumblebot and Ultor in Series 3, Dead Metal's saw cut right through Bumblebot's axe leaving it without a head.

[edit] Worst Moments

• Being outmatched in a Tug of War with Chaos in Series 2 and was dragged backwards into the pit.
• Being pushed into the pit by Talos in a gauntlet run in Series 2.
• In a battle between Terrorpin and Invertabrat Dead Metal reversed straight into the pit.
• After Dantomkia had won its semi final in the All-Stars, it took on Dead Metal and Growler who both broke down.
• During a battle with Lightning in Series 7, Gravity flipped Shunt and Dead Metal for fun, resulting in a red card from Refbot.

• In battle 4 of The Minor Meltdown, a battle of which Bigger Brother vs Rick, Dead Metal's blade totally came off,which span across the arena and went in between the gapping gaps and landed outside of the arena.