Griffin

Griffin
Participation Information
Series	S1 (King of Bots) S1.5 (This is Fighting Robots)
Team Information
Team	Team Tomco
Team Members	Tom Lloyd Sabrina Ferriggi Mo Hossaini Harry Lloyd (Mascot)
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Interchangeable crushers & lifters

Griffin was a heavyweight robot from the United Kingdom which competed in the first season of King of Bots. Built and entered by Team Tomco, it survived its first-round battle to a Judges’ decision on its combat debut, which it lost to Moment after sustaining damage to its hydraulics system. Griffin also competed in a nine-robot Rumble at the end of Season 1, which it also lost after getting turned onto its side by Dark Knight and being left unable to self-right.

A completely rebuilt version of Griffin, Griffin Mk II, also competed in Season 1.5, the debut season of This is Fighting Robots.

The robot and Team Tomco were both accompanied by a ‘griffin’ mascot (portrayed by team member Harry Lloyd), who entertained the King of Bots audience before Griffin's first Season 1 battle.

Versions of Griffin

Griffin (King of Bots)

The original Griffin was a tall, two-wheel drive robot modeled on the mythical winged creature of the same name. Its weapon was a large hydraulic crushing beak, painted gold, which was capable of producing up to ten tonnes of pressure at the tip. The robot also featured a pair of large silver wings on either side, used for self-righting, as well as a pair of hinged front forks enabling it to get underneath and push opponents around. In addition to its potent weaponry, Griffin was also able to spin on the spot at high speed, with the intention of hitting nearby opponents with the wings. However, its lack of armour left its weapon mechanism vulnerable to damage from side-on attacks, as demonstrated in its only battle, and the robot was generally top-heavy.

Griffin Mk II (This is Fighting Robots)

Rear view of Griffin Mk II; note the angled lifting wedge

A completely new version of Griffin, Griffin Mk II, was built for This is Fighting Robots, sporting a predominantly gold and gray color scheme. This incarnation was larger and adopted a four-wheel drive system to resolve control issues found in the original robot, while the crushing jaw was paired with a lifter. Both the crusher and lifter had interchangeable attachments, including the triangular beak and an angled wedge, and allowed Griffin Mk II to simultaneously clamp, lift and hold other robots in the air. Griffin Mk II's weapon mechanism also incorporated a pair of claw-shaped bars at the rear, which would raise and lower in tandem with the crusher for an as-yet unspecified purpose.

Robot History

Season 1

"I knew [Moment] were a massive bar spinner, so I thought if I could get in quickly, I could just stop them spinning."

— Tom Lloyd explains his tactics against Moment

Griffin's crusher is disabled by Moment's first hit

Griffin appeared in Episode 3, where it fought Chinese bar spinner Moment in the first round. In the opening seconds, it turned away from its opponent and drove behind the flame jets, before reversing, turning and attempting to position itself for an attack on Moment. In doing so, Griffin inadvertently exposed its side to Moment, resulting in the latter’s spinner damaging the hydraulic mechanism for its crusher and disabling the weapon. The two competitors immediately separated, with Griffin pursuing and luring Moment across the arena; eventually, it waited beside the far corner, before slamming head-on into Moment. Griffin followed this up with a second head-on charge, but struggled for traction as it kept spinning over various arena hazards, seemingly unable to drive in a straight line. It stopped beside the floor rods, allowing Moment to drive into its front and tear one of its forks off its hinges.

Griffin's forks sustain damage from a head-on collision with Moment

As before, Griffin pursued Moment once the latter’s weapon stopped spinning, repeatedly bumping it in the process, but without being able to grab hold of it as a result of its beak being disabled. Eventually, it started spinning on the spot between the circular saws and flame jets, and continued to do so for the remainder of the battle as it tried to grab Moment again. Time ran out, with the battle going to a Judges’ decision as a result of both robots remaining mobile. The decision went against Griffin, eliminating it from the competition; nevertheless, both teams congratulated, shook hands and hugged each other immediately after Ling Zhou announced the decision.

"The thing was wheel spinning and sliding all over the place! The shock of one of the first blows sheared the bolts mounting the weapon motor to the pump killing the weapon! We did get one chance to bite down but it was dead! Going 4wd for the upgrades to sort the control issues."

— Tom Lloyd on Reddit

Griffin pushes a wildly-spinning Crossfire across the arena...

...but is toppled by a powerful charge from Dark Knight

Griffin's wing contributes to Dark Knight's elimination later on

In addition to the main competition, Griffin also fought in the nine-robot Rumble, shown during the final episode of Season 1. There, it competed alongside Blue, Crossfire, Dark Knight, Ink Thorns, Nuclear Bomb, Steel Dragon, The Grubs and Violent Dragon. Immediately, Griffin twitched, turning towards Ink Thorns and the spikes – moments later, it attempted to grab Blue from the rear, before proceeding to spin round close to Crossfire and push the wildly-spinning Scottish machine across the arena. As it did so, Griffin was attacked from the side by Steel Dragon, albeit without sustaining damage, and eventually ended up near the arena spikes. Seconds later, it drove away from Crossfire and charged at Dark Knight; in doing so, Griffin was turned onto its side by the black and gold robot’s wedge, and was left unable to self-right using its wings. As a result, it was eliminated from the Rumble, which was won by Nuclear Bomb; however, in an ironic twist of fate, Dark Knight would also lose the battle after getting thrown onto one of Griffin’s wings by a floor flipper.

This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)

Griffin Mk II clamps and pushes Unlimited Numbers into the grinder mount

Griffin Mk II was not initially selected by the celebrity team captains, and so was required to fight in a preliminary battle to impress them. There, it fought fellow UK entry Lieutenant Bam, as well as fellow King of Bots returnee Unlimited Numbers and Indian competitor Yesaji. Highlights of the battle were shown as part of Episode 2 - in the opening seconds, Griffin Mk II initially drove towards Yesaji, but avoided the action as Yesaji got underneath and sandwiched Unlimited Numbers against Lieutenant Bam. Later on, it clamped and pushed Griffin Mk II into one of the grinder mounts, the impact briefly throwing both robots off the arena floor. This attack impressed Zhang Yishan, who promptly selected Griffin Mk II to become part of his team. Griffin Mk II continued to push, drag and lift Unlimited Numbers as the battle progressed, and would ultimately secure its place in the main competition as a member of the Blue team.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

NOTE: Griffin Mk II's preliminary rumble in This is Fighting Robots is not considered a win or a loss.

Series Record

Series	Griffin Series Record
Season 1	Round 1
Season 1.5	Selected by celebrity as Griffin Mk II
Season 2	Did not enter

Outside King of Bots

Bucky the Robot at Robot Wars

In the same year that they entered King of Bots, Team Tomco competed in Series 10 of the UK TV show Robot Wars with Bucky the Robot, a tall, two-wheel driven robot inspired by chattering teeth. Armed with a pneumatic clamping jaw, Bucky the Robot was eliminated in the first round after losing its Group Battle to Rapid and Robot Redemption battle to Vulture respectively. Like Griffin, Bucky the Robot also had its own mascot, depicting a large tooth, which interacted with other roboteers and Robot Wars personalities throughout the robot's appearances.

External Links

• Griffin on the official King of Bots website (Chinese)
• BuckytheRobot Twitter