"A Robot constructed out of a giant upside-down wok by a guy in a beret might sound cute, but blendo is nasty. The robot, outfitted with stout blades and a lawn-mower engine, spins at speeds of up to 80 mph. "It's like setting off a grenade when it has contact with something in the arena," said creator Jamie Hyneman, 45, who occasionally deops the words 'perfect robot' into conversation.

     The inventor and his wild wok used to have a "macho super-bad-guy reputation," but ever since robot combat exploded into popularity, Blendo hasn't fared so well. It turns out the hazards in the 'Battlebots' arenas - buzz saws, stationary spikes, hammers - are a massive shock to a torpedo style robot like Blendo. This spring, in an effort to 'bulletproof' and resuscitate his rep, Hyneman ditched the wok, replacing it with a titanium dome.

     "For a lot of us, it would make us totally happy if we could spend our lives building and fighting with these robots," said Hyneman, the founder of the special-effects company M5 Industries. Blendo he said sincerely, is almost like a child or pet - or maybe and old beloved car. "You've been through so much with it," he said. "Its not like a rental car."