Robot Wars Magazine/Issue 20

"I'm the editor this month, and you'll see I've decided not only to stuff the issue full of shell-shattering smash ups, but also with its fair share of side-splitting silliness"

- Opening message from Dead Metal, page 3

Issue 20 of Robot Wars Magazine, cover dated December 2001, was released on the 19th November 2001. It was the last issue of the original magazine, though a second version would later be released

Features

 * Weapon Watch: Armed and Dangerous! - A look at the range of weaponry used by robots in Series 5.
 * How To Draw: Reactor vs Velocirippa - The regular feature showing an easy way to draw Robot Wars competitors, although in this issue, two robots were included; Reactor and Velocirippa, with advice on how to draw a battle scene with the two.
 * Gear Change - A look at some of the range of available Robot Wars Merchandise.
 * Robot Wars Club - News for club members, recommending websites such as The Steel Avenger's, robots used to explore space and coffeebreakarcade.com. Also included the usual information on how to join with form, and information about when Series 5 and Extreme 1 would be shown.
 * Refbot Factfile - A look at Refbot's stats, including his upgrades for Series 5/Extreme 1.
 * Extreme Carnage - A preview of Robot Wars Extreme, listing the events.
 * Controlled Puzzle Zone - The puzzles section.
 * Letters - Letters from fans, also featuring At Home With The House Robots, information about subscriptions and the Arena Special, which showed photos sent in by fans of arenas they had made.

Comics
Fantasy Fight - Stinger vs Mortis vs Hypno-Disc - Hypno-Disc went for Mortis, but Mortis chased Stinger, axing its wheel. Hypno-Disc smashed into Stinger, breaking one of its wheels, leaving it immobile, so Mortis put the lifeless robot on the floor flipper, which threw it out of the arena. Hypno-Disc went after Mortis, but Mortis axed the disc, causing the whole robot to break down, so Mortis dumped Hypno-Disc into the pit.

Fantasy Fight - Pussycat, Razer & Chaos 2 vs The Red Baron! - The battle started out with Pussycat, Razer and Chaos 2. Razer grabbed Pussycat, but it escaped Razer's grasp. Chaos 2 came in and flipped Razer, but Razer quickly self righted. Suddenly, The Red Baron, a robot built from all the best parts of the other House Robots, entered. It set Razer alight with its flamethrower. Chaos 2 went in and tried to flip The Red Baron, but got stuck due to The Red Baron's huge weight. Pussycat managed to attack an exposed cable, on of The Red Baron's only weak spots, causing the colossal robot to explode.

Competitions

 * On A Mission! - 15 Blok Bots HQ sets were avaliable to win. The question was "Which House Robot Has A New Counter For Series 5?", to which the answer was Refbot.
 * Robot Rules - 30 sets of the Robot Wars Fun Fax and Robot Wars Extreme: The Official Guide were avaliable to win. The question was "Which House Robot Had Its Chainsaw Replaced With A Flywheel For Robot Wars Extreme?", to which the answer was Matilda.

Posters

 * Razer (2 pages)
 * Cease (1 page)

Free Gift
Stretchy robot toys were included with the issue.

Adverts

 * FBX Magazine (Page 9)
 * Milky Way (Page 15)
 * Legend of Zelda games (Page 18)

Credits

 * Editor, Boys' Magazines: Jason Loborik
 * Deputy Editor: David Hayles
 * Art Editor: Simon Oliver
 * Picture Editor: Sharron Price
 * Editorial Assistant: Kelly Austin
 * Advertising: Theresa Davies
 * Head Of Advertising: Claire Barrow
 * Brand Solutions Manager: Fiona Paterson
 * Marketing Exec: Siobhan Galvin
 * Marketing Manager: Lucy Regan
 * Production Controller: Sarah Hovell
 * Senior Production Controller: Joanne Beattie
 * Circulation Manager: Heather Mcilfatrick
 * Publisher: Toni Round
 * Editorial Director, Family Group: Nicky Smith
 * Director, Magazines: Peter Phippen
 * Contributors: John Ross, Alan Craddock, David Benham, Adrian Salmon, Davey Moore
 * Photography: Simon Duncan, Chris Capstick, John Englefield

Errors and Omissions

 * In the first Fantasy Fight, Mortis is drawn with no armour.
 * Razer is spelt "Razor" on page 10.
 * In the second Fantasy Fight, Pussycat is said to have beaten Razer in the Semi-Finals of Series 4, when that fight actually happened in the Heat Final.
 * In the Extreme Carnage, Tag Team is listed as a new event, when it had been done before in the Christmas Specials of Series 4. The accompanying description even says "Tag Team is back!"
 * In the same section, Exhibition, Peoples' Challenge and Challenge Belt are not listed as new events.
 * Exhibition and Peoples' Challenge are listed amongst the events, despite those events being cancelled.

Trivia

 * This issue was dedicated to the memory of David Gribble of the Cold Fusion Team, who died in October 2001.
 * There was no "Next Issue" section at the end of the magazine, presumably because it was known at the time of publishing that this would be the last issue of the original magazine. However, no other indication is given in this issue that this would be the last.