introduction

A brand new magazine has hit the market right at the end of 2012. Scale Model Addict Magazine issue 01 was recently released and within its 66 pages there is no shortage of excellent articles, from names you know and maybe a few that you haven't heard about yet. Edited by Ken Abrams, this attractive magazine is printed on quality stock and is holding up just fine after my many read throughs.

contents

The magazine starts out with From The Editor with a welcome and overview of what's inside. Definitely start here as this points out who wrote some of the articles. Ken's writing style is a pleasure to read so it's worth the minute or two.

This issue contains 7 full articles:
Tankette, by Ken Abrams, is of the Lanciafiamme from Bronco. Ken begins with the construction of this highly detailed, miniscule kit. One of the steps is available in video format for subscribers, I haven't viewed the video although this sounds like an interesting idea to show the more complicated areas of construction, painting and/or weathering. The final part of the article covers the painting and weathering tasks. As with all the articles, an In The Box is included at the end indicates the kit used and any aftermarket items, if applicable, for the build.

KV-8 Flamethrower by Kyle Nelson is of the Trumpeter kit with some AM goodies thrown in. This 19 year old modeler is definitely one to watch, and his 7 page spread has a lot to offer.

Rusty Dumpsters by Iain Hamilton is a complete tutorial on worn effects, chipping, streaking, rusting and bare steel. A master of the art and a born teacher, Iain covers a lot of information in these 5 pages.

Burden of Sorrow spans 10 pages of Rick Lawlers thought provoking masterpiece diorama. Rick's easy going prose walks us through an incredible journey from start to finish.

Undaunting by Chris Spalding takes us through the Hasegawa SBD-1 Dauntless. Chris is one of those modelers that produces masterful work in a wide range of modeling genres, and the Dauntless is no exception.

1/4 Scale King focuses primarily on the painting and weathering. Jose Luis Lopez Ruiz accomplishes the camo painting on this quarter scale cat by paint brush...no masking, no airbrush...with incredible results.

Ketzer is a trip into Maschinen Krieger by Ken Abrams. A good portion of this article is on the build and outlines the added details. Painting, weathering and a simple base complete this one.

The 6 columns include:
Tales From the Man Cave, a short article on scratch building a propane torch by Scott Girvan. Even if you're not interested in building a LP torch there are good tips to learn here.

In Detail by Todd Michalak has the first part of Rust & Weathering. Hopefully you've viewed Todd's excellent article on KitMaker...if not, check it out.

From the Ground Up is dedicated to ground work and scenery. This first part by Ken Abrams starts us on the simple base groundwork. I'm looking forward to how this one progresses.

Show & Tell is 4 pages of SMA's contest winners.

The War Room is a deceiving title, to me anyway, which is dedicated to wargaming miniatures. For some reason I never thought of 1/72 scale as wargaming pieces. A nice 2 page article by John Simmons of the SdKfz 251/D halftrack from Plastic Soldier.

The Goal is Completion by Scott Girvan. The closing statement of issue 01.

conclusion

It's inspirational, it's educational, and in the end you should be enjoying this hobby that much more. I especially enjoyed most of the Columns, and look forward to what these will offer in issue 02. Each article was well written, and the photos were excellent for the most part. Advertisements were scarce and placed where they didn't interrupt any of the articles or columns. I was thankful that there were no reviews added in this magazine, as most are covered online way before these publications go to print and just seem outdated. It was also a pleasure to see more "local" talent present.

This first issue isn't without faults, although they are minor given the scope of work involved. After editing the first few thousand words everything starts looking correct! Some of the content has been previously shown online, which I find acceptable for a first issue.

A few of things that I'd like to see improved upon:
Use the About the Author boxes for all the articles/columns. It's always nice to know who wrote the article along with a little background...even if it might get a bit redundant after awhile.

Some of the photos are quite small and hard to distinguish the detail being presented.

Some text, especially in The War Room, was a bit hard to read due to the background color with these old eyes of mine.

Four pages of SMA contest winners was a bit too much for a magazine, in my opinion. Although well done with a nice bit of text for each, I believe these would best be served online or dedicated to full articles.

Magazines are personal and everyone looks for something different when selecting a favorite. This one has ended up being my favorite and I'm looking forward to seeing how it evolves over the next year.