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The Great Magazine Head to Head

AFV Modeller

This is Issue 35 of what is a bi-monthly publication. This is, of the four, the most 'hardcore'. The emphasis is on AFVs - there is only one section on new releases, you won't find a letters page, adverts are minimal and first impressions are that this is a VERY serious magazine. It sounds silly to say it, but it's a little like handling a brochure for a top of the range Lexus. Heavy paper, matt-finish cover and in this edition, almost a designer feel to it....

1)Quality of AFV-Related Articles: Again, (perhaps a touch reluctantly) the 'S' word comes into play. Superlative. There are only a few articles, but what there is, is present in absolute mind-boggling detail. This particular edition is (almost) another 'special' dealing, in two articles with the Sd Kfz 251 'UHU' - the infra-red equipped version. The first article deals with the IR equipment, the second with building a (heavily-modified) model in 1/35th scale. The remaining articles are perhaps not as detailed as the 'special' but go into their subjects in considerable depth,

2)Completeness of Reviews: Not, in the case of this magazine really applicable. However, if the build articles are taken into consideration, some pretty serious evaluation of existing kits are carried out...

3) Format: Although it is perhaps the most technical of the magazines under consideration, the writing style and format does make for an 'accessible' magazine. Graphically it IS very interesting - careful page layout captures one's attention and the attention to detail is impressive. The magazine is perhaps closer to a 'Monograph' format than a conventional magazine but, for me at least it's a format which convinces.

4) Final Thoughts: I wouldn't recommend this to someone starting out in modelling. I would however, if they required information on a specific subject. It is very much designed for the experienced modeller. The writing style, as I mentioned earlier, is good, but it doesn't mean that it's lively in any sense of the word. It's amazingly informative but VERY technical. It is the kind of magazine one would buy in addition to a more 'mainstream' publication. Hardcore armour modelling at its best... Personal Rating - 9.00/10

Military in Scale

This magazine is not, it has to be said, an AFV-Specific publication. The majority of the articles are however armour-related with the remainder covering aviation. Of the four magazines, MiS is perhaps the most lively and, following on from this, the most accessible to newer/less-experienced modellers.

1)Quality of AFV-Related Articles: Five articles are specifically for AFVs. Interestingly enough, two of them deal with 1/48th scale subjects with a third in 1/72nd scale. Quality is very high indeed with a superb series of step-by-step images demonstrating stages of construction and finishing. None of the articles goes much beyond an intermediate level - again good accessibility for different levels of modellers.

2) Completeness of Reviews: Again, taking the projects as 'assessments', this seems the fairest way to consider them. There is a Book Review section, but since 5 titles are reviewed over two pages, it's adequate rather than brilliant.

3) Format: It's a well-presented, graphically pretty interesting magazine. There are some really nice page layouts with photos a good size when they have to be - small when only an illustrative example is needed. There a loads of good adverts which are present without being obtrusive.

4) Final Thoughts: I tend to buy a magazine for a specific 'genre' I do, every so often buy an Aviation title. I'm NOT (personally) too keen in publications which have both AFVs and Aircraft in their format - simply because I don't believe that they do full justice to either.. This is a magazine that I really quite like although NOT one I buy on a regular basis. If someone wanted a magazine as an introduction with some good, practical projects, I'd definitely recommend it. I particularly liked the promotion of 1/48th in the articles in this issue.Personal Rating - 8.00/10

Conclusions

A year or two ago, I confidently predicted the 'down-sizing' of the Modelling Magazine industry due to the pressures created by the 'net. After all, we can review faster, you can express your opinion easier, News is only an e-mail away and we don't suffer from limitations of format. We've got bandwidth to spare, and a magazine is limited in its physical size. That was before. Now, I'm not so sure. Not all of the magazines are thriving but there do seem to be more titles than ever before. So, the question is, just how have they survived? Probably because people like a physical 'entity' in their hands or, equally likely, that not all modellers are using the 'net.

Even in this 'micro-overview' of the four magazines, only two (AFV Modeller & Model Military International) look (ahem..) modern. Not that the others are antiquated, but the format and content of these two is one I personally prefer. All are professional. Editing in all four is good, the quality of many of the articles in ALL is excellent.

Apart from Military in Scale though, there seems to be a blind spot. Just WHO is catering for the less-experienced modellers? All of us spend money (susceptible to advertising) but it seems that the 'Newbies' are getting a bit of a raw deal...

So, there you have it. Four magazines, an opinionated rant about each one. Perhaps in a future Feature I'll take a similar look at some more of the AFV Magazines - just perhaps...