Fine Scale Modeler went from 10 issues per year to 6 hard copies and 4 digital download contents in late 2021. The magazine extended my subsription at that time due to that change. It appears the magazine has dicontinued the digital downloads in October of 2023. I called to see if my subscription can be extended due to the elimination of the digital downloads. The reponse is the subscription is per year and the number of issues are subject to change. As my subscription renewal is coming up, I expressed my concern that I, as a subsriber, I have no control if the magzine just reduce the number of issues per year at will. I have been a subscriber since 2010. It is unlikely I will renew as the May/June 2024 issue probably will be my last FSM in the mail.
I’ve subscribed off and on since the beginning. You point is exactly why I’m not renewing. There’s no agreement to what I’m subscribing to and, as we have seen, the publication is shrinking. Shame - always been a huge fan. I bet they go quarterly soon.
I dont like it. but I will resubscribe. FSM is my favorite mag. Some of the Euopean mags may be as good, but they they cost an arm and a leg themselves.
Yeah, I’m letting my subscription expire, too. I’ve been a subscriber for around 20 years, maybe a couple more. I don’t think I get the same amount of content for my money, after the changes of the past couple of years, that I got when I first subscribed. It’s just not worth it.
Interesting comparison-I’m an IPMS member, and I just got the quarterly journal this week. I think it’s a better publication.
I haven’t subscribed in years, and even stopped picking up occasional copies on the newsstand. You can only read the same article so many times… sure, there was an occasional unique build, but mostly it was ‘how to apply decals’ ‘your first airbrush’ etc. over and over again. Their reviews are not that great, generally being just praise, and avoiding any commentary on the poor aspects of a kit and its accuracy. There are far better, more in depth, written and video reviews on the internet now. I think FSM is on its last legs, as is much of the magazine industry.
Hi All:
I would highly recommend pocktmags.
Please try: https://pocketmags.com/us
I have a subsription to Model Military International (12 issues for $19.99, AFV Modeler (Black Friday sale 6 issues for $11.99), and Tamiya Model Magazine Inernational (12 issues for $24.99).
All of these magazines are great. They also have back issues for sale (99 cents recently) on Avaiation Modeling, Scale Avaition and Military Modeller, Meng Air, and Meng AFV.
All of these magazines have much better graphics and articles than FSM. Pocetmag also has a very nice site. Their app is also great especially on a iPad. I have been subsribing to FSM to support it, but no more.
Hi there,
Please try: https://pocketmags.com/us
I have a subsription to Model Military International (12 issues for $19.99, AFV Modeler (Black Friday sale 6 issues for $11.99), and Tamiya Model Magazine Inernational (12 issues for $24.99).
All of these magazines are great. They also have back issues for sale (99 cents recently) on Avaiation Modeling, Scale Avaition and Military Modeller, Meng Air, and Meng AFV.
All of these magazines have much better graphics and articles than FSM. Pocetmag also has a very nice site. Their app is also great especially on a iPad. I have been subsribing to FSM to support it, but no more.
The armor mags do not interest me-I build very few arm0r suubjects. But the Tamiya one does- I didn’t know it was that cheap. Do they cover non-Tamiya kit projects?
Yes, the magazine covers non Tamiya kits. The February 2024 issue covered Revell’s N1 Starfigher fighter 1/24 kit. The January issue had Airfix’s Westland Sea King 1/48 and Revell’s Hawker Hurricane 1/32. December 2023 issue had Thunder Model 1/35 British Morris Bofors and Airfix’s 1/48 Royal Navy Wesland Lynx.
pcengine
missileman2000
I dont like it. but I will resubscribe. FSM is my favorite mag. Some of the Euopean mags may be as good, but they they cost an arm and a leg themselves.
Hi there,
Please try: https://pocketmags.com/us
I have a subsription to Model Military International (12 issues for $19.99, AFV Modeler (Black Friday sale 6 issues for $11.99), and Tamiya Model Magazine Inernational (12 issues for $24.99).
All of these magazines are great. They also have back issues for sale (99 cents recently) on Avaiation Modeling, Scale Avaition and Military Modeller, Meng Air, and Meng AFV.
All of these magazines have much better graphics and articles than FSM. Pocetmag also has a very nice site. Their app is also great especially on a iPad. I have been subsribing to FSM to support it, but no more.
The armor mags do not interest me-I build very few arm0r suubjects. But the Tamiya one does- I didn’t know it was that cheap. Do they cover non-Tamiya kit projects?
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Same here, after my current sub expires, I don’t plan on extending after being a sub for the better part of the last 25 years. I could deal with the issue cut and switch to the DLC filler, but then the DLC was cut without any announcement, (which was the main selling point of the issue reduction) it really begs the question of what the longterm plans are here. Then the fact that I only found out that the DLC was discontinued buried in a Suggestion forum thread months afterwards, that really soured me.
Such a shame, as they are a local company to me.
just would like to give a short reply, first I’ve been a subscriber for over 20 yrs and got Scale Auto also. Mainly a car modeler, but always enjoyed FSM. Maybe you don’t remember , if you didn’t sudscribe to SAM how fast and without warning that mag left. I just was going to re-up when they died. I thought they treated the subscribers like dirt. I would say80 90 percent of us wanted no part of FSM, but they offered to extend our sub. So don’t be surprised when you get a message the FSM is gone matter of time, seems to be the way of the world. Thanks for the other options that were mentioned above will look into them
Same here. I also have other reasons, but I won’t go into them as I don’t want to cause problems.
where did you get those prices? Looked on pocketmags and nowhere was 24.99, and i guess it’s mailed from the UK, which isn’t a big deal but somebody in the US has to have a service to distribute the Tamiya mag, price on pocketmag for print was over 50 dollars
Hi, the prices are for digital subscriptons on pocketmags.com. Thanks.
When I first discovered this blog, I made a subscription to Fine Scale Modeler, I found the magazine to be well designed and the articles were well written, but, after a year I canceled by subscription. Why? well the answer is simple, the magazine focus to aircraft, cars, dioramas, etc. none of these applies to the type of modeling I do, I prefer to do warships of the line circa 16 to 19 century, preferably sail ships, and in the entire year that I received the magazine there was not one article about these ships. In other words, the magazine was worthless to me due to not having any articles to cover my model preferences, maybe, if in the future I decide to try my hands at building planes of cars, I may subscribe again.
Joe