I recieved the newest issue yesterday (Thursday) and I am almost all the way through it already! I wish itwas a bit longer!
I love this magazine!
Justin
I’m psyched that they recently seem to be expanding the “history you can build” section. The Article on the B-24 in a previous issue and the one about armor plating armor this month are interesting little tidbits that can inspire ideas for unique models and spark an interest in certain subject.
Well done guys.
Chris
LOL…yeah, always seems too short a time and you’re looking at the back cover…another 50 pages or so would be good…
You may be kidding when you say it but the fact that the mag is so skinny is why I let my subscription drop. Fifteen minutes and I was through it. Not worth $40 a year.
I have every issue of FSM ever published and the index for each year. I too wish it had more pages. I read it when I first receive it, then read it again to make sure I haven’t missed something. I even read all the advertisements and look up several of the advertisers on the web.
I also wish the issues had more pages. [:(]
My copy is usually pretty well read and reread befor a week goes by. More pages, YEAH! I like that idea.
More pages would be nice, but each page adds considerable cost to the final product. How much more are you willing to pay for the bigger edition?
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
I am about 2/3 of the way through my first subscription year. (just got the letter urging me to sign on for another subscription) I am in two minds. When I got my first issue (which was the first copy of FSM I had ever read), I was shocked by the size (or lack thereof) I have previously subscribed to other periodicals (Guns, Fishing, boating, hunting, motorbikes and four wheel drive vehicles) and had never bought a magazine as thin as FSM. I think they are at a crucial stage. Either re-invent themselves, or prepare for more readers to jump ship.
Hello All, there is one thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet, one of the reasons FSM is thinner is there’s no unrelated advertisement. No smoking ads, no car ads, no clothes, stereos or life ins. And for that I’m grateful. Do what I did, look in some of the other magazines that were mentioned above and tear out every non related add, then see how thick it still is. I was amazed.
I still say the articles in FSM are very informative. Its $4 a month guys you spend more then that on a coffee and donut.
Personally, I really love the magazine! The costis really not that bad, compared to some of the european rags that I sometimes buy because I burn through FSM so quick! They are bigger, but they also cost like 10 bucks each!
I also like that there are no ads for bowflex, vermont teddybear or the lilberator (the bedroom furnitiure, not the bomber…and I am totally sure that that also “thins out” the magazine.
In short…Thank you FSM for a great mag, itis very informative…but if you wanna throw in a few more pages of content…we won’t argue!
Justin
I was kind of thinking if they doubled the pages they may actually make the mag worth the current price.
Compare the size of the magazine now with one of the first issues and you will see a much bigger magazine. They have made many improvements over the years and I still consider it a value. If I could only get mine on time. I got my January issue one day before my December issue. And the Post Office wants more money? They should improve their service first.
And lets not forget the always lovely “Male sexual enhancement aid” ads. [:(!] Nothing is more annoying than reading about an Alaskan Mose hunt in Outdoor Life only to turn the page and finding half and full page ads on Viagra and such. It is annoying.
I was on this site for a while before subscribing to FSM. Skinny? Sure. But what it does provide is pretty darn good. In just 2 issues received so far I have learned a lot. In fact, I recently purchased of FSM’s publishers website a 4 article combo on Tank weathering for $4.99 that was worth every penny! I think some advanced modelers, or people who have subscribed for a long time (and thus get the “rehashing articles” feeling), reach a saturation point where the info provided is of little value. But for the general public I think the magazine is invaluable. And unfortunately FSM will not be able to make everyone happy. Best to cater to a general modelling public and occasionally throw out the “beginner how-to” and “advanced techniques for veteran modelers” than try to make one general type happy. It cuts down on their target readership and would mean yet HIGHER cover prices.
Brian
The magazine is very well done, for its subject matter.
Like it or not, we are a real nitch readership. There really isn’t that many of us compared to say, the readership of a publication like, Sports Illustrated. So with a comparatively small target circulation and a rather small advertising base to work with, just how many ads for kit manufacturers, internet hobby sites can there be, the magazine does just fine.
Its layout is very good. Have you ever seen a “continued on page xx” bit at he bottom of the page? The stories and ads are, on the whole separated, so the reading is easy.
The quality of the model building featured in the stories is top notch. No hack pieces are published.
They could make the issues thicker, but with the ad revenues and circulation figures, they would have to make it a quarterly magazine or something similar.
Of course, we readers would like more, and I’m sure the staff would be willing to give it to us. The fact is, in order to produce the magazine, it has to be economically possible. There has to be more revenue coming in than it costs to produce, or it goes away.
If something disappoints you, let the staff know, they always want the feedback. But these folks are Pros. They know what they’re doing.
Its a good magazine.
saying FSM Stinks is way off base. I too think they could add more pages as a way to improve the mag. If you look around FSM is really the only thing out there covering the hobby. I’ve seen some foreign mags that aren’t too bad but they are even more expensive. I would ask though why does it cost me $39.95 a year to subscribe when I can get Guns And Ammo for $19.95! Maybe the people in charge at Kalmbach publishing should check out how it’s done at Petersen publishing.
There’s the bottom line for me. I’ve had other subscriptions for half the price and double the mag. Not to mention with those mags I get twelve issues, not ten. Advertisements or not, I’d like more bang for the buck. How petty is it to complain about ads when all one has to do is turn the page? Maybe if the mag had more ads Kalmbach could afford a bigger mag. After all ads=revenue.
No mag I can read through in fifteen minutes as well as reread material from six months ago is worth $40 a year to me. It’s cool that some folks think it’s great, more power to them. As it is I can read and learn everything that’s in the mag plus vast amounts more on the net, which I pay for already. There is definately no need to spend the $ on FSM.
As already mentioned, I think the answer is simply… numbers. It would be interesting to compare the total circulation of FSM compared to any of the publications you mentioned. I think you’d find Guns and Ammo has a much larger circulation. The people that buy a Petersen publication could say the same thing if they compared one of their subscriptions to say, National Geographic. It’s the cost advantage of mass production.
***EDIT
On pg 68 of the January FSM issue - Kalmbach has a required disclosure that gives total circulation figures.
Total paid and/or requested circulation: 50,055
Check out Guns and Ammo - I’m guessing they probably have to provide the same kindof info in their January issue (?)
And Kalmbach/FSM provide a forum where quite a few of us get useful info and many more hours of entertainment. I’m willing to consider part of my subscription or retail price as going toward supporting the website. I’d say they do a pretty good job of supporting the hobby for the price of admission.
Chris
This forum is probably the main reason why I continue to subscribe to FSM. The reviews are also useful, but the technique and tips articles rarely extend beyond beginner, or one step beyond beginner, level. Also, when I last renewed my subscription, the $US50 or so that it cost represented just over £GB25. When/if I renew this year, it’ll be more like £36. A 44% price increase is not a trivial matter.
Now, £3.60 is still not expensive for a modelling magazine, but all the other magazines I subscribe to/ buy from the newsagent offer something that FSM doesn’t, be it more, and more in-depth reviews, including decals and aftermarket, more in-depth research articles, more involved build articles, more advanced technique coverage, better show reports. Against this, FSM keeps me in touch with areas of modelling such as space, science fiction, motorbikes and cars. I hardly ever build these sort of models (well over 40 years since I last built, for example, a model motorbike) but it’s always useful to keep abreast of techniques and developments.
A final thing - how is it that the USA and Canada together only seem able to support one generalist scale modelling magazine, while in the UK we have at least eight magazines published each month, not counting radio-controlled stuff, collectables and model railways?
Cheers,
Chris.