Monday, February 03, 2014

New Games Workshop magazines: White Dwarf and Warhammer Visions


Unattractive model


I was in Epsom on Saturday to try to get some issues with my new smartphone sorted out (grr, technology) and so popped into Games Workshop to get some hunter orcs for my Hobbit project.  While there I had a look at the two new GW magazines.  Oh dear.


Much better value at under €3 (and more attractive models)


Not surprisingly, there is no mention of The Hobbit in either so I won't have to buy White Dwarf any more.  I can use the money saved to buy the new French Lui magazine instead, to get my under-dressed skinny continental models (the other sort, of course) fix; especially as it's much cheaper! 


Unattractive model


The new weekly White Dwarf just looks like the old one internally except with only 32 pages.  Very dull.  And thin. The new Warhammer Visions is half the page size (what used to be called digest sized) but has many more pages. All it has in it, however, are pages and pages of photographs of GW models.  That's it. There is almost no text, just a caption on some pages (in English, French and German).  Warhammer Visions is The Girls of Penthouse to old White Dwarf's Penthouse.  All the sexy pictures without all that tedious writing.  Maybe picture editors are cheaper than writers. If you like Warhammer or 40K then White Dwarf might just be worth it but I can't see Warhammer Visions being a big seller, except with people who can't read.




Needless to say, I didn't buy either and spent my money on Airfix Model World instead.  Now that is how to produce an attractive hobby magazine but then they acknowledge the existence of other manufacturers. At least the one man shops mean that you don't get engaged in tedious conversation by the staff any more, as they are too busy sorting out rules arguments between 12 year olds.  I much prefer the Orcs Nest approach where they ignore your existence completely.


5 comments:

  1. Interesting decisions on magazine purchases!

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  2. I haven't bought WD with any regularity in ages, it's become a shadow of its former self, and is now just a sales catologue for the most part... just picking up the odd one if it had interesting LOTR / Hobbit content... last one I got was with the release of EfGT set... over a year ago now...
    Must admit virtually all the reviews of the new format have been the same - mostly garbage - with people cancelling their subscriptions left, right and centre ... like you, I wont be buying anymore...

    I'll be surprised if they stay in production long... can't see many people buying Visions, maybe the odd purchase of the new WD slimmed down version if it has any relevant content to their chosen game/army perhaps?

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    1. It's probably the first stage of getting rid of the hard copy magazines completely. "Sorry staff but the new magazines have failed you're all fired!"

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  3. just love your comment about Orcs Nest ! On the few occasions I have been there nobody has ever muttered a word - very eerie

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  4. Great choice in magazine far superiors to whitedwarf :) Can't tell you the last time I went in a GW. Been in a few LGS's and get ignored but they do chat when spoken to so a plus :P

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