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.