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Open Book New Magazine - Fantasy Figures International from Guideline Publications

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Nov 21, 2019.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everyone

    At a show recently I saw something not often seen ...no ....N0 !!! it wasn't the opening of my wallet !!!

    A launch of a new magazine namely FANTASY FIGURES INTERNATIONAL

    image.jpeg

    My initial thoughts were ......."Oh that's a fantasy modelling mag" looking at the title and the pics on the cover ...but I perservered and began browsing through ...

    ...It wasn't just fantasy but had all types of modelling in ...a pleasant surprise to be honest

    Personally I do like to handle a paper magazine ...just something about it ...even though there are some great on line magazines as well of course

    so who is responsible for the publication : GUIDELINE PUBLICATIONS

    ...they are also responsible for other hobby magazines including Scale Aircraft Modelling and Military Modelcraft International

    This will he mostly picture based look through the magazine ....

    General thoughts

    • 84 pages in this issue
    • A4 size format
    • Good range of subject ..this issue not just figures but also but AFV , Fantasy etc
    • A large pull out poster ( fantasy based figure )
    • For me a lot of adverts
    • New Kit releases , Photography and other articles
    As a 1st issue this is I think a good start and one which I am sure the Editor and Guideline will build upon ...but I am still confused as to the magazine title ...but thats me ...sure there is a reason for the choice!!!
    Lets meet the people involved in this

    IMG_8391.jpg
    IMG_8392.jpg

    Lets browse

    Whats in the magazine

    IMG_8390.jpg

    Meeting the Maker

    IMG_8393.jpg

    Hot off the Press

    IMG_8394.jpg

    Photography

    IMG_8395.jpg

    New Kit releases

    IMG_8396.jpg

    The world of Maschinen Krieger

    IMG_8399.jpg

    Something for the AFV modellers

    IMG_8400.jpg

    A Napoleonic Figure from Eric Coulon

    IMG_8401.jpg

    A Chivalry model from our own Sergey

    IMG_8402.jpg

    A Star War based build

    IMG_8403.jpg

    A SAFS figure from Jose Brito

    IMG_8404.jpg

    A post Apocalyptic Diorams from Luca Pierrs

    IMG_8405.jpg

    Article on The Red Devil Awards

    IMG_8406.jpg
    IMG_8407.jpg

    A look at a UK Master Modeller ...Mark Taylor ( an artist I have admired and know )

    IMG_8408.jpg
    IMG_8410.jpg
    IMG_8411.jpg

    A bust from US modeller Brett Avants

    IMG_8412.jpg
    IMG_8414.jpg

    A excellent diorama from US Modeller Dave Youngquist using JSM products

    IMG_8415.jpg

    I have shown my actual magazine so apologies if pics not best due to light ..but it gives you all a good insight into the contents of the magazine itself

    Final thoughts
    It is good to see a magazine on the shelves and I found it enjoyable to read the articles , not all my taste yes but still interesting to read , colour production is fairly good and the magazine provides a happy introduction to all modellers ...no matter what you model

    Will I buy again ...YES I WILL and do say go on give it a look

    The editor DAVID GRUMMITT also welcomes articles from other contributors as well so if you fancy doing just that he would welcome the article ( don't forget the aid in the magazine on photography as well )

    What is the next issue due out 19 December 2019
    well here is the cover ....

    image.jpeg

    Thanks for looking in

    Nap
    Gary_81 likes this.
  2. clrsgt A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    This looks interesting. Thanks for the review Nap.
  3. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I picked this up from WH Smith's and was looking forward to a fantastic and sci-fi based mag that wasn't Games Workshop based. Lucky I don't mind a bit of historical.

    It did feel very scale model based. Even the adverts too. With barely a sniff of the companies many of us know creating figures and busts being represented I found.

    And my biggest issue with the mag... photos.

    Considering there is a page about taking photos of miniatures (which is okay but not the best advise I've seen), which recommends JPEG photos for submissions for some odd reason (should really be using RAW or at least PNG). I found many photos to be lacking in quality. The ones in the Mark Taylor article in particular are washed out, blurry in places, and lacking.

    It's good to see something actually in print but the quality at the price for me isn't high enough. I hope issue 2 is better.
  4. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Steve

    Good comments there ,it's always going to be a challenge starting something like this , photos aren't the very best in like we see in sone of the European Magazines when they were published .

    Hopefully # 2 will improve in these areas

    Nap
    Forté likes this.
  5. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Fingers firmly crossed.

    I did toy with reviewing this on the blog but decided not to. Some things need a bit of time to pick up steam and my initial reaction has been a bit disappointing, which is fine with a miniature but so many have contributed to this mag that I didn't want to put anyone off picking it up.
    Nap likes this.
  6. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England

    As you say Steve some things need time ..but it's good to be able to see what's inside a new venture

    It's definately well worth a look at

    Nap
  7. Steve Brodie PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    For a 1st effort I was quite happy with it. Makes a change from the hoards of aircraft and military model magazines. But for some reason, and I can probably guess why, it was on the bottom shelf hidden behind copies if white dwarf. Looking forward to the next magazine.
  8. gforceman Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    I bought an issue at the SMC show, thinking I had bought a fantasy-SF magazine. I was quite disappointed there was so much Historical articles in it. Now, I don't have problems with articles concerning historical subject, but when I buy a magazine entitled "Fantasy figures international", I expect to find a content about just that : fantasy figures. I was thinking of taking out a subscription, but now I will first wait for a couple of issue's and see what kind of content they keep offering.

    Cheers,

    Gino
    Forté likes this.
  9. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Folks

    I have been going through the articles looking for "Trade Secrets" article of Making a WW1 Trench as on the cover ....it's not in my copy at least

    Perhaps a oversight in my version ?

    Nap
  10. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England

    As I said in review the title is a little confusing ...perhaps a name change might be thought about ...." Fantastic Figures International" ...

    Nap
  11. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Page 78-81.
  12. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Cheers

    Aha!! ...the Back from the Wire ..no reference to Trade Secrets ...that's what confused me!! ...

    Nap
    Forté likes this.

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