Tamiya Magazine - your views

[Sticky Fingers]

Was in my local newsagent and was stunned to find a Tamiya Magazine on it's shelves! So, being the idiot that I am, I bought it without hesitation. Got home sat down for some 'good readin' and was left extremely disappointed.

Okay there's some nice shots of nicely painted warcraft with building/painting tips (some of which would apply to our niche) and a section on pre-built tamiya motorbikes (what's the point?) there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON CARS . Even though their advertisers in the majority sell cars.

I went back to the shop to see if there were more car mags but all I found were wads upon wads of train/military magazines.

Which leads me nicely to this question..... ARE there any car modelling magazines available in the UK which I could order via my newsagent?

[proosen]

I subscribe to Scale Auto Enthusiast and it's working just fine. BTW, I live in Sweden and has never had any problems with Kalmbach publishing and their service. It's actually cheaper than going to the magazine store to get it and I only have to empty the mailbox to get my hands on it

Niclas

[Amazon]

Isn`t Scale autoenthusiast available? Or have they changed it to Scale Diecast Enthusiast?
I have come across (here in Sweden) a magazine called Scale Auto Modeler? I know it hails from England..

[kicth]

No doubt, most of the major store mainly carry magazine for RC, Die Cast, Train, Plane or Warcraft. Only the "real" modeling hobby store will carry one or two type of car modeling mag.

I live in a small town in WI, but lucky enough to have a small hobby store that have Auto Scale Mag and some other car modeling mags on their newsstand. However, it is always cheaper to subscribe it than to buy every single issue from the newstand.

[sportracer02]

Hi,

I have a "Scale Auto" (as it is called now)-subscription since about 15 years.
The content of the former "Scale Auto Enthusiast" was great up to the end of the 90s, when everything changed. From that time on I was missing good step-by-step reports and exact descriptions of built custom models.
In the last issues they tend to their former style what is a big step forward.
In the last years I was often thinking of not renewing my subsription.

Since years I buy the Tamiya Magazine here in Germany at the bookstore in the station in Heidelberg, where I work. Up to December 2004 it cost there 8,30 Euro per issue (!!!), since January 2005 the price rised to 9,30 Euro and since autumn 2004 it appears monthley. So I decided to subscribe it, over the year I pay now 60 % of what it costs at the bookstore at the station.

Concerning the contents it is true that lots of military and airplanes are shown. However for me this is a source of ideas of what you can use while building cars or bikes, too.

Look at other modelers, their techniques and building process.

Just a Veyron writes: "There is a lesson in every model"

Micha

[SteveK2003]

Scale Auto is a good one to get. They were leaning very die-cast heavy in the early 2000's, but the last year or two they have been very good again. The only times you see die-casts, outside of some half-page reviews, at when they kit-bash and rebuild them, which is fine by me.

I have a few issues of the English magazine, and it's great for in-depth build-ups, especially if you like rally cars, but it's a little heavy on the words and the pictures aren't as good as SA's. It's also in 'English', which is sometimes a bit confusing to those who are used to American, but after a few reads it makes sense.

[mickbench]

The Tamiya magazine is a monthly publication that is really a showcase for Tamiya models, and how to get the best from all types of Tamiya models. I've stood in W H Smith a few times and read it, without buying it..!! Nah, so what - I'm not made of money..!!

I sometimes read a few articles from www.scaleautomag.com, and I think you can subscribe to the publication and have it posted to you, not sure of the actual content though, but it's all about cars, so might be what you are looking for.

I tend to leave magazines on the shelf now 'a days. The Internet gives me all the information I need, mostly if I don't know it's because I've been lazy and not searched for it..!! This forum is a wealth of information from some "VERY" talented builders..!!

[Sticky Fingers]

Cheers mick, I've been to that site and have thought about subscribing but it'd probably cost a lot seeing as it'd be mailed out from America. I can't believe that it's not stocked in the UK but that just shows you how little demand there is for it in this country.

You're right about the wealth of information on this forum and I'm forever indebted to the guys here who have already helped me with my queries.

It's just that I can't sit on the couch with the iMac on my lap!!

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by Sticky Fingers

It's just that I can't sit on the couch with the iMac on my lap!!

I do..!! My good old Dell D600 Laptop, it's great..!! I have documents, help guides etc on my Laptop and I then carry it to my workbench to use as ref: material if needed and then sit with it on the couch in my lounge reading the internet.

I also have a desktop but can't sit with this on my lap, so my Laptop is great..!! I guess this is why i can call my Laptop a "REAL" LAPtop..!!

[Sticky Fingers]

Yeah, you try lugging an iMac about with you! It is NOT a laptop. Unless you're a very large man

[exhaust smoke]

I love Tamiya Modelling mag. It's the best modelling mag in the UK.

Granted, there may only be just military and aviation models in these issues, but when you read the editorials, they do acknowledge the fact that there has not been too many auto models. Another reason is that they have only just gone monthly after years of being just a quarterly publication.

For me, although I am not a military or avaition fan, I do love learning about the weathering techniques and materials they use.

[Scale-Master]

There's also Model Cars Magazine.
Since Scale Auto and Model Cars are 6 issues a year instead of monthly, getting both is a way to get a monthly fix... - Mark

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by Sticky Fingers

Yeah, you try lugging an iMac about with you! It is NOT a laptop. Unless you're a very large man

Ha..!! That would be funny, seeing you attempting to use the Internet with an IMAC on your lap..!!

You could always trade up for an Ibook or something..!!

[Sticky Fingers]

It's looking likely I'll subscribe to Scale Auto.

For UK subscription (6 issues) it's $33 (which I think is roughly £18). Not bad considering it's coming from USA straight to my doormat in Dunfermline, Scotland.

[freakray]

Originally Posted by SteveK2003

It's also in 'English', which is sometimes a bit confusing to those who are used to American, but after a few reads it makes sense.

No, it's in English, the same language generally spoken in America, which is a language originating in England.
I have yet to hear anyone talk this language called 'American'.

I don't understand how the English language can be confusing to somebody who speaks English