Petition for SciFi issue of FSM, who's in?

Anything Macross would be very much appreciated from me.

Hmmm.

I see a few potential problems:
Who will write those articles and reviews?
Is there enough interest by the general public to make such an issue worthwhile?
Licencing issues, most of those designs and such cannot be reporduced for free.

Sci-Fi modeling is a rather small sector of the hobby and I don't think it can justify the expenditure.
Maybe if you extend the scope further than movie related models and incorporate other sci-fi kits(like Gundam, original designs, etc).

ya i was just thinkin of that, SMART!!!!! I just e-mailed the Editor, he should be getting back to me pretty soon, we'll see what he thinks. I was thinking of incorprating any SciFi things.

I'd be all about that. You think they'd have someone else do their models? looking at the NX in one of the recent past magazines was really boring and bland. I put more effort into my models and I'm not getting paid to build them and show them off.

I don't know if it would be economically possible. A rough calculation shows that less than 5% of posts on the FSM forum are in the science fiction forum. Depending on the amount of cross-over between interests, only about 1 in 20 readers are interested in SF. I don't even know if there's even been an SF subject on the cover.

On the other hand, SF is more popular than ships, and ships get a lot more coverage than SF (covers, how-to articles, and showcases). Hey, what gives?

I have 7 FSM magazines altogether that have Sci-Fi of some sort on the cover and they did publish 3 books (Star Trek, Star Wars, and general Sci-Fi) that I know of. I do recall reading quite alot of negitive feedback in the to the editor and from the reader sections anytime they try to extend coverage beyond a point. Like Masao said the numbers just don't pan out for the investment. Sad

Matt

Then how about an annual special edition? I'm sure with the number of kits out there, they can get some of their reviewers/writers to do some sci-fi subjects throughout the year to make a solid mag. I'm all for a Sci-Fi mag, but I also don't think that a real market exists out there. Too many people out there have no imagination and hate "non-real" subjects.

I'm not a big sci-fi builder, but I do like to build them. I'm with you guy's but I don't think it will fly

I agree with Masao, there just isnt enough of us to fill that much space, we are a special bunch, and that makes us rare, just not enough.

ya, i like that idea about the annual thingy. Like maybe kinda like Great Scale Modelling, right? Ya, I'll tell the editor in my next e-mail. Hey, thanx, I would have never thought of that.

There is plenty of demand for Sci-Fi just not at FSM. A quick trip to Starship Modeler will show you that the Sci-Fi community is very vibrant and active. The problem is that people just don't think of FSM when they think of Sci-Fi. The magazine has become known for it's coverage of WWII A/C and to a lesser extent armor. I would think that FSM would want to tap into the large number of Sci-Fi fans but I think they have become comfortable in the narrow area they have chosen to occupy.

While I would buy an special Sci-fi Issue, I don't think that the market will support it.
I would be happy to see a sci-fi article in each issue for a year and see how the feedback goes. Not just sci-fi kits but sci-ti and fantasy figures would also be good and a dio or two would have interest.
The question is how many articles about this genre does FSM have in their files? Looks like we need to write a few articles ourselves and submit them. Maybe we need to have an Article Group Build and generate a stack.
I did like the Bride in the Gallery of the new issue.

As a long time member of the StarshipModeler.com community, I can only say that there have been many occasions where we have signed petitions and pelted FineScale with emails.

Nothing.

The biggest thing in the last few years has been the preview of Polar Lights ENTERPRISE kit.

Otherewise there is a smattering of SciFi in the Gallery.

And BTW quite a few members (? participants rather, you don't have to join anything) have sent in articles to FSM in the past. Or, at least, they said they did. But these articles have yet to appear.

Guess we must be satisfied with the support we give each other.
Besides something useful might be learned from the umpteenth tank article and the nth plane build...

-Leelan

I personally don't understand why the armor category is so popular. There is only so much you can do with that subject. Yeah, I build armor sometimes but I like the fact that Sci-Fi is limitless, even if you do somehow build every Sci-Fi model there is, you can still create your own. I think young modelers would really get into an all out Sci-Fi issue and get them more into modeling. I think an issue like that may even get more subscribers to FSM especially if they start regularly putting Sci-Fi articles in.

But we need MORE (many more!!) articles on how to detail cockpits! Having SF articles will take away from that!

Really? Because every article about detailing a cockpit consists of ordering a more detailed cockpit kit of its own. So I dont see how losing that sentence is going to hurt anyone.

Who wants to read about detailing cockpits when you can read about applying Zimmerit instead! Zimmerit - OH YEAH!

It's like the fan base for science fiction shows. It is a cult following that isn't big enough. But if we went to Starship Modeler web page and tried to get a petition there we could probably get a significant number who would participate.

Dave

QUOTE: Originally posted by Masao But we need MORE (many more!!) articles on how to detail cockpits! Having SF articles will take away from that!

Note: This was a joke!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Model Museum Hmmm. I see a few potential problems: Who will write those articles and reviews? Is there enough interest by the general public to make such an issue worthwhile? Licencing issues, most of those designs and such cannot be reporduced for free. Sci-Fi modeling is a rather small sector of the hobby and I don't think it can justify the expenditure.

We're in 100% agreement here, MM.

As much as I love science fiction and science fiction modelling, I would never expect FSM to do a "Science Fiction Issue" based on those very reasons.

Instead of signing petitions, ambitous science fiction modellers should be building, photographing, writing about, and submitting articles about science fiction models to FSM!

Ya, what J-Hulk said!!!!! ;)

I'm a sci-fi builder more than other types of kits, and I don't really see the need for a sci-fi only issue.
Maybe a subject here and there, but not a whole regular issue. Perhaps a special issue, outside of the subscription that the subscribers, who are mostly military and aviation builders don't have to receive if they don't want it.
Besides that, I would be worried that some sci-fi builders would rip it apart anyway if their specific tastes were not included to their satisfaction. Too many Trek kits would PO the Star Wars builders. Too many Alien kits would PO someone else. I remember when the Guide to Star Wars ships book came out, people tore it apart saying that it was too simple, and the kit choises were not to their liking.
FSM has enough information that can be applied to all genre of kit building. There are already plenty of Internet sites with Sci-Fi kit reviews and build-ups with plenty of pictures. I think an issue of FSM devoted to Sci-Fi would seem like recycled information.

Ni Hao!
What a GREAT idea!!! Firstly, I feel that it is a great idea for FSM to have a Sci-Fi issue! It would be fabulous to have one entire issue devoted to the subject! The fan support could possibly be limited, but Im very optimistic! It sounds as if many of you have some great ideas and creative thoughts about this one subject. Maybe if we all pooled together the mindpower and resources, we could help make it happen! Models are only plastic pieces in a box without the creative genius of the modeler!!
With the new & final StarWars flick about to hit there may be some new kits and builds out there that are in the works. I also think there may be a bigger fan base than what we realize. Living in China, the big things seems to be more Sci-Fi and fantasy. There are alot of spaceship and (especially)Gundam builders here and their work is GREAT!! This may be a chance for some who don't normally respond to FSM to "come out of the woodwork" with their work. Just a thought.
I myself don't do much Sci-Fi modeling at all but I love the genre and I love to see the work that others put together!
All of this I suppose is mere speculation and hope if the editors don't agree but my hope is that they will be willing to give it a go! Count me in!!!