White Dwarf no. 394

[Lady Blodwynn]

This month Games Workshop launched its revamped White Dwarf, turning it into a sleeker, sexier product.



Share your thoughts on the redesign and the White Dwarf in general.  

[Vikki Stardust]

I wonder..  

[NORWEGIA]

I actually think White Dwarf was at its best back in 2004-2005 when the battle reports where several pages long with text, not just alot of pictures and scribbles. But I still buy it every month and really enjoy reading it.  

[Asmondai]

As it´s 1st revamped issue, it´s hard to give a definete opinion wether it is
better then the previous WD´s we like to call "product catalog". neutral

I will point out that it is thicker then previouses WD´s (not counting the 30 year and 300th WD),
does have some interesting articles and word from the Designer Studio.
So far it doesn´t seem that different, but I am happy that they got rid off the
whole "OMG-LOOK-AT-THIS-GUY-IN-A-PLAN-WHITE-BACKGROUND!". xp
Better page-layout and design, a bonus I quess.... :-/
I dunno, so far it feels like the same old plan WD, only prettier.

Way older ones we´re and still are MUCH better.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Aye, it is too early to give a definite verdict, but I'm liking what I'm seeing right now. They certainly are trying something very, very different here.

However, let's not pretend otherwise: It is still a product catalogue and company rag, but looking a whole lot better now.  

[DarkReaper40k]

As a veteran of the Games Workshop hobby with now 4 editions of 40k under my belt and over 12 years in, I have to say my initial impressive with GW's ambitions do not impress me. I very much agree with NORWEGIA in regards to the prime time of WD when things like battle reports actually had substance and add in addition that the overall magazine used to feel more like a hobby magazine with a lot of articles around painting and modeling tips, conversion ideas and even scenario's to play in your battles. Over time I saw less and less of what I loved and more advertisement than anything else, not to say there wasn't still some good stuff but considering how the price of the magazine continued to go up and what I seeked to read continued to fade away, I cancelled my subscription.

I might buy this issue and give it a look through but I can honestly say I will not be going in with expectations. Hopefully that way I'll be pleasantly surprised, other wise... oh well, I continue to not subscribe. lol  

[DarkElf27]

How much does a WD subscription go for nowadays, anyway? I'm thinking about getting one after moving.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

DarkElf27

How much does a WD subscription go for nowadays, anyway? I'm thinking about getting one after moving.

It is £55.00 ($100.00) for a yearly subscription, meaning you subscribe for twelve but pay for ten. It would appear that they have also reinstated the store subscription deals: Subscribe for twelve, pay for eight, but in order to do this you will need to go to an actual brick and mortar GW store.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Having finally had a chance to get my hands on a copy of the new format, here are my thoughts on some of the new features..

1. New format. Not just the art direction is completely different, but also the presentation style in general has been changed. It feels more like a glossy or fancy gadget mag with the editors chiming in with their own (obviously) positive thoughts on the matter. And yes, this mag is a bit smaller than its predecessors. Not much, about half an inch I'd say.
2. Speaking of editors, they've brought in a whole new crew, though some of the old faces are still present. So far they've mostly shown of pictures of the new editorial crew being hard at work enjoying the hobby, so I wonder how this will turn out in future editions.
3. It is still very much a company mag, with the first fifty pages dedicated to previewing upcoming releases from GW, FW, BL and FFG. Price tags have helpfully been kept away from the blatant miniature presentations and kept to two pages at the end of the product presentation.
4. New article! Army of the month, which is NOT one of the many boring Nottingham Studio armies, but rather actual armies from non-GW staff and studio members.
5. Jervis Johnson still has his own column, though they have dropped the "Standard Bearer" moniker and gone for a more to the point and less pretentious, at least in my eyes, "JERVIS JOHNSON" as article name. An interesting read, as it goes into why so many army and codex books these days drop the 0-1 restriction on certain units.
6. Battle Report.. I can see what they are going for with this, but they need to work on the format. It is however a massive leap forward when compared to the so-called bat-reps of a few months ago. I am still missing a turn-by-turn blow-by-blow report of how the battle went, a handy mini map showing us where the action takes place and please, less pictures of the deputy editor and senior staff writer smirking at each other after each move.
7. The Rivals, a new article series it seems that pits hard-boiled tournament players against one another in a debate of whose unit is the hardest. A bit childish and a bit of a nod to the tough as nails tournament scene perhaps.
8. An article on the Horus Heresy! It is mostly a photo report and a few mini-interviews with BL authors, but the FW minis shown off are gorgeous! The two-pager on Angron is a fun read in particular, with some lovely close-ups of the details of the FW mini.
9. As a painter I am very, very happy that John Blanche might get a column of his own where he shows off ace painting and his thoughts on things. However, if you hate the man and his art style.. wink
10. Citadel Hall of Fame makes a return, always nice.
11. Parade Ground, a community showcase of squads and units of minis. Some very, very nice minis on display here. I do hope this remains a future feature of the mag, as we need more community minis instead of the boring old studio minis!
12. Kit Bash! A new monthly article series with this month: How to kit bash Ork Fighta Bommers. The articles are somewhat (Severely!) lacking instruction on how to pull off these particular builds. A step by step guide would be lovely.
13. Battleground: A tour of studio built gaming tables. While nice, this feels like a bit of wasted space to me.
14. Paint Splatter is the new 'Eavy Metal series of painting articles. Sadly they are nowhere near as helpful or useful as the old step-by-step guides in some cases. The space marine armour "guides" in particular are rather useless!
15. Jeremy Vettock has a column of his own now, probably to counter-balance Jervis' column. He talks about wanting to build a table themed around a monument world of sorts.
16. All the way in the back, past the massive list of stores, is a behind the scenes look at what's going on in GW HQ and its other sister companies. The article starts off with the White Dwarf crew telling us what they were up to, a bit like the old issues, only without the funny nicknames sadly.
17. Also crammed in there.. Chaos Space Marine designer notes by Phil Kelly ( emotion_bigheart ) and designs of Jes Goodwin ( emotion_bigheart emotion_bigheart emotion_bigheart ), but like all other designer note articles of past issues, not a whole lot of excitement going on.
18. The Forge World talks about how they painted the new Rhino out in front of GW HQ, show off the Cataphractii terminators and tease a bit more about the first Horus Heresy book.
19. Black Library has a rather pointless filler article about a trio of novels. Pass.
20. Final pages show off Gandalf in preparation for the Hobbit and a hobby calendar with the biggest events from around the world.
21. Did I mention it has a small, but neat FW Horus Heresy poster included? On one side Angron, the other a battle in progress. Angron is now gracing my hobby room wall and I am hoping that these posters will be a semi-regular feature. whee  

[Vikki Stardust]

So, yea or nay?  

[Asmondai]

Lady Blodwynn

DarkElf27

How much does a WD subscription go for nowadays, anyway? I'm thinking about getting one after moving.

It is £55.00 ($100.00) for a yearly subscription, meaning you subscribe for twelve but pay for ten. It would appear that they have also reinstated the store subscription deals: Subscribe for twelve, pay for eight, but in order to do this you will need to go to an actual brick and mortar GW store.

Not sure about your stores,
but when I went and bought my copy of the current WD,
the store workers we´re trying to sell me "subcribe for 6 ticket, swap it for any
one copy of WD" thingie. :/
It´s cost was about 30+ euro´s.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Asmondai

Lady Blodwynn

DarkElf27

How much does a WD subscription go for nowadays, anyway? I'm thinking about getting one after moving.

It is £55.00 ($100.00) for a yearly subscription, meaning you subscribe for twelve but pay for ten. It would appear that they have also reinstated the store subscription deals: Subscribe for twelve, pay for eight, but in order to do this you will need to go to an actual brick and mortar GW store.

Not sure about your stores,
but when I went and bought my copy of the current WD,
the store workers we´re trying to sell me "subcribe for 6 ticket, swap it for any
one copy of WD" thingie. :/
It´s cost was about 30+ euro´s.

It differs from region to region, but around here they were really desperate to sell me a subscription with that criteria. It is a tempting offer though, seeing as the store always has less than a dozen copies on the shelf.. talk2hand  

[DarkElf27]

I think I'm definitely going to get a subscription in the UK. If nothing else, it'll help me brainstorm new talking points to dredge up in here, and I love seeing models and battle reports and such.  

[Asmondai]

Welp, I have read the new issue of WD (395), what do I think about?

I´m not sure, seems all the same to me perfectly honest,
I fail to see anything other then new-product advert with only few
articles to break up the catalog-thing going on.

It does seem that Blanches articles is maybe becoming a full part
of WD´s which is good since I envy his painting skills,
rarely you get to see a person who, not only makes fantastic, reconisible art works,
but can also duplicate the same skill and detail on miniatures aswell. surprised

I do hope to see more content on the so called "NEW" WD format,
adding strategy discussions, short stories or something to really
draw the readers to buy the WD´s on monthly bases,
other then what´s next on the production line. :-/
Maybe in the 5th+ issue we´ll see more greater changes to the WD´s content,
but so far it really doesn´t feel anything different in comparison to the "white"-era WD´s.  

[Hoxtalicious]

I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy of 395, it's almost as if they're making it an impossible mission on purpose. gonk