SAMI

Gary · March 24, 2009, 06:50:45 PM

Has SAMI undergone a change in editorial staff in recent months? It's my favourite magazine of the kind but the mistakes have become huge lately. The latest issue at my door had a huge screw up in an article on the new Tamiya Zero. It had a series of ten or so profiles, but the text to go with the images was on the wrong page. There also seems to be a strangely absent level of knowledge when it comes to the historic recreations at competitions, the comments leaning more to inside jokes or pics of friends. There was an impressive recreation of the burned up Mossie, a famous image I've seen in literally a dozen reference books and repeated in Osprey's book of building the Mossie. The author didn't know what he was looking at. Worse than that, the 60's era Phantom that was dropping her tanks, a fantastic diorama, was not dropping the tanks on a seaside resort. It was a little known conflict called Vietnam!

Two years ago when I started my subscription, there was none of this toss. Now it feels like the folks there who knew what was what are gone and they have replaced them with uncaring accountants. My biggest fear is that this is the typical trend towards eventual folding of what is otherwise a really good magazine that I depend on for information and inspiration. So many businesses restructure and place less qualified people at the helm to save on salaries or whatever, and as a result, they loose credibility. With the loss of credibility come the eventual loss of sales and customers and then the cycle feeds on itself to further reduce costs again, with fewer qualified people and so on. Eventually, some all knowing SOB accountant is standing at the door as the sheriff is putting the padlock on making comments like "see, I tried to tell them this business was a looser."

I truly love SAMI and read each issue cover to cover, every word, two to three times. I just hope and pray it's gonna stay and this load of toss is a temporary state.

Shasper · March 24, 2009, 07:39:53 PM

I feel your pain man, kinda strayin' OT but my gripe is with the staff at Combat Aircraft monthly - the last few issues I managed to pick up (which aint very often due to life circumstances) were leaning towards the opinionated side in a few articles & the news briefs . . .

Things like inaccurate reporting, opinionated articles, mis-matched captions on pics, lack of historical facts . . . well, it frosts my a**

Shas

PR19_Kit · March 24, 2009, 08:43:18 PM

It seems to be an epidemic.

My fave modelling mag has always been the original SAM, and that too has undergone a change recently, presumably with the change of editor. It now looks more and more like SAMI, a retrograde step to my mind (but allowing that we all have different tastes of course)

The first issue of the new look mag had some spelling and kit price howlers, and the latest one has a review of the Airfix 1/48 TSR2 that totally igonores the tapered foreward fuselage issue. (JMN mode off now)

philp · March 24, 2009, 10:01:37 PM

Most of my fav mags seem to have a rash of mispelled words or used in the wrong context (hey, if spell check likes it, it must be good, right). I think they are relying more on tech and less on real editing. Haven't noticed any real inaccuracies.

JayBee · March 25, 2009, 01:52:21 AM

To my mind the new look SAM is like an inferior clone of FSM, and that is not my favourite magazine.
Also some of the editting is very poor, take this example.
Is it the gun barrels or the propellor?

nev · March 25, 2009, 05:42:48 AM

Quote from: GaryHas SAMI undergone a change in editorial staff in recent months?

Yes.

kitnut617 · March 25, 2009, 07:27:43 AM

Over the last ten or so years I think the editorial staff has changed about three times, it was quite a few years ago that Richard Franks was the editor (very nice and helpful guy). I've had a subscription for at least the last twenty years but when it came up for re-newal this year I decided not to for a number of reasons, one is I don't like the computer profile graphics that are now appearing. When I look at a profile I want to see what I'm looking at, not some funny bunch of shadows which hide the detail etc. Plus some of the new regular article writers don't really intice my curiosity much, it's got to the point where I look to see who wrote the article, then depending on who it is, just skip that particular article altogether if it's one writer I don't like much (which is beginning to be all of them)

Martin H · March 25, 2009, 10:28:15 AM

Have to admit im not keen on the new look SAM. OK Jay Lafferty is on a steep learning curve and things may improve in due course. But to my eyes SAM has lost that British touch it always seemed to have and has become very "American" in its presentation. (might have something to do with the new editor being a Yank LOL........Nice guy thou)

Canadian - you wally !!!

PR19_Kit · March 25, 2009, 12:56:18 PM

Quote from: Martin H on March 25, 2009, 10:28:15 AM
But to my eyes SAM has lost that British touch it always seemed to have and has become very "American" in its presentation.

Of course, that's it exactly! I hadn't made that connection.

Martin H · March 25, 2009, 01:13:25 PM

Quote from: Martin H on March 25, 2009, 10:28:15 AM
Canadian - you wally !!!

Same thing isnt it LOL
<tounge firmly in cheek and awaiting in comeing flack from the cannuks LOL>

Gary · March 25, 2009, 02:51:34 PM

Quote from: Martin H on March 25, 2009, 01:13:25 PM
Quote from: Martin H on March 25, 2009, 10:28:15 AM
Canadian - you wally !!!

Same thing isnt it LOL
<tounge firmly in cheek and awaiting in comeing flack from the cannuks LOL>

Flack... Naw. I think Canadians are a mix of the best Britain and the USA have to offer. Never met a Brit or a Yank I didn't like.
(see, that niceness is what makes me Canadian!)

PR19_Kit · March 25, 2009, 04:27:49 PM

Quote from: Gary on March 25, 2009, 02:51:34 PM
I think Canadians are a mix of the best Britain and the USA have to offer. Never met a Brit or a Yank I didn't like.
(see, that niceness is what makes me Canadian!)

Gary,

Where do the French come into this mix? They have some very different accents around Quebec.........

Freightdog862 · March 25, 2009, 05:38:01 PM

When I spoke to Gary Hatcher at Southern Expo he mentioned there design chap had had some serious health problems, and the latest issue (April?) was in the hands of a junior chap, so he said to expect a few errors. From a trader point of view Gary could not be more accomodating to me, every month he asks me whats new and is very happy to plug by products even though I haven't advertised in the magazine for a few years now (and even then I only did a couple of months). By the way the Avro 720 review is done and appears in the May issue, so thats another page of free advertising (that would cost me about £500 if I took that much ad spare, all for the cost of a free kit!)
Colin

Fulcrum · March 25, 2009, 05:51:11 PM

Here's hopeing that the latest issue of Aircraft Illustrated that is waiting for me in my local book store does'nt have any problems/errors. Hope that it does'nt have any problems like those in it's sister publication, Combat Aircraft!

Gary · March 25, 2009, 07:10:28 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on March 25, 2009, 04:27:49 PM
Quote from: Gary on March 25, 2009, 02:51:34 PM
I think Canadians are a mix of the best Britain and the USA have to offer. Never met a Brit or a Yank I didn't like.
(see, that niceness is what makes me Canadian!)

Gary,

Where do the French come into this mix? They have some very different accents around Quebec.........

20+ years ago, at the height of the separatist movement in Quebec I was spit on for speaking English in Quebec City. Much nicer now however and I should have been more respectful considering the emotional environment.