Do you take product reviews?
Short answer: No, we don't publish product reviews, per se. Since we're completely advertiser funded, we feel it's a conflict of interest to do product reviews. Instead, we do First Look product announcements. See the long answer for more details.
Long answer: As to reviews, we don't do reviews per se - but will entertain a First Look deluxe product announcement. First Look is primarily visual - lots of photos, maybe some video content or a click-n-spin animation, with a bit of neutral text. The text should explain what the product is, but not critique it. We include a button for reader comments and we hope some readers who have the product will comment and give their feedback, and this will form the review part.
As a magazine that's totally advertiser supported, we don't want to burn any bridges with advertisers, and we also think the potential conflict of interest is so great readers will doubt the honesty of most reviews we might publish. That's why a First Look deluxe product announcement is as far as we will delve into the "product review" territory. For the review part, we rely on our readers - not unlike how Amazon.com does for book reviews.
That said, an article demonstrating the use of a product is certainly an option, but again it's not a review per se - although an author is free to critique a product in an article as long as the bulk of the article is how-to based and not commentary-based. If you do feel the need to make negative comments about a product, that's okay as long as you have a workaround that allows the product to be still used after a fashion. In other words, don't just slam a product and leave it. Allow the vendor to save some face by providing the modeler an out for still using the product after a fashion.
If all you want to do is slam a product, then we will generally edit that out of an article. If you feel the need to "alert people" to a poor product, you're welcome to post on our forums about that since we take a light hand to moderating content on our web site. In a how-to article, the "only slamming a product" problem more or less takes care of itself because you shouldn't be mentioning a product unless it's part of the how-to process - and then you will be describing how you you were able to use it as part of the process in spite of its shortcomings.
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Thank you. I personally do
Thank you.
I personally do not read the staff revues of new equipment and products. Conflict of interest is always on my mind. If a product is really no good from a long time and well funded manufacture would you tell the truth or try to sugar coat to the max. There is nothing worse than a sugar coated revue. Another point, is the product being revue d off the hobby shop shelf or hand picked by the manufacturer for the revue? Is it worth the MSRP would be a better thing to revue. Lately it seems some manufactures are charging gold prices for plastic parts. As an example (I will not name the maker) Three small plastic tanks and a small rectangular shed for $80 in kit form. Another $20 for detail kit for the tanks. That is just plain nuts! I would not care if it had the greatest revues of all time. One hundred hobby dollars could be better spent on something else.
Pete
Good pictures and an honest
Good pictures and an honest description do it for me on product announcements. We all have to watch our nickels and dimes, but a piece that might seem overpriced to one modeler will be the exact item another person has been waiting for. It's nice to have a warning that something is coming.
Some magazines in various fields simply ignore products that are obviously junk. Others write new product announcements off the manufacturers' news releases and may not even see the object in hand.
I kind of have to agree with Pete; many structure kits seem pretty expensive for what you get but I have good luck finding bargains at swap meets.
In a perfect world, MRH readers would respond to the first looks with their own information on whether dimensions, colors, letterings etc are right or wrong. A certain manufacturer's message board has long nitpicky strings, but two-thirds of the posters don't seem to have actually examined the models in question.