Collectable magazines - Are they worth it??

richard-iow

Just seen an advert for a magazine that allows you to build a model ship over 140 issues at £4.99 each! (in small print)
I worked out the total cost to be nearly £700 and even if the magazine is weekly it would take over 2 and a half years to complete.

What are your opinions on this sort of magazine? Has anyone ever completed one or is it even possible?

i think my opinion is quite clear from the forum that i am using!

imoneyop

There was another one recently for a r/c model car - can't remember how much it would have cost to build the whole thing but it was in the high 100's.

In my opinion, they are just a con and rely on people not realising the total cost.

HeaddyMX

I bought one of those magazines several years ago, one where you could collect a box of art materials. It started with a box and some oil pastels (I think), and the following issue had cheap water(-based)colour paints.

Was it worth it? The equivalent product in WH Smith is better quality, and less expensive at £15. Besides, I hadn't seen more than a few issues of that magazine.

Norma_Desmond

They are a total and utter rip off! I used to work in a newsagents and often had to bite my lip when people started ordering them. I mean WHY would you even want the cheap tat they offer, and if you want a model ship, then you can get a lovely complete one from Ebay for a few pounds, or a good kit from the same source

mpython

On the whole, they are very poor value. I bought my DS the Horrible Histories which was supposed to be a 60 part work. They introduced at least 2 specials and then around part 56 said due to its popularity they were adding another 24 issues!! I chose to decline the extra copies. I have to admit though my DS did read them all and he now knows a lot more about history, and of other culture's history than I do so it wasn't a complete waste of money. As a consequece I signed up for the Horrible science for DD, & again they've had additional special issues such as Xmas & Halloween which irritated me, but again, my DD is enjoying them and learning a heck of lot of science along the way. We've not reached 55 yet, so I've yet to see whether they will try & extend the issues another 24?

A bad one I saw last year was Lord of the Rings chess set. How many parts do you think its would be? 32? Wrong. 63. Yes, 63; 31 more pieces than required for a chess board. Oh, btw, there's an extra issue you can buy that costs more than the other issues (hence you'll then have 64 pieces). I reckon the Harry Potter chess collection will be similar, people thinking there'll be 32 issues but it'll be 63 or something like that.

char22

i get my little one felicity wishes. its absolutly worth it. for 2.99 a fortnight i get 1 hours peace a quiet

Lyndsay_21

i remember my mum and dad buying me a mag every week a doll/barbie thing the first issue then different clothes/accesories every week. I LOVED getting these every week made me feel really special, so maybe from that point of view it was worth it for them!!

oscardog

Many years ago I persuaded my mother to buy me the "Images of War" magazines as they came out. We got the lot and I now have a comprehensive collection that are good to read and for reference.

The biggest pain was that they only ever offered two binders and so the majority stayed in a pile.

Worth the investment though (but only my mum can answer that for sure).

eyelinerprincess

Some are worth it, I got the Tree Of Knowledge and it's great as a reference bible for everything and anything.

aj3001

I don't recall ever seeing the magazines getting to the end of their time and total number, I suppose maybe some just go to mail order only

georgina_fenwick

I buy the Marvel Collection for my hubby, £5.99 each delivered and the occasional special for £8.99, you get a model and a mag, i think they are worth it.

We used to get the Lord of the Rings Models but the company supplying them messed us about something terrible we subscribed direct so we were supposed to get them before the shops did, we ended up being around 30 issued behind, they just kept saying they were having problems getting them. In the end we gave up and cancelled.

Years ago we collected the Star Trek Factfile around 300 issues @ £1.99 each, have still got them all, stuffed in the top of a wardrobe.


georgina