March’s issue of Warhammer: Visions is the second release in this new monthly publication from the creators of White Dwarf. Priced at £7.50 it costs a little more than your average monthly magazine, which is over £5 these days. Unlike your average Golf or Photography magazine you buy at a newsagent, Warhammer: Visions doesn’t include any third party adverts. This lack of additional revenue would explain the increased cost.
A large fold out section showcasing the latest Dwarf releases
With 228 pages of uninterrupted hobby, Visions is a photo book measuring 165mm wide and 215mm high (slightly larger then A5). There are no articles to read. This issue features the Dwarf new releases, Forge World releases, Imperial Guard and Grey Knight Army of the month, Golden Demon Parade Ground, pictures from the White Dwarf weekly Battle Report, Tau Battlesuit kit bash, Blachitsu, Dark Eldar Kabals, more Dwarf pictures that aren’t part of the new release, paint splatter and the usual store finder at the back.
Army of the month is a spectacular Imperial Guard force with a Grey Knight allied contingent
The Good
Hobbyists love to reminisce about scouring their old issues of White Dwarf for inspiration. The problem with that is most of the content is out of date. None of the rules articles/battle reports are viable because the game editions have moved on. Warhammer: Visions doesn’t include any of the information. It’s akin to a ready made scrapbook in that regard. I’m quite excited by the prospect of having a row of these on my shelf in my painting room where I can, grab one and have a quick flick at the Golden Demon entries or kit bash to inspire me. I can’t see them going out of date. There is a good mix of ranges from Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy.
The battle report is a series of photos which go along with the 4 page battle report from White Dwarf Weekly Issue 3
The Bad
If you already buy White Dwarf Weekly, you have already enjoyed the Dwarf new releases and pictures from the Battle Report and the paint splatter articles. The lack of articles and explanatory text will leave new comers to the hobby who buy this in their newsagents completely baffled to what this is all about. Stop and think for a moment how you would feel if you bought Warhammer: Visions with no prior knowledge of what the hobby is about. You might think the models are toys which are prepainted like heroclix or skylanders. You would have no idea it’s part of a war-game.
No Hobbit content is a real shame. The lack of Hobbit support gives the impression it’s a specialist game.
The Dark Eldar Kabal collection of photos was a pleasant surprise
The Conclusion
At £7.50 a month it’s cheaper than buying a new codex every month for a collection of the latest army images. If you already buy White Dwarf Weekly or every codex army book then you might not find a need for this publication. If you’re into painting inspiration and want a collection of art books on your shelf to browse and look back at over the years then this is great for you. Of course you don’t have to buy it every month. You can just buy the issues that relate to your favourite races. if you collect Dwarves then this is a great addition to your Army Book.
Warhammer: Visions is available to buy from Games Workshop stores (and webstore), most newsagents and Independent Hobby retailers. There is also an interactive iPad addition available from Apple’s iTunes store.
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FWIW, I hadn't thought about GW stuff for years until I saw issue 1 of …Visions in a supermarket. A week later I'd spent £80 in GW and I'm painting again after probably almost 15 years. Perhaps 30-something nostalgics are key to their market. It's all about the visuals and inspiration for me, however more painting and modelling guides wouldn't go amiss.
I cancelled my subscription – and wrote letters to both the Editor and Chief Exec of Games Workshop expressing my displeasure. Guess what – no replies! Noticed stacks of un-sold new Warhammer Visions in supermarkets and newsagents!
You know..I might consider buying Warhammer Visions if it included things like painting tutorials or such. I really see no point in it…(heck, I see no point in WD Weekly, either..should have stayed the once a month magazine it was for decades)
Boooooooring. WHV is boring. You go through it a couple of times and that's it. No interesting content whatsoever, no tip, non news, no preview, no advertising, no wisdom. A lot of pictures, but no naked women. After a couple of issues I would not be interested anymore.
I find amusing that you think that this magazine will last time enough to full a shell of issues…
I also cancelled my subscription and until GW return to White Dwarf traditional format it will remain cancelled. Who has time to go into GW every week for a cut down advertising brochure costing almost £3.00.
£2.40 is closer to £2.50 than £3.00…
WDW is on sale in Independent stores as well as GWs and my local Indy sells WDW for only £2.00!
I found more content in two issues of WDW combined than the previous incarnation of WD. All personal experience, mind.
W:Visions however is akin to looking at the game through a large window. I am finding it impersonal and soundless. Solution? Add text to the Battle Report, Paint Splatter and the articles in the back of the issue. I like the eye candy at the front fine enough.
I cancelled my supbscription. No short stories, no battle reports, no rules to try out – godverdomme, there even used to be complete games in the White Dwarf, complete with carboard markers and everything! I bet they expect me to buy my rules and short stories as digital downloads now… Well they can kiss my
I really, really dislike this magazine. It dehumanizes the hobby – no text, no pictures of people, no discussion about the design of miniatures, how people think about their own armies, etc. Look at what we are doing here – we like to see the pictures of the bloggers armies, but we also like to read/write about the choices that were made and then we like to comment on that stuff. We like community.
This sucks the community right out of the hobby. I had a digital subscription to White Dwarf so I am stuck with a few more issues of this. I find it a complete chore to look at. Its a lonely mag.
I was impressed there was actually some user-generated content in this one. The kit bash section of Tau battlesuit conversions was a welcome addition. I still love all the GD entries, and even if the paint splatter was ripped straight from the weekly publication (which I don't get), at least there was some useful hobby content in it. I call this issue a step in the right direction. Still sad about all the reused content, but at least its going towards something slightly more than model porn.
The big saviour of this issue is the Dark Eldar Kabals, they are gorgeous and the Lelith is really amazing.
However, it is still a big let down. The cover is so awful, it's not really that enticing, and you can tell that by the big band they put on it that obscures half the cover to tell you it really is by the same people that did White Dwarf.
The recycled content from WDW is again, disappointing, as is the fact you need this and the WDW with the battle report in to get the full story.
Also, Kit Bash needs to be more organic, you kind of get the feeling that a set of staff members are given a topic or theme, they build the model, get it photoed and then paint it. I would rather see what other people come up with outside of Nottingham, look at what goes up here for instance, there are plenty of worthy candidates for the pages.
Hurrah no hobbit content I will be going to pick up a copy when I get into town tomorrow.
I just love me dwarves, reminds me of the old style collectors guides that GW brought.
I dunno, the reasoning that it gets to be more expensive because it doesn't contain ads seems like it's missing the point. The whole point of GW maintaining its own magazines is to shift the cost of advertising onto the consumer.
And as for the plus point that the content can't go out of date because there isn't any… Well, it's not as though WD ever contained valuable tactical analysis; the games aren't really complex enough to warrant it (40k anyway; I'm not overly familiar with WHFB). I don't think people were going back over old WDs to find an article about how they could kill tanks by using anti-tank weapons. It's always been more about digging up fluff, and GW haven't been printing anything like that in magazines for a long time.
I think what could really help on this would be to have art n the fonrt page rather than model pictures. It would make it look like some real hobby magazine rather than a display of KEWL toys.
This magasine should be a source of inspiration so I'd want to see original conversions and paintjobs AND artwork. I'm pretty sure they produce far more than they show. Even rough sketches and such would be intersting to most hobyyists and since it's already made for desoign purposes it does'nt cost much to add it in th epages of the magazine. Having one big fancy illustration per month for a magasine this price would be the least of things too….
Why is this needed when blogs like yours exist? I wouldn't get it anyway, no hobbit support means no support from me!
I'm not convinced by the notion that the price is justified by the lack of third party advertising. The publication, regardless of its content, is an advert, and in that regard it's probably cheaper and is definitely more direct than it would be for GW to advertise in another publication. GW have something incredibly rare in an outlet that allows them to charge people for their advertising, rather than paying for it themselves, so fair play to them, but I think to attempt to justify it by pointing out that they don't charge (or allow, more to the point) anyone else to advertise in it is clouding the issue.
Still, if you like a lot of pictures (and I do) then it's great. Not that I'll be buying it. The internet gives me plenty of pictures of brilliantly painted stuff, which – granted – I have to look through a lot of rubbish to find, but that helps me develop as a painter by allowing me to see what doesn't work as well as what does.