Decent classic military vehicle magazines?

Having just come to the end of my sub to Classic Military Vehicle, I shall not be renewing. Under the new team, IMHO the quality has gone downhill although it was doubtful value in the first place being pretty slim pickings at the usual high magazine price. Some of the stuff in it is plain daft........I note in the so called MV Price Guide that they have the L/R Lightweight at £9500 to £15,665! Prices supposedly based on recent sales....to whom?! I obviously sold mine too cheap!! Are there any alternative mags? Seems not. Pity.:cry:

If you find a better alternative please let us all know i get it on monthly subscription ,there are usually one or maybe two reasonable articles every month have you tried the MVT magazine .

Nicky

Windscreen is very good (he said without any sense of bias).

If you find a better alternative please let us all know i get it on monthly subscription ,there are usually one or maybe two reasonable articles every month have you tried the MVT magazine .

Nicky

Personally I think its a great well balanced magazine catering for all tastes in military vehicles.

Nicky did you see the writeup for last September's Victory show

Personally I think its a great well balanced magazine catering for all tastes in military vehicles.

Nicky did you see the writeup for last September's Victory show

Ian your only saying that because your truck was in the last edition ,but on a more serious note it must be hard to find content month after month

Nicky

somebody has finally said what i have been thinking for months bit like the pub in my village new guys got it. going to be the best thing since sliced bread. in two years it will be another house picked up classic military this afternoon read it in 10 mins alright 15 two articles k6 karrier and the victory show, 14 count them 14 pages of auctions and withams SEEN IT ALL BEFORE the rest is from reference books and the classifieds, some have got cobwebs on been there for months we need more articles we can relate to restorations finds etc come back wheels and tracks remember before and after if only windscreen could go bi monthly

Ian your only saying that because your truck was in the last edition ,but on a more serious note it must be hard to find content month after month

Nicky

Is it ? never noticed mate I see Guys QL restoration is being featured next month.

Never Bought it .. But used to be fleeced by similar Mags. Flypast, Aeroplane, Landrover owner,landrover Monthly and practical classics to name but a few.

Just regurgitated tripe with "experts" doing same old same old,a lot of money for 1 or maybe 2 articles of substance.

Mainly adverts so voted with my wallet and abstain.

Sure I missed them but they really were grossly overpriced for the content.

Just my take.

I have a flick through and if there is something I like I may buy it. To be honest a lot of threads on here make far better reading.

These magazines are good at giving newcomers an insight into the range of vehicles that they might find attractive to own or model, particularly if someone has never been to a MV show.

But many of us do travel to shows & can take pictures in some detail of what interests us. If we have a particular interest in a vehicle type, we may already have accumulated official publications that give more detail than in these magazines or have found the information on here.

It seems extraordinary though, that these magazines that are meant to be about military vehicles, seem to be largely devoid of any technical information about servicing & keeping them running. :???

I subscribe to classic military vehicle magazine, it's a gold magazine with a bit of everything in it.

I managed to get into nearly every edition last year including the front page driving a 50tonne centurion! Lacking a bit this year but haven't been in show set yet!

I subscribe to classic military vehicle magazine, it's a gold magazine with a bit of everything in it.

I managed to get into nearly every edition last year including the front page driving a 50tonne centurion! Lacking a bit this year but haven't been in show set yet!

Thats a slightly biased opinion in that case :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

For me it lost it with the advert content, the last I paid for it I worked out there was 47% of it covered by adds all of which I was aware of. It went off the boil, when in the private add section nearly ALL appeared with NO PRICE.

I agree with that last. The Classified Adverts seem to signify a lack of effort......they are now just a token gesture. There have to be trade adverts to make the thing viable of course, but even these are very limited in range and interest. There are always a couple of articles based around a series of old black and white library pics, that may appeal to the purist or someone who has the vehicle type in question but are usually VERY dull! The restoration features are the only bright spot but as noted, make up only a few pages each month. In the current issue, there is an article about the Dads Army Museum in Thetford, based around Corporal Jones' lorry. And that was about as far as it went......it COULD have been the jumping off point for something meatier on recreating Home Guard vehicles illustrated by readers' efforts in doing this and providing some inspiration and guidance on how to do it.........but it didn't. The mag is no worse than many other hobby mags, but if it wants to survive in these internet times, the green wooly socks will have to be pulled up! My other main interest is in motorcycles....especially green ones of course, and one magazine in that area stands out as the way to do it.....Real Classic....which is put together by a team of very good writers who are passionate about the subject and are really engaged (as they say these days...sorry!).

There are always a couple of articles based around a series of old black and white library pics, that may appeal to the purist or someone who has the vehicle type in question but are usually VERY dull!

Pictures like those have been the only reason I have ever bought any of those mags

Even if I don't own that particular type, in-service pictures can be a gold mine of authenticity. Even some of the things in the background can yield fascinating info. Worth far more than lots of colour pictures that I could have taken at shows myself, which may or may not have owner's "embellishments".

I don't know which mag it was that had the rehash of the Milweb adverts, which were rather out of date by the time the mag was published. The Price Guide chart was strange & pointless.

those black and white articles yes very dull thats the words i was looking for. i think part of the problem is these mags are part of a group covering evarything from skiing to chicken farming unlike wheels and tracks, and windscreen and after the battle was good jack of all trades springs to mind

HMVF is my magazine, always something interesting in it

trevor

To be honest as Classic Military Vehicles magazine is pretty much the only monthly out there I buy it, however the content is quickly read and same old same old anyway. The small ads are useless most stuff by the time it is advertised is long gone. I support it because basically IF we don't we will have NOTHING apart from Windscreen which is ok but seems to be on a loop and biased to the Southern end of the country. Classic car mags are the same they seem to road test MGB's and Morris Minors every few weeks as if there's nothing else out there.

So, you have all stated what you don't like about an MV magazine. What sort of articles would you like to have to make it more interesting?

So, you have all stated what you don't like about an MV magazine. What sort of articles would you like to have to make it more interesting?

these magazines that are meant to be about military vehicles, seem to be largely devoid of any technical information about servicing & keeping them running.

Nick Bullock & John Mastrangelo did a super mag called "MV Magazine" that included a lot of technical tips & maintenance articles. They were so interesting that I even read the ones about Jeeps, nothing against Jeeps as they are not my thing but there was a lot of good advice that carried across to other vehicles.

(I gave up writing for Windscreen several editors ago as the stuff I write is "too detailed")

(I gave up writing for Windscreen several editors ago as the stuff I write is "too detailed")

Clive windscreen is exactly the place for your articles it was the detail which made the articles readable it lost a lot when you and John Mastrangelo stopped being included i got an email from a pal of the new editor asking for articles when he took over , i would have though they would have been falling over them selves to get you back on board ?

Nicky

Nicky thanks for your support. I had enough difficulty getting articles published 25 years ago but what was rejected by the MVT was accepted by Bart V & it got published in Wheels & Tracks!

I have been told very nicely & politely that what is now wanted are non-serialised one-off articles that are not too detailed. That's fine I know the score, so I can just carry on & publish things on here & update them as new bits of info come along. I can lay it out as I want without having to have a large eye-catching lead picture because people won't read it otherwise(!)

As others have said i found the articles rather repetative.I found most of the articles centered around one particular era,which if thats your preferance fine but as the cost rose i found it abit of a waste of my money.I do have the occasional flick and purchase but very rarely.

As for the club mags they have their moments with artilces but i do find them more informative and most of the articles have a wider time span,but as they say you can't please everyone.

So, you have all stated what you don't like about an MV magazine. What sort of articles would you like to have to make it more interesting?

Not aimed at CMV but as general thoughts for any MV magazine - I would like to see:

A wider spread across the years publications of era's. Whilst there is some spread no matter what mag you read the main thrust is invariably WW2.

"Buy it" guides to a type of vehicle - Practical Classis every so often do one of these - 4 to 8 pages of what is out there, what to look for problems wise, availability of spare, ease of working on, how much you can expect to pay and what they are like to live with.

Service schedules for different typs of vehicle as above. Including "how to" guides for servicing

How to build up CES. Where to go for references, For specific vehicles/vehicle ranges - where the kit is stowed

All this sort of DIY ownership stuff. I get a kick out of seeing the readers restorations but it would be fantastic to have articles on how to keep vehicles at peak operational levels. Also on how to repair/rebuild those assemblies that are likely to be failing - without resorting to a professional workshop full of hi-tech kit).

All this sort of DIY ownership stuff. I get a kick out of seeing the readers resincludingbut it would be fantastic to have artic on how to keep vehicles at peak operational levels. Also on how to repair/rebuild those assemblies that are likely to be failing - without a professional workshop full of hi-tech kit).

Yes advice aimed at the average bloke in his shed who wants to have a go at stuff and learn as he goes, but also including deeper information that can be delved into for the more advanced reader. I have always tried to write technical articles that give a spread of information that can be savoured according to the reader's level of knowledge or interest.

Regards what I would like to see in CMV, the existing content type and variety is OK.....you cannot please everyone I know so its a case of covering the bases. But they do need to greatly improve the quality of the articles and everything else.....the Classifieds, the trade advert range, etc.. The existing mag seems to have gradually declined to about the least you can get away with and still have some diehard readers! I think everyone noticed the lurch downward when John Blackman left........they need people who know their subject and have the enthusiasm.