Military Miniatures Magazine Reader Survey #1
Periodical reader surveys are conducted to provide editors, and contributing writers with a detailed analysis of the readership of Military Miniatures Magazine. The selection of topics should match the distribution of historical interest identified in section 4 below.
483 readers participated in the January 1997 survey, approximately 2.68 % of the readership.
1447 readers participated in the October 1997 survey.
1.) Which edition of Military Miniatures Magazine do you read primarily?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 98 % | 87 % | 68,6 % |
| German | 2 % | 5 % | 16,9 % |
| French | n.a. | 2 % | 4,9 % |
| Italian | n.a. | 4 % | 4,6 % |
| Spanish | n.a. | 2 % | 5 % |
| The French, Italian, and Spanish editions were not available when the January 1997 survey was conducted. Absolute readership increased strongly between January and October 1997, but the relative position of the English edition decreased as the other language editions gained in importance. |
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2.) Which country or continent do you live in?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 59 % | 57 % | – |
| Europe | 16 % | 25 % | – |
| Britain | 12 % | 7 % | – |
| Asia | 6 % | 3 % | – |
| Australia, NZ | 4 % | 5 % | – |
| South America | 3 % | 2 % | – |
| Africa | – | 0.5 % | – |
| Middle East | – | 0.5 % | – |
| Continental Europe is seeing a dramatic increase
in the number of households with Internet access now, followed by another
late starter, Australian and New Zealand, which also shows a relative
increase. North American Internet usage is growing strongly still, as
indicated by the marginal losses in relative position. The absolute numbers of readers in the other regions increased as well, but early adopters like Britain and Asia did not grow enough to maintain the relative positions established in the January survey. |
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3.) Are you a wargamer, modeller or collector of 1:72/1:76 scale miniatures?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wargamer | 61 % | 45 % | – |
| Modeller | 65 % | 64 % | – |
| Collector | 35 % | 40 % | – |
| Percentage Points | 161 | 149 | – |
| Multiple entries were permitted. Between the January and October survey we are seeing an 8 % increase in specialization, as multiple entries drop from 161 to 149 percentage points. The numbers indicate a strong influx of modellers and collectors. | |||
4.) Which types of historical miniatures and vehicles do you collect?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancients | 45 % | 30 % | – |
| Medieval | 39 % | 31 % | – |
| Renaissance | 23 % | 22 % | – |
| 1710–1848 | 65 % | 53 % | – |
| 1850–1910 | 46 % | 33 % | – |
| World-War One | 36 % | 29 % | – |
| World-War Two | 67 % | 65 % | – |
| Modern | 29 % | 28 % | – |
| Percentage Points | 350 | 288 | – |
| We are seeing a 22 % increase in period specialization as multiple entries drop from 350 to 288 percentage points between 01/97 and 10/97. All periods lose percentage points as specialization sets in, but the average reader is still interested in 2.88 historic periods. Not surprisingly, World War 2 and Modern lose only 3 % in percentage points each, they benefits from the fact that they are both wargaming and modelling periods. Primary wargaming periods like Ancients, ACW, WW1, and Napoleonic lose 33 %, 28 %, 22 %, and 18 % relative position respectively. |
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5.) How important is international mail order to you?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| very important | 15 % | 24 % | – |
| important | 51 % | 40 % | – |
| not important | 18 % | 21 % | – |
| too expensive | 16 % | 15 % | – |
| The emphasis is on international mail order. We asked readers to consider that international shipping cost can be US $ 15.00 per pound of product shipped. Apparently, international mail order is very important for modellers and collectors, and less important for wargamers who purchase quantities of readily available military models. | |||
6.) Do you purchase 1:72/1:76 scale miniatures via mail order?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly | 19 % | 27 % | – |
| Sometimes | 42 % | 42 % | – |
| Rarely | 26 % | 21 % | – |
| Never | 13 % | 10 % | – |
| This question compares domestic and international mail order with local shopping. Modellers and collectors order rare and unusual items via specialty mail order. Wargamers are able to purchase many standard military models locally, usually in multiples, to raise entire units. | |||
7.) Would you like to purchase products electronically, on the Internet?
| Result | 01/1997 | 10/1997 | 05/1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | n.a. | 54 % | – |
| Maybe soon | n.a. | 14 % | – |
| Don’t know | n.a. | 22 % | – |
| No | n.a. | 9 % | – |
| This question was added in time for the October 1997 survey. We wanted to know if Internet users consider Electronic Commerce an important way to shop. | |||
8.) Which (printed) miniatures magazines do you read?
Readers were asked to list a maximum of three magazines they read on a regular basis. We decided not to influence readers by suggesting a list of possible answers. Any answer was accepted. The most surprising result was that 45 % of our subscribers do not read any printed magazine regularly. The top 16 list is as follows: (previous rank is shown in parenthesis)
- Wargames Illustrated (2), 12.4 %
- Fine Scale Modeler, 11.6 %
- Military Modelling (4), 11.3 %
- Miniature Wargames (1), 10.6 %
- The Courier (3), 7.2 %
- Practical Wargamer (5), 5.7 %
- Military Modeller (7), 3.8 %
- Napoleon Magazine (6), 3.4 %
- Figurines, France, 2.9 %
- Soldatini, Italy, 2.8 %
- Scale Modeler, 2.6 %
- Military in Scale, 2.5 %
- Historical Miniatures, 2.4 %
- MWAN, 2.3 %
- Tutto Modellismo (10), Italy, 2.2 %
- Vae Victis (9), France, 1.9 %
It is interesting to note that several dedicated scale modelling magazines made the list for the first time, they had not been rated highly before. Clearly, this is a manifestation of the new readers who subscribed to Military Miniatures Magazine between the January and October survey, many of whom are modellers and collectors, not wargamers. Two French, and two Italian magazines made the list, despite the fact that French and Italian readers combined account for only 6 % of the total readership. German readership has reached 5 % already, but none of the popular German modelling magazines were even mentioned in this survey.