Fanderson
Moderator: Spectrum Strike Force
Many thanks,
James
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James. C
- Captain
- Posts: 282
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:53 am
- Location: Top Secret Lodge
If you're a Gerry Anderson fan, go for it.
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hazel
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 903
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:15 pm
- Location: London, UK
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Carrie
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 830
- Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2004 9:31 pm
- Location: Wet Wales
I was a member of Fanderson for several years but left probably ten years or so ago. I had several reasons for discontinuing my membership:
The biggest reason was that I am not located in the UK; I don't know your location, James, but I seem to remember some comments regarding Australia...
The first big problem I had with Fanderson was that the only way I could pay the (much-higher-for-"foreigners") dues was in pounds via International Money Order or foreign-currency draft, or of course mail cash to a British friend and have them send the dues in for me. There was no way to pay by credit card, PayPal etc. but this may have changed by now.
The other problem with not being in the UK was that those members outside the UK got their FABs VERY late. Any contests, raffles etc. were already well over by the time I got my "current" issue. Again, I don't know if that has changed.
Also IMO (and that of several others I've talked to over the years) there seemed to be a distinct anti-American, or at least anti-non-British, bias. Anderson-related news items from the "outer regions" were few and far between, and often not even written up at all even though they were submitted well in advance of any deadlines.
For example: I submitted several of my fanfics to a contact at Fanderson when there was talk of a fiction zine; some years later, when the zine finally came to fruition I was told my fanfics wouldn't be used (even though they won awards at the Fanderson conventions) simply because I was no longer a member! I think you can imagine the reply I sent. The good news is that the fanfics were used, although SEVERELY edited which definitely left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Again, I don't know if any of this has changed, if it was typical of the powers-that-be at that time or whatever.
The other problem that I had with FAB in particular was one specific to myself: I ONLY like the one series! I didn't grow up watching any of the other puppet shows, and while I did watch UFO and Space:1999 when they were broadcast on American TV I didn't think much of them. Imagine paging through the latest FAB, issue after issue, and only seeing one or two sentences relating to the series you're interested in, and you can understand my frustration. Yes, there was a series of very enjoyable issues devoted to CS in detail, but there was also a very long "dry" period after the series was on the BBC in the early 1990s. That was around the time I gave up.
So now you've got both sides you can decide for yourself whether Fanderson is right for you. I did enjoy my membership in it and made a few friends, and if you're interested in more than one Anderson series then I think you will enjoy FAB.
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Mary
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 284
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 2:18 am
- Location: Classified: Rainbow Clearance required
I have not renewed my membership - and probably won't. I agree with Mary - if your Anderson interests are specific to one or two shows you may not find much in the magazines to interest you.
It may be that I was unfortunate with the timing of when I joined, but the magazines I saw seemed to be full of technical information about how the film/CGI was made etc. None of which interests me.
It's probably best to give it a go and make your own mind up...
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Marion
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:21 pm
Thank you so much for all your help guys,
James
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James. C
- Captain
- Posts: 282
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:53 am
- Location: Top Secret Lodge
But the advent of the Internet has made places such as this very fine website possible, and that has gone a long way to filling that specific void - especially the fan fic section!
Doc Denim
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Doc Denim
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:28 am
- Location: ontario, canada
I joined Fanderson last year for the first time. As I don’t have any ‘fantastic plastic’ I paid for my membership by bank draft in UK pounds. Factor in the cost of the draft itself and, as I found out last year, I didn’t get much change from $100Aus. Though the Oz dollar has improved a smidgen since then I expect the cost of the bank draft will have risen so my best guess is it will cost about the same again this year. I guess it’s interesting to try Fanderson membership at least once just to see what it is like.
I agree with Mary if you aren’t interested in all aspects of Gerry Anderson’s work (or haven’t even had the opportunity to see all of it) then you might get an issue (or parts thereof) that can be really boring - but you never know - the next one might be full of the things you are interested in. But if your interests are pretty broad you’ll probably enjoy it. You asked about FAB content - sometimes they reprint articles from other mags of the 1960s and I really enjoy reading those. Like Marion I was bored with the CGI tech stuff (another popular mag filler) - and the articles about the Thunderbirds movie in one issue soon had me dozing off too. Overall the mag is quite good but extremely spasmodic in its publication. Thankfully membership is calculated by FAB issues and not by a calendar year. (I wonder if FAB 53 will finally appear in Dec? I won’t be holding my breath, considering it was supposed to come out in Aug!) Whether we get the magazine in time to enter any competitions is probably in the lap of the gods too. But I didn’t really join for the magazine, I joined for….Fanderson Sales.
I saved up and placed one order for all kinds of stuff I couldn’t get anywhere else - a back issue of FAB, a couple of books, some misc bits and pieces, and what I really wanted - the Fireball XL5/Supercar CD. I was pleased with everything I bought but it cost me a small fortune! I think the ‘Rest of the World’ cost probably factors in the postage rate if your are ordering from your little holiday shack on Pluto.
Is membership worth it? For me, at the moment the answer is yes - and the reason was the inclusion of the ‘Sleeping Astronauts’ CD when I joined. It had some tracks I’ve wanted for a very long time so that alone made membership worthwhile. I don’t know what is on the next CD but as there will be one, I will be renewing my membership. If they go back to including collector cards instead of music then it’s quite possible I won’t continue as nearly $100 a year is a lot of money for 4 occasional magazines, some info about conventions I’ll never attend, and a bunch of assorted cards.
BTW here’s my Oz Guide to Ordering Stuff from Fanderson Sales.
1. Read catalogue.
2. Make list of ‘must haves’ and include RW pricing.
3. Add up cost of items.
4. Reach for smelling salts … or pick self up from floor if you’ve fainted.
5. Convert total cost to Australian dollars.
6. Sit quietly until heart palpations subside and reassure family you are fine….really!
7. Read catalogue again and THINK MORE CAREFULLY about what you want to buy
8. Pick up thick black marker and starting pruning ‘wish list’.
9. After a few more prunings you might end up with a more manageable - and hopefully affordable - list.
Good luck!
- J.M. Straczynski (during commentary on ‘The Fall of Centauri Prime’)
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Elentari
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 352
- Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2004 6:05 am
- Location: Australia
Pros:
Merchandise - cannot really be faulted as they have brought out top quality releases of CDs, videos (now DVDs) or material, as well as books, magazines, etc. that no-one else would do. I agree the prices are a bit on the steep side though, moreso for non-UK residents who have to stump up quite high postage. The price of FAB, if taken pro-rata, must be about £5 an issue in the UK now? Now working in print management, I'm sure some savings could be made over stock (i.e. the glossy paper, which is a/ quite thick for an A5 zine and b/ therefore heavy - increasing the postage to send it!
Cons:
FAB itself has gone from a happy-go-lucky zine to a quite dry read - heavy on technicalities and facts. I agree this is not to everyone's taste but can appreciate that while a balance is struck, a number of issues are going to be not to everyone's taste. I just wish it was a bit... freer in content, with other contributors. Now that I edit the GACCH website, I can appreciate how difficult it is to get people to contribute stuff, effectively for nothing, but didn't realise some here had written stuff, only to have it edited or rejected. Having never contributed to FAB (at least on a voluntary basis) I've never been made aware of what editorial control/censorship there is...
Debateable:
Fanderson used to have 'pen-pal' lists and local groups. Prior to relinquishing my membership about two years ago, you never got to hear about these. I think the internet, and sites like this, have replaced the 'community feel' the society had in the 1980s. But I still think Fanderson has become 'more about itself' than actually promoting what might be called 'factional appeal' - that is, websites or groups that only cover one series, or aspect of GA appeal (modelling, for instance).
As has been stated here, the magazine does not appeal to everyone, every issue, and while the Fanderson website has lists/links for each series, this is sorely out of date too. I honestly don't think the society uses its website to half the effect it could, and for those who get FAB, you'll find the 'news pages' are regurgitated items from the website news over whatever period. Granted, not everyone has internet access (but for the internet savvy, these come over as old), but it might be nice to know things like this get considered, or addressed...
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shaqui
- Major
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:35 pm
- Location: UK Japan!
With regard to Fanderson Sales, only recently have they offered items for sale dealing with only one series at a time. In the past it was always several series, such as sets of writing paper, blueprints of vehicles, or audio selections. Factoring in "rest of the world" shipping, these just weren't worth it for me.
And, with regard to the Fanderson website, the point of contributions/editing/censoring hits home: I notice THIS SITE is NOT included in the Links page!!!!!!! It's not like the only links listed are "official" or "commercial" ones, there are clearly many fan-based links listed...
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Mary
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 284
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 2:18 am
- Location: Classified: Rainbow Clearance required
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James. C
- Captain
- Posts: 282
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:53 am
- Location: Top Secret Lodge
But I have not got round to doing so yet.
One day I will join up with Fanderson!!
Craig A
adams
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craig
- Cadet
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2005 8:55 pm
- Location: Hinckley, Leicestershire.
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James. C
- Captain
- Posts: 282
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:53 am
- Location: Top Secret Lodge
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Carrie
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 830
- Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2004 9:31 pm
- Location: Wet Wales
shaqui wrote:I can appreciate how difficult it is to get people to contribute stuff, effectively for nothing, but didn't realise some here had written stuff, only to have it edited or rejected.
Tell me about it!
I once helped run a USA/UK/Europe Star Trek/Sci-Fi club. In fact I was in charge of the members in the North of England. In effect, just north of Manchester to the top of Sctland. 23 members in total. I ran a free newsletter for this sector in addition to the subscription one put out by the club heirarchy. I paid for both the printing and postage. In the two years that I did this, I had contributions from a total of 4 of my lot plus two people from other areas. I also ran a competition. It was to design a logo for my newsletter. The prize was a limited edition Star Wars Print, signed by: Dave Prowse (Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Kenny Baker (R2D2), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Caroline Balkiston (Mon Mothma) and Michael Sheard (Admiral Ozzel). This was right at the beginning of the Men Behind the Masks Tour. I got 2 entries. That's right, 2!!! Out of 28 members.
Mary said: And, with regard to the Fanderson website, the point of contributions/editing/censoring hits home: I notice THIS SITE is NOT included in the Links page!!!!!!! It's not like the only links listed are "official" or "commercial" ones, there are clearly many fan-based links listed...
Could this be because we do not kiss butt on this site? Given my experiences in fandom over the last 20+ years, I could quite easily believe this.
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Kambei
- Captain
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:57 pm
- Location: In The Village, where your days are numbered, and so are you!
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