UK FHM - January 2008

FHM comes with a free calendar of a decent size and print quality. Only the content is a little lacking since most of these shots are from before the 'new management' stepped in and got some better girls in. The only shots I can recall from it is Rachel Stevens, a good black and white photo and a decent pic of Abigail Clancy.

As the issue itself, this months features Rihanna as part of a 2008 Hot Girls feature. As in 'features' I mean it gives us just 3 photos, 2 full page and one at quarter page (that's discounting the contents page, cover and the calendar shot), not good enough in my opinion and the actual shoot is a disappointment too, lacks that spark. If you're getting in a mega star that practically oozes sex appeal on stage and in her videos then print more photos please. As for the rest of the Hot Girls feature we got one full page image of each girl of which there is about half a dozen, most I've never heard of and the images are unremarkable. Michelle Ryan is mentioned but the image used as ancient (black and white, topless, arms squeezing her boobs - you know the one). Sadly that's about it is far as the girlie content goes.

The question has to be asked, is FHM running out of steam again already?

UK Maxim - December 2007

I saw a scan of the cover a week before I saw the magazine and thought 'not again...'. Sophie Howard must have been featured in this magazine at least 3 times this year. I skimmed through the interview however and she's off to Australia so we might be seeing less of her for a short time. I thought the shoot itself was far better than the previous pictorials in the other issues. I wonder if Maxim has some kind of contract to Page 3 to regularly feature these girls or I suspect they're cheaper to hire...? In any case it keeps Maxim within it's niche but it could do with showing new up and coming models.

I thought Rachael would win the Miss Maxim title, however the shoot is bitterly disappointing, she covers everything. There is also another feature featuring Amii Grove - again another girl featured regularly in Maxim.

The Laura Esposto shoot I would guess is a early work although it's not bad at all. But as ever, the International Girls of Maxim looks far more interesting. I think Maxim should perhaps feature some of these girls more by giving us more pics.

Oh, and you get a free scarf - great....

UK Maxim - November 2007

This month's main feature is Emily Scott (again...). Although that said it is another rather decent shoot with three full-nude pics. The photographer is former Page 3 model Zoe McConnell and for a relatively new photographer she is doing rather well. The other girlie content this month is Loui Batley from Hollyoaks in her first lad's mags shoot or so it says anyway. However, the shoot is rather disappointing and bland. It's just your run-of-the-mill lingerie shots and she doesn't appear to be enjoying it or she is quite nervous. Nothing sexy comes across in this shoot but we hope for better in the future.

There is also another feature which has a few pics of Amii Grove who is always worth seeing with one just about full nude at the end of the feature. Again, the International Girls of Maxim has some two single pics worth seeing.

Also, Maxim features the 'Hot Top 10' for the Miss Maxim 2007, my money is on Racheal.

In addition the magazine you get a free DVD featuring the cover girls from recent issues, usually the content is from the website and the quality isn't good. I haven't watched the DVD and I doubt I will watch it so it's another free DVD case for me. The DVD's in the past have been pretty poor and since they're free, you get what you pay for...

UK FHM - November 2007

Considering the past (new look) issues, this month's FHM is alittle disappointing. As far as the girlie content goes Abbey Clancy is just about the only thing worth seeing (and it's just about the only girlie content in it this month). Again, the photographer who did this shoot has also done quite a few for Arena in the past. The shoot is quite stylish with a decent mix of black and white shots along with colour - all on location which again is good to see. It is worth seeing.

The High Street Honeys supplement is pretty awful and only a small handful would be worthy of the title in my opinion. It is usually best to wait until the votes cut them down to 10 finalists and FHM actually take a decent shoot of them rather than seeing these awful mobile/webcam stills. How are you supposed to make any kind of judgement on the contenders based on the quality of the images is beyond me. However, considering Maxim's similar competition to FHM's who on earth selected these Top 100 in the first place as the quality of Maxim's contenders seem to be of far higher calibre and have far better quality images. Perhaps rather harsh but you just can't make any judgement due to the quality.

I'll wait for the Final 10 Honeys....

MET-Art - Pia, New Model

http://rapidshare.com/files/54443987/_MET-Art__Pia-New_Model.zip
141 pics plus cover.
PW: asiansthetic.com (if asked).

Kuni - Special Series

A short scan series by Kuni - password: asiansthetic.com
http://rapidshare.com/files/56963650/_Kuni__Special.zip
(8 scans, plus index and csv - 1.6mb)

UK FHM - October 2007

If you are into the TV Cult series 'Heroes' at the moment then this month's FHM has a treat for you in the form of Hayden Panettiere in her apparently first Men's magazine shoot. Would have preferred Ali Carter... The Hayden shoot also includes Maki Oka (the Japanese guy that can stop time), the shoot itself looks well executed and sharp although Hayden is fully clothed with some close-up head shots throughout perhaps the only slight gripe against it as the evidence of the paparazzi beach shots show that she has something worth showing off. The style of shoot is again pretty similar to Arena's style of photography.

As far as the rest of girlie content goes, not a lot to say - there is a couple of shoots but they are of complete unknowns, some girl of UFC (Ultimate Fighting) who holds up the ring boards as an example. I never heard of them anyway and they are nowhere near the quality of the Hayden shoot.

A decent issue with some features and articles that again will interest most readers, perhaps though not as good as the last issue but still FHM is moving the right direction. The feedback FHM has received over it's rebrand has been on the whole positive according the letter's section but I guess they would put the the positive feedback letters in though wouldn't they?

Playboy's Playmate Review - Aug/Sep 2007

It's that time of the year again when Playboy releases it's annual Playmate Review of the previous year's 12 Playmates. They market it as a collector's edition but if you regularly buy the SE's and Playboy magazine itself you won't see much new here. Quite a few pics are recycled from previous shoots that have featured in issues before this one and within the CyberClub. Playmates featured are (from Jan 2007 - Dec 2007) Athena Lundberg, Cassandra Lynn, Monica Leigh, Holley Ann Dorrough, Alison Waite, Stephanie Larimore, Sara Jean Underwood, Nicole Voss, Janine Habeck, Jordan Monroe, Sarah Elizabeth and Kia Drayton.

Sara Jean Underwood is Playmate of the Year so she graces the front cover. The overall content quality of the pics is quite good although as usual the print lets it down in some areas. Notable pics worth seeing are Nicole Voss, Sara Jean Underwood and Monica Leigh.

This bunch of Playmates' from 2006 is a decent selection, something for everybody I think. Although I wish a few them was smile a bit more at the camera, something that needs addressing across all issues.

Lookmini ISC collection

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UK Maxim - September 2007

This month's issue is devoted to two people, Lucy Pinder and Michelle Marsh. It really should have the label 'for fans only'. Both have already been featured in Maxim this year. We get a supplement this month featuring mostly recycled pics of Lucy and Michelle with a few new pics at the back and in the issue itself. Generally, the new pics are decent and they have been shot out on the beach. Further on into the issue there is a few pics of Vikki Blows but frankly I'm not all that bothered over her, the gothic look does not appeal to me one bit so what's with the fuss over her? There is also another feature with a few topless pics of Page 3's Marlene but it's nothing to write home about.

Great issue if you are a fan of Lucy and Michelle. Honestly, I'm getting bored with the pair of them - more so after Lucy has decided to go topless in her shoots. Perhaps give the issue a miss if you're not overly bothered with them although the International Girls of Maxim has some good pics worth seeing.

UK FHM - September 2007

Something quite interesting on the front cover of FHM this month besides Rachel Stevens, are the words 'under new management'. Yes, FHM has undergone another re-brand and in my opinion it's about time. Out with the deadwood (hopefully...)

Cover star is Rachel Stevens and the pics look original and generally quite good, they have been most notably shot on location rather than in a studio with a good mix of colour and black and white pics. We get around half a dozen or so full page pics and several small ones dotted around the text. It appears FHM is attempting to go more up market with it's Arena style of photography with this particular shoot and more generally with it's layout across the issue. It is a slight shame that they also decided to splash large text across most of the full page pics of Rachel (ruins potential scans). But that said, make no mistake this is 100 times better than the dross served up in this year's issues so far as far as the girl content goes.

We also get some decent pics of Isabel Lucas from Aussie's Home and Away (again, most pics outdoors but maybe lifted from the AUS FHM though) and two decent studio pics of Sarah Dunn (was in C4's Hollyoaks years ago).

Generally the whole issue seems worth a few quid and actually worth reading this month and is certainly a step in the right direction. Guess the question is can they keep the standard up especially as far as the Rachel Stevens shoot. I'm hope this issue isn't a flash in the pan.

Playboy's Book of Lingerie - Aug/Sep 2007

This issue features The Model of the Year 2007 who is Breann McGregor. Overall I can't help but feel a little disappointed with this issue. None of the photos seem that hot perhaps apart from Triana Iglesias and the issue does feature Pamela Mars and Lindsey Blaine - always worth a look in my opinion but there is too few pictures of them. Plenty of Brits in this one including Louise Glover but I wish Playboy would start making a stand against fake breasts. In all honestly, you could skip this issue as you won't be missing that much. Also, the voting is now open for the Playboy 2008 Model which you can cast here, http://www.playboy.com/specialeditions/moy08-vote/. Personally, I've gone for Jessica Erin Sylvia.

FHM Calendar Girl - Ana Alves

Personally I've never heard of her but she's a Spanish model mainly models lingerie from what I can gather. As usual we get the 5 sets of 20 photos but unfortunately she reveals nothing, she does appear fully nude in a few photos but we only get side shots so nothing too revealing. This is one of the weakest shoots I've seen in awhile from FHM Calendar Girls and some of photos are actually a bit unflattering to her. As ever, it looks like very little money has been thrown at it - just get the model in, take over a 100 photos quickly, then publish... disappointing.

http://www.fhm.com/Site/Girls/CalendarGirls/

Scanning Tutorial

Finally got around to writing a tutorial on the scanning process for those of you are interested in giving it a shot. You can download it here: http://rapidshare.com/files/37782285/Scanning_Tutorial-z79.zip. You'll need a PDF Reader to view it once you have extracted it from the zip. Have fun!

UK Maxim - August 2007

This month's Maxim has Katie Downes has the cover star. The shoot itself isn't bad either, few shots are topless and also appears to be fully nude in two shots with a fire extinguisher covering her modesty in one shot. I say 'appears' because a couple of issues back the Louise Cliffe milk bath shoot was edited, i.e. her panties were airbrushed out. Worth seeing although I think it could have been a little better. It seems a bit ambitious to me and the best shot is on the cover. Another girl feature is a new Page 3 model called Kitty, a few topless shots here. I've never heard of her and isn't really that hot anyway in my opinion. As usual we get the International Girls of Maxim, nothing outstanding here but again worth seeing all the same. The monthly winner of 'Girls of Maxim 2007' isn't too bad either.

A decent issue, far better than FHM's offering for the month in any case.

UK FHM - August 2007

A wafer thin issue featuring a topless Roxanne McKee (Louise from C4's Hollyoaks) on the front cover. However, her shoot inside is disappointing - they are all boring underwear shots, nothing remotely outstanding attempted. It wouldn't surprise me if the shot on the cover was edited to remove her top. A tragic waste of a pretty woman, she looks bored herself. The issue also has pictures of some girl out of the latest Hostel film but again only two bikini shots and also features Beau Garrett but only 3 shots of her. One shot of Beau is topless but she covers them.

Other tragic issue of FHM. Gone are the glory days of shooting A-list celebs. Next month's issue will feature Rachel Stevens who for the past couple of years has completely fallen off the radar. So she needs to shed her clothes to supposedly release another pop single I guess.

Playboy's College Girls SE - July/Aug 2007

The College Girls issues rarely disappoint and this issue is no exception. 59 different co-eds so there is a good variety to suit almost everybody. It's a good issue but nothing outstanding although there is a few models I would like to see more of in future SE issues such as Shawna Marie, Carrie Gene and Haydn Porter. A different model should have graced the front cover, but that's only me being fussy. As usual, the print quality could be much much better too.

Test - First post

This is a test only...