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/