Copyright 2004 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
How to get your goods reviewed here
Reviews work two ways. They are good for us by drawing traffic. They are good for you by getting your goods additional visibility on this website. If you want to be seen by more than 2,400 toy soldier collectors, hobbyists and fans each week, this is the place to be.
1) The item must be related to Toy Soldiers and / or other topics covered on this website. For instance, items related to military history would be welcome here.
2) It is up to you to provide the item to us. Since a good review can help promote your product, and a review uses our time and webspace, that is the least we can ask.
3) You need to provide background information on the item, such as price availability, etc. Also, any other information might be useful in the review. We do not do additoinal research,, so it is up to you to see that we have all the facts..
There are different criteria foir reviewing products. Here are a few very general guidelines to review criteria:
In Toy Soldiers, I tend to look for good poses that imply "animation," good body proportions and crisp detail. You can read How to Tell good figures from bad to see how I judge figure sculpting.
In items purporting to be accurate models, I look for realism, detail, proper proportions and accurate representation of the real thin in scale. Scale is very important. The better the realism and adherence to scale, the better I like it.
In items that are Toys, scale realism and accuracy count far less than that unique essence of "playability." Toys can dispense with realism, so long as they are fun. In toys, I also look for durability.
For books ando the printed materials, "communication" is the key. Good writing, good page layout ,etc., are some of the things we look at when reviewing a bookor other publication. How well does it impart information? That question is salient in book reviewing.
First, we open the box and look inside. We jot down our first impression, since "opening the box" is a big part of what many remember of their old playsets. (This site feeds on nostalgia.) Next the items are removed, photographed, and then the work begins. Everything is evaluated. The result: we write oiur impressions, then post them and the photographs. With every review, we also incldue a link back to you. This way our readers can deal with your company directly, should they like what they see.
The point of a review is to have a product evaluated by an independent source. The purpose is to allow consumers to judge the item based on its attributes rather than advertising. On another level, reviews increase circulation for the publications that perform them. For manufacturers and vendors, they get the items visibility. A good review by a trusted source can result in more sales of an item. We are that trusted source for many who visit this website.
Let's be blunt about it: there are folks out there who love to write slamming, bashing reviews. Frankly, I think that's no different than cheap tabloid journalism. I'd much rather be able to recommend good products to my readers. "Trash and bash" is a bad policy. Were an item bad enough to be slammed unmercifully, I'd rather not post a review at all. An item has to be good enough for a review, before we look at it.
Send me an email at thortrains1@comcast.net In the subject line write: Toy Soldier Reviews Give a brief description of the items to be reviewed, and include your contact info. I wil get back to you and we'll take it from there.