May 2016 Contents

[westerner]

Layouts:

 

Through Limestone hills (Peak district) 00 20ftx9ft

Monkchester revisited  N  not sure of size but pretty big

Kilve 00 Scenic section 9ftx 18ins.

Portwey 00 4ftx 11ins

Sabots Wharf 009 13ins x 5ins.

Lambton Town Terminus 0-16.5 8ft6 x 1ft3

Bulverhythe  3mm 11ft x 2ft

Sidmouth Junction 00 20ft x 18ins,

 

Scale Drawings: BR class81 Tim Rayner drawing by Ian Beattie

Plan of the Month: Curven Street using one Peco setrack starter pack N

Talking Point: T'Other side of the Counter Stephen Wilson of Frizinghall Models

 

Other Articles:

Back drops in Perspective 0 Paul Bambrick

Building a Newsagents Lock up HO Jim Smith

Converting to DCC N Don Pearson

Coach Lighting in N scale Tim Williams

Modelling a GWR H33 restaurant Car 00 Alan Davies

A Traction Depot for 00 Bob Phelps

Scottish Association clocks up 50 shows

Comment: Flying Scotsman- Famous for being famous?

 

Letters , Reviews.

 

Altogether a rather full issue some 77 pages without the letters and reviews, another good issue,

 

PLUS a new Shows You How Guide Modelling Overhead Catenary Introducing Peco's New OO Catenary system

 

 

 

[gwrrob]

What's the article on the H33 like please.

[westerner]

Dare I say vey good  I wrote it! It's based on the thread I had in the GWR stock section of RMWeb. To be fair Steve Flint has laid it out very well.

[rue_d_etropal]

good issue. Only thing is my objection to it being bagged. The handy guide could be stapled in as it always used to be, which just leaves the handout for Hattons. Sorry in these days when we are trying to discourage use of plastic bags a plastic wrapper round a magazine is not on.

Nice to see 3mm scale in a magazine. And 2 layouts with harbours and boats!

Also shows that scale drawings can be re-used, although it would depend on ownership etc.

[grahame]

Of course the plastic bag is not just a wrapper for the magazine. It also holds the free booklet and the Hattons catalogue preventing them getting lost and protecting them all as well as preventing them getting grubby and thumbed. The use of a staple would only mean an equivalent environmental cost (in producing the metal as opposed to plastic) and would add the risk of finger/hand injury (to shelf filling staff and customers) as well as potentially causing damage and tears in the paper (by careless browsers and when trying to remove the staple).

 

I was more than happy to find it bagged on the newsagents shelf and welcome future issues packaged that way.

 

But, again, in terms of content I agree it was a good and interesting read.

 

G.

[Legend]

A very good issue . Seems something for everyone from N through TT , OO to O plus the obligatory, for RM narrow gauge. Yet despite being so diverse actually all articles are very readable. Liked the GWR restaurant car conversion article as well. Good insider article from Frizinghall Model Railways and glad to see Nigel McMillan still about in the page on Model Rail Scotland's 50th.

 

Still lots more to read. Even the supplement on Pecos new overhead may prove useful

 

I did laugh at the 0-8-0 super D review with the price of £1194 . Wasn't that also an issue on Bachmanns web page , so did they just pick this up or is it a coincidence? A bit expensive even for Bachmann I thought!

[edcayton]

Due to the bag what I thought was the OHL supplement was in fact the Hattons catalogue. If you want the booklet check carefully because mine was missing. Why am I upset when I didn't want it?

 

Ed

[rue_d_etropal]

Grahame,

in the good old days the staples which held the magazine also held the booklets. Simple. In fact I have managed to buy old copies with the booklets still attached many years ago when I was building up collection.

The Metcalfe kit included with RM a few months ago did not result in RM being bagged, and that was more likely to get lost(or nicked).

Also one of the magazines I get regularly has double folded scale drawings held in place by same staples.

Dumping Hattons catalogues on people is not very eco friendly either. Trouble with these printed catalogues is that they get out of date very fast, and for popular items you need to check website for latest info.

[dibber25]

Grahame,

in the good old days the staples which held the magazine also held the booklets. Simple. In fact I have managed to buy old copies with the booklets still attached many years ago when I was building up collection.

The Metcalfe kit included with RM a few months ago did not result in RM being bagged, and that was more likely to get lost(or nicked).

Also one of the magazines I get regularly has double folded scale drawings held in place by same staples.

Dumping Hattons catalogues on people is not very eco friendly either. Trouble with these printed catalogues is that they get out of date very fast, and for popular items you need to check website for latest info.

Hattons will, no doubt, have paid to have their catalogue included. They can't normally be stapled in because in order to staple it in, it would need to go through the same folding and stapling machine at the same time as the mag. Inserts such as this are usually printed and supplied separately and bagged with the magazine at a finishing house. (CJL)

[grahame]

in the good old days the staples which held the magazine also held the booklet.

 

 

Perhaps you haven't noticed but most magazines (including RM) aren't stapled these days - they are perfect bound - so that wouldn't be possible.

 

G.

[Russ (mines a pint)]

The most annoying thing about a magazine bagged is that you cannot read the contents page before buying - thanks for putting the contents up here

[rue_d_etropal]

Grahame, many magazines here seem to have taken that route, and consequently have a problem when it comes to inserts. The French magazine Voie Libre, sister mag to Loco Revue, very much the French equivalent of RM, is still stapled, and every issue has fold out scale drawings. Metal staples are less of a problem than plastic bags.

I presume those only getting digital version only get the magazine.

There will be pressure to stop magazines being bagged , except when being posted. Having said that, much of the pressure to stop free plastic carrier bags came from shop(accounts departments) not liking to have to give away bags, when profit margins are very tight. That is something I was discussing with one ,back in the 90s. I have also been involved in recycling projects, and know what can be done and what can not or should not be tried, I could turn my plastic wrappers into something, but have not been doing that for a while. 

I think some publishers use bagging to clear out back issues of other magazines, which would have cost them a lot to get rid off.

News agents tend to get all magazines on sell and return, so everything out of date gets sent back to distributor(where bags have to be removed for recycling, unless the whole lot just gets burnt!). One reason some model railway shops won't stock magazines is that they don't have that option, and also pay more for magazines(based on the 50% markup , not the 100% newsagents get). What limits newsagents is space on shelves, and most display showing front, so less point in the name being on a thin edge as well.

Again, thanks for someone posting contents.

[dibber25]

Depending on paper thickness there's a limit to the number of pages you can staple satisfactorily. Perfect binding provides the answer to almost unlimited thickness but it means that drawings and anything which goes across 'the gutter' will lose a section that's hidden in the binding. The thicker the magazine, the bigger the bit that goes missing. With photographs, the usual is to provide a repeated strip of picture down the middle so that the missing part is less obvious. Even so, I personally, have an intense dislike of perfect binding but even Editors have to bow to the inevitable eventually. Loose inserts are a useful source of income for magazines but unless they are bagged, the inserts end up on the shop floor. (CJL)

[Nearholmer]

It's always a matter of personal taste, but I found this one to be a really good edition.

 

The article about backsecene-painting is a "classic" in my view, well worth keeping, and I liked Westerner's restaurant car article too, because it is the sort of modelling that seems rarer these days, making good use of r-t-r and skill.

 

The small layouts are interesting too, and the TT one has more genuine, old-fashioned modelling - not mega-fine-scale, but very atmospheric indeed.

 

The only thing that I thought was a bit "so what?" was the opinion-piece about Flying Scotsman; I was surprised that anyone was surprised by the fact that the affects of 1930s publicity campaigns still resonate, given that an awful lot of what us railway enthusiasts 'worship' is actually the product of clever marketing all those years ago.

 

K

[grahame]

many magazines here seem to have taken that route, and consequently have a problem when it comes to inserts.

 

(Snip)

 

There will be pressure to stop magazines being bagged , except when being posted.

 

 

There's no problem with inserts if they are bagged with the main magazine. It does mean they are kept together and kept clean and don't end up on the shop floor as Chris mentions. It also ensures that any special freebie publications and vouchers don't go astray. And any plans could be separately printed and included in the bag.

 

I've not noticed any pressure to reduce magazine bagging/wrapping and in general there seems to be an increase in the practice. Even the Sunday newspapers bag the supplements and advertising brochures these days and sometimes that bag is then rebagged along with the newspaper sections. I also understand that some stores actually specify to distributor's that they are bagged to save themselves the trouble of making them up and the mess often left on the floor.

 

G.

[edcayton]

Still my favourite mag. It is like a Duracell battery-keeps going long after the others have stopped.

 

Ed

[Phil Parker]

I think some publishers use bagging to clear out back issues of other magazines, which would have cost them a lot to get rid off.

 

That's the second time you've said this in a moan about bagging. Have you an actual example?

 

I've never seen it and can imagine adding old issues to be a logistical nightmare.

[edcayton]

It happens Phil. I bought one of the classic car mags to get a free "Fly-Past". When I looked at the events list I had missed most of them. Checked the month on the cover and it was behind the car mag. Not the only time I have seen this.

 

Ed

[forest2807]

Of course the plastic bag is not just a wrapper for the magazine. It also holds the free booklet and the Hattons catalogue preventing them getting lost and protecting them all as well as preventing them getting grubby and thumbed. The use of a staple would only mean an equivalent environmental cost (in producing the metal as opposed to plastic) and would add the risk of finger/hand injury (to shelf filling staff and customers) as well as potentially causing damage and tears in the paper (by careless browsers and when trying to remove the staple).

G.

I hope this is tongue in cheek.

[Steamport Southport]

When Railway Modeller used to staple booklets in to the magazines they were a right pain to remove without causing damage to the magazine or booklet. Usually having to use a screwdriver to lever the staples.

 

WH Smiths in Liverpool City Centre quite often has a copy of any bagged magazines unbagged on the shelf so you can browse through it. Maybe that's a solution for those that don't like them bagged. Although I can't see smaller shops doing that.

 

Personally I prefer the bags as it keeps them in better condition.

 

 

Jason

[rue_d_etropal]

Phil,

I know of one magazine(which used to be printed and distributed by Warners, but after they were not involved) which included a old copy(previous month) of another magazine. Thing is the way we are having to look at recycling and packaging , things will change. I was not in favour of the charging of plastic bags, mainly because it was a relatively small part of the plastic problem.

Metal staples might be a pain(the latest guide still uses them incidentally), but staples can be recycled a lot easier if people can be bothered. I remember talking to someone who recycled old wooden pallets, and he collected up all old metal nails and could sell them off to metal recycling companies.

I don't think preference for 'nice clean copy' is valid. Anyone who loves books and reading always wants to look before buying. Imagine if all those old magazines at exhibitions were sealed up, so they did not get any more fingering, and I don't think many would be bought. For models, are people happy to buy a loco in a shop without it being tested in front of them. I used to have a quick test run of all locos that came into shop before selling them.

[grahame]

I hope this is tongue in cheek.

 

 

Nope.

 

G.

[grahame]

I don't think preference for 'nice clean copy' is valid.

 

.

It is for me. If I'm paying full new price I expect a clean new copy, not one that is grubby and dog-eared from being thumbed through by everyone elses potentially unhygienic hands, and with the free booklets and vouchers having gone missing or fallen out on the floor. If it's secondhand (as at an exhibition) then I'm not paying the full price and it's a different matter - plus it's probably only a few pence, if not free.

 

Same goes when buying a 'new' loco, I don't expect one that is worn out from being previously run, with grubby bodywork and potentially damaged, by everyone who wants a look having also manhandled it.

 

G.

[Phil Parker]

Phil,

I know of one magazine(which used to be printed and distributed by Warners, but after they were not involved) which included a old copy(previous month) of another magazine. Thing is the way we are having to look at recycling and packaging , things will change. I was not in favour of the charging of plastic bags, mainly because it was a relatively small part of the plastic problem.

Metal staples might be a pain(the latest guide still uses them incidentally), but staples can be recycled a lot easier if people can be bothered. I remember talking to someone who recycled old wooden pallets, and he collected up all old metal nails and could sell them off to metal recycling companies.

I don't think preference for 'nice clean copy' is valid. Anyone who loves books and reading always wants to look before buying. Imagine if all those old magazines at exhibitions were sealed up, so they did not get any more fingering, and I don't think many would be bought. For models, are people happy to buy a loco in a shop without it being tested in front of them. I used to have a quick test run of all locos that came into shop before selling them.

 

OK, let's look at the practicalities of this. A magazine wants to send out old copies along with the current issue. Where do these copies come from? Returns from the news trade?

 

So someone has to take in all the returns and check that they are nice clean copies. Put them in a pile, send these to the company who bag and distribute the new mags for inclusion in the promotional bagged copies.

 

What happens if there aren't enough good returned copies? Are you just including a random old edition in the bag? What happens when the checking of the old editions hasn't been thorough and we find something disgusting left by a browser in a newsagent between the pages?

 

I'd suggest that these are more likely planned promotions. Far easier to get an extra run produced for the promotion than sort out a pile of old mags. All mags over-print, it's only a case of extending the print run a bit.

 

As Grahame says above, readers do expect a clean copy of a new magazine. I can't be the only one who browses the front copy and then buys one futher back from the pile. I've seen the sort of people who browse these things exit toilets without hand washing often enough. And if they won't wash their hands, you can be pretty certain they won't recycle staples either.

[rue_d_etropal]

the extra copies are not returns, more likely over production.I have been involved in paper recycling, and newspaper shredding for recycling started with excess print run from Fleet Street I remember it being reported at the time, and it was stressed that the paper used had never been handled. Farm/ministry rules prevented this. In the project I worked on(incidentally the shredding machine probably came from same companies who were involved at the beginning), we were recycling cardboard, and anything food based was rejected, even if it looked clean.

When I buy magazines unless a copy is badly mangled it does not bother me. Even what might look clean, might still be contaminated, and there are loads of other places you can get contamination. Although card reading machines can now read cards just by swiping card in front, and no need to enter PIN, think of all those times you have pressed those buttons and all the people before you.

As a book enthusiast I love book shops, especially second hand ones. probably loads of contamination there. Talking of which, one series of books I read(thanks to my wife who loves reading even more) was about a doctor who wrote about his life, similar in man ways to James Herriot and 'All Creatures'. Anyway he talks of operating theatres where animals even came in, and they had no problems. With all the super clean set ups, he then says they then had far more contamination problems. We survive by adapting, and a little dirt is a benefit not a hindrance. I would not advocate it going much more, but given way super bugs are becoming more resistant to drugs then maybe we have to look sideways.

I am a systems person, and look at parallels to sort out new problems. Just because some(usually political or business orientated) advocates something, I want to make sure, and if it is OK, then don't ant it limited to what they want for their own reasons, hence my views on plastic bags and packaging.

 

Sadly the likely way forward is a total shift towards digital, but e-books have hit a roof, and lots of people actually like handling books. Online is still not FREE, and needs adverts, which many don't like. New problems enter the arena. Ultimately for all sorts of (very complex) reasons we ill all have to move away from real paper books, but then as people found a couple of years ago when power supplies went down, no electricity no digital world!

One of the big advantages of paper  is that it is something that comes from trees which grow if we allow it. We need trees to survive. The world is changing very fast, and magazines and the way people read them is a very small part of the way things go on. Plastic on the other hand is an even bigger problem than most are prepared to accept.