BRM May '17 + DVD

[SteveCole]

Hi all,

 

BRM May goes on-sale as a Digital Edition tomorrow at 1pm (April 21st) and in UK shops next Thursday (April 27th). You can also pre-order this issue online now and enjoy free UK postage! 

 

This month's Digital Edition sees BRM go interactive! We have included 6 exclusive audio clips from Andy and Phil, an extra video of Barton Road (N), even more images from some of our SIX layouts and all website links are live! And, all Digital Edition readers will also get a FREE issue of Garden Rail magazine! This is a truly interactive Digital Edition and one I strongly urge you to try! It's also the cheapest way to enjoy BRM and you get the magazine six days before it goes on-sale in UK shops.

 

We all hope you enjoy this month's magazine and DVD. As you'll see, it includes SIX great model railways covering six different gauges! 

 

Oh, and as an extra special treat please watch Laurel & Hardy's BRM May preview below!

 

Enjoy,

 

Steve

 

 

 

On this month’s free DVD

Watch…Central Works (O) in action

See…we test Bachmann’s new Baldwin

We show you… how to create a scenic waterfall diorama

Create…a lightweight layout terrain in just a few minutes

Meet…the owner of a privately owned railway station

 

 

Inside BRM May

·         6 Great Layouts

Barton Road (N): a time of transition in the Western region

Brighton East (EM): imagining a vibrant future for a long-dead Brighton branch line

Central Works (O): Luton MRC’s adaptive automotive layout with impressive coal-tipper

Dartley (P4): Precision details abound in this classic GWR layout

Mozzerdale (OO): It’s a fine day in the Dales!

Buttermere Mining Co. (O9): This bijou layout is two vistas for the price of one

 

·         Practical Projects

Build a Bridge – great results with a minimum of time and expertise

Create Cliff Faces – how to make rocks and cliffs to add drama to your layout

Model a grass diorama – laying the green stuff in an artfully autumnal scene

Build a signal box – Phil Parker gives Polak’s latest kit a close look!

Detail Heljan’s 1361 – turning this new loco into a ‘scruffy shunter’

Reviving a tin turtle – a new chassis has given this quirky wartime transporter a new lease of life

 

·         Products

News: the latest from Dapol, Bachmann and much more

New models: a re-livered Class 37, new Class 8 Shunters from Hornby and a quartet of Class 73s from Dapol

New Gear: a mass of new stuff finding its way into your local model shops

Reviews: Bachmann’s Webb Coal Tank, Dapol’s 68 and the Little Loco Company’s Class 15

 

·         Plus…

Inbox

An interview with Modula Layouts

Ally Pally scrapbook

Tail Lamp

[SteveCole]

If the paper version is more your thing, subscribe and we'll send you the first 3 issues free of charge! Click here.

[chrisf]

I see the next consignment of exclamation marks has arrived ...

 

Chris

[SteveCole]

I see the next consignment of exclamation marks has arrived ...

 

Chris

 

As cheerful as ever Chris!!!!!!!

[sjrixon]

I like the quick video.. Well done (Sorry) Well done!!!!

[Huw Griffiths]

Oh, and as an extra special treat please watch Laurel & Hardy's … preview below!

 

… Inside BRM May

 

… Reviews: Bachmann’s Webb Coal Tank …

It sounds like somebody might have had a Whale of a time - is there a Precedent for reviewing LNWR locos?

 

I hope I'm not causing a Problem, but I didn't hear anyone complain: "That's another nice mess you've gotten me into."

 

Seriously though, this sounds like it could be an interesting issue - I might have to check it out, next week, when it appears in my local newsagent.

 

 

Huw.

[sjrixon]

Might need to get some coffee and cake ready for 1pm..

[SteveCole]

The new-look Interactive Digital Edition is now live. Click here to download via Pocketmags.

 

There are six extra audio clips by Phil and Andy - see the example below. We have also added loads of extra images - see the icon at the bottom of this page. 

 

 

There is also an additional video of Barton Road. Look out for this...

 

 

Enjoy.

[kipford]

Good issue, then I am biased! On my android tablet the audio comments on the three layouts do not work wheras the other ones do. Any ideas?

 

Also in the article on Brighton East, the Tamper has been wrongly accredited to a Brittania Models kit. This was the first production kit from Jonathan Buckie of Clockwork Models and was built by myself to proof Jonathans instructions.

Edited April 21, 2017 by kipford

[Andy Y]

Good issue, then I am biased! On my android tablet the audio comments on the three layouts do not work wheras the other ones do. Any ideas?

 

 

I thought it was just me. I did get it to play by tapping on the icon which launches the tablet's audio player, selecting the clip, hitting the play icon and waiting a short while. Not how I would have expected it to launch. It worked as expected on the PC but I can't shut it off once I've started rambling (realism huh?).

 

I've spotted a couple of other technical issues which we'll get onto next week and some editorial glitches too.

 

The caption? I'll find out why on Monday at the hearing.

 

But thank you for letting us feature Brighton East Dave; it's a lovely piece of work.

[sjrixon]

I tried to play the one with the 13xx and it just crashed pocketmags on my windows 10 surface.

[Mikkel]

It all worked well on my Windows 10 laptop.

 

I have to say I'm rather impressed by this issue, and the video not least. I gave up on magazine subscriptions several years ago, but you’ve brought me back into the fold.

 

In fact, I find myself increasingly returning to mags.  The interweb is great but it takes time to find the good stuff. In a mag it's all curated for you and there are no distractions, so timewise the cost benefit ratio is good. Of course, mags don’t give you the social and interactive element of a forum, but with integration like this we’re getting closer to the best of both worlds.

[mikes rail]

Hi Andy, great issue enjoying it on digital  only thing is a sound issue. If I click on to hear your commits it locks up window 8.1 and have to close program and reload to clear it.

Mike

[SteveCole]

Good issue, then I am biased! On my android tablet the audio comments on the three layouts do not work wheras the other ones do. Any ideas?

 

Also in the article on Brighton East, the Tamper has been wrongly accredited to a Brittania Models kit. This was the first production kit from Jonathan Buckie of Clockwork Models and was built by myself to proof Jonathans instructions.

 

Hi Dave,

 

We're trying to get the Android audio problem sorted. Pocketmags claim it works fine on their Android devices but yourself and Andy are having issues. I'm trying to get it resolved.

 

Thanks for making me aware.

 

Steve

I tried to play the one with the 13xx and it just crashed pocketmags on my windows 10 surface.

 

I've also made them aware. 

[SteveCole]

Hi Andy, great issue enjoying it on digital  only thing is a sound issue. If I click on to hear your commits it locks up window 8.1 and have to close program and reload to clear it.

Mike

 

I've asked Pocketmags to read this Forum so they can get a feel for the issues people are having. I'll keep you all updated.

[SteveCole]

Hi all,

 

The May issue goes on-sale tomorrow. In a bid to further whet your appetite, here are a few pages that you can expect.

 

To buy a copy online and benefit from free UK postage, click here. 

 

To subscribe and get your first three issues free, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SteveCole]

Have you been out to buy the new issue yet? Thoughts?

[phil_sutters]

A good well-balanced issue from my perspective, although I have still more to read.

I was particularly taken, in 'In Box', by John Tarrant's Grand Surrey Canal layout. For many years in the 80s & 90s, I used to cycle to and from work in Bermondsey through the 'linear park' which follows the route of the canal's Peckham branch from Peckham High Street to the Willowbrook bridge. I have opened an album of my photos of bits of transport history in Southwark and the Willowbrook bridge is in it. Even in its modern form, as a cycle and pedestrian pathway, one can get an impression of the canal - substitute dirty water for the tarmac! Also in the album are two maps, one a general map of the area and one specifically of the railways. Both are from a Gazetteer of the UK and Ireland, dated 1884. I have marked the course of the canal on both. One can see the maze of railway lines in the area and the proximity of both the Surrey Commercial Docks and the Bricklayers Arms goods station. The docks were the south-east's major timber importation facility and some found its way down the canal to timber wharves in Peckham. The goods depot was a major terminus for freight coming into London from the south-east and the continent via the cross channel ferries. So even without the East London line and connections to north of the Thames, there would have been plenty to feed the High Street station. Thank you John for a trip down memory lane - or the old canal bed!

The album is at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/4226-southwarks-transport-heritage/

P.S. Until around 1888, I think, south London was in Surrey and Kent, hence the 'Grand Surrey Canal'. I think that there were plans to extend down towards Croydon originally, although Peckham was as far as it ever got.

Edited April 28, 2017 by phil_sutters

[chrisf]

I viewed the DVD yesterday.  The screen time of about 37 minutes excluding extras is a welcome increase and the constructional features by Phil and Howard were well executed.  The miniaturisation of assorted people, this time in the feature on Central Works, has become a tired gimmick.

 

I was hoping to read the magazine properly in bed after an initial flick-through but sleep had other ideas.

 

Chris

[Huw Griffiths]

The miniaturisation of assorted people, this time in the feature on Central Works, has become a tired gimmick.

 

Tired to the point of exhaustion.

 

I seem to recall a "shrunk" version of Bernard Cribbins - on a Hornby advert - in the 1970s.

 

 

In a similar vein, some years back, one mainstream magazine's front covers - with "tension lock coupler" equipped RTR locos routinely PhotoShopped into a photo of a real railway location - became rather tedious.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of people (including people working on magazines) have the annoying habit of keeping on regurgitating the same old "joke" - time after time after time ... - and any joke is likely to get rather irritating by the five hundredth time of telling.

 

Just saying. Nothing personal, you understand.

 

 

Huw.

[ruggedpeak]

Great articles on great subjects spoilt by presentation and the judgements on some layouts. It is also not clear where the mag ends and BRM starts.

 

BRM 3 or 4 months ago was spot on (as I commented at the time). This latest iteration is spoiling what was a really good mag. As a monthly subscriber if it continues beyond next month I'll cancel and buy on an ad hoc basis. On p.61 the stars from the free clipart section of Word. Mmmmm.

 

Tail Lamp - great, just needed to be more in depth over 3 or 4 pages. I'd be fascinated to know more about how LLC started and overcame its challenges.

 

It seems to be shifting towards being personality based magazine, with references to being 'celebs'. If that's the future of model trains, being celebrity, social media and opinion driven, I'm out. I have the Daily Mail website for that sort of nonsense. Judging and commenting on other people's layouts personally I do not like. Much as the BRM team are good at modelling, we can form our own judgements based on what we see and read. Please concentrate on providing informative, well written articles with excellent [undoctored] photograhy.

 

I also made the point over on the Model Rail forum about them following their parent company's policy of making every issue a list of "10 THINGS YOU MUST BUY NOW" or "10 LAYOUTS YOU MUST BUILD THIS WEEKEND" or whatever. That said it maybe the wider market likes that sort of thing? But I think they've come off the rails a bit as well. Clearly something is going on given various mags are continually tweaking their offering to be more mainstream and commercial like Hello and OK. 

 

I may be in a minority of one, but that's my view. I will reiterate the articles were mostly great, I really liked Barton Road and its photography, and Central Works. Mozzerdale was also a good piece, not sure about the comments at the end. Weathering a tank engine. Quite a common article these days. Would like something a bit more ballsy, say weathering and detailing a 68? Or converting it to an 88!

 

As commented above, lose the gimmicks and little add-ons and concentrate on the fundamentals. Excellent, inspirational articles with great photography.

Edited April 30, 2017 by ruggedpeak

[phil_sutters]

I stopped buying a photo magazine because it had little comment panels, with grinning photos of the magazine staff saying what they liked about the content. This seems to be creeping in here, except that they are not holding the tools of their trade. The photo lot seemed to think we needed to know what expensive cameras they used, or was that just product placement?

[ruggedpeak]

I stopped buying a photo magazine because it had little comment panels, with grinning photos of the magazine staff saying what they liked about the content. This seems to be creeping in here, except that they are not holding the tools of their trade. The photo lot seemed to think we needed to know what expensive cameras they used, or was that just product placement?

That's exactly what happened with a car mag that I subscribed to for 20 years that is in the same stable as Model Rail. It became loads of ads with editorial that was a mix of product placement and lists. Beyond dull. But maybe other people like that and buy it?

 

Not using non-hobby social media I don't know for sure, but it appears some magazines are becoming paper versions of Instagram or whatever with "celebs" giving us their vacuous opinions and product placement. If mag buyers just want to be spoon fed stuff to buy and journo's are just adding some credibility to a press release then good for them, may be that's what sells. Not for me.

Edited April 30, 2017 by ruggedpeak

[Phil Parker]

Let me pick up on a few points. BRM (and MR, HM, RM) is a commercial magazine so there will always be tweaking to the publication to increase sales. If there is one constant, it's that there will be changes. Possibly, the only other being that you can't please all the people all the time.

 

Everyone looks at other magazines, both inside and outside the immediate hobby, for ideas and to see what works. No-one should be surprised that a huge amount of analysis goes into front covers for example. Those tag lines are to encourage sales on news stands. They aren't any different from newspaper headlines, although hopefully a lot more restrained. If this stuff didn't work, then no-one would be doing it, but it does.

 

Another aspect is that most people connect with other people, not things. That's why puzzle magazines have a smiling face on the front, it's appealing to potential buyers even if completely pointless in the context of the magazine. Look at the shelves in your local newsagent and see how many covers are dominated by a single face. Model railway mags haven't gone there yet you'll be pleased to know, but there are certain understood rules about the pictures based on sales.

 

This means faces on the page are here to stay. One of BRMs strengths is the team and so we will be popping up on the page. We are available and people do want to connect with us. The days of the only contact with a mag being a monthly letters to the editor page are long gone. Now we chat via RMweb and our e-mail addresses are available so people can fire questions at us. What you see in the mag is no longer the be all and end all. Extra photos appear here and if you'd like to know more about any aspect of an article, we'll do what we can to help. Since we appear on the DVD and at shows, people do seem to enjoy the connection with those behind BRM. Newspapers and other magazines have been doing this for years for exactly the same reasons.

 

Commenting on other people's layouts IS a useful feature. What you read in the article is the modellers own words. They will be sub-edited but then everything you read goes through that process, what we don't do is put words in their mouths. Most modellers are reticent to blow their own trumpet so the extra team comments allow us to do this a little but more importantly, highlight aspects of the model that deserve greater mention. You will probably say that we should go back to the modeller and get them to add stuff in, that happens but in reality there isn't time to coach every writer personally so the team comment offers another avenue.

 

More “ballsy” articles? The guide at the moment is that most of the practical pieces should be attainable by most readers and be something that are actually going to do. Working over a newly produced model is fairly typical but why is a tank engine a worse choice than a Class 68? Big diesel weathering is just as common and arguably, the Heljan 1361 presents some very specific challenges, such as the dome. Converting a 68 to an 88 would be interesting, but how many readers are really going to take a saw to £140 worth of model rather than wait for the RTR version to appear? That said, if you want to do it and submit an article, the door is always open. We certainly will put in aspirational projects but to fill an issue with them would result in people saying, “There's nothing in it for me.” I certainly wouldn't buy a classic car mag full of E-Type restorations but the occasional one feeds my interest just in case the lottery comes up. You can read “Locomotive kit builds” for “E-Type restorations” to see the parallel.

 

Finally, “product placement” - truth is modellers do want to be spoon fed sometimes. Not just modellers either, people like to told what to use. In model railway terms, this results in products being sold in bags marked labelled with a specific purpose that can be bought much cheaper from a non-modelling source. I know one trader who sold (new) cat litter as model rocks, buying a bag from the supermarket and re-bagging it for their stand. My practical projects are all based on available products so people can follow them and that means saying what I use. Manufacturers do like to see product on the page as it's been proven to increase sales. Our job is to balance their desire for this with producing interesting and readable articles. Sometime though, having a proper go with a new product is the only way to do this properly and hopefully this allows the reader to say “I'll give that a go” or “That's not for me.”

 

As I say, change and innovation is a constant. Ultimately, if we don't sell magazines, we don't have jobs. That's a pretty compelling way to make sure we get it right! There will be innovations – adding a DVD was loudly derided on here when it first happened but saw an increase in sales – and sometimes we'll get it wrong and fix things. Feedback is therefore great in our efforts to please the maximum number of people at once.

[Legend]

Change is a constant. We live in multi media fast changing world, but do we necessarily want our model railways and specifically model railway magazines to reflect that. I'm not sure we necessarily do. I use my model railway as an escape from the real world.

 

I haven't bought BRM for a good while now so I can't comment on specifics. I would , however , refer you to Railway Modeller which had updated it's output with some superb photography. In addition it has innovated with features such as "Talking Points " and "comment" this month with Ian Futers and Tony Wright respectively. Certainly I would regard them as model railway celebrities , yet the articles are well written and not thrust down your throat. Understated celebrities ,not at all patronising, which is always a danger when a celebrity professes a view telling you what you should think. Railway Modelling Explored has successfully evolved from Junior Modeller. Again the emphasis there is evolved, not a dramatic change. So Railway Modeller has changed yet retains it's old familiar look. No gimmicks just a lot of beefy articles.

 

I have no idea of circulations, but I'll bet RM is still up there. Sorry for the reference to another magazine but to me it just highlights a different approach to change is possible.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Legend