5982 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Hi all Started by Iain Rice and his cronies, MORILL lasted no more than 4 volumes, back in the 90s, and is now all but forgotten. I always thought it was one of the best periodicals we ever had, and that it was a great shame it did not last very long. Towards the end, it changed publishers two or three times very quickly and lost out on distribution (and I lost out on acquisition) as a result - it finally petering out, as far as I can tell, somewhere towards what would have been the end of Volume 4. Over the years I have been keeping an eye open for back-numbers, and have finally reached the point that I have no gaps. However, I have no idea which the final issue was, to know if I still have more to find. Someone was flogging a "complete set" on Ebay a while ago, but it stopped two or three issues before the latest in my own collection - so didn't help - and obviously I'm not the only one confused on this score. Does anyone know, definitively, what the final issue was, please? Thanks Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave47549 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 (edited) . Edited October 1, 2021 by Dave47549 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted April 3, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2018 Volume 4/10 - August '97, according to this source: https://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/magazine/morill.php Dave (who's personal MoRIll collection stands at a paltry 30% ! ) Hi Dave, Yes - agreed with that.... I'm only missing two of them - Issue 2 and Issue 7. I did have them - but they have either got lost or been loned out and not returned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Yes I agree, it was a good mag, but after Irwell Press stopped publishing it in March 1997 I lost interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun Sharma Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 MORILL was and still is a very useful reference source. It was of a time when editors realised that some/many/most/all* modellers wanted detail close-up prototype photographs as well as clear well-executed drawings. Iain's successor journal "Rail Model Digest" was cast in a very similar mould but sadly only lasted for seven issues. *delete as per your personal beliefs 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I have a copy of the pilot edition, that was mocked up to show what it would look like. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2018 I have a copy of the pilot edition, that was mocked up to show what it would look like. John The equivalent of MRJ #0 then? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I have to admit to having most of the mags that made it to Australia so I am probably missing a couple at the very end. I also found another mag that I only ever found one issue of which was cut from the same cloth as Morill. Personally I think it was a serious contender to challenge MRJ at the time for up and coming modellers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I believe I had a full set, though have only just disposed of them to a fellow member on here. My (old) database listing what I had goes from 1997-3 to 1997-8. For the 1st year or so they were bi-monthly. I have no entries on my list for 1997-4/5, possibly because when I compiled it I didn't find them. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenceb Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Whatever happened to Andy F....... Ricey's co-ed for the first volume? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2018 Whatever happened to Andy F....... Ricey's co-ed for the first volume? Good question, never heard from him again. Maybe he packed in railways and took up something else; not everyone is a "lifer"! I agree, MORILL was a very good magazine that eventually lost its way and fizzled out, sadly. I've got most of the earlier ones, and certainly all the Ricey editions. Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 The equivalent of MRJ #0 then? Mike. Vol. 1 No. 1 November - December 1993. Plans Page - LMS Carriages Modelling Nouveau - concrete structures Loco Profile - Thompson B1 I seem to remember writing one of the fake letters for Andy Farq. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Vol. 1 No. 1 November - December 1993. Plans Page - LMS Carriages Modelling Nouveau - concrete structures Loco Profile - Thompson B1 I seem to remember writing one of the fake letters for Andy Farq. John This is most odd. I have all the issues except the last and the first issue. Well the first I have a dodgy photocopy of, but the cover is nothing like yours, nor the contents listing is the same. My cover looks like this one, note the volume number is the same as yours, but the dates and title colour is totally different. Edit to correct errors. I will post a list of the contents in mine, but basically only the Leintwardine layout is the same. Edited April 4, 2018 by kevinlms Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2018 This is most odd. I have all the issues except the last and the first issue. Well the first I have a dodgy photocopy of, but the cover is nothing like yours, nor the contents listing is the same. My cover looks like this one, note the volume number is the same as yours, but the dates and title colour is totally different. Edit to correct errors. I will post a list of the contents in mine, but basically only the Leintwardine layout is the same. Post # 6 elucidates. Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Vol. 1 No. 1 November - December 1993. Plans Page - LMS Carriages Modelling Nouveau - concrete structures Loco Profile - Thompson B1 I seem to remember writing one of the fake letters for Andy Farq. John This is most odd. I have all the issues except the last and the first issue. Well the first I have a dodgy photocopy of, but the cover is nothing like yours, nor the contents listing is the same. My cover looks like this one, note the volume number is the same as yours, but the dates and title colour is totally different. Edit to correct errors. I will post a list of the contents in mine, but basically only the Leintwardine layout is the same. Hi all, Thanks for the input - that certainly resolves one of the queries I have had ever since Issue 1 - Vol 1. Now I know there were certainly 2 versions of it. I'll have to dig in the loft to find out which my version is. Edited April 4, 2018 by Scottish Modeller Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2018 Whatever happened to Andy F....... Ricey's co-ed for the first volume? Issue Volume 2, No 1 says in the editorial that Andy F. is 'turning to other challenges in the publishing field'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2018 Contents for MY Vol 1 No. 1 Setting out our stall - editorial Leintwardine - P4 layout HBA/HEA 46T Domestic Coal Hoppers - Plans, photos & prototype information Locoprofile - 43XX 2-6-0 Churchward's Moguls - The Ubiquitous Pioneers 43XX - The O Gauge option Bachmann's 93XX - a suitable case for treatment? Atlantic Coast Express Bachmann, Bullied and the ACE Layout Design - Tregeare A Small Matter of Actuation - points Broaches - all about them Modelstrip - Product review Upgrading Peco "Streamline" points Glossary of common terms Product Review - Brassmasters Austerity 0-6-0ST Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted April 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Hi all Started by Iain Rice and his cronies, MORILL lasted no more than 4 volumes, back in the 90s, and is now all but forgotten. I always thought it was one of the best periodicals we ever had, and that it was a great shame it did not last very long. Agreed - a sort of MRJ but without the rivet counting (though in fairness MRJ has improved dramatically in recent years IMHO). I believe MORRILL became Model Railway Review, which lasted all of one issue. I have duplicates of issues 2/8, 3/1, 3/2, 3/5, 3/11, 4/1, 4/2, if anyone needs to complete a set. Edited April 4, 2018 by polybear 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Issue Volume 2, No 1 says in the editorial that Andy F. is 'turning to other challenges in the publishing field'. He did pop up at shows from time to time, he was friendly with a pal of mine and they bumped into each other more than once when I was with him. Warley in about 1995 or 96 was one and I think the other was St Albans a year or two later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 5, 2018 Post # 6 elucidates. Mike. Not really, it appears that the pilot edition November/December (Blue cover) is dated AFTER the September/October (Green cover) one. It seems unlikely that the pilot edition would have made it Australia, but I could be wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Not really, it appears that the pilot edition November/December (Blue cover) is dated AFTER the September/October (Green cover) one. It seems unlikely that the pilot edition would have made it Australia, but I could be wrong. It was a pilot edition with only a few pages, the date was purely for illustration. It has a letters page with made up letters and advertisers that don't exist. I don't know how many were printed, but I suspect very, very few as it was primarily to show the trade what it would look like. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 It was a pilot edition with only a few pages, the date was purely for illustration. It has a letters page with made up letters and advertisers that don't exist. I don't know how many were printed, but I suspect very, very few as it was primarily to show the trade what it would look like. John The news trade often expects to see a 'dummy' before they'll consider placing orders for a magazine. We did one for Model Rail back in 1996/7 - had an 'A4' on the cover and a Masterclass on Class 31s. The Masterclass appeared in the actual first issue (Autumn 1997) but the cover was nothing like the dummy. (CJL) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
clecklewyke Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Somewhere I have both the last issue that Iain edited and the first non-Rice edition. It seems that Irwell Press and IAR had fallen out, with reports of IAR's failure to meet deadlines etc. A sad end to a brilliant magazine. I didn't buy any more copies as the whole point of it was as a sshowcase for Iain's writings and drawings. Without them it lost its raison d'etre. Many will know that I am a great fan of Iain. He's a brilliant, inspiring enthusiast and a really nice guy. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 I believe MORRILL became Model Railway Review, which lasted all of one issue. I have 4 issues of Model Railway Review, which I think is a full set. Oct/Nov 1997, Dec 97/Jan 98, Feb/Mar 98, and Apr/May 98. Editor Jim Woods, published by Vancouver Print Ltd. Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Davis Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Interesting to read this thread, yesterday I was given a collection of unwanted magazines, this included a full set of Modelling Railways Illustrated, the 4 editions of Model Railway Review, and 3 editions of Finescale Railway Modelling Review (I understand that there was only 3) and about 15 copies of Modellers Backtrack - all make interesting reading (I am a fairly recent convert to railway modelling) and there is a lot of Modelling in these magazines. I realise it was a different world back then, but I prefer the d.i.y. approch, as opposed to ready to run/plonk. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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