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BRM October 2017


Andy Y
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I'm another subscriber who's still waiting for a copy to drop on the doormat I seriously hope it turns up tomorrow as I'm away for the weekend and I need something to take my mind off being away with the Mother in Law and the rest of the clan. :nono:

 

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Colin 

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I have mine and very good it is. Arrived this morning.....Little Muddle looks superb. A good issue but already looking forward to the next and the cakebox challenge....

 

 

Rob.

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Subs copies should arrive Tues/Weds and the shelf copies will be Thursday 14th September.

Hi Andy,

 

I've come round the World to buy this and W H Smug still don't have copies on their shelves late Friday 15th (Glasgow Central Station anyway) Whats going on? I might have to go around the Glens empty handed

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I mentioned last month about problems with the layout of the print mag. Even worse this month. Pictures across 2 pages such as the Neely shot on p22-23 is ruined by poor placement, half the 66 is missing. This plus random borders or not borders on other pictures, some disappearing into the centre, it is a mess and noticeable when trying to read the mag. I don't know if its a layout/design issue or problems at the printers but it isn't good. The Gaugemaster ad is affected as you can't see prices on one page or product references on the other - in fact that page highlights the wonky binding. There seems little point Andy Y taking excellent photos if the end result looks like this:

 

gallery_24698_4132_811668.jpg

 

Something has gone wrong in the last few months. There never used to be a problem with pictures across the spine.

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I mentioned last month about problems with the layout of the print mag. Even worse this month. Pictures across 2 pages such as the Neely shot on p22-23 is ruined by poor placement, half the 66 is missing.

Yes, my copy is like that. Printing images across the gutter with perfect binding can be a problem but there are techniques that the designer and/or the printer can use to overcone the issue and improve the look. I'm surprised that most model railway mags don't use them.

 

G

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I would like to watch the Little Muddle video on what appears to be You Tube. I have a digital subscription to BRM but want to watch the videos on my PC with 24 inch monitor. Signing on to Pocketmags through a browser is an absolute pain and exposes me to tons of their spam for every odd magazine in the world.  Is there some sort of URL (send it as a pm) to access this page.

 

Problem solved.

 

I fiddled around and got through to my BRM subscription on the web and found the video.  Excellent video. Not a little muddled at all.

 

However, 67 living years in the US and Andy's bit of a northern (?) accent along with going partially deaf forced me to turn on the closed caption for the dialog. 

Edited by autocoach
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I picked up this issue while doing a weekend shop, however I was quite disappointed to find that Dovington Camp was given very little coverage on the DVD compared to the layouts set in earlier periods. I have also noticed this in the magazine on past occasions with other layouts.

 

Dovington Camp was given a couple of very brief still shots and I must say this jars a little, lets not forget guys that the Sectorisation of the railways was another part of railway history and I'd hate to see it being ignored just because the locos aren't being used boil water.

 

This isn't meant to sound harsh, it's purely an opinion.

 

Cheers

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As a subscriber, I also felt very disappointed with the offering on the DVD. Perhaps the show special could have been approached in a more imaginative manner. A round table discussion and use of old footage struck me as a "what do we do this month?", approach. The extras were simply the same old recap of the advert in the mag for the Peterborough show. A Shame really considering the assets Warners do possess and the luminaries involved. Not a criticism merely a critical opinion.

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 Not a criticism merely a critical opinion.

 

Not sure what the difference is but it doesn't matter. Feedback is always helpful - although it's useful to know what people have enjoyed as well as what they didn't.

 

As far as the DVD goes this month, it's all about the 10th Anniversary Peterborough show. Since it's a special year we wanted to make a bit of a fuss about it. Not everyone has seen the footage so for many it will be new stuff. However, if it's not what you wanted, what would you prefer? I'm not sure what the "the assets Warners do possess" are but we're always happy to do things differently next time.

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I have just watched the DVD.  It does no harm to depart from the formula once in a while but the format chosen this time, previewing a show, does make it less likely that the viewer will fish out the DVD and watch it again.  Of the layouts featured, I found the NG one contributed by a viewer the most interesting because there was no commentary.  Perhaps the trains and other components of layouts should be left to speak for themselves a bit more often.  For the record, I tend to enjoy the constructional features presented by Phil and Howard much more than the layouts but then I am well used to being in a minority of one.

 

I think that better use could and should be made of the Extras section.  One has to make a conscious effort to view it and to be faced with exactly the same exhortation to go digital as last month - voiced, I might add, with less than fulsome enthusiasm - prompts thoughts of cynical exploitation or should that be desperation?  I prefer to watch DVDs on my TV through a player plugged into the set and relaxing on the sofa as opposed to being hunched over the laptop which is much less comfortable.  It follows that invitations to download flashed up on the screen are less than helpful.

 

Now to read the magazine ...

 

Chris 

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It does no harm to depart from the formula once in a while but the format chosen this time, previewing a show, does make it less likely that the viewer will fish out the DVD and watch it again. Of the layouts featured, I found the NG one contributed by a viewer the most interesting because there was no commentary. Perhaps the trains and other components of layouts should be left to speak for themselves a bit more often. For the record, I tend to enjoy the constructional features presented by Phil and Howard much more than the layouts but then I am well used to being in a minority of one.

 

 

Better make that "2", Chris.

 

In all honesty, though, I doubt if anyone who really knows me would be surprised by my "take" on this - after all, my background is in engineering / higher education - so the "how to …" content is always going to trump most other content for me.

 

Please don't get me wrong - I really like seeing layouts - but I am even more interested in learning how they were built - and how everything on them was built.

 

I've got a technical, enquiring, mind - so, at shows, I'm likely to seek out anyone demonstrating anything that interests me - and it doesn't even matter if they are mainly there to demonstrate.

 

This might also explain why, at previous years' "Warley" shows, if Chris Nevard (or anyone else who knows what they are doing) was photographing stuff on a magazine stand, I might also have been trying to see what he's doing.

 

Come to think of it, if one of the layouts at a show has some wiring glitch, I might also take an interest (emphasis on "interest" - let's face it - what's my HND in?). More to the point, if someone were then to offer me the use of a soldering iron, it might be difficult to stop me. After all, as I explained to Phil at this year's "Ally Pally", wiring can often be one of the best parts of railway modelling. (It certainly can be if it's done right - which can also make maintenance a lot easier.)

 

Anyway, turning to magazine and DVD content, practical content tends to win out for me - and if, instead, I were to see nothing but pretty pictures of stuff that doesn't interest me, in a single scale I've never been into, I suspect that any magazine like that would stay on a shop shelf.

 

Nothing personal, you understand - but I only like to buy magazines, books etc. that interest me.

 

 

Huw.

Edited by Huw Griffiths
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Not sure what the difference is but it doesn't matter. Feedback is always helpful - although it's useful to know what people have enjoyed as well as what they didn't.

 

As far as the DVD goes this month, it's all about the 10th Anniversary Peterborough show. Since it's a special year we wanted to make a bit of a fuss about it. Not everyone has seen the footage so for many it will be new stuff. However, if it's not what you wanted, what would you prefer? I'm not sure what the "the assets Warners do possess" are but we're always happy to do things differently next time.

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I would have liked

1. A rundown of the layouts to be exhibited,

2. A rundown of the highlights of previous shows, over the years,

3. More modelling,

4. Perhaps some of the additional content offered to those who subscribe to the electronic version- no I don't want to go digital, as I prefer the paper edition, being more tactile and I don't own s tablet.

5. This is merely an afterthought, what about "real" budget modelling projects?

 

 

Not sure what the difference is but it doesn't matter. Feedback is always helpful - although it's useful to know what people have enjoyed as well as what they didn't.

 

As far as the DVD goes this month, it's all about the 10th Anniversary Peterborough show. Since it's a special year we wanted to make a bit of a fuss about it. Not everyone has seen the footage so for many it will be new stuff. However, if it's not what you wanted, what would you prefer? I'm not sure what the "the assets Warners do possess" are but we're always happy to do things differently next time.

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Bit disappointed with the DVD. From the promotion on the mag cover and DVD sleeve cover I expected to see some footage of Black Country Blues which I think is a superb layout.

 

Before I read the list of attending layouts I anticipated/hoped I might see the layout at this years Peterboro show too.

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Hi all,

 

With reference to the DVD, we feel that the DVD content needs a 'refresh', much in the same way as magazines get once-in-a-while. Our video production department have some cracking ideas which we are going to discuss next week. Watch this space...

 

Steve

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A good issue but already looking forward to the next and the cakebox challenge....

 

I couldn't help wondering if the challenge - and the large photo on p.138 of this month's issue - might be part of an "in-joke". After all, if one blog is anything to go by, some people could be forgiven for getting the impression that a certain gentleman might have seen inside a few cake boxes.

 

Joking aside, some shops don't seem to use those boxes for their cakes - so I suspect that some people might appreciate it if we could be told the actual dimensions any diorama needs to fit into. Either that or, perhaps, a dispensation to allow the use of boxes of similar volume, even if the shape is slightly different (eg "Ferrero Rocher" boxes, or similar).

 

As for what might go into any of these boxes, this clearly calls for some imagination - which I've got no intention of stifling - and I don't want to pre-empt anyone. Saying that, I suspect that a number of people would be capable of coming up with credible ideas - how many of them would be universally popular is another matter.

 

I hope the challenge includes a requirement that people post their efforts (and how they build them) on RMweb.

 

 

This is merely an afterthought, what about "real" budget modelling projects?

 

I like that suggestion - however, I also liked an occasional feature, in which Phil refurbished some cupboard / swapmeet finds that looked like they'd seen better days.

 

Saying that, I'm not convinced that he'd want me to turn up at (eg) "Warley", with some seriously unloved kits from the back of a cupboard - and expect him to do something with them.

 

Let's face it, there are reasons why I didn't finish that Wills Craftsman single road engine shed kit, back in the 90s. There are also reasons why I didn't finish that whitemetal kit of a Manchester Metrolink T68 light rail vehicle. Like many people here, I could probably think of shed loads of other abandoned projects - they'll probably stay abandoned, too.

 

 

With reference to the DVD, we feel that the DVD content needs a 'refresh', much in the same way as magazines get once-in-a-while. Our video production department have some cracking ideas which we are going to discuss next week. Watch this space...

 

If I were to suggest using some spare space on the DVD for prototype drawings - or even for some selected articles from about 10 years back - I think I can guess how ideas like this might be received... .

 

 

Huw.

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Joking aside, some shops don't seem to use those boxes for their cakes - so I suspect that some people might appreciate it if we could be told the actual dimensions any diorama needs to fit into.

 

 

In which case they will have to buy the November issue, where all, including dimensions, is revealed.  No spoliers. :sungum:

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Joking aside, some shops don't seem to use those boxes for their cakes - so I suspect that some people might appreciate it if we could be told the actual dimensions any diorama needs to fit into.

  

In which case they will have to buy the November issue, where all, including dimensions, is revealed.  No spoliers. :sungum:

 

Sounds good to me.

 

Seriously, that's exactly what I was hoping for. Nobody needs the dimensions now - but, when the challenge is "live", any potential entrants would need to know. I thought you'd already thought of that - and it sounds like I was right.

 

Whether I enter remains to be seen. I suspect that I'd be capable of coming up with workable ideas - some of which might even fall within the rules. However, as I hinted in my previous post, certain ideas might turn out to be slightly controversial. There's also the matter of not knowing how busy I'd be at the time.

 

I also don't want spoilers. I've waited 2 years for a challenge - any challenge - so another 3 weeks or so won't be a problem.

 

However, I might prefer not to find myself waiting another 2 years for the next challenge.

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.

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Just tried to enter the Western Power competition in this issue (closes 12 October) but it appears to have closed already :(

 

That's a shame. I'd been quietly hoping that the vehicles might have found their way into a scene with flashing lights on an exhibition layout (or even a "cake box" entry which had found its way onto the BRM stand). It might have been even better if, somehow, the resulting display could have been used to raise funds for the MS Society - but it looks like this is not to be.

 

After all, I was just dreaming - lots of people do that - most never come to anything.

 

 

Anyway, returning to the closed competition / dead link (which I checked a few minutes ago), similar oversights seem to have affected competitions and draws in a number of magazines (and from a number of publishers) recently.

 

Just for information, I've reported your post, in the hope that Andy (or another member of the BRM team) sees it.

 

Otherwise, I guess you might be looking at a PM to one of the team - preferably one who's online at the time.

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.

Edited by Huw Griffiths
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