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Ruth1971
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Hi everyone!!

 

I'm Ruth the designer of BRM paper and digital issues. As an added bonus for our digital subscribers we'd like to offer an extra article to the digital content each month. We were all wondering whether any of you experts had any ideas on which ones? The articles can be anything that have featured in BRM over the last 3 years that you've found interesting or useful.

 

What do you want to see?!

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Personally, I would prefer BRM to concentrate on the printed magazine as I feel it has rather lost its way and is no longer any different from its competitors.  What happened to the "If it's a kit we build it, if its not we take it apart" philosophy?

 

I have taken both BRM and Model Rail from their first issues but am now considering dropping one of them.

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The silence is deafening...

 

Surely you have a favourite layout that we can dig out from the vast BRM archives??

 

Maybe that's because not everyone subscribes to BRM therefore we have no answer to give you...

 

Plus what you term "bonus content" is simply 'recycling old material that subscribers probably already have'.

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What happened to the "If it's a kit we build it, if its not we take it apart" philosophy?

That was a maxim from Model Rail from quite a few years ago so you'd have to ask them. Anyway, the comments didn't answer the question posed.

 

I think it's great that a member of the design team has sought input (rather than someone from the editorial desk) and the usual grumpiness from RMweb readers isn't exactly the sort of reaction to ensure they seek to engage interest in the future.

 

If there's no better ideas we could always threaten you with the 'Chronicles of Locke's Sidings' from the start. ;)

 

Anyway, I'm certainly supportive of the digital edition and looking to generate more and more material for it. The February and March issues will have substantial amounts of additional video content.

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The silence is deafening...

 

Surely you have a favourite layout that we can dig out from the vast BRM archives??

 

I can't help, I have not purchased a modelling magazine for several years now. 

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It's great to see that we've been asked for some input and I think that is to be commended. Unforunatley I dont get the digital version but if I did I'd like some 'how to' videos ie, weathering, static grass, kit builds etc.

Not sure if that helps.

Steve.

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I'm not particularly for an extra that the mag buyer doesn't get unless it's something that just won't work in print, due to space or format.

Longer video of layouts, timelapse of construction photos were available, maybe culled from RMweb threads? or the builders personal collection and extended interviews :)

Edited by PaulRhB
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I'm not particularly for an extra that the mag buyer doesn't get unless it's something that just won't work in print, due to space or format.

Longer video of layouts, timelapse of construction photos were available, maybe culled from RMweb threads? or the builders personal collection and extended interviews :)

I've certainly produced interviews with layout owners and additional layout content for previous issues e.g.

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=u5XWfudsntI

 

The Feb issue will have 35 minutes of practical narrative supporting the print supplement which demonstrates techniques better than print can.

 

Maybe those dismissing digital issues aren't aware of the sort of content that does appear.

 

Anyway; let's get back to suggestions of articles which have previously been in the print issue which may be of interest to digital users.

 

I would say Jason Thomas's 'Bacup' would be a good one.

 

Right; I'm off out to go and build up some more content today. :)

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Plus what you term "bonus content" is simply 'recycling old material that subscribers probably already have'.

 

Pretty much hits the nail on the head.

 

"Bonus Content" is welcome, but is only of interest and value if it is something new, not a rehash of something I already have as a long term subscriber.

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HI Ruth, Steve, Andy

 

I swear you have to have a very sunny disposition to work in the model railway industry given the amount of chuntering that goes on. I've no problem with digital editions being different to the printed magazine. They generally have been in the past, what with the extra photo galleries and such.

 

I've got all the issues from at least the last 3 years so don't really need a re-purposing of an article from that period. If I was to choose, because of my interests, I'd go for something pre-grouping. Or, how about Hebden - was that one of yours? If it was, do you have extra photos of it? If it wasn't, apologies for misremembering. Bacup certainly, and to be honest, anything Yorkshire. Anything ECML as well. 

 

Because you aren't as limited in the digital edition as you are in the print edition (except obviously the time it takes to put something together and the size of the download), how about bringing together a series of articles around a theme over the course of a few months? Maybe building kits, soldering, etc. I remember one of the Grahams doing something about rolling boilers a couple of years ago. 

 

Off(-ish) topic now, another thing that could be good is the "I can't believe it's a model" style of article. Over here, Model Railroad Hobbyist does this very well indeed, and there are times you really have to look at a photo because the modelling is so good. At RMweb you already have a thread dedicated to this idea. It could be an easy way of adding extra content.

 

Vague, and not quite what you were after maybe, but it's all I have from the top of my head at the moment. Thanks for asking. :)

 

cheers

 

Jason

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I converted to a digital subscription this year so would like to help. But I am slightly handicapped by not knowing what 'counts'. So two inspirational layouts for me, in slightly different ways but reflecting my own direct interests are Kingstorre and Broad Aston. But i don't know whether these have been covered the digital magazine.

 

More generally I would question whether the additional content should be by way of an additional monthly article. Access to a collection of past articles - perhaps past feature layouts - would be more attractive. A sort of 'compendium' which grows over time.

 

Something else to consider is to include new text to highlight a particular feature of the chosen layout (or other article). What makes it stand out, or worthy of special attention? Even relatively small layouts can be inspirational for specific reasons, be they scenery, stock or operations.

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I'm a digital subscriber - my wife has banned the accumulation of magazines. What would I like:

A) A searchable archive index of article

B) Click through ability to websites in adverts / articles etc

C) For the practical articles, these are normally written as a story board of still pictures with the author's brief text underneath. I'd like those to be linked directly to a video of the technique being demonstrated. The Right track videos are great but you have to keep scrolling around/find copies of them on YouTube. Acquiring the rights (no pun intended to those), breaking the 2h of content up into 5 min chunks with text would make a great article on eg building a coach, loco or painting it

D) downloadable track plans

 

I also like the time lapse photo idea above. I know it's not been in a magazine yet but I have a suspicion that Graham's "Shap: Hills of North" has a strong photo archive that could be used to make an excellent article.

 

David

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I'd like to see more 'how to' videos. These could be weathering, painting a backscene, adding a chip to a loco, ballasting & painting track, building a rockface.

 

Whilst there are books ( eg by the Gravetts) which cover how to do things, taking one of those subjects ( eg a puddle) and creating a video of the techniques being applied, would be a further enhancement.

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I've certainly produced interviews with layout owners and additional layout content for previous issues e.g.

 

 

The Feb issue will have 35 minutes of practical narrative supporting the print supplement which demonstrates techniques better than print can.

 

Maybe those dismissing digital issues aren't aware of the sort of content that does appear.

 

Anyway; let's get back to suggestions of articles which have previously been in the print issue which may be of interest to digital users.

 

I would say Jason Thomas's 'Bacup' would be a good one.

 

Right; I'm off out to go and build up some more content today. :)

I didn't think I was dismissing the digital issue ;) but there are valid reasons some of us buy a paper one over it still. Ideally it would be nice like a dvd to buy the physical mag and get a unique code so I could have the digital edition too. I've seen some of the digital issues Andy plus the DVD's with the magazine but is making a big difference between what the two formats offer going to hurt the print mag? I buy the paper copies because I can read it at work where tablets are banned. I'm not against digital but increasingly I pop a mag in the car which I can read anywhere if I have a moment and haven't got the tablet with me too ;)

Going forward as the OP any additional material is always welcome but I was just throwing in the additional thought that when commissioning articles it might be nice to get some construction photos to allow future extras, giving Ruth more options in future, to have a sort of timelapse so people see how they went about it.

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I'm in agreement with the above post I can read the paper copy at work but not on a tablet, that's why I don't buy the digital copy. I've tried railway modeller in the past but as soon as you stop buying the digital edition you can view previous copies because according to their conditions I only rented the mag, very frustrating and I had a lot of problems with traction magazine, it wouldn't load I was being charged monthly although it was bi monthly all in all printed just made life easier. Is there any reason why the printed subscribers can't access the digital edition similar to what Railway Modeller do?

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Firstly thank you Ruth for taking the time to ask. I'm a big supporter of digital versions ever since my epiphany a few years ago that I was effectively storing tons of adverts fro Beatties and got rid of all my paper mags.

I can't add much more to the above (the best thing about digital is having access to video and hyperlinks to threads) other than you could select a category (e.g. Industrial Railways) and then show 3 things from that category from the back catalogue? So you could show an article about an industrial layout, one about a loco, and one about a prototype location?

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I'm a digital subscriber - my wife has banned the accumulation of magazines. What would I like:

A) A searchable archive index of article

B) Click through ability to websites in adverts / articles etc

C) For the practical articles, these are normally written as a story board of still pictures with the author's brief text underneath. I'd like those to be linked directly to a video of the technique being demonstrated. The Right track videos are great but you have to keep scrolling around/find copies of them on YouTube. Acquiring the rights (no pun intended to those), breaking the 2h of content up into 5 min chunks with text would make a great article on eg building a coach, loco or painting it

D) downloadable track plans

 

I also like the time lapse photo idea above. I know it's not been in a magazine yet but I have a suspicion that Graham's "Shap: Hills of North" has a strong photo archive that could be used to make an excellent article.

 

David

 

I'm not a digital subscriber (I'm still building my own little paper mountain and every issue of BRM since the first helps contribute to it) but I think David's post, closely followed by Stu's shows what the value of a digital issue could be.  For example an annual reissue of the index and use of video in a medium which is perhaps better suited to video than it is to written print.  In other words further exploit the advantages that digital download offers over print.  That might even encourage those of us still living in the shadow of Gutenberg to possibly cahnge or maybe do the two in parallel (although I obviously have a pile of discs already from the cover of the print mag which achieves that mixed media possibility).

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I'm a digital subscriber - my wife has banned the accumulation of magazines. What would I like:

A) A searchable archive index of article

 

This may be not quite be the answer you were looking for, but I believe this is potential advantage of an online magazine which is not currently being exploited.

There may be that article about detail or livery differences withing a particular class I remembered reading several months, or was it years ago & it is probably in that pile over there....somewhere.. A searchable archive index would tell me exactly where to find it.

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Anyway, I'm certainly supportive of the digital edition and looking to generate more and more material for it. The February and March issues will have substantial amounts of additional video content.

 

The Video content is one area I particularity look forward to with the Digital Edition. Maybe more "reviews" and  "how to's"?

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There are still significant areas of the country (UK) where broadband is still narrowband and bandwidth dies when the kids get home from school to go onto social media and download homework answers. Interactive content-rich streaming doesn't work too well; maybe in a few years...

 

But I only buy the odd magazine for specific articles, last copy of BRM< was February 2017.

 

However, if you were to approach the problem differently you could collate themed material, such as railway company/franchise related, or practical such as kit building or track laying.

 and create that entirely separately from enhancing a digital magazine.

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