MRJ 267

[corneliuslundie]

Although unfortunately it does not now seem to be being kept up to date, those who are not already aware of it may find this site useful:

http://www.modelrailwayjournal.com/

Jonathan

[Jol Wilkinson]

Although unfortunately it does not now seem to be being kept up to date, those who are not already aware of it may find this site useful:

http://www.modelrailwayjournal.com/

Jonathan

It is created on a voluntary basis and relies on donations to fund it. There were some problems with the ISP according to the site, which may have put a bit of a spanner in the works.

 

I believe MRJ produces a printed index from time to time.

[DLT]

I find that the problem with only buying issues that contain a current interest, is that over time interests can change and/or expand.  I often find myself drawn into new areas and going back and seeking out information.

And yes, I have a full set of MRJs from No.0.  I look back through them regularly and wouldn't be without them.

 

On a different subject within MRJ:  We often have occasional series type articles, updates on projects etc, I would really value a listing at the end of the article telling us the issues that previous articles have appeared in.  This is sometimes included, but often I find myself searching out the indexes to find previous installments.

 

Great issue by the way,

Dave.

[corneliuslundie]

i see we have been demoted to "other magazines" What an insult to THE ONLY model railway magazine that matters.

Happy Christmas to all.

Jonathan

[Jol Wilkinson]

i see we have been demoted to "other magazines"

The commercial reasons for this have been detailed elsewhere by Andy York, as RMweb is a "branch" of Warners/BRM.

[Phil Parker]

i see we have been demoted to "other magazines" What an insult to THE ONLY model railway magazine that matters.

Happy Christmas to all.

Jonathan

 

Wheras the one that pays for this forum doesn't matter?

[t-b-g]

Wheras the one that pays for this forum doesn't matter?

I think it is more of a case that MRJ stands out as the only magazine aimed at the finescale side of the hobby.

 

If your interests are in that area rather than RTR, then it may be that MRJ is the only magazine that matters to you personally, not to the hobby as a whole.

[NHY 581]

i see we have been demoted to "other magazines" What an insult to THE ONLY model railway magazine that matters.

Happy Christmas to all.

Jonathan

 

If MRJ is once again given its own location then in the interests of fairness all the other mags would have to be treated the same. Back to square one.

 

It's not an insult, simply a new way of doing things. It's not a drama at all.

 

 

Rob.

[corneliuslundie]

Sorry, no offence meant to anyone. We need a tongue firmly in cheek emoticon - though have never worked out how to use them anyway.

I did realise that we were all being treated equally.

As it happens MRJ is the only magazine I currently buy but I have plenty of bound volumes of others on the shelves. 

And I am well aware that it is only through the kind offices of Warners that we have this space at all. for which my thanks.

Well, we have to survive until mid January for the next issue of MRJ.

Jonathan

[Killybegs]

I did hear a rumour that it might be out early!

[Captain Kernow]

However, I felt that nothing more needed to be said in respect of an article penned by one such as Barry Norman........(not the film critic).

Indeed, and why not?

[Captain Kernow]

When I pause to think about it, I do occasionally become slightly alarmed at the amount of space that my collection of MRJs takes up (the whole lot back to Issue '0').

 

If I take the time to dip into virtually any back number, I find myself quickly immersed in the superb modelling presented in that particular issue but on the other hand, I do have to wonder if I really need to keep all these issues. How much of their content is relevant to my current modelling efforts? Some of it, certainly, but could I use the space at home for something else?

[Pteremy]

Earlier this year I went through all my MRJ's to identify articles that I might want to refer to, now that I am in touching distance of retirement and the space for a decent layout. Of the 260 odd I had at the time only 33 did not have at least one article or picture that fell into that category. Two thirds of the 33 were in the range 0-50 (i.e. the early editions). Even these would have had something of interest at time of publication, but which has been overtaken by events, whether better quality kits, RTR releases, or my own modelling priorities. 

[NHY 581]

MRJ.......Modellers Referral Jollop.........

[corneliuslundie]

"could I use the space at home for something else?"

But what else could even compare in usefulness and interest?  

I find it interesting looking through early issues how much there was about how to do things, and not just No 1 shop. I am pleased that such articles seem to be appearing more often again in recent issues after rather a long time when they were less common.

Or is it just the things I am interested in?

Jonathan

[BlackRat]

I binned thousands of mags, including all the MRJs.

 

Couldn't even give them away.

 

Found I was spending far more time reading and browsing, particularly with t'intrnet than I was actually modelling.

 

I started to scan articles I wanted and found that was taking even more time.

 

I'll probably regret it, but so far, no, ..... and as I am currently building a wagon kit a week, or thereabouts, I'm more than happy.

 

I've caught up on a huge backlog of weathering, conversions etc as well.

 

Made me realise I need a new airbrus though and now wasting time browsing for One!

[Izzy]

When I pause to think about it, I do occasionally become slightly alarmed at the amount of space that my collection of MRJs takes up (the whole lot back to Issue '0').

 

If I take the time to dip into virtually any back number, I find myself quickly immersed in the superb modelling presented in that particular issue but on the other hand, I do have to wonder if I really need to keep all these issues. How much of their content is relevant to my current modelling efforts? Some of it, certainly, but could I use the space at home for something else?

When, after three decades I lost interest in modelling in the late 90’s I sold off or stored all that I had collected over the years in respect of books, magazines etc as well as the basic items such as tools, parts and so forth. All kept bits went into the loft. I had all the MRJ’s from 0 as well as virtually every drawing that had appeared in others such as the RM.

 

In 2010 when I regained an interest I discovered that while the tools and parts were still there, somehow all the magazines/saved articles had disappeared, gone, never to be seen again. As the loft was emptied once for refurbishment it has been accepted that this is when they went, by how/why is still unknown when all else remains.

 

The strange thing is that I don’t miss them. I took the view that if I was new to the hobby I wouldn’t have them and would be starting from a ‘clean sheet’, but I did have past modelling experience to lean on. And these days thanks to the web, information and much more is easily located if needed. The only MRJ I have re-purchased is No6 for the GER 1865 station building drawings, which in the end I found I didn’t need anyway.

 

I now take the view that free space, or space that can be used for current projects, is more useful that reference material that might never be referred to. Last year 2/3rds of the books I had (so about 200) went to a local charity bookshop, keeping only those covering that which I am currently interested in. They will hopefully have gained a bit for their good cause - a hospice - and I gained useful space. Felt like the lifting of a weight.

 

Izzy

[t-b-g]

Before MRJ existed, I would often wind down before bed by browsing through two or three old Modellers or Constructors from my Dad's old collection. I often saw something that I had enjoyed previously but forgotten about, or had missed first time around.

 

That now happens with MRJ. It is surprising just what you spot by just spending 15 minutes of "down Time" when it isn't worth going to the workbench.

 

I have been plotting a small 7mm layout for a while and designs have been going round and round in my head. Can I really build a fully functional, scenic terminus that will look reasonable and not too contrived in 8'?

 

Last night I spotted the wonderful "Weekday Cross" layout in MRJ and now I have some new thoughts to spin round and round in my head! Plus a few ideas to inspire me.

 

Yes they take up space. Yes they do take away a bit of potential modelling time. But there is something very nostalgic about picking up a magazine from 20 years ago and seeing an article from somebody who you didn't know then but is now a good friend, as has happened to me several times.

[Jol Wilkinson]

I have all the copies of MRJ back to No. 0. I enjoy looking back at earlier issues from time to time, for inspiration if not information.

 

There isn't another magazine that I buy regularly or for which I keep back copies, unless you include the LNWR Society Journal. I would keep the S4 Society Journal, except that it is now available to download online from the Society archive.. 

[Regularity]

When I pause to think about it, I do occasionally become slightly alarmed at the amount of space that my collection of MRJs takes up (the whole lot back to Issue '0').

 

If I take the time to dip into virtually any back number, I find myself quickly immersed in the superb modelling presented in that particular issue but on the other hand, I do have to wonder if I really need to keep all these issues. How much of their content is relevant to my current modelling efforts? Some of it, certainly, but could I use the space at home for something else?

Provided you subsequently destroyed the originals, and didn’t share the creation, you could scan in your MRJs and store them digitally.

[Captain Kernow]

Provided you subsequently destroyed the originals, and didn’t share the creation, you could scan in your MRJs and store them digitally.

Good point, but then again, the time taken to scan all those magazines could equally be put to more productive use, plus I suspect that I would find it a lot easier to search for something in a paper copy than a series of scanned j-peg documents.

[pete_mcfarlane]

Plus it would take years to scan them all in, given that you'd end up reading half the articles again as you did it. 

[adriank]

The commercial reasons for this have been detailed elsewhere by Andy York, as RMweb is a "branch" of Warners/BRM.

 

Yes but just think what BRM is getting out of it - excellent market research on rival magazines. People freely express buying intentions (wrt magazines) and comment on articles that appeal to them or that they dislike. They can identify popular authors and layouts as potential future content for BRM. I reckon this forum is an extremely smart move on their part.

[Neil]

Years ago my collection of model railway magazines was getting out of hand so I cut out and filed the articles I thought I wanted to keep and put the rest in the recycling. However I kept the MRJs intact; I think it was before they had got into the hundreds. I also kept my collection of NG&IRM (narrow gauge MRJ for those who haven't come across it). A couple of house moves later and the collection had got out of hand again, particularly as we had downsized from a rambling and crumbling old pile to a more modest bungalow. What to do?

 

These  days I only buy issues of the mainstream magazines that interest me and then I pass them onto friends. I sold my collection of NG&IRM (of all the magazines it has some s/h value) and cancelled my subscription to it. MRJ is still bought when each issue appears and kept but I need to do something to whittle down the storage space they take up. There are a few which I keep going back to but the majority are just dust collectors so in the near future I need to rid myself of the problem.

[johndon]

Like Jol, MRJ is the only magazine I keep and, having only got back in to the hobby in recent years, I've spent a lot of time on eBay and the like and have managed to get a full set from Issue 0.  I used to dip in an out of the them all the time but find I'm doing that much less since I got them all bound...