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BRM January Digital Edition - Special Effects


Ruth1971
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The BRM Digital Edition is now on-sale. Click here to see what's inside the digital version of BRM and to buy this new issue

 
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The print copy goes on-sale on December 6th.
 
LAYOUTS
REEVY ROAD WEST (00)
Bradford MRC bought this unfinished layout as a project, though its completion proved challenging.
 
SCOUT GREEN CROSSING (O)
Paul Scott’s journey into railway modelling is a familiar one, and he has arrived at an absolutely fabulous destination…
  
BAWDSEY (EM)
Paul Marshall-Potter admired a Chris Matthewman layout so much that he bought it. Here we learn about his stewardship and the light changes he has made.
 
 
PRACTICAL
CREATE A DERELICT BARN
Kevin Phare’s derelict barn was inspired by a photograph. It teaches us how to achieve some great modelling effects.
 
MODEL RUST
Following the success of his realistic ‘Woodmores Scrapyard’ diorama,
Michael Russell reveals his secret techniques to achieve a convincing rust effect.
 
HOW TO PAINT YOUR MODELS
Phil Parker paints his latest model projects using accessible, adaptable and affordable techniques. Let's take a look.
 
CREATE A LIVERY OF CHOICE
Struggling to match the paint finish of an RTR factory? Howard Smith guides us through the stages of repainting a Heljan Class 60 locomotive.
 
WEATHERED CLASS 60s
Simon Bendall looks at this often distinctively weathered Class and the effects you could add to your RTR models.
 
MAKE A DRY STONE WALL
An inspired solution to creating a rural staple. Michael Russell picks up the wallpaper roller and explains how to create a dry stone wall effect.
 
NEWS, REVIEWS & FEATURES
REVIEW: OLIVIA'S TRAINS TEA AND VAA BOC WAGONS
Andy York finds these useful must-have tank wagons for the BR Blue freight-lover impressive and sings praise.
 
REVIEW: Bachmann MK.1 TPO COACH
A staple vehicle for model

 

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My printed copy dropped through the letterbox this morning. A quick scan through and my conclusion is that it's a great edition. Have I missed something? Andy is now the Editor. Congratulations Andy and clearly you have already had an impact!

 

all the best

 

Godfrey

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Have I missed something? Andy is now the Editor. Congratulations Andy and clearly you have already had an impact!

 

Nope; I'm definitely not Godfrey! I just wrote the Ed page this month (Phil's next month).

 

I will continue to annoy layout owners at exhibitions and in their clubs/garages/lofts/spare bedrooms etc taking photos, swanning around with Phil filming stuff including places you don't normally get to see (including a short spell on the Duke of Edinburgh's throne recently) and sifting through deluges of boxes in the photo studio, wiping blood off the walls here and getting cross with server monkeys. I've got quite enough to do thank you! ;)

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Noting Andy isn't the Editor (and his role is indeed correctly described in the Editorial column) I was left wondering who is the Editor as there would appear to have been a change in that respect.  I also note that Steve Cole is now titled 'Publisher' so have things been changing in a number of ways at BRM Towers?

 

However clearly Ruth still holds the pens and screen controls as the design again shows her skill in reinvigorating the layout, appearance and 'feel' of the contents.  Ah the contents - well they're pretty good too but I'm surprised that the ad on p.92 isn't covered in oodles of froth.

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Seems a surprise that the other Andy, McVittie, has disappeared without any reason being given. Certainly from the editorial in the previous issue, it wasn't expected. Why the secrecy? The last time a change to the editorship of a model railway magazine in such a manner was probably the sudden disappearance of Iain Rice from "Modelling Railways Illustrated", and that didn't end up well for the magazine, did it? (Or, for that matter, the changes of editor of "Model Railways".)

 

Notice that BRM has now had more editors (4) since it first started than has RM since some time before Peco took it over (only 3 in over 60 years)!

 

Clearly things are not going well—or why make changes at all?

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Seems a surprise that the other Andy, McVittie, has disappeared without any reason being given. Why the secrecy?

 

Clearly things are not going well—or why make changes at all?

There's no 'secrecy', we just didn't broadcast it to all - there's no obligation to do so and relatively few industry changes are announced. We are doing a lot of things well but there's more we can do better still, especially with regard to cross-publication planning and implementation along with a lot of digital content planning and it was decided it was time for moving onwards and Andy was approaching two years in the role. Our editor's role is very different from any of the other mags as we do a lot more as a team.

 

Beyond that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to say more so why should there be any expectation for it to be so?

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Seems a surprise that the other Andy, McVittie, has disappeared without any reason being given. Certainly from the editorial in the previous issue, it wasn't expected. Why the secrecy? The last time a change to the editorship of a model railway magazine in such a manner was probably the sudden disappearance of Iain Rice from "Modelling Railways Illustrated", and that didn't end up well for the magazine, did it? (Or, for that matter, the changes of editor of "Model Railways".)

 

Notice that BRM has now had more editors (4) since it first started than has RM since some time before Peco took it over (only 3 in over 60 years)!

 

Clearly things are not going well—or why make changes at all?

 

This has also come as a shock to me - but I don't think speculation would be good for anyone.

 

As for how many editors BRM has had, this is still over a couple of decades - even if, in the last few years, some people could be starting to wonder if the editor's office might have been fitted with a revolving door.

 

Personally, I hope we soon get real, long term, stability on this front - after all, I don't think many people would actively choose disruption.

 

I also strongly suspect that the people who decide whom to hire have probably now got a pretty well defined idea of exactly what they're looking for - and I can't see another game of "musical chairs" in a couple of years' time being top of their wishlist.

 

Whoever we get, I hope they get everyone's full backing and are allowed the chance to build on everything that they do and everything that's already been done.

 

 

It goes without saying that I wish the best for all BRM editors - past and future - and, indeed, the whole team.

 

I'm sure there'll be an announcement in due course - but, in the meantime, I hope the speculation can stop, for the sake of everyone involved.

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.

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On a completely different topic, I had difficulty purchasing this issue. I normally do this his through the BRM app on an iPad but no price was given for the magazine—the button just said "Buy" but clicking on it gave an error message.

 

I then tried the Pocketmags website but this didn't offer the option of purchasing a single issue. I'm not interested in a subscription as I'm considering ceasing purchasing the magazine in future. I finally tried the Pocketmags app and was able to purchase it there. It then appeared in the BRM app as a download and I didn't encounter any further problems.

 

I've had the same problem with "Hornby Magazine"—a magazine I no longer purchase—in the past. Obviously I can't check whether this has been fixed, and I don't know how widespread this problem is. I haven't encountered it yet with any other magazine on this platform. FYI, the issue was encountered yesterday afternoon (4th December).

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Steve Cole is now titled 'Publisher' so have things been changing in a number of ways at BRM Towers?

 

Steve has been publisher for some time now...

 

 

I was left wondering who is the Editor

 

The bulk of content editing is being done by yours truly with some help from Steve until the new editor begins. Our plans to keep BRM a great magazine will continue...   

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Beyond that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to say more so why should there be any expectation for it to be so?

Social media, Andy. You have to tell us everything so we can be outraged and tell you how you've got it all wrong. And hold you in contempt for not publishing the details in full.

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Social media, Andy. You have to tell us everything so we can be outraged and tell you how you've got it all wrong. And hold you in contempt for not publishing the details in full.

You're right, such 'right to know' demands bug me. Just what good would it do anyone else to know such stuff? Between spurious FOI requests and the overt expression of Lookatmebook sits a normal world.

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So, let's hear it - what do people like/dislike about this edition?...

All feedback welcomed...

Would love to get back to hearing what you all like and dislike at the moment with the new aspects we’ve been rolling out lately as Howard asked earlier? Editor or no editor we’re working really hard to give you as much content as we can but we can only add to our product if we know what you all think!

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Sub copy arrived today and the first flick through revealed several interesting articles, the dry stone wall article shows a technique completely new to me (it already has me thinking about using it)

 

One thing I did notice was Simon Bendall reviewing the Heljan class 25. Someone who I have a huge respect for and good to see him reviewing with the existing strong team.

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Printed version here.  Good content (I even read the O scale reviews even though I am a N man these days!), nice layout but is it just me or was there a heck of a lot of advertising pages?  Of course I appreciate that it pays the bills...

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Of course I appreciate that it pays the bills...

I don't know what BRM's current circulation figures are, but based on information in the public domain, a typical model railway magazine sells less than 2500 copies a month*.

 

[EDIT I misread the figures thus proving the maxim "Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics"]

 

Even if Warners were able to cut out the middlemen (WHSmith, Pocketmags etc) and sell a digital version of the magazine directly to every customer, the resulting income wouldn't even pay the wages, let alone cover the costs of production.

 

Advertising therefore, is a necessary evil to secure the continued employment of a bunch of passionate folk and keep this very forum online.

 

It can be intrusive at times (e.g. The DM Toys adverts that were all over the page in a recent digital edition), but the reality is that without the adverts there wouldn't be a BRM.

 

I enjoyed this issue and particularly liked Tony Wright's brakevan history article. It was relevant and in my opinion pitched at the perfect level.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Andrew

 

* Extrapolated from https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/uk-magazine-abcs-winners-losers-and-full-breakdown-as-circulation-declines-average-6-per-cent/

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I don't know what BRM's current circulation figures are, but based on information in the public domain, a typical model railway magazine sells less than 2500 copies a month *.

 

Even if Warners were able to cut out the middlemen (WHSmith, Pocketmags etc) and sell a digital version of the magazine directly to every customer, the resulting income wouldn't even pay the wages, let alone cover the costs of production.

 

Advertising therefore, is a necessary evil to secure the continued employment of a bunch of passionate folk and keep this very forum online.

 

It can be intrusive at times (e.g. The DM Toys adverts that were all over the page in a recent digital edition), but the reality is that without the adverts there wouldn't be a BRM.

 

I enjoyed this issue and particularly liked Tony Wright's brakevan history article. It was relevant and in my opinion pitched at the perfect level.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Andrew

 

* Extrapolated from https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/uk-magazine-abcs-winners-losers-and-full-breakdown-as-circulation-declines-average-6-per-cent/

 

 

I think you've got the figures wrong there. Those quoted by ABC are per issue, not total sales over the 6 month period. 

 

Thomas and Friends 40,056 -4.2 100 Railway Magazine 37,250 -0.1 99.5 Steam Railway 30,541 3.9 93.4 Hornby Magazine 28,190 -8.6 100 Model Rail 24,051 -5.2 99.3 Rail 19,238 -4.1 98.1 Airfix Model World 12,730 1.6 100 Buses Magazine 12,511 -3.2 99.9

 

 

So from those, a typical modelling magazine sells about 25,000 a month - although I believe RM is slightly higher. The tank engine does best of all, of course. 

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