From my armchair

[glo41f]

These days I do not buy model magazines regularly. In fact I find them particularly lacking in content of interest possibly as I have been in the hobby too long and become jaded though the illustrations have improved so much over the years.  Each month I trot along to the local Smiffs and look at what is on offer and then usually go away empty handed. I  do however, have a varied collection of MRJ’s going back to the original issue (but I no longer buy every release) and I frequently look at them when I am mooching about the layout room. They do not help productivity at all. I find that there is always something of interest in the MRJ particularly reading those retrospective issues. Why is this?  Well the articles are usually well written by someone who knows what they are talking about. The structure and grammar are usually correct (though I have found some misspellings!). The content is often challenging to the reader in that complex subjects are tackled and require a degree of concentration. The illustrations both black and white and colour are usually of high quality. Some are the epitome of realism. ( I cite the pictures of John Dornom’s King Class in MRJ 232.) Looking at my magazine “archive” I find it consists almost entirely of MRJs all other magazines having gone to the recycling centre.

 

Does the MRJ, for all its quirks, treat modelling in an adult manner eschewing the gimmickry of some of the rivals? Is it the paper quality and the fact that each issue is well crafted? I do not know and would welcome your comments. All  do know is that if I were on the dessert island (or more likely in the care home), I would want my MRJs  with me.

 

Do others agree or am I talking drivel which my esteemed spouse often accuses me of.

 

Martin Long

[edcayton]

I agree with most of what you say, except that MRJ is "beyond aspirational" for me. I love the photo's and am astounded by the modelling portrayed, but usually don't read the text if I'm honest. I think that modelling at this level is, for me, too serious to be fun. Does that make sense?

 

Ed

[Allegheny1600]

Dear Martin,

This is exactly what I was trying to say, here;

IMHO almost all the model railway mags in the UK are not much more than the voices of the various manufacturers and therefore should be free!!!

They're pretty much all the same, chasing a diminishing market of actual 'editorial' content - that where layout owners/builders discuss the why's and wherefore's of their layout rather than the usual "ingredient list" of products used.

I think that is why so much of the contents of each magazine are the same, after all - how many different ways are there of 'reviewing' identical products?

John E.

 

It didn't go down too well though!

Unbelievable!

CHRIS LEIGH

I personally think that MRJ is a beacon of light in an otherwise advertising mad world and it's very reasonably priced too. Also, I don't consider it's tone elitist or anything like that, it merely seeks to inform.

 

If anyone would like to discuss with me, my ideas for improving the quality of the typical British magazine, I would be very happy to discuss them either publicly or by private message and my only "agenda" is towards driving quality UP!

Cheers,

John E.

[Paul Cram]

MRJ is the only model railway magazine that I buy. I do agree with you John on the other magazines and their reviews most of which seem to gloss over the faults with RTR models. I do not tend to buy RTR and prefer to make kits which makes a lot of the content of the other magazines irrelevant and I find that the track on most layouts grates with me. In addition most of their articles have so few words that the magazine can be read in about 10 minutes. 

[33C]

I have recently stopped buying any railway "modelling" magazines as they appear to be more railway "buyer" magazines. The modelling aspect has become same old, same old (and the cover price x2 could buy you a book)! The layouts can be bought off the shelf entirely. A bit of weathering, grass teasing and digi-sound (which I find wearing at exhibitions) does not cut it for me. SO, I have regressed to modelling using 1930's/40's techniques, If it looks right, it is right and that will do! Scale model locomotives seem to lack the weight and presence of the real things IMHO. A Tri-ang Princess with solid wheels, the old grey-based track and the smoky red station buildings bridge the years from the last of the steamers to the present day AND still work better than the latest Chinese offerings! A few strokes with a file on the flanges and they negotiate Hornby and Peco finer track systems no trouble. Hamblings Merco Litho's, 4 Tri-ang shortie coaches and a couple of evenings and you have a Southern EMU. The imagination rounds it off and the wallet has a rest! The Model Railway Constructor was the last of the proper magazines I think. (Plans,plans conversions, plans, scratchbuilding and good, candid reviews with a haulage indicator!

[Catkins]

There are a few though provoking comments on here, and it is making me think about my magazine purchases.

[glo41f]

Edcayton

 

It had never occured to me that the MRJ could be cosidered as promulgating "aspirational" rather than "inspirational" modelling. Looking at it again there is some truth in what you write. However, is it not one of the "duties" of a publication to be that way? Should we not be challenged in our thinking with the hobby? If there are no challenges to the accepted "norms" then no progress is made. I cannot match what the likes of Chris Pendleton achieve but I am encouraged by the writing to try rather than say "that is not for me"

 

One thing though that perhaps you learned folk may well know. Where does MRJ get its contributions from? Is it done on an individual approach from the editor for the time being or do authors submit work speculatively? How do they get the cream of the crop?

 

Regards

 

Martin Long

[scouser]

I agree completely regarding the quality of most of todays mags. The amount of new product announcements and advertising vastly out numbering the articles. Also the bitty nature and frequent poor quality of models in some of them leave me cold.

The preponderence of steam or dirty blue eras doesn't interest me much either. A magazine of the quality of MRJ for contempory railways would get my cash. Nowadays I normally leave them all on the shelf.

[33C]

The articles from the magazines of the late 60's through the 70's inspire me the most with what you can do with what you could find (at jumble sales, skips or the bin). The ingenuity involved amazed me. The models were nearly to scale and hand painted but they were unique to that modeller. Some were so bad they were good just because of what they could be made of/from! I recently found and bought on a certain auction site, a model of a LNWR/LMS steam rail-motor to sort of HO? 00? made from an old playcraft coach, Triang Nellie chassis, unknown HO bogie with a Lino overlaid sides, hand painted with dummy windows and big cut outs on the sides for the motor to negotiate tight curves. Very crude but full of charm. I saw this and other similar models on a pensioners LNWR layout and it cost him nothing but time. It made such an impact on me then, I had to have it......Railway Modelling. Not Railway Buying! The older modellers inspired me also to attempt pre-grouping loco's and liveries. B.R.M. ran a series of these as pull-outs. This led me to buy an old bow pen and now I do all my own lining which has come on from one line to multi line (2,3 or 4). This is what magazines seem to be losing sight of.

[Zomboid]

I find it much more inspiring to see what goes on here. A good mix of inspirational and aspirational, updated more often than a monthly magazine full of adverts and puff pieces... Plus there's very little content in the readily available mags over here that matches my main modeling interest.

So I buy car magazines instead.