Perceptions of print

[coachmann]

The goalposts have moved a lot over the years and this is bound to be reflected in magazine contents. For instance, while I know there weren't many layouts like the original Eastern Region Borchester with all the locos handbuilt etc, I wanted a replica in London Midland Region style, which spurred me onto building locos, carriages and scenery.

 

Todays magazines reflect the massive interest in proprietory models where folk get their inspiration from RTR. It is easier to acquire than a skill. I'm not knocking it, but an innevitabilty is the 'sameness' of everything. And so thank goodness for the eye-candy layouts where locos and stock are a mixture of handbuilt/kitbuilt and proprietory. An example is Great Northerns 'Peterborough'.

 

I have almost always bought railway magazines on impulse. In the old days it was for scale drawings and LMS Society articles because I was building things. In the past 15 years it has been good photos of a new loco or a well illustrated article on coaching stock. Any magazine in a plastic bag denies a browse and so is out of the loop. However, the best images and reviews are now appearing on RMweb and this has tipped the balance away from hard-copy purchases. It has nothing to do with cost.

[S.A.C Martin]

However, the best images and reviews are now appearing on RMweb and this has tipped the balance away from hard-copy purchases.

 

You see, I wanted to say that earlier but wondered if I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

In the past few months I've read some reviews in the modelling press, which, when held up to scrutiny, don't hold up. Most recently it was pointed out to me that one model being reviewed was also given a full page advert halfway through the magazine's reviews, paid for by the manufacturer of the product in question. In that review - and a further one a month later for a different livery - certain questions of the models' accuracy and quality seem to have been omitted entirely.

 

It was only when more people started giving their own views on the product on RMweb that a more realistic viewpoint of the model was aired, I feel. Andy Y's own photo reviews on this site have never shied away from problem areas, for instance, and there are countless others who buy the models up when released and given the full view with photographs and explanations.

 

I could be doing a disservice to the magazine in question, of course, regarding their particular review sample, but giving the product in question the same score as the (as far as can I read on here) extremely well received across the board Kernow Beattie Well Tank, was dubious at best.

 

In short, I'm cutting down on buying the modelling magazines because it has dawned on me that the reviews appear more honest and full of detail on here. I will only buy them now if they include items of interest relating to my own interest.

[Graham_Muz]

Interestingly I posted on my own blog only yesterday a piece about model market segmentation, and to a certain extent this also applies to the magazine market too with a number of the magazines having distinct target markets such as MRJ for the 'finescale end' and Hornby Magazine (leaving comments about the title to one side, which is also a classic marketing move) which from the outset clearly positioned itself as an '00' BR steam era magazine although those boundaries have been rightly broadened as the magazine has gained its strong foothold in a short space of time.

 

It is therefore unfair to criticise a magazine for not including features that are outside of its target market segment, it just means that perhaps it is not the magazine for you personally.

 

I have since my teenage years subscribed to Railway Modeller which has a clear target market of the "Average Modeller" (if there is such a thing) and perhaps suffers a little from trying to please all of the people all of the time. It has retained its house style although under the current editorship managed to tweek and update things subtly and positively. As mentioned above its reviews have always been a bit bland. It consistantly manages to include more layout features than any other publication (although sometimes quanitity is substituted for quality perhaps).

 

I used to subscribe to BRM but a few years ago felt it lost its way a little, and again this has a distinct Steam Ear market segment, I have not read too many issues recently to further comment although I am sure I will get next February’s issue!

 

Model Rail, leaving the paper issue to one side (which is a house issue and not one the magazine team itself can do anything about) has good a mix of how to articles, and, unlike incorrectly stated elsewhere, covers a wide range of modelling eras and scales, but perhaps is sometime light on layout features each month.

 

I have mentioned Hornby Magazine a little above and have to caveat that as well as a regular contributor I am a personal friend of the editor. I too was quite doubtful at the outset of this magazine that the market would take on a new publication but it has appeared to go from strength to strength.

It will of course not appeal to all due to its clear market segment but has maintained a good range of articles and photographic quality and like others have mentioned I am sure has caused other publications to up the game slightly overall.

To pick up on Stationmasters regular comment about picture captions, these are generally as supplied from the photographic source and not just conjured up by the editor himself and I am sure that if the magazine had a much larger editorial team, in an ideal world, would be able to spend time double checking everything that has been supplied in good faith.

 

Like many I tend to check contents etc. listed on here before making a purchase, I am not one for spending time using WHSmiths as a library, therefore the cover image or being bagged does not worry me too much.

[coachmann]

I wouldn't want my earlier remarks to give the impression that I dont give a damn for peoples jobs in magazines. But the thing we all have to live with are the winds of change and the older one gets the more it becomes apparent. I look back on my various jobs like Design Repro at Calico Printers, window dressing at Crown Wallpaper stores, footplate work in steam days, bus conductor, coal bagging, optical press operator in Pilkingtons, all jobs that were replaced as technology moved on. As a self-employed model painter, I had to adapt to market changes in order to keep my family secure. It's life.

[Poggy1165]

I subscribe to MRJ. Not every issue is perfect but there's some inspiring modelling in there and there are also occasional useful articles pointing out some new (to me) technology or material.

 

I've pretty much given up on the rest, and donated the vast bulk of my backnumbers to the VCT at Ingrow. I can't put my finger on what has put me off the other mags. It's not that I'm elitist - still less am I an elite modeller (pause for private laughter at the thought) - but somehow they just don't cut it any more, or not with sufficient regularity. It may be that I am essentially interested in pre-group railways and building wagon kits/scratch building wagons and these interests are not really catered for in the modern mainstream.

[Trevellan]

There's inevitably a sameness about the major players since they're pretty much covering the same ground. If there was one area I'd like to see radically improved, it's in the reviews, as already suggested above. It does make me wonder how the manufacturers would react to a totally honest and forthright style. Try imagining a Jeremy Clarkson approach to reviewing certain recent releases...

[Dave777]

Picking up on the bag issue; how influential is a front cover on whether you choose a mag? Beyond that what makes you commit to a subscription?

 

Bag issue - since I'm only an occasional purchaser it does stop me buying them off the shelf, but I tend to only purchase a mag after I've checked the contents on here anyway. I also take a business view of it - if the publisher needs to do it to keep the magazine going, then I'd rather they did it and were still there next month.

 

Oh sorry, you didn't actually ask about the bag issue - doh! Okay, front cover - absolutely no influence whatsoever. As I said, tend to check on here first anyway, but more importantly I've sometimes found that it can say 'We show you how to build an engine shed' on the front and it then turns out there's one article building a Superquick card kit. It's not always the case, but I've seen on more than one occasion that something can be 'bigged up' on the front cover without actually being an article of substance. So they could be a plain white cover for all I care - infact, it might make it less embarrasing to carry around

 

Seriously thought, I have often wondered what a simpler, plainer approach might look like. Try Edge magazine for the sort of thing I'm thinking of: http://www.next-gen.biz/about-us It's a bit small, but you can see the general idea - a single image or theme, without all the cluttering and cramming we see with the modelling mags. To me, a simple front cover suggest quality. The busy ones suggest cheap n cheerful.

 

However, again with my business hat on, I appreciate that the mags need to look attractive on the shelf to the customers and also that they are competing with all the others.

 

 

Subscription deciders - saving money, delivered to my door, have enjoyed reading it over the previous 6 months or so.

[Edwin_m]

On the bags issue I am reminded of the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover". The cover may say what's in the magazine but the cover has the full contents list then it will be cluttered and unattractive. Also the title of the article on the cover may not give a good idea of what's actually inside, in terms of scope and level of detail and sometimes even of subject (such as the MR article "Build your own command station").

 

The comments on here do help with that but don't solve the problem entirely, as not everyone will comment on every issue. I make the comparison with buying a model - it's a good idea for the retailer to get it out of the box and check it works as advertised. I think we'd be laughed out of court if we brought a magazine back to the shop because we'd opened the bag at home and the contents weren't what we expected.

[bmthtrains - David]

This topic is rather topical for me (no pun intended), as I realised the other day that this was the first month in perhaps 10 years that I didn't buy a modelling magazine, and I have been asking myself why?

 

Other than this month's, I've bought every issue of Model Rail over that period, with occasional purchases of Hornby Mag, and in the past, BRM and RM.

 

Model Rail has always appealed to me as it has a wide coverage of eras and themes, is generally full (by that I mean there are lots of different articles to dip into), the quality is always good, and their news and reviews were always up to date. Hornby Mag, with its broadly defined focus on 'transition era' modelling has surprised me in how many times I've purchased it - generally because of a layout featured in it. Though rarely my era or subject matter, they are often inspiring and seem to have layouts that are just a bit different to the usual steam branch line that seems to be the staple of the magazines. Railway Modeller lost my interest many years ago, the format seems old fashioned and uninspiring. BRM I learned not to buy as it was always a gamble in those plastic bags, and I've generally been disappointed and felt I wasted a purchase, so won't risk it now.

 

But why did I not even buy Model Rail this month? I think this is down to RMWeb. Although I've been a member here for about 4 years I think, its only now that I've realised that the magazines just don't offer as much as this website does. The news is instant, the breadth of layouts and topics to browse is superb, and (discounting the ISP charges), it is free.

 

My main draw to the magazines used to be the news and reviews, but I get better service here. So that leaves the layouts and articles - but they will now only really appeal to me if there is enough in an issue that matches my interests, so despite wanting to support the magazines, I can feel my habitual purchase slipping. To keep my buying regularly, Model Rail (my staple purchase) will have to either include inspirational modern era layouts every issue (unlikely for several reasons), or as others have said, really up their game with reviews (but that of course risks upsetting their advertisers if they are more openly critical of their products), or introduce something else to keep me coming back regularly - mini-part works each issue perhaps, something in chapters that makes me want to come back for more without question, rather than flipping the pages for something to catch my eye.

 

We need good quality magazines in the hobby, and Model Rail and Hornby Mag seem to be doing especially well with their circulation growth, so perhaps it is simply that they appeal more to the more casual end of the hobby, and many of us on RMWeb occupy the more 'serious' end and so are far more demanding.

 

David

[S.A.C Martin]

There's inevitably a sameness about the major players since they're pretty much covering the same ground. If there was one area I'd like to see radically improved, it's in the reviews, as already suggested above. It does make me wonder how the manufacturers would react to a totally honest and forthright style. Try imagining a Jeremy Clarkson approach to reviewing certain recent releases...

 

Some say that he's made from a kit, others that he has "made in China" stamped on his underside, and that if HE'D been in charge of the latest wishlist, the B*** P****** wouldn't have featured at all...!

 

...All we know is...!

[BlackRat]

I get all the mainstream mags, plus the MRJ, creature of habit I suppose.

 

They are all pretty much of a muchness, with just minor differences in editorial content.

 

The MRJ, differs slightly, in that its the one I tend to READ as opposed to just looking at the pictures. The quality of the pictures is pretty constant throughout all of the magazines.

 

MR is let down by the quality of the paper (as has been commented on).

 

Hornby is the mag to take with you whilst on the throne, a good light read with excellent picture quality, you can also beat the flames out with it.

 

ALL of the regular mags have to cater for all tastes so its a regular carousel of features.

 

I no longer need to know how to build baseboards, ballast track or make scenery and I tend to look at any problem etc not as a challenge but as something I can have a go at solving.

 

I would like to know more about individuals, their path into modelling, their ethos, why they do what they do etc as opposed to what we normally get.

 

I would like in depth features on them, and their modelling lifestyle.

 

Not for everyone of course, but there's plenty of other mags out there, aint there?!

[Coombe Barton]

Picking up on the bag issue; how influential is a front cover on whether you choose a mag?

 

Absolutely no influence whatsoever - as long as I can read the name

 

Beyond that what makes you commit to a subscription?

 

Nothing - I have a current subscription (for a mag on another subject) that I'm meaning to cancel (have been for two years), If I had more subs then I'd just be throwing more money away.

[10800]

I'm looking for peoples' positives and negatives (constructively and politely phrased) of any of the traditional magazines in terms of style, content, balance, value etc. What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses?

 

All the major monthlies cover essentially the same range of content - layouts, news, reviews, how-to features etc - and I suspect many of our preferences are down to subjective views of layout/design and style of each, with a bit of brand loyalty thrown in whether or not it is really justified. Inevitably they keep a close look on each other and go through the occasional facelift as a result. I'm sure much the same can be said of many other areas, whether it be photography, women's glossies etc etc.

 

I don't therefore buy any of them regularly, let alone subscribe. I am fortunate in having a WHS close to home that stocks all of them (and more) so I can have a browse before deciding what if any to buy - and that will be based mainly on a layout feature of interest or a particularly well presented practical how-to feature of relevance to my own projects. I guess in the last year I have bought around six MRs, four Hornby Mags, one RM and no BRMs (and not just because of the bag issue). If I lived somewhere remote I would probably subscribe to MR and Hornby.

 

MRJ is quite a different animal. I have always subscribed to it, and have all of them. It has a very clear style and design which gives it the appearance of a permanent reference book rather than an ephemeral magazine, in common with all Wild Swan's publications, and very little advertising (which I believe is down to it being a cottage industry in much the same way as many of the products it does review and advertise). I like the in-depth articles and detailed modelling features, but they need to move on a bit in photography in my view. Where once the 'Barry Norman' style was a breath of fresh air after the 'Brian Monaghan' style, we are now in the 'Chris Nevard' era and MRJ needs to wake up to that.

[edcayton]

 

 

Picking up on the bag issue; how influential is a front cover on whether you choose a mag? Beyond that what makes you commit to a subscription?

 

The only mag I subscribe to now is the Railway Magazine, for the news content rather than the articles which aren't always of interest to me but I do learn new things like the Chapelon 4-8-4 recently.

 

Bearing in mind that railway modelling mags are competing with those on the prototype, on cars, motor-caravans and occasionally on guitars and inland waterways for me. Yes, the cover does attract me if it shows something of interest to me but the bag rule always applies-if I can't see what's in it I won't buy it.

 

What I would say is that RMWeb has become my "fix" of modelling stuff now. I really value the format and immediacy of exchange of views etc. The other thing is that I do prefer my newspapers and magazines on paper and dislike reading them on the computer. I don't have a lap-top and couldn't get on with a "smart-phone" because I am obviously not smart enough myself.

 

Ed

[Kenton]

On the subject of bagging - I don't think it makes much difference, I buy based on previous experience ie know what to expect or on recommendation ie expected content.

 

Subscriptions: There is only so much I can be bothered to read and only so much I can be bothered to spend on magazines. Contented reasonably with my current subscriptions (MRJ RM) means the others have a long way to go to make me make the leap into insecurity. But a subscription seems to be the only reliable method to get a copy delivered (eventually) on my doorstep.

[Andy Y]

clear style and design which gives it the appearance of a permanent reference book rather than an ephemeral magazine,

 

I think this is an interesting point which in part explains a brand loyalty. It's evident within this topic (and comments made off-forum) that there is an air of permanence or reference that is not applicable to other magazines. Folks often say "I've still got every MRJ" in a way that is rarely mentioned for any other.

[Coombe Barton]

Folks often say "I've still got every MRJ" in a way that is rarely mentioned for any other.

And more (including me) probably say "I wish I had every MRJ".

[David Bigcheeseplant]

 

I think this is an interesting point which in part explains a brand loyalty. It's evident within this topic (and comments made off-forum) that there is an air of permanence or reference that is not applicable to other magazines. Folks often say "I've still got every MRJ" in a way that is rarely mentioned for any other.

 

I was going to say exactly the same thing, there are not too many people who dispose MRJs although other mags I would remove anything I need and bin the rest

 

David

[bmthtrains - David]

 

It's evident within this topic (and comments made off-forum) that there is an air of permanence or reference that is not applicable to other magazines. Folks often say "I've still got every MRJ" in a way that is rarely mentioned for any other.

 

And of course this is a premium brand, where the intangible assets can often be worth more than the actual product itself. Its the same with books - a beautifully produced series of titles just compels you to collect the set. The titles will never sell in the quantities of bolder, brasher bestsellers, but they do command loyalty.

 

I can sense where Andy's train of thought might be going with this, and without jumping the gun too much, I would certainly say there is a gap in the market between MRJ and Model Rail et al (whether it be digital or print). A collectable, high quality, beautifully designed modelling magazine that takes the MRJ approach (detailed articles, an assumed level of knowledge), but over a wider (and perhaps less anal) choice of subjects (and eras!) would certainly be right up my street...

 

David

[westerner]

I read, if not buy, all the mags every month, and I subscribe to two MR and RM. I used to subscribe to BRM but a few months ago switched to RM.

 

I do feel that the mainstream magazines are aimed at subtly different readership and therefore our perception of them will vary as the way we model.

 

MRJ very much for the fine scale modeller. Prefer the issues with layouts in and I do like the letters page where one gets discussion lasting sometimes over several issues. I actually started buying it back in the 90's because of the letters page when there was a very robust discussion on operation.

 

RM I have read since the early 70's. I have always found something of interest in it although at one point it began to lose its way, but since Steve Flint has become editor I feel it has once again become the leader of the mainstream mags.

 

MR whilst occasionally not floating my boat when the content is very modern I do find the How to do articles useful. Shame about the paper and whilst I do realise that that is the groups decision it is a bit of a negative particularly if one wants to keep articles.

 

Hornby seems to have lost its way somewhere but I suspect it's not quite aimed at the way I model. I do think over photo-shopping, wrong captions and mistakes in some of the prototype articles are important as I suspect the magazine is aimed more at beginners, the very people who need accuracy. However the paper and presentation is very good.

 

BRM the magazine that was the first one to be in full colour now seems to have slight problems with its colour reproduction, and as a few others have said seems to have lost its way slightly. Oh by the way I notice that Tony Wright seems to have been missing from the last couple of issues, no pix or articles, I hope he is OK.

[brossard]

At risk of wandering off topic I would put in a word for the periodicals that detail the prototype scene. Done properly, these are a huge boon to the modeller. I have two in mind: Midland Record and LMS Journal. There are others in this ilk but I make a special effort to obtain these two.

 

John

[298]

One thing that has surprised me is how most of them have managed to continue in their present format, despite the alleged threat of the internet. I remember my Dad always commenting that Railway Modeller was full of adverts (and people still say the same thing), when in fact it was easy to detatch the magazine bit in the middle for filing and I was always impressed with it's weightiness compared to his aviation modelling mags.

 

I only subscribe to Model Railroader and buy others based on their content, they'd be no point in me buying Continental Modeller on the basis of it's cover as it never has anything American on it...

[BlackRat]

an assumed level of knowledge

 

It does indeed, the Christmas Quiz used to fill up my time off over Christmas very nicely indeed, although I only ever completed 1!

 

I dont think the MRJ is particularly high brow, more high end. I cant see me ever building my own wheels but have enjoyed reading how someone else did.

 

I would never have heard of the Bill Bedford handrail jig without it and its a well used piece of kit.

 

It goes....one step beyond!

 

I also like the way it doesn't labour about boards, wiring etc (apart from recent issues.....?).

 

I still think there is room though for what I said earlier, some mags including the MRJ have run some quite nice features on individuals, even manufacturers, which gives us all a little window into the minds of others in the hobby.

 

Who knows whats in there! Be nice to find out

 

One thing we need to remember though is that ALL mags rely on contributors, and there's only so many of them to go around.

[Brinkly]

I no longer need to know how to build baseboards, ballast track or make scenery and I tend to look at any problem etc not as a challenge but as something I can have a go at solving.

 

 

Funny you should say that, is there a natural end to ones readership of a magazine? Once you have read how to weather wagons once, you don't need a second article saying how to do it using a different manufacture's brush?

 

Since I’ve been a member of RMWeb any question that I need answering I ask her, rather than writing to the magazine.

 

In general I like articles that take something and really improve it. Last year in MR there was a cracking article about the Airfix/Dapol/Hornby 5 plank wagon and how to improve it and years ago an article was written about the Airfix/Dapol cattle wagon kit and how to improve that. I wish we had mode articles like that. Not so long ago, MR had a series of articles by Tony Wright (when he was freelance) about locomotive kit building and chassis construction, I haven’t seen anything like that for a long time.

 

As for the cover of the magazine, if it has a nice picture and looks like there are lots of interesting articles I would be more likely to buy it. Having said that, on a friend’s advice I’m buying old copies of MRJ as the articles are really good.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

[steve1]

A collectable, high quality, beautifully designed modelling magazine that takes the MRJ approach (detailed articles, an assumed level of knowledge), but over a wider (and perhaps less anal) choice of subjects (and eras!) would certainly be right up my street...

 

It did exist once and was called Modelling Railways Illustrated (MORILL for short) Originally it was edited by Iain Rice & Andy Farquharson and used the quote "achievable excellence" or something similar.

 

steve