CME and Bottlewasher Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 There was a new magazine (to me at least) on sale in Ian Allan Waterloo this morning. I can't remember the full title, but it was based on 2mm finescale - not my scene so I didn't look too closely!. Could this be the new kid on the block? Stewart No - that sounds like another one then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted March 17, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 17, 2014 There was a new magazine (to me at least) on sale in Ian Allan Waterloo this morning. I can't remember the full title, but it was based on 2mm finescale - not my scene so I didn't look too closely!. Could this be the new kid on the block? Stewart Not heard anything about this but sounds spot on for me - any more you can tell us? Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Wandering off thread slightly I think Dapol just supply models to the main magazines and not to the Societies/Associations/Guilds for review. Not providing models to MRJ isn't too suprising - I can't imagine too many readers being interested in the latest BacHornHelpol model given the fine-scale leanings of the publication. Not providing something to the scale specific societies is harder the understand. I believe the N Gauge Society find it difficult to get any Dapol models for review and usually end up having to borrow them from friendly model shops or relying on members who have bought the new models supplying the review. Happy modelling. Steven B. Hi Steven, I think that you know what I was driving at. I cant see why MRJ wouldnt be interested in Dapol (Fine-scale) 7mm wagons, after all MRJ are not just about fine-scale, but character too. Kindest, CME Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 One of which is Flintfield - soon to be seen at a Scalefour North near you (well, near me anyway ) Flintfield; one of my all-time favourite layouts ever since I first saw it in Morill twenty years ago (now ain't that a scary thought!). Of course being pre-Group GER with lots of lovely ultramarine doesn't prejudice me in any way at all Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted March 17, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 17, 2014 Think I've sussed this one..... It's RM web, in print form! Comes in two versions, depending on your 'bent'. The first one is done in a nice encapsulated plastic format, and is easy-wipe. The other one is printed on blotting paper, just the job for all the froth! See Ya! Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Think I've sussed this one..... It's RM web, in print form! Comes in two versions, depending on your 'bent'. The first one is done in a nice encapsulated plastic format, and is easy-wipe. The other one is printed on blotting paper, just the job for all the froth! See Ya! Ian I read that as being encapsulated in a plastic bag..... Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium it's-er Posted March 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2014 I see we have had all these pages of interesting contributions, without the benefit of any circulation figures. Thanks to Google, the Press Gazette notes in February that the total average circulation across 503 magazine titles audited by ABC fell by 6.3% in the second half of 2013. The average net monthly sales of model railway magazines in that period were: Hornby 34,570 (new to ABC in 2013, so no comparison) Model Rail 29,242 (-3.7% on previous period) Neither Railway Modeller nor British Railway Modelling are listed in this list, which in RM's case is curious as they used to quote ABC circulation figures, and indeed still display ABC on their masthead. The only figure I can find for RM is for 2008, when their monthly net sale was 43,194. BRM don't seem to declare figures. There are interesting divergences in sales patterns. RM had 36,544 monthly newsstand sales and 6,470 subscriptions (2008), while Model Rail sales were split 17,935 newsstand and 12,331 subscriptions (2012). In their comments on the first half of 2013, ABC describe Hornby magazine as "Britain's fastest growing model railway magazine". I hope these figures help discussion. Generally the financial press suggests the magazine industry is going through difficult times, with household spending relatively static since 2008, and competition from the internet. For many magazines, monthly sales are falling year on year. I am sure none of our publishers is raking it in from sales of railway modelling magazines - I after wonder how they make any profit at all. Personally I am delighted at the current vibrancy of the sector, and suspect many contributors here would agree. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I see we have had all these pages of interesting contributions, without the benefit of any circulation figures. Thanks to Google, the Press Gazette notes in February that the total average circulation across 503 magazine titles audited by ABC fell by 6.3% in the second half of 2013. The average net monthly sales of model railway magazines in that period were: Hornby 34,570 (new to ABC in 2013, so no comparison) Model Rail 29,242 (-3.7% on previous period) Neither Railway Modeller nor British Railway Modelling are listed in this list, which in RM's case is curious as they used to quote ABC circulation figures, and indeed still display ABC on their masthead. The only figure I can find for RM is for 2008, when their monthly net sale was 43,194. BRM don't seem to declare figures. There are interesting divergences in sales patterns. RM had 36,544 monthly newsstand sales and 6,470 subscriptions (2008), while Model Rail sales were split 17,935 newsstand and 12,331 subscriptions (2012). In their comments on the first half of 2013, ABC describe Hornby magazine as "Britain's fastest growing model railway magazine". I hope these figures help discussion. Generally the financial press suggests the magazine industry is going through difficult times, with household spending relatively static since 2008, and competition from the internet. For many magazines, monthly sales are falling year on year. I am sure none of our publishers is raking it in from sales of railway modelling magazines - I after wonder how they make any profit at all. Personally I am delighted at the current vibrancy of the sector, and suspect many contributors here would agree. John Hi John, That is indeed interesting and I noted similar a few weeks back - than ran out of info. One of the key issues is that the average person's wages have fallen, every year, for the past ten, and are a smaller percentage in terms of GDP than they have been. The cost of food stuff has increased as has energy etc., I estimate that each household, over the past 4-6 years is 40% down (in terms of dispossible income and thus spend) on what it was (official figures last week indicated 30-40%). Real wealth is owned by the select few in terms of their ownship of commodities, the rest of us, just have money (if we are lucky) - most of which, is by and large fictitious in terms of it relating to, in effect, 'promissory notes' (ie on a computer/in a bank somewhere and not actually in our pockets), as long as, in simple terms, 'cash flow', in the UK is limited, which figures indicate that it is, then we have a problem. Those with the commodities have sat on their err 'assets', therefore because of such, we wont, in real terms move forward as the wealth has not, relatively speaking been shared. There is also the issue of confidence/stability etc. with many on zero hours contracts and/or holding down several jobs at once. There was an improvement in 'cash flow' within the UK, when some of the PPI repayments flooded into the market circa Christmas 2013, whereas the US almost dipped back into recession at that time. I hope that also adds some meat to the bones. ATVB CME Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I have yet to see any free gifts (or indeed any financial incentive) to subscribe to RM. Moreover it is the most readily available in the shops (it's the only one my local paper shop stocks), and is very rarely bagged, so Smiffs reading room applies. I got a free loco with my BRM sub; there is usually a good deal with that and MR. I have to say I don't bother with HM any more, although I did get the first few issues. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphaniel Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The ABC certificates are easily available via Google - RMs latest was published in Feb 2014 and the numbers seem very stable. They tell you nothing about the economics though - the two top 'selling' mags in the UK appear to be Tesco and Asda's in house advertorial publications but that wouldn't be a market I'd be launching into! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted March 20, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2014 Does the decline in sales also indicate that today's railway modelling magazines do not contain the same level of information that pervious ones did and therefore not purchased by some modellers and me? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandc_au Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Clive, I suppose the listed decline would depend on whether they are counting electronic versions in that count as well. (Tried electronic and would not go back to it again if I can help it.) If the numbers are NOT counting electronic versions, I would suggest that both now and in the future, those figures will rise, as it seems to appeal to the younger generation. As for content, personally I feel it has declined for what I would like to read about. That said, I suppose there is an argument about how many times you can rehash an article! Mind you with the improvement in the quality of a lot of models, there often isn't the need to scratch/kitbash models to the same extent although I think there is a need for more detailed info on coaches and wagons. eg: where the lighting gaslines went on different coaches. buffer variations coach end variations Gets back to why I buy old mags when and where I can. A lot of ideas that are useful and still quite useable. Khris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Neither Railway Modeller nor British Railway Modelling are listed in this list, which in RM's case is curious as they used to quote ABC circulation figures, and indeed still display ABC on their masthead. The only figure I can find for RM is for 2008, when their monthly net sale was 43,194. I quickly found this through Google; http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=342 It seems to be RM's ABC figures for the end of last year. G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 One of the key issues is that the average person's wages have fallen, every year, for the past ten, and are a smaller percentage in terms of GDP than they have been. The cost of food stuff has increased as has energy etc., I estimate that each household, over the past 4-6 years is 40% down (in terms of dispossible income and thus spend) on what it was (official figures last week indicated 30-40%). But what, if any, figures are available as to how average the average railway modeller is in terms of income? I would expect the average reader of MRJ to have a higher income than would be the case with the other offerings. I would expect 0 gauge modellers on average to have a higher income than those who model 00. I would expect the average income of those who model Swiss railways to be very much above the average. Quoting average incomes is rather meaningless. The important factor is the disposable income of the targeted potential customer. While the figures might well be as you quote, a heck of a lot of people do not seem to be feeling the pinch. My other interest is cycling. Just look how that market has been exploited by very clever marketing in the last few years. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 On the Swanage Railway people leave magazines on a table for people to pick up and leave a donation of about 20p in a collection box. Sometimes the donated magazines are only a month old so people with small disposable incomes can keep reasonably up to date with magazine articles. This may reduce the sales of new magazines locally. Another point about magazines is that they take up a lot of space and are heavy and houses are smaller than they used to be. I have not got any room for any more magazines so I only buy one if it contains information that is useful to me. If other people are doing this the sales of magazines will go down. The model railway magazines are too good to throw away but when I buy one I try and leave an old one on the preserved railway sales table. Not everyone lives close enough to a preserved railway to do this. I don't think there is enough demand for another new magazine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 That's another good thing about the MRJ. It's not padded out with endless adverts, so they take up less room. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Phil Parker Posted March 20, 2014 Administrators Share Posted March 20, 2014 Does the decline in sales also indicate that today's railway modelling magazines do not contain the same level of information that pervious ones did and therefore not purchased by some modellers and me? I've a Model Railway News from August 1950 to hand, price 9p P143 - Editorial and club news P144 - A compact Branch Terminus by Ahern. Contemporary photos of Watlington station P149 - Trade Topics. A pair of locos from Cherrys (Surrey) Ltd P150 - Great Western 69ft Coach underframe drawing P153 - Plan of GWR 0-6-0 No. 143 P154 - A forgotten model railway. W Leigh describes his fathers 6 inch gauge model railway of 1896 built at a cost of £3000 P157 - The Pinner Circle. Laying track in a garden railway. P161 - Editors mailbag P162 - With the clubs I like this stuff - the Watlington photos are very interesting and if you like GWR coaches the plan will be useful although I bet very few people reading this have ever built one or plan to. The loco plan only shows the front and side view so you'd need to do a lot more research for a model. I suspect that it's more the world has changed. On another forum, someone describes showing an uncoupling device consisting of a lolly stick, bit of pencil and coin to a visitor to a show who tried to buy it off him exclaiming, "I can't build ANYTHING". Back in the day, people were more used to making stuff so plans were useful. Now we do step-by-step guides to try and lure readers into having a go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted March 20, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2014 I've a Model Railway News from August 1950 to hand, price 9p P143 - Editorial and club news P144 - A compact Branch Terminus by Ahern. Contemporary photos of Watlington station P149 - Trade Topics. A pair of locos from Cherrys (Surrey) Ltd P150 - Great Western 69ft Coach underframe drawing P153 - Plan of GWR 0-6-0 No. 143 P154 - A forgotten model railway. W Leigh describes his fathers 6 inch gauge model railway of 1896 built at a cost of £3000 P157 - The Pinner Circle. Laying track in a garden railway. P161 - Editors mailbag P162 - With the clubs I like this stuff - the Watlington photos are very interesting and if you like GWR coaches the plan will be useful although I bet very few people reading this have ever built one or plan to. The loco plan only shows the front and side view so you'd need to do a lot more research for a model. I suspect that it's more the world has changed. On another forum, someone describes showing an uncoupling device consisting of a lolly stick, bit of pencil and coin to a visitor to a show who tried to buy it off him exclaiming, "I can't build ANYTHING". Back in the day, people were more used to making stuff so plans were useful. Now we do step-by-step guides to try and lure readers into having a go. Fascinating stuff, but, P154 - A forgotten model railway. W Leigh describes his fathers 6 inch gauge model railway of 1896 built at a cost of £3000 Wow, 3000 pounds in 1896 money. How much would that be equivalent to now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Fascinating stuff, but, P154 - A forgotten model railway. W Leigh describes his fathers 6 inch gauge model railway of 1896 built at a cost of £3000 Wow, 3000 pounds in 1896 money. How much would that be equivalent to now? About £340K. Blimey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandc_au Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Is this the new mag? http://www.greystarpublications.com/fsr/ Khris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted September 24, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 24, 2014 Is this the new mag? http://www.greystarpublications.com/fsr/ Khris Hi Kris Thanks for the link. I notice form their blurb it may not going to be found on Smifffs shelves. It is available on an annual subscription basis or individually through a selection of regional finescale traders and shops. There is no elitism with finescale modelling? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted September 24, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 24, 2014 I notice form their blurb it may not going to be found on Smifffs shelves. It is available on an annual subscription basis or individually through a selection of regional finescale traders and shops. There is no elitism with finescale modelling? That's the same for their other publication, Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review, which is soon to celebrate its 100th issue http://www.greystarpublications.com/ngi/index.htm and of course its edited by Bob Barlow - who does have a bit of experience in Finescale Railway modelling as well as magazine editing and publishing ! ! . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted September 24, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 24, 2014 Well, this is all very interesting... Bob Barlow Good luck with the new publication Bob - is issue 1 already available ? . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I see that the publishers have a stand at Scaleforum. Mayhap I shall stop by. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modfather Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Well having chatted about it with a dubious Bath book retailer, I'll take a punt on it, Messrs Barlow and Shackleton banged out some of the best MRJ's with a good balance of aspirational and practical modelling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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