Re: Model Railroader mag -- observations and quesions
- From: "the OTHER Mike" <BleuRaeder@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 5 Nov 2005 16:32:50 -0800
Wolf Kirchmeir wrote:
> Jim McLaughlin wrote:
> [...]
> > One of the things I used to like about MR was the list of club open houses
> > at this time of year. Its mostly gone, unless he organization pays an ad
> > fee. Funny way to grow the hobby.
>
> Open houses etc listed on their web site, and more timely, too, since
> clubs don't have to plan so far ahead.
>
> > Rest of the content, compared to 5 or 7 years ago, was disappointing at
> > best. The product reviews are for what are essentially toys.
>
> I don't think P2000, BLI, Kato, Atlas, etc make toys. :-) The kits
> reviewed are mostly resin or laser cut craft kits - not toys by any
> stretch of the imagination.
>
> I haven't seen the Dec 05 issue yet, but that one traditionally reviews
> entry-level train sets, etc, so maybe that's what you have in mind. In
> fact the Dec issue tends to be very much aimed at the beginner. Good
> thinking, IMO.
>
> > The articles, excepting the DCC article, were just plain poor.
>
> Mr has gone to shorter articles with more pictures, presented in
> step-by-step fashion. For the seasoned modeller they are reminders of
> techniques (s)he already knows, with occasional new tricks, and for the
> beginner are just right.
>
> Fact is that if you've been in the hobby for a few years, you've
> encountered just about every method there is. You're more likekly to
> want proptoype information about your road, era, or region.
>
> > Is it just me?
>
> No, I've seen this yearning for the Good Ole Days many, many times here.
> I think it's nostalgia for the time when you and the hobby were young,
> and every issue of MR, RMC, etc contained unexpected treasures. Now
> you're older, wiser, know a lot more, and you notice the repetition in
> the material printed. You also notice that most of it is at a level that
> you reached or surpassed a long time ago. C'est la vie: you get older,
> sometimes wiser, and usually more skillful.
>
> > What happenned to MR?
>
> The same as to every other special interest magazine: it recognised that
> the market is chnaging. Did you know, for example, that ready to run
> cars outsell kits by about 10:1? And that Walthers sells several times
> more ready-built structures than kits, and that the ratio is increasing?
>
> I operate a small, mostly-trains hobby here in a very small market.
> Recently, a family showed up who had visited friends near here, and were
> pleased with what I have on offer. But they turned down _all_ kits, even
> the Athearns and Accurails, which surely don't take much skill. Ready to
> run and ready built only, that's all they wanted. The boy was about 12,
> and the father in his 30s. That's the future of the hobby. MR has
> recognised it.
>
> One other thing: an increasing number of people want on-line info, and
> ignore print. The effects of that are not clear, but they don't look
> good for the magazines.
>
> HTH
One of the best posts on the subject I've read that covers all but one
important point.
Seems the name "Model Railroader" is on a mag that should be called
"Railroad Modeler"
Most people are "Railroad Modelers" involved in greater degrees with
the art of modeling the railroad by creating dioramas with trains that
move through them.
Fewer people connected in the "hobby of models and railroading" are
"model railroaders".
.
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