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Post by kisatchie on May 18, 2012 9:08:23 GMT -8
It's been about 7 years since hurricane Katrina flooded me out of New Orleans and I stopped buying N Scale Magazine and N Scale Railroading. I'm thinking of subscribing to both of them, but I'd like to find out if they frequently publish factory/industry/station scratchbuilding plans. Any info would be helpful. I just subscribed to Railroad Model Craftsman, because they often run such plans. Unfortunately, Model Railroader has plans few and far between, from what I've seen. I just finished going through about 8 or 9 years of MR, and found only 8 plans that were suitable. I had to pass on several station houses that were just too ornate to scratchbuild in N scale, as well as several industries that were just too complex to model, for me at least. Hmm... I wish Kiz would
scratchbuild me a house
on the Riviera... |
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Post by KIM on May 18, 2012 9:13:11 GMT -8
It's interesting that I was just sitting here thinking that I needed to subscribe to the N scale magazines. I haven't done that in years. Dee, you wouldn't like the Riviera. The termites are too skinny.
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Post by Donnell Wells on May 18, 2012 9:38:02 GMT -8
Ever since Hundman sold N-scale magazine, it just hasn't been as good as it was, at least to me. But then again, I'm not primarily an N-scale modeler, so maybe my appeal is too focused in specific areas.
I guess my ideal magazine for N-scale would feature more superdetailing and scratchbuilt strcuture articles using updated techniques, and not so many "gimmicky" projects. I would include tons of scale drawings, as I personally find these an invaluable asset. Basically, it would be a modernized, N-scale version of Mainline Modeler which by far, is still the best modeling mag around, even though long out of production!)
Donnell
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Post by catt on May 18, 2012 13:00:28 GMT -8
Donnell,
I would have to disagree with you.Pam has taken a dieing magazine and brought it back to life.N Scale was fact quickly becoming the tree magazine.I find it quite refreshing to pic the mag up and NOT see a "How to build a tree" article.
By the way I have no primary scale,about the only ones I don't dabble in are TT,T ,S the rest of them are fair game. ;D
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Post by kisatchie on May 18, 2012 14:05:24 GMT -8
N Scale was fact quickly becoming the tree magazine.I find it quite refreshing to pic the mag up and NOT see a "How to build a tree" article.... I remember one issue way back (when it was a Hundman mag) that showed how to get realistic leaves on one's trees. N scale leaves??? Come on. Anyhow, when I found out the photos used in the article were of an S scale layout's trees, I was really steamed. Hmm... that reminds me,
get Kiz to fix my sauna... |
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Post by loggerhead on May 18, 2012 14:48:09 GMT -8
Both N Scale Magazines have moved away from scratch building plans and seem to be focusing more on layouts.
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Post by tdcsxcrrfan on May 18, 2012 15:23:57 GMT -8
I think you made the best choice of mags for finding plans Kiz. RMC seems to be more of a "scratchbuilder's"-oriented mag, for all scales!
Trevor D.
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Post by santafe524 on May 18, 2012 15:36:31 GMT -8
I feel that N-Scale has improved.
The prior ownership spent far too many issues on superdetailed projects. Something like 8 issues on one depot. In several cases IIRC the parts/materials used were no longer available and had been gone for years.
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Post by Donnell Wells on May 18, 2012 18:57:20 GMT -8
Donnell, I would have to disagree with you.Pam has taken a dieing magazine and brought it back to life.N Scale was fact quickly becoming the tree magazine.I find it quite refreshing to pic the mag up and NOT see a "How to build a tree" article. By the way I have no primary scale,about the only ones I don't dabble in are TT,T ,S the rest of them are fair game. ;D
And while the tree content took up a significant portion of those later issues, when you consider them in relation to the entire catalog from 1989 until mid-2006, it really was a much smaller portion than it seemed.
Donnell |
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Post by Donnell Wells on May 18, 2012 19:15:52 GMT -8
I feel that N-Scale has improved. The prior ownership spent far too many issues on superdetailed projects. Something like 8 issues on one depot. In several cases IIRC the parts/materials used were no longer available and had been gone for years.
The superdetailed projects are exactly what I enjoyed about this magazine, and its all-scale counter-part, Mainline Modeler. Model Railroader magazine used to be this way from the 60s to the mid-90s (very heavily in the 70s and 80s), but started gearing its content more toward novice and intermediate modelers from then on.
They throw a couple of articles with more advanced content every now and then, but not nearly with as frequent as in the past, and not with as much originality or inguinuity...
Donnell
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Post by alco539 on May 21, 2012 13:07:00 GMT -8
Donnell, now your talking about my era. That's one thing I do remember about MR in the late 60's and 70's. At that time I wasn't much into detailing or scratch building. I did build a turntable in N scale that I'm going to use on my new layout too. I needed a 90 foot table and none was available back then. It used for power and will again, the gear train from an electric meter and a Mabuchi motor, no kidding! Anyway, do you think that the editors just don't have the skills today? Linn Westcott and others on that staff, were hard acts to follow. I haven't picked up a magazine, since the early 80's, so I'll stop talking (shooting off my mouth) about something I don't know anything about. However, I have seen some great stuff on this forum, and the other forums, so you guys must be "naturals" and don't need much help. Regards Charley.
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Post by KIM on May 21, 2012 16:10:47 GMT -8
I have noticed that Model Railroader now has a regular column devoted to N Scale. Maybe this will help the scale to gain some recognition. I've been so busy that I haven't given magazines much notice, as I get most of my model fix from the forums.
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Post by Donnell Wells on May 21, 2012 17:12:11 GMT -8
I think a lot more of the scratchbuilding and super/hyper detailing content, as well as a new wave of innovative layout construction and model building techniques are published online where it is virtually instantly available for the public's perusal, as opposed to waiting several months in hopes that you might catch a decent article in one of the magazines.
I think the Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, which incidently is a *free* monthly online publication, is doing much to recapture some of the craftsmanship that was once prevalent in many of the traditional printed magazines. I really think they have started a trend that could easily catch on and even be narrowed down to specific areas.
One such aera that I would like to see is a compendium of diesel-only, freight car-only, passegercar-only detailing/scratchbuilding/kitbashing oriented online publications. Of course, they could be multi-scale or scale-specific.
Well...it's just an idea.
Donnell
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Post by umtrrauthor on May 21, 2012 18:02:18 GMT -8
There are online e-zines that are devoted to specific railroads and offered by railroad historical societies. I would call them quite scholarly and detailed.
The Keystone Modeler of the PRR H&TS is probably the most well established of these, but there are a number of others as well.
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Post by kisatchie on May 21, 2012 18:16:00 GMT -8
...I think the Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, which incidently is a *free* monthly online publication, is doing much to recapture some of the craftsmanship that was once prevalent in many of the traditional printed magazines. [/font][/quote] Thanks for reminding me about this free online magazine. I just went and subscribed. Hmm... I subscribed to
Termite World Magazine,
but it arrived half eaten... |
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Post by alco539 on May 23, 2012 4:27:52 GMT -8
I checked out the MRRHM web site, interesting stuff there. Also, kisatchie, I'm glad you mentioned RMC, my LHS doesn't even carry it. I wondered if they were still with us. Like I said, I haven't picked up MR or RMC since the early 80's. Do you folks think the print versions of MRR magazines will survive? It's such a small market anyway. I know this is question for most print media. Charley.
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Post by inkaneer on May 25, 2012 6:51:18 GMT -8
Donnell, I would have to disagree with you.Pam has taken a dieing magazine and brought it back to life.N Scale was fact quickly becoming the tree magazine.I find it quite refreshing to pic the mag up and NOT see a "How to build a tree" article. By the way I have no primary scale,about the only ones I don't dabble in are TT,T ,S the rest of them are fair game. ;D And I will disagree with you. In my part time job I have a lot of time on my hands between runs so I dig out the old mags and take them with me. The old Hundman articles, which I didn't appreciate at the time, are great sources of "how to" information. Also the sections on modeling tips come in handy as well. I dropped N Scale Railroading because it was all photos and some of them were thumbnail size. |
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Post by fredmoehrle on May 30, 2012 8:08:21 GMT -8
Well, while out and about today, I managed to snag a copy of the May/June N-Scale magazine. The articles are: (You can drum on your desks if you like!) ;D 1. A layout tour. 2. Loco super detailing 3. N-Scale Approach (Done by some guy named Lee Weldon, where have I seen that before???)  4.Building electronics to light buildings  5.Another layout tour. 6. Adding lighting to passenger cars. Seems to me a good mix. Now Dee can relax about dinner! |
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