January/February 2020 N-Scale Magazine

[Pamela Clapp]

N-Scale Magazine has been going strong for over 30 years since the first issue - July/August 1989. We hope you will join us and subscribe to N-Scale Magazine  and support the only N scale magazine available.    www.nscalemagazine.com
The January/February 2020 issue is now available.

[rgengineoiler]

This isn't true.  There is also N Scale Railroading.  Been a subscriber for a very long time.   Doug

[jereising]

Sorry, Doug.  Kirk has announced NSR is going only online in the near future.  There's a thread about it over in the Crew Lounge...https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=48431.0

[bbussey]

Well technically there are still two N scale magazines, because the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of NSR is being published in the current format.

[peteski]

Oh boy!  After what happened with the previous issue's announcement thread (see the Crew Lounge), I hope this one doesn't go that way. 

Good to see printed magazines still hanging around.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I need to start getting more articles in.

[EspeeGoldenState]

Maybe its me, but this issue has two Part 4s in it, that means its taken 8 months to get to this point now. Sure some people have projects on their workbench for longer, but not the point. If you are stringing out the article to make the magazine worthy, well.... And if I pick up this months issue, and now see I have to find the previous 3 because I didnt from 6 months ago. I'm sorry to me that just seems terrible.

Chris

[John]

Maybe its me, but this issue has two Part 4s in it, that means its taken 8 months to get to this point now. Sure some people have projects on their workbench for longer, but not the point. If you are stringing out the article to make the magazine worthy, well.... And if I pick up this months issue, and now see I have to find the previous 3 because I didnt from 6 months ago. I'm sorry to me that just seems terrible.

Chris

I remember the ModelRailroading articles -- GP38's Part 26 

[rgengineoiler]

I don't care for magazines that string out a subject for months such as RMC's "Consider the Commuter", or Bruce Chubb's, "Signaling for Operation",  etc.  These were very long pieces and should have been in book form.  If interested we could buy the book.  I would!   Doug   

[learmoia]

Maybe its me, but this issue has two Part 4s in it, that means its taken 8 months to get to this point now. Sure some people have projects on their workbench for longer, but not the point. If you are stringing out the article to make the magazine worthy, well.... And if I pick up this months issue, and now see I have to find the previous 3 because I didnt from 6 months ago. I'm sorry to me that just seems terrible.

Chris

That assumes Parts 1, 2, and 3 were in the last 3 issues.. or were those split across more issues..

Hence the benefit of a free On Line magazine..

And GP38s part 26.. (was half of each article a recap of the previous article?)

~Ian

[rodsup9000]

I don't care for magazines that string out a subject for months such as RMC's "Consider the Commuter", or Bruce Chubb's, "Signaling for Operation",  etc.  These were very long pieces and should have been in book form.  If interested we could buy the book.  I would!   Doug   

 The people that were interested in those strung out articles would want to get the next one and maybe a subscription. I think one of the best series that MR did was the Clinchfield n scale layout.  And then there was the "Up Clear Creek" series that the Narrow Gauge Gazette did that went on for what seems like 10 years and one of the reasons I did subscribe to it.

[wm3798]

And the Clinchfield articles begat a book, as well as an historic layout, and some would say, the ultimate viability of N scale as anything more than a novelty.

My main disappointment with N Scale Magazine these days is the quality of the writing, or ultimately, the editing.  Too many layout articles are long on cute backstories, and short on actual modeling information.  I know it's hard enough to get material contributed, but some clear guideline as to how to structure an article would be helpful.  To illustrate by anecdote, back when I ran a thrift store, I made sure the high quality stuff I got had a higher than average price so it would stick around for a while.  When people saw quality goods in the store, I tended to get better quality donations.  Same goes for magazine content.  If it's choppy, trite and uninspiring, that's the nature of the submissions you'll get.  Since I'm sure most articles are "first timers" the editor's role becomes even more important to coach the authors a bit to pull the best information together for the piece, and failing that, providing a competent rewrite that rises to the expectations of the readership.

I don't have a problem with seeing layouts of varying degrees of skill level, especially now that I'm back dabbling with dinosaurs.  I'd rather see a marginally executed Unitrak rig that someone put some thought into and has his hands in rather than a professionally built "modeling by checkbook" layout such as have appeared in several GMR editions.

Lee

[learmoia]

And various stages of completion would be nice to see as well...

Is it that only finished layouts be shown in a magazine?..

I wouldn't mind seeing partially complete layouts, or a contributed multipart article of a layout under construction.

~Ian