MR subscription at an end

[ednadolski]

If you laughed at my topics, it's because it's true.

It has gotten somewhat better lately, in terms of fewer "duds", but still is dominated by "Attention Deficit Modeling" and "Don't Overwhelm the Beginner". There are no weathering projects that a big box of powdered chalk can't handle, the DCC articles are less informative than any manufacturer's intro material, and the broccoli trees weren't all that long ago.

The one genuinely irritating thing is that they seem to be trying to save a lot of the interesting stuff for the special issues and books.  So the magazine sometimes feels like leftover scraps off the floor.

Ed

[Dave V]

 
The one genuinely irritating thing is that they seem to be trying to save a lot of the interesting stuff for the special issues and books.  So the magazine sometimes feels like leftover scraps off the floor.

Ed

This.  A thousand times this.

Plus, I miss those super fat January issues of the 80s and early 90s.

[rogergperkins]

I continue my subscription because over all I enjoy the magazine and also like the option of viewing the online features and videos.
I subscribe to N-Scale and NSR, too.

[MichaelWinicki]

I thought the October issue of MR was excellent.

The three articles on urban modeling were very good.

[Virginia Atlantic]

Magazines, in general, are a dead industry.  Readership at all time lows, and for hobbyist related topics, they have been completely usurped by web-based content providers.  If you take the time to find a few good sites/forums/etc, you will have more access to interest-specific information, pics, etc, in five minutes than you would have in an entire year of magazine reading.

Generally, magazines are now supported only by the older generation of folks, myself included.  Even those of us who are quite web savy, but grew up with magazines, still cling to their warm familiar comfort.....that, and dragging the laptop in the loo is too much effort.

TLDR:  Dump MR, read N-Scale Railroading for the pictures, use the Web for everything else.

[Bsklarski]

Another downfall of MR is the reviews they have on the new stuff. You can get decent reviews from non-bias people who have bought it months faster than you can read about it in MR. You always know too that MR will give Walthers and Kato a good review no matter what. I am surprised that this thread has not gotten locked yet from bashing Tony K from MR. Guy seems nice enough, but 99% of what he babbles about nobody in the real world can relate to as if its not what he models, its junk and not worth his time. At least thats the impression I get.

[Bendtracker1]

Ever since N Scale released their issues on CD's, I've often wonder why the rest of rags don't offer both printed digital subscriptions for the same price.  It's not like the rags aren't digital before going to press.

Yeah, you wouldn't have anything to take to the bathroom, but then again, we do have laptops and smart phones.

A buddy of mine had piles of MR and others and was in the process of cutting out the articles that held interest for him and then inserted them into plastic sheet protectors.  They took up shelf space too, just not as fast.  He stopped this when N scale came out with the first CD and then he started scanning what he wanted and pitched the rest.

I haven't had a subscription for years for any rag.  The last subscription I had was N scale, then when NSR came I bought a few of the early issues.  Since then, when ever I find a article of interest in any rag, I buy that issue and scan what I want and toss the rest or give it to my mother who takes it to the hospital where she volunteers.  I suppose I could keep the rest of the issue in the bathroom in case I ran out of toilet paper.   

I agree with Chuck Geiger, I've learned a lot here on RW that pertains to me with out running the risk of carpel tunnel flipping though pages of articles that have been re-hashed a thousand times. 

Just to name a few: Gary Hinshaw's "Fading Fast..." and M.C. Fujiwara's "Twirled trees"  While his trees are nothing new, he put more details and pictures into how he did it than a stripped down version of a two page article with a only a couple of pics.
Not too mention the feedback from other members with their inputs of their successes and failures!

It's also nice to "SEE" the thoughts of others as they are designing and building their layouts as in the "Layout Engineering Reports" here on RW.  More than once, I've picked up on something that I was having troubles with or a fix that I might be able to use in the future.
 

[diezmon]

I've actually let all three of my subs lapse.. I just buy the one's that are interesting at the LHS.   The thing that I wish MR would figure out is the 'member only content'..

So, say I buy an issue, I can't even view that issue's info online.. they need to come up with a code or something per month, so if I pay for the mag, I can still view certain content. yeah yeah, I know.. how do you ensure it's for only that month, and what happens if I email the code to my friends, etc.. still, it'd be nice. 

And yeah, I know it'll never happen..    

[Denver Road Doug]

I have to admit, I was probably on the "bleeding edge" for ditching magazine subscriptions.  I had one relapse where I was considering massive subscriptions to all my favs but didn't pull the trigger. (this was right before a couple of them went under)   I subscribed to Trains last year just because the price was right and it is kinda nice to get a train-related piece in the mail once a month.   Given MR's recent progress, I am considering doing 1 year with them, but I haven't gone through with it....same dilemma as the o.p.   I HAVE been a huge supporter of MR over the years, and even when I haven't been a subscriber, I usually buy most issues anyway.   Beginner stuff aside, I just enjoy it... and definitely a sentimental element for sure.

Now--as I have over the past 12 years since I returned to the hobby--I buy an assortment of mags on occassion, but the issue of storing, etc. is huge with me.   I am now in the process of scanning what few articles I have left that I clipped over the years...still a decent amount in the grand scheme of things, but dwindling.   I am  unbinding and scanning all the Great Model Railroads and Model Railroad Planning issues as I don't think they are included in the MR DVD's, which I intend to purchase.   At some level I feel any scanning activities are a waste as most of the stuff will probably be available digitally, eventually.  But there are some things I don't want to lose in the short term.  I want everything digital.  Period.   The e-Readers/iPad's have a good enough feature-set and human interface now that they truly can replace the magazine format, IMHO.   I would be happy to pay a subscription fee to have digital content delivered.

I will say, I DO think that there are still very good articles presented in the various magazines, above and beyond what you can find online in the forums.  (and you get to see the end result in high quality photos...often "advice" online has no photographic support and is more likely to have been pulled out of thin air.)  Yes, there are vast amounts of information online, but there is ten times that amount of MISINFORMATION online as well.   I've seen people recommend things--just in the model railroading realm--that were at best things that just flat wouldn't work (up to the point of damaging models and construction materials), and at worst extremely hazardous to one's health.   So I think the quality, safety, and consistency of material presented from an organization such as MR or NS/NSR will be better and worth the price of admission.

[Brakie]

Another downfall of MR is the reviews they have on the new stuff. You can get decent reviews from non-bias people who have bought it months faster than you can read about it in MR. You always know too that MR will give Walthers and Kato a good review no matter what. I am surprised that this thread has not gotten locked yet from bashing Tony K from MR. Guy seems nice enough, but 99% of what he babbles about nobody in the real world can relate to as if its not what he models, its junk and not worth his time. At least thats the impression I get.

I approach on line reviews with caution and lots of salt since there is far to many "forum experts" that fully believes if a model doesn't fill their modeling standards or if the paint is a tad off its junk..Then how do we know the reviewer isn't bias against a brand or a employee from a competitor? Simply put we don't know.

Again TK use to have tons of  good stuff to share.

I still don't subscribe to any on line e-magazine and have no desire to at this time.

[wcfn100]

It dawned on me last night that maybe the reason I keep my MR subscription is because it's not heavy in N scale.  MR shows me what's going on in other scales that I don't normally see on-line.  The two N scale mags are redundant.  Not only to each other, but to what I see here and occasionally the other forums.

The knock on MR about the number of pages is getting old.  Go grab one of those 115 page issues and count the number of advertisers and compare that to a recent issue.  You'll see what you're 'missing'.


Jason

[MichaelWinicki]

I approach on line reviews with caution and lots of salt since there is far to many "forum experts" that fully believes if a model doesn't fill their modeling standards or if the paint is a tad off its junk..

And how.


The one area that MR excels in are the trackplans.   And in conjunction with that the articles that focus on a specific prototype and then come up with a trackplan for that prototype.   You simply don't find those in other venues.

[Virginia Atlantic]

The knock on MR about the number of pages is getting old.

Page complaints (and more) is a universal complaint regarding the U.S. Magazine Industry as a whole, not just MR, and another large part of why it's floundering this sid eof the pond.

Go to any larger U.S. Metropolitan bookstore, and take a look at the UK versions of many "hobby/interest" Magazines, and see the amount of pages, paper and binding quality and content differences between the US mags and UK mags.  It will stun you how totally and utterly superior UK magazines are, in every way possible, to their American equivalents.  Hell, even the quality of writing is far better, generally.

Put another way, if there was a UK-Style Model Railroading magazine covering U.S. railroading, done similarly to the various guitar, gaming or other "interest" UK magazines, I would buy it every month, despite the rather painful foreign-mag upcharges.

It's the total lack of quality of U.S. magazines, MR among them, that is a large portion of their ongoing decline of readership.

[Blazeman]

I recently re-upped for three more years. They came at me with a really good price, <$3 an issue. Just hope the USPS is still going to be there to deliver. But it's light reading, I review the issues after a few months and pick out things I missed, and like viewing the video offerings for subscribers, especially David Popp's layout expansion series.

As for the space matter, I long ago began to remove pertinent pages (articles of interest for immediate or future use) that fit my skill level or hoped for skill level and filed them by subject...weathering, kit bashes, benchwork, traction, and numerous others as well as entire layout construction series going back to the Ma & Pa and the early N layouts....Enfield & Ohio and NY&Q. 40+ years of magazines have been reduced to a couple file boxes I got from office moves. AHC's prices from the early 70's are a curiosity, but of no value to me now.

Some of the issues really boil down to a minimal number of pages. This doesn't work for everyone for sure. I grew up in a row house with two sisters, so managing space is something I learned early.

[Brakie]

The knock on MR about the number of pages is getting old.  Go grab one of those 115 page issues and count the number of advertisers and compare that to a recent issue.  You'll see what you're 'missing'.


Jason
-------------------
Jason,I remember when MR was fat with advertisers and how readers would complain there was to many ads!

Now hang on to your hat..

A lot  of the missing columns was due to the reader compliants of the day and how "useless" the columns were so,MR gave in and removed the columns..