Over thirty years since the Model Railway Constructor passed.

[allegheny1600]

Hi All,

I knew this year marked thirty years since the beloved "Model Railway Constructor" ended and had it in mind to comment about it. Sadly, I missed the actual milestone itself (being a copy date of June 1987) but I thought I would just mark it now.

This was the very first magazine I ever bought, probably at around twelve years old and yes, I bought it not a relative. I only bought the very odd issue, being out of the country for most of the year in those days but at my first model railway exhibition, I bought a years worth of back issues. At the time, they were four or five years old but they seemed to contain so much ancient history to me!

By 1980, I took out a subscription that was delivered to France and in that year, the magazine celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the EM gauge society, which got me really hooked.

I returned to the UK in about 1983 and unfortunately, stopped collecting it religiously, only buying the occasional copy from local newsagents. My interests were becoming so diverse, music, cars, girls, not even MRC could cater for that! Although, it was well thought of for having diverse content, British, American, Continental, Standard, Narrow, New, Ancient and so forth.

So a few years later, my heart truly sank when I picked up the June 1987 edition and discovered it was the final issue.



RIP MRC!

 

[ceejaydee]

I chose MRC as my magazine to buy as we had RM in the library at school; there was quite a bit of choice back then too.
Started buying around mid-late 1981 and made it almost to the end with my own purchases but was given many earlier ones and a few later ones over the years so have quite a collection knocking about.
Constructor Annual was a regular Xmas present for 83, 84 & 85 and they sit behind me as I type.
Had a letter published one month which had been edited so it didn't quite make sense, but I was in my early teens so was happy to see it in print nonetheless.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Ah the brown paper pages! Who ever thought that was a good idea?
I still have a few copies in my collection and saw some pristine back numbers for sale at Bridgenorth last month but nothing took my fancy.
Ian.

 

[steve1]

It's funny but loads of older modellers frequently comment that MRC was the best magazine of all time. If that was the case, then why did it go bust? RM kept going (and yes I do appreciate the cross subsidy from other Pritchard products) and after MRC's demise BRM, ModelRail, Hornby and MRJ all appeared and are still going.

A case of the pink tinctured eyewear maybe?

steve

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

If that was the case, then why did it go bust?

It didn't. Publishing ceased when Chris Leigh resigned/left as editor in 1987. All I can assume is either Ian Allan could not find a new editor or the MRC (being the only model magazine in their stable in 1987) did not fit their overall magazine portfolio/strategy at that time. Chris Leigh subsequently went on to edit Model Rail Magazine after Dave Lowery. Of course now Ian Allan publish Hornby Magazine.

 

[Arun]

It's funny but loads of older modellers frequently comment that MRC was the best magazine of all time. If that was the case, then why did it go bust? RM kept going (and yes I do appreciate the cross subsidy from other Pritchard products) and after MRC's demise BRM, ModelRail, Hornby and MRJ all appeared and are still going.

A case of the pink tinctured eyewear maybe?

steve

I would suggest that BRM, MR and Hornby are as different from MRC of old as they are from MRJ. MRC's greatest attraction to me was always the several pages of drawings of road and rail vehicles which, in terms of quality and clarity, bear comparison with anything in RM or MRJ today. Sadly such aids to builders of rolling stock and buildings are rare or nonexistent in BRM, MR and Hornby. Russell Carter's short lived series of modern image and steam drawings in early BRMs being an honourable exception.
You might argue that those three latter magazines are currently aimed at supporters of box shifters [and by extension their advertising revenues] and RTR repainters rather than those modellers who actually design or build kits - let alone scratchbuild.
Horses for courses I think.

Arun

 

[David Taylor]

A case of the pink tinctured eyewear maybe?

steve

I got a box of them a couple of years ago and I was really impressed. It must have been the MRJ of it's day. I recently threw out all my magazines except MRJ and MRC. It strikes me as similar to early MRJ with articles about advancements in scratchbuilding etc. I think the name is Chris Pemberton, he did some killer models in 7mm. The only thing I didn't much like were the layout articles because they have always read the same, in every magazine, and I have no interest in layouts. But that's obviously a minority opinion in this hobby

No rose coloured glasses here. I read them for the first time recently and they hold their own with MRJ which I'd put on an equal footing. I want to add I think RM has really upped their game in the last couple of years, not so much with scratchbuilding but with lots of good info about other things.

 

[allegheny1600]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!
With regard to MRC ceasing publication, I honestly don't know any real reason but I do find it telling that this was a magazine that was going from strength to strength through the early 1980's. Up until that point, it had always been quite a slim magazine but from about 1981 until say, 1983 or so, it grew somewhat bigger. Mine are all stashed away in the attic and it's too cold to go and check but ISTR this growth was not just advertising, a lot of it was editorial content. Then suddenly, there was a drying up of content and it grew thinner and thinner.
Did the onset of MRJ, Continental Modeller and other, poorer magazines simply draw writers astray from somewhere that previously used to welcome them, was it poor management or what?
I'd love to know for certain but one thing is for sure, in my humble opinion, none of todays magazines offer the broad ranging coverage MRC used to. Railway Modeller is closest but due to its sister magazine, CM is where other countries models are placed. As a Continental enthusiast, I love it anyway but I sure do miss MRC.
It may be "pink tinctured eyewear", I don't know!
John.

 

[JimG]

Also don't forget the re-vamped Model Railway News which became Model Railways with Rock Dock as editor in 1971. In a way it started doing what MRJ did in the following decade but with a different group of authors - like Stewart Hine, Bernard Wright, Colin Binnie, Dennis Allenden, etc.

Jim.

 

[allegheny1600]

You might argue that those three latter magazines [BRM, MR and Hornby] are currently aimed at supporters of box shifters [and by extension their advertising revenues] and RTR repainters rather than those modellers who actually design or build kits - let alone scratchbuild.

I would certainly agree with this sentiment, wholeheartedly.

 

[steve1]

Some interesting responses.

I came "back" to railway modelling in 1982, assuming HD 3-rail as a small boy was railway modelling, and although I obviously tried a lot of mags then, the only one I followed consistently (to the extent of taking out a sub) was Scale Model Trains. In fact I followed it through all its iterations, including the late A5-sized Scale Rail International, as it covered just about all of my modelling interests. All the others, including MRC, I bought occasionally if there was enough to interest me in it; which is still how I buy modelling mags.

I did buy the MRJ from issue 0-50 but stopped as I realised that its retro and steam-orientated content was getting further and further away from where my modelling was at. As my interests include US and German HO as much as UK D&E 4mm I find that it still to be the case.

What I'm saying, in a nutshell, is that the MRC meant no more to me than any other mag really...

steve

 

[allegheny1600]

No worries, Steve!
Different people view different things in different ways. Timing also affects how we view things, for example, I started taking MRC regularly only a few years prior to you and back then, it regularly included European and American articles, partly why I loved it so much.
Probably because of this is why I never really went to town on SMT and co, although by rights, I should have done so as H0 German and US outline is my forte, too.

 

[hrmspaul]

It didn't. Publishing ceased when Chris Leigh resigned/left as editor in 1987. All I can assume is either Ian Allan could not find a new editor or the MRC (being the only model magazine in their stable in 1987) did not fit their overall magazine portfolio/strategy at that time. Chris Leigh subsequently went on to edit Model Rail Magazine after Dave Lowery. Of course now Ian Allan publish Hornby Magazine.

I hope this is intended to be amusing! On RMWeb Chris has described the circumstances of this very sudden change in his fortunes at IA at a time when he had youngish family to support. It was some 5 years before he was head hunted to edit Steam World and has become a consistent contributor to several Bauer titles, who have supported him well.

Model Railways was the child of Model Railway News and failed during Dave Lowery's editorshop. Model Rail was a new publication which started as an occasional 'pull out' in Rail which was then grown into a magazine of its own, initially publishing bimonthly.

Paul Bartlett

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Thanks for the clarification of the records Paul. I was unaware of the change in fortunes.

 

[S7BcSR]

I just happened to be sorting out some magazines this evening for, potentially, throwing out. These particular ones came from a deceased friend and are mostly duplicates of my own.

The first mag. I picked up was in fact the MRC for June 1987, the very last issue. I started reading the editorial by Chris Leigh and the thing that struck me was that this very good mag was losing money hand over fist to the extent that IA had to withdraw it with immediate effect. It does say that if they had continued with it until the end of the year it could have had an effect on group finances. It was in a vicious circle being unable to get articles which was leading advertisers to pull out because circulation was dropping because of lack of articles etc. Yes, it was a great pity that it disappeared as it, for its time, was a well thought out magazine.

I have just finished going through the final 12 months issues and I can't throw them out yet as there is stuff in every issue that I want to scan whether it be plans, photos, datafile etc. There is much in each issue that is of little relevance to me today so once I have scanned what I want then they are likely to be thrown out. Of course, if anyone would like some copies I would be happy to let them go for a small consideration which I will pass on to the RNLI, my deceased friends chosen charity.

Rob

 

[Steph Dale]

Rob,

If I might interject; perhaps you could donate them to the magazine shop at the Vintage Carriages Trust if you don't find a buyer here when the time comes?
Vintage Carriages Trust

Steph

 

[S7BcSR]

Steph,

Fair suggestion; however I am trying to raise money for the RNLI which was Beric's request before he passed away.

However, having raised the point I am sure I can find other magazines (like 40 years worth of RMs) of my own that I could donate to Vintage Carriages Trust.

Rob

 

[Steph Dale]

Rob,
Quite understand - it was just a suggestion. It's always good to be able to stand by a friend's wishes.

Steph