I actually put myself forward for the role, encouraged by at least one of the luminaries of our hobby. It came to nothing.
Absolutely.... Would we miss MRJ if it wasn't there?
It's interesting, sitting as I have done with feet in both model railways and the publishing world, how we still think in terms of paper magazines.
Now, I like a paper magazine. It's much easier to read in odd places and leave laying about the workbench when used as reference. The problem is production and distribution. That's where most of the cost is these days, whereas a PDF or other electronic magazine has little or no production and distribution cost - albeit with other problems. The future is not really in the print medium any more, or at least not until the asteroid hits and knocks us back into the Middle Ages.
That said, I subscribe to a couple of photography magazines which are entirely electronic. While it makes it a bit harder to read in some circumstances, the fact I can zoom in to the high resolution images, which don't have artefacts from print reproduction, means I get a better experience in many ways.
It's just a thought, but perhaps there is room for more electronic delivery in the model magazine world. In fact, one of the big three is now shipping a DVD with their issues, with video tutorials and features. How 1990s, I thought, to include a cover disc! Still, they see a market for it, and invest in the production and the physical media. Good luck to them.
I guess older modellers won't be so keen, but youngsters seem to physically attached to their phones and tablets these days. Perhaps they're the ones who will embrace a digital model railway magazine.
Sounds to me like somebody has been mischief making.
I vote for Adrian [ABS] as the new MRJ editor - with an article in every issue on detailing Dapol wagons!!!
With the improvements in the 'ready to run, plonk and play' sector since the demise of Morril I think that this middle ground has contracted quite significantly. Is there enough of it to sustain a new magazine? I think there is though it wouldn't surprise me to find it drifting upmarket into MRJ territory.
I would like to know what is in this mythical "large pot of articles" because I've never seen it! Why would any publisher - whoever they are - sit on any material if it were good?
Sounds to me like somebody has been mischief making.
Gerry
An interesting quote from Bob himself in the thread Over There about this..
As I've said Over There, now I'm paying attention!!
Me too - even the German mags don't do much on East Germany c1975 in p87...
I wonder if they'd like an article or three?
Steph
Me too - even the German mags don't do much on East Germany c1975 in p87...
I wonder if they'd like an article or three?
Steph
Blimey, and you lot say they moan a lot in the other place
I'm with Simon and Neil in being a fan of the guest editor. I think it has brought great variety and a host of new contributors. As for MRJ being run by an 'establishment clique', I don't know where that comes from and to say there is 'little actual content' is just nonsense.
There certainly isn't a 'large pot of articles', not usable ones anyway. As for scale 7 content, well I let my membership of S7 lapse because the magazine was so poor. The majority of Scale7 members I know could probably write an article on their kit collection but not on what they've built. Many of those that do build stuff have been published in MRJ in the last year or so - off the top of my head I can think of Alan Benson and Dave Nickleson on trackwork, Simon Thompson on Aberbeeg and I'm sure there are others.
I'm really looking forward to picking up my copy of the new mag from Simon on Monday but don't feel the need to bash MRJ as part of the welcoming trumpets.
Jerry