I know this type of question has been asked many time before and is probably as easy to answer as 'how long is a piece of string', but things change over time so I thought  I'd ask again.

Which railway modeling magazines do you buy regularly or subscribe to and if I was going to buy a subscription for just one, which in your opinion would be best to get and why.


Ed

I get all of them, except Railway Modeller (there's nothing the matter with it but you do need to draw the line),  on a regular basis.  Of the ones I do get I think BRM might be the best of the mainstream magazines but all them feature useful articles from time to time.  My second choice would be Hornby.  My favourite is Model Railway Journal but that is a bit more specialist.

John

Thanks John, I'll take that as one vote for BRM  :thumbs



Ed

I get Railway Modeller, BRM would be the second choice of mainstream magazine, the others have a little too much modern image for my interests.
I prefer RM because it covers all my interests N, EM, Garden railways mostly in the steam era.

I also get MRJ,  I had jumped ship for the Finescale Modelling Review, but sadly events stopped that one. It's a little "quaint" but does cover the finescale side of life.

Thanks Q.

Since I've moved to more modern image, I think I can safely say that's another vote for BRM.

I have bought a few copies of BRM and RM in the past and one copy of Model Rail for a specific article on Catenary, but I do agree RM did seem to reflect more steam era modelling  :thumbs



Ed

Hi Ed,

An interesting question, particularly for a UK railway modeller living outside the UK, as my favourite mag will not deliver to mainland Europe. 

I always pick up a selection when in the UK, Railway Modeller being my old favourite from way back when it was mainly in black and white! It's a bit like a comfort blanket really. However, I can only get a digital subscription for RM and while this gives access to a huge data base of past issues, it's simply not the same as a hard copy, which one can leaf through when and wherever the fancy takes. You also don't get the occasional freebies (the Wills market barrow being the last one), so I now only get a copy once every 6 to 8 weeks.

If I was to be picky, I'd say I see too many examples of careless or clumsy modelling (in most publications), even on railways of the month (Sidmouth in the June edition however is fabulous!). Everyone has their own limitations of course, but national publications should strive to showcase the best we modellers can produce. Having said that, RM and the others give some excellent and helpful guides to encourage us to develop our skills and I like the small quirky layouts, including a lot of narrow gauge.

So, for general reading, RM still gets my vote, while (stretching the envelope Ed, sorry), the Great Western Railway Journal is hard to beat for depth of knowledge, excellent imagery and social history skilfully portrayed.

Best,

Bill   
   

UK magazines? None. They are irrelevant to what I do these days. The last time I bought an OO.model (as opposed to wheels, etc.) was 6 years ago. 

US? I get a couple of online magazines, the only paper one I get is Railroad Model Craftsman.

Nigel

I usually look on the cover to see if there is anything of interest.

Generally if there is a construction topic, rarely these days, then I might be interested. Sometimes an article and line drawing of a particular loco or vehicles attracts my attention, again getting rarer.

They seem to concentrate on rivet counting the latest models and layouts that would take up most of my house.

To be honest I would not consider any of them on subscription.

For real railways i subscribe to the online Railway Herald and find I get most of the necessary up to date news on railways from it.

If there were a model based magazine of similar quality for around £20 a year online I might subscribe - have not found it yet.

Usually none, I stand there in WH Smiths/Tesco/Sainsburys (other shops are available) flicking through them one by one, reading anything of interest and browsing the layouts while SWMBO is shopping, I'll only buy one if I can see the article/review being referred back to in future or it has a Kit I would use. but this is pretty rare.

Living outside the UK like Bill, I find it difficult to get a subscription delivered over here. I do however rate BRM and also RM. I have an online subscription to BRM which will be cancelled when that subscription ends as I am fed up with having so many 'pages' refusing to open.
When last in the UK I actually picked up a hard copy of the Hornby magazine. Thinking it was probably geared towards all things Hornby, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it covered most makes, and era's.
There is nothing like having a hard copy beside you on your little table to pick up and read when the good lady is watching cookery programmes!!
Many choices out there Ed and much of the time it is down to personal preference. Try them all (or all that you can) and go from there.

It would be very rare for me to purchase a paper magazine nowdays - my son buys one for for me every few months.
I find enough info on the Internet.

[user=1814]Longchap[/user] wrote:

Hi Ed,







So, for general reading, RM still gets my vote, while (stretching the envelope Ed, sorry), the Great Western Railway Journal is hard to beat for depth of knowledge, excellent imagery and social history skilfully portrayed.



Best,



Bill   

   

I too liked the GWRJ, Sadly It has been announced that The Great Western Railway Journal will end with issue 103.

Thanks all for the comments.

Got to agree with Bill’s comment “it's simply not the same as a hard copy”, I find it sometimes easier to stick a bookmark in a page and flip back to it rather than scroll up and down.

I’ve occasionally flicked through what’s on the shelf of the local newsagent or supermarket to see if there’s anything of interest, but the problem with that is you can easily miss an article or review if a particular issue isn’t there.

Same can be said of just using the internet, there are/will be some articles, drawings etc. that just won’t be available online, whether due to copyright or any other reason.

That’s why I mentioned buying a back issue of Model Rail for a Catenary article, which I knew nothing about until it was mentioned on another forum and wasn’t available online.

The thing that puts me off BRM from the few issues I have bought is the amount of advertising, but I know that’s probably true of all magazines and it’s how they manage to continue publishing.

So at present…………….. totally undecided.



Ed

I subscribe to Hornby Magazine and Model Rail. Hornby Magazine usually have nice layouts and hints and tips. Model Rail is good because of the reviews and tips. We occasionally buy BRM but it is more expensive than the other two (because of the DVD) but it is still good, Railway Modeller is good for looking at other layouts for ideas but only bought as a matter of something to read rather than to learn anything.
In all, they all have their advantages. Definitely need the paper copy though, easier to sort.

Regards Connor

Model rail for me followed by Hornby mag.Piran

RM for me I think. I too like a paper copy, which I read in bed. I say RM because it has a good spread of articles, but I think, the best exhibition and sale summary at the back.

I quite like BRM, with its free DVD.

Bob

[user=711]col.stephens[/user] wrote:

I am currently working my way through all of my unread railway books and saving myself a fortune on model railway magazines which would only end up in the recycling bin.

Terry

 

Every time I pick up one of my many cherished railway books, I always see yet another worthwhile project to put on 'that' list and that's not even considering the dozens of kits to assemble and play around with.

Just as well really that I don't have easy access to WH Smith, but am mighty thankful for this forum.

Thanks Terry for your well said reminder.

Cheers,

Bill 

I used to subscribe to both Hornby and RM but eventually realised I was paying a fortune in mainland Europe delivery charges and, once the adverts had been skipped over, discovered I was actually getting very little in the way of proper reading matter.

I'm afraid the internet is well on the way to replacing paper copy.  I was also subscribed to BRM online but didn't renew because a) my connection speed was not good enough to skip through the pages and b) it was just an online version of the same adverts …………

I now get all I need from forums and some excellent You Tube presentations.  Oh yes, I do receive the free US online publication "Model Railway Hobbyist" and subscribe to "Trainmasters TV" although that seems to have become less interesting recently so probably won't renew in August.

That's interesting Peter, didn't know MRH was free.


Ed