Hey Model railroader r u listening

[Anonymous]

why is it that every new ho loco that comes out it gets a review. but in n-scale their has been at least three new steam locos alone that came out last month!
bach. spect. 2-6-6-2 and the 4-8-2 mountain, next model power will have a 4-6-0. why no reviews ARE YOU FORGETTING THE SECOUND MOST USED SCALE< N_SCALE[:(!]

[simon1966]

I am not sure that you are correct that every HO loco is reviewed. If the N scale ones you mention only came out last month, it seems to me that there is a lag between release and review which often means the limited edition locomotive is sold out by the time it appears in the pages of the magazine.

[Anonymous]

It must take quite a while to prepare a magazine for print. I just picked up the August Railroad Model Craftsman yesterday and they are still running ads for MDC/Roundhouse, and the ads offer direct purchasing. That hasn't been so for about 6 weeks. Besides, they can't write about EVERY new product, so they pick and choose. Maybe they only review what a manufacturer sends to them for review? If the N scale manufacturers don't provide them with product, they can't review it.
Tim

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dummyrailroad

why is it that every new ho loco that comes out it gets a review. but in n-scale their has been at least three new steam locos alone that came out last month!
bach. spect. 2-6-6-2 and the 4-8-2 mountain, next model power will have a 4-6-0. why no reviews ARE YOU FORGETTING THE SECOUND MOST USED SCALE< N_SCALE[:(!]

The only one of these three engines that's actually been released is the Bachmann 4-8-2. The other two are still in the works, so they can't be reviewed! I am a bit surprised that MR has yet to review the Atlas 2-6-0, but other magazines have.

And remember, there are two magazines dedicated to N scale model railroading exclusively, while we HO'ers don't have any! Check out those two mags for N scale reviews.....

[Anonymous]

it's funny that i could order any of the locos from train world up to, two months ago.

[orsonroy]

PREorder, you mean. Just because a retailer is advertising a product doesn't mean you can actually GET it yet. You can order the Atlas shay from several retailers right now, but it's not even being made yet, let alone being shipped!

[Anonymous]

the 4-8-2 mt. has been out for while. the 2-6-6-2 has been advirtised for 2-3 months in model railroader. i don't remember seeing a review for the kato 2-8-2
or the model power 2-8-2 either

[dknelson]

Not only is there a lag time in the magazine business, but doing the testing for a review takes a while as well. Just as an editorial comment if you look at the product reviews from 20+ years ago they tended to review lots more stuff, in many more gauges, than now - not just cars engines and buildings but also detail parts and throttles, signals, paints, tools, etc. MR reviews much less now than before. They also used to review -- really review -- books and videos. I do not know why this is so unless perhaps their current staff is less trained to analyze products.
The above postings remind me of a cartoon that appeared in Model Railroader years and years ago, maybe in the early 1950s or even 1940s. It shows a guy at a desk looking at a pile of letters. On the wall are two charts -- one labeled "Locomotives Planned" with about 15 engines listed. The other chart is labeled "Locomotives in Production" with just one engine shown. The guy at the desk is talking to his assistant and saying "This 2-10-4 we have been advertising seems to be very popular with model railroaders. Maybe it is time we put it into production."
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

thats funny the 2-10-4, i've often thought that some companies thought that way

[bcammack]

Except for late-breaking stuff, there's usually at least a 3-month lead time, IIRC, between the time an article, column, or news item is written and when it appears in your mailbox or on the newsstand.

[trainfan1221]

Its occured to me that nscale in general has been lacking since they revamped the magazine.

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfan1221

Its occured to me that nscale in general has been lacking since they revamped the magazine.

Hmmm...it seems to ME that MR is trying to do it's best to cover N scale in general, when almost all the best and most active N scale authors and modelers are feeding articles to N Scale and N Railroading magazines. MR can only publish what they have submitted (mostly), and they don't seem to be doing too badly, considering. For example, a quick search on this website shows the following:

July 03: N scale layout & cover
Aug 03: N track plan and review
Sept 03: N track plan
Oct 03: N track plan
Nov 03: N track plan (I see a trend) and N scale track buyer's guide
Dec 03: N track plan (the trend continues)
Jan 04: N bridge modeling
Feb 04: nothing?
Mar 04: N DCC decoder installation
Apr 04: N gondola & flat loads
May 04: nothing?
Jun 04: N uncoupling magnet installation
Jul 04: N review
Aug 04: N handrail modeling & 2 reviews.

On top of all this, their basic skills column (whatever it's called these days) has been working on general topics like scenery, painting and decalling, and using someone's N scale New Haven layout to demonstrate the techniques.

Funny, I don't see all that many HO scale bedroom-sized track plans in MR over the past year. Maybe they're biased against HO!

My point is that you get out of MR (and any other hobby magazine) what you put into it, and what you can learn as a general theme. MR has loads of articles that can be used as inspiration for any scale, if you think about it for awhile. Scenery's scenery, detailing's detailing, and RR history is scaleless. Heck, I'm pouring through my father's old backissues of MR and RMC now, looking for building plans that I can use for scratchbuilding every structure on my newest Ntrak modules. I could care less what scale the plans are in, so long as the measurements are in real feet & inches!