As a long time subscriber to MR one of the first magazine features I always checked out was Product Reviews. I remember when it was called Trade Topics. There was no Product Reviews section in the July, 2023 edition of MR, just a "Quick Look" of a Broadway Limited N scale T-1 tacked on the end of had been titled News & Products, now News & Reviews. Content just keeps shrinking.
My July issue has on page 12 (in News & Reviews) a regular-length review of the Bowser HO scale SD30C-ECO.
DrW Thanks for the response. I don't know how I missed pages 12 and 13. I stand corrected.
I'm glad they moved the product reviews back to the front part of the magazine. I got so used to them being there for so long that when they moved to the back I found myself skipping ahead and reading the reviews in the back first, then going back to the front to read the rest of the issue.
But maybe that's just me.
I feel like there are so many products and the hobby has matured to the point where reviews are only useful in two specific instances:
Really, does there need to be a review of the latest Athearn diesel that uses the same drivetrain components? Does it really matter if the details are not exactly correct?
If it's the first model of a specific real piece of equipment, but it's from an existing manufacturer, does a review matter? You either want that model and are willing to accept it as is, or you don't.
I subscribe to two UK model railroad publications, and while they do more and longer reviews, the same thing is apparent. The reviews read like press releases, where the text describes the real equipment and the models, but rarely adds anything that's truly a review.
AEP528Does it really matter if the details are not exactly correct?
To some of us the answer is "yes".
AEP528 Does it really matter if the details are not exactly correct?
Does it really matter if the details are not exactly correct?
Sometimes these reviews even help to get errors straightened out. In the May Issue of Model Railroader the review of an Athearn Genesis GP7 noted that the model had pressed steel stanchions instead of the (correct) T-section stanchions. In the July issue Athearn confirmed that the production models had been shipped with the wrong stanchions and offers all buyers a set of correct stanchions.
JW
Glad someone found this as a non-issue. The problem with the reviews is some of them are way too generous. Not that I want a slogfest of insults, but don't need lavish praise either. Again, this is my thought and I acccept other views.
AEP528 I feel like there are so many products and the hobby has matured to the point where reviews are only useful in two specific instances: A new manufacturer An existing manufacturer make a significant technological change (The introduction of Athearn Genesis is an example of this) Really, does there need to be a review of the latest Athearn diesel that uses the same drivetrain components? Does it really matter if the details are not exactly correct? If it's the first model of a specific real piece of equipment, but it's from an existing manufacturer, does a review matter? You either want that model and are willing to accept it as is, or you don't. I subscribe to two UK model railroad publications, and while they do more and longer reviews, the same thing is apparent. The reviews read like press releases, where the text describes the real equipment and the models, but rarely adds anything that's truly a review.
I have been in the hobby 60+ years, but I don't have encyclopedic knowledge of every model line, so I want to see reviews of any new offerings. Even if they are just descriptive or more "press release", that is more information than I would otherwise have. MR please keep the product reviews coming.