What do you think about Mainline Modeller magazine?

[Anonymous]

How good is it? What is the usual content? What scale do they cater to?
Is it better, worse or same as Model Railroader?

[cacole]

It's an excellent source of information for the scratch builder, because it is about prototype railroads, not models. Each issue usually has numerous photographs and blueprints of a historical item, such as an old 1940s cattle car, along with details about how many were made, which roads ran them, the numbers assigned to them, etc.

Mainline Modeler does not cater to any scale. Their blueprints are usually drawn to HO scale with an accompanyingh explanation on the degree of enlargement or reduction for different scales.

Page count is a lot less than MR or RMC because MM does not carry nearly as much advertising as the other magazines.

[Anonymous]

I was a subscriber some time ago MM is somewhat expensive to sub. to as far as modeling info. they are ok prototype info good not of much else in way of showing layouts.Imho It is not for no one new to the hobby.

[tomwatkins]

I like it. It's one of two magazines I subscribe to, the other being MR. They take a very different approach to the hobby. Lots of scratchbuilding and detailing articles, lots of beautifully done drawings and beautifully printed photographs that really are large and clear enough to use as reference material. I've never seen a "layout tour" article in MM.
All in All, an excellent magazine but a different and complementary approach, compared to MR.
Hope This Helps,
Tom Watkins

[nfmisso]

I second Tom's comments, except that I subscribe to MRG as well. MM is a great magazine.

[jfugate]

Mainline Modeler Magazine strikes me as an oxymoron magazine in concept. If you're modeling a mainline road, you generally think larger layout. But if you build a larger layout using the painstaking techniques they show, it will take three lifetimes to accomplish anything significant.

So it's largely an armchair modeler's magazine, or a diorama modeler's magazine. If you model a mainline road with your layout aspirations, there's not much in this magazine that will help you get your layout done. I buy an occassional issue, but I find most of the time their focus is too narrow to interest me.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

Mainline Modeler Magazine strikes me as an oxymoron magazine in concept. If you're modeling a mainline road, you generally think larger layout. But if you build a larger layout using the painstaking techniques they show, it will take three lifetimes to accomplish anything significant.

It could also be taken as a magazine that offers models that appear on a main line.

I used to buy MM regularly until our local shop stopped carrying it, and subscribing was more costly than I was interested in. There were some great articles in it when I was getting it (including some of mine!), but to me there were way too many from John Nehrich featuring his modeling of upstate New York, with endless photos of non railroad structures. Great if you live in the area and are modeling it but not enough generic ideas.

Our LHS stopped carrying it because they demanded the return of unsold copies, rather than just the covers as other mags do. The postage cost was way more than any profit the owner would make from the few that did sell. If I see copies in shops I visit I'll check them out to see if there is anything of interest to me.

Bob Boudreau

[dknelson]

If you want an eye opening experience sometime, pick an article in Mainline Modeler that shows how to detail a locomotive to look exactly like a particular prototype. They usually have a parts list. Then get out your catalogs for prices and and a hand calculator. When you are all through there is only one conclusion you can reach: brass is CHEAP!

dave nelson

[orsonroy]

Mainline Modeler isn't a mainstream magazine. It caters specifically to those modelers who want to do more than plunk down a string of Athearn (or even Intermountain) boxcars onto their track and call it a day. The magazine is for those specifically interested in improving the quality of their models, whether they are prototype or freelance modelers (their obsession with the Franklin & South Manchester is a bit tiresome, but I won't get into that).

MM seems to be the last mag out there that really caters to the craftsmen in our hobby. RMC includes lots of plans and how to articles, but MM takes them a step or two farther, and really streches the limits of modelling. I use it as both a source for completely dependable prototype information, and as inspiration to improve my overall modelling skills. You may not turn a large layout into a superdetailed diorama, but you can improve the overall detail and accuracy level of your entire layout without having to resort to smoke & mirror tricks.

[tatans]

One thing MM is noted for is their reference and availabilty to purchase back issues for very specific projects, just go through the index, find the subject, order only that particular issue, they sure came to the rescue on info on an NKP Berk. for me, I do agree with a lot of the above replies.