I have yet to recieve my copy of the "current" issue in the mail... :(
I agree. A very good article but it was like a coming out party for PanPastels, yet I have not seen any advertising in any of the magazines that I receive about this products use in model railroading. At first reading I was looking for the word ,"ADVERTISEMENT" usually found on the page border. WOW! What a spread for this product and free too. I will order some right away and thanks for the idea. I also believe it would have been better in "Trains of Thought." Doug
Perhaps I've gotten too cynical with age. I do recognize that a publication like Model Railroader must tread carefully in reviewing products made by advertisers--an issue that comes up in these forums from time to time. But I can't help but feel a little uneasy about Tony Koester's "Weathering a Steam Locomotive in 7 Minutes" in the current issue. For all of the qualifying statements he makes ("I'm not claiming..." "To be sure, I've seen better..."), Mr. Koester, whose work I benefit from, seems to have produced a four-page advertisement for PanPastels. This strikes me as more than just a pragmatic caution toward manufacturers whose efforts help support the magazine.
PanPastels appears to be a distinctive, if not unique, product; I'll be buying some this very day, I expect. Nevertheless, the "7-minute" hook, the fine photographs and graphics, and the accompanying piece on classic tips did not obscure, for me, this rather naked endorsement. The irony is that Tony is one of a very few who has a forum for praising a product by name; I would have thought nothing of this had it appeared in "Trains of Thought." A product review by Tony or Cody or another staff member would also have gotten the message across without what is to me a blurring of the line between advertising and editorial content.