Well, I recently got the October Model Railroader from the newstand (actually it was a week ago), and I got to say that I was somewhat dissapointed.
First (and I know you all vented on this one) there was John Armstrong's obituary. He really deserved at least a good 6 pages and not a skimpy little corner amidst the new product notices, I mean, when John Allen passed away his obit was a cover story. I think Armstrog deserved that kind of attention.
Second, the coverage of the NMRA model contest winners was somewhat embarrasing. I remember that in previous issues they gave the contest full coverage with big clear pictures of the winning models and sometimes, a center photo of the "Best of show" winner. Now, not only did they bump the section to the end of the magazine, but they also reduced it to a few pictures andf a sidebar with the other winners. I'm sure that those of us who didn't make it to the convention would have liked to see that proto:48 Berkshire or that HO medieval stone church too.
The dissapointment also covers the rest of the year. The new look seemed promising at first, but now it's beginning to irk me. First of all, the layout stories are getting a bit skimpy on the pictures. It seems like they can only show pictures of a certain area of a layout instead of the whole pike.
I also miss the final section (and I bet y'all miss it too) called "Along The Line". I always looked forward to see a wonderful model photo with that little story next to the big Kato ad. Now it has been replaced with this bland "Model Railroading Is Fun" section. This section used to have these funny little bits of levity like trains running over grasshoppers or highly unusual prototype photos.... when it was called "Bull Session"! (remember that one?).
Do you folks remember when MR used to publish prototype drawings on every issue? What happened to those big 200+ page issues that were so common some 2 to 4 years ago? Remeber "Paint Shop"? And please, don't get me started on the "world's greatest hobby" campaign which is beginning to drive me nuts.
Just my two cents (I really had to vent this one)
First (and I know you all vented on this one) there was John Armstrong's obituary. He really deserved at least a good 6 pages and not a skimpy little corner amidst the new product notices, I mean, when John Allen passed away his obit was a cover story. I think Armstrog deserved that kind of attention.
Second, the coverage of the NMRA model contest winners was somewhat embarrasing. I remember that in previous issues they gave the contest full coverage with big clear pictures of the winning models and sometimes, a center photo of the "Best of show" winner. Now, not only did they bump the section to the end of the magazine, but they also reduced it to a few pictures andf a sidebar with the other winners. I'm sure that those of us who didn't make it to the convention would have liked to see that proto:48 Berkshire or that HO medieval stone church too.
The dissapointment also covers the rest of the year. The new look seemed promising at first, but now it's beginning to irk me. First of all, the layout stories are getting a bit skimpy on the pictures. It seems like they can only show pictures of a certain area of a layout instead of the whole pike.
I also miss the final section (and I bet y'all miss it too) called "Along The Line". I always looked forward to see a wonderful model photo with that little story next to the big Kato ad. Now it has been replaced with this bland "Model Railroading Is Fun" section. This section used to have these funny little bits of levity like trains running over grasshoppers or highly unusual prototype photos.... when it was called "Bull Session"! (remember that one?).
Do you folks remember when MR used to publish prototype drawings on every issue? What happened to those big 200+ page issues that were so common some 2 to 4 years ago? Remeber "Paint Shop"? And please, don't get me started on the "world's greatest hobby" campaign which is beginning to drive me nuts.
Just my two cents (I really had to vent this one)