N
nachoman
I'm not a current member of the NMRA, but I've heard quite a few people talk about how Scale Rails is suffering as a magazine and how the NMRA itself is outdated as an organization. As far as MR is concerned, I think they may be embracing the changes but the real problem they have is the direction the magazine has gone in the past few years. In my opinion (and lots of others that I've talked to) it seems they've become more advertisements and less content. It also seems they've become pro HO. I don't know maybe I'm missing something...
I havent read MR in years. I thumb through it at the LHS, and if there is something interesting, i will buy it. But there hasn't been anything interesting in years...
But that is my opinion and I don't know what that means. First, MY tastes have changed. When I was just starting in the hobby, all information was good information. Now, it is just redundant. What I would like to see are more construction articles, how-tos, etc. The magazine HAS changed, but perhaps it is changing in response to a changing demographic. Maybe I am truly a minority in wanting to see a scratchbuilding project out of cardstock, kitbashing articles, or a return of columns like "student fare".
Model railroading is not the only hobby that is changing - just look at the automotive hobbies. 30 years ago a teenager would soup up his engine, know how to modify his carburetor, and know that there is no such thing as a "muffler bearing". Teenagers today modify their cars with fancy lights, lawnmower exhaust pipes, and fancy rims. Ask them to change a tire, and they call AAA. Ask them to check their oil and they wander over by the gas cap scratching their head. They are still interested in their cars, just a different aspect of them.
Kevin