Funny strange or funny ha-ha, at Kalmbach

[sirenwerks]

I just got an e-ad from Kalmbach touting two N scale books, Marty McGuirk's N Scale Railroading and the so-old-it's-pitiful N Scale Model Railroad That Grows. It struck me as funny that the ad's banner feature photo was one by Keith Kohlman, and it looked almost identical to one featured in N Scale Railroading not too long ago.

Personally, I think Keith's work is an exemplar of the fine modeling done by many in N scale (including Marty) and I was happy to see it representing the scale. I'm also aware that Keith's work is quite marketable and he's free to do so. Yet it struck me as weird that Kalmbach used an image so close to the one featured in NSR, and so soon after it appeared. That NSR feature is still lodged in my brain and I feel Keith's photo appearing in the ad speaks volumes - that there are not a lot of people making decisions at Kalmbach that are into N scale, anymore. That, or maybe there's a little David and Goliath action about to come down the pike, and the big K's either trying to ride NSR's coattails or are so haughty that they don't pay attention to their adversaries.

Curiouser and curiouser...

[Rossford Yard]

Sot of OT, but this reminds me there was no discussion of the annual MR April Fool's joke, which would have been in the last issue.  Somehow, it didn't jump out at me.....

[wazzou]

That's because it wasn't funny. 
It was about making scale trees from silk floral arrangements, including Tulips, Mums, Daisies and Lillies.
If I remember correctly, it was a letter from a reader who said that he took the flowers and coated them liberally with ground foam and planted them on his pike.

[sirenwerks]

It wasn't funny because it struck too close to home as an actual, non-April Fools joke, article.

[wm3798]

They ran one of the exact same pictures I had in N Scale two months later in Track Side Photos...  Frankly, I don't think they even read the N scale press.

Lee

[tom mann]

It wasn't funny because it struck too close to home as an actual, non-April Fools joke, article.

Exactly!   ;D  Like their tree article from a few months ago.

[wazzou]

It wasn't funny because it struck too close to home as an actual, non-April Fools joke, article.

I think I have seen that done on some N-Trak modules before. 

[SirTainly]

The old NoTrak spoof was good, too bad it didn't go on sale here until well after April!  ;D

[mcjaco]

They ran one of the exact same pictures I had in N Scale two months later in Track Side Photos...  Frankly, I don't think they even read the N scale press.

Lee

Trackside photos are submitted by the photographer.  I'm betting the photographer submitted the same photos to multiple publications.  Not sure you can fault them for that.

[chuck geiger]

(April Fools) didn't jump out at me, due to some of the lackluster articles on
clouds, tree making and more, I thought it was a submitted peice they paid
25 bucks for.

[Ian MacMillan]

(April Fools) didn't jump out at me, due to some of the lackluster articles on
clouds, tree making and more, I thought it was a submitted peice they paid
25 bucks for.

Same here...

[wazzou]

I think the submission was signed So and So from April Fools, MT or something along those lines.

[CVSNE]

Keith (and Bill Denton, Verne Niner, Bernie Kempinski, etc . . .) were kind enough to provide me with "inspiration shots" for the new edition of the book.

Since Keith provided me with that photo almost two years ago - perhaps my good friend Kirk Reddie was "riding on my coattails???? : :

In fairness, Keith did say he had sent some photos to Kirk - I didn't think it was a huge issue. I frankly don't remember if the picture in the ad appeared in the book or not (I suspect it did).

What did disappoint me was the wonderful full page ads KPC ran for the book - with a picture of the Carolina Central - which is NOT in the new edition.

Marty
 

[AlkemScaleModels]

Simple, there is a dearth of good quality, publication quality photos of N Scale work, so the good stuff tends to get reused.

I better get my asbestos suit ready......

[Mark5]

so the good stuff tends to get reused.

[Disclaimer - I don't actually read much Kalmbach]