MARCH/APRIL N-SCALE MAGAZINE

[Pamela Clapp]

Don't miss the March/April issue of N-Scale Magazine shipping January 27th. It will feature Dan Lewis' series Along the Lines - Switching, Part 2, that will explore freight car forwarding, the difference between pulls, spots, setouts, and pickups, handling trailing point and facing point spurs, classifying cars, and managing over the road traffic. Because N-scale models are small, they present their own set of challenges for operation. Dan will share some tricks and tips that compensate. I hope you will join us www.nscalemagazine.com

[Dave V]

@Pamela Clapp ,

Please check your PMs and e-mail (info@nscalemagazine.com). I sent you an article and photos for the N Scale Colorado Midland this past weekend.

[Pamela Clapp]

Thank you. I did receive it and will be in touch today. I appreciate your support. Looking forward to sharing it with our readers.

[Dave V]

Awesome, thanks!

[Pamela Clapp]

Thank you for all of your support. The May/June issue of N-Scale Magazine is underway and I can't wait for you to see what's coming next. Many new products to share as well. You won't want to miss it. www.nscalemagazine.com

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, Pam, I have some more feedback on this month's edition. I would email this in but it seems like email doesn't work well.

I'm going to try and be as constructive as possible because I want to see N Scale Magazine thrive, but I've got to say I was quite disappointed.

First, the article on the seaport fell flat for me. There was a lot of text but not much said. It reminded me of when I was in college and had to stretch a paper to make word count. It may be the author's style, but it just felt very "fluffy". I can get behind that when it's a great subject, but the work itself that was being presented, while beautifully photographed, really did not come across as aspirational modeling. I understand the author might be creating a fantasy world for himself, but I felt there was very little of value for anyone who's been modeling for any time.

This might sound harsh, but I want to provide some examples: There was entire paragraph devoted to the author writing the article while on a cruise ship. There was also  photo had a caption that said "This is a kit from the fine folks at, well another one I can't seem to remember.".

This is not great modeling content.

There were some other problems later in the issue that also deserve some attention.

The article about switching was full of inaccuracies when talking about prototypical operations. The most glaring example was a caption that read "Here, you will immediately notice that the engineer has the two boxcars coupled to the front of the NW2. This is a dead-giveaway that the road crew is working a facing point spur.". This statement is wholly inaccurate as diesel locomotives, especially switchers, are quite adept at bidirectional operation. The orientation of cars on the end of a locomotive is not an indicator of the orientation of switches. I understood what the author was trying to accomplish, but it felt like bad advice.

The kitbashing article also felt very empty, like there were lots of words expended without much said. I was expecting something unique that would deliver on what the title implied: a novel way to simplify kitbashing. Instead, it was a basic how-to for building kits with slight modifications.

Again, this might all might seem nit-picky, but for a magazine that aims to be a flagship for our scale, I think you guys can do better and really want to see it!

[signalmaintainer]

Again, this might all might seem nit-picky, but for a magazine that aims to be a flagship for our scale, I think you guys can do better and really want to see it!

These aren't nit-picky things, Ed. The general themes of "vibrant content" and "good read" are vitally important to any magazine's success, and I'm speaking as a former magazine editor from my first career.

In general, it's about editing a magazine, any magazine (well, almost any magazine -- nuff said)  for readers, not for writers and sources. Content needs to do more than just fill up the white space around the ads. In model railroading, it must inspire, entertain and teach, sometimes all at once. I recall an issue of N-Scale from a couple years back that had page after page of so-so weathered rolling stock. It really turned me off. Nothing to see here. Nothing inspiring.

If there's a need for more copy to fill up the white space in a contributor's feature, the editor should forego the chatty fluff the author submitted and instead write a short sidebar that fits the main article. Or find a suitable photo, map, compile a short list of helpful links. . . something else.

I often read the worn out phrase, "Magazines can only publish what they get." I don't buy it. My professional experience tells me good in-house features and product review content that complements authors' submissions are entirely doable. Maybe a new approach is needed at N-Scale?

[Pencil]

Not sure this was what I was expecting for my first post, but...

I understand how difficult it is to make a magazine appeal to people that run the entire gamut of armchair modelers to experts in the field.
I also understand the importance of giving feedback to publishers - it can be hard to gauge what audience(s) to target - or even what audiences exist!

That being said, I enjoyed the article in question.  I appreciated seeing the author's thought processes around what buildings / industries to include, and I enjoyed the overview of the scenes.  And, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

With respect to the author not remembering where certain items are from, I'm not sure it matters to me.  If the author has had these models for so long he no longer remembers their origin, I probably am not going to be able to go down to my LHS and pick one up - my only chance is happening across it on some auction site or a swap meet - and in that case - it doesn't matter any more who the original manufacturer was.  I'm just going to do an internet search for 'n-scale tugboat' (for example) and see what's available *now*.  Besides; I'm not planning to make a carbon-copy of the author's scene, anyway.

Anyway (Pam and team), keep up the good work, and maybe I'll see you in Monroe tomorrow!
Curtis

[wm3798]

With apologies to Gregg Mahlkov, I believe you've hit the Third Rail. 
I love N Scale Magazine.
I've written a regular column for a couple of years (some time ago... I should revisit that!)
And I've been published a couple of times with my old layout.

But @Ed Kapuscinski hits an important mark.

I know Walt liked to set a tone that was a bit folksy and welcoming to the broader tent of the hobby, and I think that leads to a lot of the articles being fluffed out with anecdotes rather than technical detail.  I'm not sure we want to retreat fully to the Hundman days, when there would be a two year series about modeling a single tree, but I think it should be considered that the content should strive to check a couple of boxes with each issue.

I think it's important to NOT alienate the guys with TTrak modules featuring dinosaurs and ferris wheels, but it's also important to keep us old heads refreshed with new and good ideas.  There have been several good series on electronics applications, interesting scenery detail approaches, and the layout articles always have good photo content, but there is a lack of consistency in how these articles are presented.

Like @signalmaintainer , I have a background in communications and spent some time editing publications, so I tend to notice these things more than the accuracy of which way a switch engine should be pointed... 

As the overall flagship publication of the hobby, I think Model Railroader does a reasonably good job of setting expectations and delivering on them.  Each issue has some continuity not only in the various departments and columns, but in the way the layout articles are edited and presented.  The track plans are consistent in their presentation, there's a pretty set flow to how the articles are assembled, each one features a helpful side bar about a helpful procedure or item of interest.  While articles are often submitted by their usual stable of writers, such as Lou Sassi or Paul Dolkos, there are a lot that are by-lined by the general public.  These also follow the basic format, so obviously there's some editorial work to make the articles consistent with what gets submitted by the pros.  I think THIS is what's missing from N Scale Magazine.

I enjoy the articles that clearly have a personal flare, but I get frustrated when I see something really interesting in a photograph, and there's no information about it.  Obviously, I can't expect every detail to be nuanced, but as Ed points out, when there's two paragraphs about writing the article on a cruise ship, there's room to do better. 

Here's what I try to do when I write and article, and what I look for in a good one.
1.  What's the overall theme of the layout, and why did the builder select it?
2.  What is the basic construction method used in the layout? (Not ad nauseum detail, but is it L girder?, modular?, Hollow Core Door? etc.
3.  What elements of the layout illustrate that theme?  (locale, rolling stock, particular industries, etc)
4.  What are the operational goals of the layout?  (roundy round through cool scenery?  car cards?  Casual switching?)
5.  Are there models that you adapted to reinforce your theme?  (show me your kitbash, your custom paint, your scratch build... if I want to see the latest Kato engine, I can look at the advertisements, thank you very much)
6.  What is it about your layout that makes you happy? 
7.  What about your layout would like to improve?  What puzzles remain to be worked?
8.  Were there challenges that you had to face, and how did you solve them?  (available space?  a difficult trackwork repair?  A switch machine over a benchwork member?)
9.  Were you on a cruise boat when you wrote the article?  (Okay, I don't really care about that one)

Of course, there's a million more questions that could be posed, but I think if when you solicit articles from the unwashed, if you provide a basic framework of points they should try to hit, it might help you achieve more of that consistency, and it might make it easier for more authors to come forward.

And I would definitely look into hiring an artist to do consistent renderings of track plans.  That's a big one.

Lee

[wm3798]

Regarding track plans, how hard would it be to negotiate something with SCARM or AnyRail to use their software to generate the plans for the magazine as part of a sponsorship deal?  That seems like a no-brainer.

Anyway... just thinking out loud here.

Of course, the other critical element is that those of us who know all the answers should probably take a moment and put together an article to submit.  Nothing can have a bigger impact on the content than stepping up to the plate to help create it in the first place.  I'm really looking forward to Dr. Hotballs' upcoming tome covering his 5 square feet of Colorado goodness.

Moving on now.
Lee

[PJPickard]

Personally I loved the Hundman days. I don't he ever did two years on a one tree but I get the point. I know he did(didn't) do things like ever finish the Fremont module which I thought then, and still do, was modeling of the highest caliber. I keep thinking I should subscribe again.

[signalmaintainer]

I think it's important to NOT alienate the guys with TTrak modules featuring dinosaurs and ferris wheels, but it's also important to keep us old heads refreshed with new and good ideas. 

Hmmm, the latter really deserves much more attention and coverage than the former. Ferris wheels and dinosaurs just don't represent model railroading to me. And if T-trak modules with those themes really are the predominant hot thing in N scale, then N scale is in trouble.

[Cajonpassfan]

I dropped my subscription to N-Scale some years ago because of my perceived lack of content. Recently, I restarted my subscription, in part because I feel we need to support the magazine, and in part because of the Dan Lewis series. While I agree that many of the articles are a bit lame, Dan is an excellent and creative modeler and his articles are well worth reading and absorbing. I didn't think that his article was "full of inaccuracies"; in the most egregious example noted, he was simply illustrating the concept of facing and trailing point turnouts to newbies, and clearly noted that the "road crew" (not a switch engine crew) had both facing and trailing points to deal with. I don't know why that's inaccurate. It's not easy to write articles that appeal to both newbies and old heads like us, and I think he's doing a very nice job trying to balance both. (I did notice a misleading reference in the LCL section, and contacted Pam about it. She shared it with Dan, and I got a very nice note from him, acknowledging the misstatement).

I wish there was more material of Dan Lewis' caliber in the magazine. Maybe some of the folks here can find time to contribute more meaningful stuff.
Just sayin'
Otto K.

[signalmaintainer]

I know Walt liked to set a tone that was a bit folksy and welcoming to the broader tent of the hobby, and I think that leads to a lot of the articles being fluffed out with anecdotes rather than technical detail.  I'm not sure we want to retreat fully to the Hundman days, when there would be a two year series about modeling a single tree, but I think it should be considered that the content should strive to check a couple of boxes with each issue.

I totally agree. First and foremost a magazine needs to be a "good read." That's what Tony Koester brought to Railroad Model Craftsman in the 1970s and very early 1980s (and in part why RMC's readership growth outpaced Model Railroader by the late 1970s). Tony still enforces the "good read" standard as editor of Model Railroad Planning. 

As the overall flagship publication of the hobby, I think Model Railroader does a reasonably good job of setting expectations and delivering on them.  Each issue has some continuity not only in the various departments and columns, but in the way the layout articles are edited and presented.  The track plans are consistent in their presentation, there's a pretty set flow to how the articles are assembled, each one features a helpful side bar about a helpful procedure or item of interest.  While articles are often submitted by their usual stable of writers, such as Lou Sassi or Paul Dolkos, there are a lot that are by-lined by the general public.  These also follow the basic format, so obviously there's some editorial work to make the articles consistent with what gets submitted by the pros.  I think THIS is what's missing from N Scale Magazine.

Again, I absolutely agree. Part of my magazine background was at MR. There is an editorial "voice" at MR, and submissions and articles are edited for the reader, not the advertisers or the author.

I recall MR taking heat from Jim Six because I edited down his submission on a detailing an HO NYC locomotive. Jim's work was excellent, as usual, but the extraneous verbiage he thought should have remained in the article was of no real use to the reader. And besides, Andy Sperandeo told me I had to make the feature fit into two pages IIRC, and the initial draft with artwork filled five!

Were N-Scale to move closer to this editorially, that would be one significant improvement.

[Scottl]

MR lightly edited both of my articles to maintain their "tone". I can understand the goal and they are very good at what they do.  It was quite a surprise to me coming from an academic environment where that would be heresy.