FSM - The Automotive Content Thread

[tim boyd]

May issue of FSM is now out with an 8-page story on radical "Z-ing" of a hot rod chassis, and all the other adjustments you have to make when completing a "Z-ed" hot rod like this one....

  

[peteski]

Just like with today's extremely polarized political views, regardless of how many automotive model articles get published in a single issue of FSM, some people will never be happy.  I can sort of see their point, but we do have to admit that FSM editors are trying to make the best of the situation Kalmbach left them in.

[maxwell48098]

As a little background, I was a Scale Auto (Enthusiast) subscriber from Issue #2 until its end, and was a Fine Scale subscriber starting with issue #1, but dropped my subscription in 1990 went it went all military, naval, and aerospace modelling for which I had no interest.

I get several construction and engineering trade journals.  There were 9 magazine produced by 3 publishing companies.  One of the things two of the trade publishers did about 4 or 5 years ago was to combine several of their magazines into one, but they then changed the title of the remaining publication into one that included both of the prior separate publications.  Then inside the publication that had separate inside covers and specific sections for each of the two combined publications.  While each publication on its own had between 50-70 pages, the combined  new publication now runs 60-70 pages, or roughly a 50% reduction in the former combined total.  They kept most of the normal columnists and split editorial direction between the two halves.  So each of their subscribers was able to receive and read the material that they enjoyed, but on a smaller scale, while also being exposed to related business and trade news.

It is interesting that Scale Auto was older than Fine Scale, but SA was sacrificed.  FSM now limits automotive content, much less trucks, to one article, usually in the back.  The Fine Scale editors have no interest in automotive subjects as their columns about the models and kits that they own and build are military or aircraft based.  The result is that automotive content  no longer justifies the price of the magazine or a subscription, and Kalmbach seems to have accepted their decline in readership and subscriptions.  Interesting my LHS usually got 25 copies of SA and FSM to sell off the rack.  The SA always sold out, but FSM issues languished for 6 months or more.

Interestingly, Kalmbach's lead publication today is Model Railroader which was started by Al Kalmbach in the summer of 1933 with the January ,1934 issue.  It has been published monthly ever since.  Every editor, and columnist at Model Railroader has been a greatly devoted, dyed in the wool model railroader.  They demonstrated a psssion for the hobby first, and publishing second, and it showed.  And despite having published other train related magazines, Kalmbach never sullied Model Railroader by combining it with any of their other railroad titles.

I guess there must be more model train enthusiasts that modelers, but the passion of the editorial staff is just as critical.

Thanks for reading my rant.

 

A.J.

[peteski]

Kalmbach is the name of the founder who started publishing the Model Railroader magazine (ans the only magazine published by them). Kalmbach then started publishing all sorts of hobby-type magazines and also started buying out other magazines.  At some point (in the '90s?) they were probably publishing about a dozen different titles. Plus they also publish special issues, but since the beginning, they main magazine was Model Railroader.

For more details of their history, and (partial) list of the magazines they published at some point see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmbach_Media

Edited April 5, 2021 by peteski

[BlackSheep214]

FSM keeps getting smaller and smaller and the articles are becoming more repetitive and the contents boring. Oh wait... let’s not forget the moderators on their forums are pathetic. GMorrison acts like he’s a mod and constantly complains to the mods of something innocent offends him. 

I wonder how long it’ll be before FSM finally folds.

[peteski]

Yes, FSM is getting skinnier and skinnier. Readers are directed to see the online contents.  Lately there only have been 2-3 model reviews per issue (in the past there were half a dozen). "See more reviews online" they tell us..

[Classicgas]

Then you can't see the online reviews even tho you're a forum member and a subscriber. 

[TonyK]

2 hours ago, Classicgas said:

Then you can't see the online reviews even tho you're a forum member and a subscriber. 

And a couple of emails to them got me nowhere so they'll lose another reader once my subscription runs out.

[vintagerpm]

I love how members of this forum bashed SA for years but now are POed that its gone. (And let MC skate for years with no or few issues printed.)

[Xingu]

So once again we have taken the good intentions of a thread and turned it against itself and started bashing and flaming FSM, it's members and of course our own members. Well done folks.

[TonyK]

I see it as "conversation" as long as it doesn't get out of hand.

Model Railroader was mentioned above and the funny thing about that magazine is I've always found it fascinating even though I'm not involved in the hobby. Was into it a long time ago but I think I like it for the talented people who can create a vast subject. That's why I try to enjoy FSM as I like anything that we're all enjoying as a hobby.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, TonyK said:

Model Railroader was mentioned above and the funny thing about that magazine is I've always found it fascinating even though I'm not involved in the hobby. Was into it a long time ago but I think I like it for the talented people who can create a vast subject. That's why I try to enjoy FSM as I like anything that we're all enjoying as a hobby.

Back in the '80s I worked for a publisher that got a LOT of magazines each month to circulate around. One of them was Model Railroader. I've never been or wanted to be a model railroader but I'd page through these magazines and it was a rare month I didn't learn something that I could apply to my airplane modeling at the time. 

[CabDriver]

I tried again to get setup with an account where I can read their reviews and log in to the forum - didn't have any luck, but I did see a bunch of threads on the forum itself about people struggling to read the online content on there. 

Didn't seem like they really knew what the issue was or how do fix it - which is unfortunate, because the idea of a kind of 'live' magazine that you read online running alongside the 'real' magazine (giving extra extended reviews, stuff that wouldn't fit in the magazine's limited pagecount etc.) is a really smart one.

Doesn't work if barely anyone can log in though 😕

[Classicgas]

7 hours ago, Xingu said:

So once again we have taken the good intentions of a thread and turned it against itself and started bashing and flaming FSM, it's members and of course our own members. Well done folks.

I'm not bashing it or anyone.  Just expressing frustration that I can't view something im entitled to view. I guess discussing something isn't what a forum is for. 

[Rob Hall]

40 minutes ago, Classicgas said:

I'm not bashing it or anyone.  Just expressing frustration that I can't view something im entitled to view. I guess discussing something isn't what a forum is for. 

Have you tried asking about in the FSM forums?  Seems like the appropriate place.

[bobthehobbyguy]

One how about keeping this thread about what the fsm automotive content. Create another thread to complain about sa going away and the online access complaint separate from this thread.

I think fsm was kept because it had a larger readership. Second they are having to adapt to changing trends. Finally no matter what you want to believe print magazines are going away,  The old print model for magazines is not viable.  Things are changing and we aren't going to stop it.

[RSchnell]

Give it a year and you probably won't have to worry about a print edition of FSM. The last issue I looked was almost embarrassing as to how thin it was, certainly not worth the cover price. 

I saved all sorts of magazines from 1:1 car club magazines, modeling magazines (including FSM) for years. After a couple moves I realized what a hassle and fire hazard they were. I gave away stacks of magazines to anyone that wanted them. I did a similar thing with binders full of paint chip books from my years in the automotive paint & body field. I kept a few of the old ones for my personal collection, but the rest went on ebay and what didn't sell I gave away. 

 Now the couple of magazines I subscribe to go straight to my tablet and they don't take up any room! 

[peteski]

I might have possible solution, from another forum to your FSM online login problems.  It worked for the Trains site (and I believe all the Kalmbach publications use the same web server and database). give it a try.  Of course replace the URL in those instructions to the one you are trying to access (finsecale.com).

I just tried the trick we tell our users at work that are having problems logging in to Oracle EBS (web-based business system).  I'm using Firefox on my Mac and I cleared the cookies and cached data for any trains.com related site and I can now log in.  They must have updated the site and now a cookie being used is incompatible with one that was stored earlier.

For you (Mac) Firefox users, I went to "Preferences" under the "Firefox" menu.  Then to "Privacy & Security" on the left side. Scroll down to "Cookies and Site Data" and choose the "Manage Data..." button.  That brings up a dialog box with a list of sites with cookies.  Enter "trains.com" in the search box and select all the entries that are Trains.com sites - "cs.trains.com" "www.trains.com" "trains.com" and so forth.  My list is gone now so I don't remember all of them but there were 5 or 6.

Once you have all selected, click the "Remove Selected" and then the "Save Changes" buttons (in that order) at the bottom.  That should do it.  If you're on Windows using Firefox is should be about the same.  Chrome or Safari will have different methods of clearing cookies but you should be able to do so.  Make sure it clears the site data as well.

[Danno]

16 hours ago, Xingu said:

So once again we have taken the good intentions of a thread and turned it against itself and started bashing and flaming FSM, it's members and of course our own members. Well done folks.

 

Apparently you never tried to post anything on a Klambake Pubishing website that even came close to mentioning Model Cars Magazine.  Instant deletion and banishment.  There was no allowance for speaking the name of a competitor, let along discussing it whether good or bad. 

The fact that this forum even allows FSM or SA(no E) or Klambake to be discussed (pro, con, or otherwise) demonstrates vastly more maturity.

🌵😎

[Xingu]

6 hours ago, Danno said:

 

Apparently you never tried to post anything on a Klambake Pubishing website that even came close to mentioning Model Cars Magazine.  Instant deletion and banishment.  There was no allowance for speaking the name of a competitor, let along discussing it whether good or bad. 

The fact that this forum even allows FSM or SA(no E) or Klambake to be discussed (pro, con, or otherwise) demonstrates vastly more maturity.

🌵😎

They left one up on SA that bashed MCM and me personally pretty hard. A few members here even participated 🤓

[BlackSheep214]

13 hours ago, Danno said:

 

Apparently you never tried to post anything on a Klambake Pubishing website that even came close to mentioning Model Cars Magazine.  Instant deletion and banishment.  There was no allowance for speaking the name of a competitor, let along discussing it whether good or bad. 

The fact that this forum even allows FSM or SA(no E) or Klambake to be discussed (pro, con, or otherwise) demonstrates vastly more maturity.

🌵😎

Ha! FSM mods are too liberal and has become nanny bots when it comes to posting anything that deem too “offensive” to one member by the name of GMorrison.

I was banned at FSM for the second time recently. Tim Kidwell couldn’t handle being called a hypocrite when I called him out. I guess they can’t handle the truth. Now to create another account under a different email....BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[Classicgas]

22 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Have you tried asking about in the FSM forums?  Seems like the appropriate place.

Yes. No response. 

[peteski]

Did you try the procedure I posted earlier? You have nothing to lose.

Edited April 8, 2021 by peteski

[Classicgas]

Maybe this weekend.  

[RSchnell]

2 hours ago, BlackSheep214 said:

Ha! FSM mods are too liberal and has become nanny bots when it comes to posting anything that deem too “offensive” to one member by the name of GMorrison.

I was banned at FSM for the second time recently. Tim Kidwell couldn’t handle being called a hypocrite when I called him out. I guess they can’t handle the truth. Now to create another account under a different email....BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Why keep going back to a place you don't like the people at?  I quit going to the FSM forum when it turned more into a senior day care place then a model forum. One guy just posting thread after thread of mindless rambling. The quality of the posters here is 100X better.