Kit reviews

[Luc Janssens]

Maybe Gregg Hutchings and Larry Greenberg are the people to talk to, about the following, but I'm also wondering what you guys think, of the idea to have available, as pay per PDF download a kit car/truck review in A4 format.

One could print and then store in a binder so whenever you wish to build kit X, Y, Z you can find easily.

Wouldn't it generate some extra income for MCM too?

Good or bad idea?

[Harry P.]

I think pay-per-download PDF files of kit reviews is a great idea.

Now let's see what Gregg says...

[Guest]

Dont like the idea of paying at all. I currently dont even make enough money to make my mortgage payment, let alone any extras. Those of us on extremely limited incomes like that kind of info as well.

[Terror]

I don't know to much about the subject,but I do know,I don't pay for pdf files.Never have,never will.

[mikemodeler]

Luc,

Are you suggesting that reviews would no longer be in the magazine? If Gregg takes the reviews and how-to's out of the magazine and load them here, possibly in a pay-per-view format, what incentive would there be for the magazine?

The latest issue (OCTOBER 2010)has a total of 62 pages of which six and a half pages are dedicated to kit reviews. Add in 5 pages from Wayne Moyer on die cast car reviews and there is 20% of that issue.

Most of what is left is advertisements and articles that may or may not be of interest to some of us. The stories and how-to articles in the October issue held some of my interest but they would not have swayed me to buy the magazine if I was reading it at a LHS.

I think the best thing to do is leave things as is. Start removing content from the magazine and I doubt the subscription numbers will go UP.

My two pennies......

[ra7c7er]

I don't like the idea either. Every thread in the workbench section is a kit review and you can go on umpteen number of sites to get free reviews.

[LDO]

But I drove a .PDF KIT REVIEW FILE TO HIGH SCHOOL.

You'd be making a huge mistake by NOT OFFERING THIS.

Yeah. I know. Donkeys/school.

[mikemodeler]

As much as some love to bash Scale Auto here, if you subscribe to their magazine, you can access over 280 online kit reviews.

So my question is this- If they can include it in the price of subscribing to the mag, why can't MCM?

Seems to me they have decided to give subscribers a few extras in exchange for their subscription.

And as it was already pointed out, there are kit reviews already posted in the Workbench section, maybe not done in a consistent manner but they are there nonetheless.

[LDO]

As much as some love to bash Scale Auto here, if you subscribe to their magazine, you can access over 280 online kit reviews.

So my question is this- If they can include it in the price of subscribing to the mag, why can't MCM?...

I don't speak for MCM, but I'll throw a couple of things out there.

1) There's no requirement for the magazines to offer the exact same content.*

2) There's a New Kit Reviews forum on this site. The reviews are by builders, not journalists. This is a big plus, IMHO. The builders pay for the kit out of their own pocket. They are not beholden to an advertiser who pays part of their paycheck. We get real opinions about how a kit looks/goes together. None of this "Which Dodge Viper is the winner? Both of them!"

*I'm really glad that Gregg doesn't feel the need to match everything SA does. I find SA's content boring. I quit buying it several years ago. I feel the same way about Fine Scale Modeler; another Kalmbach publication. There are many magazines for the military modeler with better content. Kalmbach has not kept up with the times.

[mikemodeler]

Lee,

I agree that the magazines DON'T have to offer the same content, in fact that is why I subscribe to both of them.

I also agree that the builder reviews complete with pictures like those posted in the workbench section are much more useful.

My point is - what added value, over and above what is already provided here on the forum, would a pay-per-view alternative give me that I can't find here or elsewhere? And to my first post on this topic, if the reviews are removed from the magazine, what would take it's place?

I also have tried not to trash one magazine or the other as that isn't the theme of the post. The post about SA and trashing it has been locked for good reason. Why some feel the need to bash SA is beyond me, I guess because they can here is the only justification.

again, my two pennies.

[Luc Janssens]

Seems the idea sounded only great in my head!

Oh well.....back to the modeling bench...and thanks all for your input.

Best Regards

Luc

[MikeMc]

As much as some love to bash Scale Auto here, if you subscribe to their magazine, you can access over 280 online kit reviews.

So my question is this- If they can include it in the price of subscribing to the mag, why can't MCM?

Seems to me they have decided to give subscribers a few extras in exchange for their subscription.

And as it was already pointed out, there are kit reviews already posted in the Workbench section, maybe not done in a consistent manner but they are there nonetheless.

Mike the reason is that all of those online reviews were published...So if you want to see them online, you've already paid to see them in print...its called marketing...a fancy way of taking your money, and making you still feel good..Thats why I buy the mags and read the forums