Harry P. Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Good luck with that idea! It's not as crazy as you think.
Chuck Most Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I completely disagree. I think having a classic kit review is a cool way to bring to mind to those who may not be aware, where our hobby was at one time, and how new issues of old kits may or may not differ from older ones. I hear some guy dug up an original issue of the MPC Fire Truck and compared it to the recent Round 2 reissue- that might be in the December MCM if I'm not mistaken...
LoneWolf15 Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 It's not as crazy as you think. Or that far off , for that matter ! Money for nothin' and your chicks for free is a line in a rock song , period ! Wanna play ? You're going to have to pay , sooner than later ! Online magazines , newspapers , etc , all exist and continue to grow at a rapid rate and they aren't free ! Nor should they be !
LoneWolf15 Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I don't drink milk. How about free Jim Beam? We'd be broke in a month trying to keep up with you , Jim ! Lmao !
Danno Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Okay. It's now January, 2013. Now the December issue is late (23 minutes late).
Guest Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Are you sure? Well, it IS called "Model Cars Magazine", so I would say it's a safe assumtion!
mikemodeler Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I agree that Gary Schmidt and Scale Auto Enthusiast resurected the then dead hobby of model car building. Without Gary taking that chance, the hobby may not have had the comeback and the ride we've all enjoyed the last 25 years! I read BOTH magazines and will say that both entities are doing a fine job working in a market where there is no money to be made. I just read in the last posted circulation statement in Model Cars that paid circulation is around 6000 copies. How do you make money at that number? Both magazines are at the mercy of hobbiests, who are poorly paid if at all, who aren't the best at honoring deadlines or coming through at all. If you've suffered the stress of putting out a club newsletter, multiply that angst by 100. Both magazines can only print what the faithful submits, along with what the one guy, Greg or Jim, can produce themselves. There is no newsroom with 100 reporters like Time Magazine here! If people send in kit reviews, they get printed. (BTW, I saw a ton of them in the last 2 issues of MC too!) If we all were to submit dynamite build articles both magazines would be all the better! The market has changed drastically. How can a magazine that needs to have a 3-6 month lead time compete with the Internet on contest results? Why spend 8 pages on photos of a long past contest when hundreds of photos were available on the Internet that very night? As far as tips and techniques, there are only so many things we can do. And the elementary how-to articles are there for those coming into the hobby. They weren't around the last time the magazine did an article on airbrush techniques, and that article will sell the issue. If all the how-to articles were at a very advanced level, we'd lose the newbies. And we can't afford that at all. And remember that advertising dollars have all but disappeared. Everything is sold on the Internet now. I'm amazed that they can continue publishing. If you really want to see where both magazines are at, go find an old issue of Model Car Science. Talk about elementary! The magazine is written for kids, with heavy influence from manufacturers and is maybe 25% slot cars. The current magazines are light years ahead of that! Very well said Tom, and I suspect that before too long we will be reading the magazines online and the print version will be something to view in a museum. When I last renewed my Scale Auto subscription, I was offered a digital option in addition to a print version. I opted not to take the digital version but envision a day when that will be the only way to read it. At some point I think the forums and magazines will be merged and we will have to pay to be a part of the action. I am not opposed to doing that, but like many other new things, I will have to be shown the benefits before signing up. I, like many others, grew up "old school" but have adapted to the online world. I applaud the magazines' owners for giving us what they do- forums and print magazines- and hope that they can continue to do so for a long time. The climate in which they operate is a very difficult one and I don't see it improving.
Guest Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Well, the day mags are digital only, I quit reading, and also, if I have to pay for a forum, forget it.
Craig Irwin Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Well, the day mags are digital only, I quit reading, X2!
Big Daddy Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Well, the day mags are digital only, I quit reading, and also, if I have to pay for a forum, forget it. x2
Harry P. Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Well, the day mags are digital only, I quit reading, and also, if I have to pay for a forum, forget it. It takes just as much effort to create a digital magazine as it does one printed on paper (minus the actual printing and distribution, of course). In fact, every issue of every magazine begins as a digital version (all magazines are created on computer)... so why would you dismiss a digital magazine that has the exact same content as a traditional paper magazine? You sound like the kind of guy back at the beginning of the 20th century who would have said "well, the day that automobiles take over the job of transportation from horses, I'll quit going anywhere and just stay home."
Craig Irwin Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 You sound like the kind of guy back at the beginning of the 20th century who would have said "well, the day that automobiles take over the job of transportation from horses, I'll quit going anywhere and just stay home." Or the guy who back in '27 when he heard that Ford was going to stop building Model T's and bought ten of them to last the rest of his life, and never drove anything else. Us old grumpy guys like what we like and are set in our ways.
Harry P. Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Or the guy who back in '27 when he heard that Ford was going to stop building Model T's and bought ten of them to last the rest of his life, and never drove anything else. Us old grumpy guys like what we like and are set in our ways. And yet here you are on this newfangled "internet" thing! Maybe you "old dogs" can learn a few new tricks.
Craig Irwin Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 My great-grandfather farmed with horses until the day he died, in 1946! Some people just like what they like, thats all. I have NO intrest in any digital magazine.
martinfan5 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 And yet here you are on this newfangled "internet" thing! Maybe you "old dogs" can learn a few new tricks. Wasting your time Harry I cant remember, does MCM offer a digital version ?, I know or think I remember seeing that it was in the works
Harry P. Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Wasting your time Harry Yeah, I know. But give me credit for trying!
Dr. Cranky Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 All I know, regardless of the medium, is that no content creation is FREE.
Tom Geiger Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Digital versions of the magazines... I like the paper ones because I have near complete collections of both titles. It's just always been that way. BUT, I no longer get a daily newspaper. My routine is to pour my big cup of coffee and sit down at the PC to view the news! I find it's more timely than paper. And with all the digital devices we own now, I can see this taking over.
Harry P. Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Digital versions of the magazines... I like the paper ones because I have near complete collections of both titles. It's just always been that way. BUT, I no longer get a daily newspaper. My routine is to pour my big cup of coffee and sit down at the PC to view the news! I find it's more timely than paper. And with all the digital devices we own now, I can see this taking over. It's going to take over, no doubt about it. How much longer will newspapers still pay for huge rolls of paper, huge printing presses, huge buildings to house those huge printng presses, trucks and drivers to distribute the paper, etc, etc., ... when they can just put out a digital version and save all of that $$$? Same with magazines. It's just a matter of time before paper magazines join butter churns and kerosene lanterns in the "used to be" museum of obsolete technology.
martinfan5 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) Yeah, I know. But give me credit for trying! Ok, what type of credit do you accept It's going to take over, no doubt about it. How much longer will newspapers still pay for huge rolls of paper, huge printing presses, huge buildings to house those huge printng presses, trucks and drivers to distribute the paper, etc, etc., ... when they can just put out a digital version and save all of that $$$? Same with magazines. It's just a matter of time before paper magazines join butter churns and kerosene lanterns in the "used to be" museum of obsolete technology. Its coming faster then , well I have no idea , but one day almost all the prints will be a thing of the past, like it or not, I guess I am a little old fashion, I would rather have the printed veriosn to read of magazines, but at the same time, I welcome digital versions. I have not picked a news paper in a few years, I would read our local paper online, but I believe they make you pay for it, so pass. To the guys that are against going to all digital versions, here is something to think about, just like what Harry said, it saves a boat load of money, thus, all that money saved could be put back in the publication to make it better, and I am not sure about this, but just guessing, but when the day comes that everything is digital, maybe the cost per subscription will come down, since one of the biggest cost is gone, just a thought, Harry might be able to tell me if I am wrong on that guess Edited January 2, 2013 by martinfan5
Ju Ju Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 if the magazine goes to digital form only, i won't be able to read it in the bathroom anymore........
martinfan5 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 if the magazine goes to digital form only, i won't be able to read it in the bathroom anymore........ Laptops are great for that, I did some business online while doing my business a week ago
Harry P. Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 if the magazine goes to digital form only, i won't be able to read it in the bathroom anymore........ If you can take a paper magazine into the "throne room," then you can take an I-Pad into it just as easily.
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