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[Champdriver]

Good day Everyone


Relatively new to the site.
I’ve just come across the model boat magazine thru surfing the web and just wonder peoples thoughts on the magazine. Is it good content, worth the subscriptions cost, good links to other stuff, forums etc. or has the magazine and content gone the way of the doo doo bird.
Any thoughts on this are appreciated or other boat magazine suggestions.


Michael

[Martin (Admin)]

Good magazine, lots of useful; stuff & reviews.
Look for online / digital version ( discounted ) offers!   

[Champdriver]

Hi Martin

From your statement below do you mean watch out for scams or good online deals?
Living in Canada I would probably have to go with the digital copy of the magazine.
Thanks in advance for clarification.


Look out for online version


Michael

[Colin Bishop]

Michael,

As someone closely associated with the magazine ( I look after its Forum and have edited several special issues in the past) I can tell you that it has beeen published continuously since 1950 under successive owners.

Whether you will like it rather depends on what you like! However if you look at the website home page you can see under Latest Articles the contents of all the recent issues which will give you some idea of the subject matter covered.

https://www.modelboats.co.uk/

If you subscribe to the Digital or Digital plus Print options you also have access to the Digital Archives which holds all issues going back to 2007. The archive is searchable which makes it an unbeatable facility for finding the content you are interested in. The archive material can be printed or downloaded.

The magazine is currently owned and published by Mortons Media Group which has a large stable of titles and organises enthusiast events.

https://www.mortons.co.uk/

Hope this helps,

Colin

[SailorGreg]

If you want to read a periodical devoted to model boats, then Model Boats is your only option - there are no others.  There are some who say that too much of it is devoted to topics in which they have no interest - but of course, opinions vary on which those topics are!  My view is that if you are into building and sailing scale model boats, it's well worth the subscription.  OK, there will be articles that you skip over, but as the only one of its kind it has to cater for a pretty wide audience.  The digital subscription used to miss out on the free plans that come every other issue or so, but I think there have been moves to rectify that - Colin Bishop will let us know what is happening there.

Happy reading!

Greg

[Colin Bishop]

Yes, as Greg says, the free plans in the print editions are now available to digital subscribers as PDF files so you han have them enlarged yourself at any desired scale.

Colin

[jaymac]

Michael  as it is not readily available in  newsagents I would buy a copy  before you think about subscribing. You can get back numbers of recent issues check the topics on the Other Site and judge for yourself.
I been buying it since the 90's then started subscribing  but sadly its been taking on water for the  last year or so stopped this year. Have a look here
https://www.magazineexchange.co.uk/cw/model-boats-2022

[Colin Bishop]

I been buying it since the 90's then started subscribing  but sadly its been taking on water for the  last year or so stopped this year.

Your opinion Jaymac which is fair enough. Every Editor has had their supporters and detractors as we all have our own particular interests. However, a niche magazine like Model Boats doesn't run to employing reporters and so is dependent upon what model boaters are willing to contribute.

Editor Lindsey Amrani has made it very clear that she is willing to embrace a variety of subject matter covering all aspects of the hobby but that needs people to step up to the plate and share their particular interest in the hobby. It can't be all 'take', there has to be some 'give' by enthusiasts if the magazine is going to cater for a wide range of subjects.

The magazine does depend on dedicated model boaters who are happy to share their knowledge and builds to inform and encourage fellow model boaters. They get paid very little for the effort made in their contributions but like to think that they are doing their bit to support their hobby. Without them the magazine would not exist.

Colin

[Champdriver]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I just purchased a digital copy. First impressions are the adds for all the bits and pieces which we have limited accesses to on this side of the pond. This may be a little gold mine of info of where to get things.
Thanks again!

[jaymac]

Michael don't know if you have looked at the other model boat forum NOT the one connected with the magazine


https://model-boats.com/

[phil_parker]

Your opinion Jaymac which is fair enough. Every Editor has had their supporters and detractors as we all have our own particular interests. However, a niche magazine like Model Boats doesn't run to employing reporters and so is dependent upon what model boaters are willing to contribute.

Editor Lindsey Amrani has made it very clear that she is willing to embrace a variety of subject matter covering all aspects of the hobby but that needs people to step up to the plate and share their particular interest in the hobby. It can't be all 'take', there has to be some 'give' by enthusiasts if the magazine is going to cater for a wide range of subjects.

The magazine does depend on dedicated model boaters who are happy to share their knowledge and builds to inform and encourage fellow model boaters. They get paid very little for the effort made in their contributions but like to think that they are doing their bit to support their hobby. Without them the magazine would not exist.

Colin

Beyond this, we have to remember that the overall audience for a model boating publication is tiny, and so you need a wide variety of subjects in each issue to ensure there is something for everyone. FWIW, I think Lindsey has done terrific work on bringing the magazine alive in both content and design.

Of course, if you are only interested in a very tiny niche of the hobby, you will be disappointed, but the thing I like about magazines is that readers are presented with things they might not otherwise read. Maybe this sparks a new interest now, or in the future. The recent article on heat shunts for steamboats fascinated me, even though I'm not likely to build one in the near future - but the learning is fun. Likewise, the nostalgic stuff is interesting. And Glynn Guest's piece on prop angles is just useful to everyone.

Specialist magazines rely on subscriptions and adverts to keep them viable. There's no money selling stuff through Smiths once they take their charges out of it. If we, as a hobby, want to appear in front of a wide audience, then, IMHO, it's important MB survives.

[Champdriver]

Jay Mac thank you! I feel like a sponge these day trying to obsorb everything lots of good information.

[ballastanksian]

Hobby magazines are like a box of chocolates. As long as you open it up knowing you will sometimes pick out a coffee creme, and sometimes a gooey toffee one you won't be dissapointed.

[Martin (Admin)]

 
       

[RichardW]

This is cheeky but if you don’t ask …….
Model Boat magazine is now available digitally on Readly. Would a Readly subscriber to Model Boats be able to access the PDFs of free plans please or is this brilliant facility, quite reasonably, only available to people who subscribe directly to the magazine.

[mogurnda]

There are also  several other model boat magazines available from Europe. They are good quality printed mags. However it also helps if you can read Polish, French and German.... I don't know if they do online digital copies.

Cheers David.
 

[jaymac]

Doric?

[Martin (Admin)]

 
More & more older magazines now appearing online, eg, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ModelBoatMayhem/permalink/2017934608544848/

[Circlip]

The "Free" plans have been a perceived cash cow after being supplied in the Mags so inclusion in a digital subscription defeats the object to be able to scream "COPYRIGHT", even the 'second sellers' of the mags often contain the phrase "Plan not included".


 Regards  Ian.

[Colin Bishop]

Not much of a market though, not very many people build from plans these days so anyone flogging the free plans or copying the ones they have won't be taking holidays in the Maldives. Sarik, who inherited the MTM plans range have a lot of plans listed but the vast majority will not sell any copies from one year to another.

Colin

[Tug Fanatic]

As readly offer a 30 day free trial why not take them up on the offer & see for yourself?

I am not sure if you realise this but the free plans have only been included from January 2023 and as a tiled plan from the latest issue. The single page plans January - July were fine for appraisal but they were not of sufficient quality to enlarge for building a larger model. Having said that their inclusion has greatly enhanced the magazine for digital readers.

[RichardW]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have been a Readly subscriber for a long time and yes, there were model boat magazines on there from other countries for a long time before Model Boats became available on the platform. Although my foreign language skills are not great the magazines were still interesting to look through but I, and probably others, asked Readly if they could recruit Model Boats (and also RCM&E) to their site and they did which was excellent.
What I was particularly interested in was the news that the magazine were now making available PDFs of plans.  As it is, it is certainly possible to create your own plan PDFs from Readly but it’s a bit clumsy that’s all.

[phil_parker]

It's worth bearing in mind that any mag you consume on Readly, only gets a fraction of the tiny fee you pay to be a member. For something like MB, this is going to be a very tiny amount of pennies.

Realistically, for a small subscription mag, if you want it to survive, get a subscription. Better still, ask someone to get a subscription for you as a present for birthdays/fathers day/Christmas. It's a cheap gift for them, and will be remembered by you, for the whole year. Beats socks, or a novelty tie.

[RichardW]

A very valid point and I do prefer a real magazine to a digital one but Readly is just an example of our changing world. Many people use Spotify for example or read their books on Kindle both of which give very small returns per view. I’m sure you are right that the magazine publishers have an equally small return per individual view but Readly provides ready made access to potential customers in the USA, continental Europe and Australasia. The publishers would have calculated that the volume of potential customers they can reach this way makes it a sensible route to market. Should they not make money through Readly after all then I would assume they would withdraw from it at the earliest opportunity.

[Colin Bishop]

Niche magazines like Model Boats walk a financial tightrope on minescule budgets. One just has to hope that the publishers continue to support them. Article contributors are paid peanuts and only do it for the love of the hobby. Hopefully their efforts are appreciated.

Colin