Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: SJG001 on June 30, 2018, 03:44:13 pm
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Just a quick question - Has anyone else had difficulty in obtaining the Model Boats Magazine since April?
I normally pick my copy up from WH Smiths - but finding a copy has been unusually difficult. (Inverness, Elgin, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Livingston, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dunfirmline - I have managed to pick up copies in Stirling though)
(I am not currently a subscriber as me subscribing to a magazine seems to be the kiss of death)
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Not available on Merseyside either, as far as I can see; sad really as one of the major contributors lives a couple of miles from me. I'm only able to see the magazine when he brings his copy to our weekly coffees.
Lets hope therefore that the new editor and the management are able to pull things around but, I'm not very hopeful, the best that can be done is a managed decline until it is no longer viable.
The reasons for this are many and varied, I just like to think that the World has changed and that many of the older generations have not, or are not, able to keep pace and that includes me!
LB
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Pulling out of subscribing might
save me a Bob or two but I would
rather have the magazine.
Ned
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As far as I am aware the magazine is fuctioning normally with a healthy readership, especially since the demise of MMI. Our new editor Martyn Chorlton is on top of the job as you can see from the latest issue contents:
https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/model-boats-august-2018/26429 (https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/model-boats-august-2018/26429)
However, the health of niche magazines generally does depend very much on subscriptions rather than the casual purchaser. As always, it is a case of use it or lose it.If you check out the subscription offers you will see that the print copy works out at £3.38 each, less than a pint of beer! The digital edition is just £2.20 a copy. So what is there to complain about? I think people need to get a sense of perspective and look at it in line with other personal discretionary expenditure. The news stand copy costs more because W.H Smith etc. don't stock it for nothing!
Some people do seem to be very quick to play the doom and gloom card and that really doesn't help things. We should be supporting the hobby, not running it down.
Colin
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Colin - At the moment buying from newsagent is a better option for me as I can normally pick up a copy anywhere in Scotland - I am currently spending significant time away from home for work -
In the long term I may opt to subscribe
It is unusual to have difficulty in obtaining a copy - Normally the two big WH Smiths (Glasgow - Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street) do cater to the more niche market particularly in the tourist season.
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I have enquired if there are any current distribution issues.
Colin
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I have enquired if there are any current distribution issues.
Colin
Thanks
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As far as I am aware the magazine is fuctioning normally with a healthy readership, especially since the demise of MMI. Our new editor Martyn Chorlton is on top of the job as you can see from the latest issue contents:
https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/model-boats-august-2018/26429 (https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/model-boats-august-2018/26429)
Some people do seem to be very quick to play the doom and gloom card and that really doesn't help things. We should be supporting the hobby, not running it down.
Colin
I am, and admit that I am, biased to a certain extent, but I have seen a copy of the latest model boats magazine and can honestly say that in the very short tenure of the previous editor who moved over to a sister magazine and Martyn Chorlton who is now the present editor, I have myself seen a vast improvement in the magazine in the few short months, and it was like going back in time to the days when John Cundell, who was a lovely and very approachable man, was editor of the mag...
...and I have started buying the magazine again, as the layout and content is both diverse but interesting once more
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Rather strange. I live in Culloden. I never struggle for an issue -Tesco on Airfield way (Inshes never does it) is best but both there and John Menzies (sorry, Smiths) on the high street always have a copy (I have them all so far this year). But they come out almost a week later. It's when I go out of town -central belt (homeland) you would think you can pick up a copy anywhere else but not so. It did pain me last month though, cellophane wrapped with more rubbish which ended up in the bin. Need to stop that MB else I wont keep buying!!!!
I have never struggled for an issue of MB here but I have elsewhere in Scotland.
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Yes Neil, I think you are a bit biased %) but I would agree that there is nothing wrong with a new Editor putting their own imprint on the magazine content and I would be disappointed if it were otherwise. Both Graham Ashby and Martyn Chorlton have aimed to build upon the foundations set by Paul Freshney and before him John Cundell and more power to their elbow. The revised format will appeal to many and hopefully carry the previous readership with it. I have worked with both Graham and Martyn and they are very committed to making the magazine appeal to as wide a readership as possible. It is the only national magazine we have left so it does deserve our support. Do remember that however well intentioned the Editor is, he can only publish the material that is available so it is important that people do make an effort to contribute articles. This does involve a bit more effort than simply posting stuff on internet forums but it does reach a much wider readership to the overall benefit of our hobby.
Colin
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Rather strange. I live in Culloden. I never struggle for an issue -Tesco on Airfield way (Inshes never does it) is best but both there and John Menzies (sorry, Smiths) on the high street always have a copy (I have them all so far this year). But they come out almost a week later. It's when I go out of town -central belt (homeland) you would think you can pick up a copy anywhere else but not so. It did pain me last month though, cellophane wrapped with more rubbish which ended up in the bin. Need to stop that MB else I wont keep buying!!!!
I have never struggled for an issue of MB here but I have elsewhere in Scotland.
I have struggled since April and it has been more miss than hit in Inverness - but at the moment I am away quite a lot so relying on WH Smiths in other locations.
John Menzies :(( - blast from the past - Still remember the 99p matchbox plastic model planes back in the late 80's or picking up Model Mart in the days before the net.
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Doesn't seem to be readily available in Brisbane newsagents.
The latest issue available at my library, which has a subscription, is March 2018.
Thought it had also gone down the chute as did Military Modelling?
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Some Tesco's stock it.
Downloaded digital version 3days ago. Waiting for hard copy.
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Menzies brings back memories lived about 100yds along our street from it .As a If our wee newsagent did not have a comic could go along there and use their own counter inside
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Get mine from Tesco Leyland every month no probs :-)
Dave
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Tescos at Bidston Moss were supposed to sock it I believe, but I've never seen it there, anyway I'm not prepared to do a 9 mile round trip just to buy a magazine - any magazine.
On another point, if the magazine wants contributor's then they had better start paying them properly, not with the washers that they have done in the past and continue to use.
LB
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Should be done for love and promotion of the hobby with a little reward. Increase payments to contributors will result in the cost of the magazine price going up and up which will result in every one complaining about the cost of said magazine and reduced purchases which in turn will lead to the magazine folding.
Gee people are so short sited. %% %% %%
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Ifyou are having trouble getting the magazine why not feed this information back to my time media.I am sure they would appreciate your feedback.Its o.k. to complain about problems getting the magazine but without feed back nothing will change. Personally I have no problems taken out a regular subscription arrives every month my thoughts on this matter only
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Ifyou are having trouble getting the magazine why not feed this information back to my time media.I am sure they would appreciate your feedback.Its o.k. to complain about problems getting the magazine but without feed back nothing will change. Personally I have no problems taken out a regular subscription arrives every month my thoughts on this matter only
Have done - I was trying to find out if there was a bit more widespread - and it seems to be.
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None of the newsagents round my neck of the woods stock it any more. I was never a susbscriber, and only purchased the occasional issue, usually if there was a plan feature that caugh mye eye, and I used to like the Brian King articles as I found those educational, sadly hes now long gone.
In all honesty ive always found books to be of more value to me in the hobby
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WHS have never stocked the magazine at all their branches, my local one has never carried it. When I was editing the special issues a few years back I discovered that they would only be stocked at those branches where WHS thought they would be able to sell at least five copies from their historical analysis of sales. They probably do the same for the main MB magazine. So if there are perhaps only two or three model boaters who visit the branch and these only buy it occasionally then they will give it up as a bad job - use it or lose it again!
Obviously people have different model boating interests but the idea of the magazine is to try and provide something for everyone although the amount will vary from issue to issue depending on your particular favourite subjects. It's the same for all magazines. Generally I find that at least 75% of the magazine to be worth reading, often more, and that sort of proportion makes a subscription worthwhile. If you are just buying the odd issue for a particular article then yes, that is an expensive way to do things.
LB is well aware that there is no magic money tree. Niche magazines like MB may be perfectly viable but operate on tight budgets and the payments to contributors reflect this. I'm sure that if he were to contribute to Hello! or Vogue then he would be rewarded with the sums he believes his expertise entitles him to. ok2
The key to all this is subscriptions as these provide a reliable income and the margin is much better than on newstrade copies where WHS are taking close to half of the cover price.
Colin
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Take out a subscription save all the hassle and save money also. If you are away often just think of all that reading when you get home in this world of doom and gloom it would surely make you feel better.
Stan. :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-))
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Hi SJG001, You say you move abut a lot for work, but do you have a base where your post goes to? I ask because whie waiting for the first few magazines would be frustrating, taking two or three magazines back out with you after collecting them from your home base would make a subscription more practical. It's just that initial wait for some magazines to read!
When Martyn took over the editing of Mil Mod, He injected it with new blood and reinstated some old features such as a letters page and reader's models. I cannot say whether the previous editor was bored or did not have the feel for Military Modelling as much as Ken Jones or Martyn, but I did notice a dip in the magazine during this time.
On seeing Graham take over Model Boats, I got the feeling again of fresh blood in such things as the spread of articles and also the editorial piece at the beginning of the magazine which I believe is the place where the editor can discuss things he may have been approached about or indeed is passionate about, a sort of editorial equivalent of Glynn Guests's Mooring Post.
With the new editor taking over, I have experience in his previous work (see above) and reckon that the magazine will continue to do well providing we buy it where we can.
My local newsagent orders Model Boats in for me, and while more costly, I like to support my local newsagent as much as I do my remaining favourite hobby magazine. Given the issues that Milmod had, would having a small monthly charge for using the forum help fund the magazine?
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I will be taking out a subscription later this year.
However the advantage for me at the moment is being able to pick up a magazine in a newsagent and be able to read it in a hotel.
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People expect forums to be free, a charge would kill it. One of the problems with Military Modelling is that the free forum was popular but the participants didn't buy the magazine, well, not enough of them anyway. So the tail was wagging the dog. You can't run a commercial magazine on that basis and so both were lost.
The forum was there to support the magazine and it is the same case with Model Boats. If you want a model boating magazine to be available then people need to buy it, whether in hard copy or digital format. You can't expect it to always be there whenever you might occasionally choose to buy a copy but some people seem to expect just that.
Colin
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Take out a subscription save all the hassle and save money also. If you are away often just think of all that reading when you get home in this world of doom and gloom it would surely make you feel better.
Hm, yes.
I did that with MMI for many a long year, and look where that got me? :(( {:-{
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Totally agree with Colin ,if a fee were to be introduced for the forum it would only scare off people new to model boats who only a bit of advice . I myself years ago when i was new to model boating needed advice and was made most welcome from the gentlemen on the MB forum and would now gladly pay a very small fee for it .
Dave {:-{
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Bought my first copy for years in Worcester WH smiths which had a few and I'm quite impressed and I think I will subscribe in the next couple of months.
Mine came with a freebie namely a copy of model collector not my thing but an interesting read.
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Ifyou are having trouble getting the magazine why not feed this information back to my time media.I am sure they would appreciate your feedback.Its o.k. to complain about problems getting the magazine but without feed back nothing will change. Personally I have no problems taken out a regular subscription arrives every month my thoughts on this matter only
:o :o :o Seriously, that is the first thing done and what happens is you get fobbed of and get a PR apologetic speech which does nothing.
Net result no improvement, so subscription cancelled.
As previously stated far better to buy from newsagent that way you get rid of the chaff copies.
The shortsightedness is the publisher.
Get rid of the so called specials and add that to and improve the content to the other 12 issues.
Logic suggests no increased costs, so lets put that furphy to rest, indeed reduced cost, because you save one mailing to subscribers and save one set up cost.
Who wants to buy 24 issues to read parts 1 to 24 of building/making a whatsit.
It didn't work for other mags, such as build the Titanic week by week, so where is the logic of Model Boats following suit. It's called shooting yourself in the foot, namely a self inflicted wound, nothing to do with subscribers/purchasers or costings but poor management and lack of foresight.
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RaaArty,
It's best if you don't burst into print with incorrect assumptions, much better to get your facts right first as it simply confuses people. Model Boats don't run articles in series over extended periods and haven't done so since the early 1970s. Was that when you last bought a copy? ok2 . Articles have rarely been spread over more than two parts for many years now.
Has it occurred to you that your 'chaff' issues actually contain stuff that other people want to read even if it it is not to your personal taste? If you don't like the content then don't buy it but don't rubbish those people who do - and there are thousands of them!
You also have no idea of the ins and outs of the printing process and the costs involved so best not to go there either.
Colin
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Well said raaArty
davew
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Hi all, I support Colin in this as I am sure many others do, he has had experience in the production of the magazine and the Specials. The kit reviews frequently sell kits and buyers often wait until there has been a kit review before buying. Some of the articles on a single build can go on unremittingly, but if done well turn up some useful techniques and tips. I wonder if the editor intervenes to offer a bit of guidance here?
The obvious thing is that the magazine has to turn a profit otherwise it will be closed down.
I have just received my August edition of Model Boats magazine and F & J this month is about failed American model boat magazines. With me having more past than future a bit of nostalgia never goes amiss.
regards Roy
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Well said Colin ,thousands of true model boaters every month who buy Model Boats can't be wrong.
Dave
>:-o >:-o >:-o >:-o >:-o >:-o
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I agree, if done concisely then a multi part article is not an issue. Looking at Dave Wooley's multi part articles spread across several years, each article covers one item or set of sub assemblies thus being as much a stand alone article as a section of a much larger one.
The increase in multi part articles may be to do with what various people have said above, and that is the magazine articles to publish, so more articles submitted may well mean fewer multi parters.
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RaaArty,
It's best if you don't burst into print with incorrect assumptions, much better to get your facts right first as it simply confuses people. Model Boats don't run articles in series over extended periods and haven't done so since the early 1970s. Was that when you last bought a copy? ok2 . Articles have rarely been spread over more than two parts for many years now.
Has it occurred to you that your 'chaff' issues actually contain stuff that other people want to read even if it it is not to your personal taste? If you don't like the content then don't buy it but don't rubbish those people who do - and there are thousands of them!
You also have no idea of the ins and outs of the printing process and the costs involved so best not to go there either.
Colin
C'mon Colin and all your loyal MB supporters what a load of codswallop.
Issue March 2018 Page 48, states Warship scale - Part 13 (oops) pardon me but in Australia part 13 means there have been 12 before.
Also same issue page 44, Steam basics part 87 oh my goodness 87 articles, no not possible must be a typo.
There are other examples, the saying goes there are none so blind who cannot see.
These articles have run for over the space of at least one year, so are you guys understanding what you are reading??
I understand Colin has an obligation to be supportive and give him 10 out of 10 but the rest are blowing hot wind the facts speak for themselves and you wonder why you have closures.
Don't suppose anyone thought to bring out a special on steam basics rather than inflict it on everyone for 87 issues?
I wise mentor told me you can't reason with the unreasonable so enough said by me.
I won't re-subscribe again, done that three times so have experience, unless it improves.
It's not too late to turn it around else we will have no boating mag.
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I wise mentor told me you can't reason with the unreasonable so enough said by me.
I don't wish to appear nasty, but perhaps this could refer to yourself. The extended multi-part articles you refer to are able to be read as standalones, you don't need to have read the previous ones to make sense of the subject.
Granted there are some issues in which some of the articles don't appeal to me, but marine modelling is a very diverse subject and most of us don't embrace the whole spectrum. I am not into steam power, but I can admire the work and techniques involved, similarly submarines and fast electrics. This doesn't mean that I will drop my subscription simply because articles on those aspects of the hobby appear regularly, there are many subscribers whose main interest are those very subjects.
I have been a subscriber to Model Boats for a number of years now, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future, if you choose not to buy the magazine, for whatever reason, that is entirely your prerogative.
Peter.
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We could rattle on about this for ever the choice is simple either you find the magazine excellent and have regular subscription or you buy on a hit and miss option. Either way the magazines future is our hands so is not time to put this topic to bed. We must remember we now only have the one magazine for our hobby so support it or lose it.
Stan
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Very well said, Stan, I agree completely.
Peter.
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It used to be stocked in my local WH Smith (Hastings) But haven't been able to find it recently.
Hope to be able to subscribe soon anyway, would like to be able to support it.
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Model Boats is available in most of the bigger newsagents here in Australia, but the issues on sale are usually a month or more late. I find that a direct subscription is not only considerably cheaper, but the magazine arrives soon after release in the UK.
Peter.
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I just bought the August edition, mainly due to the free plan which was included, which is actually one i might make, for a change! This is the first one in many years that i have bought. I have to say the mag is vastly improved, and there are lots of interesting articles as well as the plan! The new editor gets a definite thumbs up from me.
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Working in the model railway press, I can confirm that Colin is spot on with his information on costs - and also the impossibility of trying to keep everyone happy. The situation for specialist magazines is difficult nowadays.
THE way to ensure any mag is to survive is to subscribe. Stop worrying about not everything inside being perfect for you. Sometimes you might even read something you didn't expect and enjoy it. If the cost is a problem, and compared to most of the stuff we spend money on (beer/fags/chips etc.) it's tiny, when a member of your family asks what you'd like for a birthday or Christmas, ask for a subscription. It's the gift that keeps on giving all year and costs less than some of the other c##p you will be bought if you don't come up with an idea. My sister pays for my Dad's sub and loves it when he tells her what he's read. If she'd just bought a single thing for his birthday, it would be forgotten about 3 months later.
"But I like to buy it from Smiths" - well Smiths take nearly all of the cover price when you do. Money that would otherwise ensure the mag keeps going.
If you don't have a postal address, get the digital mag. Then you can read it wherever you are.
To be blunt, Model Boats is a really good mag that deserves our support. If it goes, there will NEVER be another. Read it, write for it. Tell other people to buy it. The editor (IMHO) is doing an excellent job but it's not easy.
(And RAAArtyGunner, All partworks, vanish from Smiths shelves after issue 7. By that point they print very few that aren't pre-ordered, that's how the business model works. The multi-part MB articles are intended to be read as stand-a-lone pieces so if you've missed the others, it's not the end of the world.)
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Well said Phil, puts things into perspective. We only have one UK Model Boating magazine left and it should be supported. A lot of effort is put in to making it appeal to as many people as possible and the contributors are all dedicated model boaters. Most of the articles are a good read even if you are not into that particular aspect of the hobby and it is always interesting to see and admire what others are doing.
Colin
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Hi all, glad to have read the above, it has always been my favourite magazine. I bought my first Model Maker magazine in late 1954, when I went into the forces I had it sent out to me via the on camp book shop. I bought the magazine via Smiths regularly until I found a reliable wire box to catch everything from the letter box and so deprive the dog of her favourite activity.
Since then I have had a subscription. I did not realise how much the shop takes from the cost of the magazine, but knowing that I hope others will follow the advice.
I have made a few contributions my first being to represent John Cundell at the Nuremburg Toy Fair in 1992, that was great.
regards to all,
Roy
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."But I like to buy it from Smiths" - well Smiths take nearly all of the cover price when you do. Money that would otherwise ensure the mag keeps going.
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I know retail mark up on many things is to double the price paid & some of the gift shops around here work on a minimum of trebling cost price. I understand that those "free" extra magazines that are sometimes included are a required promotion for having the magazine on the shelf at all. As an aside I dislike those free magazines as they are never something that I want to read & they stop me looking in the magazine to decide if I want to buy it. One lost sale but presumably they attract someone else. Do magazines with a free extra magazine result in many extra sales?
I also understand that Smiths is both the wholesale & then the retail agent so I can only guess how little of the cover price gets back to the magazine. Would 25% of the cover price to pay for articles, editor, publisher overheads & printing sound silly?
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If the retailer takes so much of the money, why doesn't the publisher offer a direct online sales channel, where buyers can purchase the magazine? That way they cut out the middle man, and keep more of the cover price. Magazines seem to be one of the few things that you can't buy online - i wonder why that is?
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Well Septembers issue arrived today :}
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The publisher gets rather more than 25% of sales price but it is not far off a 50/50 split.
As for selling individual copies online, it would be pretty expensive to employ people to sit around waiting to address envelopes and stuff them into magazines plus pay the individual postage costs. As things are, the subscriber copies are desptached by the printers who know exactly how many to send and there is no doubt a bulk mailing discount. They wouold also need to maintain or pay for an online payment system. If it were economic for publishers to distribute their own magazines they would!
It wouldn't be very convenient for customers either. Firstly they would have to find out what was in the magazine to determine whether it would be worth purchasing and then go on line to actually order and pay for it, all very tme consuming.
Colin
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Almost the same boat so to speak as subscribers Colin, except they could read all that is in it prior to purchase MAGAZINE COVERS AND CONTENTS: Model Boats (https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/model-boats-september-2018/26479)
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Traplet had an online shop where you could buy individual copies of their magazines, both back copies and the latest issue. The main drawback was that it took around two to three weeks for them to arrive after ordering.
Jim
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"If the retailer takes so much of the money, why doesn't the publisher offer a direct online sales channel, where buyers can purchase the magazine? That way they cut out the middle man, and keep more of the cover price. Magazines seem to be one of the few things that you can't buy online - i wonder why that is?" - as Colin says, for specialist paper magazines, the overheads would be higher then the income. Digital is different as the process can be automated, but this requires an investment in IT infrastructure that might be beyond the smaller publishers. The model railway mags I work for do offer this service, but only for digital.
"Traplet had an online shop where you could buy individual copies of their magazines, both back copies and the latest issue. The main drawback was that it took around two to three weeks for them to arrive after ordering." - The important word is "had". If it was a route to riches, then they still would have one...
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just received the September issue lots of good articles and a free plan ideal for beginners well done the new editor.
Stan. :-)) :-)) :-)) :-)) :-))
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After doing a bit of Googling, I have actually found an online newsagent where you can purchase single issues of Model Boats!
https://www.newsstand.co.uk/158-Modelling-Magazines/1241-Subscribe-to-MODEL-BOATS-Magazine-Subscription.aspx
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Well done Charlie it certainly has improved.
Stan
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Hi all, I see there is a feature plan of Talisman, a little fishing boat. I made this at the time mainly as a foray into plastic. I put in 4 channel radio usual plus lights and sound. I put my daughter's name on the side, she was about 12 at the time. She was totally discusted and refused to have anything to do with it! I think I trod on her street cred.
It survived for some years until the plastics (ex-music store dividers) started to fight the glue until things finally came apart.
regards Roy
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Out of interest, (I'm certainly not griping ) what has encouraged Model Boats to include a free plan in most of the last six or seven issues? It is very generous and wonder if it is because Sarik now sell them and the marketing model is different?
Regards a comment above, I have a running subscription to Commercial Vehicles and Classics for my Dad who (naturally) loves lorries.
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Very forward thinking lot I just got my renewal offer no mention of my actual date but I have 3 issues to come yet