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Author Topic: Model Boats magazine, other model magazines.... and shows!  (Read 33470 times)

carlmt

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As the topic title suggests.........it would appear that the current incumbent has moved on to pastures new already! (or, at least, gone back to his previous title...).

That didn't last long did it??????

New editor is a Mr Martyn Chorlton.............anyone know him?

Not a name that rings any bells with me - sorry!

CT

Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2018, 06:51:39 pm »

All explained here Carl:

http://www.modelboats.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=135581&p=1

Martyn Chorlton has been editor of Military Modelling magazine which has now closed.

It's all a bit unfortunate in some respects as Graham Ashby had made a good start at Model Boats but illness and other issues have prompted the changes.

Colin
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Stavros

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2018, 09:34:37 pm »

Fair comment Colin BUT my personal MAIN WORRY is That Martyn Chorlton has allready been involved in the demise of one Magazine I Personally dont think this is a very good move at all....Time will tell




Dave
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2018, 09:49:53 pm »

Military Modelling was originally slated to be closed a couple of years back but the management was persuaded to keep it going and Martyn was given the job as a freelance editor. It's not his fault that the magazine has gone under.

The basic problem was that although there was a lively forum the magazine simply wasn't selling enough copies to stay financially viable. People were happy to participate in the free forum but didn't buy the magazine so the result was inevitable. People always want something for nothing unfortunately.

There is a basic assumption on the part of many people that stuff on the internet is generally free but that isn't actually the case. There are always costs and these come out in various ways. Sometimes they are covered by advertising, sometimes by the sale of your data or sometimes, as on Mayhem, by the owner subsidising the site.

People get cross about facilities being withdrawn but forget that you get what you pay for and if you pay for nothing then you cannot complain if a facility is withdrawn as the people who relied on Photobucket for third part hosting have painfully discovered.

Colin
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2018, 10:24:19 pm »

I will have to confess to having stopped purchasing the boat mags about two years ago. Marine Modelling had become a shadow of its former self, while I was not getting anything new from Model Boats magazine, month to month.
One of our members brought the latest copy of Model Boats to our last meeting, blimey, what an engrossing read it has become, Dragonforce/Dragonflite development and design to production, interesting illustrations, articles etc. Whatever has happened, I hope it continues. Must get a subscription up :-))
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phil_parker

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2018, 06:44:19 pm »

Fair comment Colin BUT my personal MAIN WORRY is That Martyn Chorlton has allready been involved in the demise of one Magazine I Personally dont think this is a very good move at all....Time will tell
Dave
There are lots of reasons for a magazine to cease publication, many outside the editors control. As Colin has said, readers can simply drift away to the web or even away altogether. The publishers may simply decide that a title is no longer sufficiently profitable or fits their portfolio. Advertisers could close down and stop paying for the space on the page.

One less discussed aspect is that it is proving harder and harder to find people willing and able to actually write the articles. As an editor, I spend a lot of my time trying to persuade people to put finger to keyboard, even though they will be paid for their work. There are loads of people who have an idea what they would like to read, but will they write it? No chance. Even though word processors, digital cameras and e-mail make the process easier than it's ever been, it's all too much effort.

Ultimately though, and editor can only publish what they have. Model Railway magazines get around this by employing in-house staff. Model boat magazines don't sell enough to afford this luxury.

Graham did a superb job with Model Boats in his time at the helm. I can't see why Martyn shouldn't carry on his good work, but only if he has the material to work with. If not, the mag will close and with it will go the chance to engage people on the newstand. Forever.

Would this matter? I think it would. You might love Mayhem on the web, but if Martin decided to chuck it in, what would happen to the site? Is there anyone else willing to put as much time and money into it?

Model mags are like model shops. Use them or lose them.
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2018, 07:21:24 pm »

Phil is quite right in the points he is making. If you want something out then you have to put the effort in. Forums are useful while they are operating but they are essentially ephemeral and can vanish at the touch of a button as has the Military Modelling forum with all the years of information it contained. The same applies to Mayhem, there is a huge resource of practical model boating information and advice on this site and it is 100% owned by Martin. If, forbid, he should fall under a bus or become incapacitated I don't think there is any plan in  place to ensure that the site will continue and so all of that would be lost - and indeed will be lost at some point in the future as things currently stand.

I have heard complaints that magazines 'cost too much' but probably from people who would think nothing of spending more than the cost of a single issue on a couple of pints down the pub and if you take out a subscription then the cost per issue reduces significantly.

You only have to look at websites like the Magazine Exchange to see that there is a constant demand for old magazines and their contents. As printed items they are still available, either as hard copy or because people may have saved particular articles so there is a continuing information resource that can never be matched by online forums.

People post build logs on forums but then the forum may fail or their images are blocked by Photobucket etc. so all the hard won information and expertise is lost. That doesn't happen with printed matter where the material is much more likely to remain in the public domain.

Food for thought.

Colin
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roycv

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2018, 08:54:20 pm »

Hi I would like to echo unbuilt the magazine really has moved on not just a cosmetic change but the article on Dragon Force yacht design was first rate.  Well done Graham a very good achievement in 6 months.  If we are moving on again so beit.  Saw John Cundell the other week and he was full of praise for the magazine under Graham.
Look forward to seeing what comes next!
regards Roy
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2018, 09:00:31 pm »

Glad to hear that John is OK Roy. Has he moved home yet? He was talking of downsizing a little while back and Dave Wooley and I were involved in transferring his collection of model boating magazines to the Waterways Museum at Ellesmere port who offered to take them but who I suspect haven't done much with them to date.

Colin
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roycv

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2018, 09:31:01 pm »

Hi Colin myself and Malcolm collected some of his workshop equipment which he kindly donated to the club.  The move is imminent but he is not going far.
We had a club auction within the week and stuff has now gone to new homes and back into use again.
regards Roy
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RAAArtyGunner

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2018, 01:12:09 am »


Hopefully he will take a leaf out of Scale Modeller International, which includes a boat segment, always has more pages than model boats, the so called No.1, now the only one, and ditch the ongoing padding articles. You now, "how to build etc etc part 23 etc etc" and irrelevant ancient information such as pulse radio sets.
He had instituted positive changes to Military Modelling.

Doesn't attract 'modern' modellers to our cause and is irrelevant and of no value to them.
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Stan

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2018, 10:26:12 am »

We may not know the new editor but I am sure we would all like to wish him well in his new position. Like all magazines it needs input from the model boat world to survive. I have to agree the quality of the publications  is now very good  so lets keep on renewing our subscriptions and make sure the magazine will be about for many years to come.

Stan.
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phil_parker

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2018, 12:01:37 pm »

Hopefully he will take a leaf out of Scale Modeller International, which includes a boat segment, always has more pages than model boats, the so called No.1, now the only one, and ditch the ongoing padding articles. You now, "how to build etc etc part 23 etc etc" and irrelevant ancient information such as pulse radio sets.
He had instituted positive changes to Military Modelling.
Doesn't attract 'modern' modellers to our cause and is irrelevant and of no value to them.
Personally, I find the vintage articles fascinating - and I bet they help shift copies from people who get all misty-eyed about old models. It helps that they are well written and photographed.

Presumably though, you'll be inundating the editor with articles to attract "modern modelers", whatever that means.
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raflaunches

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #13 on: May 17, 2018, 12:47:03 pm »

Well I’m looking forward to seeing the new editor’s work, I’ve enjoyed every editor’s contributions since I started in 2003 and it’s always exciting to see what new ideas they bring. I’m in the process of writing two build articles for the magazine, my article about the Mayhem at Wicksteed 2017 was my first attempt at writing and I don’t think I did a too bad a job of it- well there was very little editing!!!
Whilst I’m not particularly interested in the old radio gear and motors, etc, I know there is a big following in vintage and I have bought several ‘vintage’ boats because I like the look of them- I would not have ever known that they existed without reading about them in Model Boats.
I was a subscriber to Military Modelling and I enjoyed the magazine but like what’s been mentioned before it’s only as good as the articles being provided. Welcome aboard Martyn  :-))
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #14 on: May 17, 2018, 01:01:05 pm »

A while back I edited some special issues of Model Boats on various themes. For budgetary reasons they needed to recycle historic material with which a lot of today's readers were likely to be unfamiliar with. They actually sold quite well and the archive material was very well received by newer readers as well as older ones on a nostalgia trip!

Publishers are in business to make a profit so their magazines will address the market as they see it to maximise sales. About four years ago a major national analysis of magazine purchasing habits indicated that the average age of a Model Boats magazine buyer was 65, possibly slightly more as purchases were often made by women on behalf of their husbands. This is probably not too far off the average age of Mayhem participation I suspect and certainly ties in with the people you see at the major shows.

At the moment this gives a reasonably solid readership and the magazine makes a profit although the situation is obviously one of managed decline as people grow old and there is a general move away from hard copy publications to web based information.

Efforts have indeed been made to identify an upcoming generation to take the place of the expiring greybeards but there truth seems to be that there is very little there on the model boating side from a commercial viewpoint. This of course is reflected by the chronic inability of clubs to attract youngsters into the hobby, very difficult when there are much more interesting things to capure their attention.

As Phil says, magazines can only publish the material that people are prepared to write and this imposes a degree of constraint on their content. In days gone by the MBBA in its various sections together with the RYA accounted for much of the material published. As MPBA Scale secretary back in the 80s I had a monthly MPBA Scale Section column for example and before that Dave Wooley had a regular column on Fast Electrics. All this has gone now as the associations show little interest in promoting themselves in the modelling press and seem content to just occupy their own little niches with the honorable exception of Roger Stollery who does make an effort on the yachting side and Craig Dickson on behalf of BMPRS.

Luckily the magazine does have a 'stable' of reliable and popular contributors supplemented by excellent pieces from occasional or one off contributors but this material does tend to revolve around the core model boating market and interests with a weighting towards working scale or semi scale models.

It is easy to say 'I'd like more of this or more of that' but from the editor's chair it isn't quite so simple. Remember that Model Boats, as are most similar niche magazines, is produced by a full time editor and a half time designer and that's it! No reporters or feature writers other than modellers who write articles for rather small sums of money.

Colin
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Peter Fitness

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2018, 11:17:11 pm »

the average age of a Model Boats magazine buyer was 65
Colin


I always knew I was above average %)


Peter.
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RAAArtyGunner

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2018, 12:31:12 am »




Ah the voice of experience thunders aloud. :-)) :-)) :-))
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Klunk

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2018, 01:27:01 am »

if it helps im 51!!!!
and I write articles for the club mag, plus i've had recipes published in books! also done magazine editing, run 2 forums, admin for 3 face book groups, plus being secretary of the local MBC, was a school guvner for 10 years, was on the LEA as well, also help out at Mayhem occasionally!
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SteamboatPhil

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2018, 10:45:25 am »

Wow Klunk think what you could have achieved if you did joined up writing  {-) {-) {-) {-)
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roycv

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2018, 11:17:17 am »

Ahhh! joined up writing, led to many a young lad's undoing.  Those little notes to young ladies, that naughty billet doux those unguarded moments put on paper.  Thank god for emails and word processors, where you can type it all out, read it, regret it and delete it.  Cursive script has a lot to answer for, mainly because it is in your handwriting!  Can't tell who typed this, I shall deny it.
X
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #20 on: May 18, 2018, 12:40:47 pm »

Was that a kiss Roy.....?
Colin
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roycv

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #21 on: May 18, 2018, 01:08:59 pm »

I was trying to remain anonymous, now you've blown it!
Roy
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #22 on: May 18, 2018, 01:21:52 pm »

The kiss???
Colin
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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Another new editor for Model Boats magazine?
« Reply #23 on: May 18, 2018, 02:11:27 pm »

Do you two need to get a room?
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Klunk

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Re: .... new editor for Model Boats magazine
« Reply #24 on: May 18, 2018, 05:46:48 pm »

hhhmmmmm. i did write several poems that were published as well.
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