wondering

I've been wondering the same thing. I have a subsription too and check at a local grocery that sells it doesn't have it either.

Jack

RMC

That is one reason I havea digital subscription although the June digital issue was not available until the end of June. A Carstens employee who handles subscriptions told me that the problem was the printer--either the printer moved or Carstens changed printers--but in any event all the materials had been at the printer for some time but that issue had just not been printed. It is an unfortunate situation because it places Carstens and its advertisers in a very unconfortable position toward each other as well as subscribers. I still think RMC is the better of the printed major magazines with the NG&SL Gazette the best of all (although it is a minority interest magazine).

John

The short answer

The short answer we got from RMC at Cleveland is it's a resource constraint problem and they're trying as hard as they can to catch up.

Their intent is to get back on schedule, but it does sound like that may take some time yet.

RMC

I've been watching this also. I normally pick up a copy at my local Redner's market, since I like to look before I buy.  I've noticed that the last few issues have been very late and the last one was missing altogether.

Several months ago, I sent RMC an e-mail inquiry about subscription promotions and I have yet to receive a reply from them.

RMC has been my all time favorite of the print magazines, since the late sixties.

I hope that they get this straightened out.

Joe

Does the resource constraint problem mean they do not have enough money to pay the bills and the people responsible for putting out the mag? Or is it some other type of excuse. These guys had the one print mag I was thinking about getting again but until they get their act together I will not be sending money. Many years ago I renewed my subscription to a magazine for three years and they promptly folded 2 months later, no refunds, no nothing so I still have a bad taste in my mouth regarding that event.

It would be nice to see them remain in the business. One of my fellow club members has written for them several times so if I was going to subscribe to one of them it would be craftsman.

Rob in Texas

What does "resource constrained" mean?

We didn't press them any further, so we don't know the answer to this question. We don't want to start any rumors, so this is all we know.

...

Time RMC goes digital or goes broke...

Benny,   They do have a

Benny,

They do have a digital offering.  Between being small and and having no 'pay per view' content like MR and MRH, they are dependent on subscribers and print advertising(and some web advertising).  I really want to see them grow, but I suspect they are between a rock and a hard place...

Jim

RMC always say that they are in some issue

They have for years.  In my opinion RMC is looking for a way OUT.  Even if they are not looking for a way out, they are surely heading towards extinction soon.  It's a certified Sucky magazine anyway!  

I would not agree

I would not agree with that. True to their name, Railroad Model Craftsman, they've continued to focus on the modeling/craftsman side of the hobby, in contrast to Model Railroader, who have moved to a focus on building layouts, especially starter layouts.

Model Railroader's strategy (and it's a deliberate strategy, it's no accident) is that the way to keep the hobby strong is to make entry into the hobby easier by showing how you build a layout soup to nuts. MR also feels layout builders buy more of everything (generally quite true), so for the good of the hobby and the hobby industry, let's make entry and conspicuous consumption easy.

Meanwhile, RMC helps fill the gap left by MR with their emphasis more on building nice models. RMC also caters to intermediate modelers more, where MR focuses more on entry-level modelers.

Then you have us, MRH, where we focus more on intermediate to advanced modelers, since MR hasn't been doing that very well (by design) and RMC also doesn't typically watch for more advanced techniques like we do. We try to not leave the beginners in the dust, but with MR out there doing such a great job for beginners, we aren't wasting a huge amount of bandwidth trying to fill their niche when they're already doing that quite well.

One thing we think MR has failed to consider in their formula is keeping people in the hobby on the back end. You can run them through the entry doors into the hobby, but if you're not addressing the intermediate or advanced modelers' needs too, then you risk losing more on the back end once they've grown in their hobby skills.

We feel you need to keep in mind the entire hobbyist life-cycle, not just one end or the other. We also believe both building layouts and building nice models needs to be covered, so we don't just focus on one or the other.

Carsten Publications

They also publish "Railfan & Railroad" and "Flying Models Magazine" plus their On30 and HOn3 Annuals. So they are somewhat diversified. I did hear from a friend that the magazine got printed but still needed to be put together, addressed and mailed. I guess time will tell.

Bernd

MRH in the Catbird Seat

 We feel you need to keep in mind the entire hobbyist life-cycle, not just one end or the other. We also believe both building layouts and building nice models needs to be covered, so we don't just focus on one or the other.

Yes, but Joe, you have the best of all possible worlds and without having the (legacy) overhead of dealing with paper every month. MRH really is sitting in the catbird seat, IMO. I'm sure you have your share of expenses to deal with, but your business model is different, you have a thriving web presence and watering hole (discussion forum) and you seem to innately understand "New Media" and the "Internet Culture" in a way that MR doesn't seem to get. And I'll tell you what I personally like about MRH-- apart from all the foregoing-- is that I don't feel like I'm getting Nickled & Dimed to death at every turn like some other places. Plus, you can go online at MRH and get every single issue you all have ever produced for the same low cover price, any time, all the time, 24 hours a day.

John

Joe F.

RMC

Thanks for the update bernd. Not a day goes by when I open the mailbox anticipating seeing RMC sitting inside. Got the Gazette yesterday. My restless fingers have been appeased on their need to hold a RR mag.

Great comparison Joe on the 3 different RR magazines, you are right near as I can tell.

Jack

 Two months ago I bought a

Two months ago I bought a subscription as a fathers day gift for my son, Neil, with the internet option. He had not received any magazines. He spoke to them and they are in the process of changing printers. The internet June issue is available, and Neil was told the printed July issue will be out soon, followed by the June issue, I think this is probably  due to the fact that the July issue is being printed by the new printer, while June is probably by the old printer and maybe the reason for the change. All print publications are in a squeeze financially, not just RMC..

As far as content RMC has a content aimed at the people that still build things, so those that just buy do not appreciate it's content. It is a shame at least from my point of view that there are not more builders coming up in the hobby. There is nothing wrong with RTR and the current RTR offerings are great, but to me there is nothing as satisfying as saying "I built it". The content of MRH has some great builders, many of then younger (at least younger than me).and I for one love to see a great craftsman. I love MRH, but also enjoy RMC and hope they are around for a long time. .

Build vs. Buy

This "people don't build things" or "people just buy things now" comes up in a lot of discussions.

Don't forget - the reason we used to build so much stuff is because WE HAD TO.  You couldn't buy what you needed.  If you wanted it, you built it.  I think so much of the "Model" component of Model Railroad culture developed because of that fact.  I also think it's a lot easier to write and illustrate articles about model building than articles on operations.

Scenery and Structures sit in one place and stay there.  Operations is about movement.  I don't think it's an accident that the interest in operations seems to have grown now that video is so much easier to distribute, but that's another topic.

I think the majority of kids get attracted to the hobby is because the trains move.  You can control them and do things with them.  It's only after the trains are up and running that many people start getting interested in scenery and structures.  The emphasis on model building, at the expense of operation, is just an artifact of the way the hobby developed.

I think what we have now is a much more mature hobby.  A significant amount of ready to run equipment is available to help get people started quickly.  Some stop at that point and fill in the gaps with their imagination, never needing actual scenery.  Many others will grow to expand their interest into specific models or types of scenic elements that are not available for purchase and start building those items themselves.  They can focus their time and skills on the things that are personally important to them, and things that differentiate their layout from the many others assembled from the same off-the-shelf pieces.

Each person can gravitate toward the part of the hobby that appeals to them.  The different types of magazines can appeal to those sub-groups and each, hopefully, can be successful in their niche.  

I think MRH has several advantages, but one is that they don't need to have a cover that appeals to people passing by a magazine rack in a grocery store.  A huge percentage of the passers-by don't even stop.  Most of those that stop may be choosing between MR, RMC, Popular Mechanics or People.

By targeting intermediate to advanced hobbyists MRH is focused on an audience that is already interested in the hobby.  They don't need to run the annual "How Take The Trains From Under The Christmas Tree" type stories.  Perhaps this is a blessing and a curse.  I'm guessing Joe has an opinion on that.

In any case, I am hoping all of them survive.

gs

To throw a bit of info into the pot

I was at an operating session a few weeks ago with an MMR.  Said MMR has had multiple article sprinted in RMC, but the last several have not yet been paid for.  He has stopped writing for them and is moving to somewhere else to write because of it.

Hm,  stop paying your authors, that will hurt you real fast in terms of having content to print.

Business model

Agreed

I largely agree with this, although I don't hate MR the way some seem to these days.  MR and RMC both occasionally have articles of interest to me, and when they do I'll buy a copy.  The Gazette, on the other hand, is worth every penny in every issue as far as I'm concerned.  I've also noticed something interesting about it recently - it doesn't seem to have ever shrunk in size or decreased in quality.  Every issue for years, going back at least to the mid 80s, has been 100 pages, give or take maybe 3.  And prior to that, it was slightly slimmer.  Bob has written in recent "Ramblings" that they have felt the economic downturn as all the hobby magazines have, but it seems the Gazette's base over the years has remained more stable.  Curious as to why that might be.

Gazette Stability

My personal opinion is because of the realitively cheap cost of On30 locos and Blackstones production of HOn3 locos and that probably should include their cars too. Be interesting to see what would happen if someone did that with On3. Bob Brown, editor of the Gazette stated in his ramblings in the current issue that he has a few On30 locos and has swapped them over to On3 fairly easly. Even MR in one of their project RR's converted a On30 to On3. Shays are a bit more work but supposedly can be done.

Should probably include PBL in the list of manufactures to for what they have done with Sn3.

The gazette for as long as I have been getting it has always been a builders mag. There is very little repeat of the same techniques over and over again. Experimenting and pushing the envelope is a way of life for most narrow gaugers who are always looking for something different and unique.

And yes I know that a lot of this is true for us standard guagers too.

Jack 

I think there are a couple of

I think there are a couple of things for the narrow minded crowd. It is a smaller subset so I suspect there is less competition for the market. It has always been a builders scale as most of the folks don't mind buying ready to run when it is available but realized they would be building things when they went in for it.

That seems to fit with the model of Carstens.

I just wonder if this decline began when Hal Carstens passed away.

Rob in Texas

Carstens is Out of Business

Spoke with Chris Lane

Spoke with Chris Lane, who edits the On30 and HOn3 annuals.

He said Carstens will have a table at the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Kansas City the first week of Sept, and they will be having a fire sale on all publications ... and Chris will be staffing the table.

So if you've ever wanted any of their publications, go get them now, before they gone.

RMC

Just bought the June issue at Books A Million about an hour ago.     ron netti