01-28-2009, 02:43 PM
steinjr Wrote:********************************************************************************************************************************************MountainMan Wrote:I see a very big difference between "getting some help" and hiring a contractor. I imagine other modelers do, to.********************************************************************************************************************************************
Just curious : why is this "very big difference" important to you ?
Smile,
Stein
Why is anything important to any of us? Is it somehow wrong to hold a specific belief or position on an issue? Why is my opinion of such importance to you? In a very real sense, modeling is all about our passion for a hobby. Why shouldn't that passion extend to our thoughts on the hobby, as well? Beyond, that, I'm not sure the very basic human issue of what we believe in and why is suitable for a forum as limited in scope as this one is, and it is certainly way too controversial.
MR Magazine purports to be devoted to the modeling public. That is who they sell to, and that is who their advertisers sell to. I'm not sure if a magazine devoted only to the commercial modelers would be economically feasible, but perhaps they should give it a try. We could all write in from time to time and specify what kind of layouts we wanted to see, and MR could solicit the layouts from the commercial model makers for their published payouts. That way, we would see only the best of the best, and we would be getting tips and advice from true professionals. Would you be interested enough in such a magazine to subscribe to it? My feeling is that there are dozens of such magazines and books already on the market, such as the entire professionally created series by Kalmbach, for one. But perhaps you are right, and that is the way they should go. And we should stop our feeble efforts, write down our "givens and druthers", and compete with each other to see who can afford the best commercially built layout.
As I said earlier, the primary problem I have with the entire concept is that someone who knows absolutely nothing about trains at all can hire someone to construct an award winning mega-layout using such an approach. Is that really "model railroading"? Is that where we want this hobby of ours to go? That was the thrust of my original question, and the answers so far have ranged from "H*** no!" to"Heck, yes!"
But if MR is truly a magazine "for the modeler", then the question remains: is this the way for them to go? Is this what you and I, as modelers ourselves, are interested in reading? Personally, I have a library of professional publications on "how-to". I'm interested in what other modelers do, by which I mean people like me who do this as a hobby, not for a living on someone else's money, but that's just me. I'm a modeler, not a client of one.
Incidentally, if you read the article, then you know that virtually no information was provided on actual construction. Frankly, I doubt a professional would want to openly publish his methods and techniques when he's trying to make a living, but who knows? Maybe they're just waiting in the wings, pining for the opportunity.
I wrote a letter to David Popp, the editor. I'll let you know what the reply is, but I'll bet you that his reply includes words to the effect that MR does not wish to alienate the hobbyists at all. After all, we are their paycheck, literally, and the shelves are already filled to bursting with those professional "how-to" manuals.