N Gauge Now

njee20 · February 18, 2017, 05:20:29 PM

Quote from: Steamie+ on February 18, 2017, 11:49:54 AM
I agree totally PP, if we submitted some photos and articles about whatever takes our fancy then they will have more to give back to us and hopefully the quality of the photos and content will go up.

I guess the issue is how long you give them. I bought the first issue at Warley 2014, for them not to have tackled the most simple and glaring issues, I wonder how long it'll survive in something as tough as print media.

njee20 · February 24, 2017, 10:29:04 AM

Just received my back issues, only just made it, the envelope was shredded, which is a mild concern!

The Littlewood article is unashamedly a re-hash of what's on their website, including just reprinting the (often blurry) photos from there. At least one of the captions is inaccurate, and there are several spelling errors I spotted while skimming it.

The rest of the magazine contains some mildly interesting content. There's an article on the 37,which includes a photo of a still from a YouTube video (not a screenshot, an actual photo of a computer monitor paused on YouTube). This is unforgivable for a credible magazine IMO.

Advertisers images are shocking resolution and shouldn't be printed. Rails of Sheffield's advert is highly pixelated, it's the same advert that appears in other magazines without such efforts, which suggests NGN are doing something to reduce the size of the image, which is very peculiar.

I stand by my original assessment. On the one hand I applaud them for targeting a niche, and one in which I clearly have a significant interest. On the other hand it's a little too much like a school project for my liking, whilst that may have been ok for a "first issue" it's not subsequently. I would perhaps continue to buy back issues that had specifically appealing content at £1 an issue, but there's no way I'd pay £4 a throw.

Edit: just read another issue, which contains more articles on coaches, and a feature on "Dragonby", another top n gauge layout. The article is a rehash of something printed in Model Rail a few years ago, same photos, all credited to Chris Nevard, nothing new at all. Just not sure I get the point, I imagine most people with an interest in these layouts (like me) have already read the information elsewhere. I want something new, not a history of mk1 coach livery availability and a copy and paste layout article.

Steamie+ · February 25, 2017, 05:10:49 AM

Just wish some people would give support to a magazine that is a fledgling, just like a youngster they need naturing, if if they make mistakes so what, we all do, some members are starting to annoy me and no i am not going to stop posting, i will just ignore them, because IMO they are just out for an argument for which i have no time for.

njee20 · February 25, 2017, 07:45:27 AM

I've asked the question twice, and I'll ask it again, how long should we excuse these things because they're a "fledgling" offering? In 10 years when they're reprinting even their own reprinted articles?

If a new brand brings a model to market with some inaccuracies, badly painted perhaps, we may forgive it. If they were still doing the same 2 years and 10 releases later...?

Like I say, I absolutely applaud them for the concept, and I want to enjoy it. it's obviously a small group doing it, every article is peppered with captions like "this is yet another Robin Grubba repaint", which suggests even they are slightly embarrassed that they only have one model maker, and if I were being really cruel I'd say he falls a long way short of the George Dents of this world.

I don't mean to be unfairly harsh, I just don't get the blind "we need to support them" thing. Why should we?

I'm unsure if your comment about people looking for an argument is aimed at me. I'm most certainly not, although I'd rather have a debate, rather than a unilateral "everything is fine", hence trying to draw you on exactly why we should blithely keep accepting it?

njee20 · February 25, 2017, 09:13:53 AM

The issue with mine seemed to be that they were just put in a brown envelope, where they were able to move, and as such as almost broken free of the envelope. Hopefully yours have faired better and are simply delayed!

NeMo · February 25, 2017, 10:45:37 AM

Quote from: Steamie+ on February 25, 2017, 05:10:49 AM
Just wish some people would give support to a magazine that is a fledgling, just like a youngster they need naturing...

Quote from: Herzel on February 25, 2017, 09:03:27 AM
So I'm concerned about the outcome. At the price the mags have got to be worth the read - if they turn up.

These two quotes nicely sum up the problem for start-ups of any kind. @Steamie+, you're right, it will take a while for a new magazine to iron out any production issues. But @Herzel is also right to expect even a new magazine to deliver a certain level of quality and professionalism.

I think Howard Foy is totally missing a trick in not putting at least part of a back-copy online for people to try out first. As it is, it's impossible to judge the quality or content from the website, and since online reviews tend to highlight the flaws over the strengths, his "shop window" is pretty much limited to threads like this one. I don't think that's helping him.

Personally, I don't think it's excusable to deliver a magazine with pixellated graphics or blurry photos. Avoiding these problems is straightforward if you know how to use InDesign or whatever DTP package they use, and if the publishers don't have the skills to use such software, they need to get somebody who does. This isn't 1984, and the market won't support something that looks like it's been thrown together in Microsoft Word!

Is there space in the market for another magazine? The magazine we get from the N Gauge Society continues to develop, and if articles about crafting skills are your thing, it's probably getting better than ever under Grahame Hedges' management.

But there are obviously modellers who don't belong to the NGS who might pay for a dedicated N-gauge magazine. But for an annual subscription of £36 that doesn't compare particularly well with the NGS annual subscription. Howard Foy has to produce something that has offers plenty of value if people are going to be tempted to sign up for a years' worth of his magazine. Otherwise the NGS costs half as much per year, for which you get six rather than four magazines, as well as access to the shop and the NGS' exclusive kits and models. That's a tough deal for N Gauge Now to beat unless the magazine is truly exceptional.

Cheers, NeMo

mr bachmann · February 25, 2017, 11:42:24 AM

its a shame WH Smiff's don't have it in their racks so's we could have a quick peep

scottmitchell74 · February 25, 2017, 12:01:11 PM

Yikes! £42 for 4 issues to the US. Looks cool, but that's steep.

RailGooner · February 25, 2017, 12:02:14 PM

Quote from: mr bachmann on February 25, 2017, 11:42:24 AM
its a shame WH Smiff's don't have it in their racks so's we could have a quick peep

After queueing for an hour!

Sprintex · February 25, 2017, 02:43:41 PM

Quote from: Herzel on February 25, 2017, 02:23:32 PM
Last time there I said to this brusque assistant that wanted to charge me for a bag even though it was raining without, "I was young when I came here. Look at me now!"

Not the assistant's fault, that's the law regarding bags, raining or not!

Paul

njee20 · February 25, 2017, 04:25:04 PM

Quote from: Herzel on February 25, 2017, 03:07:17 PM
Quote from: Sprintex on February 25, 2017, 02:43:41 PM
Quote from: Herzel on February 25, 2017, 02:23:32 PM
Last time there I said to this brusque assistant that wanted to charge me for a bag even though it was raining without, "I was young when I came here. Look at me now!"

Not the assistant's fault, that's the law regarding bags, raining or not!

Paul
It's the kind of situation that invokes mischief. I'd already paid for the mags so on asking for a bag I was told it would cost 1p. So out came my credit card... .
...

Debit cards are the worst thing to use in that instance - they're charged a flat fee. Credit cards charge a percentage. I never use cash these days, once a month to pay my barber.

My mags took about 3 days from receiving a despatch email.

Steamie+ · February 26, 2017, 04:47:06 AM

Mine came within 3 days and i am glad it's in a brown envelope, only because my postman reads the covers of the others that come by post..lol....

Has for the magazine it's self, no one can dispute that it isn't a glossy magazine and maybe it's photo's are lacking some what, and it maybe it is repeating it's self with some stories that were published before in the past, but some of us who have only just got into this hobby don't want to be trawling through back issues of other mags in the hope we will see an interesting article.

I have and i suspect others also have no issue with the NGS magazine for which i have posted is a brilliant magazine and the Handbook is the best on the market and NGN will never compete with sales of the NGS magazine, so if you don't like NGN don't buy it, nobody is twisting your arm or your wallets to but it...lol.

Happy Modelling everyone!!

njee20 · February 26, 2017, 07:03:42 AM

So you'd suggest it's only for newcomers to n gauge? A niche of a niche, and that's not how it's being marketed. Surely you see why that's a problem?

Would be interesting to know the distribution of the NGS journal versus NGN, not sure I'd be quite so convinced the journal was untouchable. The Journal benefits from being sent to some people who perhaps aren't interested, they joined the NGS for other reasons.

Steamie+ · February 26, 2017, 07:08:41 AM

GOT NOTHING ELSE TO SAY ON THE MATTER. CERTAIN MEMBER IS GETTING ARGUMENTATIVE AGAIN AND I REALLY CANT BE BOTHERED WITH HIM.

HAPPY MODELLING.

AND YES I KNOW THIS POST IS IN CAPITALS.

njee20 · February 26, 2017, 07:36:00 AM

I'm not argumentative, I'm disagreeing with you, and would be genuinely interested in a discussion. Y'know, discussion forum?

I'm sorry if you want people only to agree with you all the time. You've just repeated the same mantra that "we have to support them", what's wrong with a bit of a discussion?

I feel I've given a very fair and reasoned appraisal, you're totally rebuffing what I'm saying, it would be nice to understand why.