NGS

Rob H · July 22, 2011, 08:01:51 PM

Are any of you guy's members of the NGS ?

I'm just curios to know if its worth the £15 plus joining fee, are the shop items cheaper than we can buy through normal channels ?

Any comments welcome,

Rob.

Lawrence · July 22, 2011, 08:11:36 PM

Rob

you may see under members names, when they post, one of the things there is their NGS number, there are quite a lot of them too so I guess it must be worth it if you are modelling British

Alex · July 22, 2011, 08:46:48 PM

Hi Rob,

I've been a member for the past couple of years now. I think £15 is worth it just for the 6 magazines you get per year. The content in mainly British orientated but you get the occasional European, Japanese and US article now and then. This is probably due the the fact that most articles are written by NGS members, so most would appear to model British stuff.

Have a look through the website to get a better idea of what the NGS is all about.

http://www.ngaugesociety.com/

Alex

Jellicoe · July 22, 2011, 09:23:59 PM

It's a good deal for £15 a year just for the Journals. The shop is not cheaper; in fact, you have to include postage as well in the price but you can easily obtain items that would be a nightmare to source any other way and only pay one lot of postage. In addition, there is a large number of kits available only to NGS members. Have a look at their site which includes the full stock list held by the shop.

NTrain · July 22, 2011, 10:35:03 PM

As has already been mentioned, you get the Society magazine which is N Gauge specific (of course) and the shop has kits and ready to run models which are exclusive to Society members.

The majority of members run UK models, so the main thrust is British, but the journal does cover all aspects at some point.

scotsoft · July 22, 2011, 10:42:31 PM

I am going to join on the 1st August and looking forward to tons more reading

painbrook · July 23, 2011, 12:57:47 PM

Definately go for it

. Cheers john .

Newportnobby · July 28, 2011, 01:44:22 PM

Quote from: scotsoft on July 22, 2011, 10:42:31 PM
I am going to join on the 1st August and looking forward to tons more reading

Have just got my membership pack along with the binder, so plenty of bedtime reading to do. It all looks to be a mine of information (in other words a Poliss) and the journal is very good. I will seriously think about knocking RM on the head 'cos I have to wade through a lot of uninteresting stuff to find what I need (altho the ads are always helpful for bits & pieces?.

I'm not a number - I'm a free man

ziggar · July 28, 2011, 02:00:48 PM

Quote from: Jellicoe on July 22, 2011, 09:23:59 PM
The shop is not cheaper; in fact, you have to include postage as well

the shop is MASSIVELY cheaper on the things ive looked at

ie.
NGS shop
LMM404 PARADE 6 SHOPS - VACUUM SET £22.05
POSTAGE & PACKING £3.50 PER ORDER

Langleys website
Parade of 6 shops (N Scale 1/148th)
Ref: NV8set
Price: £32.25 / €36.44 (Including VAT at 20%)
Postage Charges
Orders under £25 is £2; orders over £25 Postage is Included (no extra charge)

thats a saving of £6.70

thats cheaper in my book...

moogle · July 28, 2011, 03:34:08 PM

Hi Rob,

well worth joining. I did back in 1988 and haven't looked back since.

Magazines great, mainly British but some overseas stuff.
The shop is generally discounted on most items, it depends on what and how much you order really.
The fact that you can get a lot of the kits and bits that 99% of model shops don't stock along with the NGS kits makes it worth it.
That said, I still prefer to get my kits and bits from stands at exhibitions.

Guess I just like the thrill...

EtchedPixels · July 28, 2011, 03:46:01 PM

It really varies by product range and often by time - eg when prices jump the shop stock tends to stay at the old price for a bit. It's a valuable resource for many things, and in particular for overseas modellers who can make one order of many UK N bits that way.

For some stuff it's also almost the only sensible way to get it as some of the small suppliers are not internet savvy or set up to do things other ways.

I don't use the shop much but I've found the second hand stuff very useful as you can find a lot of handy bits and bobs that way. They had a lot of second hand continental stuff last time I saw it. Not my thing but if you think trains are black with red wheels and green coaches you might be well in luck

The magazine varies by issue. I don't find interesting stuff in every issue in part because it caters for a wide range of modelling skill levels but it does have many good articles and lots of interesting little bits of conversions, or neat ways to make things. And recently for example its had a good series of articles on fitting N scale sound.

If you are interested in the finer end of the scale you may also find the 2mm SA worth a look even if you don't model in 2fs ('yet' ....). Its a superb source of components for scratch building, kits, fine scale track parts plus some extremely talented and very friendly people. Be warned - you will eventually get sucked over to the dark side ....

Alan

Newportnobby · July 28, 2011, 04:16:54 PM

Quote from: EtchedPixels on July 28, 2011, 03:46:01 PM
Not my thing but if you think trains are black with red wheels and green coaches you might be well in luck

Alan

As opposed to Dapol who think engines are green with grey wheels

OwL · July 28, 2011, 06:29:21 PM

I joined in 2004, never looked back. It's a good source of info, Ray and Carol and all the other guys at NGS do a superb job and im proud to support them. It is also worth remembering that the NGS journal is the best amatuer published magazine out there, it rivals some of the corporate model magazines, and all for 15 quid a year!

The NGS shop run by Carol, also provides some unique N Gauge items for good prices, and of course there are the sales and wants sections that throw up bargains E-Bay cant touch from genuine modellers NOT dealers. I have met some good friends due to the NGS and will always be a member as long as I live!

Winner!

Lawrence · July 28, 2011, 06:43:35 PM

Am I right in thinking that the shop only sells UK stuff?

H · July 28, 2011, 07:54:30 PM

Quote from: Lawrence on July 28, 2011, 06:43:35 PM
Am I right in thinking that the shop only sells UK stuff?

Not really. It may be mainly, but certainly not exclusively, although I think most are probably British suppliers. However, certain parts (like wheels, couplings, seating, containers, buildings, parts such as gutters, doors, and windows, figures, fencing, some vehicles, oil, buffers, regalia, brick paper, wagon loads, lineside details, street furniture, gauges, etc) are not limited to individual countries. But none of the exclusve wagon kits and RTR wagons are 1:160 scale although some are possibly internationally registered for joint running. And, of course, there's always plenty of secondhand overseas stuff.

H.