Issue 4444

[Engine BuilderParticipant @enginebuilder]

5 articles on locomotives in one magazine. There is more to model engineering than locomotives.

[Engine BuilderParticipant @enginebuilder]

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Posted by Engine Builder on 29/11/2012 21:56:10:

5 articles on locomotives in one magazine. There is more to model engineering than locomotives.

Hooray,

t

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

But not the one I'm building

Dave

[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

I guess us non-Loco folks need to send David loads of non Loco articles of the same or higher quality…

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Got it in one!

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Since MEW hoovers up most of the workshop articles, ME has become a bit one dimensional. I wonder how the circulation figures compare since MEW was spun off.

Rod

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

I am trying to help the illustrator by using articles that don't need the drawings redrawn. He is busy as it is Christmas and we have to do a magazine a week.

I do have other articles to use.

regards David

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi Steam Buff

Darjeeling is virtually finished.

Perhaps only one, maybe two articles left.

regards David

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

David,

What issues do you plan to put the remaining parts in?

Also do you plan to print a list of issues/corrections?

Dave

[Anonymous]

I don't seem to have received issue 4444 yet, despite having a subscription. Have other people got their copies?

Regards,

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Had mine about over a week now.

J

[SpringbokParticipant @springbok]

Come on all of you non loco guyes and galls get scribling

bob

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

LBSC was great in his day, certainly encouraged the art of loco building however , Curlie is rather old hat these days, the standards of construction and in particular boiler making has long exceeded his approach. Hopefully we will not need these repeats from the past.

[Anonymous]

Oh dear, I'm being a complete idiot, I do have issue 4444 after all. Looks like it's off to the funny farm for me.

Idling around this evening I logged in for the first time to the digital editions. I looked first at issue 100 of MEW as I seem to be missing several issues around that time, although I definitely remember getting issue 100. I thought it might jog my memory in case there were some special articles which meant I'd put them on one side, or lent them to some-one. No bells rung though. Then I looked at 4444 on line; surprise, surprise I recognised some of the articles, and eventually found the magazine in the great pile on the floor. My only excuse is that I must have got it the best part of two weeks ago, and the last issue I actually read, just before this thread was started was issue 4443.

Ah well, at least I might be able to claim my pension early on the grounds of mental incapacity.

Andrew

[Peter Love 1Participant @peterlove1]

Hi all, I am new to this forum, my question has by the looks of it been toughched on already.

Firstly I do subscribe to MEW but not ME, I buy that off the shelf as and when, however, that has caused a problem, I have cut ready the crankcase for the Malcom Stride Bobcat and Nemett engine and have all the issues of ME from the start of the project to No. issue 4443, the latter I have just recieved (4443) from My Hobby Store, still it says "to be continued", I can't seem to lay my hands on No. 4444, what was the concluding issue No. for the project ?.

Peter Love

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

“There is more to model engineering than locomotives.”

I must agree with the above statement, looking back at Model Engineer the diversity of models and their construction is what made the magazine.

We now seem to have reached a stage where it is assumed that locomotive/steam engines/traction engines are the “de rigueur” of the Model Engineer.

I was amazed to read from the editor, edition 4459, that she thinks large scale road running machines that require heavy machinery should be included in the future!

While further on in the magazine we have images from the Harrogate Exhibition that show’s that there is still a vast sweep of models that don’t run on steam being constructed.

The magazine should be rebranded prehaps ‘old glory model steam’.

Instead of the relentless obsession with steam can we go back to model engineering and all it encompasses.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Can'tr really agree with you there, I would say that 90% of the road steam subjects being built at the moment are 4" and over. Can you really expect Diane to only aim the magazine at 10% of the potential Road steam readership? Anyone designing a new subject is also likely to be working in these scales so the new designs in the mag will reflect this.

Even then just because something is being described in a larger scale does not stop you learing something from following the articles, I know I certainly have.

As has said before if you don't like the content send in something you do like.

Looking at the current issue I think its a good even spread

Gauge 3 loco

Tram

4" TE lamps

3 1/2" Loco

Hot air engine

Show report

Full size railway

Lister IC engine

Horizontal spindle

 

J

Edited By JasonB on 29/06/2013 13:54:26

[Engine BuilderParticipant @enginebuilder]

Posted by JasonB on 29/06/2013 13:26:12:

"As has said before if you don't like the content send in something you do like."

Everyone is not an author Jason.

If you buy a newspaper you are not expected to contribute to it;s content.

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

My real argument is that not many have the means to work on these machines or the tools to lift or move them during construction let alone afford them.
There has been over the years a real move towards what could be called credit card/cheque book engineering. It also goes for smaller engines, the addition of laser cut frames puchased valves etc., should, when a model is being described, be declared.
Finally where do we end with 'model' does a 1/1 scale replica of a Cobra car qualify as a 'model'
**LINK**

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

It would not be too bad if you could buy the ME in Smiths when it comes out, I have now missed one issue and am not going to pay for a replacement again as it gets expensive.

I would have liked to have read about thye Radial engine on the front page of the one issue I have missed. Talking to Smiths locally means nothing as they do not remember getting it in anyway!

I dont mind what the content is as long as its interesting and a good read.

Clive

[Diane CarneyModerator @dianecarney30678]

Posted by Cyril Bonnett on 29/06/2013 11:18:14:

…

I was amazed to read from the editor, edition 4459, that she thinks large scale road running machines that require heavy machinery should be included in the future!

• Did I actually say that? I think it was actually carefully worded in order to generate a bit of debate. Times have changed over the last even ten years and, as Jason says, there is an increasing interest in larger scale model making. The magazine should not ignore that fact. That is not to say (and never will be to say) that we are losing interest in the more traditional.

While further on in the magazine we have images from the Harrogate Exhibition that show’s that there is still a vast sweep of models that don’t run on steam being constructed.

• Precisely – which is why we do exhibition reports in the magazine … in order to cover the very broad subject of model engineering. You would not believe how hard I try to persuade makers of the unusual and wonderful to write about their experiences/ interests. Sometimes it works. Often it doesn't. As has been said, not everyone is keen to write.

The magazine should be rebranded prehaps ‘old glory model steam’.

Instead of the relentless obsession with steam can we go back to model engineering and all it encompasses.

• Relentless obsession??? Hardly….

Diane

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

It could that the wide variety of subjects contained in ME has diminished over recent years for a variety of reasons. Most of what can be describe as workshop engineering articles have moved to MEW. I agree thatwriting articles that have to be interesting and technical is time consuming possibly puts many off.

My concern about inclusion of expensive supersize models in the magazine is that it will not do much to encourage the take up of ‘model engineering’ especially amongst younger people unless they have won the lottery.

There are plenty of magazines out there where the inclusion of these huge models will attract readers, but my point is that I suspect that there are not many ‘model’ engineers that have the ability or equipment to construct these models given the size, weight and costs involved. Out sourcing the work at huge cost is as I said chequebook engineering.

David, when editor, called on readers to put pen to paper a few times and we have seen the fruits of his efforts over time.

But I still think that machines/vehicles that can weigh over a ton or more and run on public roads are just smaller replicas of the original item, they are not models in true sense that Model Engineer has promoted over the last century.

Model engineering magazine should reflect modern trends but there is so much more out there than steam.

[Diane CarneyModerator @dianecarney30678]

Cyril

This is exactly the kind of debated I had hoped to promote. You make a very valid point. Would you be happy to write a letter for Postbag along the lines of your posting above? I would be very happy to print your views as expressed here.

Diane

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Posted by Cyril Bonnett on 01/07/2013 12:59:41:

…Model engineering magazine should reflect modern trends but there is so much more out there than steam.

Cyril;

Yes!

Caveats:

1) I have done (And am still licensed to do) full size steam;

2) I do 3d rendering software, and CNC machine design and programming; (http://cnc-for-model-engineers.bogspot.com, for anyone interested)

3) I really like 3-1/2" gauge steam models; (as opposed to large steam "models&quot

I like the current direction that Diane is going. I am back to reading every article, and each article is different, and interesting.

I do like the idea of one magazine for model engineering; focusing magazines on one specific topic is too constricting, IMHO.

John Alexander Stewart.

[Author]

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