Fellow kitbashers, scratchbuilders, live steamers and cognoscenti,
While I agree with the recent gripes about the current issue of GR (live steam
column was too sketchy, simplistic kitbashing articles, yet another LGB Mogul
on the cover), I can't let the implied criticism go without comment. If you think
this is the result of editorial policy or a benighted editor, you don't know
enough about the hobby publishing business.
There is no paid staff of professional model railroad writers, churning out
articles in Kalmbach cubicles. All of GR's articles come from modelers who
take the time to write up something they find interesting and shoot some
photos of it. To quote the sage, If you can do better, do it! That's the only
source GR, FR, the Gazette, LID, and all the other small hobby mags have for
material. The corollary is, of course, if you don't do it, you'll continue to get
the same old stuff.
As an example, the readership has been asking consistently for kitbashing
and scratchbuilding articles, but relatively few articles like that get submitted.
When such an article comes in, even the most rudimentary, it will
automatically have a better chance of publication than others because it's
something the readers want to see. As another example, that gorgeous 4-8-2
that you cobbled together from two Aristo Pacifics is no doubt your pride and
joy, but if you don't photograph it and write about it, you won't see it on the
cover of GR.
Before I was writing regularly for GR, I submitted three how-to articles
(resistence solderer, wheel-painting jig, kitbashing a live steam 2-8-0). They
pretty well covered the spectrum of difficulty from good idea that's dead simple
to make (jig) to very difficult (disassemble a live steam chassis and
reconfigure the drive train). All three were accepted and were printed. The
moral, I think, is that the hobby constantly gets new people who need to know
the old wisdom, and no experience is wasted -- someone somewhere will need
it someday.
If we (those of us who have been in the hobby a relatively long time) don't help
the beginners by sharing our ideas and knowledge, then we can't really
complain too much if they never change a car number, weather a locomotive,
or scratchbuild something. And if we don't photograph and write about our
modeling triumphs, then we can't really complain that we're seeing the same
old out-of-the-box locos. We learned from others, and from trial and error. If
we want things to improve in the hobby as a whole, we're going to have to
share our experiences and encourage the novices to try new things. Then,
when they're comfortable with it, we can start hounding them for articles, too.
Stepping hesitantly down from the soapbox...
-vance-
Keep in mind that, before plastics, only rich people could afford to have poor taste.
-- Don Featherstone, creator of the plastic lawn flamingo
