Recent content by NYW&B

As a scratchbuilder for many years my basic recommendation would be to obtain a modest selection of books addressing scratchbuilding and airbrushing written by recognized authorities in the field and take their advice to heart. Believe me; no one can expect to become really good, nor overcome...

If I may, a few point that stand out immediately for me. 1. The tree debris is out-of-scale with the scene. Nor do I see any reason why it all would be stripped of bark. 2. There appear to be several almost locomotive-sized stumps. Unless the company is cutting redwoods, these too are out...

Right, Crandell. With the exception of damaged or dying pine/fir/cedar trees all the species I'm familiar from eastern North America are some shade of green, although the exact shade can vary over a very large range dependent on species. I would add that in spring our local cedars do display...

A clever product, I would agree. However, the multi-colored ground foam provided with the kit used to flock the armatures renders an appearance that is not typical of any pine/fir trees (which the shape of the Smashed Trees tends to represent) that I am familiar with. Such trees in my experience...

I particularly favor this one I took some year's back, entitled "Generations". NYW&B

Honestly I think the model a pretty darn good replica of that Nash. Overall it is far better rendered accurately than a great many of the automobile toys of the era (and what was used on period O and HO layouts back then), which were often much more in the way of crude caricatures. Anyone else...

New2nscale, let me add a further thought regarding your comment on the "probability" that if you have the desired model custom painted, or do it yourself, you too often find that some manufacturer will produce it sometime thereafter. I've had that experience several times myself. But consider...

At best, new2nscale, seeing such a request come to pass would be a very slow process. Athearn has had its painting masks cut for all the current production models and will likely not order any new ones made before a second run of FP7, if there ever is one. At the same time, they are likely...

Yes, I do want to make mention of the USPS factor, one which may weigh in more heavily than many of us anticipate. I know in the case of MR (and surely the same prevails for RMC) I have experienced incidents of my copy showing up a week, or more, later than a friend's in the next town over...

By way of information, my January RMC showed up yesterday. I'm located in NY's Lower Hudson Valley. NYW&B

Oh5oh - A number of advanced modeling forms have arisen in recent years whose content makes what's seen on MR and many of the other more "popular" forums look like studies in Tyco or Brio trains. Most of these sites attempt to keep a fairly low profile so as to maintain a membership with a...

Joe, yours is a multifaceted question, but a number of specific factors basically govern the current situation. In regard to page count, this is largely a matter controlled by income from advertisers. As the digital age matured the advertisers came to realize that a small monthly ad in MR...

Let me take a moment in the midst of this discussion to remind all here that none of our modeling publications are in any manner time critical concerning their arrival. Whether RMC shows up on time, or three weeks late, you are missing out on absolutely nothing critical. The content remains just...

I don't think that the great majority of hobbyists realize that, unlike Kalmbach, Crastens Publications is and always has been essentially a small family business, with just a handful of staff generating several monthly publications. As such, they often get a bit behind furnishing copy to their...

Joe, it would be almost pointless for Craftsman to offer a new forum as the subject matter it would be intended to cover (true craftsman modeling) is already very well covered by several existing advanced and successful hobbyist forums. NYW&B