New LEGO Train Magazine - A Proposal

[CrispyBassist]

I agree with the comments that it shouldn't be just a bunch of pictures of MOCs. I do think there's merit to having, say, a MOC per issue and perhaps giving some more background on the prototype (if any) and, like coaster mentioned, detailing some of the trickier aspects and techniques involved in the build.

I'd be happy to contribute to a magazine as well. Ive got a few ideas for things i could write, and working in the rail industry I'm sure there's plenty of interesting things that could crossover into bricks.

[bricknerd]

I think it's worth trying a different business model for a Lego train magazine but - as others have mentioned - I'd personally love to have it called RAILBRICKS :-)

And yes - I'd be willing to both subscribe and contribute to it. Keep going!

[Lego Dino 500]

My skills may be somewhat lacking in my MOC designs (Not even the 10% gets posted here, most of its just failures on failures) but I'd be willing to contribute articles and tutorials on scenery and layout design.

[Brickadier General]

I always enjoyed reading RailBricks and would welcome another publication. To answer your questions in order:

1. Absolutely - Bring it on! How about the title, "All A-Brick!" hehe
   
2. A paid subscription would be dependent on how much you're thinking about asking. I think offering Print & Digital and Digital-Only (like BrickJournal) would be a good idea. If digital is cheaper, then I'm more likely to go with that.
   
3. No need to buy advertising.
   
4. I would be willing to write on an ad-hoc basis. I have written some articles for BrickJournal on a voluntary basis and have had a great degree of creative freedom with most (in terms of picking subject matter and writing style). I write on an irregular basis - usually only when I have time (which you mention is a problem).
   
5. When in doubt, always bribe in LEGO. I do a lot of writing articles for work and sometimes get a little burnt out on it. A small incentive, while not absolutely necessary would be welcome if it were feasible to do so. I think I would also be more willing to take on assigned topics. When I write for BrickJournal I usually receive a complimentary issue or 2, and that has always made me happy.
   

[legobanker]

I have been interested in RAILBRICKS for some time and even purchased the printed copies. I would check out the site frequently and liked what was going on. I'm a dye hard 9v fan and seeing the devotion to the train theme was a good thing.

I believe starting fresh is a good idea. Maybe start out with the site and development with ideas from the group. Maybe even do a kick starter to help fund the operation. Offer advertising on the site to help pay for the costs. People can contribute articles based on their expertise and skill set.

I'd be willing to pay for advertising on a month to month basis. If you get a printed magazine, the sellers can buy them and offer them for sale in their stores online as well.

Much to think about. I'm happy to see this brought up again. I'm willing to chip in any way I can to help get this baby off the ground.

Brian @ Capital City Bricks

[peterab]

I was an avid reader of Railbricks, and even got printed copies of most issues (I'll have to get the last few now).

I'd probably subscribe to a new magazine if it were similar to Railbricks. I'd love to have printed copies but digital prints are fine, particularly if I can avoid shipping to Australia.

I've always felt that the forum on the railbricks website was doomed, there are already active communities of train builders both here and on Flickr, trying to compete was madness particularly when the Railbricks website was continually flaky. After a while I no longer even tried to use it. The only real drawcard was the instructions.

[Cale]

I'd consider subscribing to a Lego Train Magazine; but I feel since I have used Lego since I was a little kid and I have access to viewing MOC's online, a magazine would need something to make it special. I'd like to use the popular Model Railroader magazine as an example; Model Railroader doesn't focus entirely on showing "someone did this" and more on "this is how you can do it." If there was a Lego Train Magazine that showed "how to" with topics such as SNOT building methods, replicating prototypical equipment in Lego, decals, layout wiring, DCC in Lego trains, etc. it would be a great resource to the community (I feel Railbricks was at its most useful when it did that, and I will need to revisit the instructions online from Railbricks someday, I just know it!). But if the new magazine was just, "Here are photos of the MOC's you already saw online" then I don't know if it would give much new to the community.

I think you've hit on a very key point. It's easy to find photos of great train models on the internet. It the how to's, the stories behind the models, the builders, and the clubs, and other feature that are hard to convey through a few photos on Flickr that will be what draws readers in.

I would love subscribing to a Lego trains magazine, as I have been looking over Railbricks since the second issue. I would also love the instructions repository to continue: I have plenty of LDD files for build-able trains to help with this, but the problem is the instructions: I have the actual files, but no instruction guides. If someone can do the instructions I can provide the LDD files for them. I want them to be free to the public and not for-profit, as I've used techniques and ideas of other builders to make my models, such as expanding upon Zephyer1934's Constitution Train Chase instructions to make these fine locos (and more!):

I feel that for this new magazine to work it needs to stay focused on being a great magazine. Trying to be an instruction portal, while valuable to the community, would take away from that focus. Thankfully there are sites like Michael Gale's L-Guage that could focus on providing an instruction repository much better.

I would subscribe the magazine but my concern personally is the cost of the magazine and the quality of the magazine and if subscribing I could have the option of a digital or print copy. I would love to contribute but I am not sure what I could do for the magazine to be honest

Very Interested

-RailCo

I would certainly be interested in subscribing, and once I get my tracks off the ground, advertising as well. I'd prefer print copies though, rather than strictly digital. And I'll echo some of the sentiments above; "how-to" is far more valuable and interesting than just pictures of MOCs. Show the MOCs, by all means, but tell me how to build that as well.

I'm old school and love having the paper in my hands but It's probably not financially feasible to offer a print subscription from the start. Also there is an advantage to being online only. I encourage every one to take a look at Model Railroad Hobbyist, an online only model train magazine. They have used their online format to provide content in ways that a print magazine can't. All adds are clickable links that take you straight to the advertiser's web page, embedded videos in articles, links to reader comments on articles, easy navigation straight to the page you're interested in. All of these are things a print magazine can't do.

And if someone really wants a print edition there are print on demand options though they tend to be priced higher than a dedicated print magazine.

Elroy - A big thanks for your help in driving Railbricks, and promoting the Brick Railroad hobby in general. Sounds like a good idea and it should be possible for such a magazine to succeed. My 2 cents are that key will be the right marketing focus. Kalmbach breaks the larger hobby into makers & operators (Model RR), collectors (Classic Toy Trains), and general enthusiasts (Trains). Figure out the right balance of these and it should be a snap :-)

- BMW

I agree with Brian here. The magazine will need to find a balance to covering all these to appeal to the greater LEGO train hobbyist base.

While I would agree many traditional scale modelers view LEGO as a toy, and they do, I've been amazed at how many traditional modelers I've met in the past two-three years that are actively TRYING to get into LEGO trains, and for whatever reason are struggling. I would wager because the two mediums are so different.

A LEGO train magazine that, in part, focuses not only on how to build certain models, but how to go about modeling anything in the same way traditional model Railroad magazines go about it might help break into that demographic.

Not just "lets build a signal" or "let's reverse engineer a locomotive", but also articles on weathering (even adding weathering to official sets) and building large complete bignettes (maxi-steps, not detailed).

--Tony

Tony brings up a very valid point. This new magazine would do well to reach out beyond the hardcore LEGO train fans. To grow the magazine the fan base needs to grow. So appealing to those outside of the LEGO hobby, bringing them in, showing them the ropes, and making them new fans, will be very important to the future of the magazine and our hobby.

Cale

Edited March 30, 2016 by Cale

[Dread Pirate Rob]

G'day Elroy,

First, a huge thank you to you and everyone who contributed to Railbricks. It is an amazing body of work and has done so much for the community. The only problem with Railbricks was that the standard was so very high I'm sure there were many people like me who didn't feel we had anything to contribute. Quality is a good problem to have.

I agree with the sentiments here and would be keen to subscribe to an online journal. I also agree that limiting the scope to just a magazine is the way to go as everything else is well covered elsewhere. The issue, as you identified, is the workload.

Would you consider doing it in conjunction with this forum and call it something like Train Tech Quarterly. It could then be a compilation of the best new MOCs, feature the how-to guides, beginners guides, instructions and additional photography and articles that do not appear on the forum. This could potentially make the burden much less and you could contact builders via the forum to ask for an article on their builds.

Best of luck with whatever form it takes,

Rob (Canvas Rails)

[Glenn Holland]

Railbricks was a top class publication. I'd love to see something new arise from the community. I would definitely subscribe to the magazine, digital or printed. I'd even be willing to write an article or two, as college permits.

I agree the it should be solely a magazine, and not overextend itself by doing a separate online forum, instruction database, blog, and photo sharing site all at once.

I think the biggest point for me is not to showcase a lot of MOCs, but rather show how-tos and give inspiration. That said, I really enjoyed train spotting from Railbricks, and I think a downsized version of that would be appropriate in the new magazine. A lot of MOCs can get built and published between magazine issues.

I also think an event showcase would be cool to do. Each issue could focus on a different LUG's display at some local event, or some larger events such as Brickworld.

I'm interested in seeing how this pans out, and apparently many others are too.

Glenn

[gotoAndLego]

Rather than having an MOC per issue, what I would find useful and interesting would be focusing on a layout per issue. Go into details about how the layout was constructed and the techniques used for landscaping. Focus on layouts that have elevation changes and are not just tracks on a plain baseplate. Maybe articles on how the layouts can be broken down for shows. Due to the effort, six issues per year would be acceptable.

[jrathfon]

And if someone really wants a print edition there are print on demand options though they tend to be priced higher than a dedicated print magazine.

Yup, Cale beat me to it. To satisfy the print reader's demand from the start you can offer print on demand. Essentially a link by the article that lets a reader click and print and get the copy mailed to their house. The downside of this would be a) having to make sure your formatting is good to print, and b) you can't (or at least would lose) the benefits of doing a web only pub (embedded video and links).

[gotoAndLego]

and b) you can't (or at least would lose) the benefits of doing a web only pub (embedded video and links).

No reason why web-specific content can't be in the web version. If they are printing from he web they already have those links, you would just need the style guide to determine how that content is handled. If you use a URL shortener that you control, then the print magazine can just have a single link to the online version. Something like www.shorturl.com/123.

Web and print offer different benefits so don't try to fit both types into print. The web can contain more details and updated info on the article.

I worked in magazines for a while so I'd be happy to help. Just PM me if interested.

Edited March 30, 2016 by gotoAndLego

[michaelgale]

I'm glad someone referred me to this topic--I certainly would like to offer some thoughts on a publication aimed at our niche hobby.

Firstly, my sincerest gratitude to the entire team who contributed to Railbricks. It was a very high quality and inspiring publication to both experts and novices alike. In a way, it was *too* good--it set the bar so high that inevitably it burned out the valuable volunteer contributions that made it exist. I can only imagine how many hours were graciously contributed at the expense of other life obligations--such is the labour of love.

I must admit that I somewhat cautious about the prospect of another Railbricks-type publication. Our hobby niche is quite narrow, isn't very big, and doesn't have the relatively buoyant commercial basis that the rest of the scale model train hobby enjoys. Whether you live in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, etc., and you will find at least one or more model train publications aimed at enthusiasts in their respective regions. Publications which have broad advertising from a variety of vendors of model train products. Enough advertising revenue to pay for a dedicated editorial staff and print magazine distribution. Our hobby could never achieve that level of support commercially. There is effectively one primary vendor (i.e. The Lego Group) and a collection of small (but extremely valuable!) cottage industries making alternative elements such as track, wheels, etc. TLG will likely not choose to advertise in a Railbricks-type publication (because they don't need to) and the smaller companies can likely not afford to buy advertising with a perceived return on sales. In contrast, a publication such as Model Railroader addresses many different scales and therefore many different vendors such as Atlas, Bachmann, Rapido, Kato, etc. Even publications such as MR complain of declining advertising revenue based on a shrinking reader base. And, we can only lament the fall of so many other publications from the past, e.g. Model Railway Constructor in the UK, due to a progressively shrinking reader base.

Therefore, I am not confident a funding model based on advertising will work.

What about subscriptions? Well, it all depends on how much we are all willing to contribute? Also, it will only satisfy those of us who want the publication in the first place. What about new-comers to the hobby? Would they be willing to commit to a subscription right away without first seeing what the hobby has to offer? Unfortunately, there is a quite a psychological barrier between free and any dollar amount. Also, if you charge folks for a publication, it better offer substantial content with high quality. There will be a perceived expectation of quality if you charge for it. Whereas a free publication is not obliged to meet any particular standard and doesn't expose its editors to the inevitable judgements and criticisms that surely will happen.

Assuming a workable "business model" can be established for a Railbricks publication, what should it offer? I have read many 1000's of model train magazines over the years. The one factor that draws me personally (and others I'm sure) is the aspirational aspect of the content. The content should inspire you. It should should motivate you to improve your skills, your ambitions, etc. To do this, it must showcase the very best of what the hobby has to offer. The argument that this will intimidate novices and put them off just doesn't match up to what sports psychologists have long known. Athletes only aspire to improve their game when they are faced with playing those who are much better than they are. My skill in chess only improved by being beaten repeatably by a master! Showcasing inspirational models and layouts gives us a sense of collective achievement--that we are able to push this hobby into the same realm of any other scale model train standard. In doing so, we can share our techniques, methods, best practices, and give others the inspiration and confidence that they can do it too.

Lastly, I would offer a few suggestions to any team willing to make this happen:

1) Make the publication no more frequent than every quarter. Even four issues per year is a lot of work.

2) Make sure you have a committed editorial board of at least 3-5 folks to share the work of content planning, strategic direction, etc.

3) Have at least one dedicated content editor and one dedicated graphic designer/producer. Maintaining the continuity of quality and consistency requires that both the content and its visual design have dedicated attention.

4) Keep the publication format as online PDFs which folks can choose to print if they so desire.

5) Don't invest in "value added" extra content such as hosting instructions, guides, forums, etc. Your content contributors can offer to host those extras if required/desired--the magazine can point readers to the right place.

I hope haven't been too pessimistic and discouraging of this effort. Personally, I would love to see a publication like Railbricks succeed in this space and continue to be the champion for showcasing the fun, the creativity, and excellence possible with enjoying model trains made from a simple general purpose brick building medium. It really is quite magical what some folks can build!

I know someone else mentioned l-gauge.org; however, as its curator I am quite happy to continue hosting useful, general purpose content to our hobby. If anything, to reduce the burden to others for providing "value added" content.

[Rotundus]

While I would agree many traditional scale modelers view LEGO as a toy, and they do, I've been amazed at how many traditional modelers I've met in the past two-three years that are actively TRYING to get into LEGO trains, and for whatever reason are struggling. I would wager because the two mediums are so different.

I'll echo Tony here... Just say the name LEGO in your local train store and check out the look you get from the guy behind the counter. But to get back on topic, sure, I'll subscribe. The 'tips and techniques' articles in the old "RAILBRICKS" were fascinating and very helpful. Also the 'plans' section' has been an invaluable source for ideas. It would be very welcome to have a additional resource of that quality available on an ongoing basis once again. $3 - $5 per issue? Sure. A little more if it's a little 'thicker' and quarterly.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Rotundus

[bumax78]

I'd like to subscribe to this new issue, at the righ price.

Just a little suggestion: i'm from Italy and there is nothing to read about Lego trains so it could be cool to create also some regional pages inside your magazine... just my 2 cents :P

[Severus A]

I am sorry for what is happening with RAILBRICKS. It was one of the best publications for the LEGO hobby.

I would subscribe for a new magazine having the same purpose. I wonder if RAILBRICKS which already exists and has a beautiful history could not be transformed and rebuilt on the lines which are discussed here.

[UrbanErwin]

I'd love to see a reboot or something like this. I really enjoyed reading Railbricks as there was/is some very useful information.

As for content, my personal ideal would not be a straight forward 'build this model' instruction, but more a guide to creating your own models. Something like advise on model scaling, efficient part usage (this is especially interesting for smaller budgets and expensive/rare colours).

Perhaps you could add event reports, and not only focussing on the display but also on occurred problems about running and maintaining the display/layout while being there.

To be honest, I am not sure if I would subscribe to anything, but that might be my personal aversion against them even though I am seriously considering a subscription (if it would require some weird steps to get me to pay, that would probably be a turn off for me.).

[Duq]

I'm glad someone referred me to this topic

You're welcome ;-)

I'd love to see a Lego train magazine in some form but it will be hard to get and keep going. I've highlighted before the problems with the Lego train community in the context of trains on Ideas; we're a niche within a niche. LEGO trains are a tiny group within 'general' model railroading and train builders are a tiny group within AFOLs. Train sets represent about 0.5% of the number of sets released every year...

To make matters worse that small group of LEGO train builders is spread around the globe with the majority on both sides of the Atlantic, where we have fairly different tastes. This too has been highlighted in relation to Ideas; most European train builders care little for American freight diesels and many European passanger trains mean little to American train fans. It also makes a printed edition infeasible except for local print on demand because the cost of postage would be prohibitive. Two of the reasons I no longer get Brickjournal are cost and focus on the US.

If the new magazine is to have any chance I think we need to broaden the focus. As has been mentioned above, other model railway magazines don't limit themselves to rolling stock and track. By including buildings, structures and landscaping it should attract a wider audience. That in turn is crucial if you want to convince advertisers.

I agree with Michael that 4 issues per year would be more than enough to keep a team of volunteers busy. A small reward for the efforts on the magazine won't change that.

Building a website with many functions would be too much of a distraction. The Eurobricks train forum is by no means perfect but it's well-established and it would be a waste of energy at this stage to try and build a new forum. Concentrate on the magazine.

A completely different approach would be to team up with Bricks or Blocks and have a Trains section in one of those magazines. Yes, you would be paying more than you would for just a Lego train magazine but you would also get a lot more content. I doubt there are many Lego train builders who have no interest in any Lego subjects outside of trains.

For the magazine it would mean dedicated and knowledgeable train writers/editors, for the train community it would mean much wider exposure.

I haven't looked into the commercial aspects of this option but I think it's one we should consider.

[3D LEGO]

Elroy Davis (TaltosVT),

Duq touched on something that came to mind while reading though the additional comments since I last posted. As seen here in Eurobricks, the LEGO train community is spread across thew globe with different tastes and preferences. Being able to reach out to the different communities would be a large benefit to a new magazine. I fully realize that this would be more work to do but the benefit would be having something that I do not think readily exists in the model train world. I feel such an effort would work to further unify the hobby and inspire others. I for one, enjoy learning about new and previously unknown locomotive designs and technologies. I admit the types of trains I draw at any given point continues to expand the more exposure I get.

Geo-blocking and intellectual property licensing are two things that make a lot of fans in the digital media world mad. This is something I encounter all too frequently in the anime world and unfortunately there are series I really like but that are next to impossible to get due to such issues. Taking an open, region independent approach that exposes more people to things that they might not otherwise encounter serves to inspire people just like featured excellent creations do. Featuring works from all over the world can give builders tips on find solutions to design challenges. Maybe a Chinese builder can find a solution to a model by looking at an American builder's model. Or maybe a UK builder fixed his panel issues by taking a tip or two from a Russian builder. You never know. Then there is the design similarities that exist between the different parts of the ward. For example: many of the Eastern|Russian manufactured locomotives (Transmashholding for example) are full hood units, similar in many ways to the Electro Motive Diesel - General Purpose units (EMD - GP) and American Locomotive Company - Road Switcher D units (ALCO RS, Denotes all axles powered, UIC: Co'Co) but differing in the number of axles. Other examples include the ALCO RS, RSD & RSC units (C denotes unpowered center axle, UIC: (A1A)(A1A) ) that have many similarities to the low-hood design road switchers seen all over Europe built by the likes of Voith Turbo, MaK|Vossloh Rail|Stadler Rail. Sometimes though, technology or designs are very region specific and almost never move outside of their origin. American geared steam locomotives or Garrett type steam locomotives (Much more broadly adopted yet still only found in select areas) are examples of this. Another example goes back to the anime world, where I learned recently that what I thought was an odd, unique steam locomotive design in a series turned out to be some late steam modifications of french design for super-heated steam that routed the exhaust pipes to right in front of the cab. Chances are that I would have never encountered that technology here in America as to my recollection I have never seen a steam locomotive with those modifications made. (I hope I did not lose you with the whole geo-blocking and intellectual property licensing thing.)

If you take a quarterly approach to the magazine, with deadlines, then time can be allotted for localized translations to be completed for the publication date... (No, thats not the word I want. Upload date?) Perhaps region specific advertising could be used but that is a topic for another discussion. To my knowledge no translation attempt was taken with RAILBRICKS but feel free to correct me if I am wrong. This may in part be due to the American oriented content. But there are some amazing builders in Japan, Germany, UK, etc to name a few countries that also need recognition and could well serve to inspire the next round of LEGO train fans.

I seriously hope my idea train is still in comprehendable shape or form.

3D LEGO

[Xris]

Hi Elroy,

Perhaps region specific advertising could be used but that is a topic for another discussion. To my knowledge no translation attempt was taken with RAILBRICKS but feel free to correct me if I am wrong. This may in part be due to the American oriented content. But there are some amazing builders in Japan, Germany, UK, etc to name a few countries that also need recognition and could well serve to inspire the next round of LEGO train fans.

I doubt that localization and translation will gain enough additional readers to justify for the increase of work and process complexity. Stay with articles in English only. Most members of the target group should be capable of understanding English articles, especially if they come along with good photos, drawings or sketches to illustrate them. The magazine should try to unite fans, not to partition them into distinct groups. For the same reason, "value added" contents should not be considered in the first. There are established platforms, like Eurobricks, that allow for focused discussion within a special interest group like LEGO Trains (and even easily looking beyond one's own nose into other LEGO special interest groups), finding MOCS etc. A magazine should provide a platform for deep drilling articles and build a collection/an archive for central topics centered on its theme.

While most people tend to prefer local variants of train motives, they will nonetheless appreciate "foreign" models as they can still extract building techniques and get inspired. Readers can also keep attuned by providing some kind of international mixture. So, even if an issue focuses on, say Chinese railways, there should also be some content regarding explicitly some other Asian, American and European railways - even a small collection with photos of according MOCs might already serve the expectations.

I support Duq's thesis, that the magazine should become as much a "fully-fledged" LEGO model railroading magazine as possible, covering topics as rolling stock, railroad architecture and infrastructure, landscape, controlling (animation techniques, electrics & electronics, software), operation, layout design, customization of tracks, etc. It is easy to find pictures of great train related MOCs on the internet - but background information or explicit descriptions of challenges and their solutions are hardly found and make up the basis for a magazine.

Christian

Edited April 1, 2016 by Xris

[Ashi Valkoinen]

I hope the new project may work. I really miss RailBricks since the last paper.

And answering your questions, surely I'll subscribe (and pay) for the magazine and I'm able to make interviews (skype?) with Train Tech guys and write articles. Unfortunately I have no skills for editing and making a professional looking paper, but what I can do I will do it for the community.

[jrathfon]

3rd Vote for Duq's proposal. Making the magazine a BROAD Lego Model Railroading magazine could increase users. Essentially articles on architecture, trees, landscaping, track-side structures, could increase readership.

Basically things you would see on a FULL layout. I know personally when looking at PennLUG and TexLUG layouts the things that draw me are a) trains, b) scenery, and c) all the cool period pickup trucks, tractors, building facades, broken down equipment on sidings, etc.

Including these bits of landscaping, vehicles, and architecture (in context of layouts) could really increase the AFOL readership and tie in some of the "Town" forum readers. I'm thinking people like snaillard, etc. (get a snaillard article written!!!).

[weeble1688]

I used to read RailBricks voraciously and would keep checking back to see if the newest magazine was out, and was saddened to find that eventually it had lapsed. I know I'm echoing the posts above, but I would love to see a Lego train magazine addressing all aspects of Lego railroading - railroad & other trackside buildings, landscaping & scenery, MOW vehicles & items, "weathering" Lego builds, non-railroad vehicles & architecture, putting lights/sound/electronics into builds - in addition to locos and rolling stock. I also think that encompassing a broader scope could pull Town/City/Modular fans into the fold as well, as stated above.

I would gladly pay for a digital subscription of 4 times per year, with an option to "print & ship" for those wanting a physical copy in their hands. I could see the possibility of eventually doing bulk printings for clubs or individuals, especially if featured in a particular issue - put a few out at your next train show for potential members to check out, etc. I have a copy of the BrickJournal issue dealing with trains that I keep on-hand for when our LUG displays at model train shows.

[gotoAndLego]

You could also have an ongoing piece on developing a layout.

[Cale]

I'm glad someone referred me to this topic--I certainly would like to offer some thoughts on a publication aimed at our niche hobby.

Firstly, my sincerest gratitude to the entire team who contributed to Railbricks. It was a very high quality and inspiring publication to both experts and novices alike. In a way, it was *too* good--it set the bar so high that inevitably it burned out the valuable volunteer contributions that made it exist. I can only imagine how many hours were graciously contributed at the expense of other life obligations--such is the labour of love.

I must admit that I somewhat cautious about the prospect of another Railbricks-type publication. Our hobby niche is quite narrow, isn't very big, and doesn't have the relatively buoyant commercial basis that the rest of the scale model train hobby enjoys. Whether you live in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, etc., and you will find at least one or more model train publications aimed at enthusiasts in their respective regions. Publications which have broad advertising from a variety of vendors of model train products. Enough advertising revenue to pay for a dedicated editorial staff and print magazine distribution. Our hobby could never achieve that level of support commercially. There is effectively one primary vendor (i.e. The Lego Group) and a collection of small (but extremely valuable!) cottage industries making alternative elements such as track, wheels, etc. TLG will likely not choose to advertise in a Railbricks-type publication (because they don't need to) and the smaller companies can likely not afford to buy advertising with a perceived return on sales. In contrast, a publication such as Model Railroader addresses many different scales and therefore many different vendors such as Atlas, Bachmann, Rapido, Kato, etc. Even publications such as MR complain of declining advertising revenue based on a shrinking reader base. And, we can only lament the fall of so many other publications from the past, e.g. Model Railway Constructor in the UK, due to a progressively shrinking reader base.

Therefore, I am not confident a funding model based on advertising will work.

You bring up a valid point about the size of our hobby. As it stands now it is very tiny in comparison to more traditional model railroading as a whole. However if you look at us as a subgroup of the model railroad hobby, like narrow gauge or garden railroading, we may not be so out of the ordinary in size. We are L-Gauge, a model RR gauge just like any other out there. I don't feel we are so much as, too small to be of any significance. We really lack any sort of unifying entity, outlet, or voice, and so I think we just fall off the radar of the general modeling consciousness. Maybe a more professional, and regularly published magazine can start to bring our hobby out of hiding. I think there are more people out there interested in LEGO trains than we may realize. I'm continually meeting people at shows and event that have an interest in LEGO trains, and even own and build with LEGO, but do not participate in any of the online AFOL outlets, such as here on Eurobricks. But they are LEGO train enthusiasts.

What about subscriptions? Well, it all depends on how much we are all willing to contribute? Also, it will only satisfy those of us who want the publication in the first place. What about new-comers to the hobby? Would they be willing to commit to a subscription right away without first seeing what the hobby has to offer? Unfortunately, there is a quite a psychological barrier between free and any dollar amount. Also, if you charge folks for a publication, it better offer substantial content with high quality. There will be a perceived expectation of quality if you charge for it. Whereas a free publication is not obliged to meet any particular standard and doesn't expose its editors to the inevitable judgements and criticisms that surely will happen.

I agree that getting newcomers to pony up for a subscription is an issue. You could sell access to single issues, giving new readers a lower price entry. Another possibility is to provide a free issue, a past issue or maybe an issue specifically for the purpose of introducing new readers to the magazine and the hobby.

I also agree that any magazine that charges for access needs to provide an experience worth the cost of admission. If it doesn't it will not survive. I will add though that a free publication will always be at the mercy of volunteers and donations to keep it going and that may be an equally tough road to travel. Finding people with the right skills, and free time to put a magazine together, and who are willing to do it for free on a regular basis is not easy. Even a free publication with lower expected standards of quality is a tremendous amount of work to put out regularly. And I'm willing to wager that a free publication depending on volunteers may never be able to grow beyond our small niche, reaching out to the mainstream modeling communities, to draw in new people to our hobby.

Assuming a workable "business model" can be established for a Railbricks publication, what should it offer? I have read many 1000's of model train magazines over the years. The one factor that draws me personally (and others I'm sure) is the aspirational aspect of the content. The content should inspire you. It should should motivate you to improve your skills, your ambitions, etc. To do this, it must showcase the very best of what the hobby has to offer. The argument that this will intimidate novices and put them off just doesn't match up to what sports psychologists have long known. Athletes only aspire to improve their game when they are faced with playing those who are much better than they are. My skill in chess only improved by being beaten repeatably by a master! Showcasing inspirational models and layouts gives us a sense of collective achievement--that we are able to push this hobby into the same realm of any other scale model train standard. In doing so, we can share our techniques, methods, best practices, and give others the inspiration and confidence that they can do it too.

I wholeheartedly agree. Nothing motivates me more to push my own hobby efforts further than to see others at the top of their game, pushing boundaries, and redefining what can be done. I've come a long way in my skills and building technique by watching and learning from others better than me, standing on the shoulders of others. A LEGO trains publication will be a visible and public face for our hobby, and as such should not only teach, but present the very best of our hobby as inspiration for all to learn.

Lastly, I would offer a few suggestions to any team willing to make this happen:

1) Make the publication no more frequent than every quarter. Even four issues per year is a lot of work.

2) Make sure you have a committed editorial board of at least 3-5 folks to share the work of content planning, strategic direction, etc.

3) Have at least one dedicated content editor and one dedicated graphic designer/producer. Maintaining the continuity of quality and consistency requires that both the content and its visual design have dedicated attention.

4) Keep the publication format as online PDFs which folks can choose to print if they so desire.

5) Don't invest in "value added" extra content such as hosting instructions, guides, forums, etc. Your content contributors can offer to host those extras if required/desired--the magazine can point readers to the right place.

1. I think quarterly is a reasonable expectation.

2. Agreed. A group of dedicated people with a clear plan and vision is a must.

3. Also agreed.

4. A reasonable idea.

5. Yes. For this magazine to work, it needs to be the main focus. Any other items need to directly support the magazine, not draw attention away from it.

I hope haven't been too pessimistic and discouraging of this effort. Personally, I would love to see a publication like Railbricks succeed in this space and continue to be the champion for showcasing the fun, the creativity, and excellence possible with enjoying model trains made from a simple general purpose brick building medium. It really is quite magical what some folks can build!

I think you've brought up some very valid points, there are real hurdles for an effort like this and they must be discussed. Though they may seem discouraging, they are real and must be dealt with for a proposal like this to succeed.

I know someone else mentioned l-gauge.org; however, as its curator I am quite happy to continue hosting useful, general purpose content to our hobby. If anything, to reduce the burden to others for providing "value added" content.

I for one am very grateful for your L-guage.org efforts, and frequently refer to the content there for my modeling needs.

Cale

Edited April 4, 2016 by Cale