Railroad Model Craftsman

Agreed. Very nice issue. It was definitely missed. I'm glad they're back. 

Hi there glad to hear the news.One question.What is RMC?Nick

why did they disappear for a while?

 

Thanks for letting us know the "new" RMC is on its way.  Looking forward to getting mine.  RMC's eclectic mix of material provided many articles that I found valuable especially because they covered stuff that was off the beaten path.  I do hope the "Perspective" column and Keith Wills' "Collector Consist" have been kept and will continue.

Railroad Model Craftsman, in my opinion, the best ACTUAL Modeling Magazine out there for the HO crowd.

RMC = Railroad Model Craftsman, probably the only real competitor to Model Railroader magazine.  It was published by Carstens Publications which was founded by Harold Carstens who (I believe) bought RMC way back when from Penn Publications and Charlie Penn (who also owned Penn Line, IIRC). Harold died a number of years ago and his son Henry took over but he did not seem to have the same passion for the business that his father had and earlier this year, Carstens announced they were shutting down and going out of business.  For two or three weeks it looked like there might not be anymore RMC or Railroad and Railfan magazine, which Carstens also published, and then White River Productions announced they were picking up both magazines and would honor the existing Carstens subscriptions.  

 

More info here: http://carstens-publications.com/

I love RMC.

I really enjoyed RMC back in the late 60's and early 70's.  It was in RMC that I became aware of Maine's 2 foot gauge railroads.  I still find them fascinating to this day.  We are fortunate to have railfans working hard to preserve remnants of these 2 footers in Maine.

Yes, I leafed through a new RMC on a newstand recently, and was glad to see them back.  I have a file of old back issues that have structures or rolling stock I'd like to

build.  As Hot Water said above, many of their issues contain actual modeling, which

has all but disappeared from its prime competitor.

What a great magazine! I'm glad to see them back.

Railroad Model Craftsman is a respectable, quality HO model railroad magazine and it is interesting but as an O gauge enthusiast, for myself OGR is really where its at! What I did like from Carsten's was Railroad and Railfan for which I had a two year subscription before they went under. The new company that purchased Carstens publications was supposed to honor the subscriptions but I haven't seen anything yet.

White River Productions issued a press release today. I suggest you check their website for the latest information.

 

www.WhiteRiverProductions.com

ME too!  Always enjoyed the articles.

I also received my first issue of the new RMC the other day. Thanks to White River Productions for continuing the magazine and fulfilling the subscriptions. The paper quality has been improved, there is lots more color and the overall appearance is better than before. Even though their emphasis is HO there are lots of good articles and tips. I especially enjoy the "Collector Consist" which chronicles the history of toy/model trains and the book reviews.

 

Thanks again, White River.

 

Rick

 

 

Wait, isn't that the emphasis of every mainstream model RR mag (except British ones, where it's all about OO) already?

RMC has also featured some fine O-scale layouts. Also model building techniques can be applied to any scale.

 

Rick

But as you said, they are HO (HUM).....

I always liked RMC for their drawing of equipment, esp unique prototypes

I have it on pretty good authority that Railroad Model Craftsman magazine is cancelling the Collector Consist feature written by Keith Wills. If in fact that does happen I will be done with the magazine as that is the best article in it. I hope someone else (like Classic Toy Trains Magazine) picks up Keith's work.

Picked the first new ownership issue of RMC. They have done a great job with it.....

I agree, the new issue is nice and the railfan magazine is a big improvement, too. The other modeling magazine(not OGR)  continues to disappoint.

RMC is a lot more than an HO mag; I'm nearly complete back to '53.  They have historically been responsive to and published articles in many scales - even one of mine!  They also publish a lot of articles that are application to many scales related to structures, scenery, and prototype information and tend to support the "model builders" that remain a part of this hobby.

The new company that purchased Carstens publications was supposed to honor the subscriptions but I haven't seen anything yet.

Been getting mine in the mail!  You might check to see if/when your subscription runs out.

 

But, I'm not sure I'll renew since I'm just about out of shelf space in my library.  Would be nice if they'd bring out their older issues on a searchable DVD w/o locking it into some proprietary software rubbish,   Then again, maybe I just need a bigger library...

Collectors Consist was the first thing I went to, I miss that

While RMC may be a great magazine for the HO enthusiast, I don't see it has relevance here. This is an O Gauge forum and many of us here would never buy the small gauge trains. You put those things on a layout and you can't even see them run, let alone see any detail.

Lets keep the OGR forum exclusively O gauge, O scale and ON3. OGR must be pretty lenient to even allow a post like this.

 

The modeling and scratch building techniques discussed in Railroad Model Craftsman apply to all scales.

 

I shouldn't be surprised any more by the almost unbelievable close-mindedness of some forumites, yet I am.  I do notice that while some participants truly are world-class modelers, the hobby of the majority seems to be buying train stuff rather than making it, not that there's anything wrong with that.  Like my old bandleader used to say, "Whatever smokes yer shorts."

 

Pete

 

Right on, Pete.    RMC is a great publication that has topics dealing with things that can apply to ALL gauges/scales in this hobby.

 

Some people need to unbunch their shorts, especially Dennis.   look at all of his posts.  He spends half the time complaining about what others post on OGR.

Actually, the new issue has an article on scratch building a shed in ANY scale and looks to be focused a lot on scratch building  like Norm does. I bu OGR so it isn't cutting in to their sales.  My layout had O and S gauge on it and Standard on the floor below. If I get my Z scale back I might put it somewhere. I have G  gauge outside but no room for it in the house-yet. So enjoy your hobby.

As mentioned above, the "Collector Consist" column was a regular feature of RMC. I always enjoyed Mr. Wills' discussions of collectible models regardless of scale. One of the most enjoyable articles I've ever read in any railroading publication was his installment titled "For the Love of Trains" in the December 1983 issue. It must have been popular with a lot of folks as it has been posted on the RMC website to be enjoyed once again. Here is the link to the article:

 

 http://rrmodelcraftsman.com/ex...cm_extra_dec1983.php

 

Bob

Dennis,

 

There are many O gauge modelers that do a lot of scratch building and detail work that would find RMC very useful and informative. The magazine's content can apply to any modeling scale. I don't understand the negativity (twice in one post).

So NO On30 (more popular than On3) NO Proto48, NO Standard gauge, NO S.........

 

Seeing another HEALTHY model train magazine means good thigs for the hobby.

OGR is one of only 2 magazines of any type I subscribe to.  OGR and Gazette are it. But I will check out RMC now that it is back and much improved. The how to on scratch building a hand car shed is great for any scale. 

 

And yes......thanks to the guys here at OGR.......but I think they realize  a healthy hobby is good news.

I still have their Traction and Narrow Gauge Plan Books as a reference. You can scale them up or down as you like.

All publications, books and magazines, issued by White River Productions are of very high quality so RMC couldn't be in better hands.

 

Bob

RMC definitely has earned a place in the hobby press. I am very glad to see the magazine survive under new ownership.

 

Dennis, we obviously do not share your myopic view of this hobby. If we did, we would be CTT.  

I agree, Dave. 

 

Apparently the 'teachable moment' in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, a Christmas classic, has been lost barely 2 months into the year.  Macys and Gimbels figured it out. 

 

Oh well, meanwhile back at the ranch...

 

KD 

Yeah, I was wondering what the folks on the S gauge sub-forum would say about that!

 

Anyway, glad to see RMC is in good hands.