12 years of blogging and there hasn't been a let up in model making activities for me.
While 2016 was notable for me giving up editing MREmag, this year has seen a reversal of fortunes with the editor's chars for Garden Rail and Engineering in Miniature magazine coming my way. With all the BRM work, that's made for a slightly over-stuffed programme.
Taking these on was a leap of faith for both myself and Warners - I've not edited a newsstand magazine before but they trusted me to do a good job and I don't think I've let them down. There isn't an issue I'm unhappy with and looking back, several I'm really proud of. Much of this is due to working with excellent designers who have done a terrific job in making both publications look fantastic.
Things continue to evolve and I know there are several exciting projects on the horizon for 2018 so watch this space.
I'm not just writing either. Obviously there is the video work, but they've also trusted me to go out and bag a few layouts at shows.
I've also slipped a few other publications in while freelancing - History Magazine was a first. Even though I wrote with a model railway theme, it's interesting to get out of the sector. My column in the Hornby Collectors Club magazine carries on too - which reminds me, I better ask the editor what he wants next.
On the workbench, there seem to have been a lot of Wickham railcars this year. N, OO and O gauge models including a narrow gauge one built from a rather tired old white metal kit.
For BRM, there was a diorama complete with working O gauge railcar.
Talking of dioramas, possibly my proudest achievement this year has been kicking off the BRM Cake Box challenge in October.
To be honest, we'd expected that over a year we might get 20 models being built - but within a week there were 17 threads running on RMweb and now over 70. Add to that the models that aren't being written up on the forum and the chances are we are looking at over 100. People, it seems, will build models, they just need to be inspired. If I'm contributed to this in any way, I'm really, really pleased.
If you asked which project I'm most pleased with over the year, the answer is surprisingly the Metcalf Models card footbridge revamp. It wasn't the most complicated, nor expensive, but the results really blew me away. Such a difference so easily and a model that could grace any layout.
All this has limited my own modelling quite a bit. I certainly haven't been as productive as I'd like to have been. A 2CV kit provided light relief, but was really a stick it together job.
More complicated was the On30 railbus built from a second-hand kit.
As you saw yesterday, my vintage speedboat just scrapped into this year as well.
All of which means that the list of uncompleted projects from this time last year hasn't changed much:
- 7mm scale Garratts STILL haven't been out of their boxes
- I found the 3mm scale Class 25 the other day and it hasn't bothered to build itself.
- O gauge "Flying Banana" railcar, still summoning up the courage to re-start that.
- 4mm GWR steam railcar, I know it's one people would like to see finished. Me too.
- The Cravens DMU is probably the first candidate on this list to re-start as it should be fairly simple.
And my Beetle still sits forlornly in the garage stopping it filling up with junk.
All this is weird. I've been very, very busy this year but looking back through the postings, I don't seem to have produced that much.
Talking of postings:
- 365 posts - one a day. I'm chuffed with that.
- An average of 423 visitors a day. Up on last year. OK, I'm not Zoella, but that's OK.
- 214000 page views. Again, up on last year
Thanks for reading, and commenting. It's always great to know there is someone out there.
3 comments:
Great job on everything, Phil. You're an inspiration to us for both modeling and journalism. Well done!
"While 2016 was notable for me giving up editing MREmag, this year has seen a reversal of fortunes with the editor's chars for Garden Rail and Engineering in Miniature magazine coming my way.
... Taking these on was a leap of faith for both myself and Warners - I've not edited a newsstand magazine before but they trusted me to do a good job and I don't think I've let them down. There isn't an issue I'm unhappy with and looking back, several I'm really proud of. Much of this is due to working with excellent designers who have done a terrific job in making both publications look fantastic."
I wonder just how much of a leap of faith this really was for Warners. Let's face it - to them, you're not exactly an "unknown quantity" - you've been working for them for a number of years - in recent years, you've created a lot of copy for them (and other magazine publishers) - and you've also edited a number of bookazines.
When they appointed you, I suspect that Warners would have had a pretty good idea what they were likely to get from you - probably more of an idea than they would have had with someone they'd never worked with.
Somehow, I also suspect they wouldn't exactly be too upset about you publically backing the people you work with (like in your comment here about the designers).
As for 2018, I'm sure there's plenty in store - and I suspect that a lot of it will be very interesting.
All the best for the New Year.
Warners knew me as a writer, but editing a magazine is a very different job. You need to be sufficiently organised to get everything in the right places at the right times for a start!
As for backing the designers - I do this because they have done an excellent job. If I wasn't happy, I simply wouldn't say anything but when I am, I feel it's important to tell a positive story where possible, giving credit where it is due.
Ans 2018 should be interesting.
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