Westlake Publishing Forums

General Category => General Forums => Topic started by: Mobilgas on May 11, 2019, 05:16:27 PM

Title: New O n30 annual
Post by: Mobilgas on May 11, 2019, 05:16:27 PM
Yea its me again ??? Bought the new On30 annul off evil-bay because I didn't want to wait I needed instant gratifcation ;D 2019 is the worst annual in my opinion they ever put out ....for the price it just wasn't worth the paper it was printed on
Title: Re: New O n30 annual
Post by: Hauk on May 12, 2019, 12:48:52 AM
Quote from: Mobilgas on May 11, 2019, 05:16:27 PM
Yea its me again ??? Bought the new On30 annul off evil-bay because I didn't want to wait I needed instant gratifcation ;D 2019 is the worst annual in my opinion they ever put out ....for the price it just wasn't worth the paper it was printed on

What made it so bad?

Could it be:
-Lack of original choices of prototypes
-Lack of innovation when it comes to tools, materials and techniques
-Lack of cutting edge craftsmanship


In short, the things that make me visit this forum.
Title: Re: New O n30 annual
Post by: finescalerr on May 12, 2019, 12:13:12 PM
White River's annuals basically reflect the state of the hobby. Good modeling continues to decline. On30 was never a haven for top modelers and scratchbuilders. The books' management and staff lack inspiration. A majority of their readers finds first rate models "intimidating". If the publisher wants to make money, he has to give folks what they want; business is business. -- Russ
Title: Re: New O n30 annual
Post by: peterh on May 12, 2019, 04:20:13 PM
Well, quality is a tricky concept, as Robert Pirsig pointed out. I seem to remember he compared quality to the headlight of a locomotive cutting through the night, though unfortunately he didn't discuss to what standard the locomotive might be modelled.

And don't forget this baby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
Title: Re: New O n30 annual
Post by: Lawton Maner on May 12, 2019, 07:38:20 PM
     I never find the best inspiration from the mass market magazines.  That being said, I can usually draw an inspiration from a how or why which might help me to be a better modeler then the author.  There is an irregular column in O Scale Modeler also now in the same stable as the On30 Annual.  Harold Russell has presented a number of photo and drawing articles for smaller buildings like many found in North American towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  While I won't build a small town jail from one of the plans, I may build something like it as a small town Post Office or store.

     Last year there was an article in the On30 annual which was a rehash of Jack Work's early 1960's article in MR about creating your own figures.  Nothing new, but the figures were a caricature of Hispanics which in today's America is offensive to many of us.  (Climbing down off the soap box now.)  Nothing new there except for the paints used.  However in the HOn3 Annual the year before there was an great article on the D&RGW's class 6500 flatcars.  Bad and good from the same stable.

     In another thread I said that as modelers we can learn from the skill-set of craftsmen in other disciplines.  The same thing can be said about what can be learned from bad modeling.  If you see what the intent is, you can say "I can do that better" and then o it. 
Title: Re: New O n30 annual
Post by: Mobilgas on May 13, 2019, 04:13:56 PM
There's not really to much that wow's me anymore ::) As Russ was saying good modeling seems to be declining :(  For me I'm always going through my older mag's to get my fix on seeing some good modeling.  I do check in every now and then on Sierra West Models forum  one guy is building a O scale engine house that's some Fantastic modeling ....Top Notch.... ;D