New Magazine

Roger Pellett said:
I am also a writer. I have published four articles in the Nautical Research Journal and regularly review books for them, usually on post 1900 shipping topics. I also have one full length book to my credit; Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company published by Wayne State University Press, and a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.

My impression is that there is a lack of “new” material to be published. Even the Nautical Research Journal seems to lack worthwhile articles. There are way too many articles about “gluing part A to part B.” I believe that this due to a lack of submissions not because the editor doesn’t want to publish them. I have a couple of ideas for Journal articles that I discussed with the editor but even though I am retired it’s difficult to find the time to research and write them.

Perhaps if you could give us some suggestions or at least the kind of articles that you are looking for you might get a better response.

Note to Dave Stevens: Your past relationship with two master ship modelers, Harold Hahn and Bob Bruckshaw deserves to be documented. These guys were not just hobbyists they were artists, but all too soon they will be forgotten. I was privileged to meet both of them at the 1975 NRG Conference in Marietta, Ohio but I had no connection beyond that.

Roger
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Hi Roger,

That’s not an easy question to answer. I can give you an example. I have already started writing three articles for my magazine. The first article is called Kit Problems. I discuss problems I’ve encountered while building certain kits, what caused the problem, and how I fixed it. The primary cause is poor kit design. The first example I give was not fixable, and I had to throw the kit away. The second example was also poor kit design. I fixed it but the fix was not one that was easy to perform and required special equipment. Since then the kit maker has redesigned the kit and thus fixed it themselves.

My business has always been geared towards very detailed instructions on how to build specific model ship kits, but I have written detailed instructions on scratchbuilding as well. Check out my website at https://www.lauckstreetshipyard.com.

Truth be told, I have seen a significant decline in business for the first time in the 21 years that I’ve been in business. So significant that if it does not pick up by the end of the year, I will be forced to seek work in the private sector. I’ll be 77 years old by then, not an ideal age to have to return to private sector work, but my wife and I have seen this coming for a long time now. We’ve made all kinds of financial maneuvers to cut our expenses but you can only do so much. We all have certain financial needs and we’ve reach our limit on what we can do to make ends meet. Without a certain amount of income from my business, I have no choice but to give it up and take up private sector employment.

I had hoped that starting a new magazine would fill the void of the loss of the MSB Journal. As I’m learning now, that may not be the case. From what I understand now, there’s little left to write about as far as model shipbuilding is concerned. All of the major subjects have been covered.

Take care,

Bob Hunt
 
Note to Dave Stevens: Your past relationship with two master ship modelers, Harold Hahn and Bob Bruckshaw deserves to be documented. These guys were not just hobbyists they were artists, but all too soon they will be forgotten. I was privileged to meet both of them at the 1975 NRG Conference in Marietta, Ohio but I had no connection beyond that.

Roger

both were my mentors i and i spent countless hours in their shops, i did several articles on both of them on the NRG forum spending many hours just to have them wiped off the forum out of spite. That kind of left a bad taste and a well i can't say it without using untasteful languages lets just say two words with a F and a Y and i did not want to do it again.

My impression is that there is a lack of “new” material to be published. Even the Nautical Research Journal seems to lack worthwhile articles. There are way too many articles about “gluing part A to part B.”

i totally agree the how to articles have been done to death and all that information is on the 2 forums and past issues of journals and magazines which are available, but like i said to do original work and research is sooo! expensive.
i have 2 articles i started on shipwrecks on the great lakes or should i say in the lakes, and how to model them from archaeological field work. the BUT is there is very little interest in historical ships and ship building, all the rage these days are ships in a box and it really does not matter how historically accurate they are or how the real ships were built.

Getting back to Bob and Harold your right These guys were not just hobbyists they were artists there work was and is in museums. Their skills in woodworking, research, drafting, casting, and model building was far and above the hobby level. These days the hobby is about building a pretty model out of the box by gluing part A to part B spending 10,000 hours developing wood working skills is secondary so why write about it?
 
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Bob

yes there are what we see as problems in kits and kit design but from the point of view of the manufacture they consider cost of materials and the cost of having people do high end design work. and how to do mass production. Feed back falls on deaf ears.


i also seen a huge decline in the hobby which was a factor in my down sizing. i can not even restock wood because the cost doubled and shipping is outrageous. Saw blade use to be $12.00 now a good quality blade is $60.00 and so on.

i do not think anything is going to revive the art and hobby of wooden model ship building it has become a lost art like blacksmithing it is around but an artisan craft.
The hobby has turned a corner since we started, it is now 3D printing, CNC and laser cutting, computer design and mass production. To kit bash or scratch build a ship model is far and few between.

as a matter of fact even though the business is called The Lumberyard for model Shipewrights the model ship hobby never could support the business it was the wood carvers, wood turners and woodworkers in general. that were the main support.
 
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I am a member of the “Gang of Four” that was barred from posting on MSW last June. Our sin: suggesting that reviews of European POB kits should actually comment on historical accuracy and being “anti kit” by suggesting that someone that couldn’t afford these, kits could start the way I did by carving a solid hull.

The Nautical Research Guild that I joined at that Marietta Conference almost 50 years ago has become fixated on kit modeling at the expense of their stated objective; research. In fact, the current Chairman has written to me that the guys that founded it; Howard Chapelle, et, all, were a bunch of Nerds who built ship models.”

I am therefore somewhat dubious about evangelizing the hobby. There’s nothing wrong with business owners doing this, it’s an essential part of a successful business. But it’s sad to see how it has affected the NRG.

I read and enjoyed all of your posts on MSW about Harold Hahn, and they were a significant contribution. You were treated shamefully.

I have a lifetime connection to the Great Lakes; sailing on Lake Erie as a child, and now living close to Lake Superior in Duluth, MN and am currently building a model of the steamer Benjamin Noble. This has lead to interesting research about her 1914 loss on Lake Superior. Hopefully I’ll long enough to finish it. I eagerly read your postings here about Great Lakes history.

Roger
 
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ROGER LET ME SAY FIRST OF ALL YOU ARE A MASTER YOU ARE 100% RI9GHT NOT MUCH NEW JUST LOOK AT THIS FORUMS CFONTENT BUT THERE IS SOMETHING NE IN RESEARCH ARTICLES WQALDAMERE, CHARLIE T, KOREM AND OLHA IF THEY HAVE BEEN HOUNDED OUT I KNOW THE REASON AND SO DO YOU AND MI TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOU END OF COMMENT BACK TO SUBJECT ROGER YES THERE CAN BE POSTED IN MAGAZINE FORMAT TYING RESEARCH TO MODEL BUILDING. SOS HAS MANY GIANTS IN THIS FORUM BU8T NOT HEREING NFROM THEM BOB CONTACT WALDAQMERE HE HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO SHOW HIS IDEAWS YOU CQAN FIND SAMPLES OF HIS ITEMS ON THIWS SITE UNDER RESEARCH. IF YOU WANT TO ROGER SEND ME A PM YOUR VIEWS. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE YOU AND YOURS DON
 
ME AGAIN ROGER JOIN THE CROWED WAQS BANNED FROM MSW YEARS AGO I WAS ONE OF A GROUP TO USE SOS WHEN IT WAS A TINY 599 MEMBERS. NOW TO DAVE S DONNIE JIM IS NOT PART OF YOUR JOBS TO ADVANCE SHIP MODELING I HERE NOTHING NEW TRUE ON HOW TO BASTA BUT HOW ABOUT STARTING SOMETHING NEW EXAMPLE PAVEL NEFF KIT YOU COULD DEVLOP MANY, MANY, MANY ARTICLERS ON THIS SUBJEC AND STILL YYING IN SHIP MODELING HOW TO USE A VICE, AIR BRUS MAKE CLAMPS WOW NEW STUFF COME ON ADMINISTRATORS TO MUCH NAY SAYING HOW ABOUT SOME POSITVE S GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON
 
donfarr said:
OK HAVE NOT HAD A DON RANT IN AGES HERE GOES BOB YOUR IDEA IS WHAT THIS HOBBY TO KEEP PEOPLE INTERESET, NEW FIELDS LIKE RESEARCH NOW TO ADMINISTRATORS BY NAME JIM, MAAQRTEN, UEWK, D STEVENS AND THEN THERE IS WALDAMERE, KORUM, OLHA CHARLIE T ALL GREAT WRITERS WONDERFULL MODELERS CONTRIBUTE ANSERT ADMINISTRATORS BY NAME YEA OR NAY YOU CONTINUALLY SAY GOOD FOR COMUNITY FORUM OR NO FORUM I CHALLANGE YOU TO ANSWER BY NAME W3ILL AWAIT RESPONCE IT IS NOT MOVER. BOB I WOULD LOVE TO CONTRIBUTE BUT DUE TO, AGE 86 PHUSICAL PROBLEMS ETC CAN NOT DUE MUCH BUT I WILL CONTRIBUTE W3HEN I CAN AND ALSO BY DONATION STEP UP AND DO YOUR THING. GOD BLESS ALL STAY SAFE DON
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What the heck is up with the ALL CAPS??
 
Sad to hear of the change in not producing a magazine, in such a short time to say your open to articles and then cancel before anyone can submit them.

I will still be watching and reviewing your products from the website as I have many of your CD's to follow.
 
Boy,
There is a lot here I can unload on. When a person has a passion to do something, don’t kill it with your messed, up old time, been there, burned out self.
Instead, you all should encourage a brother modeler and developer of products. If Bob wants to start a magazine, then be encouraging. You don’t have to go on a diatribe about NRG, Smithsonian, and who know whom you don’t or can’t agree with or associate with because of some differences that do not amount to anything.
Please come on people, we can do better than this. What kind of taste are you putting in people that’s just now visiting the site for the first time. Well, you all are discouraging instead of encouraging.
I personally was excited to learn of Bobs magazine as I think it will breathe some different and new life.
We are ALL in this together - so please knock it out.
Very kindly, your founder Donnie
 
I must say, I'm glad I didn't listen to anyone's similar advice when I started the MSB Journal. I would have given up right away. But, instead, I persisted through it all for as long as I could, and worked through the highs and lows of it all.

I put forth this one little comment which I know to be fact and based on personal history. If you produce it and do a half ass job of it, you'll build a large reader base. From a business perspective, that's pure gold.

Only other thing i would recommend is don't limit yourself to one type of ship modeling. think bigger. Why limit content options......
 
WELL SAID DONNIE, ALSO JIM, KURT, AND MY SUPER FRIED WINSTON, NOW THE PROJECT IS TO CONVICE BOB HUNT (COULD BE A PROBLEM) TRY IT BOB IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE REALLY GETTING SOME SUPER COMENTS, IF YOU HAVE SOME ARTICLS DO IT IN DECEMBER PLEASE
 
Hi Bob,
Posting with some hesitation...
But it is an interesting idea at this point in time.
The first step would likely be to make a detailed plan about what to cover as today, you likely cannot be too specific and being too general would be an equal challenge.
As you know, the most difficult part would be recruiting a pool people willing to submit material on a volunteer basis.
Surround yourself with a team of engaged and like-minded people.
My experience in such a publishing "venture" is that it was fun but it required an enormous amout of time and work to write (myself) and edit whatever little material was received from others: and I was only publishing quarterly on a very specific subject... so monthly and for a more genral purpose... I can only imagine....
Though, as you know, things are surely different today as 20 / 25 years ago the internet was not what it is now.
Should you decide to go ahead, good luck and have fun with this project.
Kindest regards.
G.
 
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