The Modeller is the oldest surviving general interest magazine in the UK. It markets itself as "For the average enthusiast". It covers the whole range of UK model railways from garden railways SM32 etc to N gauge. It is produced by PECO who also publish Continental Modeller as well as N gauge, 4mm and 0 gauge model railway items.
The Modeller's best asset is its advertising. It has two advertising sections and most of the model industry in the United Kingdom advertise in its pages.
It's failure is that sometimes it can ben seen as trying to be all things to all men. It also seems to live in the dark ages in terms of technology, especially their strange reaction to the internet. However, railway modelling is hobby. It has many levels, so set out to enjoy yourself and do what you want to do.
MRJ is the specialist magazine, published eight times a year, for the scale modeller. It covers modelling in 2, 3.5, 4 & 7mm as well as S gauge and others. It's objective is to promote finescale modelling. It's publishers Wild Swan publish a wide range of books to complement the Journal, covering many different subjects such as track construction and laying, converting 4mm carriages, etched chassis construction and weathering.
Some people complain that MRJ is too highbrow or to specialised, to me it has provided the inspiration to seek greater authenticity in my modelling, which brings me much joy. It also gives good indepth reviews of new products, and promotes the "Small Suppliers".
Regular contributors include Guy Williams (of Pendon fame), Barry Norman and Martin Welch (author of the Art of Weathering - the books whose colour photos even fooled my wife!)
A magazine devoted to modelling the railways of the British Isles from Z to 1. They cover narrow gauge, industrial, steam and modern image. Its N gauge coverage is better than any other magazine I know. It has a tendancy to concentrate on the modern image, which is 'the growth area' of British modelling. They have been known to tackle subjects head on such as the production of a bad kit. If you are looking for an alternative to the Modeller then this is it.
This is a magazine with money behind it, in the form of EMAP Publications. Chris Leigh and Simon Harris are trying to create a new magazine with more illustrations to aid the modeller achieve the standard which they have set themselves. It is geared to the modern scene more than any other magazine, which is good as this has been neglected. However, the requirements of a fast turnaround in publication has allowed mistakes to slip through, though these are early days, and they must be given time to find their feet. There have been good critical reviews of models in the magazine and so there should. If a manufacturer tries to sell an unbuildable kit, or a ready-to-run model which fails to represent the prototype then we should know. If the running quality is poor, we should know. If Chris and Simon managed to do this against the threats of withdrawing advertising then all the best to them. We should no longer put up with shoddy ready-to-run items when you compare them with the German and American offerings.
Over the years there have been a number of model railway magazines published in the UK which were excellent. Unfortunately, the publishers didn't have the clout to market them, as a result they didn't get the required number of readers to make the venture profitable. These magazines based themselves on the format of Model Railway News which was edited by Mr Maskelyne. Model Railway Constructor led the way for many years, so did Model Railways which incorporated Model Railway News in the 70s under the editorship of Roy Dock (which became a golden era in model railway magazine publication). In the 90s Irwell Press with Iain Rice as editor launched Modelling Railways Illustrated, building on the format of Model Railways and Model Railway News, mixed information of layout building, kit reviews, items on how to accomplish one modelling requirement or another, courses for example on how to solder, and prototype reviews and information. This hit a gap between the specialists finescalers, as represented by MRJ, and the average enthusiast of Railway Modeller. When Iain Rice resigned from the editorship due to conflicts between editor and publishers, he set up RailModel Digest. The Digest, was published quarterly by Hawkshill Publishing edited by Iain Rice and Mike Peascod. Both are well known for their railway modelling/writing. The authors brought to the Digest a style familiar to the readers of early issues of Modelling Railways Illustrated, and the old Model Railways (for whom Mike Peascod used to provide detailed locomotive drawings). Included in the Digests contributors were Dick Ganderton (editor of Short Wave Magazine), Martin Brent, Simon de Sousa, Vincent de Bode (a Dutchman modelling East Anglia and bringing continental techniques to modelling British prototypes), Tim Shackleton and others. It catered for the finescale modeller from N gauge and 2mm up to 7mm, while catering for the growth in interest in finescale 00. This publication has also floundered. Why is it that a the UK modelling public wont buy a decent magazine and instead waste their money on PECO's publicity sheet?