Has anyone purchased the Model Railroader PDF Articles or PDF Video Articles?

[Robertj668]

Hi everyone.

I received and email from Model Railroader that next week they are going to have their "PDF Articles" and "PDF Video Article's" on sale.  I always wanted to get them but thought they were a little expensive but with the sale they seem to be worth it.

I am definitely going to get a couple and try them out. However, I am curious has anyone bought them in the past and what articles do you recommend or don't recommend. 

Thanks for the help.

Robert

[fieromike]

Nope!  I refuse to pay for articles that should have been in the magazine instead of the insipid pap that they print.  They print pretty pictures and the cover shows empty promises of what should be.  All glamour and no guts!

Ex subscriber
Mike

[jerryl]

   Don't hold back, tell us what you really think!

[fieromike]

I was  trying to play nice.  If I really let loose, the Bach-people would most likely show me the door...

[Robertj668]

I do not mind paying for good information and I love the PDF format too.  I am going to try a few anyway. At that point I will give my honest opinion of them.  With the sale I would consider them worth a shot. Some articles would be between $4 and just over $5.

Robert

[jerryl]

  i think most of these PDF files were part of the magazine over the years. I too have ended my relationship with Model Railroader. I almost kept it up because of the web site, but they changed the format & I was not able to post no matter what I did. This broke the camel's back & I stuck with RMC instead.  jerry

[Robertj668]

Jerry

I think you are correct.  I wonder how old some of the videos are.

Robert

[Robertj668]

Well the sale is on. I bought 4 PDF's t give them a try. They were;

PDF Videos:
Modeling the railroad right-of-way
Building a laser-cut wood structure
PDF Articles
How to weather and decal a structure
Great structure projects and techniques

I will review the "Building a laser-cut wood structure"

Now I have never built a wood cut and have very little knowledge on how they are built. I do have building experience with plastic models only. The "Video Article" had 16 short videos from out of the box to completion.  Video length ranged from less than a minute and as long as 2 minutes.

It definitely helped me get an understanding for the basics.  But I wanted more.  One video goes over the painting.  But all he says, I will spray paint the Church white.  I would have liked to know more.  Like you can paint, stain o spray paint.  I choose to spray paint.

My opinion for the price it was nice. It was under $4.  But it could have been freebee if you subscribed to Model Railroader Magazine. If you have never built a Wood cut kit and want a confidence builder then get it. If you have built these before, then would be no need.

Hope this helps.

Robert

[Robertj668]

Hello again.

I am here to review "Adding a DCC decoder to a locomotive."
There are 21 in all with one being the introduction video.

The length on the videos all less than a minute with one or two being 11/2 long.  This video is too simplified and generalized.  Very little bit of good information was helpfull to me. For a person who wants to learn about how to put in DCC in an engine look on Youtube for better videos and use this great website as well.

I do not recommend this video. Even it was on sale.