RC boat modeler Spring issue 2008

[Eodman]

Just received my copy of this magazine ... another great article in it on FE boats by Jay Turner!

Jay compared ways to build a FE boat the expensive way and then for us sport racers gave examples of less costly ways to do things! This article is a quick read, very informative for us less expreienced guys!

I highly recommend this mag & articles by Jay that are in it! So for you new guys that are wanting to build a first time FE this is where you start! By the way the previous 2 issues had great articles on the use of LIPO's in FE boats, so again first timers see if you can lay your hands on them!

[SJFE]

On my way to the mag shop today after work.

[FRED]

RCBM Spring issue

Mr. Turner started out by saying he felt the new age of FE boating would scare off new comers. Informative yes, reality of cost , informative yes and the faint harded should not read it. Time for scratch building to step in and buy needs from Steve V. with his super fast service. If you don't have the money, it's no shame, you're not alone. I bought my last RCBM mag at lhs cause nothing in it like of the past. Shame, sign of the times. This might be the time to help new boaters out with basics and boats of wood quality and shop here and help from you people so they don't get discouraged..

[Darin Jordan]

Jay,

Just wanted to thank you for the past several articles in RCBM... You've done a good job of breaking things down and helping people understand Lipos and FE technology in general...

Great work! Keep it up...

[Doug Smock]

Jay,

Just wanted to thank you for the past several articles in RCBM... You've done a good job of breaking things down and helping people understand Lipos and FE technology in general...

Great work! Keep it up...

Well done sir!!

[hkusp45]

Jay is a great ambasador to our hobby. I have gone to him with many questions had he has always gave me honest answers. Thank you for all that you do!!!!

[miles]

To bad that half the mag is a buyers guide. A little thin without it in my opinion. I do love jays articles though. The buyers guide seems to cater too the big advertisers and why have so many pages of AIR AGE kits?(no offense intended Jay) but No new person in this hobby would start that route. And some manufactures were not included such as BBY,H&M,Expresscraft and MHZ. Really crappy of a mag to help companies like proboat advertise crappy boats and not even mention some of the better ones. Also What gives on the we cant top speed test all the hulls accurately because of conditions! SO AT LEAST TRY! If you think the boat will do better then say so. Everyone wants to know the top speed since it is usually their first question right! Mr. Boyd people look to your publication for truth not OH ITS FAST. Fast is all Relative to the situation. Don't get me wrong I'm glad there is even a boat mag,But there is room for improvement in my mind. It's a mag stop pushing products. Let them do their own advertising. Sorry if this offends anyone as it is not my intention, only an educated observation and opinion. http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/.../set2/tape.gif

[Steven Vaccaro]

I agree that the mag was pretty thin. Its been on the decline over the last few years. If it wasn't for Jays and a couple of other peoples articles I would gave up on it years ago. The buyers guide is a paid advertisers area. So if the companies you mention don't pay, they are not mentioned. The reason for the declining pages is probably lack of advertising. The lack of advertising is partially due to their ridiculous pricing. I inquired once and fell off the chair when the ad rep told me the pricing and options. But for now its all we have :-(

[Eyekandyboats]

that is the same here, I don't even really want to get the mag any more. but i have a subscription.

ad pricing. Yes its very expensive, I talked with Derek a while back about this and i remember him telling me. he did the same thing as you. . fell off the chair.
There are a couple other magazines that he does however.

one thing i will always remember is the villain adds by traxxas on the back of every cover

[FE_Chris]

LOL.....yeah....EVERY cover.

that is the same here, I don't even really want to get the mag any more. but i have a subscription.

ad pricing. Yes its very expensive, I talked with Derek a while back about this and i remember him telling me. he did the same thing as you. . fell off the chair.
There are a couple other magazines that he does however.

one thing i will always remember is the villain adds by traxxas on the back of every cover

[Steven Vaccaro]

They wanted $500 for a 1/4 column color ad. Cant imagine what traxxas pays to get that on the back!!

[hkusp45]

traxxs has a little larger advertising budget then most. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can have. I can't tell you how many people that I have giving this web site to!!!! ThNks for all that you do for this hobby. With out you and Jay, Randy this hobby would be in dire straits about now!!

[Fluid]

Thanks for all the kind words guys, I really appreciate it. Remember that I am just a hired gun for the magazine - and it has changed over the past few years - as has almost every other hobby/sport magazine. The 'problem' with RCBM is that they have to rely on their readers for most articles. If you want to see something in the mag - write it! Their staff (which is made up of great people and is shared by Car Action and Model Airplane News BTW) has never been large enough to cover much beyond product reviews - they don't have time for many builds, etc. The reality is the R/C boat hobby is so small compared to cars and planes that we are lucky to even have a dedicated boat magazine. 15 years ago there where three....now just one has survived. Remember that this is a mass market magazine that has to appeal to all segments of the hobby, not just FE fanatics. I understand that the scale and sailboat guys are rather rude in their comments about the lack of their stuff in each issue....you can't please everyone.

As for the Buyers Guide, I don't know how it is now, but several years ago the magazine would sent out requests to every boat supplier they could find for product lists and photos - hundreds of them. They never got a very good return and I remember the editor telling me how frustrating it was to not have a very complete guide. But if the manufacturers didn't want to send in their copy - what could RCBM do? I think - I do not know for certain - that they may have decided to go with companies that they knew would supply copy - their advertisers. I'm not going to enter into any protracted discussion or argument about the magazine, I'm just giving my viewpoint and long time perspective.

BTW, the page count in a normal issue of RCBM hasn't changed much at all in about 20 years.




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[Rex R]

was amused by the 'high voltage' novac esc that can handle up to (gasp) 14 cells!

[Flying Scotsman]

I agree with most of the comments in regard to this magazine BUT there are always a few gems of information like I say I didn't know that or that is a great idea

Douggie