Head to Head

I've just noticed that I have not yet reviewed this quarters magazines. So without further adooo.

First up is the railfan. I must admit that this months issue leaves me a bit cold. I'm not quite sure why. The Andrew Gorrie photo essay on the Wellington ferry terminal is (as always) a bit different and worthy of a second look. There is a collection of 1960's south island photos which are reasonably interesting. Wab 794 trip to the west coast and the ongoing series on old bogie carriages round out the issue features. There's just something missing, and maybe its my favorite branch line series.

Then to the local rag. This issue is largely devoted to the biannual convention. I was lucky enough to first up receive a misprinted issue. A quick e-mail to the guild and a replacement copy was in the mail, despite the responsible guild member being on holiday at the time (2 thumbs up for service). From the photo spreads I see that facial hair is back in (when did that happen?). There is a sizable photo spread of the competition models. I always find this interesting to see just what everyone else is doing detail and painting wise. I was a bit disappointed that there was only one NZ120 model entered. The write up is comprehensive for those who weren't there. For the modern image fans there is an article on the Fc log wagon. Oh, and part 2 in the history of NZ120, yet again without the Internet links. Minuses are the ever present group comments including a large Chch section (where is the promised guild website; its a much better location for this) However for me the true star of the show would have to be the best performance by a mustache at an awards ceremony by 'El Presidente'. My misprinted issue has this in the true terror of duplicate (I should put it on trademe as it could be a future collectors item).

So, this quarter for me is really a draw.

One thing that has been noted by the peanut galley is the increasing number of pages devoted to obituaries. This seems to be a growth area unfortunately. What will be ineresting to see is who picks up the North yard range