Boy, talk about serendipity.
I accidentally clicked on this Forum when trying to go to the Photography Forum.
Back in February, 1980, I had an article published in Model Railroader's Paintshop, on painting TH&B geeps. The innovation was using dry transfer lettering as a paint mask, for lettering models where commercial lettering sets were either unavailable or were in a grossly incorrect colour. My biggest problem was getting useable photographs that would look good when printed in the magazine, but with the help of Jim Hediger, that was finally accomplished. The following year, I was out on strike, and with a lot of extra time on my hands, I made up some large calendars, complete with a b&w photo of a steam loco posed on a diorama. I sent one to Model Railroader, as they often reviewed calendars sent in by various advertisers and readers, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a modest cheque for a small mention, along with a photo, in a later issue of the magazine.
I later submitted, to Railroad Model Craftsman, an article on building an NW-2 from an Athearn switcher to RMC, but it was rejected as "needing severe editing".
It was meant more as a tale of the trials and tribulations of following a magazine article than as a how-to, but perhaps my "humour" was too subtle.
I also sent them, at a later date, a very brief outline, along with a couple of pretty good transparencies of my gas-electric car, as a "feeler" to see if they would be interested in a more complete account for their kitbashing award, but never heard back from them. This was despite having included the necessary postage and envelope for the return of unuseable material. My submission would have been in that vicinity right around the time of 9-11, and I have always suspected that there was some oblique connection as to why the material was never returned.
While I would like to offer more for publication, my propensity for words, plus my inability to provide better photos continues to work against me. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'd have to come up with quite a pile of good photos!
Wayne
