I have read the concerns and comments posted here recently about the
magazine under david ahl's "watch", namely:
1. increased circulation
2. broadened focus (models, weapons,etc.)
3. the mistake about Intraco USA.
The way I see it, I think David Ahl is doing a great job. The magazine today
has
many more articles, has more advertisers, and an improved circulation. If
you feel
that you don't like the topics covered, you can do something about it. If
you want
to see an in-depth article about the reason that dodge decided to move the
spare tire on the M37 from the bed to the door, then write one and send it to
Dave. He has
generally been open to accepting articles and even pays for them if they are
published.
As far as the hullabaloo about the firearms, when I first got into the hobby,
I too felt a need to distance myself from the "gun nuts" and other psychos.
After all, all I owned was an M37. No threat to society, right? Then I
tried importing a 1945 weasel into the U.S. and guess what I found out? An
amphibious military vehicle is considered "Significant Military Equipment"
and as such, could not be imported into the U.S. The state department
wouldn't approve the form 6 issued by our buddies at the BATF. Ditto for
armor. Forget about a nice towed howitzer. As I began to collect carbines
and garands to complete my restoration, I began to see more and more how
closely our hobbies are intertwined. By working with the firearms
enthusiasts, we were able to successfully remove Section 361 from HR 4205
shortly after enlisting them in our battle. This law would have ended our
hobby as we know it. I believe that if we do not hang together, we shall
surely hang separately.
Military vehicle modeling. A friend of mine told someone that he collected
military vehicles and they asked "What scale?" He replied "1 to 1". I don't
own any models. However, I have no problem turning the page when I see a
model ad. Remember, we went from 80 pages to 160 pages under Dave's watch.
Let it go.
Regarding the mistake about the Seafood company importing military vehicles,
I would hate to have the responsibility of putting together a military
vehicle magazine and sending it out to 17,000 readers to critique. We all
make mistakes. Let it go.
All of this has occurred under David Ahl's watch. Krause Publications owns
the magazine. They have already been contacted by the vocal minority
concerning how David Ahl has damaged the magazine. They pulled the firearms
ads three issues back. I think Dave deserves our support, not our
criticisms. I posted a message to Krause Publications and told them as much.
I invite you to do the same:
http://www.krause.com/contact/feedback.html
(Where the form says "Send To", select "Corporate Offices")
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Apr 04 2001 - 08:10:46 PDT