Garden Railways

If you've seen model trains running in a botannical garden, or someone's backyard, and you're wondering what it would take to get trains running in your back yard, or if you're a beginning or intermediate garden railroader, you need this magazine. The product reviews and catalog listings alone will give you back the cost of your subscription quickly. And the articles will save you time and money, as they help you make choices and achieve your "dream" railroad. Even longtime hobbyists find the many great photographs inspiring and the "tips and tricks" helpful.

I've subscribed off and on for over a decade, and I've known many of the editors and the folks who submit articles for almost that long. As a resource for garden railroaders at all stages of development (from dreamers to empire-builders), this magazine is unequalled. Yes, there will occasionally be an issue that doesn't seem to have many articles targeted to your specific needs, but there will also be issues that are "dead-on" for what you're trying to accomplish this month.

Best of luck, as you plan, build, or run your garden railroad.

Paul D. Race Editor for Family Garden Trains (tm) (no relationship to Garden Railways magazine)

This is the perfect resource for Garden Railways, I subscribed to this mag for a little over a year before I purchased my first outdoor railroad set and it was love from the first page . This magazine pays for itself by what you can save by shopping with its many online Discount advertisers. A great source of pricing those eBay auctions to see if you are really getting a good buy or not. The articles are very instructive and encouraging to me and my hobby . The Pictures are beautiful and clear. The professionalism and love of gardening and modelling shows on every page. If you wonder if this is the hobby for you and your family , a subscription to Garden Railways will help you decide. Garden Railways give outlet for gardening (every issue has a section dedicated to the miniature gardening aspect of this fun hobby), scale modeling buildings ( every issue has a project of various skill levels to do , bridges, people (one of my favorite how to series was there how to make sculpey people and recently how to make sculpey people from pictures of family and friends ), rock gardening. Garden Railways hobby will get you outside and allow you to play with trains with out your spouse worrying about your filling the house up with track. You can also have inside tracks (mine runs above the doors in the den) great place for your die cast cars to park, farm equipment and use those Christmas buildings and people the rest of the year. The product reviews a thorough and gives pros and cons of trains , rolling stock , Accessories and Buildings .

Buy Garden Railways Now

This is a great magazine for giving you lots of ideas and inspiration for your garden railroad. It's very well illustrated with top-quality photos and construction drawings. I have found that the articles are well written, and there's a nice mix of things for everyone from the novice to the experienced garden railroader. There are also lots of good product reviews to help you with your buying decisions.

My only knock on the magazine is that they rarely discuss prices. The prices are listed for the products they review, but there is no discussion of how much any of the layouts cost to develop. I think this would be really helpful, especially to people like me who are just getting started out in the hobby. Other then that, it's a great magazine.

Read Best Reviews of Garden Railways Here

We installed a garden railway last year, and this publication has proven to be extremely valuable. Not only has it helped us locate suppliers in our region, but it's alerted us to special events and helped us with the specific details about how to build and maintain our railway.

Want Garden Railways Discount?

Mopar Actions

Been a subscriber for years. If you want the best tech and resto advice, you read this. Yeah, it only comes 6 months of the year and monkeys could proofread and edit better. But, when you need to work on your Mopar, when you need to modify, upgrade or restore, this is the resource.

If the sound of a HEMI makes you tingle, then this magazine is for you.

Buy Mopar Actions Now

Weak coverage on the later model front wheel drive Mopars. Guess Mopar Action forgets that these are the cars that kept Chrysler from going bankrupt. Kinda gets old seeing the same old $100,000 'Cudas and Challengers.

Read Best Reviews of Mopar Actions Here

I have yet to recieve the first issue of my paid subscription. I would like to say,'great magazine',but I have not recieved one yet. I still waiting 1/24/2007

Want Mopar Actions Discount?

I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice but I still have to let you know about the reverse picture on page 60 of the April 2004 issue. The picture of the electronics on the floor board of the 62 Plymouth is a mirror image of the real thing. After starring at the photo for a minute or two trying to read the letters on the MSD ignition box and not knowing why the car suddenly was right hand drive it dawned on me that the negative was laid on the wrong side when the print was made. It's actually kinda cool.

Save 26% Off

Premier Guitar

This magazine is a must-read event in our house and is avidly enjoyed. It is quite a nice size, especially for the price and the product reviews are carefully thought out and detailed. Even the ads are informative. All music spectrums are represented from classical to hard rock and every guitar maker is represented at one time or other; the focus is not just the well-known and the big American names. There are plenty of small-time luthiers and it is a joy to see some of their creations and read their views on the craft. If you love guitars, amps and all those little axeman toys, I highly recommend this magazine, if nothing else but for all the photographs to drool over.

I have been playing guitar for almost 50 years and I've been subscribed to all the guitar magazines since the 70s. This one is so much better than the rest that I don't know how they do it. There is twice the content of any other guitar mag and more than twice as much useable content for me. I could give up all the others and just keep getting this one... but I won't.

Buy Premier Guitar Now

Bicycle Times

Most bicycle magazines seem to be only for racers, bike geeks, or people who have $5000 to spend on a bike. This magazine is for people who just ride bikes. There are plenty of bikes reviewed in this magazine that cost less than $1000. Sometimes the stories are kind of dorky, and some of the people are kind of geeky, and whenever anything political is discussed, it is obvious that the publisher has a liberal lean; but as a conservative myself, that doesn't really bother me and this is the only bicycle magazine I buy any longer. All the other magazines have seemed to forgotten that not everyone is interested in racing or wearing funny-looking bicycle clothes when they ride or spending a fortune on a bicycle. This magazine is more in tune to those who just want a decent, affordable bicycle to ride to work or to go pick up some groceries, or to just have a little fun with. The magazine also covers cargo bikes, single speed bikes, fold-able bikes, and other bikes that most other magazines ignore. And because of that, this magazine is just more interesting to me because it does not have such a narrow focus of what bicycling is all about.

Like all magazines, some issues are better than others, so read a few to see if you like it. I have had some issues that I would rate as not very good, but others that are great, and most that are really pretty good. So overall, I consider this a magazine I am willing to buy a subscription to.

Great stories, pictures, and voice for cycling advocacy. Gets into touring, and commuting, covers bicycling for those of us who aren't into spandex.

Buy Bicycle Times Now

In These Times

Very informative magazine that scrutinizes a wide variety of political topics and current affairs, from American homeland to the remotest jungles abroad, all with their own unique perspective and viewpoint that runs moderate to left.

The writing and topics are engaging, current, and well researched and the editors not afraid to call things as they see fit.

Put down the Cosmo for later, and read a few articles you won't find on the TV mainstream news. after all.. knowlege is power.

If you are looking for an informative monthly on the left In These Times (ITT) offers thought-provoking commentary and articles that are pithy but not skimpy (a characteristic I sometimes find of the weekly The Nation).

Most importantly, ITT reports on labor every issue, an important component of the left, that is often neglected by other magazines of the left.

In These Times is a magazine that may be harder to find in a library. If you are interested, I suggest first visiting their website which allows you to read portions of the current magazine without paying anything.

The price for the magazine is very reasonable, and I personally find the magazine content more diverse and interesting than The Progressive.

Buy In These Times Now

Definitely an interesting read, no matter what you think about the points of view expressed. Good magazine to read on a cold night.

Read Best Reviews of In These Times Here

My fiance got me a subscription for my bday (I asked four it) and I love this magazine. It is very informative and covers a lot of issues. The magazine contains a great balance of different issues from different places. I like to read the articles about world news because I see less and less of that in the main stream media. Enjoy this wonderful magazine!

Want In These Times Discount?

I just finished my first issue and am not so crazy about it. I consider myself pretty liberal, but this is waaayy left of where I'm at. It's not that I disagree with any of the positions the magazine takes, its just that it is very slanted in its opinion (and it is pretty much ALL opinion) and seems targeted toward people who are active activists. I like to be informed, but I prefer to hear all sides of an issue so I can make an informed decision. I was hoping for a news magazine that goes a little more in depth than, say, Time Magazine. But this doesn't seem so much a news magazine as it is a progressive/liberal opinion magazine. It is well written, but not what I was hoping for.

Save 34% Off

Digital Photo (1-year auto-renewal)

I got a deal for a one year subscription for this magazine and I'm on my second issue. For the price that I paid, I'm not too disappointed. However, I don't know how happy I'd be if I had paid full price for this.

The magazine is more ads than articles. This would be understandable because advertisement is the lifeblood of print media. The disappointing part is that most of the few articles are also cleverly disguised gear ads rather than advice on techniques using existing gear that you might already have. Usually if they are giving advice about techniques you can apply, they recommend using a new, recently released piece of equipment. For example, there is an article on how to take macro photos. The article basically has blurbs on several different macro lens but doesn't explain any techniques or insights.

Also, with such a huge focus on gear, their 'reviews' are also basically ads. They don't really discuss pros and cons of equipment but discuss the purpose or specification of a lens, tripod, flash equipment, etc.

I can't say it's a total waste. There are a few inspiring photographs and I did learn a few things here and there. However, it would be nice if it had a bit more substance.

This one is worth passing up, unless you really like looking at gear ads.

I got this subscription for my daughter who'd just made her first big splurge on a Canon T4i. My hopes were it would have some nice articles (and photos) and plenty of good tips to help her 'find her photo style'. Instead it's loaded with equipment ads and articles. I'd have no problem if equipment was balanced with artistic and technical substance -'how-to's', if you will -or if there were a few artistic methods with accompanying photos thrown in.

I give 2 stars because for the price, I don't feel like I've totally thrown money away (though I do feel bad for the trees who gave their lives...).

Buy Digital Photo (1-year auto-renewal) Now

This magazine is basically a vehicle for manufacturer ads with a few "how to's" randomly thrown in, with little rhyme or reason. If you want to learn the basics of photography you'd be much better off going to your public library or buying a basic book or two. If you want a better overview of current cameras and lenses, go to or subscribe to Popular Photography. Even at a cheap rate, this magazine is just a rag.

Read Best Reviews of Digital Photo (1-year auto-renewal) Here

Great magazine to get killer ideas from! If you are a photographer, student photographer, or hobbist this is a great magazine to get.

Want Digital Photo (1-year auto-renewal) Discount?

If you're looking for a really good photography magazine then this ain't it. I've been receiving Digital Photo for about a year and it sometimes has good articles. Other times I scan the magazine, find nothing worthwhile, and trash it. I won't renew.

Save 66% Off