FSM Sale to Firecrown Media

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
1

So with the sale to Firecrown Media do you think this site will get any attention or is the the final nail in the coffin?

2

I also wanted to write about these big news, but couldn’t, due to the 504 Error…

Now the new owner has two choices - pull the plug on these forums orfix them. I sure hope for option 2, but I’m afraid option 1 might be more attractive budget-wise…

Compared to loong time ago nothing is happening here anymore - which is a pity. I’d love to see this place here boom once again. But this would require state of art software with easy posting of pictures, full support of mobile devices anmost of all reliable, bug free and being maintained regularly. Looks like its a lot to ask…

Well, let’s hope for the best - have a nice day everybody!

Paweł

3

Sale of FSM? First I’ve heard of it, but then, I haven’t been able to get onto the forum in a week.

I’ve been a member since 2017. It’s Sad.

4

Yeah, I heard about it in a thread back on Tuesday on Hyperscale.

5

Saw the annoucement on Facebook.

6

Welcome back FSM [snWcm]

Hope your with us for awhile [whstl]

7

If any takeover is due, I hope they sort out continuos 504 timeouts, so increase the signal strength, does that do it?

8

Yeah, that 504 was killing me and was lucky enough to post this, but couldnt spend much time on here befor the 504.

Sounds like they are going to try and keep the FSM staff but who took care of the site? I cant link in the article.

https://finescale.com/online-extras/2024/05/finescale-modeler-magazine-sold-to-firecrown-media?utm_medium=email&utm_source=omeda&utm_campaign=News0_FSM_240508_FSWE00&oly_enc_id=3570G2194645A0X

9

Hi!

So, lot of questions. The most important thing from our standpoint is that FSM remains an ongoing brand. And we all have our jobs. We don’t have to move and should have a new HQ in Wisconsin soon.

Firecrown has acquired all of Kalmbach Media’s tracks titles (Trains, Trains.com, Model Railroader, Classic Trains, Classic Toy Trains) and Astronomy in addition to FSM. That’s a lot for any company to swallow, so there’s going to be a learning curve as we integrate into their systems and they come to know our workflows. Most of this should be behind the scenes and won’t affect subscribers.

We had plans in the works for the FSM Forum and FineScale.com. These aren’t on hold so much as we’re trying to figure out the order of operations. Some things for FineScale.com you’ll probably see roll through in short order–and when they happen, you’ll be happy, believe me! The Forum operates off of a shared platform, so the update there will require getting all of the other brands in line and then switching over. I can’t give you a timeline on that. However, believe me when I tell you that everyone in the Firecrown online team knows the challenges we’re facing. When I have news, I’ll pop in to report.

We’re feeling very good about this and we are moving ahead full throttle on the edtiorial side.

I can’t follow all threads all the time nor see all social media posts. I’ll keep an eye on this thread though. If you have questions, drop them in here and I’ll answer them when I have time.

Thanks,

TK

10

Thanks for the update Tim. Appreciate it. Glad your jobs are safe.

Stay safe.

Jim [cptn]

11

All the best, Tim! Looking forward to the new and improved!

12

John and Jim: Thank you! Always grateful to you guys and your support.

I’m trying to clear my decks to get back in and start a Group Build. Maybe this fall. I have a couple of ideas, but I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up if I can’t carve out some time to admin it. The last time we had one going, I had to bail cuz the company tagged me to start a new brand for it!

TK

13

Thanks Tim.

I heard the news but unsure what it really could mean. Keep us posted.

Some of the best modeling advice and Historical accuracy for our Hibby comes from this site. Keep it going.

Nino

14

I guess anything would be an improvement unless they shut the web site down. Accross the board I’ve seen some web sites just die for some unknown reason. I can’t blaim it on FB or Instagram since I see other site booming.

15

Hi Tim:

I hope this finds all our team well.I had to use a backdoor to get back ,but it is what it is! I hope it goes well with Firecrown and the Staff. I will be looking for things to settle down and such, so we can get back to business. As they say at the start of the foxhunt - TallyHo!

16

For us, it’s business as usual. Just had a brand meeting today with our new editorial director and I’m working on the beginnings of a migration/continuation plan for the FSM Forum. I’m neck deep in gallery captions, and Aaron and I are on the road to two different shows this weekend. September/October feature roughs in a couple of weeks, and we’re on the road again to WonderFest. We’re gearing up for BAMM and setting up the editorial calendar for next year. Production is ordering paper and working out scheduling. And the list goes on …

17

Oh Yeah!

Well, that said, I hope all are in good Health and Spirits and no surprises await. T.B.