Originally Posted by: H0 
They have interesting articles (with good prototype information or good tips about building a layout), they have boring articles (prototype articles that only mention locos that are available as Märklin models, product presentations with photoshopped images). For me the S/N ratio is pretty low while others still find it interesting.
I receive the English MM as a member of the Trix Club. The MM replaced the Trix Magazine when that stopped.
On a trip to Germany I bought the #3-14 German MM for comparison. The German edition is 130 pages and the English is 59. Although that seems like a big difference, most of the articles are still published in the English edition. If I take a look at the #3 MM currently on my desk, the German MM contains some articles that is now in the #4 English MM (MS2 programming and the Nohab article). The building of the little starters layout is one article behind in the English MM, and some of the articles in that series are split over two magazines, where the German version is one longer part in the same magazine.
The German MM also contains service information not relevant to other than Germans, which is fine by me to leave out of the English version.
One article series that I truly miss in the English version is the "Märklin Freunde Berichten" (Friends of Märklin show and tell). This series takes you to see the layout of a fellow "Märklinist". This is very valuable information, and I cannot believe they left it out. Yes, I know, it is probably because of translation costs, but still, this is what the MM should be about: What can you build with the products.
I love the prototype articles, but I do not think the know-how articles evolve, they kind of tend to use the same ideas over and over again. I think the MM could be better if they tried to embrace the other Märklin-brands a bit more. I mean, would it hurt to build a 2-rail layout from time to time. Märklin has 2-rail C-track so it is not like they "break any marketing rules". The Trix articles in the MM is mostly just reduced to news stuff. I miss the Trix Magazine on this matter.
I like the positive tone the articles in MM have. People can think of me whatever they want, but I guess reading a model railway magazine, to me, should be like reading a fairytale or watching a "feel good movie". I do not need someone to completely bash a model in a review. I like the happy tone because it allows me to escape the everyday life and relax. I write the articles on my website in that same tone. I do not know how to describe it any better in English. If I want to read whining about a model, I read a model railway forum...
Originally Posted by: H0 Don't expect neutral reviews, don't expect critical words - Märklin Magazine is Märklin advertising.
Would people expect that? I would never expect that. It is the same thing with the Modelleisenbahn Report and what have we. They would never write anything bad about a RoFl model - or write about a model from other manufacturers than RoFl.
I guess I kind of look at the MM as an extension of the information in the catalogues. 
Although I also speak German, English comes easier to me and I do not need to concentrate while reading it. Would I subscribe to MM if Eisenbahn Kurier (my favorite German magazine) was available in English? Probably not.
My reasons for joining the Trix Club is mostly because of the other stuff I receive. The Club wagon, the Trix Club News and the free catalogues. I joined the Trix Club before MM, and I liked the Trix Magazine a lot.
