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BRM May '18 + NEW-LOOK Digital Edition


SteveCole
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Drummed into me repeatedly when I was taught proper engineering drawing were a few basic rules, including:

 

All scale drawings should always have the scale indicated (obvious really). This can be either stated on the drawing '1:100' (only good if the drawing is always reproduced the same size but commonly safeguarded by a statement such as '1:100 at A4') or graphically by using scale bar (enables you to see if the drawing has been altered). Just putting dimensions on was frowned upon in a drawing office. Sketches could be marked 'Not To Scale' or 'NTS' (commonly referred to as Not Too Sure!)

 

In addition all maps should always have a North Point and, if using Ordnance Survey base layers, a copy of the OS reproduction licence.

 

Lots of other rules that could get your work tossed in the bin if you were unlucky.

 

Although, on that basis, all the Skinley drawings we are looking at should go in the bin. It might save the HMRS space, but I'm not sure that's exactly what they are wishing to do...

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I will have to look at this issue on my PC. I have the app on my notepad which is fine for reading most articles but when I want to look at something in detail or play the video I switch to the 24 inch screen with the PC.  If the drawings can be downloaded in a PDF format it would be wonderful. And a scale bar on the drawing would be terrific to counter printer distortion. I cannot store the PC version as it appears non-downloadable. 

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I was discussing a few options for digi readers who want to print plans out with Andy Y earlier. There are issues with PDF as once downloaded, we can be sure they will be posted on the web and all those "I bought the magazine because of the plans" posts will stop. There needs to be a away around it though. We'll keep thinking.

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I was discussing a few options for digi readers who want to print plans out with Andy Y earlier. There are issues with PDF as once downloaded, we can be sure they will be posted on the web and all those "I bought the magazine because of the plans" posts will stop. There needs to be a away around it though. We'll keep thinking.

 

I wouldn't try too hard. There's probably no solution that will work for everyone (due to differing levels of technical competence). Just having the ruler, or better still the two at right-angles 2ManySpams suggested would be great. 

 

For me, I don't need anything more. I've just prepared my own plan of the two huts. I took a screen grab (on desktop pc, but any device would do as well); then imported to my favourite drawing app (PaintShopPro for me, but most will do the same). 

 

I already have a pre-prepared A4-size image/template with rulers along two sides, plus a small 10mm square for accurate dimension checking. I know that when printed at 100% on my printer it will produce a perfectly sized image. 

 

I copy the cropped screen grab as a layer on this template, then adjust it's size against the rulers, both horizontally and vertically (having first converted 7mm dimensions to 4mm, and from imperial to metric).  Centre the resulting image, then print and finally check the 10mm block to be certain.

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Stuck in an airport terminal, waiting for a delayed flight, I'm going ask - How come no-one has mentioned the building plans in this issue?

 

We always get told people want them. Our designer went to great pains to ensure they are printed to the correct size for 4mm scale modellers, and retain the original measurements on the plan for those who like imperial 7mm. But not a mention. Nada. Zip. Zero.

 

Can we conclude that no-one is any more interested in plans than pretty photos? I'd like to think not and the silence is just people beavering away building models... ;-)

 

There could be a number of factors behind this:

  • Are the plans of what most readers want? They might be - they might not be - I don't know.
  • If, as I believe likely, people are interested in the plans, how much chance are they getting to comment on them? Although I can't comment about a lot of households, I'm aware of some where the slightest whiff of decent weather seems to be a cue for instant demands and incessant nagging "reasonable requests" to deal with a never-ending list of tasks that didn't matter before, but appear to have suddenly become of earth-shattering importance. The appearance of snooker or rugby on the telly has reputedly been known to have a similar effect on some domestic authorities.
  • In some isolated cases, there might actually be genuine commitments (especially of the family sort) or tasks that really need to be taken care of.

 

No Phil.....drawings are good......silent majority and all that!

 

Which means that the people who have greatest say on the content, apart from the editorial team, are those who shout loudly. When the magazine is full of N gauge modern image, then you only have yourselves to blame!

 

Seriously, it is VERY frustraiting when comments hardly mention the content. Even more so when the only mentions are negative ones. We're not looking for continuous praise, but if you like something, tell us and you'll get more of the same sort of thing.

 

I don't know about anybody else, but I probably wouldn't have too much of a problem with modern image. As far as I'm concerned, you can never get enough "D&E" content.

 

Here, I'm mainly thinking in terms of some of the BR "Modernisation Plan" multiple units - detailed articles (with usable plans) of some of these would go down extremely well around here - classes 303, 304, 305 or 504, anybody?

 

Saying that, some of the early "D&E" could also be rather nice - not just 1 and 2 car versions of the GWR "razor edge" railcars (with decent plans, of course) - how about some of the NER / LNER pioneer vehicles? (Of course, some people might have long enough memories to know exactly why I'd love to see decent articles and drawings for 4 of these ... .)

 

 

The scale drawings was one of the main reasons I bought this month's issue--I'd like to see more of these in future issues for a range of railway structures, to help with scratch-building. Resizing drawings for use in other scales is easily done on a photocopier using size increase/decrease functions, but having a scale bar (in true scale) included on the drawings would help with this.

 

Scaled drawings for loco sheds would be great, for example for different companies/eras, done as a series?

 

Not just buildings, in my case. If the magazine does end up going in a genuinely "modern image" direction, you could do far worse than have articles (with plans) of light rail vehicles - think DLR P86 or P89, or the Firema / AnsaldoBreda T68 / T68A (as once found in Manchester) and move forwards.

 

 

But generally, the only comments are negative. Usually from people who like the idea of throwing a few brickbats and are under the impression that "customer service" means the team can't reply. When someone then dares to challenge them, they get really upset! The others are of the "Look at me! Look at me! I'm offended" variety.

 

When it's so easy to comment, you'd hope that there would be both good and bad comments. After all, how many wishlists are there for RTR locos? Where are they for magazine articles? Those requests are normally very specific such as "How to fit a DCC chip in my Hornby Nellie without having to take it apart, do any soldering or spend any money."

 

I'm not saying that everything would appear as an article, but the suggestions might inspire someone to get writing.

 

Don't worry, Phil. You won't get me asking for "how to chip a Hornby Nellie free of charge with no work, no dismantling / reassembly and definitely no soldering". As you might be aware, I've never gone digital - and I'm not into steam quite as much as some people. Anyway, I happen to really enjoy soldering.

 

As I've said, don't worry about me asking about articles like that - my tastes are far more reasonable.

 

That's right, I know that no layout can ever be complete without OHLE - and I'm looking for detailed guidance on exactly how to build and install this (with no cost and even less effort) on my layout - a layout I haven't even started building (and might never start building). You know it makes sense ... .

 

 

Seriously though, I'm fully aware of the practicalities - which is why I can joke about it. Of course, if some manufacturer were to come up with something generic that looks the part - something cheap and easy to build / install, I suspect I wouldn't be the only person who'd like this.

 

However, I suspect that some past project layouts could actually offer excellent testbeds for conversion to DMUs at the front / articulated LRVs (with simple OHLE) behind. I'm not expecting to see any of this in magazines any time soon, but they could be made to work.

 

 

So much for wishlists.

 

 

Huw.

Edited by Huw Griffiths
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Although, on that basis, all the Skinley drawings we are looking at should go in the bin. It might save the HMRS space, but I'm not sure that's exactly what they are wishing to do...

 

That might be exactly what some of them deserve as the accuracy of some was distinctly questionable.

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That might be exactly what some of them deserve as the accuracy of some was distinctly questionable.

 

But who will do better? The whole plans debate revolves around people not being willing to spend weeks/months researching a prototype then draw it up and write up the history, all for a hundred quid - an hourly rate measured in pennies. That's not forgetting then watching thier work torn apart on-line by people with only a passing interest in research but a lot of interest in showing off.

 

Practically, the days of serious loco and rolling stock plans are gone. I once asked someone raving about plans what he'd do if we published a Duchess drawing, would he get the tin snips out and build a model? "Oh yes!" he replied. Liar, I thought while smiling sweetly. There are scratchbuilders out there, but very, very few of them and generally, they prefer obscure prototypes unserved by the RTR makers.

 

What I do see a lot of value in are building plans. Despite the number of ready make models out there, it's an area where people can be persauded to have a go themselves. Accuracy isn't quite so critical here for the majority. As long as the proportions look right and the doors are correct, it will look like a building. There are loads of these with the HMRS and I'd love to uncover more. One sheet contained street furniture - much of it common in the 1950s but gone today. I'd think that would be useful even just as a guide for modellers.

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I wouldn't try too hard. There's probably no solution that will work for everyone (due to differing levels of technical competence). Just having the ruler, or better still the two at right-angles 2ManySpams suggested would be great. 

 

For me, I don't need anything more. I've just prepared my own plan of the two huts. I took a screen grab (on desktop pc, but any device would do as well); then imported to my favourite drawing app (PaintShopPro for me, but most will do the same). 

 

I already have a pre-prepared A4-size image/template with rulers along two sides, plus a small 10mm square for accurate dimension checking. I know that when printed at 100% on my printer it will produce a perfectly sized image. 

 

I copy the cropped screen grab as a layer on this template, then adjust it's size against the rulers, both horizontally and vertically (having first converted 7mm dimensions to 4mm, and from imperial to metric).  Centre the resulting image, then print and finally check the 10mm block to be certain.

 

Once you've built the models, please send photos. I'd love to see them and more importantly, it will make getting hold of plans and finding page space for them a lot easier. We might even inspire more people to (gasp) do some modelling!

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I’m after a plan showing the side of a East German engine shed or industrial building, the type which has wooden beams with brick infill. Doesn’t even need to be a complete building as once I have a plan of part of a building, I can work out the rest myself. Oh, and its G scale too. I’ve been through my books and can’t even find a decent photograph to help me. Guess its too far from mainstream though!

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I was discussing a few options for digi readers who want to print plans out with Andy Y earlier. There are issues with PDF as once downloaded, we can be sure they will be posted on the web and all those "I bought the magazine because of the plans" posts will stop. There needs to be a away around it though. We'll keep thinking.

could it not be like scale scenes where they have a couple of free kits every so often  and the rest of the time you pay to download the kits . this way it funds the HRMS  still supports and inspires the  hobby. . articles and plans from others  will be able to be preserved and inspire future  generations.  i have been going through old RM'S and other mags that i have accumulated.   . I have been coming across a lot of old drawings of station buildings and so forth . I  have come to the conclusion that i am not likely to be scratch build them but on the other hand it  would be  great as reference points be sides photos  on the  drawn colours of the stations or line side buildings while reviewing the latest resin building from Hornby or hattons for example . the old days of keeping every published copy  of articles  for 50 years is shring as more and more  mags are being sold to  companys thag have ten or more mags

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I was discussing a few options for digi readers who want to print plans out with Andy Y earlier. There are issues with PDF as once downloaded, we can be sure they will be posted on the web and all those "I bought the magazine because of the plans" posts will stop. There needs to be a away around it though. We'll keep thinking.

While I totally agree.. Scalescenes deliver all their kits via PDF without issues, I think they put your name as a mark on the print?

 

That said, doing a screen grab, sizing correctly and printing isn't difficult to do.

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could it not be like scale scenes where they have a couple of free kits every so often  and the rest of the time you pay to download the kits . this way it funds the HRMS  still supports and inspires the  hobby. . articles and plans from others  will be able to be preserved and inspire future  generations.  i have been going through old RM'S and other mags that i have accumulated.   . I have been coming across a lot of old drawings of station buildings and so forth . I  have come to the conclusion that i am not likely to be scratch build them but on the other hand it  would be  great as reference points be sides photos  on the  drawn colours of the stations or line side buildings while reviewing the latest resin building from Hornby or hattons for example . the old days of keeping every published copy  of articles  for 50 years is shring as more and more  mags are being sold to  companys thag have ten or more mags

 

 

While I totally agree.. Scalescenes deliver all their kits via PDF without issues, I think they put your name as a mark on the print?

 

That said, doing a screen grab, sizing correctly and printing isn't difficult to do.

 

I've always assumed that Scalescenes etc. just accept there will be a small amount of piracy with their kits. If you are happy to accpet a nicked kit, any watermark won't worry you after all. It's the price they pay for the cheapest method of distribution.

 

We aren't selling kits though - we are publishing plans. I agree that if we invested in another completely new system for delivering them we probably could make it work but for an occasional plan, it's not going to be worth it. However, if there is a demand for more plans, things could always change - so let us know you like them and are building models!

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I might be missing something here, but there is already a simple way for digital readers to print a copy of this plan or any other BRM article.

 

Simply visit pocketmags.com and log in with your email address and password.

 

Near the top right hand corner of the screen you should see "My Library". Clicking this will display all the digital magazine's you have purchased.

 

Select the correct issue, then scroll to the desired page. Making sure to use the print icon that appears as part of the webpage rather than the one on your internet browser, press print.

 

In my case, the plan printed out at exactly the same size as the one in the printed magazine. If it didn't, the print can be percentage scaled as appropriate.

 

I agree that a scale bar in future would be a most appreciated addition as a safety check.

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I might be missing something here, but there is already a simple way for digital readers to print a copy of this plan or any other BRM article.

 

Simply visit pocketmags.com and log in with your email address and password.

 

Near the top right hand corner of the screen you should see "My Library". Clicking this will display all the digital magazine's you have purchased.

 

Select the correct issue, then scroll to the desired page. Making sure to use the print icon that appears as part of the webpage rather than the one on your internet browser, press print.

 

In my case, the plan printed out at exactly the same size as the one in the printed magazine. If it didn't, the print can be percentage scaled as appropriate.

 

I agree that a scale bar in future would be a most appreciated addition as a safety check.

Phil,

 

Using the Pocketmags HTML reader and their print key I was able to get a print copy of the storage shed. All I had to do was redirect to PDF rather than printer and then save the PDF.

 

 

 

Ooops. If I have done something illegal, you will have to sue me in the great state of California.

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Phil,

 

Using the Pocketmags HTML reader and their print key I was able to get a print copy of the storage shed. All I had to do was redirect to PDF rather than printer and then save the PDF. 

 

 

Ooops. If I have done something illegal, you will have to sue me in the great state of California.

Interesting. I think if I'd have prepared that I'd either have dimensions it:

 

A. In full size in feet and inches as that would make it easy to convert to 2mm/4mm/7mm to the foot scales, or

B. In 4mm model scale in millimetres as this is likely to be the most useful for the majority of the readership.

 

Fractions of inches in 7mm scale but reproduced in 4mm on the page is probably likely to confuse folk.

Edited by Phil Parker
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math is not my strong point even though i live in a mechanical family .   google to the rescue 

 

Interesting. I think if I'd have prepared that I'd either have dimensions it:

A. In full size in feet and inches as that would make it easy to convert to 2mm/4mm/7mm to the foot scales, or
B. In 4mm model scale in millimetres as this is likely to be the most useful for the majority of the readership.

Fractions of inches in 7mm scale but reproduced in 4mm on the page is probably likely to confuse folk.

 

math is not my strong point even though i live in a mechanical family .   google to the rescue 

 

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/length/inch-to-mm.html

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/length/mm-to-cm.html

 

you can even do fractions  in the links provided and it will  round  out  the conversion to the nearest decimal 

 

example  7 3/16 inches is 182.5625 mm

Edited by dana
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Phil,

 

Using the Pocketmags HTML reader and their print key I was able to get a print copy of the storage shed. All I had to do was redirect to PDF rather than printer and then save the PDF.

 

 

 

Ooops. If I have done something illegal, you will have to sue me in the great state of California.

 

I think this solves the problem. When someone asks why plans don't get published, I can explain that if we do, someone will just post them on the web to rob us of sales - and gloat about it on the forum that those sales help support.

 

More to the point, it's going to be harder to persuade organisations wtih plans to let us use them in the future. Well done.

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Interesting. I think if I'd have prepared that I'd either have dimensions it:

 

A. In full size in feet and inches as that would make it easy to convert to 2mm/4mm/7mm to the foot scales, or

B. In 4mm model scale in millimetres as this is likely to be the most useful for the majority of the readership.

 

Fractions of inches in 7mm scale but reproduced in 4mm on the page is probably likely to confuse folk.

 

The problem is, the plan was prepared half a century ago, so fractions of inches were the norm. As others have said, Google is very handy to convert the numbers, but at least the effort was made to reproduce it to the right size for those who can use a ruler, surely the majority of those likely to build the model. 

 

Should we have edited it heavily? Possibly, but then that would have robbed the plan of a lot of its charm. A big part of the appeal of these plans is that they are hand-drawn and replacing the numbers with computer generated ones might have looked odd.

 

I suspect many won't build the model to the plan, but build models inspired by it. That's why I find building plans so useful, you can pick and choose which bits you use far more than is possible with rolling stock.

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Using … I was able to get a print copy of the storage shed. All I had to do was …

 

Ooops. If I have done something illegal, you will have to sue me in the great state of California.

I think this solves the problem. When someone asks why plans don't get published, I can explain that if we do, someone will just post them on the web to rob us of sales - and gloat about it on the forum that those sales help support.

 

More to the point, it's going to be harder to persuade organisations wtih plans to let us use them in the future. Well done.

 

Grrrrrrr!!! ##@@**!!

 

Interesting. I think if I'd have prepared that I'd either have dimensions it:

 

 

Fractions of inches in 7mm scale but reproduced in 4mm on the page is probably likely to confuse folk.

The problem is, the plan was prepared half a century ago, so fractions of inches were the norm. As others have said, Google is very handy to convert the numbers, but at least the effort was made to reproduce it to the right size for those who can use a ruler, surely the majority of those likely to build the model.

 

Should we have edited it heavily? Possibly, but then that would have robbed the plan of a lot of its charm. A big part of the appeal of these plans is that they are hand-drawn and replacing the numbers with computer generated ones might have looked odd.

 

I suspect many won't build the model to the plan, but build models inspired by it. That's why I find building plans so useful, you can pick and choose which bits you use far more than is possible with rolling stock.

 

You make an interesting point - however, even these days, I reckon that some people on this site would still be interested in building what might be called "rule 1" motive power and stock.

 

Sometimes, people might be forced down this route, especially if decent drawings for their chosen prototype cannot be easily obtained. For some reason, a number of people here don't want any potential supply of usable drawings to get cut off.

 

Other people might just see modelmaking as a hobby - a source of enjoyment. These people might wish to build models that look basically credible - but are prepared to make some compromises - especially if these models are really being built as experiments.

 

A number of people already have "bodging" workshop threads on sites like this one - while more of us are seriously considering starting our own.

 

I could imagine a number of people thinking: "So what?" This would be a reasonable question - except that, for me, railway modelling is supposed to be fun.

 

Who cares if I choose to build freelance models, loosely based on non-standard prototypes? Who cares if my only realistic prospect of completing (or even starting) these builds involve me adapting kits or RTR models of completely different prototypes (or none at all) and invoking "rule 1"?

 

Who cares about any of this stuff? I certainly don't - and nobody else would be likely to be affected if any of these builds get completed.

 

Will they actually get built? I don't know.

 

Some say that, if these models do get built, they might even be "inspired by" real prototypes (and any plans I can get hold of, without going to ridiculous lengths). All I know is that it should be a lot of fun.

 

And on that bombshell … .

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw

Edited by Huw Griffiths
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  • 6 months later...

I hope you don't mind me waking up this old thread. 

 

The idea of digital mag subscriptions is attractive, but can BRM or others answer these questions:

 

1. I have plenty of model railway mags 10 to 20 years old, and I still dip into them for reference from time to time.

 

In 10 years time, when "Pocketmags" may or may not still exist, and there may or may not still be an "app" (AKA program) for whatever version of Windows, Android or other system is then current, how likely is it that I will still be able to access those digital magazines that I have paid for many years ago?

 

2. Kind of in answer to (1) above, has anyone yet worked out a way to save the whole magazine(or article) to PDF, because if so, I guess that ensures the future of being able to read them when Pocketmags has been acquired by Microsoft/Facebook etc and made unusable.

 

3. Similarly, has anyone worked out a way to print a whole article so that it can be read in comfort?  (if so, this also answers (2), because printout can always be directed to PDF)

 

4. What sort of guarantee is there that the pocketmags apps will continue to work on older operating system versions, or can Pocketmags force their subscribers to upgrade their computers to be able to continue to access their saved content?

 

5. If, as i have read here, video content is only ever available by online streaming, what guarantee is there of continued availability of such content as the years pass?

 

Thanks,

 

Pete

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Hi Pete, this probably would have been better in its own thread. That said, here are my twopennyworth:

  1. Who can say how likely without a crystal ball? I suppose a better question would be "Are there contingency plans if Pocketmags ceases to exist at some point in the future?". The magazine files are PDFs with DRM (Digital Rights Management) which is there to stop people from copying copyrighted files. This sort of thing is also seen on DVDs, and used to be on music bought online and it's there to stop people distributing content all over the place. Here's a Pocketmags article that might help: https://pocketmags.com/ca/magazine-articles/article/1587/how-do-digital-magazines-work
  2. If anyone did work it out and tried to put the information on here I believe it would be moved very quickly indeed because of point 1 above.
  3. If you go onto the Pocketmags website, you can access your magazine and use the printer button located on the right to print two pages at a time. My guess is that this is the equivalent of using a scanner.
  4. If you have a Pocketmags account you are able to access your magazine using a browser such as Chrome, Firefox or (I'm guessing here) Microsoft's Edge. This means that, as long as the site supports the browser then you'll be able to read your magazine online. It's not going to be Pocketmags that will be forcing you to upgrade, it'll be the author of your operating system. This is because support for an operating system lasts for a finite period of time. If I had a computer with access to the Internet that had an operating system that is no longer supported, for example Windows XP, and was using a browser version that is no longer supported, then I'd worry about potential security problems and the inevitability of people hacking my system.
  5. I'm not giving anything away when I say that the content is held on Youtube. You can access the video either through the app or copying and pasting the link into your browser. You could always create a bookmark/favourite in your preferred browser for each video. Alternatively you could paste the links into a text file in notepad or using a Word-processor. Personally, I've not had sound on my videos using the Pocketmags app my tablet for a couple of years, so I always copy and then paste the link into a browser (Safari) to look at the video in Youtube. I imagine that the content will be available while Youtube is still available, and on the assumption that it is not actively removed.

Hope that helps.

 

Jason

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In addition to the excellent points made by JCL - the original files used to create each issue of BRM still exist so in an emergency, the issues could be re-exported to whatever was being used for digital magazines.

 

However, if Pocketmags changes, it's a big enough business that we aren't the only ones to be affected. With enough demand, nothing is impossible. This isn't a one-off like the infamous BBC Doomsday book, we are making use of a popular commercial service.

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