Wright writes.....

[micknich2003]

The Yanks can't help it I'm afraid. They stopped taking any notice of the proper British Way of doing things in 1776.

 

If anything isn't it school that is wrongly pronounced as skool, not schedule? Compare with the equivalent word in any of the other languages with a Germanic root. I assume that English has been corrupted in this respect by the funny French that the Normans brought with them, including (presumably) 'ecole'. No point going all the way back to comparisons with Latin though, as who can possibly claim to know how that was originally pronounced!

Not so, the Yanks still spell and speak the English they took with them 400 years ago. They are slowly "Catching On", and they now spell "Gauge" with a "U" the same has us.

[Woodcock29]

Tony

 

My comments on the Hornby D16/3 were posted in Phil Parker's MREmag yesterday - www.mremag.com (scroll to bottom of Monday 28 Sept).  I'm a complete 'luddite' (to use one of your words) when it comes to posting things on RMweb and have been unable to copy my comments across.  Perhaps someone reading this knows how to do it?

 

Andrew Emmett

South Australia

[richard i]

Not so, the Yanks still spell and speak the English they took with them 400 years ago. They are slowly "Catching On", and they now spell "Gauge" with a "U" the same has us.

but not colour, honour etc. I am trying to convert them one U at a time.

There is also an urge over here in the states to use a Z when an S would do just fine.

Richard

[Theakerr]

Re the Microscale Micro Krystal Klear as it is known in Canada, some regular PVA type glues (Weldbond is the one i have used) will work in exactly the same way.  Note that the Krystal Klear generally does not give a perfectly clear glass type finish but more a sort of effect you get with the very thick glass found in older windows.  It is fine for cab spectacle windows and cab windows that are going to be weathered.  

Edited September 29, 2015 by Theakerr

[Theakerr]

Just watched "Return to Little Bytham".  Excellent.  I really enjoyed it.  Tony, you are looking good, "ruddy" would describe it best if I remember my English correctly.  When you make the next DVD, and i am sure there will be another, could you include some shots of the fiddle yard in operation.  To me the fiddle yard is the unsung hero of our hobby because without it we could not effectively watch trains go by.  

[nerron]

Tony

 

My comments on the Hornby D16/3 were posted in Phil Parker's MREmag yesterday - www.mremag.com (scroll to bottom of Monday 28 Sept).  I'm a complete 'luddite' (to use one of your words) when it comes to posting things on RMweb and have been unable to copy my comments across.  Perhaps someone reading this knows how to do it?

 

Andrew Emmett

South Australia

Here is Andrew's review

 

The new Hornby D16/3s arrived in model shops in Australia a week or two ago. I purchased both the LNER version and the lined BR version.

These models are based on the final LNER transformation of the Great Eastern 4-4-0, with a boiler with a round-topped firebox.

As we had been advised by Hornby the model has a metal body which includes boiler, splashers, and cab front and side sheets. The footplate and cab roof are plastic. There are some very fine casting lines in places on the boiler but they are not very noticeable. Also there is a separate section to the underside of the boiler which is part of the chassis similar to the J15 and the joint is visible to some extent. However, the overall appearance is very good. The LNER version is a piston valve loco and therefore has a higher frame in front of the smokebox whereas the BR version is a slide valve engine with the lower front frame. The reversing lever is correctly shorter on the LNER piston valve engine.

 

Dimensionally it lines up well with the Isinglass Drawing. The driving wheels are spot on at 28mm = 7ft, bogie wheels are 14.4mm (against scale 15mm = 3'9") tender wheels are 16.3mm a correct scale 4'1". The driving wheelbase is 39mm = the correct 9ft. The driving wheels have plastic centres and seem to run ok - but the spokes are tapered such that they are quite thick at the back and not as fine as metal centred wheels - the thickness is noticeable to some extent in my opinion.

 

The LNER version has a smooth smokebox whereas the BR version correctly has a riveted smokebox. The backhead and cab interior are very well detailed.

 

The livery is generally very good. The red lining on the LNER version is commendably fine but is missing on the part of the valence on the left hand side where the vacuum pipe runs under the footplate - I guess it was too difficult to print on this section. The lining is also missing on the front frame extensions. Similarly on the BR version lining is missing on the valence below the vacuum pipe and also the grey line is missing on the right hand side valence but not on the steps.

On the LNER version the number on the cabsides is a bit too high as it does not line up perfectly with the tender lettering - we have seen this issue on A3 Book Law, various recent A4s and B17 Sandringham - although it is not as pronounced in this case. In this case the tender appears to be correct and the inaccuracy is on the cabsides. I might renumber mine anyway. The LNER lettering is correctly done in yellow rather than the gold that was applied to the LNER B1 and O1 but is a lighter yellow than the lettering/numbers on the LNER J15s. At first glance you might think it is gold but on comparison with Book Law it is definitely not gold.

 

Be careful of the whistle - it is very fragile - like those on the Hornby SR locos (M7, T9, King Arthur).

 

The front guard irons, which are separate plastic fittings apart from being rather thick (they probably need to be unless they were made from brass) are rather widely set - certainly wider at the bottom that they would be for P4 even!

 

Performance wise they have a fairly high top speed but also seem to run quite ok at low speed. On my layout the LNER model managed to haul 8 Hornby Gresley non-corridor coaches up a 1 in 50 gradient of about 16 feet with only minor slipping.

Perhaps surprisingly, the D16/3 does not have a flywheel but they do have a chunky brass worm.

Overall a very nice model.

[gr.king]

Not so, the Yanks still spell and speak the English they took with them 400 years ago.

 

Perhaps true to a degree in those parts of the US (if any) with a still overwhelmingly British ancestry to the population. Not so where the language has absorbed Central / Eastern European and /or Hispanic traits too. I doubt if even the purest examples are true English from 400 years ago. How many could actually read and write at that time in order to create any permanent record of the form of language in typical use? Surely the Yankee drawl in its fullest form eclipses anything that derives from a blend of historic regional British dialects?

[Earlswood Nob]

Good morning all

 

The U.S. became independent 100 years before there was (nearly) universal literacy in Britain. Spelling varied depending who was writing it. The Americans developed their own spelling, as did the British, for here was no universal spelling.

My family history research has only shown ONE ancestor who could read and write at the time of American Independence. He was a Ships Chandler, so probably needed to.

 

Earlswood nob

[Tony Wright]

Just watched "Return to Little Bytham".  Excellent.  I really enjoyed it.  Tony, you are looking good, "ruddy" would describe it best if I remember my English correctly.  When you make the next DVD, and i am sure there will be another, could you include some shots of the fiddle yard in operation.  To me the fiddle yard is the unsung hero of our hobby because without it we could not effectively watch trains go by.  

Many thanks.

 

'looking good'? I'm not too sure about that, but it's nice to be writing, making and presenting things again, albeit in a much truncated form.

 

Thanks for 'ruddy', too. A splendidly old-fashioned piece of English. Speaking of our native tongue (it's being discussed on here) and how it's constantly changing, both written and spoken, I recall being once taken to task for writing an 'inadequate' review about a certain RTR diesel class. The e-mail I got was one of the most vituperative pieces of correspondence it's ever been my misfortune to receive. My use of English wasn't criticised; no, my lack of knowledge. According to my critic, I was 'taking money under false pretences!' I accepted my ignorance of the subject and asked the writer if he/she (I had no idea who it was because of the 'user name') would care to compose a 'proper' report. But, there was one stipulation; it had to be written in English we could all understand. The original e-mail was written in the most appalling style - rotten spelling, bad grammar, lack of punctuation, you name it. Talk about stirring up a nest of hornets! How dare I criticise (by direct implication) his/her use of English (I got the stench of hypocrisy at this point); who was I to dictate what was right or wrong? I understand there are certain conditions which might limit some correspondents in their writings, but I thought it was a bit thick. 

 

Fiddle Yard? Yes, we thought of filming that but ran out of time. Next time, perhaps? 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Tony Wright

[coachmann]

I was about 15 years old when one Sundays News of the World published an article on the true wild west. The things written hadn't occurred to me having been brought up on Hollywood cowboy movies. Apart from the very long overcoats and preponderance of drooping moustaches, the article said one was likely to be told to 'stick em up' by someone speaking in their native immigrant tongue or even "Sithee, put thee hands up surry..." in true Yorkshire dialect !

 

I still love those old Randolph Scott and John Wayne movies and try to watch one as often as possible in te evening after her indoors had finished with her Soaps. In some of those old movies I wonder if they told the "Indians" to speak gobbledygook so long as it sounded Indian, whereas in others they were speaking Spanish (and that was long before the advent of spaghetti Westerns). No wonder I model the great Western....

Edited September 29, 2015 by coachmann

[unclebobkt]

Good morning all

 

The U.S. became independent 100 years before there was (nearly) universal literacy in Britain. Spelling varied depending who was writing it. The Americans developed their own spelling, as did the British, for here was no universal spelling.

My family history research has only shown ONE ancestor who could read and write at the time of American Independence. He was a Ships Chandler, so probably needed to.    Earlswood nob

 

      In GB. Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, 1st. edn.,  was published in 1755.;  it was the first English dictionary to try to systemise English spelling & pronounciation with examples of how the various words therin were actually used by earlier authors.

  English spelling for words like 'Colour.', 'Honour.' and suchlike were the result of the usual English compromises - in these cases between French and Latin.  Even though England and France were at war so often it's interestinging how often French words sneaked across the English Channel and became absorbed into the ordinary language

  Whereas in the USofA. Noah Webster's Dictionary wasn't pub'd. until 1828..  He prefered to return to as close to the original & root-word as possible. thus 'Color.' & 'Honor.'.

  Apologies for veering off topic.

 

      

[Fenman]

In GB. Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, 1st. edn., was published in 1755.; it was the first English dictionary to try to systemise English spelling & pronounciation with examples of how the various words therin were actually used by earlier authors.

English spelling for words like 'Colour.', 'Honour.' and suchlike were the result of the usual English compromises - in these cases between French and Latin. Even though England and France were at war so often it's interestinging how often French words sneaked across the English Channel and became absorbed into the ordinary language

Whereas in the USofA. Noah Webster's Dictionary wasn't pub'd. until 1828.. He prefered to return to as close to the original & root-word as possible. thus 'Color.' & 'Honor.'.

Apologies for veering off topic.

 

I have a vague memory that Webster wrote he was also deliberately trying to introduce distinctions between US and British English, to emphasise the separation of the two countries?

 

Paul

[Porcy Mane]

Nice to see the garde irons have been modelled to the correct gauge.

 At last. A 00 RTR loco that shows the advantage of P4 or EM track.

 

Well done Hornby.

 

P (Sprinting for cover whilst looking for tin hat AND gas mask).

[gr.king]

we thought of filming that but ran out of time. Next time, perhaps? 

 

Nice to know that a "next time" is a possibility, says he, returning to railway modelling matters.

 

"Next time", would you think it useful ploy to place some sort of temporary "lid" above the disappearing ECML tracks beyond the M & GN girder bridge, so that low angle views looking North under the bridge show trains vanishing into murky depths rather than visibly turning a corner?

[edcayton]

The pair of Herberts may have been employees on minimum wage or possibly offspring of the business. I have known a few well-established small businesses ruined by arrogant, spoilt offspring. The nice lady in Norwich may have been the proprietor, friend or family or possibly on commission. She could, of course, just have been a good employee. I also think the age counts in both cases, but I notice that you made no comments on her hairstyle, dress or piercings!

 

Ed

[PMP]

 Did you work in the same shop? 

 

I understand how a less-than-pristine (opened box) might seem a bit of a deterrent to purchasing, but, as the shop was also the manufacturer, only one box would be needed to be opened, surely? Then potential customers could look at that. Or not even a box. Why not display the complete contents in a cabinet or on a piece of card (as others did). 

 

In the particular case cited, my friend and I had a good idea what to expect, but we wished to make sure. So, at '70s' prices, a sale of over £250.00 was lost to the firm. 

Thanks Tony and Brian K for the kind comments.

I worked at MRM Kings Cross with Brian, and as he's subsequently added there were a number of manufacturers whose products were in tamper proof boxes, which did make them challenging to sell on occasion and once opened they obviously looked opened as Brian has expanded on. Hence my small degree of sympathy with the erstwhile shop employee. I didn't realise they had a shop at Banbury, but can recall the changeover as some boxes had Banbury on them the others, newer stock, had Consett, but yes very strange that as the manufacturer they didn't have a better customer service over the counter.

 

A quick look at an 1990 RM shows DJH A1/2's Brits etc as around the £80 mark from West Coast Kit Centre, so £70-£75 would be around the right price for earlier in the 80's. When we had a customer on the hook for such a purchase we gave them the respect and customer care you would expect when buying a premium product. There is a thread about the shop for anyone so interested here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65524-kings-cross-model-shop/

 

Returning to Brass briefly the Panniers were Samhongsa with Fulgarex motors and under the brand name RTR Brass. The figure of a run of 200 for the 97xx's is a number that has stuck in my mind for a long while, it may not be correct. The small praires I do know were a production batch of 350.

Interesting unlike Larry I can't recall any blank bufferbeams, those we had were all supplied with buffer mounting holes ready

Eames used to do turned nickel silver and brass LMS parallel shank loco buffers and GWR Taper shank buffers which were recommended/sold to the purchasers of these brass locos. They came from the extensive range of quality fittings available from Eames at the time.

 

 

Bert Collins was there while Brian and I worked there, he in fact was one of those who really helped me with 'looking' at things, him also being of an artistic nature and an excellent water color painter too. Pretty much all of the shop staff had a specialist interest of one sort or another and the  experience that we could draw on was invaluable. The shop also was a stockist of the major railway publishers too, so if a customer had a query, a quick look in the 'library' would most times answer the question, (if we couldn't), and a sale often followed, sometimes enhanced with a book sale for the reference material.

 

Tony, you're right regarding RTR/RTP, the hobby has changed significantly over the past 30 years, some good, some bad. I use far more RTR than I did in the 80's. A good amount of the components we lament not being in shops are still available, which is why I find Scaleforum/Railex/Larkrail and similar shows invaluable, they have become the 'shop' that MRM etc once were. Those that don't bother looking at those shows because they perceive are too 'finescale' orientated rather than mainstream are missing out on some of the best products available if you want to make or modify something. Without the guidance and help of those people that make the widgets and grommets etc, across the scales, and work out new ways to use them, the hobby would be years behind where it is now.

 

Finally if I may a cheeky little 9F more appropriate for LB than a pannier, Bachmann, weathered (acrylic/enamel/pastels), electrification flashes, Gibson pony wheels and Modelu crew. 

 

 

The little things can make the biggest difference.

rgds

Edited September 29, 2015 by PMP

[Brian Kirby]

 

 

Kings Cross Models - what a great place. With EAMES of Reading, surely one of the best partnerships in the retail business for the 'true' modeller. I first met you there (were you there when Bert was present?). I once purchased all the raw materials to make the A1/1 from scratch from Kings Cross - brass strip, nickel silver sheet, chimney, dome, buffers, whistle, safety valves, smokebox door, superheater header covers, bogie, pony, Cartazzi frames, tender axleboxes, vacuum standpipes, motor gears, wheels, what else? All available as standard parts, sold by guys who were themselves 'proper' modellers (my definition). 

Hi again Tony,

    Ah yes, the scratchbuilder's supplies, back then the questions were "what thickness brass would you like for your chassis frames, 16 gauge or 18 gauge?". This was the mid-1970s and etched chassis were still in their infancy (Kemilway BR Mogul c.1975). Back then people would be asking us for different diameter brass tube for boilers and smokeboxes, plus brass or nickel sheet for cab or tender sides and frames. Then you could buy various steam cylinder castings, different wheelbase four-wheel bogies, not to mention front and rear pony trucks. If you required valve gear, Eames/KX LMS or LNER universal packs were the standard options, they could be adjusted and adapted to suit most classes. As you will know, the main difference between them was the LMS pack being  double slidebar, the LNER pack was single, so of course they could also be used on countless other railway classes. You could buy smokebox doors to fit the tubing, a myriad of different chimneys and safety valves (always a source of debate as to correct shape), various backplates for inside the cabs, tender domes, axleguards, and so on. When it came to choice of wheels in the 1970s, Romford were the most popular, for ease and reliability, although sizes like 22mm, 23mm and 27mm hadn't yet appeared. K's had gone plastic with soft 'D' centres that deformed easily, Hamblings were still around but tricky to fit - requiring their own cast wheel press, and the equally difficult Stephern Poole types (steel with plastic centre) came in small white packs as pairs. One of more onerous tasks was counting out handrail knobs, split pins or nuts and bolts, they usually came in gross packs (that's 144 for the younger members), but there was always someone who wanted five dozen! The most contentious issue was always choice of motor and selection of gear ratio, many a heated debate (between customers) would ensue. One of the biggest laughs was to listen to some people who swore by the Airfix 5-pole motor, whereas others placed all their faith in the MW5 5-pole, little did they know they were the same motors! (but that's another story)

                     As an aside regarding Anglo/American grammar, as mentioned above we spell "colour" and "honour" quite rightly with a "u", Americans without the "u", but when in the U.K. we are conferred with an honour, we become the "honorary" without the "u" (Don't ask me why?). With "schedule" i am firmly in the "shed" camp, i suspect "sked" comes from Americans of Germanic descent. My number one Americanization pet hate, is the increasing use over here of "TRAIN STATION", even on BBC News now, descriptively correct, but makes me cringe every time.

                                                                           Cheers, Brian. 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Train Station an Americanization?  Not so good Sir!.  That's just a creeping lowering of standards in common usage British-English, much practised by the television ninnies so as not to frighten their stupid audiences.

 

In America it should be a Train Depot (deepo) 

[coachmann]

Train station and its my trainset dont come any more nerdy. Garrumph, got that of me chest then. Drilling out RTR-Brass loco buffer beams was my way of saying i had to open them out to take the supplied buffers.

Edited September 29, 2015 by coachmann

[glo41f]

Like the Claud. Never imagined in wildest dreams that one would ever be made commercially. I made one yonks ago by hacking about a B!2 body and putting it on an L1 chassis as described by David Percival in the late lamented Model Railway Constructor. Totally wrong of course.

 

The cab windows seem not to fit but perhaps the picture is too cruel and close. I agree that the front number looks wrong but that can be corrected relatively easily. The lining looks overdone and needs a bit of toning down. Other that that I reckon it is very good. I certainly would be proud to have one. Pity it is not  7mm!

 

Martin Long

[Tony Wright]

The pair of Herberts may have been employees on minimum wage or possibly offspring of the business. I have known a few well-established small businesses ruined by arrogant, spoilt offspring. The nice lady in Norwich may have been the proprietor, friend or family or possibly on commission. She could, of course, just have been a good employee. I also think the age counts in both cases, but I notice that you made no comments on her hairstyle, dress or piercings!

 

Ed

Ed,

 

She was the proprietor. 

 

As for the other comments, I did admit my prejudice. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

[Tony Wright]

Thanks Tony and Brian K for the kind comments.

I worked at MRM Kings Cross with Brian, and as he's subsequently added there were a number of manufacturers whose products were in tamper proof boxes, which did make them challenging to sell on occasion and once opened they obviously looked opened as Brian has expanded on. Hence my small degree of sympathy with the erstwhile shop employee. I didn't realise they had a shop at Banbury, but can recall the changeover as some boxes had Banbury on them the others, newer stock, had Consett, but yes very strange that as the manufacturer they didn't have a better customer service over the counter.

 

A quick look at an 1990 RM shows DJH A1/2's Brits etc as around the £80 mark from West Coast Kit Centre, so £70-£75 would be around the right price for earlier in the 80's. When we had a customer on the hook for such a purchase we gave them the respect and customer care you would expect when buying a premium product. There is a thread about the shop for anyone so interested here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65524-kings-cross-model-shop/

 

Returning to Brass briefly the Panniers were Samhongsa with Fulgarex motors and under the brand name RTR Brass. The figure of a run of 200 for the 97xx's is a number that has stuck in my mind for a long while, it may not be correct. The small praires I do know were a production batch of 350.

IMG_4448.JPG

Interesting unlike Larry I can't recall any blank bufferbeams, those we had were all supplied with buffer mounting holes ready

IMG_4446.JPG

Eames used to do turned nickel silver and brass LMS parallel shank loco buffers and GWR Taper shank buffers which were recommended/sold to the purchasers of these brass locos. They came from the extensive range of quality fittings available from Eames at the time.

 

 

Bert Collins was there while Brian and I worked there, he in fact was one of those who really helped me with 'looking' at things, him also being of an artistic nature and an excellent water color painter too. Pretty much all of the shop staff had a specialist interest of one sort or another and the  experience that we could draw on was invaluable. The shop also was a stockist of the major railway publishers too, so if a customer had a query, a quick look in the 'library' would most times answer the question, (if we couldn't), and a sale often followed, sometimes enhanced with a book sale for the reference material.

 

Tony, you're right regarding RTR/RTP, the hobby has changed significantly over the past 30 years, some good, some bad. I use far more RTR than I did in the 80's. A good amount of the components we lament not being in shops are still available, which is why I find Scaleforum/Railex/Larkrail and similar shows invaluable, they have become the 'shop' that MRM etc once were. Those that don't bother looking at those shows because they perceive are too 'finescale' orientated rather than mainstream are missing out on some of the best products available if you want to make or modify something. Without the guidance and help of those people that make the widgets and grommets etc, across the scales, and work out new ways to use them, the hobby would be years behind where it is now.

 

Finally if I may a cheeky little 9F more appropriate for LB than a pannier, Bachmann, weathered (acrylic/enamel/pastels), electrification flashes, Gibson pony wheels and Modelu crew. 

 

IMG_4461.JPG

 

The little things can make the biggest difference.

rgds

My compliments, Paul, on the 9F. Beautifully-done. 

 

However, as always, I have a query. The 9F is Midland-allocated, but would it have electric warning flashes with the old-style BR totem? ECML locos received the flashes from 1961, by which time most would have the later device. WCML locos received them earlier (1959/1960?), because of the obvious hazard. When did Midland-line locos start receiving them? 

 

If you have a prototype picture, then that's right. I've just looked through some pictures and most 9Fs post-'61 on the ECML are too filthy to see what type the BR device is. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[corneliuslundie]

I don't want to resurrect the debate we had a while ago about English, but just to sat that Webster meant well in trying to simplify spelling but unfortunately he didn't have sufficient grasp of the subtle rules underlying much British English, and therefore introduced inconsistencies, as a result of which American school children spend a lot of time learning spelling by rote (even in secondary school) because there are no rules to work it out.

 

A simple example of the kind of rule is that an e after a single consonant makes the preceding vowel long, whereas if there is a double consonant the preceding vowel stays short - so mile (long i) but millet (short i) (and there is another rule I can't remember which makes the i in mild long, but there are also quite a number that appear to be exceptions because a second even more obscure rule comes into play). There are dozens of these rules and we learn them unconsciously.

 

Jonathan

[Tony Wright]

Nice to know that a "next time" is a possibility, says he, returning to railway modelling matters.

 

"Next time", would you think it useful ploy to place some sort of temporary "lid" above the disappearing ECML tracks beyond the M & GN girder bridge, so that low angle views looking North under the bridge show trains vanishing into murky depths rather than visibly turning a corner?

If there is a 'next time' (if Tom and Simon can stand it!), I'll certainly look into that.

 

When viewed from 'normal' positions - side on, usually - the trains on the main line appear/disappear on the straight. This is vital to the 'suspension of disbelief', even though everyone knows that the lines, six inches after passing beneath the bridges make an absurd dive to the left or right. But, this can only be seen with a track-level eye. And, as is too evident, it just looks daft. I admit to fudging the areas beneath the bridges for still pictures.

 

I've mentioned before about how model railways go on/off stage. Too many, in my view, have a right-angle bend visible of a very tight radius, which means that no more than the third or fourth carriage is side-on to the loco. Even where there's a tight prototype curve (York? Salisbury?), it takes a full length train before the last vehicle is at 90 degrees to the loco, and probably not even then. This was the feature at the south end of Stoke Summit which displeased me the most. It never really 'worked'. 

 

 

As in this shot. Only three cars are visible in the train, yet the last one is already at near a right-angle.

 

 

This was much better; at the north end, where the tunnel disguises the right-angle bend three or four inches inside it. 

 

 

Of course, Photoshop 'cheating' takes out any visible right-angle bends beyond the bridge.

 

 

Probably better in black than this faded white.

 

 

The on/off stage bends on the M&GNR are just plain silly - down to 2' in places. You can't even see the second van in this shot.

 

I know this discussion has been aired before and folk (quite-rightly) say 'just live with it'. It's just that if one models a prototype location where there is no significant curve going on/off stage, what's the 'acceptable' level of compromise? 

 

But, I'll try some experiments - bits of black bin-bag at the start of the curves? 

[coachmann]

Sharp curves are 'orrible, so best not to have to look at them! My curve is on a covered shelf outside the shed and a transition curve out onto the shelf helps hide ithe real curve's actual sharpness. My shed is 14 feet long but it is really almost 17 feet with the external shelf. Offcuts of back scene have been pasted on the shelf to give scenery continuity beyond the bridges. It is all very crudely done I can assure you, but it is effective when taking photos.

Edited September 29, 2015 by coachmann