Lecorbusier

Perhaps the best avenue would be to have a news section on the home page of the Falcon web site. This could inform customers of current wait times and delays.

It would be great to see an example of one which has been taken and worked on by a skilled hand, adapting and weathering to represent a specific train. All the ones I have seen have all been straight out of the box and still look somewhat toy like. None have had the weight and presence of the original. A modernist vision flying through the traditional infrastructure ... a juxtaposition I particularly like ..... hmmmm! .... thinks .... I wonder what it would look like flying through 1902 Monsal Dale station ... might occasionally indulge for fun Edit .... now I look at it, does anyone see something of the 'mask of Zorro' about the front end windows .... even better

Didn't she say she was hoping to get around to changing the web site as it was currently out of date/misleading .... that was if she decided to continue with the business. The fact that this has not happened yet I assume means that either life has again got forcefully in the way, or she has yet to commit to continuing with the business.

Oh dear, What I hate about forums is my inability to spot inflection

Ah! the dangers of the associative mind as Ruskin would have said! .... but whether yours or mine who's to say .... 'vive la difference' or life would be very boring

Oh dear .... what I hate about forums is the fact that it is difficult to convey inflection .... not like when you are face to face .... a raised eyebrow, a quizzical smile etc etc. Tony, I took nothing of the sort from your comments ... indeed I enjoyed them. My response was intended in the same spirit .... my 'well that told me' was intended as gently ironic. One of the things I rather enjoy about your perorations is their often tongue in cheek acerbic nature and the perhaps mischievous contrariness which stimulates debate. So no apology needed. In my opinion we need more polemic not less - in the true academic sense of the word of course.

Well ... that told me didn't it ! Actually it was the comparison to DMUs I was mock shocked by. My liking for the blue Pullman is two fold .... firstly I think it looks a million dollars and secondly the single aesthetic design inside and out was very much a forerunner, precient even. I fully accept it may have been technically flawed in many ways .... but that can be said of many groundbreakers. We could easily correct all of these faults now .... but somehow we seem to have lost the sense of style.

or perhaps ....

perhaps concessions for the 35 to 55 age group .... or maybe free if accompanied by a child?

I assume that the dart e-mail has also been tried ... they certainly are still in business. enquiries@dartcastings.co.uk

I am biased ... I find the 70s styling too boxxy both for the Tilting train and HST .... for me the Pullman has a timeless quality about it that evokes the classic 60s car designs ... a styling cue which for me was also lost in the 70s and 80s.

You can't refer to the Blue Pullman and DMU's in the same breath. A fantastic piece of aesthetic design and conceptual development ... not achieved again for me until the advent of the Eurostar - and much better than the Eurostar internally. Just my opinion and I'm a committed 'Kettle' man.

Damn Damn Damn ... the dreaded dyslexia strikes again. Spell check hides most of it ... but of course it doesn't recognise error of meaning only error of spelling. Still, can't really complain. Much better than the old days.

Just out of interest ... has anyone phoned up?

As you know Tony I look at the hobby in a different way to you. Part of this view I have to admit is based upon a digest knowledge built up from reading and the odd documentary - so equally unscientific. What is interesting is that it is a different reading of pretty much the same observations. To me it seems that model railways pre the 1990s (certainly pre the 1980s) were primarily the preserve of the 'Toy industry'. They were marketed at the young. They were something for fathers to do with sons (if the marketing is to be believed). Only a relatively small coterie moved beyond this and into the realms of 'serious' modelling. I fully concur that this 'Toy industry' aspect is much smaller than it used to be for many obvious reasons .... indeed I am fascinated that it remains as popular as it does. However, I would argue that the serious modelling aspect has developed significantly, with many more participants and much wider sources - It is this aspect that I tend to think of as the hobby. I would then go on to suggest that we are currently living through a blip in the hobby. Although the toy aspect has fallen off, it has been replaced by "the grown up toy" - an ageing demographic within the hobby is making hay with increasing free time, relative affluence and a product which has developed in line with its interests. By this I mean we have a perfect storm for the 60 somethings upwards - a demographic which grew up when Steam engines were about and railways were romantic and popular, a demographic which were central to the train spotting phenomenon - a demographic that were part of the Toy Train set generation and a demographic which has benefitted from and ridden the wave of the vast improvements to the RTR market. Now if the last had not happened I would be inclined to suggest that the size of the hobby would be very much smaller, because without it I think many would quickly lose interest as the hobby would then fall into the 'too difficult category'. I think we have been witnessing a phenomenon where the fall of in the "toy" aspect has for a time been offset by the emergence of the "grown up toy" due to a very specific set of circumstances. My belief is that once this glut has worked its way through, numbers will fall back to a serious modelling core which will be larger than it was pre glut because of the advancements within the hobby, but not at the over inflated numbers which people currently think of as the norm. Sadly, I doubt the toy aspect will ever get anywhere near to the numbers it enjoyed whilst the railways were a central part of life and modern electronic toys were not available. However, I am pretty positive for the core of the hobby, which appears from my position to be in pretty good health. I also think that with the advent of both the internet and modern diaspora working patterns, the model railway club or indeed the model railway show do not anymore give an accurate reading of what is going on. I for one am not a member of a club, and only attended one show last year, yet am very much engaged in the hobby. It needs to be understood (am I aloud to use that phrase?) that for those still working, free time is often in very short supply nowadays - hence the preponderance of silver hairs and concessions at the traditional venues (grand fathers and hopefully children rather than fathers and sons) - market forces I am afraid.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Can I refer you to my posting 20 above which summarised my conclusions from the previous thread on this subject (as the previous thread is no longer available). This, added to Jol's comments might be an explanation of the situation.

If this were to activate a wire in tube actuation system, where would the wire attach? Then I will shut up as this is not Tim's how does a lever frame work thread ... sorry Tony!

Can I ask what might seem a dumb question. When the lever is pulled, which direction does the bar travel? Is it pulled back towards the lever? What would be really interesting is to see a frame (this one or something similar) actually working in a little youtube video. Does such a thing exist? Edit ... found this - which is probably more fun than of real use but entertaining non the less.

These are my first forays into track building - my test track (a simple 6" shelf running down one wall of the room). Not quite up to the standard above ... but if having a go takes your fancy it is very rewarding - quite methodical in process and with the right gauges and sequences very achievable for a beginner. (the processes are the same whether you model 00, EM or P4 just different gauges) The right track DVD Tony made with Norman Solomon is extremely good as a guide. It is obviously a work in progress with weathering, actuation and rodding still to complete - I am also going to play around with a bit of scenic modelling for practice as well. As I am using the protocab system there are no electrics.

Not exactly theatre lighting, but we do a fair bit of gallery and display lighting. Generally speaking if we can't crop a light source down to a particular frame on a flat surface and are looking to avoid discernible shadows we tend to use fluorescent strip continuous lighting with wash baffles from a high angle. This gives a very even and diffuse light much like that of an overcast sky. A way to create an even more diffuse effect is to use this method but uplight bouncing the light down from a hidden surface (much like the infill lighting panels on a photo shoot). Both approaches would I think avoid conflicting shadows with a back drop, where I hazard you are not simply trying to avoid conflicts of direction but also actually casting shadows from the foreground onto the backdrop (particularly important I would think where the back scene is directly attached to the baseboards). Of course the lighting within the backdrop then also needs to be coordinated. As I say ... definitely not an expert here ... but there may be a degree of technology transfer - I have ideas for my own experimentation but can't speak with any authority.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113725-basingstoke-1958-67-layout-and-stock/?hl=basingstoke

Just to say, I am really enjoying watching your modelling of London Bridge unfold ... it's my area and great to watch what you are doing.

I've been experimenting building some track work ... a test track with crossover and playing around with ballasting techniques. Currently wrestling with the actuation and rodding. Very enjoyable but a bit dull for posting here.

I have to admit, I didn't think exhibiting at a show was (or was considered by the exhibitors as) a competition? Is there much disappointment if an award/cup is not won ? If not, then the various awards given might be considered a nice bit of fun - particularly when they are an expression of the thoughts/opinions/tastes of a respected panel - a nice fillup for the winner(s). Being invited to exhibit is surely the real benchmark of approval for a show?