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NARROW NEWS - Issue 123December 2009 - January 2010
Notice to all Members
Review of the timings of the introduction of an annual renewal date of January 1st. At 2009 AGM a resolution was passed to change the Association’s membership renewal systems from the anniversary of when a member joined to an annual renewal date of January 1st. As members pay their subs in advance, it was going to take until January 1st 2011 before every member was on this new common renewal date. At the October Committee meeting, a strategy for the development of a number of on-line services to members was agreed. These include, but not limited to on-line membership renewal and sales of modelling goods and publications. A sub committee has been formed to investigate and recommend the best way to implement these ideas. It is clear that a number of our current administrative systems particularly membership will need to need to be overhauled.
These systems will need to be able to cope with those members willing to carry out transactions on-line and those who do not have access to a computer. Any new systems will take a number of months to implement and we need to ensure that they are as ‘future proof ‘as possible. It is believed that changing our administrative systems at the same time as implementing a major change to the basic principles on how membership renewal is handled has the potential to cause problems with our service to members. It has been decided that the decision to change to the annual renewal date, should be postponed for 12 months. This means that for 2010, every member should renew at their current renewal date. In 2011, the changeover will take place and members will be asked to pay a part year subscription to bring them into line for 2012. From 2012 everyone will have a common renewal date of 1st January at the subscription rates agreed at the 2011 AGM.
The change agreed at the AGM in the basic subscription rate from £18 to £21 will still take place as from 1st January 2010. The rates for non-UK members will be those published in Narrow Lines 179 on Page 25. For those members who pay by Standing Order, could you please remember to change your rate to £21 (if you are a UK member). Details of your renewal timings are always found on the rear of the mailing sheet of Narrow Lines. Please do not throw this away in your rush to read Narrow Lines or look for the 2nd Hand sales list. In the coming months we will keep you all updated on how our development plans are progressing and the timings of when the subscription system change will take place. The Committee are confident that moving to an annual fixed date has considerable benefits, however our other development plans need to be put in place and be shown to be working in a robust and efficient manner, before we make the renewal system change.
Howard Martin Chairman
Committee Report
Due to personal circumstances, Nigel Auckland is unable to continue in the role of Membership secretary. The committee would like to thank Nigel for all the work done for the association.
Situations Vacant
Update 1/6/2010 - David Charlesworth has now undertaken the Membership Secretary role.
Also required is an Assistant to the Treasurer. This post will not be a committee post but will shadow the treasurers work, act as backup if the treasurer is unavailable, and make themselves familiar with the associations financial procedures.
2010 CONVENTION
Planning is underway for the Association's 2010 Convention. To be held in Burton-on- Trent Town Hall on Saturday 8th May 2010. The aim is to exhibit a balanced range of layouts showing to advantage the vast diversity of gauge and prototype that is 7mm narrow gauge modelling. If you have a layout and would like to exhibit it at the Convention, please contact the Convention Co-ordinator at:
Andrew Young, 7 Church Street, Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 9JE Tel: 01283 520374. E-mail: organise@7mmnga.org.uk
HELP WANTED !
The next new Publications project for the Association will be a Buildings Handbook. CONTRIBUTORS ARE REQUIRED. The aim of the Handbook will be to illustrate the various techniques that can be used for making model buildings for use on NG layouts in our group of scales. What we have in mind is a series of photo essays each illustrating a sample project in a different technique. A photo essay uses a combination of text with photos taken at each stage of construction to describe the build process. The technique is used quite widely in the mainstream commercial model railway magazines, and requires the sort of clear rather than artistic photographs that can be produced from any decent digital camera. We would like to cover laser cut wood kits, cast plaster kits, plastic kits, card kits, scratch building in wood, scratch building stone buildings using DAS on a ply or MDF carcase, other carcase based scratch builds, scratch building in plastic and possibly others – depending on what is offered. If you are thinking of undertaking a model building project in our group of scales in the next few months and are willing to record your progress for the publication I should like to hear from you. My contact details are in the Committee panel in ‘Narrow Lines’. What is important in contributions to this new Handbook is that they describe and illustrate a specific technique or techniques for making a model building. Our target audience is the ordinary modeller rather than the expert, so contributions from people who would regard themselves as ordinary modellers rather than experts are as welcome as those from experts themselves. The building itself can be from inside or outside the railway fence, prototype based or freelance, but it does need to be the sort of building that might find a home on a narrow gauge railway layout in our group of scales. This is an opportunity to contribute to the life of the Association without making a long-term commitment. Will you take it? Please? Peter Page
Association DVD
To celebrate 30 years of modelling inspiration, the Association has produced a computer DVD. This DVD contains over 2 hours of videos of layouts mainly taken at Association AGMs but some by layout owners. There are approximately 1400 slides in 30 slide shows and a considerable number of scans of previous Narrow Lines. On computers with Windows operating systems the DVD should start automatically when the DVD in inserted. If it fails to run then open the DVD as a file and double click on the file “copyright.html” the DVD will run as a Page in your Internet Browser. The DVD has been tested on most PC browsers. If you find that the DVD runs to slow (especially the slide shows), it is possible to download the contents onto your hard disk. All the files on the DVD should be loaded into a new folder keeping the DVDs file structure intact. Mac users. The DVD will not auto run so you will have to manually start the DVD. If you cannot view the video content then a download can be found at Microsoft web site. (sorry Mac users, I have no real knowledge of your system.) If anyone encounters problems please contact me on 01274 787150 or e-mail - news@7mmnga.org.uk MEMBERSHIP NEWSRemember that all payments for subscriptions by cheque and credit/debit cards and standing order applications must be sent to: Mike Pountney 44 Longway Avenue Charlton Kings Cheltenham GL53 9JJ If you need to contact Mike, try e-mail first if you can - members@7mmnga.org.uk. When members send in a new Standing Order form they MUST include the Post Code of their bank as we cannot guarantee that it will reach their bank and be put into effect. With many banks operating from remote service centres it is very difficult to locate individual bank Post Codes if it has not been completed. We have had quite a few magazines returned marked either "Not known" or "Gone away". If you have not received your regular magazine, or you know a member who hasn't, please let us have the details. There is an on-going problem with members not informing the Membership Secretary of their address changes and we would not like to loose members because of this, or for members to loose out on their magazine. CREDIT/DEBIT CARD RENEWALSCan anyone renewing their subscription with an old form please add somewhere the three digit security code (found on the back on the address strip) as it is impossible to process payments without this. Newer forms have a space for this and it is now essential for this to be added. Any credit card transactions with the Association will be rejected if this number is not provided. Modelling GoodsCan we remind members not to send Credit Card orders by email. If there is no alternative then please do not put all of your details on the same email. It is necessary to send half the card number in one email and the other half and the security number in another. A better alternative is to add your home phone number and Bob will ring you for the card details. He has a ‘free evening calls’ package and it would also be more secure. The Sales Officer is: Neil Smith 3 Froxmere Fields Crowle Worcester WR7 4SA 01905 381943 goods@7mmnga.org.uk P&P changes are: Minimum Order Value for post-free in the UK = £40 P&P charge for UK order under £40 = £2.00 P&P charge for UK order, under £40 and bulky = £3.00 This latter charge will be levied on items such as tubes of track and rail. We cannot be specific, since each package will be charged to us in accordance with the new Royal Mail charging rates. INFORMATION SOURCESMembers regularly ask for more details about both prototype lines and modelling techniques. Go to the publications section, where there is a link to Amazon Books. If you purchase any books by following this link, the Association will receive a small commission from Amazon. Purchases from Amazon
We cannot make the books cheaper but their stock is usually competitively priced. If you follow our link to Amazon and then purchase any other goods that they offer, then the Association will also benefit from a commission payment. This is not available if you go direct to Amazon - it must be through the link from 7mmnga.org.uk. You cannot lose but we could gain!
The Power of the InternetThere are about 350 users registered with the 7mm NG discussion group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/7mmnga/
Two recent examples highlight how helpful this facility can be.
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