Hey , thanks guys, really appreciate the comments!
Yep, the lamp post is a tricky bugger for me - too close and it's too tall and obvious, unless I lose the top and fade out the post. Further away and you get one extremely wide road which only exist in larger cities.
IMO the 2nd pic is the best lamp post version, not too close but not too far, a more 'realistic' feeling to my tastes. The bollard idea works in that it's low and close, yet there is breathing space between it and the car.
Main problem here though is in the planning.
The NOHAB train for example was planned with a background from the start, it's simple form not being enough to carry it alone.
The Lanchester I thought had enough character to carry itself (like the Ford), my biggest mistake I think not drawing her larger, eliminating some of the excessive whiteness around it. I've since spent almost as much time trying to sort out a bloody background for it as I did on the car itself.
Btw, Ivett surprised me with some decent (acid free) sketch paper and the fix spray Terry mentioned in the weekend! (thanks for the heads up!) The Lanchester is the last sketch on this current pad thank God.
(Lesson learnt...yet again..: When it comes to materials, you get what you pay for. Do not sacrifice quality for savings...)
And Terry, would indeed appreciate that idea sketch, thanks mate! Itching to get this finished and move on...