Hi – thanks for the feedback. I am using the step effector to cause a delay or lag in the cloned animations – hence the 46frames…Changing the ‘fix Clone’ button stops the spline effector from working however I’ve just realised that I needed to disable render instances for the step effector to work.
I have one final question – there is significant overlap in my clones and I would prefer if the clones alligned together so as to look smoother (see attached). Could this be caused by my cloned objects pivot point or do I need to factor something else into the mix ? Any help would be appreciated. Here is the screen shot:

Thanks
Joey