Hooper & Co Diorama

[Red318]

David, it's coming along nicely, the last few pics look really good.  One thing that does seem at odds with the building is the somewhat flat lettering.  When doing some Gulf lettering  on teh side of an AMT tanker I  bought a Silhoutte cutter to cut the masks. As the machine  cuts the mask it creates perfect letters.  I'm using it again for some Texaco lettering and stars and Gulf lettering for a couple of icebox stations I'm doing.  If you can tell me the font and size of the lettering I'll knock out some samples and post the results for you.  It works well with 10thou plastic which can be laminated to the required thickness., 20thou it cuts most of the way but not completely and for the effort 10thou is easier.

[Anglia105E]

Thank you David Mitchell..... I do agree with you actually, regarding the flat lettering. I wasn't entirely happy with it and your suggestion is very helpful indeed.

The lettering listed below is Times New Roman size 24, Normal +24pt Bold, Black......

HOOPER & Co. Ltd.

HOOPER & Co. Limited

HOOPER

HOOPER

AGENTS

AGENTS

COACH BUILDERS

MOTOR BODY BUILDERS TO H.M. THE QUEEN

The remaining lettering is Times New Roman size 20, Normal +20pt Bold, Black

MOTOR

MOTOR

Your silhouette mask cutter machine sounds marvellous, and I appreciate any samples that you can post to me.... many thanks David.

David

[Red318]

PM sent David.

[Anglia105E]

There is a now a bus stop on St James's Street, which is entirely scratch built, from balsa, styrene, clear transparency, paper and card. This small 1:43 scale model was assembled using super glue, styrene glue, PVA glue, and Crystal Clear glue. Here are a few photos showing the AEC Regent RT London bus with the new bus stop that is only standing on a glue dot, as it is not yet sunken into the paving slabs. Two additions to the vehicle collection include the 1948 Ford V8 Pilot and the 1954 Triumph Renown, both of which are 1:43 white metal  cars from Lansdowne Models.

While part way through the photography, I noticed the bus has some red paint showing through the black paint of the front mudguard, so this will need attention!

David

[Gramps46]

Very nicely done and now I know what Belisha Beacons are!

[Anglia105E]

Seeing Double !

For the first time the smaller scale diorama has been brought into the same room as the larger scale one, and placed as close as possible on the same worktop. The two models will not be displayed this close, so this is just a procedure to compare proportions and evaluate the result.

You can see from the photos that the 1:43 scale Hooper building is more accurate in terms of the windows and the coving. The 1:24 scale Hooper building will be having a roof top wall built shortly, which does have quite an effect on the overall height of the structure.

I have positioned a 1:24 scale black Citroen on Bennet Street near the zebra crossing and the same car in 1:43 scale, in the same position. There are other identical features such as the telephone kiosk, post box, belisha beacons, bus stop, bicycle and a single figure standing by the telephone kiosk.

There is more work to be done, but I thought this would be a worthwhile exercise to put things in perspective. As always, thanks for looking.

David

[Gramps46]

Very interesting comparison, thanks for taking the time to post it.  Personal opinion If I may, putting the side boards up help to focus the viewer.

[Anglia105E]

Thank you Gary...... and you have a good point.... the backing boards made of plain white foamboard do need to be in place, because as you say the viewer is distracted by the clutter around the two dioramas. This was just a quick batch of photos to get the moving operation on record.

David

[landman]

Yesssss, that puts things in perspective all right. Very neat comparison shots. 

[Anglia105E]

Thanks a lot Pat..... as someone mentioned when viewing this comparison of the two dioramas, I thought the difference in scale between 1:24 and 1:43 would be greater, but there does not seem to be all that much of a ' jump ' from one to the next. The two main reasons that made me decide to construct the smaller version were, firstly the choice of model cars available in 1:43 scale for the 1920's. 1930's, 1940's and 1950's period is much greater, and also I wanted to achieve a more accurate representation of the Hooper building this time. As we speak, the roof top wall is being added to the larger version of the diorama, and this is a direct result of my realising that this low wall running along the top edges of the roof was essential to the correct appearance of the structure.

David

[Flat32]

I'm puzzled by the curb differences.  Appears layout changed, but height didn't.  Very interesting scale.  Just had to check it's origins and quite surprised by how popular it is.

[Anglia105E]

Thanks Raymond, and very observant of you...... The curbs and the paving should be different sizes for the two dioramas, but they are not. At the moment I am dealing with this problem. The paving is made up of foamboard and styrene sheet paving slabs, and it is 6 mm in height. However, this height needs to be reduced to 3 mm, which will be balsa wood. You see, the curbs and paving on the 1:24 scale diorama are 6 mm in height, so I made a mistake by constructing the 1:43 scale diorama with the same height paving. This is a careless mistake, considering how precise my calculations are for this project.

The layout has not changed, because there are two streets, one of which is St James's Street running in front of the building and the other is Bennet Street which runs along the side of the building, as you look at the only corner. Perhaps it looks confusing to you because I have placed the smaller diorama over the top of the larger version, and the back of the 1:43 scale building is very close to the front of the 1:24 scale building, if that makes sense?

Once I have the space to display the two dioramas side by side, but away from each other, then you will see the layout more clearly.

David

[QbanFam]

On 3/31/2019 at 9:04 PM, Anglia105E said:

The installation of the first working street lamp is completed and the chimney stack is in place up on the roof. The two halves of the 1:43 scale lamp post were inserted tightly into a hole in the pavement, then the length of wire that has the last LED light in the chain was pushed up inside the lamp post from under the pavement and the two halves were glued together. The glazing unit was placed over the end of the wire at the top, then the four post frame was lowered over the glazing unit and the lid of the lamp was glued in place on top.  The remaining wire and lights passes under the pavement and any lights that are not required have black PVC tape wrapped around them to prevent any light being emitted. . I am rather pleased with the result and I did expect this to be more difficult.

All the rest of the wire and lights will run along the back edge of the diorama baseboard and into the Hooper building, where the controller box will be located inside the office. I haven't figured out yet how to wire up the second, third and fourth street lamps, because the space inside the lamp posts is not wide enough to accommodate a double thickness of wire / cable.

David

Hi David. Every time I check in I get a huge surprise. Your diorama is really stunning.

[Anglia105E]

Thank you Yordan..... how is the 3D printing going?

Here are the two dioramas placed together, now that the roof top wall has been added to the larger 1:24 scale diorama. I have the option to paint the wall Magnolia to match the rest of the building, or I could paint the whole of the building including the new wall in white acrylic Gesso, to be the same as the smaller 1:43 scale building. 

David

[QbanFam]

7 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Thank you Yordan..... how is the 3D printing going?

Here are the two dioramas placed together, now that the roof top wall has been added to the larger 1:24 scale diorama. I have the option to paint the wall Magnolia to match the rest of the building, or I could paint the whole of the building including the new wall in white acrylic Gesso, to be the same as the smaller 1:43 scale building. 

David

That’s awesome !!! You have great eyes and hands for details.  

The 3D printing is going well. I’m still learning but I printed my first object. There is some twicking I need to do for better quality prints. Here is a picture of a manhole cover and frame I printed. It needs to be sanded a little, primed and painted/weathered.

[Anglia105E]

Looks like you are off to a good start with the 3D printing Yordan.... the manhole cover is very good and once painted and weathered will be just what you need for your diorama. Be careful with the frame of the manhole cover, as it could be easily broken. Then again, my manhole cover frame broke while I was pressing it into the well of the road, but a broken manhole cover is probably even more realistic. If you look at my photo above your photo, you can see the 1:24 scale manhole cover over to the left of the smaller diorama.

David

[QbanFam]

9 minutes ago, Anglia105E said:

Looks like you are off to a good start with the 3D printing Yordan.... the manhole cover is very good and once painted and weathered will be just what you need for your diorama. Be careful with the frame of the manhole cover, as it could be easily broken. Then again, my manhole cover frame broke while I was pressing it into the well of the road, but a broken manhole cover is probably even more realistic. If you look at my photo above your photo, you can see the 1:24 scale manhole cover over to the left of the smaller diorama.

David

Thank you for the tip, David. I’ll keep that in mind. 

[Anglia105E]

Work on the pavements / sidewalks is progressing nicely and the height of these is being reduced from 6 mm to 3 mm.

Today saw the arrival of the 1:43 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I in Sand / Sable two-tone paint finish.....this is a particularly well detailed model for this small scale.

David

[Anglia105E]

The second of three pavement / sidewalk sections is now completed, which is across the street from the Hooper building, on the Bennet Street side. This length of paving has the street lamp mounted on it and one of the belisha beacons also. Here are some interesting shots of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud that is parked just inside the entrance to the vehicle lift. The salesman is standing at the ground floor showroom window, looking across Bennet Street towards the street lamp. These photos are making use of some late afternoon, early evening natural daylight as the sun goes down.

David

[Anglia105E]

A second Bentley motor car has been ordered, which will be arriving by the middle of next week, and this is a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur in silver, and produced by Minichamps the German company. Here are some photos of the completed paving sections, primarily to show how the height of the paving is now correct in relation to the car and also the figure.

David

[ATHU]

Outstanding work David!! Love the 1/43 Rolls, is it from Oxford Diecast?  Vanguards offers a nice range of British cars in that scale too, got a few in my own collection.

[Anglia105E]

Thank you Anders..... yes, the 1:43 Silver Cloud in sand /sable is from Oxford Diecast, and there are some nice Vanguards models as well. Having picked up samples from Corgi, Whitebox, Minichamps, Lansdowne, IXO, Brumm, ERTL. and Eaglemoss,  I have found that the best quality and also the most accuracy is to be found in the Lansdowne model cars. These are white metal models and made in England, but they are usually expensive.Typical prices are around £80.00 GBP.

David

[Anglia105E]

The second Bentley has arrived ahead of schedule...... this is the silver Minichamps 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur, and already I can see that this model car does photograph very well. This Bentley should look splendid when it is standing on the crimson flooring of the showroom, especially alongside the 1930 Bentley 8 Litre and the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I.

I keep forgetting that these are 1:43 scale model cars and this time last year I wouldn't have thought that I could go smaller than 1:24 scale to produce the diorama effect at this level. Of course, a large part of the enjoyment of building the larger scale diorama was the building of the styrene kits, which is not part of the smaller version, simply because they are all diecast model vehicles.

David

[Anglia105E]

This one photograph I think, captures the essence of the 1:43 scale Hooper & Co diorama....... taken in black & white and using only natural daylight, the camera is shooting into the light directly. The horse drawn carriage is particularly haunting in appearance. Over to the left there is a strange image of the model building, as it is reflected in the television screen...... as though it has once been a feature of some TV programme, back in the days before colour.

David

[Gramps46]

Very creative.