Anglia105E

I saw these leaf puncher gadgets when I was looking to make a tree for the diorama, and the only reason I did not buy one was because it would take hundreds of leaves to create a 1:24 scale London Plane Tree ( hybrid of American Sycamore tree ) in full foliage. The tree is the height of the four floor building. As you suggested Ron and David, great idea for creating Autumn / Fall scenes if you want a scattering of fallen leaves on the ground. David

Well Yordan, considering this is your first time using the static grass applicator, I think the result is very good actually. The colour seems okay and the area around the wooden building and the tyres is just right. This diorama of yours is coming together really nicely. The scene has a nice feel about it, and a real background with daylight works in your favour too. David

David Mitchell..... Today I picked up two 500 ml containers of Gesso textured white paint from The Works, which is only 10 miles from where I live. One 500 ml tub will easily cover the 1:43 scale building, but I am thinking if the result is good then I shall re-paint the 1:24 scale Hooper building as well. What I could do, is to put on a thin black acrylic wash over the white Gesso once it is dry, which would produce the grubby look of the city street walls. Thanks to your word of caution I didn't go ahead and spread filler all over the outer panels of the building, which will have taken many hours of preparation once the windows, lettering and detailing is done. Recently, I have started using Vallejo paints and especially the flesh colours for 1:24 scale figures. As you say, these could be mixed with the Gesso. David W.

Pat St-Martin...... Ah yes the DeLorean..... that would be the perfect solution! I would think that anybody who did work at Hooper & Co around 1958 and 1959, when the company closed it's doors would no longer be alive unfortunately. I do have a contact who not only lives in London, but also he owns three original Hooper cars, 1:1 full size Rolls-Royce and Bentley. This gentleman does have a great deal of detailed knowledge and indeed memories of Hooper's, so perhaps he will be able to comment on the precise colour of the exterior walls. There are no colour advertisements Pat, because in those days it was all done in black and white. Here is my best photo of the building, taken in the early 1950's, probably 1952 and this photograph came to me from the Denver Public Library archives in Colorado USA. David

Thanks very much David, and I was wondering what the all purpose filler might do to the foamboard. Of course, I would have tested the filler on some scrap foamboard before attacking the building itself, but your suggestion to use Gesso textured white paint is actually a great idea and very welcome at this stage too. The colour of the exterior walls on the Hooper & Co building as far as I can make out, is not white but more of a grey or cream concrete type colour, which is why I chose Magnolia for the 1:24 scale exterior walls. With this 1:43 scale version I need to get closer to the correct colour, which is made more difficult because there are only black and white photographs of this building available. All the more modern photos that are in colour show the building as cream when owned by Swaine Aydeney Brigg, and then dark grey as it is now owned by Sharps Pixley. My building needs to be as it looked during the 1950's and before. I will have a look at ' The Works ' product certainly. David

Nicely done Erik..... the dark green body panels with the yellow stripes, and the clearcoat went on well.... good job! I can understand the feeling as you decide to go over the perfect paint finish on an important model like this, with clearcoat, and how you would worry that it might go badly. Now you can stand back and look at your work with some satisfaction I think. David

Gary..... The external walls of the 1:24 scale building are painted with Magnolia over balsa wood, but what I am thinking of doing with the 1:43 scale external walls is to apply all purpose filler over the foamboard, before applying the Magnolia paint. This should produce a nice textured surface, if it works! I don't think I would get on very well with hardboard but I did use plywood for the floors and roof on the 1:24 building. Some testing going on in the photos, to make sure the 1:43 Hooper Empress Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud will fit through the access door to the vehicle lift. There will be a second doorway this size for the interior office partition wall in the ground floor showroom. David

Certainly, the work has got off to a good start, and I have a feeling it will go relatively quickly. I am paying attention to the number of windows in the building, also the size and proportions of those windows. I have not constructed a building in foamboard before, but then it is fair to say that I hadn't constructed a building in balsa wood before either. Most of the You Tube video people who are showing how they build architectural models say don't use foamboard, and they go on to list alternative materials as a personal preference. They say that foamboard never looks good, doesn't cut well and doesn't glue well. Then I watched an Adam Savage video where he is saying it is his favourite material for building architectural models....... I shall make up my own mind, based upon this 1:43 Hooper & Co build. David

Your well wishes are very welcome Gary, and as always it is indeed an adventure. This time there is a certain amount of pressure because the next exhibition venue will be 20th June, giving me four months to complete the second diorama. Previously I had worked on the first diorama over a period of one and a half years before taking it to the exhibition stage. I am hoping that all of the skills that I have learnt and practised during the past two years will help in the construction of this model. I shall be using different techniques, and also different materials to some extent so we shall see how it comes together. David

Either brave or foolish Pat...... we shall see! David

Work has started on the construction of the 1:43 scale Hooper & Co diorama 1959 version....... the seven foamboard panels have been cut to size, and I am currently calculating the dimensions and proportions of the smaller building, which is testing my maths rather aggressively. The 1:43 scale telephone kiosk and the two post boxes are of etched brass and tin / lead alloy, which I have coated in grey primer and a Pillar Box Red paint that contains ' Low Boiling Point Naphtha - Stoddard Solvent- Xylene ' according to the label on the tin. This is a special paint for British telephone kiosks and post boxes. Using my reference photos, and printed plan drawings, as well as looking at the 1:24 scale version of the diorama I am attempting to build a much more accurate scale model this time around. David

So close!....... One or two of my early figures turned out having suits that looked too glossy, and I made sure to use more of a matt finish after that. Sounds like a new and larger lather is just around the corner Pat ? David

" Do I need to go to the men's room? " or " Which is my engine that he is working on right now? " or maybe, " Now where did I put my car keys? " No wait.... I've got it!...... " I used to have a lathe just like that one. " David

Pat....... All the elements of your photo have so much detail, which is a joy to view, but what really does it for me is that figure. Th guy in the hat with his hands in his pocket, staring at the wall ( or the machines ) just works on so many levels. You have set up the lighting to produce interesting shadows and the feeling of realism is all there. David

Well David.... it is an unusual subject for a diorama, but your creation has gone down well on these forums at MCM so you must have got something right ! David

I found that after a year or two building this diorama, it starts to take on the feeling of a real place and having done the research about the real place in the 1950's, it allows me to use my imagination to create scenes within scenes. The photography aspect of the whole project is probably the most exciting part for me. You will have great satisfaction in creating a city setting, with the vehicles, cobblestones and a realistic building of some sort. The tricky bit will be..... do you include figures of people or not? They have to be really good figures to make it work, or you can do what the famous Michael Paul Smith of Elgin Park did with his work..... absolutely no people! David

You can see the motorcycle over to the right in this photo David

Your diorama is going to look fantastic when you get the water in..... and the real background just blends in nicely David

I got an Atlas models 1954 Vincent Black Shadow for my 1:24 scale diorama and it does need a small block of wood to place under the foot rest to stop the bike falling over. David

I think maybe you do need a car in the scene Yordan, and as you say, simply moving the car back to show more of your bridge work is the way to go. One other idea might be to use a 1:24 scale motorcycle and not a car? There are plenty of 1:24 motorcycles to choose from and they don't cost much. David

I have never worked in 1:35 scale, but might try it one day. My favourite scale is 1:24 and now discovering 1:43 scale which offers a much greater choice of model cars from the 1950's especially. David

Thank you Gary..... and I am constantly searching for the magical ' golden ' element that will bring this diorama to life. David

Mark..... This scale model Gulf Seven has everything..... and right there we have the steering column shaft and coupling, ' like a real one ' ( your words ). Phillips head screws on the steering wheel...... the license plate detail is excellent..... this is the way to do it properly. David

Thanks Pat..... it's all about the mood. Work is now under way on the 1:43 scale version of the Hooper & Co diorama, and the smaller version will have 1:43 scale diecast cars by Oxford Diecast and IXO, as well as a horse drawn carriage by Brumm of Italy ( see photos ). The smaller diorama will have a more accurately constructed building. David

Pat..... you have chosen a particularly interesting military vehicle, and the driver figure looks good. Central connector and 6-wheel drive, like it. The effect on the tyres is just right. I used to build military vehicles a long time ago, and I seem to remember them being 1:32 scale. What scale is this model of yours Pat? David