Anglia105E

Your Ferrari looks absolutely real in every photo Thomas..... well done with your build and such a good product from Fujimi. David

Well Pat, you have really taken on something here. I do admire your determination to overcome each problem along the way, and dropping the thing on the concrete garage floor.... that would have me shouting in anger at my own clumsiness ( I can be extremely clumsy sometimes ). Each time I find myself working on resin cast body shells, I always wonder why I don't stick to styrene kits in boxes...... we hope it's worth the pain of course. David

Here are a few black and white photographs of a night scene outside Hoopers. It is late one night and the only vehicles that are passing along St James's Street at this hour are the No.76 bus and a single taxi cab. A Police constable is keeping watch on night duty. David

Nicely done concrete paving slabs Joel..... very realistic in appearance. David

Interesting idea to show the outside of your diorama building Pat, and a clever way to do it too. I particularly like the last in the series of photos, which has the shadow cast by the recovery vehicle. Most of my diorama photos are outside the building so I have to go inside to get the alternative interior shots. David

Nicely done rebuild of the VW there Patrick..... that's a mean looking bug with those rear scoops / vents. Just shows what can be done to save a glue bomb from the plastic scrapyard, so well worth your efforts. David

Thanks Gary.... and of course it is early days yet, but this FX3 conversion is becoming very interesting. Oddly enough, I did read that Hooper & Co actually carried out some coach building work on London taxis, although this was later in the 60's and 70's. We shall see how this progresses..... Also this week the asphalt is arriving for the road surfaces in the diorama, so both St James's Street and Bennet Street will be given a nicely textured coating. David

Thank you Eric for your kind comments, and I hope you have had a good Summer. I am heavily involved in transforming a Tamiya 1936 Toyoda AA into a 1948 Austin FX3 Taxi Cab, using resin cast parts that I am moulding and casting myself, also a lot of scratch built parts in polystyrene and carefully worked out drawings of the two motor cars. If I do manage to complete the FX3 body shell, then I am hoping to produce a two part silicone rubber mould from which to cast further taxis in resin, as there needs to be several taxis in the diorama scenes rather than just one. As far as I am aware, there is no evidence of a 1:24 scale Austin FX3 Taxi being produced anywhere in the world, only in 1:43 scale and 1:76 scale. Overlay plan drawings show how similar these two cars are below. David

Excellent gas station and figures Dave.... you are THE scratch builder! David

Fair comment Ellen...... and I am sure you are very careful to buy the correct size furniture for your project. I just felt cheated that having bought something on Ebay that was clearly advertised as 1:24 scale, when I unpacked the items I could see straight away that they were way too big. This sort of thing messes up your schedule for work in progress and completing the project. ( yes I know.... should have returned the items to the seller.... my fault ). David

Well Tim... I do feel for you, reading all of this. Your collection is MASSIVE, but you know that, and like you I can uderstand how it feels when you see a particular scale model car and something nagging away inside says you must have it. Usually, the price becomes almost irrelevant if your mind is set on that one car model. I agree totally with Gary that you must choose a very specific period or type of car to go with, and as Gary says, stick with it. Otherwise you are just going to buy anything and everything, all scales until the money runs out ( or space ). So what I am saying is this..... I decided upon 1958, built the diorama, told myself Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars only, 1:24 scale, built kits and diecasts from Franklin / Danbury Mint. So this restricts you to that period because anything later than 1958 cannot fit the diorama.... simple. Yes, I did find myself buying 1920's, 1930's, 1940's as well as the 1950's but everything still under control, and I do suffer from OCD in odd ways. Hope this helps in some way Tim, and it is a problem that you must tackle. All of us on here at MCM forums want you to continue to enjoy buying and collecting scale model cars, especially building and painting them, but not to the extent where it takes over your life and sends you to the funny farm ( sorry for the crude expression ). David

Many thanks for the information Jason, regarding AK Terrains Asphalt Acrylic Diorama and I looked up the product on Ebay in Uk, where it is listed in 250 ml containers for a reasonable price. I shall certainly give it a try. David

Nicely done build of the D-Type Jaguar Jason, and also overcoming the fear of resin kits is something I have faced myself, with positive results. I particularly noticed your textured tarmac for the diorama base of the pit area. How did you do that, or is it in your WIP link? My diorama tarmac is just grey paint on plywood, so I need to come up with something like your excellent diorama base. David

Raif.... I have absolute respect for both Brian and Ellen, but just a word of caution. Dolls house furniture is very often advertised as 1:24 scale, but actually is too large for a 1:24 scale diorama, or buildings or figures..... the telephone on a desk is a classic example, as the telephone is massive. I know this because I purchased one on Ebay. Also, keep in mind that G-scale or LGB is 1:22.5 scale, so not quite 1:24 scale and slightly larger, but hardly noticed in your models. Some dolls house items are fine, but I just thought I would let you know as I was quite surprised to find things way too big. It is more of an issue with cheap Chinese items, and I have nothing against Chinese people because my wife is Chinese. David

What a wonderfully inspiring story Alex, and how you have managed to build this Ferrari to this high standard is just incredible. The kit itself is clearly a challenge to the best scale model car builders and you have put the whole thing together extremely well. I like the paintwork and all the detailing mods.... the car itself is a beauty. Your accident and the prolonged injury to your right hand has obviously had a huge impact on your ability to carry out this type of manual work so the fact that you have overcome all of this to produce this very special Ferrari is simply breathtaking. Thanks for posting your work in progress Alex, and I shall stop complaining when I am struggling with some minor aspect of my own builds ! David

Discreetly parked down the side street, there is a Bedford fuel tanker at the kerbside. The driver of the lorry has set up his board proclaiming " Petrol For Sale - 4s 6d per gallon - 5 gallon jerry can £1 2s 6d " Just beyond the Watson Fuels sign board on the pavement there are two dark green ex Army jerry cans and a red fire bucket containing sand. The driver has been careful to comply with the regulations regarding fire safety when selling inflammable fuels. He has some of his load remaining in the bottom of his tanks after completing his daily deliveries, so he makes a bit on the side by selling off the surplus in jerry cans to anyone who has some ready cash. He is not highly paid as a tanker driver, so this seems like an opportunist risk worth taking. Just as a precaution, in case the constabluary might be watching, an accomplice of the driver's is across the street keeping an eye out. This man in the suit and hat is looking towards the corner of the Hooper & Co building from his position outside the showroom window on Bennet Street. Around the corner, and out of sight from the two men who are up to no good, there stands a Police Constable who is biding his time, having noticed what is going on behind the tanker lorry over the other side of the street. PC Dixon is in a good mode today so he's thinking perhaps he might give the two likely lads a caution and a ticking off, without actually charging them with an offence.... this time. David

Nicely built work bench Rob, and this sort of work is so absorbing. I find that I can lose myself in the 1:24 scale world and relax properly. David

Now that is a really nice model Tulio..... and the green paintwork suits it perfectly. Also, I think 1953 was a very good year for American cars David

Well John.... I can honestly say that I have never seen this Green Goblin car before in my life. Your abilities and skills to put this thing together are truly incredible, and it's almost entirely scratch built too. When I first saw the photos I thought, oh that's a long bonnet ( hood ) at the FRONT.... but then I slowly realised the windshield is where I thought the back end of the car should be.... off the wall is an understatement, the whole thing is absolutely mad.... but wonderful at the same time. You know how to pick 'em John ! Also, I never realised that Cadillac engine was the largest V8 ever produced.... 500 cu inch translates in English to 8.2 litres, as we like to talk litres for engines, but then we are mad Englishmen. Following your build and work in progress with increasing interest. Brilliant! David

Welcome back Lloyd, and I would agree with you, this MCM website and forums is not only hard to beat but I would say ' Unbeatable '. David

David Mitchell.... thanks for the comment, and actually I agree with you, in that there isn't a great deal of detail in most car showrooms. That is probably why I placed some framed fine art paintings on some of the walls, a large clock face and a couple of fire assembly points and left it at that. Your suggestion to add skirting boards is certainly worth considering, so I might do that. What I keep noticing in my interior photos is that the main entrance door, although painted gloss black on the outside, and it has a brass door knob and brass letter box there is nothing on the inside to define the door. This lack of detail extends to the windows, that have no window frames or window sills. David W.

This is a brilliant kit that you are building Justin, one of the best that Tamiya have ever done, if not the best. Also, your choice of Tamiya gloss aluminium is absolutely right for this car. The fit of the parts is incredible, some of them barely need glue, and the wheels for this Jaguar are by far the best wire spoked wheels you can get anywhere. These are exactly the same wheels as on the Tamiya Morgan 4/4. I have built one of these Tamiya Jaguar MK II kits and I enjoyed converting it to a 1955 MK I version with spats over the rear wheels. Used Halfords rattle can gold for the paint job. I do have one more unbuilt Tamiya Jaguar MK II in the box..... and seeing your build going so well has made me want to get this one started! David

Thank you Gary..... and during the process of taking these photographs I realised how little interior detail there is to the Hooper & Co building. I must give this some thought...... David

Those figures are 1910's Sam, but absolutely period correct for your diorama, and somehow they do seem to work for my 1950's diorama too. There is one set from ICM that has the three figures only, and a further set that also includes a Model T Ford motor car. David

We are inside the showrooms of Hooper & Co and Osmond Rivers is talking to a distinguished gentleman customer regarding the Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville that is being offered for sale. The Managing Director of Hoopers is confident that the gentleman will surely be impressed with the smooth and powerful V12 engine and also the generous size of the motor car. He mentions the service history of this particular Rolls-Royce, which dates back to 1938 and of course, twenty years of low mileage motoring will not have caused any undue wear and tear on this fine motor car. This gentleman finds the Phantom most desirable and presently he accompanies Mr Rivers upstairs to his office, where they can discuss purchase arrangements. Mr Rivers apologises for the untidy state of his office, explaining that a new carpet has recently been laid and there is a delay before the walls can be decorated. The single item of furniture in the large office is the polished desk upon which Mr Rivers has taken the liberty of preparing the necessary documents for the proposed sale. David