Anglia105E

Very early indeed Eric, although the first Land Rovers were produced in 1948 as you probably know, so a 10 year Land Rover could have been parked outside Hoopers in 1958. The vehicle that should NOT be there is the 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero which is my daily drive as we speak. Here are a few photos of the completed 1951 Talbot Lago Record Cabriolet T26, which has been the current work in progress for the Hooper & Co craftsmen most recently. This is a fine motor car from the French company Talbot, who also produced cars in England which is why this example is a right hand drive version and sporting British registration plates. David

Welcome to the MCM forums Roger, and like you, I returned to this hobby after not building a kit for 50 years. This seems to be the case with many of the members on here, so I guess we must be in our second childhood! You will find lots of friendly helpful people on these forums, with a huge amount of information and tips to help you with future builds. My area of interest is mainly the Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars from 1955 to 1959 and also 1925 to 1938, but I like to build most types of scale model cars, which would include American cars too. If you get chance to have a quick look at my diorama, it is in the Dioramas section and called the Hooper & Co diorama 1958. David

Very interesting build process Pat, especially the one part and two part moulding and casting. Dark Green and Cream is a nice colour scheme for a 1957 Ford, and I tend to like any dark colour with cream for my '50's model cars. You should be very pleased with this build as it has turned out nicely. This must be a significant addition to your collection. David

Hi Mark.... Sorry to hear about the tornado, which must have been devastating for you. All that hard work on two dioramas... gone. Sounds like you have a positive attitude, and all the new stuff will be interesting and just as enjoyable. Certainly, if you can put together a diorama which doesn't have to be spectacular or too large, this would be a nice way to display your more important and special scale model builds. My Hooper & Co diorama, which you may have seen on here, only occupies a baseboard area of 3 feet by 2 feet 7 inches so not large, and I find that I can set up some quite interesting little mini scenes within the whole setting. I like your idea of using an MRC gas station kit as a basis from which to build a more extensive project. I went down the route of building everything from scratch, starting with the Hooper building from balsa and other hardwoods, as it was in 1958. David

There are two coachbuild jobs being carried out for customers of Hooper & Co at the moment, and here they are photographed during the early stages of the work. One is the 1951 Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet, resplendent in it's cream bodywork that is awaiting final polishing, and the other motor car is the 1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III that is being given a change of paint colour. No longer sporting the burgundy paintwork, this Phantom III will be finished in grey-blue with dark grey fender tops and spare wheel casing. Can you spot the conspicuous vehicle that could not have been parked outside Hoopers in 1958 ? David

Sorry, should have typed ' hopefully learning a great DEAL along the way ' - I do supposedly proof read my own posts before I upload them, but missed that one! David

Bill..... just when I thought the gas pumps were brilliant, there you go with the islands and the lamps! This is excellent work on your part and you must be really pleased with the progress of it all. Looking at these images of your diorama, I can see where I need to be aiming for... and it is truly a very high bar that you have set ! Professional touches such as the diffused lighting and the subtle weathering of the lights and the asphalt are so important. I continue to follow this interesting project, and hopefully learning a great along the way..... thank you. David

I do understand why scale model car builders display their built kits on glass shelves, or in cabinets with glass fronted doors or possibly in individual perspex cases, but my feeling is this..... all my built kits, and also the diecasts, are displayed within a diorama setting. I believe this to be important because that way you are viewing the cars in an environment that looks real, and if the builder of both the cars and the diorama has got it right, the whole scene appears much more interesting than rows of built models on glass shelves. When you move on to the photography aspect of our hobby the diorama setting, for me, is absolutely essential in order to create the illusion of reality. David

At the moment I am building a 1:24 Heller 1951 Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet and so far I am very pleased with the progress. Decided on cream paintwork, rather than the more common French Blue, using rattle can Halfords Ford Ivory gloss enamel. The interior will be a shade of brown to compliment the cream. The owner of the Talbot company during the 1950's came over from France and produced some fine motor cars in England, which is why I chose to include this model in my 1958 diorama setting. This is my first Heller kit and it is very different to the Revell, Tamiya, Italeri, Emhar, Aoshima and Minicraft kits in terms of method and instructions. David

When I first saw this topic I was expecting the question to be ' How many kits do you buy in one month? ' This is because I usually buy around one kit per month, but only because the type of specialised kits I want only come up once a month, and at the right price. I did once buy a box of 5 kits in one go, which was 3 Minicraft Rolls-Royce Silver Clouds and 2 Italeri Rolls-Royce Phantom II's, from a guy in Canada and the shipping cost was way more than the cost of the kits. Shipping took 2 months to UK by sea. David

These most recent photographs show the 1938 Alvis 4.3 litre motor car, driving along St James's Street in London, with the early morning sunlight filtering through the leaves and branches of the mature trees that line the pavement. The Hooper & Co building does photograph well in this light, which is actually not natural daylight but simulated light using a 100 watt daylight bulb. The Alvis is a 1:24 Franklin Mint diecast model. David

Thanks for posting the photos John..... just noticed the Minicraft Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, the Minicraft Triumph TR3A and the Tamiya Vespa Scooter..... what a marvellous diorama ! David

That was a lucky find Bill, the 4ft by 8ft sheet of white styrene, and I began to think how many projects will come out of that one sheet of styrene..... many I'm sure. David

My favourite too Gary..... he really looks the part.

It is early morning at Hooper & Co and Osmond Rivers is standing at the window of the ground floor showroom, looking out onto St James's Street. Across the street he can see a fine looking Bentley MKVI Franay Drophead motor car, and he cannot help noticing a distinguished lady standing beside the car. Outside on the street we can see there is a Rolls-Royce Phantom III parked a short distance ahead of the lady's Bentley. What is the lady waiting for? Why are the cars parked there on this beautiful sunny morning? David

This is it Dennis.... wives are nice to have around the house, but they do get in the way when you need to have space for the diorama! Seriously though, there's so much to see in that huge diorama from PDMC, and something to discover at every corner each time you look. David

Having recently completed an Aoshima Mitsubishi Pajero kit, I was impressed with the quality and fit of the parts.... you will enjoy this Lamborghini build of yours, and that Rosso Bia is going to really look the business! David

The islands look great Bill, and those cracks in the concrete are a master touch. You shouldn't need to worry about the 4 feet by 4 feet section of the larger diorama and building the whole thing in sections is the way to go of course. This project of yours has started me thinking about adding a second section to my 3 feet by 2 feet 7 inches baseboard. The two streets of my diorama need to extend a little more to allow space for additional model cars. David

Very nice looking metal Hubley, Philip and the colour choice is excellent. You must be well pleased with the result. David

Liking that colour a lot, also like the '58 Chevy Impala and the whole concept of 3D printing interests me greatly. You will have a lot of fun with the build and the Revell kit should turn into a fine scale model car. The colour combination with the white roof is a good choice I think. David

Also, forgot to mention.... your trailer model looks just like the trailer my sailing boat sits on ( full size not a model boat ) David

Gary..... I very much like the Corvette Grand Sport that you have built, and somehow the car looks right on a trailer. This is probably my preferred body shape of all the Corvettes, and it reminds me of a Corgi or Dinky version in diecast that I must have played with as a boy in the 1960's ( late 1950's ). David

Gary.... the model car with the oil leak is a 1948 MG TC diecast by Franklin Mint in 1:24 scale. It is red in colour.... but appears grey in black & white ( what am I saying? ) Thanks, David

Really interesting project build that you are putting together there Dann, and I thought I had heard of and seen just about every single motor car ever designed and produced, but I can honestly say that I have never heard of the Isdera Imperator! Certainly I shall follow the ' mostly ' scratch built model car. David

Thank you Gary, and I did try to take great care in arranging those two figures, so that they would appear to be having a face to face conversation. The pool of oil is a piece of resin that I had left over from moulding and casting, which I then transformed from white to black using a permanent marker pen. The managing director of Hoopers is watching the event unfolding outside his showroom window and probably thinking this breakdown would not have arisen had the owner of the MG bought one of his Rolls-Royce or Bentley motor cars.... but then again, an MG owner might not be in the fortunate position to purchase such a fine automobile. David