Anglia105E

Here are a few photos for you, and a little story that is attached to the original photo. Around 1958 we think, or certainly between 1959 and 1961, the original black and white photograph shows my Dad in the centre of the group of people as they are waiting to set off on a company coach trip for the day. This was in Nottingham and all the people including my Dad were the staff that worked at Lake Carpets, where my Dad was a carpet salesman. I believe the coach trip was destined for Skegness, or possibly a similar seaside resort such as Mablethorpe, Cleethorpes or Scarborough. There appears to be 32 people assembled for the pre-trip photo, five of whom are ladies and the remaining staff are 27 gentlemen. What I have tried to do, with my limited resources, is to re-create a black and white photograph using my diorama building, the scale model of a 1950 Bedford OB Duple coach, twelve of my 1:24 scale figures with the central figure being Osmond Rivers, who as the managing director of Hooper & Co does actually resemble my Dad very closely. This is my best attempt at re-creating a rather special family photograph of mine. There is also a very similar photograph that shows two Bedford OB Duple coaches on a different coach trip from Nottingham. David

Bill.... the baseboard for the gas station portion of your diorama is 4 feet by 4 feet, and my Hooper & Co diorama occupies a baseboard area of 3 feet by 2 feet 7 inches so I can appreciate the scale of your project. This is so interesting to watch and you must be enjoying the whole process yourself. My diorama has one main street and one side street, so quite a similar arrangement really. David

You've done a good job on that GT40 build and I agree, in that if Airfix could include the opening front and rear panels with the Gulf version, with engine and transmission, surely Fujimi could have done the same with the '66 ? Nice kit none the less. David

As promised, here are some photos of a scene outside Hooper & Co., where a 1948 MG TC sports car has unfortunately broken down on Bennet Street, immediately before the zebra crossing. There is a pool of oil on the surface of the road just under the driver's side of the motor car, while a mechanic is investigating the engine bay on the passenger side. The managing director of Hoopers, Osmond Rivers, is looking on from behind the ground floor showroom window with interest. Later, a Police constable arrives on the scene and engages the mechanic in conversation. David

Thanks Gary..... always nice to meet a fellow enthusiast of black and white photography. Not only does it allow your imagination to consider the colours, but also I feel that the black and white format can provide more dramatic effects if used carefully. The quality of light, and particularly the technique of ' shooting into the light ' permits some adventurous possibilities that colour photography doesn't always favour. I like to take risks when it comes to pointing the camera directly towards the light source, which typically can be early morning sunlight. Some of my shots were taken at different times of day and with varying amounts of cloud cover. More photos appearing shortly, of a broken down MG TC sports car outside Hoopers ground floor showroom window. David

Beautiful colour combination for a motor car of this period and I look forward to seeing the finished build. David

Hi Benito..... The Tamiya Morgan 4/4 is a great kit to build and yours has turned out really nice. I have three Morgans, one of which I built and two were spares or repairs picked up on Ebay. - Not seen black used instead of chrome for this car, but surprisingly it does work! Well done for having the idea and getting it done. David

Nice looking build of the GT40 Pat, and I haven't seen one in black before. The shutter door is a perfect backdrop for this car and is that the Stig's legs I can see? Did you build the garage yourself? David

Following on from the diorama exhibition event I am now moving on to some further advanced photography. Some results from two recent photo shoots are shown below. Both of these compositions are intended to tell a story, which can be interpreted by the person viewing the photographs as their imagination will allow. Hope you find them interesting and there will be more! David

Bill, those gas pumps are the best I've seen..... extremely accurate and realistic. You can be proud of what you have achieved here and I shall continue to watch your work in progress. David

Welcome to MCM forums Clayton Yu....... and you will find lots of friendly people on here, also lots of interesting information for this wonderful hobby David

Excuse me for saying so, but these wheels and tyres do not work for an Auburn, but everything else you are doing is great.... even the single-seater concept! David

Excellent Rolls-Royce engine to compliment all your other superb engine builds Pat. David

Yes, I would say that Fujimi and Aoshima are of the same quality as Tamiya, and as you say, interesting subjects for builds. David

The real 1953 Crown Victoria is a truly beautiful motor car and your scale model is absolutely realistic in every way. I wish I could produce a paintjob like yours. Brilliant Marcos! Looking at this build of yours makes me want to buy a Lindberg kit. David

Really like your Porsche build, and this would be my favourite version of the Porsche in 1:1 Aoshima products are very good and I am just building my first Aoshima kit, which is a Mitsubishi Pajero SWB 2.8TD Auto. David

Absolutely brilliant Bill ! You have produced a very realistic looking gas pump there, with some clever techniques. The scenario that you have described is going to be so interesting as a project and I shall be following your work in progress. David

Nice work so far David, and you will find the right road surface at some point. I agree that the racing cars of the 1950's period are fascinating, as are the street racing scenarios. This period is right up my street ( excuse the pun ) but I have gone down the route of building Rolls-Royce scale model cars in 1:24 scale. One of the kits that I have recently purchased is an SMER Talbot-Lago GP car, so I might try to display this racing car in one of the showrooms of my Hooper & Co building, as a kind of exhibit. I like your Protar kit of the 1955 Mercedes W196 as driven by Fangio. David

I think most of us have a strong interest in one particular type of motor car, for whatever personal reasons, and I see no harm in getting ' fixated ' or ' obsessed ' with building the same series of cars. However, once in a while I do build a kit that is not the usual type. Having decided to concentrate on Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 1's from 1955 to 1959, I do have a selection of Phantoms between 1927 and 1938. Also, I have built Morgans, Jaguars, Morris, Bedford coach and AEC bus. Several Talbot Lagos are lined up for building soon. The advantage of focusing on Rolls-Royce builds for example, is that I can research each car down to the last detail and hopefully understand everything about the history of that particular car. This process should mean that we turn out really good builds of exhibition quality, without forgetting this is for fun and personal satisfaction. David

Michael...... I really like this idea of yours to have an interesting story attached to the build of a scale model motor car, and I am considering doing something similar with my 1958 Hooper & Co diorama build. I did follow the story that you ran with a previous build and the process adds a great deal to the build itself I find. My building has an interesting history and very often during the build I have found myself giving names to the figures and thinking about what these people may have been doing during the 1950's. Thank you for the inspiration and I shall follow your work in progress. David

Although I work in 1:24 scale, I have the utmost admiration for anyone who takes on a Pocher kit in 1:8 scale. Actually, in this case you have gone far beyond just building a Pocher kit out of the box and incredibly you are scratchbuilding almost all of the major parts yourself. This is not merely assembling a scale model car kit, this is true engineering in 1:8 scale and your technical skills involved in the detail of this build are up there at the very highest level. Even my best builds in plastic or resin do not come anywhere close to your exquisite brass creation. I shall pay attention to further work by the master craftsman. David

Thank you Pat from Ontario..... 1955 Series 62 convertible.... very nice looking car. David

Thank you Anders.... I have driven many different motor vehicles in my life, but this was the best ever drive, by far. The diorama did look good on the trade stand, in between a Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP rolling chassis project and the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation stand. David

You are absolutely right Richard, and currently I have 5 kits lined up for builds, one of which is an Aoshima 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero short wheelbase, to be built as an exact representation of the vehicle that I drive now. Also, I have a resin cast 1960 Ford Anglia 105E that was the very first car I ever owned at the age of 17 years. The other three kits are Talbot-Lago GP, Talbot-Lago Drophead Cabriolet and a 1936 Tamiya Toyoda for an Austin FX3 Taxi conversion. David

Yes Eric.... Cloud Nine, Seventh Heaven, Over the Moon, are all terms that spring to mind. The Cadillac was parked all on its own, in an area away from all the Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars at the show. I thought it was so beautiful and so interesting that I ducked under the cordoned off roped area and took a couple of photos that you see here. Can you tell me what model Cadillac this is? Please excuse my lack of knowledge about Cadillacs, but I would like to know what year it might be, and what type. Thanks for the comment on the diorama in its complete form and I am rather pleased with the result. Yes David Mitchell.... I certainly could get used to owning and driving a Silver Cloud, it would feel like your favourite shoes, or your favourite jacket that just makes you feel absolutely comfortable. You may be right about the S3 car and there were so many German registered cars, as well as French and Belgian ones. David