Anglia105E

Now you mention it Patrick.... my nearest motor racing circuit is Mallory Park, and I used to go there most Sundays for many years when I was in my twenties ( 64 now ). I have been meaning to find out if there are any Classic/Vintage racedays at Mallory Park, although las time I looked it was almost entirely motor cycle racing. As you know, it's the sound of the exhaust and the smell of the oil..... David

This diorama is interesting, from many aspects. The paint colour of this car shows up really well outdoors under natural daylight. I think the race driver figure adds a great deal to the realism of the scene, somehow the way his head is turned to one side and the lokk in the eyes even. It does indeed show motion and although simple, that diorama base holds the whole idea together. You must be rather pleased with how this has turned out. David

That's the way to do it Mark... the rubber pad for the scuttle looks just perfect, and so practical to use a piece of vinyl tubing. There are so many simple objects that quite often would be thrown in the bin, and then you realise it could serve as a part for a build like this. Nothing gets wasted. Sometimes a piece of styrene sprue that is sitting in a kit box after a previous build is completed can be made into a new part for some other model. Scratch building when it works is so rewarding. David

Here are the most recent additions to the diorama project..... there are brass plaques at the base of the ground floor windows that say 'Hooper' and also an A3 poster of a painting by Eric Ravilious of the building from 1938. The Morris Minor Traveller in British Racing Green is a resin body shell with most of the model being scratch built, apart from the interior which is from a Tamiya Morris Mini donor kit. As always, thanks for looking at my project as a work in progress...... all comments and suggestions welcome. David

Very nicely done Patrick, and it's good to see a more unusual kit being built. I have an interest in 1950's British cars, but so far my builds haven't included race cars, but that may change at some point. I keep seeing older race cars on Ebay in 1:24 scale and I usually stop to look them over. You are fine with using the yellowed decals which will add to the period feel of this model car. Thanks for showing the end result on here. David

Looks great with the ' Zephyr ' lettering Ron, and the truck outside the front is perfect. With your period correct figures and accessories, this is turning out a really nice diorama.... like it a lot. David

I guess taking on a highly detailed kit is always daunting, and more so in 1:12 scale. You could go to the 1:8 kits by Pocher but they are extremely expensive for most of us. Some of the 1:24 scale model cars that I have built over the past year have been more detailed than others, so kits like the Emhar Bedford tanker truck, the Revell London Bus and the Italeri Rolls-Royce Phantom II were challenging. The only 1:12 scale kit that I have ever built was a Lotus 49B as raced by Graham Hill in 1968 in the Gold Leaf colours of red, white and gold. The detail was the aspect of that build that I found most satisfying. The 1969 version of that kit was intended to be motorised, but not the re-issue of the kit. I would say that Tamiya kits are probably better than Revell kits, although I do like a lot of the cars that are available as Revell kits. David

Nicely done this diorama Kurt, and I like the figure with the walking stick especially. Watch out for those cats! David

Your MK IV model on the real car..... priceless! - I think your car looks better than the full size replica of your model. David

Really good looking GT40...... one of the best I've seen on here Tim. David

Hi Shaun.... Your Tamiya Morris Mini 1275S Rally build is looking real good, and I have just bought a Tamiya Morris Mini 1275S MK 1 kit on Ebay, which is not the Rally version or the Race version, so it's the road car. All I needed this Mini for was to be a donor kit for a resin body Morris Minor Traveller that I am building, because I needed the seats and the steering wheel. However, it is such a nice kit that I almost want to build this car! Having used the floor pan / chassis, plus a few more parts from the Mini kit there won't be enough left to build a Mini without buying a second kit. Been tracking these Tamiya Mini kits on Ebay for several weeks but there are always lots of bids on them which pushes up the price. Great work you are doing Shaun, especially with the engine detailing. I used to own several different full size Minis, but never got around to a driving a Cooper version. David

Yes Kurt..... That is what I intend to do with some figures, which is to drill and wire pin with epoxy to change the position of arms and legs. Don't know why there are duplicated figures on some of the many pages that you can browse through, and they do seem to be the same figure with no changes. As long as you get a figure without a base and provided you can paint the figure to a realistic high standard, the end result can be really good. As far as I am concerned, if the building looks real and the cars look real, then figures that don't look real cannot be added to the diorama because they will compromise everything you are trying to achieve. David

Your Pontiac as a first build is very nicely done, so as you do more builds your techniques will improve rapidly. As others on here have mentioned, opening up a door and fitting a hinge is what I would regard as advanced scale model car building. I had a go at hinged doors on my Bedford OLB tanker truck build, and I found it extremely difficult! ( one photo here to show you ). David

Hi Kurt, and I can recommend Shapeways 3D printed figures from first hand experience. The website, as you have probably found already, has an enormous range of products available and you do have to spend dome time browsing through the pages of figures. Also, and this is a personal view, they show a white figure on a white background, so I find it a little difficult to determine the precise pose and features of each figure. However on the plus side, the quality of the figures is extremely good, the prices are not always expensive, the delivery is quick and reliable from the Netherlands and the after sales support is really good. Myself, I uploaded the design file for my 3D CAD created Rolls-Royce 6 cylinder engine in 1:24 scale and not only did Shapeways produce a nice model for me, but when there were some initial issues they sorted out the problem by a series of helpful emails from a person who genuinely cared about the result. The material that the Shapeways figures are printed from is very odd, in the sense that it doesn't like super glue, which doesn't seem to work, also bare metal foil will not stick to the material and although you can cut the material with a hacksaw, it is a very hard material. That said, you can paint the figures with enamel paint once the figure has been thoroughly washed in soapy water, and I haven't tried acrylic paint yet. My best two figures would be the man who appears in the blue suit in my diorama photos, and also the lady with the long pale blue dress. When I did have a problem with one of the other figures, which was one that would not stand up, I was able to email the designer directly and he made great efforts to change the design of his figure, eventually sending me a second figure free of charge. Sourcing 1:24 scale figures is actually very difficult, with a limited choice on the market so it is refreshing to see this vast amount of products being offered by the Shapeways company. You can see the figure in 3D view before you order it and they do state the precise dimensions of the figure or object. All the items are available in a range of material types and colours ( and prices ), so there is everything from white strong and flexible, to ultra frosted detail, even silver, gold and stainless steel ! The Shapeways company seem to be the most forward thinking, innovative provider of 3D printed products on the planet. David J Watson

Thanks very much Kurt, and I can recommend Shapeways 3D printed figures from first hand experience. The website, as you have probably found already, has an enormous range of products available and you do have to spend dome time browsing through the pages of figures. Also, and this is a personal view, they show a white figure on a white background, so I find it a little difficult to determine the precise pose and features of each figure. However on the plus side, the quality of the figures is extremely good, the prices are not always expensive, the delivery is quick and reliable from the Netherlands and the after sales support is really good. Myself, I uploaded the design file for my 3D CAD created Rolls-Royce 6 cylinder engine in 1:24 scale and not only did Shapeways produce a nice model for me, but when there were some initial issues they sorted out the problem by a series of helpful emails from a person who genuinely cared about the result. The material that the Shapeways figures are printed from is very odd, in the sense that it doesn't like super glue, which doesn't seem to work, also bare metal foil will not stick to the material and although you can cut the material with a hacksaw, it is a very hard material. That said, you can paint the figures with enamel paint once the figure has been thoroughly washed in soapy water, and I haven't tried acrylic paint yet. My best two figures would be the man who appears in the blue suit in my diorama photos, and also the lady with the long pale blue dress. When I did have a problem with one of the other figures, which was one that would not stand up, I was able to email the designer directly and he made great efforts to change the design of his figure, eventually sending me a second figure free of charge. Sourcing 1:24 scale figures is actually very difficult, with a limited choice on the market so it is refreshing to see this vast amount of products being offered by the Shapeways company. You can see the figure in 3D view before you order it and they do state the precise dimensions of the figure or object. All the items are available in a range of material types and colours ( and prices ), so there is everything from white strong and flexible, to ultra frosted detail, even silver, gold and stainless steel ! The Shapeways company seem to be the most forward thinking, innovative provider of 3D printed products on the planet. David J Watson

Nice looking build Thomas..... a small car but in a BIG scale..... David

Thanks very much Eric, and I shall continue to post more photos in this topic for as long as I can keep it running. So far, I have logged 4,042 views of the Hooper & Co Diorama which is far more than I had expected. Pleased to hear that you like it of course, and I will try to provide further interesting photos of my project. Just to summarise.... recent work in progress has included extending the Hooper & Co building to four floors, which was how it looked between 1938 and 1959. The interior lighting system of the building is now a proper dolls' house lighting set up and the two showrooms have highly polished crimson wood flooring, with framed paintings on the showroom walls and a classic pine staircase with a brass handrail. The collection of scale model cars now stands at 27 vehicles, including built plastic kits, diecast models and resin cast models. As well as the nine Rolls-Royce motor cars, there are two Bentleys, six sports cars, one London bus, one Bedford tanker, one London taxi and a second London taxi to be converted. Hopefully this diorama will be exhibited at an International Rolls-Royce show during June of this year, but this has yet to be confirmed officially. David

Thanks Jason, and I shall have a read of the thread that you suggested. Certainly I find it appalling that someone would take a resin cast product, moulded and cast by someone else who has put a lot of effort and time into producing, and then sell it on with their own name put to it. David

Nicely done Rick..... and I think the Molotoy Liquid Chrome pens produce a more realistic chrome finish than the brilliant Bare Metal Foil, which is still good for larger areas of a scale model car. Myself I am using the 1 mm pen as I am not yet confident enough to use the 2 mm pen. Very well done Caprice promo ! David

Thanks Casey, and I understand..... sorry to hijack the topic in this way ( oops ) David

This is an aspect of scale model car building that interests me greatly, and I can see that many other model builders have the same interest. Having done a lot of research into the 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud kits as produced by Minicraft, Revell, Academy, Masterkit, Entex and other companies, I do wonder where the molds and tools end up. We all know this was a very basic kit with something like 26 parts only but the body shell casting was actually very accurate. The Minicraft website showed the kit as no longer produced, then it appeared again as though it was back in production. There are no Rolls-Royce kits available in Europe now so only a few available in United States, which have a reasonable price but the shipping is too expensive for me in England. Because this model car is out of production as far as I am aware, I have produced a two-part mould and cast two Rolls-Royce body shells in resin for my own use. I do not intend to sell any cast items and I do not intend to produce a complete kit, so these resin items are purely for my own diorama display. Not sure where I stand legally when it comes to reproducing a body shell from an out of production kit, particularly by Minicraft and Revell. The rights and ownership still belong to Minicraft I believe. Any thoughts and comments on this issue would be much appreciated, thanks. David

Excellent detail work there Janne, and you have an interesting idea. Would this Volvo be 1:24 scale? Looking forward to more photos as the project moves forward. David

Thank you R. Scott Aho..... Looks like your Titanic models are really nice too, especially the LED lights set. Does the Revell container ship have individual containers, or are they all in one block? David

I have to say that I agree with Brian Kroon, which is to be bold enough as model builders to incorporate figures into a diorama. It is a risk and it is difficult, and even the great Michael Paul Smith does not go there. Currently I am still holding onto the belief that the process of including realistic looking figures can work if done carefully. Great work from Kurt.... David

Looking forward to more photos of your work with this brilliant diorama of the 1950's German gas station. David