Anglia105E

I like the photos, like the car, like the model. The colour is perfect for this build of yours, the outdoor lighting shows off the finished build nicely and as someone on here mentioned, the model looks very real in the photos, in fact I would say most of your photos. American motor cars around the late 1960's and the early 1970's really interest me as an Englishman, as do those of the 1950's. Well done Michael. David

You have made a good start to the diorama build there Janne, and I see you have put a lot of work in for the welding machine. That is a really nice bug you have there, and very realistic too. If you get chance, have a look at my diorama topic, which is Hooper & Co Diorama. David

Here you can see the 1938 Alvis 4.3 litre drophead coupe in the first floor showroom of Hooper & Co, and there is one photo of the 1948 MG TC Roadster in red, alongside the Bentley S1. At the moment the Hooper & Co building has been moved from the diorama baseboard to the workshop in order to make changes to the upper floors windows. David

Although I specialise in British motor car models of the 1950's, if I was building American cars of the 1950's it would be the '55 Chevy Bel Air that I would choose. You have certainly tackled some extensive chrome work there Guy and it's all good. I like the Bare Metal Foil and it is my product of choice, but just recently I have had some very good results using Molotow Liquid Chrome pens. Of course, you need to use BMF on larger areas of the car and the Liquid Chrome pens are more suited to finer detail work, such as windscreen surrounds, narrow moulding strips and lamp bezels. Your Chevy interior is exceptionally well done and I wish I could achieve that standard. If you want to have a look at my topic in Dioramas it's called ' Hooper & Co Diorama ' which is 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce based. David Watson ( Derbyshire, England )

My problem is always the opposite of this issue, in that I need to convert every Minicraft / Revell 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud that I build from LHD dashboard to RHD dashboard for England. Really I should mould and cast a resin RHD dashboard which would make the whole process a lot easier of course. David

Nice looking build Pat, and if you can finish this one then you will find that other builds will get finished too. You've got a good comment from cobraman ( Ray ) and he's the man when it comes to Cobras, so go for it ! David

I know what you mean about the crossroads thing, and sometimes you have to make decisions about how far to go in a particular direction. Keep sending the pics. Here is a pic of my diorama building now that I have added a top floor, so it has four floors. David

Nicely put together dashboard and the interior seating.... very well done! David

This is my 4.9 litre straight six cylinder Rolls-Royce engine, which I produced as a 3D print file and then printed by Shapeways. It is 1:24 scale and needs a few minor finishing touches before it goes into the car. David

Well Brian, if the chassis turns out anything like the body, it will be truly brilliant ! David

Thanks for the interesting reply Brian, and it's quite funny that I misunderstood your ' RR ' as meaning Rolls-Royce, when I presume you mean Rail Road !!! My diorama, as you may have seen, is Rolls-Royce. David

I like your Pontiac build Raoul and it's a nicely done paint job too. I looked everywhere for a 4-door Pontiac kit but there does not seem to be one available. This is because I wanted to build a replica of a Pontiac Parisienne that I once owned as a real car. The car was a 1968 model from Canada and right hand drive. Photo here for you. David

Sorry, my apology is to Ron Smith not Dave Ambrose ( confused, sorry ) David

Pardon me for intruding on Dave's post, but yesterday I wanted to upload seven photos to my topic and four were okay, but the other three photos will not upload. I have tried absolutely everything I know, and I am an IT professional, but nothing works. Bit puzzled as to what's going on on ( like Dave Ambrose ) David Watson

Not all my photos are uploading properly.... ?

Hello again fellow members, and thanks for looking at these updates to the Hooper & Co diorama project. The building now has four floors, and my feeling is that the building has the right proportions now. I have used a different technique to build the third floor windows and I shall have to change the windows of the second floor below, in order to match those of the new floor above. The entire top floor and roof lifts off as one complete module, so it is not part of the opening hinged side wall to the left of the building. I have removed the tree from this diorama as I wasn't happy with it. Along with the lighting system change, the top floor addition and the tree removal this is all part of a radical rethink on my part. There is a further addition to the scale model car collection next week, which is a 1948 MG TC Roadster by Franklin Mint (diecast). Few photos here, showing the third floor completed. David

Hi Brian from Boston..... What sort of RR diorama was it that you built in the '90s ? Yes, I agree, that you could still produce some stunningly realistic shots in B&W by using an old SLR camera, like the one I have which is a Zenit ( Russian ). David

The build of the Morgan 4/4 sports car by Tamiya is now completed, and this car looks quite nice in the upstairs showroom of Hooper & Co. Having built Revell, Minicraft, Emhar and Italeri kits so far, I found this Tamiya kit more challenging but the end result is satisfying, so worth the pain. The diorama is going through some radical changes over the next few weeks, so watch this space for updates and developments. David

Nice looking build there Garry, and like you, I started building scale model cars again at the age of 63 when I had not built one since I was 13 years of age ( 50 years ). There is a Minicraft Triumph TR3A, also 1:24 scale but more basic than the Gunze Sangyo version. ( I thought the Gunze Sangyo was a TR2 ? ) David

What a beautiful model, of a beautiful full size motor car. I agree with Eric in that it must be the best looking American car of the 1950's. I like the tinted glass and the whole colour scheme actually. Nice build Michael and you must be proud of this one. David

I really like your diorama Michael, especially because it is 1950's. The car and the figures in the smaller scale look very good indeed... some excellent work there from you. My diorama is also 1950's but the build is in 1:24 scale, so slightly larger. As other members on this forum have pointed out, the 1:24 and 1:25 scale figures do not usually look as good as those you have been able to use. I did order some vey nice figures from Shapeways in the Netherlands and as long as they are well painted they can look realistic in my diorama photography, although these 3D printed figures have a higher price. Your detail work is very well done and for a diorama of that size you have included quite a few elements. I have a bicycle in my diorama also, but yours is better than mine, especially the spokes of the wheels. I like your version of the VW beetle which has the split rear window, and is of course correct for the period. Good photos of your diorama and you have captured a moment in time, from the 1950's. If you want to take a look at my topic in Dioramas, it is ' Hooper & Co Diorama ' by Anglia105E David

Excellent build Dwayne, and not an easy model to put together. I do agree with you that there are simply not enough 4 door cars to choose from, in kit form. Really I would like to build a scale model replica of a Canadian car that I once owned here in England, which was a Pontiac Parisienne 4-door 1968 - 5.3 litre V8 RHD. This car was pale yellow with a brown vinyl roof and registration number FCK 33 David

Pleased to hear that you are having a lot of fun with this project Joe, and I find the whole diorama thing so absorbing. You can lose yourself in a 1:24 scale miniature world. Once the building starts to take on the feeling of a real place ( in your head anyway ) then the figures, the vehicles and the street furniture all become more important. I like to take a lot of photographs of the diorama scene, and every once in a while one particular photo comes up that has something special about it. David

Interesting to see that you are giving attention to the outside walls, keeping in mind that it is the interior walls that will be on show ( I presume ? ) The building in my diorama has most of the attention on the outside walls anyway, and only recently have I begun to focus on the interior walls. For me it is the background boards that are now presenting me with a challenge, which is how to get the perspective right and also the sky in the background.

Very nicely done Mark, and as others may have mentioned this is an unusual subject for a diorama, and it really works too! David