Anglia105E

This is 1948, and a Bedford OLB lorry is transporting a 1929 Bentley Blower motor car to the Goodwood motor racing circuit in England....... it is the first year that motor racing events were held at the famous Goodwood circuit, and motor racing continued to be held there until 1966. The Bedford Dropside lorry is a 1:24 scale EMHAR model that I built and painted, which followed on from a Bedford OLB Tanker that I had built earlier. These Bedford OLB lorries were produced up to 1953, which coincidentally happens to be the year that I was born. ' MW 1929 ' is the registration number plate of the Bedford lorry, and I built the model as an idea of what might have been a fictitious road haulage company that my Dad could have owned when he was alive..... his name was Maurice Watson, and he was born in 1929, which also coincidentally was the first year during which the iconic Bentley 4.5 Litre Blower supercharged racing car was produced and raced. David Watson

The weathered signs on your shed building look really good, Paul........ it's these nice finishing touches that add realism to the whole diorama. David

Thank you, Pat ! David

I saw this image today on the BBC website of people celebrating VE day in Piccadilly, London on 8th May 1945, as the end of the war in Europe was announced. The photograph is shown here, courtesy of Getty Images and I have added my own photographic images that represent my interpretation of the scene on that day in 1945..... the diorama scene is actually St James's Street, which is just a short distance down the road from Piccadilly, and my Hooper & Co diorama is 1958, so technically thirteen years after the end of the war in Europe. I realised that I have the same type of London bus, as a 1:24 scale model, and also some of the figures are in similar positions to the ones in the original photograph. There aren't as many people in my photos because I don't have that number of figures. The scale model of the Hooper & Co building on the left hand side of the photo is of the same period as the buildings in the VE day celebrations. Hope you like it..... and thanks for looking........ David

It is 1959, and on this fine sunny afternoon a young mother is pushing a pram along Western Avenue....... just behind a passing bus can be seen Hooper's factory across the road, where there are two Rolls-Royce motor cars parked outside the front of the building. It was one of those long afternoons in June when time seems to stand still........ and there is no hurry to get anywhere. These are a few models from the 1:43 scale Acton Factory diorama, and the black & white photographs would be typical of the late 1950's in post war London. David

Everything under control in the dyno room, Pat....... and I suppose we are used to seeing V8 engines, and V12 engines, so the Dodge V10 is a more unusual configuration..... to me anyway. David

Thanks very much, Peter...... sometimes the larger scale diorama can appear to be in scale with the smaller one, when viewed from a certain angle, although that wasn't my intention. Due to limited space at home these three dioramas are very close together. I did consider producing two videos, one for 1:24 scale and one for 1:43 scale and that might be a better way of presenting the dioramas. There are many more model cars that cannot appear at the same time, when using photography or video recording..... I have 51 vehicles in the larger scale and 48 vehicles in the smaller scale, so I have to be selective when choosing which models are featured in a series of photos or in a short video scene.You will have noticed examples of most diecast manufacturers, in both scales, and also most of the plastic kit producers as well. Thanks again for looking. David

Good thinking, Pat...... you wouldn't want that one tipping up, would you? David

Over at the Hooper & Co. factory in Acton, it is late afternoon and a couple of Rolls-Royce motor cars are being dispatched to their respective customers. The factory foreman in the long brown coat is checking off the details on his clipboard, while a senior admin manager is making sure that everything is satisfactory. One of the motor cars is a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, which is finished in Shell Grey over Black Pearl, and the second motor car is a Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn finished in Silver....... Once the factory foreman has completed his checklist procedure, by ensuring that each vehicle has a full tank of petrol, they are both cleared for delivery. The senior admin manager will personally drive the gleaming Silver Cloud to it's new owner, and the foreman will task the delivery of the Silver Dawn to one of his more responsible engineers. Hooper & Co. pride themselves on this high level of personal service to each and every one of their distinguished wealthy customers. Furthermore, their customers can expect an after sales service that is second to none...... and in the unlikely event, should a Rolls-Royce motor car ' fail to proceed ', and regardless of which country anywhere in the world the customer should require assistance, the Rolls-Royce company would of course send a fully qualified engineer directly to the customer's location. David

Nice group photo, Pat...... they really look like as though they are having a discussion about the Hit & Miss engine. There must be quite some weight in that old engine! David

Useful looking table you have there, John...... and a good size baseboard for the diorama too. I can see that you have the layout organised.... keep up the good work! David

Using the sepia filter on the KODAK camera, these images were produced early this morning, when I found myself sitting at the Victorian Houses diorama and unable to sleep. I am constantly trying out new ideas, and always on the lookout for an interesting element within each composition. There is no special lighting in use for these photos, so only the fluorescent tube light immediately above the diorama. This is a short break from video filming work, which has taken up most of my free time during the past week or so. David

Update: The Hooper & Co. Dioramas 1958 -1959 video presentation on YouTube was previously ' Unlisted ', but has now gone ' Public ' by David J. Watson 25th April 2020 Stay At Home - Protect The NHS - Save Lives Thank You

Thanks very much, Gary...... I was rather apprehensive about venturing into the video film aspect of this project, not least because I do not have the equipment or the resources to do it properly..... a model builder friend of mine suggested that I must have a GoPro video camera to even think about doing this at all. As it happens, I dropped the cheap video camera onto the concrete floor, which is where everything I handle ends up at some point ( clumsy ) so thank goodness it wasn't an expensive camera! The KODAK camera is doing a fantastic job really, but it cannot produce the higher resolution required by YouTube. David

Thanks for the compliment, Pat..... but I don't rate myself as a cinematographer just yet, as this is my very first amateur attempt at producing a video. The next short film will be longer, and will show the model cars in greater detail....... I would like to explain more about each individual car, such as the year and model, the history and how it might be a diecast model or built from a kit. David

Thanks a lot, Don..... and as you mentioned, the perspective is tricky when filming or photographing the two scale models side by side. This is the only space I have in my house to display the dioramas and really they are too close together. Perhaps it would be better to produce two videos, so one for the 1:43 scale building and one for the 1:24 scale building..... the music is ' Mayn Rue Platz ' by June Tabor, who is the partner or wife of Richard Thompson, both of whom are famous in folk music circles. The song has been recorded by many artists, and most notably by the great Leonard Cohen..... this song has Jewish origins I believe. David

Here is a link to the finished version of the Hooper & Co video on YouTube, if you have time to watch it...... it is only 3 minutes and 39 seconds in length, and it is best viewed full screen, with sound on. https://youtu.be/XMKfVhR2mZE I have used one of my KODAK cameras with the large tripod, and I bought some video editing software from the Microsoft Store, which was only £8.39. The music was purchased from the Amazon site for only 0.99 p. David

Excellent, Pat...... you have done a fine job on this engine, and I can tell that you have enjoyed the whole process of building it. David

Wow! that was an extreme reaction from Mr Strummer, but understandable in those circumstances..... our daughter was a steward at Glastonbury twice during recent years, around 2016. What a shame that the best music festival in the world has had to be cancelled. David

Thanks, Don...... yes, the scene from War of the Worlds.... I see why it would make you think of that! ? It could have been much worse, such as an expensive GoPro video camera ! David

Work on the YouTube video presentation is now at an advanced stage, and I will shortly be able to post a video link on this forum topic. This part of the project is to show the Hooper & Co dioramas on YouTube, with background music and some text explaining what is being viewed on the screen. There was a delay while I was awaiting the delivery of an alternative video camera..... and sadly, this new video camera has fallen off the tripod yesterday, dropping onto a concrete floor from a height of at least 3 feet...... the video camera is damaged beyond repair, but it was only a cheap one from Ebay. Moving forward today with an early start, and now using one of my two KODAK cameras on the large tripod. The video format is converted to .MP4 and the audio format is .MP3......... the idea is to make this video available to view on the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club website, so that members can see what would have been exhibited at the International Annual Show in June, as this event is now cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions of course. Currently working on test video number 10, which has been uploaded to YouTube but not yet published. Further testing is required before I am happy with the presentation. David

You are absolutely right, Don...... most dioramas are constantly evolving, and therefore ' Never Finished '...... I do have three dioramas that seem to be in a ' finished ' state, but whenever I am setting up a photo shoot, or as now a video presentation for YouTube, I see something that can be added, or improved....... David

Ingenuity....... Pat ! David

Those wheels are just right, Pat....... and this engine of yours is coming together nicely. You are clearly having fun with this one. David

Okay, thank you Dave