Anglia105E

Liking this one Anders...... this is my favourite version of the Porsche 911 Turbo and also my favourite colour for this car is black. Myself, I always use Meguiars Carnauba Wax deep shine polish over Zero Paints, which I find is much nicer than clearcoat. You have done an excellent job on this Tamiya build, and the paint finish is top class ! David

If this is any help to you..... I always use what they call ' Best Blue ' masking tape these days, rather than regular masking tape. I used to leave the best blue tape on for 24 hours and then remove it very slowly and very gently. Seemed to work fine but more recently I remove the tape less than 12 hours after applying the second paint colour. Just the other day I applied a two-tone paint scheme to a 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce and the line between the two paint colours came out fine. With regular tape you get the bleeding effect under the edge of the tape like your photos show, whereas the best blue tape doesn't suffer from this problem. Here in UK they sell the best blue masking tape at Wilko and also at Halfords which is an automotive supplies store. This type of tape doesn't cost much more than the regular tape. The blue tape also seems to bend nicely around curved lines, such as over a wheel arch for example. You could probably remove the tape after 15 - 20 minutes as others have said on here. David

Thanks a lot Gary...... the most common scale they worked in was quarter scale...... so 1:4 in clay. Not all those models in the photo are 1:4, so maybe 1:8 ? David

Today I received confirmation by phone that I have been allocated exhibition space on a trade stand at the 2019 RREC Annual Rally, Burghley House in Stamford for my two Hooper dioramas. This is excellent news and gives me 48 days to prepare all the models, as well as the logistics of transporting both dioramas to this prestigious venue. The Annual Rally is the largest event in the world for Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars, so around 2,000 cars will be attending from most countries. The event organiser has given me a prime location in the main marquee, as indeed she did last year, and this will be an exciting opportunity to display the two Hooper buildings and all the cars in both 1:24 and 1:43 scales. Already I have booked my hotel for the 5 day trip in June, and it is time to brush the dust off the model cars that are stored in boxes. At the moment am building a 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II which is a 1960 car that was once owned by Osmond Rivers, the Chief Draughtsman and Managing Director of Hooper & Co. The 1960 car does not fit into the 1958 diorama of course, as it was purchased by Mr Rivers after the company closed at the end of 1959, so it will be displayed alongside the main exhibit. Here is an interesting photograph of the styling department for Rolls-Royce at their re-located premises in Crewe, which shows the designer of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, John Blatchley and his two colleagues working on 1:4 size clay models of the new designs at the time. Each design had a code name to keep the design a secret before releasing the new model to the press at large. David

All your dioramas are interesting JC, and I particularly like the Barn with Stutz - Fermenting....... the water effect for your fishing vessel is excellent. David

I have always liked the Datsun 240Z since the 1970's and that is a nicely turned out diecast model. I picked up these two models in 1:43 recently..... one is the diecast Bedford OB Coach by IXO/ Hatchette, and the other is a resin Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Hooper Empress by BoS ( Best of Show ). David

You did it, Mark...... your Caterham Super 7 is ' Under Glass '..... and what a beauty. This scale model car is without a doubt impressive, inspirational, extremely well built and any other superlative that I could think of. Having followed your build since I joined MCM during November of 2016, this means that I only missed the beginning of your project by one month I believe ! David

Good luck at the GSL show, Mark...... David

I can see the size of the flashlight that you have made, and the detail that has gone into this one small part of the whole model. Absolutely top class miniature engineering. Someone on here joked that the flashlight doesn't work, but having seen all your work to date.... I wouldn't have been particularly surprised if the flashlight had worked ! ( I think I must be joking also, maybe not? ). David

Your comments are much appreciated Yordan...... I am experimenting quite a lot at the moment with the lighting, shadows, reflections and composition. Hopefully, the 1:43 scale model cars will have a high degree of realism about them, providing I can get the camera angles and distance correct. My Kodak camera only just fits inside the two upper floors with a few millimetres to spare, and there is about 2.5 centimetres clearance for the camera to be placed inside the two lower floors. Outside the building the camera is at ground level for this 1:43 scale, while for the 1:24 scale photo shoots the camera is usually on wooden blocks that place the lens at the height of a 1:24 scale person, approximately 3 inches is at eye level. David

Good work Yordan..... the sidewalks, paving, drains and grates are really good. Your idea to create 3D-printed moulds and use Plaster of Paris to cast the pieces has worked well, and you can use the same technique to produce further pieces for your next diorama. David

Ah.... thought so.... this is why I like Shapeways Printle Shop figures, they are as good as you can get really.

That is one incredibly life-like figure, Pat....... where did he come from? David

Thank you Pat..... clearly, the interior walls of the showrooms need to be attended to. I'm not quite sure what sort of wallpaper or paint might have been used during the 1950's for car showroom walls, so I will have to do some further research on this matter. There are no interior photographs for the Hooper & Co building unfortunately. David

Two Bentley motor cars and two Rolls-Royce motor cars are being displayed in the upper showrooms. The salesman is seeking to find the best position for each car, with regard to the angle in relation to the surrounding walls and also the light coming in through the windows. It is most important to be able to present these fine examples of automobile engineering from their absolute best perspective. David

The evening bus is departing from outside Hooper & Co., just before the lights come on...... the daylight hours are fading and weary passengers are making their way home. This is the 294 to Romford Station. David

I like where you are going with this Charles, and having seen your previous dioramas I am expecting this one to be of the same high standard. David

Ah yes, I see the styling now..... inverted bathtubs... very apt description. David

Thanks for your comments, Pat and Gary...... I think Hooper's did deal in some standard bodied cars, both Rolls-Royce and Bentley, and when a car was being built specifically for a distinguished customer they would order the chassis ready assembled, and then mount the coachbuilt body onto the rolling chassis. The body would have been hand made at the Acton factory. Hooper's also sold Daimler motor cars and the carriages were for display only later. The sunshine in the most recent photos was provided by a single 100 watt daylight bulb, mounted low down and also very close to the building. The camera was placed at the Bennet Street window, with the lens touching the window glass so as to avoid any unwanted reflection. David

I like those two photos taken in the half shade, half sunlight..... where your build could easily pass for the real car. Excellent job Benito. David

You have done a very nice job on the '68 Pontiac there Thomas...... and it does look very realistic in your photos, especially with your background setting. Excellent build all round ! The vinyl roof works really well and that is a technique worth noting for all of us. David

I use Halfords Grey Primer in 300 ml aerosol cans, but this is UK so I guess it is not available in US ( sorry ). No issues with any kind of paint, even cellulose on plastic and resin. David

Early morning sunshine is streaming in through the large window of the ground floor showroom. A motor car sales representative watches over the gleaming new Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud that stands prominently among the shadows as they dance upon the highly polished crimson floor. It is this year's 1959 model, resplendent in sand and sable, and this will be one of the last of the 6-cylinder engined cars that Rolls-Royce has been producing since 1955, soon to be replaced with a slightly larger V8 engine. The car we see in the showroom has the standard body as supplied from the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, as distinct from the bespoke bodies by coachbuilders such as Hooper & Co and others. David

Brilliant idea, Jay...... and certainly when I first started looking through the series of pics I assumed that it was indeed a drawing! The more I look at it, the more I like it.... David

The following series of photos show the improved baseboard which now has 6-ply thickness rather than 3-ply, and this has dealt with the warping issue. The long paving section that has the bus stop at the end of it is now laid flat and level. I have added two wooden beams to the underside of the first floor, which is also the ceiling of the ground floor. This has strengthened the general structure of the building and levelled out the crimson floor of the first floor showroom. There are a couple of shots of the entire collection of 19 vehicles in 1:43 scale, which will not usually appear in the diorama setting all at the same time. It does give some idea of how many cars can fill the space on St James's Street, which is a four lane road for two-way traffic. David