Anglia105E

Here are the blue ones, Randy..... David

You are doing a fine job on this build, Randy..... and like you, I really enjoyed building this 1950 Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet by Heller. They are usually painted in blue, but I chose to paint mine in cream with brown upholstery. This builds up into a very nice scale model motor car. Liking your choice of Root beer metallic extreme lacquer. David

I quite often have a look round for Austin Healey 3000 kits or diecast, in both 1:43 and 1:24 scale, but usually it is the Austin Healey 100-6 that comes up in larger numbers. The K&R Replicas version of the 3000 is nice, and as you say, it is a bit pricey at £94.00 GBP....... The Revell kit is the 1:25 scale Austin Healey 100-6, and although it looks to be very good, it is not the 3000 that I would like to find. David

This photo below illustrates what I mean about the close similarity between the American car design and the British equivalent around the mid-fifties..... this 1955 Ford Fairlane Victoria and the 1959 Ford Consul MK II are so much alike, to my eye anyway..... David

Thanks, Randy..... and I shall post a few more photos when I take delivery of this model car. David

Arriving tomorrow is this 1959 Ford Consul MK II diecast by IXO in 1:43 scale, with light blue paintwork and white roof. I can see lots of American influence in British car designs of this period, and particularly from the Ford motor company. David

Nothing that you do surprises me now, Mark....... All these intricate and hand crafted parts that go to make up a working component of this Lola racing car are fascinating to behold. This is just engineering in miniature, and I should learn from this build. I continue to follow your progress with jaw dropped and eyes wide open.... David

I have added four metal dustbins with lids ( trash or garbage can ) and these are awaiting collection outside in the alleyway, at the rear of the terraced houses. David

Thanks, Gary...... I thought I would attempt to to create the fog effect indoors, using the atmosphere aerosol for the 1:43 scale diorama, rather than go outdoors at 5.00 am in the morning to use real fog :-) As long as the camera is aimed directly at the light source, the fog technique does seem to work quire well. David

The length of guttering on the front of the houses is in place, and also the two drainpipes are done, These were very tricky, and each one has four brackets holding the pipe to the wall. One pipe is dark red and the other one is dark green, to match the paintwork for each house. Three lengths of telegraph wire are in place, and a second street lamp has been fitted. Attached photos are from two photo shoots from well into the early hours of Tuesday morning. This time I was able to get some better results with the fog in a can, and the trick is to set up the camera in self timer mode, which gives me 10 seconds to get ready with the canned fog and it hangs around long enough to create the effect. Once again I have used the funeral cortege of three cars, with the gentleman in the top hat walking in front of the hearse. Apologies for so many photos, but most are in black & white, so smaller file sizes. David

Bought this one as the latest addition to my Ford collection in 1:43 scale...... it is a 1959 Ford Consul MK II by IXO, in light blue with a white roof. David

That is the one, Geoff...... I do hope that the Motor Museum in Miniature release the full kit of the Lotus Cortina MK I in 1:24 scale. The Morris Minor 1000 looks really good, and even though the price of £80.00 GBP plus P&P seems high, the kit will be excellent value for money. The resin body Cortina that is currently available does need a lot of donor parts, so a full kit would be great. David

Made good progress with the telegraph wires today..... so there are now two telegraph poles mounted on the diorama baseboard, with one length of telegraph wire joining the two poles. One of the poles will supply the two terraced houses, and there will be more wires added between the two poles. Earlier today I tried to place an order for a product called EZ Line, which is supplied by a company in the United States called Berkshire Junction, but I saw from their website that they are going into retirement and closing the business. Suppliers here in the UK are all out of stock of EZ Line in heavy size, black. Such a shame because this product appears to be perfect for the telegraph wires. Anyway, all was not lost because I managed to source some Shirring Elastic which is intended for sewing machines from a hardware store locally, and very cheaply too. David

Randy..... the Lotus Cortina MK I was available as a 1:32 scale Airfix kit in styrene, and you can still get 1:24 scale Lotus Cortina MK I as a resin body shell only.... which then requires a donor kit to complete. ( the Lotus version is a 2-door body shell ). David

Picked up this nice 1:43 scale Minichamps 1963 Ford Cortina, 2-door version today....... very accurate model and not expensive. David

Gary..... I know what you mean about the distractions in the room, but these previous photos were more about showing the bus shelter and walls, rather than the diorama setting as a whole. Later, when I shoot the more advanced photos I shall set up background white boards, which will hide any unwanted background objects that are in the room. Further photography will be outdoors, which will make use of a real background in natural daylight, and of course forced perspective also. Few more photos here, taken with early morning sunlight, so not the 100 watt daylight bulb as in the previous set of photos. The gentleman in the top hat standing at the bus shelter looks more like a bouncer standing at the door of a night club ! David

The two lengths of red brick wall have been assembled and these are now in place on the diorama baseboard, creating an alleyway as I intended. Also. I have just assembled a Victorian red brick Bus Shelter kit during the past two days. This has turned out nicely, and from the following series of photos you can see how the bus shelter and the walls fit into the diorama setting. The tree that was previously used in my 1:24 scale diorama seems to be more suitable for this 1:43 scale diorama, and it is useful for providing dappled rays of light that fall on the red brick buildings. David

Beautiful Duesenberg, Pico...... and you have done an excellent job on those wheels. David

Welcome to MCM forums, Mike..... and your story is so close to my experience of scale model kit building that I can relate to every word. My daughter is now 24 years of age, and I was first drawn to collecting models around the age of 10 years myself.... started out with tanks and wargaming stuff, moved on to cars, and learned a lot from my Dad....... so this is all about arriving at where we are now, as I approach 66 years of age...... David

Picked up this 1963 Ford Cortina MK I, in 1:43 scale by Minichamps, in diecast...... they have got the body shape correct, whereas several other manufacturers have not. I was wanting the 4-door version but had to settle for the 2-door version instead. This was a car that was owned by my Dad during the early '70's and he taught me to drive in this very car...... I passed the driving test at the third attempt ! David

Your comment is much appreciated, as always, Eric...... and here are three further photographs that show the alleyway that is being constructed as we speak. This cobbled stone alleyway runs along the rear facing aspect of the terraced houses, and then turns a corner to run along the side of one of the houses. I am building a wall in two sections that follows this alleyway, which is a 7 foot high red brick wall with granite copings along the top of the wall. Close to end of the alleyway, where the gentleman is seated on the wooden bench at the moment, there will be a brick built bus shelter for the bus stop. One telegraph pole has been erected, and this will be followed by a second telegraph pole with wires that connect the poles, as well as supplying the two houses. Materials have arrived to provide also drain pipes and guttering for the houses. Currently I am experimenting with a product called Atmosphere Aerosol, which is basically fog in a can, or canned fog if you like. As yet I have not achieved the effect that I am looking for, which is early morning fog at the time of the funeral scene. David

Both of your Welly Porsches look very realistic and accurate, Gary.... especially the 959.... David

Thanks, Gary...... I found the flowers listed on Ebay as 7 mm, O-gauge, 1:43 and they were quite cheap as a single pack of 11 clumps. There are only 3 clumps of flowers on the hearse roof. Watch this space for the next photo shoot, which could be quite interesting..... David

Not sure what you will make of this idea, Michael..... but here goes.... I would paint the entire grille in matt black, and then before the black paint is dry you can wipe away the black from the parts of the grille that you want chrome, leaving the slats matt black underneath. I am only suggesting this method because I was advised to use this technique when painting the floor of a Revell London Bus, which basically leaves the black bits showing after you have wiped away the excess paint that you don't want.... before it dries. David

The following series of photos shows the next stage of the composition, now that there are flowers on top of the hearse roof rack.... also there is a second Austin Princess behind the hearse and the gentleman in the brown suit has changed into a black suit out of respect for the job he is doing..... if only he had remembered to put on a black tie.... David