Anglia105E

Jarkko...... I see that you have a very good resin body casting supplier in Finland, which is the Air-Trax guys. The owner is Tapani Rauramo. They have some very interesting resin body kits listed, and their list includes some very unusual cars too. Air-Trax are well known here in England, and also in the USA. The prices are high but the quality is also high. David

Jarkko Antikainen......... Well done for completing this build of the London RML Routemaster bus, and I know how difficult it is because I did build one myself. To build this Revell 1:24 scale bus took me 2 months, and there are nearly 400 pieces / parts to the kit. This Revell kit is really good, and as you say, it is a lot of fun to do. I converted the RML bus to an older type RT which is a shorter wheel base and not so many windows! The front end of the older bus is different also. You would agree with me that the most time consuming part of this build is the SEATS....... many, many seats to assemble and paint .... also the seats are right and left handed, so you have to get it right. Like your photos of a really nice build.......you did it ! David

Mitchy....... I was also interested in your lighting technique, which does appear to give a pleasant effect. Nice work on the Cobra body shell. David

Pico..... would that blue model car be the Air-Trax resin bodied 1952-55 Bentley Continental R by any chance? David

Here we see the 1933 MG K3 Magnette sports racing car outside Hooper & Co., along with it's famous lady owner, Kitty Brunell. The 1:24 scale figure of Kitty Brunell is not yet finished, but I have added some face detail and a piece of light blue string around the waist of her overalls. Dressed in a dark brown woolly hat, blue overalls and brown lace-up shoes, Kitty was often seen maintaining and repairing her MG cars, as well as her Singer, Talbot and Aston Martin cars. Here are a few photos of the car and owner, including one photo of the lady herself. David

Bill Engwer....... There is a resin kit listed on Air-Trax in Finland for a Bentley Continental R 1952-1955 and it is priced at 100 Euros plus shipping. There is no donor kit suggested for the resin body. David Watson

I think you have the height of the handlebars just right Pat, at not much more than doorknob height..... looks good now. I did not spot the missing floor tiles, Gary, I must look more closely! David

Good to hear that Italeri are bringing out a new 1:12 Alfa Romeo kit this year........ My suggestion for what I would like to see as a kit is never gonna happen..... 1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn in 1:24 scale ( or indeed, any 1950's Rolls-Royce motor car )... dream on Mr Watson David Watson

Opening hood, boot lid, doors and fuel filler flap...... brilliant work there Clifford..... I just wish I could do that. I did an opening door on a Bedford truck cab, but it wasn't very strong. Very nice Pontiac. David

Well Pat.... that's what struck me when I thought about the 6 feet height of the handlebar. If you imagine your 3" tall mechanic /engineer raising his arms to take hold of that handlebar.... just a bit too high me thinks. David

Machined aluminium...... sweet. David

I see.... you've got it covered. David

Liking the cart Pat........ is 3 inches okay for this? Only asking because a 1:24 scale man is 3 inches tall. David

Phew.... that's a relief Pat..... I was worried about that small fire extinguisher on the wall, and what would happen if there was a diesel engine runaway ( or petrol / gas ). No, seriously that is a wise precaution for your diorama facilities. David

Just when I thought you could not go any smaller Mark...... acid cut lock levers from brass...... and here's me hesitating and pondering over how to make two small round hinges for the windshield of my 1933 MG K3 Magnette in white metal. Surely, if you can do it then so can I ( not necessarily ). Seriously though Mark, your work on the roof and the license plate is inspirational to watch in progress. David

Oh I see what you mean Pat..... yes, that makes perfect sense. David

You have done some nice work on this Johan promo Rich, and the colour really suits this car. The design appeals to my eye also, and speaking as an Englishman who is not that familiar with all '50's American cars, your '57 Oldsmobile reminds me of a DeSoto Firefly ( not sure if I got that right, please excuse me ). My favourite cars from both United States and Europe are those from the '30's, '40's and '50's..... you can keep your modern car designs. David

Pat..... Haulage contractors in this country use low loaders to transport very heavy plant machinery, agricultural machinery and industrial loads. I have a DVD film called ' The Yellow Rolls-Royce ' which shows a Rolls-Royce Phantom I being delivered to Hooper & Co by low-loader lorry in London during the 1950's, and the car is hidden inside a large wooden crate. I understand that in Canada and the United States you would expect to see low loaders being used for railroad equipment. Interesting, thanks. David

Now that's a serious loading ramp, Pat....... not sure the MD of Hooper's would find the money for that piece of kit. Laser cut? Perhaps not in 1958, but I appreciate your good humour! - When they transported the Rolls-Royce motor cars they used low-loaders, and the car was inside a wooden crate and not visible. Indeed, the car was not open to the elements. The little Bedford drop-side lorry is doing well to carry these cars, albeit smaller and lighter than the mighty Silver Cloud. David

Thank you Gary..... You can see from the photos above that the wire-spoked wheels are chrome plated, but I am in the process of putting grey primer on those wheels, so that they can be hand painted in the grey body colour. The rims and hubs that came with the Wills Finecast Auto Kit were dunked in the white pond ( paint stripper ) to remove some dark green paint from the previous builder, but unfortunately two of the hubs dissolved in the solution and are never to be seen again. Plan B was to make use of some excellent wheels and tyres from an old Heller Alfa Romeo Zagato kit that are the same size and design as those of the MG. This did save me from having to manually do the winding of the wire across the white metal rims and hubs, but I would have liked to use those original wheels, rather than these plastic Heller wheels. I think they should look okay once painted and the twin eared knock-off hub caps are in place. David

Pat...... I am thinking there are two long ramps that are placed against the rear edge of the lorry's flat bed, and the car is driven, hauled, man-handled up the ramps for loading. Well before the days of powered winches and tilting flat beds of course., this being 1958. As you say, these ramps would be behind the building or maybe they should be laid along one side of the flat bed, next to the car? David

This is a 1933 MG K3 Magnette sports racing motor car being brought to Hooper & Co on the back of a Bedford lorry, to be displayed in their ground floor showroom, in recognition of past success in numerous motor sport events during the early 1930's. The 1:24 scale white metal model car has been assembled and painted from the kit by Wills Finecast Auto Kits and this particular kit is at least 46 years old, possibly older. There is some further work to be carried out on the MG so the car will be taken to Hooper's nearby Acton factory where skilled motor engineers will complete the work to a high standard. David

This is weird, Mr McGowan.... but interesting also! David

Ah yes, the light meter, David Mitchell....... Just to explain how good the Zenit ' E ' SLR camera can be, when I was in Hong Kong as a visitor I took a photograph from a high point on Hong Kong Island, across the stretch of water all the way over in the direction of Kai Tak airport which was the old and very dangerous airport on the China mainland ( Hong Kong was British then ). I was using quite a bulky zoom lens and lots of lucky good fortune. What I got as a printed photograph, was the clear image of a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet taking off or landing ( can't remember which ) at the Kai Tak main runway, and you could see the lettering markings on the fuselage of the aircraft . I thought I could make out a passenger at one of the cabin windows..... but that is just me showing off. That is quite some distance in miles and the light must have been BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH near perfect. David

Thanks a lot David and Jim...... based upon your excellent suggestions, I shall have a good look at not only static photo images from 1950's London street scenes but also film footage from that era. Pathé News footage in black and white is available, and very appropriate, so as Jim suggested I could do a screen grab from a moving image and use it as a static backdrop image. As I just mentioned, the images will more than likely be in black and white, which I do prefer anyway, but of course the diorama is in colour normally. The way I like to produce the best photography is to shoot in black and white and this allows me to make use of the black and white images of the '50's. My trusty Kodak M340 digital compact camera is quite happy to do black and white and I also have an old Russian Zenit SLR camera that can produce incredible photographs, in either colour or black and white, but of course you have to do it the ' old ' way and you only get 24 or 36 shots, after the prints have come back from Boots the chemist ! I have taken note of your comments regarding camera settings, lighting, distance and camera position David, and this is the interesting part of the diorama project once the building stage has been completed. David