Anglia105E

Thanks for your suggestion Jim....... Two problems there. One is, I don't have Adobe Photoshop on my computer ( too expensive for me.... retired ), and the second problem is that the number of vehicles in a typical London city photo is so great that it would be too complicated to remove all traces from the image. Also, the vehicles overlap parts of the buildings that I do want. Even the people in the photograph have 21st century clothing that would not work with 1958 outside Hooper's. There must be a way....... ? David

Gary and Pat.... Your ideas and suggestions are sound enough, but the only images that I can get hold of, whether they are my own photography or others, always have modern vehicles filling the streets. I have not been able to find any images on the Internet that show St James's Street or Bennet Street as they were in the 1950's..... complete with 1950's cars, buses, taxis and people. Google Street View is marvellous, but the images always contain 21st century vehicles. I have already had photos blown up to A2 size, which do look really good when placed either side of the Hooper & Co building and it's a shame the subject matter does not fit. This is probably the one aspect of the diorama project that I do struggle with. It is something that troubles me when I think about it, almost on a daily basis. The plain white foam board backgrounds don't quite work for me and the perspective painting idea did kind of work, but only when you view the diorama from one unique position. Apart from bringing the centre of London to a complete standstill, I can't think of a way of providing an interesting and realistic background for the diorama setting. All clever suggestions welcome of course! David

Randy..... There are no superlative words in the English Dictionary to describe this level of scale model engineering....... this is off the scale as an incredible achievement. Following your intricate build I realised that you more or less had to start over again. This is such a joy to study in detail and I wish I could get even half way close to building a model car like this. Good luck Randy and enjoy every minute of what you are doing. David

Mark..... That has got to be the most detailed and also most impressive engine bay that I have ever seen in a scale model motor car. The radiator and associated parts looks to be exactly what it is...... a perfectly fabricated 1:24 scale replica of a full size radiator and associated parts. Faultless in every detail, and something for us all to aspire to. One day, I might get half way close to your level of building Mark..... and I would be happy with that achievement. David

Gary McNutt..... You have identified the crucial point there, as there is an obvious problem with the background. I can find open countryside, with narrow country lanes and generally rural settings, but what would be needed of course would be a busy London city street. This might need some thought....... !!! Pat St-Martin...... On the same point, and I appreciate your dry humour..... That would be the perfect solution but realistically, not possible. How to stop the traffic on St James's Street London SW1 in the middle of rush hour while a guy from a village in Derbyshire takes a few photos of model cars...... answers on a postcard please Head of the British Government. Certainly, I have Michael Paul Smith ( R.I.P. ) very much in mind for this method of forced perspective photography at that level. ( get it.... at that LEVEL ) David

While waiting for paint to dry on a bench full of parts for the 1933 MG K3 Magnette by Wills Finecast Auto Kits, there was an opportunity to experiment with some further photography. Using the familiar diorama setting, I tried out different positions for the light source, by varying the height and angle of the 100 watt daylight lamp. I only placed two models in the setting for this trial run, which was the AEC bus and the Citroen Traction Avant. There are some black and white shots as well as the colour shots. The camera is placed on three wooden blocks, while some shots are taken using two blocks, one block and no blocks at all. Those three wooden blocks correspond to the eye level view of a 1:24 scale person. I began to think about the possibility of taking the diorama to an outdoor location in my vehicle, along with a fold up table and a small selection of model cars and figures, but today we had some snow and it is only just above zero degrees. It would be interesting to try photographing the setting in natural daylight, providing the right background can be found locally to where I live. Thanks for looking..... David

Excellent build there Paul..... I really like the small rear window and the open top with the sliding cover. The colour is the same as a Beetle I used to own.... which had a 6 volt electrical system. Your chrome work and detailing on the wheels is very well done. A scale model car to be proud of! David

Hi Thierry....... Wishing you well with your recovery, and try to stay positive ( that's easy for me to say, I know ) I have the utmost admiration for any scale model car builders that take on a Pocher kit....... and you WILL get there my friend !!! David

Anders.... this is a really interesting scale model motor car, and I do like the colour combination. This turquoise and white '58 Impala and also a blue and white '55 Chevy that I've seen on here recently are just the best two-tone colours for the '50's period. Your build is very nicely done indeed. David

Paul..... I had seen the high price for these Ebbro Citroen DS19 kits previously, and now I know why they are a bit pricey... good quality and accurate. Your build is excellent and I can see why you are so pleased with it. Beautiful scale model motor car! Well done. David

Geoff in Solihull.... You have got yourself a very nice resin kit of the Morris Minor there, and I would be very interested in a Lotus Cortina MK1 resin kit in 1:24 scale. I have built a 1:24 Morris Minor Traveller as a resin kit, which I gave to my cousin because it was a replica of his late father's motor car. Currently I am building a 1960 Ford Anglia 105E which is also a resin kit, and I would like to build a 4-door Ford Cortina MK1 which used to be my late father's car, but the Lotus Cortina is a 2-door of course. Thanks for posting a photo of the box for the kit and I shall have a look at The Motor Museum in Miniature web site. Here is a photo of the Morris Minor Traveller for you..... David in Derbyshire, England

Sonny..... There might well be a build thread for this one, but I am not only a slow builder, but also not great at keeping up with the build by posting regularly. However, having said that I will try. The build is going to be a 1932 MG F Magna as driven by Kitty Brunell successfully in major international motor races and rallies of the period. The 1933 MG K3 Magnette is close enough to the Magna to be accurate, in terms of dimensions and specification generally. Thanks for looking! David in Derbyshire, England

Yes, it was quite lucky Gary...... and this will be my first build of a white metal kit, so I need to take it slowly. Not sure yet if super glue or epoxy is best for assembling these kits. David

Picked up a really nice 1:24 Wills Finecast Auto-Kit today, which is a white metal kit of a 1933 MG K3 Magnette Open Tourer. The original box is in very good condition, especially considering this kit is 46 years old or more. I managed to bid for this kit on Ebay and got it for £9.99, which is around US $. 12.73 and I can see built versions of this kit on sale for £150.00 ( US $. 191.28 ). The wire-spoked wheels have to be wired by hand, but they include a wheel winding jig and plenty of wire in the kit. I shall be building this as a 1932 MG F Magna which is very close in appearance to the K3 Magnette of 1933. David

Bruce...... I have just been studying all four pages of this wonderful topic, and as a builder of British and European scale model cars in 1:24, seeing your incredible work on this '55 Chevy makes me want to go out and buy the Monogram kit and build one myself! Maybe this will happen, as a direct result of your inspiration. In a few weeks I shall be taking delivery of the excellent book by Tim Boyd ' Collecting Muscle Car Model Kits ' that everyone is talking about. If there is a 1955 Chevy in there like yours Bruce..... I may well go ahead with it. ( no way am I going to achieve your paint finish, and I love the two tone look of the'50's David

Just placed an order for your book Tim on Ebay UK and although my field of interest regarding the building of scale model cars is not actually American Muscle Cars, there is sure to be a wealth of fascinating knowledge among your thousands of words and hundreds of photos! Having studied three pages of brilliant reviews here on MCM forums I simply had to order a copy quickly, before they are all gone! The Waterstones website was stating ' Currently Unavailable to Order ' and ' Publisher Out of Stock ', while the Ebay website only had 2 copies available ( One of which I reserved ). Good luck with your whole publishing experience Tim...... I just have to wait 3 weeks to get my copy of your book! ( I can wait ). David Watson, Derbyshire, England, UK

Gary..... I like the Econoline van and Don Parker trailer combination, and the Ford GT40 sits nicely on the trailer. The black and white photo of the 1:1 outfit alongside your diecast models goes together well. Today I received a delivery of some nice 1:24 scale cotton flags, comprising one pack of two France Tricolour and one pack of two Union Jack. David

Mark..... the engine has fitted into the engine bay quite nicely by the look of it, and your detailing continues...... detail, detail and more detail! David

That is a well regarded article Gary, and as we can see it is providing continued reference for members of MCM even after 16 years since you wrote the article. David

Nicely done badges and scripts Steven, and all done using foil and paint...... as D Spencer said, does look more realistic than decals. You must have a steady hand and good eyesight Steven ! David

Richard.... the 400 ml aerosol can of cellulose was ordered from Autopaints of Brighton, in Hove, England UK David

Just like Michael of South Carolina. I was really impressed with a very fast delivery today...... I placed an order for a rattle can of cellulose Ford Imperial Maroon paint to build a 1960 Ford Anglia, which was yesterday 3rd January and by midday today, 4th January the paint had been mixed to order and delivered to my home address. This is so fast I cannot understand how the company did that? Sent an email to say thanks for a brilliant service! David

Nicely done Ismael..... and given how you feel about AMT kits and their problems, this model looks rather good, especially the paint colour. You Dad will be pleased, I'm sure. David

Gary...... I saw a Bburago Citroen 15 on Ebay and I was tempted to buy one at some stage, but I noticed the engine was silver coloured rather than green so I passed on that one. I didn't notice the lack of windshield wipers and I have to say that Heller haven't drilled any holes for the wipers, even though the parts are supplied in the kit. Actually, the wiper arms have ' tabs ' rather than pins, so what they need is a slot as opposed to a hole. As regards the length of the car...... the Citroen DS19 is 190 inches in length, while the 15.Six is quoted as being 175.2 inches to 195.3 inches in length. There was an extended wheelbase version which had an additional row of seats, so this could explain the 195.3 inches, and this would be slightly longer than the DS19 ? David

I agree with David from Kansas...... I bought a large chocolate birthday cake from Marks & Spencer which was ridiculously cheap because of the use by date, and I noticed the box had a very large window panel of clear plastic. This plastic is very clear and very good quality plastic, so I have used this material to make windscreens for my 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud builds. The thickness of the plastic is so much more accurate than the plastic windscreen supplied in the kit box. There you go...... instead of all of the cake box packaging going in the waste bin, I have re-used 50% of it to build scale model cars! The chocolate cake was very nice too ! David