Anglia105E

I have never worked in 1:35 scale, but might try it one day. My favourite scale is 1:24 and now discovering 1:43 scale which offers a much greater choice of model cars from the 1950's especially. David

Thank you Gary..... and I am constantly searching for the magical ' golden ' element that will bring this diorama to life. David

Mark..... This scale model Gulf Seven has everything..... and right there we have the steering column shaft and coupling, ' like a real one ' ( your words ). Phillips head screws on the steering wheel...... the license plate detail is excellent..... this is the way to do it properly. David

Thanks Pat..... it's all about the mood. Work is now under way on the 1:43 scale version of the Hooper & Co diorama, and the smaller version will have 1:43 scale diecast cars by Oxford Diecast and IXO, as well as a horse drawn carriage by Brumm of Italy ( see photos ). The smaller diorama will have a more accurately constructed building. David

Pat..... you have chosen a particularly interesting military vehicle, and the driver figure looks good. Central connector and 6-wheel drive, like it. The effect on the tyres is just right. I used to build military vehicles a long time ago, and I seem to remember them being 1:32 scale. What scale is this model of yours Pat? David

It is early morning and the sun is just coming up........ The window cleaner has arrived with his ladder to wash off the dirt of the city streets. The managing director of Hooper & Co is standing outside the main door, taking a moment to organise his thoughts for the new day ahead. The Police constable is at his post, awaiting the next call. It is a time of long shadows and soft lights. Anything is possible today..... David

Jacob Bonnell........ Thank you very much for your appreciation. Glad you like the photos and I intend to keep posting new developments with this ongoing project. Every now and then, and in between building the scale model cars for the diorama, I like to experiment with wet street surfaces, shadows, lighting, different compositions and various mini dioramas within the main setting, particularly involving figures. David

Thank you Yordan...... yes, it is a classic theme running throughout the whole diorama project. It is all about the Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars really. David

Gary...... thanks for your comment about the tree, and I do think the shadows that are cast by the tree can be very interesting. In certain lighting conditions those tree shadows appear as green tinged swirls on the side of a motor coach or there are parts of the scene that have shadows where an element of the composition will appear mysterious, lurking in the shadows. Certainly, the shadows of the leaves that are cast upon the wall of the Hooper & Co building add to the realism I feel. The tree itself is something I purchased from my local Sainsburys store and was described as a Bonsai, although not a real one. Once I had made a section of lower tree trunk out of DAS modelling clay, and attached it to the base of the ' Bonsai ' tree, the whole thing came up to a height that I thought looked reasonably accurate in 1:24 scale. The tree had to be removed from a large ceramic pot that contained fake soil made from what looked like packing pellets. The tree was priced rather high, and later when Sainsburys couldn't sell the other half dozen trees they came down to half the price I paid. David

Thanks Pat, and you will have a lot of fun with the Shapeways figures, which are nicely detailed if you can get the painting right. Actually, and now you mention it, there is a little story attached to the photos but I didn't include it in my recent post because it is rather morbid and gloomy..... The lady with the black Citroen motor car is standing by a tree, and nearby there is a yellow Vespa motor scooter. Her husband was tragically killed while he was riding his motor scooter. The ghost of her husband is standing close beside her as they share a moment together once more...... David

Trying out a composition on the Bennet Street area of the diorama, which includes two figures, one car, one motor scooter and one motorcycle, with a tree positioned at the end of the street, and in the background can be seen the telephone kiosk and the pillar box. There are two elements of this photo shoot that are slightly unusual, one of course being the gentleman figure that is unpainted in white plastic, and also there is no special lighting being used. For this composition, which was not set up intentionally, there is only one overhead light source and it is a low energy light bulb. The result is partly accidental and spontaneous. The white unpainted gentleman figure was kindly sent to me by Gary McNutt ( Gramps46 ), the car is a Citroen 15.Six Traction Avant, the motor scooter is a Vespa. the motorcycle is a Vincent Black Shadow and the lady figure is a Shapeways 3D printed figure with no face detail. Thanks for looking...... David

Yordan Perez........ The really close up photos with the outdoor background show just how good your diorama is. The broken wood and weathering techniques are excellent. David

This photo shows Kitty Brunell with her MG sports racing car, and she is having a conversation with a pioneer motorist called S.F. Edge, who was famous for setting motor sport records at Brooklands in the early 1900's. The large photograph behind the models shows the actual scene in the early 1930's, which inspired the build of the scale model MG car and the Kitty Brunell figure. David

Okay, Pat...... what's next? Just to let you know, I have decided to build a 1:43 scale version of my Hooper & Co diorama. The most important reason for doing this is that there are many interesting model cars available in the 1:43 scale, particularly the Hooper Empress Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, the Austin FX3 Taxi and the AEC Regent RT London Bus, none of which are available in 1:24 scale. Also Brumm of Italy make 1:43 scale horse-drawn carriages, one of which is perfect for the first floor showroom window of the building. David

Nicely put together diorama Andrew..... and I have always found the Studebaker Golden Hawk interesting, which was only produced between 1956 and 1958. The suspended tube lights are a good feature of your diorama setting. David

Job done! That would deal with any fire incident in the test cell, I reckon. David

Jarkko....... Recently, I was looking at the 1952-1955 Bentley Continental R which is priced at € 100.00, and the only problem would be finding a suitable donor kit. David

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