Anglia105E

What a marvellous find, Matt..... that is a precious record of motor cars from that period. My year range of particular interest includes 1955 to 1959, so 1957 is right there..... I would like to see 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I ( if it appears in your book? ). Thanks. David

Thanks Steve, and I have seen several Hudson kits on Ebay, including the convertible version also. The Moebius kits are all from Germany it appears. David

This is one of my favourite American motor cars, Steve........ Your build is really nice, and those are such vibrant paint colours. Seeing this build of yours makes me want to build a 1953 Hudson Hornet, but I wonder if the Moebius kit is still available, especially here in England? David

I am liking the technique of bending the Plastruct tubing around the roll of tape with the clamping and hair dryer, Mark...... that is a good way to form a curved tubular section of styrene. David

The thinner, clearer table top looks better, Pat..... and I like the V8 block, con rods and pistons. This table idea of yours should look the business in your shop. David

Here are a few photos of the 1933 MG F Magna Salonette taken in a diorama setting. This motor car is temporarily being stored in the Hooper & Co showrooms. I am quite pleased with this latest addition to the collection, which is a 1:43 scale resin model car, and it is only 3 inches in length. David

Not actually a diecast....... this resin body 1:43 scale model car arrived today. It is a 1933 MG F Magna Salonette by NEO..... very nice little car at 3 inches long. David

The strengthening pieces being added are very interesting, and especially the brass flanges. That front end clip fits nicely by the look of it, Mark. I keep noticing several boxed kits sitting there on top of my tall cabinets, just waiting patiently for me to bring them to the table and build them. Most likely it will be the 1935 - 1954 Delahaye 135 by Heller in 1:24 scale..... then there is a 1930 Bentley 4.5 litre Blower by Revell, and a resin body 1960 Ford Anglia...... waiting.... like your Lola T-70 Mk III David

I like your 1957 Ford Fairlane build a lot, Andy...... the two-tone colour combination is very unusual, but pleasing to the eye and so '50's in character. The white wall decals have worked nicely for you, the engine detail is excellent and the underside of your model car has a nice realistic look too. This makes me want to build one of these Ford Fairlane's ! ..... which kit is this. Andy? David

This is probably the very last model car acquired for the smaller diorama before the exhibition in eleven days time. I saw this 1:43 scale resin model car on Ebay and I knew I must have it. Some of the photos show the real cars, of which there are only 10 known to exist in the world today and it is a 1933 MG F Magna Salonette. The resin model is by Neo, so it is from a German company and made in China. Only 390 of the real Salonette versions were made during 1932 and 1933. The white and green paint finish was the correct colour for the period. David

Nicely done build in 1:32 scale, Matt..... just shows what can be done with a kit that has only 25 parts ! This was exactly the same reaction that I had to the 1:24 scale Minicraft Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud kit, which has only 26 parts..... but to my surprise the body was very accurate and nicely moulded like your Porsche. David

Thanks, Gary.... and I just noticed that the fire extinguisher has fallen over on the showroom floor ! ( that's not very tidy is it? ) David

Most of the diorama stuff is all packed away in boxes now, ready to be transported to the RREC Annual Show in two weeks time. This evening I thought I would take a few photos as I felt the urge, nothing more than that really. This is the early 1950's Talbot Lago Record Cabriolet in 1:24 scale, standing in the first floor showroom as the early morning sun is coming up. Mr Rivers is presenting this French motor car alongside his stock of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars on the upper floor as a personal favour for a friend of his, who is visiting England from across the Channel. It would seem that Mr Rivers is quite impressed with the overall quality of the engineering and the coachwork, which stands up quite well when compared to that of the French car's Rolls-Royce and Bentley counterparts. David

Nicely done, Pat....... Clearly this is a difficult kit to build, so full marks for getting such a good result..... and I agree with Gary, the background with the light coming through the windows is just perfect for this car. David

You are off to a good start with this Lola, Mark.... I can see there are a lot of modifications going on already, even at this early stage. So you dived into this 1:12 Tamiya kit immediately after the GSL show, and the kit has waited 22 years for you to build it...... you have my interest. David

You have certainly got your hands full there, Pat..... that build of the Lincoln is a real challenge by the look of it. You are doing a fine job on the white wall tyres and the assembly of the bodywork. This is a job where those little plastic clamps come in very handy! I am sure this will be a really nice 1948 Lincoln when you've done, and it will be worth the effort. David

This 1:43 scale 1950's Morris Minor Traveller arrived today, by Vanguards / Lledo, and includes the original box in very good condition, also tax disc and a couple of wing mirrors to glue on to the front wings. Nice scale model car in mint condition and a low price too. I like the 1953 tax disc that is included, and the separate wing mirrors is a good idea, which saves them getting broken in the post. This 1:43 scale version compares well to the larger 1:24 scale version of the same car. David

That is indeed a beautiful colour Dominick..... very striking. Now somebody told me at an exhibition for full size cars that a yellow car will attract bees and wasps...... and sure enough, among the hundreds of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars that were mostly dark subtle colours of course, there was this bright yellow Bentley..... the owner was less than pleased with a swarm of wasps covering the entire car! Hopefully, your shade of yellow will put them off ? David

Thanks for posting this interesting article, Brian....... I too am a great admirer of Michael Paul Smith's work, as indeed are millions of others around the world, and I was devastated when Michael passed away during November of last year. The Star Lite Diner that Larry mentions building in 1995 is a wonderful scale model, and even though he didn't actually build it to a specific scale it looks absolutely right in proportion. Larry was clearly in awe of Michael's prowess as a diorama builder and he was lucky enough to visit his home, where the photograph of his diner model must have impressed the great man. You can believe quite easily that this one chance encounter might well have led to Michael's brilliant idea to create Elgin Park. When I began to build my very first diorama around two and a half years ago, it was the work of Michael Paul Smith that truly inspired me more than any other influence, I must say. Just like Larry, there is no way my model buildings will ever be anything close to Michael's incredible structures, but there is a very high bar to aim for and this bar was set so precisely by a wonderful man. David J Watson, England

This 1:43 scale 1950's Morris Minor Traveller arrived today, by Vanguards / Lledo, and includes the original box in very good condition, also tax disc and a couple of wing mirrors to glue on to the front wings. Nice scale model car in mint condition and a low price too. I like the 1953 tax disc that is included, and the separate wing mirrors is a good idea, which saves them getting broken in the post. This 1:43 scale version compares well to the larger 1:24 scale version of the same car. David

The 1:43 scale Hooper & Co diorama has been assembled on a table in order to make sure that the aluminium channels and the backing foam board panels all fit properly. There will be display cards mounted on the rear panel, under the main heading sign. These display cards are in black text on yellow and white card, with a double red borderline. Actually, I saw display cards similar to these on an exhibition stand at an event in the United States, and it was a photo on this MCM forum that made me decide to produce display cards in that style. As well as being a mix of colours that is pleasant to the eye, I think they are easy to read also. Meanwhile, on the 1:24 scale diorama I have photographed a second engineer / lorry driver figure, along with the Bedford dropside lorry and the Morris Traveller. The first of the two engineer /lorry driver figures is part of the blue Bedford tanker mini diorama, so I needed a second driver for the lorry with the wooden crate mini diorama. This mock up process is to allow me to see how the two dioramas will look once they are displayed on the exhibition table at the show in 3 weeks time. David

Really nice build Anders, and what an interesting kit from Italeri. Also, you have used a genuine Ferrari colour for the paint finish..... and it is not RED. David

Well done Hugh..... that is one serious amount of chrome work ! My preferred period of automotive history is around the 1958 - 1959 years, for both English and American motor cars. Maybe one day I shall build a Cadillac Eldorado, alongside my collection of Rolls-Royce models. Your paint finish and detailed assembly of this kit is excellent..... thanks for posting the photos. David

That's the one Pat...... those pistons and con rods are just what you need. David

Huge amount of work in 2 months, Cliff...... especially considering they all have detailed engines. My favourite of your builds would be the Foose Cadillac. Well done Sir ! David