Hooper & Co Diorama

[Anglia105E]

The Steinway & Sons grand piano has been delivered to Hooper & Co. this morning, and Osmond Rivers as the manager is casting an appreciative eye over this fine instrument. He is deciding where to place the piano, in relation to the Rolls-Royce cars that will occupy the floor space of the ground floor showroom.

David

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

Your attention to detail and quality of implementation of construction is immeasurably beyond words fabulous.  I am most truly inspired.

 

[Anglia105E]

3 hours ago, Kodiak Island Modeler said:

Your attention to detail and quality of implementation of construction is immeasurably beyond words fabulous.  I am most truly inspired.

 

Thank you very much, Douglas........ and it means a lot to me that you have been inspired by what you see here. The project continues !

David

[Mopar - D]

David awesome details and amazing how you have been able to evolve your diorama over time. Looking forward to seeing what you do next. 

[Anglia105E]

5 minutes ago, Mopar - D said:

David awesome details and amazing how you have been able to evolve your diorama over time. Looking forward to seeing what you do next. 

Kind words indeed, Dan........ and thank you for having a look at my topic. Currently, I am building a 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, which is based on an actual 1957 motor car and uses mostly parts from the Revell kit. There should be some new photos posted here during this weekend, so watch this space!

David

[Anglia105E]

Work is well under way on this 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I mostly from a Revell kit. Having learned a great deal over the past 4 years of model car building and painting, and also having recently built the 1953 Moebius Hudson Hornet kit, I am striving to achieve the best ever build yet of a Silver Cloud.

The body parts have been sanded down thoroughly with 80, 180, 320, 400 and 600 grade wet & dry papers, and I have applied Automotive Orange Filler Primer spray........ more sanding followed, from 320 to 600 wet & dry. Just today, I have sprayed the upper body of this model with Rolls-Royce Sage Green, which is an aerosol cellulose paint, and the lower body will later be sprayed Rolls-Royce Smoke Green, also a cellulose paint. All the chrome work in the Revell kit is grey plastic, which allows me to apply yacht varnish followed by Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen, whereas the Minicraft kit for this car has the parts already chromed, but not particularly well. Some of the chrome mouldings on the body will be done with Bare Metal Foil later.

One of the attached photos shows the actual motor car that I have base this model on. This Silver Cloud is unusual because it was an experimental car which never left the Rolls-Royce factory, and the car was fitted with several different V8 engines, so not the inline 6 - cylinder engine that a Silver Cloud I would normally have. The car has a special experimental chassis number, 32B and the registration number was licensed to the Rolls-Royce factory, 225 ALG.

The reason that I need to build a 1957 Silver Cloud, is that I have one for each year of production, which was 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959, but the 1957 model car was sold to the owner of the actual real car, leaving a gap in the run of cars. My attention to detail will be much more precise this time round, and a good example of this will be the windscreen / windshield. The method of attaching the kit screen clear plastic to the inside of the body shell is not correct, and the method of attaching a screen cut from thinner clear plastic to the outside of the body shell, is also not to my liking. This build will see me attempting to insert a thin clear plastic screen into the windscreen frame aperture....... which is guaranteed to pose an interesting challenge !

David

[Eric Macleod]

This remains my favorite thread David.  I am going to follow your latest build of the '57 with greatest interest. 

[Anglia105E]

7 hours ago, Eric Macleod said:

This remains my favorite thread David.  I am going to follow your latest build of the '57 with greatest interest. 

Much appreciated, Eric and I have a feeling this one should be an important part of the project. Certainly, the paintwork aspect of the build is demanding greater attention, and the chrome work application also. The masking tape has been removed from the body of the Silver Cloud, and the Sage Green looks pretty good, so during today the masking tape goes on, ready for the Smoke Green lower half. Thanks for watching !

David

[Anglia105E]

Work continues with the Silver Cloud build, and both colours of the two-tone paint scheme have been applied. Test fitting and painting is under way for the chassis, engine, interior seating, dashboard, bonnet panels, boot lid, radiator grille, lights, wheels, windscreen and bumpers.

David

[Anglia105E]

While the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is being built for the 1:24 scale diorama, there has been a further addition to the 1:43 scale diecast model car collection. This is an Austin Low Loader Taxi Cab by Oxford Diecast, and these London taxis were produced from 1934 until 1948...... There were still quite a few of these types of taxis around London during the 1950's. Here are some photographs taken just outside the Hooper factory, probably in 1959.

David

[Anglia105E]

Some further work carried out on the interior seating ' tub ' of the Silver Cloud, and I have chosen a colour of Oatmeal for the beige upholstery. This is an emulsion paint over the enamel cream underneath. The dashboard has a burred walnut effect which turned out quite well eventually, after much experimenting. There is a scratch built rear view mirror on a stalk in the centre of the dashboard on top.

The windscreen / windshield has developed into a bit of a struggle, and several methods of trying to arrive at the most realistic screen fitting have failed so far. Then I was watching a YouTube video showing two gentlemen who were fitting a windscreen seal and chrome moulding surround to a full size Rolls-Royce motor car, before putting the screen into the car from the outside. This gave me an idea..... I dug out a box from the loft, containing two 1:24 scale Franklin Mint diecast Silver Cloud body shells. The screen that I removed from one of these bodies is just perfect for the plastic kit build, as it is precisely the right size, as well as having a chrome moulding around the outside edge. All that needs to be done now, is to enlarge the opening for the screen, by filing away the moulded in chrome surround that is part of the body on the Revell kit, and also the wipers. The passenger side front door on the Franklin Mint diecast version had a round door mirror, which I have cut off for the driver's side door on the Revell kit version.

David

[Anglia105E]

The screen from the diecast version of the Silver Cloud does not quite fit into the enlarged opening. Even with the opening enlarged as much as I can reasonably go, it is a matter of tenths of a millimetre........ Anyway, all is not lost, as I had yet another good idea. Why not use the Revell kit windscreen, I thought? Sure enough, the kit screen fits so precisely into the opening that it does not need any glue. All the filing work to enlarge the screen opening has been done on a spare black plastic Revell body shell, but this means that I can confidently go ahead and do the same on the Sage Green over Smoke Green build.

 

The windscreen has fitted really well, and the difference that it makes to the overall realistic appearance of the car is of paramount importance. The following photos are just a simple mock up, so nothing is fitted properly just yet, but they do show how this screen is aligned.

There is a small area of damage to the scuttle, in front of the screen and on the left side. Once the chrome moulding surround is in place, and also the wipers, I am hoping this will not be visible. I am using the wiper arms and wiper blades from a Tamiya Jaguar MK 2 kit, as the lower edge of the windscreen on both cars is identical in width at 53 mm.

 

David

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

I am totally enjoying following your exquisite masterpiece.

[Anglia105E]

2 hours ago, Kodiak Island Modeler said:

I am totally enjoying following your exquisite masterpiece.

Much appreciated, Douglas...... I hope to make this particular Silver Cloud a masterpiece, and we shall see how it goes. The kit windscreen has been glued in place. For this I have used Crystal Clear glue by Zero Paints, which was applied too thickly at first, so I gently wiped off the excess with a cotton bud until there was very little glue remaining. I allowed the fitted screen to dry overnight for 24 hours, before pushing the screen lightly with a cotton bud on the following day, just to make sure that it had held.

The rear screen is not yet in place, but I have painted the rear window seal with Humbrol Satin Black enamel. The one mistake that Franklin Mint have made with their diecast version of this car is to have made a chrome moulding surround for the rear window glass, which was not correct for the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Otherwise, the Franklin Mint model is an excellent representation of the iconic car from 1955.

David

[Anglia105E]

Here are some photos of the continued efforts to fit the windscreen surround moulding. I am using Revell Contacta Professional adhesive, and unfortunately, once the Plastruct moulding was in place, I carelessly smudged some glue on the screen ( top centre right ). This is proving difficult to remove, and so far I have tried white toothpaste, warm water and vinegar.

David

[Anglia105E]

From the following photos, you can see that I am scratch building the radio aerial that is located on the nearside front wing of the Rolls-Royce. Usually, there would be a roof mounted aerial on a Silver Cloud, but this experimental car has the aerial on the wing.

The aerial is 30 amp fuse wire, and the collar at the base of the aerial is a thin sliver of cotton bud stalk that I cut off with the scalpel knife. This collar has been given a coat of liquid chrome. There is a hole drilled into the top of the wing, ready for the aerial to be glued into. I am toying with the idea of having a short length of thinner fuse wire, that would be the upper section of the aerial.

The bonnet panels open and close nice and tightly, and the body panels are being polished with Meguiar's Carnauba Wax........ The numerals on the license plates need to be larger, I think ?

I feel that this model is starting to come to life now, especially as each detail is added.

 

David

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

One of my daughters got me the 1920 women mechanics set/kit.   They are really well done for one of the cheaper figure kits on the market.   I was quite impressed.   You did an excellent job on the one you show in that last photo.   That Rolls is looking sharp too.   I am really enjoying following this.

[Anglia105E]

4 hours ago, Kodiak Island Modeler said:

One of my daughters got me the 1920 women mechanics set/kit.   They are really well done for one of the cheaper figure kits on the market.   I was quite impressed.   You did an excellent job on the one you show in that last photo.   That Rolls is looking sharp too.   I am really enjoying following this.

Yes, Douglas..... those ICM figure kits in 1:24 scale are very well done, and I have also the Henry Ford figures, the Gasoline Loaders and the women mechanics. The kits are so cheap to buy, and easy enough to assemble from only a few parts. The detail is good, and once painted carefully they fit into my diorama setting quite nicely. Although these figures are intended for 1920's - 1930's, they still seem to work for the 1950's...... They do stand up alongside the 3D printed Shapeways figures, and they do so for probably around half the price !

David

[Anglia105E]

Further efforts to produce a radio aerial for the nearside front wing of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.........

I did try to super glue a short length of 30A fuse wire to a short length of 15A fuse wire, but that did not work. Taking the advice of a model builder friend locally, I selected a length of 0.025 inch Evergreen polystyrene rod, heated the upper half and stretched the rod until it was thinner.

I am happy with the result, and the aerial is 2 cm for the lower half, also 2 cm for the upper half and it has a nice join between the two halves. I have applied liquid chrome pen to the styrene rod, and left overnight to dry before fitting tomorrow.

 

David

[Anglia105E]

The build of the 1:24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is just about completed, having taken 5 weeks of painstaking construction and painting. There are a few minor details that require some attention, but otherwise this model is more or less done. The car seems to photograph quite well, and generally I would say that I am pleased with this one. The most recent additions were the scratch built badge bar and three badges, the radio aerial antenna, the door mirror and the wipers. Usually, a Silver Cloud would have screen wiper arms and wiper blades that park on the driver's side, in this case to the left as you look from the front of the car when it is right hand drive, but this experimental Silver Cloud had wipers that parked to the passenger side, so over to the right hand side. These wipers are parts cut from a chrome windscreen frame that was from one of my Italeri Rolls-Royce Phantom II kits.

Shortly, there will be some further photographs that show this Rolls-Royce model car in a diorama setting, and these will be taken inside the showroom of the Hooper & Co. building at 54 St James's Street in London.

David

[Anglia105E]

Working alongside the 1:24 scale diorama, and also the 1:43 scale diorama, I am now assembling a 1:32 scale diorama........ This one is an extension of the Hooper & Co. theme, and will be called ' Black Diamond '. The central component of the setting will be the 1:32 Rolls-Royce Phantom I by Matchbox and Revell, built and painted from a kit of this 1928 motor car and it was a Hooper bodied car. There will be several further elements making up the diorama, and three of these will be figures. All three figures are 3D printed by Shapeways..... one is Alfred Hitchcock, the second figure is a Belgian gentleman who looks very much like Hercule Poirot, and the third is a distinguished elderly lady who could be Miss Marple, so both Agatha Christie fictional characters.

As well as the car and the figures, I shall include a Victorian street lamp by MiniArt, a 3D printed Hyde Park bench also by Shapeways, a drainage grate and a manhole cover by MiniArt........ The baseboard is a laminate of Foamex and foamboard, which will coated with charcoal grey emulsion paint. For the grate and the manhole cover, I have used light grey Vallejo acrylic over black Sharpie.

This is quite a small diorama by my standards, with the dimensions being 51 cm x 39 cm, so around 20 inches by 15 inches. My intention is to produce some interesting photography from this setting, which lends itself to a variety of compositions.

David

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

Your figures, as with all of your work, are exquisite.

[Anglia105E]

8 minutes ago, Kodiak Island Modeler said:

Your figures, as with all of your work, are exquisite.

Thanks Douglas, but I cannot claim credit for those figures....... Although I have to paint the figures very carefully in a small scale, they have been designed by someone else, so not me, and then printed by Shapeways in the Netherlands....... I can 3D print figures, but I cannot design them unfortunately.

David

[Anglia105E]

The baseboard for the ' Black Diamond ' diorama in 1:32 scale has been coated with grey emulsion paint, while the paving and kerbs were scored prior to the painting........ These following photos show the basic elements of the composition, and you can see the white card template that represents the footprint of the building that will be positioned alongside the road. The building is a 1:35 scale laser cut MDF kit that needs to be assembled and painted.

There is a 1:35 scale lamp post, also a manhole cover and drainage grate in 1:35 scale. The Hyde Park bench is 3D printed in 1:32 scale. As well as the 1928 Rolls-Royce motor car, there will be the 1933 MG motor car, and at the wheel of the MG there is Kitty Brunell as a 1:35 scale figure. Alfred Hitchcock is in 1:32 scale, standing by the Rolls-Royce........ Still to be detail painted is the 1:32 figure of Miss Marple, which is 3D printed and looks very ' ghost ' like without any paint....... The bench and Miss Marple have been given a light coating of grey primer.

David

[Anglia105E]

The ' Black Diamond ' diorama is coming together nicely now, and the lady seated on the bench is almost fully painted. These following photos are taken with fluorescent tube lighting only, whereas later I shall use 100 watt daylight bulb lighting, and maybe try some outdoor natural daylight also.

David