Hooper & Co Diorama

[Anglia105E]

Sorry to have to correct you Bruce, but..... The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 1950s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. The hairstyle was a staple in the British 'Teddy Boy' movement, but became popular again in Europe in the early 1980s and faced a resurgence in popularity during the 1990s.^[1]

David

[Belugawrx]

Ahh the subtleties of the english language....

In my 56 years of using it, a Quiff has never been a hairstyle..go figure...

 

[Anglia105E]

Bruce.... maybe ' quiff ' has one meaning in Canada, and America, and then another different meaning in England? That's entirely possible.

The word quiff originates from the French word ' coiffe ', so I thought with part of Canada being French.... maybe the word would have the same meaning.

It was the Tin Tin character from the old vintage films that came to mind when the word was mentioned. Anyway Bruce, we may both be right......

David

[landman]

And in one of the languages , I forget which, Tintin himself is called Quiff. I think.

[Anglia105E]

Experimenting with different lighting conditions, and also the position of the tree. Attempting to filter the sunlight through the branches and the foliage of the tree, in order to create interesting shadows on the green tarpaulin that is partly covering the wooden crate. Only one of the 100 watt daylight bulbs is being used for most of these shots and the lamp is placed low down, and behind the tree, as though the sun is low in the sky.

David

[Gramps46]

The shadow of the tree adds another dimension to the photo.  The scooter is a nice touch too. 

[Anglia105E]

Thanks Gary...... I am working on shadows and reflections, and also searching for that elusive ' golden ' composition! By that I mean the sort of composition that immediately shouts pure genius. It's in there somewhere ( or out there somewhere ).

David

[olsbooks]

Well done!  Stick with it. 

Taking a different twist and going back to our writing and  books, this resulted as potential cover art for book 4 in my series which centers around a truck driver.  All items in the pix are from the "great gatsby scene"

 

Edited December 8, 2018 by olsbooks

[Anglia105E]

Yes, that works as a book cover illustration I think..... it has a kind of fabric-like texture to it.

David

[Anglia105E]

Continued with a second photo shoot today...... this time featuring the red London bus, the black taxi cab and the gold Jaguar MK I.

Once again, the single lamp used was low down, and then the lamp was gradually moved closer to the subject. The most interesting shots were shooting into the light, and also those that showed the light from the windows against the backdrop over to the left side of the building.

Lots of experimental stuff going on, with heights, angles, distances, lighting effects, composition and while most shots were done with the camera on blocks and a self timer set, some were also done completely freehand, even with zoom.

David

[Anglia105E]

Third photo shoot, and this one features the 1950 Bedford Duple OB coach . Waiting at the bus stop are two ladies who are making their way to work on a dark December morning. The sun is just coming up and the coach is still showing lights, approaching the end of the night shift. Strange swirls of colour play on the side of the coach, cast by the shadows of the tree's branches and the dramatic light of the new day dawning. Warm comfortable seats and soft interior lights await the first passengers of the morning. The coach driver smiles and welcomes them aboard.

David

[Anglia105E]

The following photographs represent my first attempt at using a wet surface for the street and pavements. Rather than go down the route of using artificial water, I opted to try real water which was brushed liberally onto the road surface. This is what I would call ' Sunshine after the Rain ' and Mr Rivers is looking out of the showroom window, while a gentleman is perusing a nice 1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville at his leisure.

David

[Anglia105E]

There is a photo shoot taking place inside the ground floor showroom of Hooper & Co, which is for a feature that is to be published in the Sunday Times Magazine colour supplement......... this is naturally good publicity for the coach builders' portfolio and on this occasion the managing director is keeping well out of the frame, but of course he is maintaining a watchful eye from a discreet distance. 

David

[Anglia105E]

Here we have a few photos of ' A Visitor from France '...... there is a French gentleman, Alain Delon, who owns a Rolls-Royce motor car and he is staying in England for a few months while making a film. Later in 1964 Monsieur Delon appears in the film 'The Yellow Rolls-Royce', but this is the year 1958. This gentleman has asked Hooper & Co to arrange transportation of his 1948 Citroen 15.Six Traction Avant from France to England, because he is most impressed with Hooper's quality workmanship. Hooper & Co have enlisted the services of Maurice Watson & Sons general haulage to bring the French motor car to London. The car is in a poor state and requires extensive repairs during Monsieur Delon's stay in this country. While one of the sons travels in the cab of the 1953 Bedford with his father, the other son rides in the Citroen on the back of the lorry, to make sure the car is not stolen while the other two men sleep in the cab.

David

[Gramps46]

Great story and photos.

[Anglia105E]

Thanks Gary........ the four wooden pallets are 3D printed items, in addition to the pallet for the engine that I scratch built from balsa.

David

[Anglia105E]

The 1948 Citroen 15.Six Traction Avant has been fully repaired for Hooper's French visitor Monsieur Delon, and the motor car is being brought round to the front of the building so that the owner can be reunited with his old faithful. Monsieur Delon is naturally very pleased to see the Citroen in such good shape once more. All that remains is for the gentleman to settle his bill with the famous coach builder and the refurbished Traction Avant can be loaded onto the Bedford lorry, prior to making it's way to the port of Dover.

David

[Gramps46]

Very handsome build of an iconic car.  Have you mentioned which kit it is based upon?

[landman]

I bet it is the Heller version. I had one that looked a lot like that.

[Anglia105E]

Thank you Gary and Pat...... Heller manufacture a 1:8 scale kit of the Citroen, and also the 1:24 scale kit, which is the one I have built here. I found it a bit tricky in places, but got there in the end. The reason I am building a few French motor cars is that I already have the Heller Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet, and the next build is a Delahaye 135, also by Heller. Along with a 1:24 Franklin Mint diecast Bentley MK VI Franay Drophead, the idea is to set up an Anglo-French Joint-Venture stand, outside the Hooper & Co building to display the four cars. This is an event which never happened in reality and it is just an idea of mine. The stand will have English and French flags, the three French cars and the one Bentley model. I see this as what might have been a joint venture between Hooper's of London, England and Carrosserie Franay of Paris, France. There is also a Talbot Lago GP car that I have from the same period of automotive excellence which could be added to the display. Work is also going on with a 1933 MG K3 Magnette and 1932 MG F Magna, which is all to do with the famous lady driver Kitty Brunell. These are white metal kits rather than styrene.

David

[Gramps46]

Thank you for the info on the Citroen.  I have a BBurago and it is way big compared to the DS19.  It also lacks the windshield wipers and while the wheels and tires are poseable they are not accurate at all.

Edited January 4, 2019 by Gramps46
add photo

[Anglia105E]

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

[Anglia105E]

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

[Gramps46]

I like the eye level shots the best.  I think the idea of outdoor shots will add a lot to your scene, however, with your diorama being in an urban setting I am guessing it will be a challenge to find the right spot.   

 

[landman]

Take it to the corresponding corner in London and set it up in the street to get forced perspective à la Michael Paul Smith. Bring some earmuffs to tone down all the car horns.