Hooper & Co Diorama

[landman]

I'm about to try figures. I have one on the way from Shapeways. I like your compositions and the way they tell stories or they leave you imagining the story.

[Anglia105E]

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

[Gramps46]

David,

Of all things I like the tree!  Not sure why but it adds texture, shadows, and enhances the setting.

Gary

[Anglia105E]

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

[QbanFam]

Amazing and impressive work. I really love the classy theme.

[Anglia105E]

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

[Rusty92]

WOW! I enjoyed looking through this. Such a keen eye for detail. I really enjoyed the photos with the wet streets and reflection. Great job!!

[Anglia105E]

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

[Anglia105E]

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

[landman]

Great "mood".

[Anglia105E]

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

[Gramps46]

Yes, once again you nailed it David with the lighting and atmosphere.

[Anglia105E]

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

David

[Anglia105E]

Work has started on the construction of the 1:43 scale Hooper & Co diorama 1959 version....... the seven foamboard panels have been cut to size, and I am currently calculating the dimensions and proportions of the smaller building, which is testing my maths rather aggressively. The 1:43 scale telephone kiosk and the two post boxes are of etched brass and tin / lead alloy, which I have coated in grey primer and a Pillar Box Red paint that contains ' Low Boiling Point Naphtha - Stoddard Solvent- Xylene ' according to the label on the tin. This is a special paint for British telephone kiosks and post boxes.

Using my reference photos, and printed plan drawings, as well as looking at the 1:24 scale version of the diorama I am attempting to build a much more accurate scale model this time around.

David

[landman]

You are a brave man David.

[Anglia105E]

Either brave or foolish Pat...... we shall see!

David

[Gramps46]

David,

I want to wish you well on your new adventure.

Gary

[Anglia105E]

Your well wishes are very welcome Gary, and as always it is indeed an adventure. This time there is a certain amount of pressure because the next exhibition venue will be 20th June, giving me four months to complete the second diorama. Previously I had worked on the first diorama over a period of one and a half years before taking it to the exhibition stage. I am hoping that all of the skills that I have learnt and practised during the past two years will help in the construction of this model. I shall be using different techniques, and also different materials to some extent so we shall see how it comes together.

David

[Gramps46]

I am certain this one will go quickly (relatively speaking of course) since you have done the research and are intimately familiar with the subject.

[Anglia105E]

Certainly, the work has got off to a good start, and I have a feeling it will go relatively quickly. I am paying attention to the number of windows in the building, also the size and proportions of those windows. I have not constructed a building in foamboard before, but then it is fair to say that I hadn't constructed a building in balsa wood before either. Most of the You Tube video people who are showing how they build architectural models say don't use foamboard, and they go on to list alternative materials as a personal preference. They say that foamboard never looks good, doesn't cut well and doesn't glue well. Then I watched an Adam Savage video where he is saying it is his favourite material for building architectural models....... I shall make up my own mind, based upon this 1:43 Hooper & Co build.

David

[Gramps46]

I am interested in seeing how the foam board works out for you.  I have used hard board for my projects but it is harder to cut.

[Anglia105E]

Gary..... The external walls of the 1:24 scale building are painted with Magnolia over balsa wood, but what I am thinking of doing with the 1:43 scale external walls is to apply all purpose filler over the foamboard, before applying the Magnolia paint. This should produce a nice textured surface, if it works!

I don't think I would get on very well with hardboard but I did use plywood for the floors and roof on the 1:24 building.

Some testing going on in the photos, to make sure the 1:43 Hooper Empress Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud will fit through the access door to the vehicle lift. There will be a second doorway this size for the interior office partition wall in the ground floor showroom.

David

[Red318]

David, looking forward to this one.  I'd maybe caution against using filler on the foam board as this may cause distortion as it dries.  I'd recommend using Gesso, a textured white paint which I have been using to represent rendered walls.  Much easier to use with various brushes and sponges for different effects.   As you're in the UK I'd go to an outlet of "The Works", the budget book and craft store, where you can get a jar big enough to do your entire building I would guess, for around £10, much cheaper than in regular art shops.

[Anglia105E]

Thanks very much David, and I was wondering what the all purpose filler might do to the foamboard. Of course, I would have tested the filler on some scrap foamboard before attacking the building itself, but your suggestion to use Gesso textured white paint is actually a great idea and very welcome at this stage too.

The colour of the exterior walls on the Hooper & Co building as far as I can make out, is not white but more of a grey or cream concrete type colour, which is why I chose Magnolia for the 1:24 scale exterior walls. With this 1:43 scale version I need to get closer to the correct colour, which is made more difficult because there are only black and white photographs of this building available. All the more modern photos that are in colour show the building as cream when owned by Swaine Aydeney Brigg, and then dark grey as it is now owned by Sharps Pixley. My building needs to be as it looked during the 1950's and before.

I will have a look at ' The Works ' product certainly.

David

[landman]

You could always borrow this and aim for the right period. Have you thought of trying to find someone who worked there? Or perhaps somme Hooper color advertisements?

Edited February 19, 2019 by landman