The Italian Job diorama!

[The Cameraman]

Good Afternoon to one and all,

Before I say anything else, please be aware that this is likely to be one very slow, and fragmented WIP!

I haven't built anything for well over 36 years and even then I was pretty rubbish at model making. I used hairy sticks to apply basic paints but I really enjoyed it, so I thought it time to return and have done so by jumping in with both feet first!

So what can I do?

Well;

I've never built a car.

I've never built a diorama.

I've never used an airbrush.

I've never used any LED or SMD's.

I've never used BMF.

I've never weathered any model.

And I've never used modern glues, nor fillers!

So what's my long term goal?

Well my aim is to re-create a scene from one of my favourite films, the 1969 work of art called The Italian Job. Noting I was 7 years old, when the film was released.

I want to build not one, not two but three Mini Coopers, complete with working headlights, spotlights and taillights.

As you may have guessed, the scene will be the one where the cars travel along a sewer. The actual scene was filmed in Stoke Aldermoor district of Coventry and the drain was 10ft across. So with me working in 1/24 scale that would give a scale, internal diameter of 5inch, so that should be easy enough to source via the building or heating industry.

So what am I using as the base kit?

Well after taking advise from some of our mega helpful members of this forum, I've gone with the new release from Revell of their fabulous Monte Carlo winning Mini Coopers. I'll always support traders from here so Andy from Thunderbird Models came to the rescue. Three of the kit's were ordered and they look fabulous. This kit was selected due to the base vehicle looking spot on, and it's complete with the correct bumper overriders, sump guards etc.

We'll have to follow tradition by posting a shot of one of the kits box & contents, so here we go.

Andy also provided one of Revell's road going Mini Coopers, so I could check for any differences between the rally and road versions. So here's it's box and contents shot.

After a quick look, the main differences concern the lighting, front grills, speedo and decals, however I found the road speedo is also provided in the rally kit.

The front bumper on the road model has a different registration plate mount, yet retains the correct overriders.

Neither of the kits have the correct spotlight mountings, so that'll be scratch built.

Neither of the kit come with drivers or passengers, so I ordered these rascals from Hong Kong.

Here you can see some of the differences between the Rally kit.

And the road kit.

As you can see, neither kit has the correct wheels, the 10 inch Minilite's but these do come with the Tamiya kit, so with thanks to some of our members here, we now have some to play with.

And I also bought a couple of complete kits from Ebay, so we have enough wheels to persuade to fit.

Whilst looking at these kits, I then noticed that only the Tamiya version come with roll cages, so it looks like I may need to fabricate a copy (or several) to fit to the Revell's.

All of these kits come with rear seats so I'll need to do some fabrication there then!

I've also found that one of the forumites can create custom made registration plates, so I've provided the correct registrations to use.

So I'll be looking for loads of help and I apologise in advance for any stupid questions that I ask (and don't say there's no such thing as a stupid question, as you haven't heard mine yet)!

Next thing to do is to watch the film again, purely for reference purposes of course!

Until the next time.

Regards

Reggie

[snapper_city]

Should be interesting...

[The Cameraman]

Hi Mark,

that's one way to describe it!

I reckon it'll be a series of c**k ups, that all have one thing in common.

Me!!!!!

regards

Reggie

[nick32]

Looking forward to this one!

Nick

[Anthony Kesterton]

Classic film (much better than the remake) - and this is an excellent idea for a diorama. Will be watching this with great interest.

anthony

[triumphfan]

Subscribed !!

Bring on the silly questions and let's go.

I should be starting a Mini project soon. It has been a while since I built one, hopefully it will be like riding a bike?

[richellis]

Im watching this build!

[Jabberwocky]

On days like these...

I shall be following with my fullest attention.

One piece of advice from one who knows, leave the roofs off until last if you can, it will make detailing the interior much easier, such as when fitting standard seatbelts instead of the racing harnesses.

I think it's time I watched the film again as well!

Best of luck,

Paul

[Pete in Lincs]

Oh, All right, I'll say it....

"Ýou're only supposed to glue the bleddy doors on''

Well it makes me feel better.

Yep, Bring on the daft questions.

[lingham]

I can't wait to see this - being from the coventry area its like a home grown film!

can't wait

[Arie]

Not a car person myself, but I'll be watching this one with glee...its only fitting this project looks like an outsized amount of fun with tiny cars...true to form!

[The Cameraman]

Good Morning Guys n Gals,

it's great to see such interest in my project, most inspiring!

My first questions concerns SMD's. Can anyone direct me to a supplier that's happy to deal with someone who knows nothing about such electronic black magic and also make recommendations concerning the use of fibre optics?

My initial thoughts are to use SMD's for the headlights and spot lights, with the smaller tail lights to use fibre optics.

So for those that have used such kit, with resistors etc, can you advise what sort of space would be needed for the resistors, as I'm aiming to keep the electronics within each car. So is it likely that I'd need to use the under bonnet space for the resistors, or are they small enough to complete the cars with the engines in place? I don't mind using batteries or a reduced power source to power the diorama, so I'll have to look at power pick up points but I'd like to keep each car independent.

I may consider using magnets to mount the cars to the tunnel, rather than permanently fixing them in place, so that's something else to look at!

So many thoughts and I'm finding this planning element to be fascinating!

Regards

Reggie

[chrisrope]

Hi Reggie

Do you have this book? -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Italian-Job-Matthew-Field/dp/0713486821/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397555245&sr=1-2&keywords=the+italian+job

I did have it but I can't find it now, I might have sold it but it has some good background info, pictures and trivia

Obviously ignore the price of the new ones and pick up a good 2nd hand one

Molto Bene

Chris

[The Cameraman]

Hi Chris,

Just placed my order now, again purely for reference purposes!

LOL at the your sign off.

Molto Bene Dad!

Regards

Reggie

[fredben]

Be good to see this project as it goes on. Looks a good like all your "I have never........" will be sorted by the end of this project. Good luck.

[Anthony Kesterton]

Good Morning Guys n Gals,

it's great to see such interest in my project, most inspiring!

My first questions concerns SMD's. Can anyone direct me to a supplier that's happy to deal with someone who knows nothing about such electronic black magic and also make recommendations concerning the use of fibre optics?

My initial thoughts are to use SMD's for the headlights and spot lights, with the smaller tail lights to use fibre optics.

So for those that have used such kit, with resistors etc, can you advise what sort of space would be needed for the resistors, as I'm aiming to keep the electronics within each car. So is it likely that I'd need to use the under bonnet space for the resistors, or are they small enough to complete the cars with the engines in place? I don't mind using batteries or a reduced power source to power the diorama, so I'll have to look at power pick up points but I'd like to keep each car independent.

I may consider using magnets to mount the cars to the tunnel, rather than permanently fixing them in place, so that's something else to look at!

So many thoughts and I'm finding this planning element to be fascinating!

Regards

Reggie

Hi Reggie

I bought some very small, pre-wired LED's off eBay ("prewired" is an important bit unless you have a good microscope and very, very small soldering iron handy :-) ) . I don't have a record of where I bought mine - but they were like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L0805W-20pcs-Pre-Wired-Bright-White-SMD-0805-Led-Lamp-Light-Set-12V-18V-NEW-/121112253736?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item1c32da5528

There are bigger 2mm square ones which might be easier to use and will be much brighter.

Once you have your LED's - think about how you want to power them and how to route the wires. You will also need some resistors (unless they have resistors built-in). There are a few people here who know lots about this topic - so ask away and i am sure you will get some good info and guidance.

Same goes for fibre-optics - look at the Sci-Fi/Real Space section for some ideas.

Be prepared to black out the area around the lights to prevent "leakage" of light into areas you don't want lit (eg: a glowing bonnet). People use black paint or even aluminum foil to line the inside an area of the model.

Hope that helps to get you started

anthony

[Séan Pádraig]

The longest journey starts with a single step....you are on your way and I'll be interested to watch this build evolve...

The driver/passenger figures are a great idea... will they need to be altered for 1960's style?

[Ian Suds]

Good luck with this one. Just back to modelling and diving into the deep end, look forward to following this project.

[The Cameraman]

The longest journey starts with a single step....you are on your way and I'll be interested to watch this build evolve...

The driver/passenger figures are a great idea... will they need to be altered for 1960's style?

Hi Sean,

the figures come with a choice of heads! Full face helmets or open faced types. I'll take some close up shots so you can get an idea of hat they're like, over the weekend.

Regards

Reggie

[The Cameraman]

Good luck with this one. Just back to modelling and diving into the deep end, look forward to following this project.

Hi Ian,

there appears to be a lot of us returnees about! I was a little pensive in starting this tread, after all most of the work you see on here's stunning but I thought I'd show an alternative with large imagination and no talent!

It won't be pretty but should be a laugh!

Regards

Reggie

[The Cameraman]

Hi Anthony,

thanks for the pointers re the SMD's. I'm learning something everyday and that's before I've even started on the plastics!

Regards

Reggie

[Anthony Kesterton]

thanks for the pointers re the SMD's. I'm learning something everyday and that's before I've even started on the plastics!

No problem - just trying to pass on the excellent help I receive from others on BM.

anthony

[The Cameraman]

Hi Guys n Gals,

more bits have arrived in the form of a spare grill (that's Steve) and a letter from Revell who are looking to sort out some spare bits for me, so that's nice.

Regards

Reggie

[Kallisti]

Those are the same SMDs that I used in Iron Man and Thunderbird 4, they are superb and come with resistors built in. The wires are quite long and I had to cut them down for the TB 4 build but they are excellent LEDs and remarkably bright for their size and for only putting 6v through them!

For Fibre optics, I buy cheap fibre-optic lamp decorations from pound stores and take them apart as it is just about the cheapest source of material I can find!!!

[The Cameraman]

Hi Kallisti,

looks like it's time to place more orders then!

Thanks for your input but there's no chance my work will be anywhere near yours.

Regards

Reggie