VCC Wanganui (3)

A 1908 Cadillac. In those days the Americans seemed to know which side to put the steering wheel on.

This Ford V8 truck went past as I was walking back to my car at the end of the day.

A 1934 Alfa Romeo Berlina 6C has a cabin area which looks similar to Rileys of that era.

1935 Dodge DU pick-up.

1939 Ford Deluxe 91A sedan.

I doubt this was an original colour, but this 1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe looks very smart.

Another smart piece from the GM stable. A 1950 Pontiac Chieftain.

The 1950 two door version of the Citroen B15 is unusual, but ugly.

A 1952 Hudson Wasp, just like "Doc Hudson".

A Chev Bel Air manufactured in the same year as me. I wonder if I can be restored to this condition.

VCC Wanganui (2)

Some motorcycles from the Wanganui VCC public display day

My friend Lloyd, with whom I stayed  in Wanganui, preparing his Triumph 5TA for "lift-off", to ride it to the Wanganui Classic Motorcycle Club's display.



This 1950 Speed Twin was superbly restored.

Bikes of this era look the best to my eye. A 1969 BSA Lightning.

Who remembers Yamahas little FS1 from 1969?

Ariel Square Fours had a reputation for overheating the rear cylinders, but were apparently fine machines when sorted.

The in-line four of a Henderson.

I owned a Kawasaki Z1A exactly the same colour as this. Mine was stock standard, but this one has a number of visible modifications. I wonder what is modified internally?

This Norton 850 with electric start, must be one of the last of the breed.

VCC Wanganui

The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand has been holding an International rally in NZ over the past week or so. Last Sunday was a public viewing day at Wanganui racecourse.
Here are some photos I took at this event. First, let's look at some convertbles and open tops.

This 1934 Packard Super 8 has appearred on my blog before, but it's well worth another look.

1933 Morgan Supersport beetleback with Matchless powerplant.

The 1935 Auburn 851 Phaeton has a 4.5 litre supercharged straight eight and a two speed rear axle.
Guaranteed to to do 100mph when it left the factory.

TC Midgets were the most common (but rare now), I have seen a TB. This one is a TA from 1937.

A 1952 Dodge Coronet in right-hand-drive.

I always thought Mercedes Benz 190SLs were a nice simply styled sports car. This one is from 1955.

The rear of a 1959 Chev Corvette.

Renault Florides were rear engined and not very powerful according to a friend of mine who used to own one.

The lines of the 1964 Alfa Romeo Guilia Sprint are reminiscent of the Mercedes 190SL.

1965 Rambler Ambassador convertible.

Jaguar E-types are almost common in the vintage and classic car circles, but they must be one of the most memorably styled machines of their day. The went on the road in 1960, but this 1970 model with 4.2 motor still looks good in 2012.

Some Recent Pics

Over Christmas and New Year I had intended to take photographs of all of the parked-up trucking fleets, but due to family commitments and other happenings I only managed to snap three of our local line-ups.

Wairarapa Scrap Metals all Hino fleet.

A portion of the Burling Transport fleet. I bet that Mack feels uncomfortable, surrounded by Kenworths. 

A mixture of brands in one line of the McCarthy's logging fleet.

A Kenworth Aerodyne delivers the goods to Masterton's new Burger King restaurant.

Countdown supermarket in Palmerston North, is where this Goodman Fielder Volvo FM is unloading.

Kintyre Meats Four axle Hino truck with three axle semi-trailer unloads at Moore Wilsons in Masterton.

This very tidy Jaguar XJ40, an XJ6 Sport, was parked in town just after Christmas.
Obviously someone's "Pride and Joy".

Last weekend we travelled to Silverstream to attend a friends birthday party. When leaving their house on Sunday morning I saw this beautiful 1958 Studebaker Transtar parked in the street.

Earthcare, who are contracted to handle all the rubbish and recycling duties for our town, have recently acquired this Mack Vision and four axle semi to carry bulk rubbish out of the area.

Photographing Model Vehicles

Anyone who has model vehicles (and a camera) has probably tried to photograph them at some time. To get a realistic background I have had it suggested that you snap them on the roof of a car with a rural setting behind.Using the roof of the car puts them at a convenient height and ensures there are no close objects in the background. Massive blades of grass look ridiculous behind a small car.
This method is great if you have a rural setting in your back garden, but I have found using a picture as a background can work very well. I have used pictures from old calendars, but any appropriate picture will do.
You need to find an appropriate surface for the vehicle to park on and I have found fine "wet and dry" sandpaper makes a good road surface. You also need to make sure that the light falling on your model is coming from the same direction and angle as the sun in the picture.
Taking a picture from the height you would be against the full sized vehicle can also look a bit more convincing.

This 1:76 scale Atkinson tanker is photographed with Mount Ruapehu as its background. The low camera angle emphasises the size of the truck. The lack of rear vision mirrors and the spotless cleanliness of the truck are probably the two things that spoil the realism of this photo.
The model is manufactured by E.F.E.
Mount Ruapehu is NZs North Island's highest mountain.

This 1:43 scale Mercedes is photographed with a river setting. this is a Minichamps model so is quite detailed.

The background of this picture has a very low sun angle so I had to use the same low angle for the light on the truck. Unfortunately this made the nearest side to the camera a bit dark. So I corrected this by using some white card to the left to reflect some light back on to the dark side of the truck. The truck is a 1:76 scale Guy big J8, by Corgi Trackside, and again has no mirrors which lets it down a little.

If you just want to photograph the model without a background, I have found using white paper or card with a curve from horizontal to verticle eliminates a division line between the horizontal and verticle.
In this shot I have used the reverse side of a large calendar.
The truch is a Ford H series Transcontinental by Matchbox.

This Ferrari in 1:36 scale by Corgi is parked by one of NZ's southern lakes. These Corgi models were not that detailed as can be seen in this shot.

Another Corgi 1:36 scale is this Toyota Supra with rocky coastline. In this picture can be seen another problem to be careful of. That is reflection off the background picture.

The master of photographing vehicle models has to be a guy by the name of Tim Ahlborn. I cannot include any of his photos here as they are protected, but take a look at his site at http://www.timstrucks.com/
Tim builds all his own models from kitsets and combinations thereof and as you will see from his photos he is also a superb model maker.