There haven't been a lot of post about diorama's or model cars lately, but I feel that they are an important part of our community. So when I came across this diorama made by Wilco Machiels, I had to post them up on Speedhunters. Another nice detail is of course the VW's that are placed inside these diorama's.
Like most car enthusiasts, you start to build model cars and quickly realize that you suck at it…. But there's always the exception and that is Wilco… he started at the age of seven and has since then mastered the technique of building realistic model cars and dioramas like no other.
All the models and diorama's have been build in 1:24 scale and are made to represent the garage's from the 1960's. Wilco says "I love the nostalgic garages of the 1960's – dirty, a little cluttered and rather disorganized and untidy – I like to recreate them just the way they were". He always starts out with a model and then builds the garage around it, he often takes parts from other kits to enhance the look and feel of the diorama's.
The detail on this VW bus is amazing. The rust and the battered paint shows that it had a hard life, I'm guessing that it just unloaded the crate engine.
This more customized Beetle with its deep dish wheels is getting some work done on the rear. It looks like there is some welding going on, maybe a leaking exhaust?. The shop owner must have thought better be safe than sorry so he has a fire extinguisher at the ready.
This beetle is undergoing some major overhauling. It is getting a new engine and it seems that the drum brakes are getting refreshed.
This bus is getting a fresh lick of paint and maybe some rust removed around the arches. It is already rolling on some new wheels. Al the diorama's that Wilco makes feature real lighting as you can see on the wall.
Here we have a lot of spare parts that are scavenged from other models to make this diorama complete. Did you notice the Continental sign just right of the door?
This looks more like a donor car but it makes for a great addition to this diorama.
A scratch build tire exchanger…. just so you now that Wilco is truly a king amongst modelers. I'm amazed at all the details and still find new things to marvel at.
For more, be sure to check out Wilco's diorama's there you can find a lot of other diorama's and some of them are even for sale.
I owe a big thank you to Wilco for providing me with these pictures.
-Jeroen Willemsen