I’ve built some Edwardian motor cars in 1:76 scale for my Farthing layouts. Here's the first instalment, focusing on a 1904 De Dion-Bouton made from a modified Scale-Link kit.
Caption: 1902 Wolseley 4 cylinder. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.
In 1895 there were 14-15 motor cars in Britain. In 1900 there were 7-800. Then it boomed. By 1909 there were 48.000 cars and in 1914 there were 132.000. (Sources: National Motor Museum and “The Motoring Age: The Automobile and Britain 1896-1939”).
Caption: Ellaline Terriss, British actress, with her daughter and baby, c1906. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.
These numbers surprised me. I associate the Edwardian age with horses, but as Peter Thorold writes in “The Motoring Age: The Automobile and Britain 1896-1939”, the motor car quickly became a major symbol of Edwardian optimism and progress.
Caption: King Edward VII in Lord Montagu's 1899 Daimler 12hp, 1900. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.
Of course, owning a motor car was not for everyone. Allegedly, King Edward’s strong interest in motor cars contributed to making them fashionable among the upper class.
Caption: De Dion car and passengers, c 1902. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.
From the beginning, foreign cars were widespread. In the early 1900s French cars were particularly popular in Britain. According to the British De Dion Bouton Club, there were some 400 monthly imports in 1906. By contrast, there were two the other way!
Motor cars increasingly appeared at stations. In the big cities, cabs in particular could be seen in station forecourts. The above postcard shows Bristol in the early 1900s.
Photos of pre-WW1 station forecourts – including market towns - occasionally show private vehicles. This is Newbury in 1910.
Unfortunately, very little is available for pre-WW1 motor cars in 4mm scale. The Scale-Link range are an exception, with a handful of early vehicles, but most are sold out. However, I found a secondhand version of their kit for a 1904 De Dion-Bouton (Type V, I think).
Caption: A man driving an 8hp De Dion Bouton, 1902. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.
De Dion-Bouton were French pioneers in motor car development, and their vehicles were among the most popular early imports to Britain.
The Scale Link kits are pragmatic but decent whitemetal affairs. The wings are rather thick though.
So I field them thinner. Laborious but worth it, I think.
Some of the detail fittings are a bit crude, so I replaced them. A new steering wheel was made using a 51L etch.
Gear sticks replaced with brass wire. Photos show different gear stick configurations even within the same model. Putty applied to gaps.
I went for a maroon paint scheme. The gold panels on the hood were a feature of De Dion-Boutons and some other brands at the time.
They weren't large vehicles.
I made a driver from a chopped-up Andrew Stadden figure, rebuilt in situ to ensure a reasonable fit. The lady was less trouble, just needed her bottom filed.
Then painting. It’s interesting how colour shapes our impressions. This is Lady Deadlock, Mk 1, in bright yellow. Youth, summer, and a bit jarring!
Lady Deadlock, Mk 2, with a repainted dress. Suddenly we have a more mature woman, dressed for cooler weather. And a better colour match.
So here we are in Farthing in the spring of 1904.
Humphrey the driver is taking Lady Deadlock to the station.
Heads turn as they clatter past.
What noone knows is that Lady Deadlock is leaving for good.
Her suitcase is stuffed with silverware and everything from her husband’s safe.
Tomorrow she will be in Paris, far away from this dreadful town.
Too bad for her husband, but life is so short. Seize the day!
An hour later Humphrey returns after seeing her off.
Lady Deadlock is on the train, but her suitcase is not. Humprey has nicked it.
He gets the loot, Lady Deadlock gets the blame.
Too bad for her, but life is so short. Seize the day!