Art of the Automobile in Miniature
The Works of Gerald and Phyllis Wingrove, Model Engineers
by Gerald Amery Wingrove
If one picked up this book without paying attention to the title one would be forgiven for taking the photos here to be of real cars, such is the detail and correctness in material and execution of these miniatures in metal at 1⁄15 size (some are 1/20; ships, aircraft, and dioramas are in different scales). Even after retiring from model making as a career, the Wingroves’ work remains well known and highly prized among collectors. Expect to pay five figures when, all too rarely, one of the only 220-odd examples comes up at auction.
Few in the modeling community can match Gerald Wingrove’s skill, and none have been awarded an MBE (in 2000) for their work. Even restorers of full-scale cars find his drawings, made by his wife, and extensive background files reliable guides (at least two full-size car bodies have been built from their plans so far). Wingrove likes to share his work and has published a number of books, not just of the finished models in all their seemingly unattainable glory, but also the actual plans he used to build them. It is his professed aim to educate a new generation in the benefits of model engineering. Those plans and background information are published in the form of Portfolios, which, even aside from their model-making application, would be desirable additions to any automotive library.
The book also has chapters on Gerald’s background and his thoughts on art as exemplified in car design. The landscape format shows the cars to the fullest advantage. Check out his website <www.geraldwingrove.com> that is still being maintained even though he died in 2019 (his wife Phyllis, who took up pottery in retirement, had died the year before) but not all pages are active such as the neat “But does it work?” video.
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