Welcome to Leakey Vale - a diorama spread over an area about 3.1/2 metres long by 2/3 metre wide (and growing)

Where to see us

It has been in creation for a number of years and started from my husband's collection of modern Britains tractors, figure collections and animals. Having had a large amount of post-war Britains Farm items as a child I was only too pleased to take over the collection which was initially housed in a Picture Pride glass fronted wall cabinet but it grew a bit too large. I was put in touch with Dave Poole who makes cases for a model car collector/builder friend and asked if he could make some big ones 30cm x 60cm which would fit into our exhibition cabinets in threes. These were made and collected before the week was out and Leakey Vale was born.

Since then I have added to it considerably. Birthday (and unbirthday) presents from my husband have included some old Britains items; Toy & Collectors fairs have provided a lot; friends have found some for me and of course there us the ubiquitous eBay where I have found some unusual and useful additions, including a crane hook yet to be fitted into the museum as part of a hoist.. Now the there is an assortment of models from all manufacturers. Old or new does not matter to me, neither does "mint" condition, I simply want the atmosphere. The odd broken item of equipment adds to the reality. I make no excuses for having plastic either. In order to achieve a [relatively] natural scene I need the variety that can only come from alternative manufacturers and periods.

However it looks in the photographs on this web site, Leakey Vale is constantly evolving. New items added and others moved; the modules can be put together in different order so the changes are constant. Sometimes I get bored looking at the same thing so it gets changed, sometimes I am not satisfied with what I have and change it again. Whenever Leakey Vale gets out for a public viewing it is different which is one reason why I am loath to use the railway modellers favourite fastener, superglue, and resort to good old sticky stuff like BluTack.

Most of the buildings are made from Bayko - the original Number 4 building kit that I had in the 50's (and kept) plus some additional bricks, rods and roofs acquired from eBay. The remainder are built of card, papier mache and balsa and the Museum is my best achievement to date. For more information on how it was built, materials used etc. click here

Sue Leake

There 9 modules in the first picture so hover over segments of the picture to get the name - click to go to the page (if it exists).
This is how Leakey Vale looked on its outing to the Village fete June 2007

Creating Leakey Vale

			Leakey Vale is built in modules on bases 600 x 300 mm with plastic lids. These modules stack which is a blessing as they take up less space. Currently there are 9 pieces but two more have been ordered (correction - 2 more have arrived so now we are 11)
		For displays they fit in groups of three, without lids, into our club's standard glass topped display cabinets and the joints between the bases are used to provide roads or additional display space This is Leakey Vale as it appeared at Bursledon Brickworks in 2006 - just one third of it - as part of the South Hants Model Auto Club* model display. Tractors are gathering for the show. (The red one parked up is a Porsche)
				Part only at Bursledon October 2007 Leakey Vale is constantly changing
	*South Hants Model Auto Club is based in Hampshire and is for collectors of anything - not just model cars .Membership is not restricted to residents of Hampshire either! Interests range from Formula 1 to heavy haulage, land speed records to aircraft and of course, Leaky Vale. The Club participates in many events during the year, mostly for charities or good causes. Members' displays can be seen at the Poole Vikings Show, Romsey Modelworld, Broadlands Pageant of Motoring, Bursledon Brickworks, among others and a SHMAC display has been a feature at "Race Retro" (formerly the Historic Motorsport Show) every year since it started and will be there again in March 2008.

Where to See Us

As part of the South Hants Model Auto Club exhibit Leakey Vale, in its fledging state, first went on exhibition at the Andover Modelex in 2005 in two display cabinets where it was well received.

Note:For the Britains enthusiasts a visitor pointed to my two Fordson tractors (spiked wheels on one and conventional tyres on the other) and told me his father owns the real ones - the very tractors that Britains used as the templates to create their 1:32 scale models. They photographed and measured them in detail.

One third had an airing at Bursledon Brickworks** in the Summer of 2006 and the full 3 cabinets in July 2007 and 3 cabinets again with a different layout in October 2007. November 2007 we were at the Andover Big Transport Fayre.

Leakey Vale is now closed to the public as no further outings are planned until 2008 when we hope to again be at Bursledon and possibly Andover.

**Bursledon Brickworks is a registered charity working to restore the old brickworks in Swanwick to its former glory. They have several open days during the year to help raise money for the work to progress. Guided tours are available. For more information visit

http://www.hampshirebuildings.org.uk/bursledon-brickworks.htm
and
http://www.fareham.gov.uk/town/activities/places/bursledonbrickworks.