Revell bus build so far.

[Riograndad]

Great kit overall,a few bits out of shape so far but nothing that I cant overcome,problem arises I think from being stuck up on top of a wardrobe for 3 or 4 years(maybe longer)as just never got around to it,the biggest problem is the size of the box and trying to lose it while the kit is on the bench,it is to say the least rather large!!!!Just a few pics on progress so far.One change I have made is to make the seating half half cushions as opposed to full soft version as per the decal sheet as its how I remember them when riding the Routemasters to school.Paint lines to tidy up before final fix,stairs,seats for example but so far so good.Problems may arise when the body goes on but a dry run of the lower deck roof fits fine so fingers crossed.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Very smart - I like the worn seats where a few thousand bums have slid across

It's a trip down memory lane

 

[maxi-model]

Very nice indeed Rio. Love to see the full build when it is done.

I remember my mother taking me along to the Business Efficiancy exhibition at Olympia in the early '60's. On the cental display was a Routemaster bus. Why ? London Transport (TfL's precursor) was after business advertising revenue. The bus displayed was the first to be fitted with back lit advertising hoardings both inside (as shown on your model) and outside along its flanks. Funny the things tha stick in the mind of a young (8 year old) boy.

Which probably explains my latter day homage, that might be thought the height of sartorial elegance in these pandemic beset times - matching socks, scarf and facemask in that iconic moquette pattern. The bag like thing is a door stop, got the floor cushion on order too. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner..........

 

[Riograndad]

Rhino,Maxi,talking of memories I was doing some research and came across this pic,taken at Edgeware Station,RT,RM routes 240a and 240,these are the routes I went to school on although the other end of the routes,I changed at Mill Hill East where the 240a terminated,then onto Hendon,the single decker is possibly route 142 to Watford Jcn,went to college on that one.!!!!but by the time I was at college the 240a was replaced by route 221,Edgware to Turnpike Lane,OH THE MEMORIES

 

[ebay mike]

Nice. I have an unopened kit in the garage. Also one or two Sunstar 1/24 diecast jobs. I had thought about putting a few dozen of the cheapo Chinese made seated figures inside and an LGB station staff figure for a conductor. I have some authentic alternative destination blinds too - trouble is they are full-size!!!

 

[Riograndad]

I hit this with a vengeance over the weekend,its now looking a little like a bus now,the bottom deck im calling done and the top deck now well under way,as for out of shape parts,the top deck floor was twisted quite badly and did not want to fit to the lower deck roof ,spent a long time using a fan heater to try and get back into shape and managed to get it to a useable condition,the upper deck seating still to be glued in but seems to be fine on a dry run and I changed the colour of the stairway from red to the interior wine colour,to me looks better,the single upright handrail on the platform broke as it came off the sprue,(dam!),one thing with this kit is its a must to dry run everything before it goes together,I do normally when kit building but this one needs maybe bits taping together to get correct locations,the peg in the pics is slightly overscale.Few pics on the progress,a few paint lines to tidy up,seats to fix in and suppose now onto the outer body,,,the last one is front and rear parts staged ,,,one thing I wanted to do but forgot was a back for the drivers seat,too late now,oh well.....

 

[Riograndad]

I managed quite a lot of progress on this headache,sorry kit and beginning to resemble a bus now,the body as I thought gave a lot of problems,I dry ran all the parts but something was wrong at the front as nothing came together,I started with the sides after painting as they have good locating parts and so could assume straight and square,both the rear outer section and the front were both distorted but not enough not to carry on,the rear went on reasonably easily.I glued one side in place and let set so I had a fixed base to work from then worked around to the other side panel and was able to bend the rear section into place and glue up,then to the front using the same procedure it should work,NO,whichever way Itried the dry run it was about 3-5 mm out one side on the top panel(lower panel cab front also warped)The problem was the roof of the section above the engine next to the cab so removing the panel allowed the top section to fit,some cutting and re shaping done and all seemed fine.I had a few problems with the cab front matching up with the top section,not perfect but presentable,its my own fault for leaving it in store for so long,if the side cab window glaze fits I will be amazed but next job so will soon find out!!!!!!!!

 

[dunnyrail]

You have managed a good finish with the paint, hand splashed?

 

[Paul M]

That's odd, when I made mine, the top front was fine, itwas the rear top that caused me grief, although it wasn't as far out as yours. Still yours is looking fantastic, and as Jon says more than ful marks for the painting

 

[Rhinochugger]

View attachment 280135Rhino,Maxi,talking of memories I was doing some research and came across this pic,taken at Edgeware Station,RT,RM routes 240a and 240,these are the routes I went to school on although the other end of the routes,I changed at Mill Hill East where the 240a terminated,then onto Hendon,the single decker is possibly route 142 to Watford Jcn,went to college on that one.!!!!but by the time I was at college the 240a was replaced by route 221,Edgware to Turnpike Lane,OH THE MEMORIES

We were on the trolley bus route 603 / 603 in Kingston - the route number changed when the trolley buses were replaced by RTs. RMs and RTs went by on the Richmond road into Kingston (we lived on the Kings Rd / Richmond Rd crossroads) on routes 65, 65a and 71. We also had Greenlines and later RMLs but I'm not sure of the routes. Sometimes on a Sunday you'd see one of the Greeline coaches with the grey top half - can't remember the designation - can't remember much

EDIT - gottit - ECW bodied RFW built for private hire

 

[maxi-model]

Growing up in London's Victoria district allowed me to see over the years various iterations of the Routemaster in their prototype forms, Probably because of the Southern region's terminus at Victoria the area became something of a hub for LT bus routes. Not to mention its proximity to the Westminster seat of government and a slew of civil service departments. There were major "stands" in front of the station itself, on Vauxhall Bridge Road and, for Greenline sevices, Ebury Bridge.

I remember seeing regularly a prototype with an unpainted aluminium body, the one with the front powered door entrance and the rear engined versions. There was also the prototype Atlantean. They were nearly always allocated to the #2 & #16 routes in turn. Possibly used as "proving grounds" due to these routes' length and topography ? Naturally, one could see Greenline coach versions, with other Greenline types then in use, on Ebury Bridge stand. The area was a bus spotters delight as there was also the Victoria Bus station, situated at the approach to Ebury bridge and opposite the BOAC terminal - that used Routemaster types with baggage trailers (ex' BEA?) to ferry passengers to Heathrow (and possibly Gatwick).

I used to love taking trips to "the end of the line", whether bus or Underground, during the school holidays. A lot of the time my parents would allow me to do this unaccompanied, how times have changed. I only realized recently that a number of the bus routes that passed through this area originally started life as tram routes - #38 comes to mind - only being transferred after London's extensive tram system met its demise in 1952. Max

 

[Rhinochugger]

Growing up in London's Victoria district allowed me to see over the years various iterations of the Routemaster in their prototype forms, Probably because of the Southern region's terminus at Victoria the area became something of a hub for LT bus routes. Not to mention its proximity to the Westminster seat of government and a slew of civil service departments. There were major "stands" in front of the station itself, on Vauxhall Bridge Road and, for Greenline sevices, Ebury Bridge.

I remember seeing regularly a prototype with an unpainted aluminium body, the one with the front powered door entrance and the rear engined versions. There was also the prototype Atlantean. They were nearly always allocated to the #2 & #16 routes in turn. Possibly used as "proving grounds" due to these routes' length and topography ? Naturally, one could see Greenline coach versions, with other Greenline types then in use, on Ebury Bridge stand. The area was a bus spotters delight as there was also the Victoria Bus station, situated at the approach to Ebury bridge and opposite the BOAC terminal - that used Routemaster types with baggage trailers (ex' BEA?) to ferry passengers to Heathrow (and possibly Gatwick).

I used to love taking trips to "the end of the line", whether bus or Underground, during the school holidays. A lot of the time my parents would allow me to do this unaccompanied, how times have changed. I only realized recently that a number of the bus routes that passed through this area originally started life as tram routes - #38 comes to mind - only being transferred after London's extensive tram system met its demise in 1952. Max

At the risk of blowing Neil's thread too far off course, when we were over in the Isle of Man, the transport museum has one of the BOAC / BEA luggage trailers, and he had acquired a Routemaster that had been heavily modified in its past life.

Best pic I could find easily - taken at Heathrow I believe (judging by the brickwork) the front trailer being open for loading as I think this is the Arrivals side.

 

[Riograndad]

You have managed a good finish with the paint, hand splashed?

Yes Jon,hand painted,slightly thinned,brush one way,then the other way and leave it,and this one was one coat,but have had to touch in a few places while building and with brush painting I can keep the glue surfaces clear,,,,but,sprayed the seat frames and inside roof panels.

 

[Riograndad]

That's odd, when I made mine, the top front was fine, itwas the rear top that caused me grief, although it wasn't as far out as yours. Still yours is looking fantastic, and as Jon says more than ful marks for the painting

Yes Paul,the back section gave me some grief but the front was a real pain,the cab section of the body at the drivers door was the worst bit to do as it wasn`t straight against the main side panel,from the top of the cab roof to the bottom of the door window was about 5 mm out and needed to be sorted out and it was touch and go if the windows would/did fit,the finished cab looks fine but not perfect as I did manage to sort the windows on the side so at least they are in,as for painting,thanks,I do prefere to brush when I can.Serves me right for leaving it in store for so long!!!!

 

[Riograndad]

Growing up in London's Victoria district allowed me to see over the years various iterations of the Routemaster in their prototype forms, Probably because of the Southern region's terminus at Victoria the area became something of a hub for LT bus routes. Not to mention its proximity to the Westminster seat of government and a slew of civil service departments. There were major "stands" in front of the station itself, on Vauxhall Bridge Road and, for Greenline sevices, Ebury Bridge.

I remember seeing regularly a prototype with an unpainted aluminium body, the one with the front powered door entrance and the rear engined versions. There was also the prototype Atlantean. They were nearly always allocated to the #2 & #16 routes in turn. Possibly used as "proving grounds" due to these routes' length and topography ? Naturally, one could see Greenline coach versions, with other Greenline types then in use, on Ebury Bridge stand. The area was a bus spotters delight as there was also the Victoria Bus station, situated at the approach to Ebury bridge and opposite the BOAC terminal - that used Routemaster types with baggage trailers (ex' BEA?) to ferry passengers to Heathrow (and possibly Gatwick).

I used to love taking trips to "the end of the line", whether bus or Underground, during the school holidays. A lot of the time my parents would allow me to do this unaccompanied, how times have changed. I only realized recently that a number of the bus routes that passed through this area originally started life as tram routes - #38 comes to mind - only being transferred after London's extensive tram system met its demise in 1952. Max

Ah Max memories,I used to with my late great dad ride London on the Red Rover ticket,dear old mum packed us with lunch and off we would go,always on a Sunday and went everywhere,we normally stopped at Kensington Gardens as the boating lake there would normally have great model boats,elderly gentlemen with their battleships and their Captains hat on,or 8ft tall sailing boats,to a boy of 10 they were awesome.Never used the Twin Rover for the tube too,always used the buses,hop off one at a stop and jump on the one behind,didn`t care where it was going,Talking of BEA,I was checking some bits on line and came across Paddington- Heathrow shuttle,blue and grey (?)livery Routemaster.

 

[Riograndad]

At the risk of blowing Neil's thread too far off course, when we were over in the Isle of Man, the transport museum has one of the BOAC / BEA luggage trailers, and he had acquired a Routemaster that had been heavily modified in its past life.

Best pic I could find easily - taken at Heathrow I believe (judging by the brickwork) the front trailer being open for loading as I think this is the Arrivals side.

View attachment 280503

Ian,as a visitor to Heathrow in my younger days and spending many hours on top of the Queens Building watching the now defunct BEA,BOAC,TWA,Pan Am 707`s VC10s and so on,there were these shuttles everywhere!!!!!There were also as I recall a single deck type with a raised rear section to maybe a twin deck,can`t remember ,we used to call them Airport Buses.
Lets go back 60 odd years,I found this the other day,I think its a Leyland Tiger but of course could be wrong,pic is at Mill Hill East tube station,the crew have gone for a cuppa with the station staff as they did and any passenger from other bus routes or the train could get on the bus and wait for departure.This type ran at the bottom of my road for years until replaced with RT`s,remember it well,twin crew with a conductor and now talking of the time before I even went to school,Inglis REME army depot in the Background is now a housing estate!!!!!!!1

 

[Riograndad]

Enough nostalgia for one day and so onto the build progress,lots done and nearly finished now,glass in,route numbers and destination added,all to be done now is the rest of the decals on,the yellow band needs a little more work,mudguards need a second coat of black and the small items such as mirrors,indicators cab grab rails and so on.I will call them final fix as it will have to go on its side for decals to go on and simply don`t want to break them off,despite all its problems I am quite pleased with the result,the REG is my grandson The hood fits,,,,,wedged open as paint drying!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Paul M]

Enough nostalgia for one day and so onto the build progress,lots done and nearly finished now,glass in,route numbers and destination added,all to be done now is the rest of the decals on,the yellow band needs a little more work,mudguards need a second coat of black and the small items such as mirrors,indicators cab grab rails and so on.I will call them final fix as it will have to go on its side for decals to go on and simply don`t want to break them off,despite all its problems I am quite pleased with the result,the REG is my grandson The hood fits,,,,,wedged open as paint drying!!!!!!!!!!
View attachment 280509View attachment 280510View attachment 280511View attachment 280512View attachment 280513View attachment 280514

Fantastic paint work, I never got mine so shiny

 

[PhilP]

Fantastic paint work, I never got mine so shiny

Neither did London Transport!

 

[Rhinochugger]

................... the REG is my grandson

What's it all about?