London General B-type bus, 1:32

[AlanG]

First an apology for the gap in posts. I was playing in the pit for a musical every night last week, so not a lot else got done. Anyway, back to normal for a couple of weeks before the next one(!)

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Time to fit the axles. The front is a simple beam, constructed like the chassis rails and crossmembers.



The exhaust is very simple, just a cylindrical silencer (muffler) hung on narrow straps, and a pipe from the engine and a short curved stub outlet. The pipes are very small, and not prominent in the finished model, so I just represented them as flat profiles.



That completes the chassis for now. Next I'll have a go at some bodywork.

[Don Boose]

This is quite a splendid model of a classic vehicle. It is a pleasure to see your work and to see the bus take shape.

Don

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

This is quite a splendid model of a classic vehicle. It is a pleasure to see your work and to see the bus take shape.

Don

Thank you Don. It has been a long time coming, and there is still a good way to go, but worth it. Learning more about these iconic vehicles has been a great pleasure.

[AlanG]

On to the lower saloon. Here things start to get colourful.



The first thing to do is to fit the reveal to the rear entrance opening. The rear wall is very fragile so I have left it attached to plenty of spare card for now.



The sides of the reveal are built up of several layers of card, again for strength, and then faced to hide the raw edges.



Now it is (just about) strong enough to cut away the surplus.

[rifleman]

just cought up on this have to say great looking build

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by rifleman

just cought up on this have to say great looking build

Thank you, rifleman. It has been a lot of fun showing the progress.

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The inner box built up, with the tabs on the outside to keep the interior clean.



The floor keeps everything square.

[Vermin_King]

Be very very careful with those window frames. I'm sure you will, but I am sure it would take me five or six tries before I even got a 'passable' attempt


You do very good work

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by Vermin_King

Be very very careful with those window frames. I'm sure you will, but I am sure it would take me five or six tries before I even got a 'passable' attempt

You do very good work

Thank you VK. Yes, I must take super care with my fumble fingers while this is still unglazed and I'm poking about inside. Actually the frames aren't quite as fragile as they look, as the model is quite large (for me) and I am using 0.2mm card instead of my more usual 0.1mm paper. Gluing the glazing on the bars without glooping everywhere has been much more of a worry.

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The seats downstairs are long upholstered benches with their backs to the windows. They are divided in the middle, and each section seats four, making 16 in all.



They rest on a wooden base, supported at the back by the body and at the front by four uprights.



The real cushions are covered in a small-patterned mauve and black moquette, but I decided on a plain compromise colour for simplicity. (My camera made a bit of a nonsense of the colour in the first two photographs - the last one above is a much closer rendering.)



Time to put the lid and glazing on. Not too gloopy so far...

[sharunas]

Very neat and clean assembly. Seats looks great.

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by sharunas

Very neat and clean assembly. Seats looks great.

Thank you. The seats are very simple, but give a good impression.

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The outer skin now goes over the glazing. First the rear end.



Once the front was in place, I started the side by laminating the canopy bracket to the inside piece attached to the front.



Then the glazing bars can be pulled into place, leaving the lower part of the side loose.



Finally the lower side can be fixed.