stevej60 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Hi folks, my first armour foray for last years D-Day GB was a real joy so I thought as my two aircraft builds coming to an end I would do another with a bit of difference.I got Airfix,s old Bill bus for Christmas thanks to my eldest and made a start yesterday and while tidying the top of the cupboard found the house corner(Italeri) that was going to be a part of the D-Day build and I have a box of WW1 British figures somewhere upstairs so I thought a little diorama might be possible.I popped into my LMS for a couple pots of paint and in the model railway section found a pack of wood plank effect sheeting to replace the cardboard sheets in the kit that board up the windows.So I will have the Base and house corner,bus and a couple of Tommies greeting each other near the bus,the imaginary meeting of my Grandad Bob(RA) and Great Uncle Jim(Welch Rgt) Bob married Jim,s neice and came home safe Jim was killed in action in 1917.First pics tomorrow, Edited March 18, 2015 by stevej60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Hi folks here,s a couple of photo,s to start off this one,the Airfix bus needs a lot of cleaning up as it is riddled with ejector pin marks in the worst places it takes as long to clean up as build up! This is about two hours work and as far as I got before painting needs to start.There are very few photos online of the interior in particular how much was painted so artistic licence has to be used on the lower deck.There are some excellent photo,s online of other modelers take on this kit I particularly like on guys wear and tear with the red of the original paintwork showing through,thanks for looking. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Great progress and a lovely idea for the diorama. I look forward to the next instalment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Lovely idea for a project. I will be following with great interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomore Shelfspace Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I always liked this kit, it goes back many many years. I built the WD version in the mid 70's, complete with cardboard "boarding" and Tommy figures! Looking forward to seeing this classic anew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck63 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Hi Steve, GREAT idea...bookmarked! CheersManu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) Hi folks here,s a couple of photo,s to start off this one,the Airfix bus needs a lot of cleaning up as it is riddled with ejector pin marks in the worst places it takes as long to clean up as build up! This is about two hours work and as far as I got before painting needs to start.There are very few photos online of the interior in particular how much was painted so artistic licence has to be used on the lower deck.There are some excellent photo,s online of other modelers take on this kit I particularly like on guys wear and tear with the red of the original paintwork showing through,thanks for looking. To be entirely accurate for the WW1 British army B type bus you need to sand off the 3 panels below the windows, square off the tops of the big windows, and panel in the curved bars on each side of the drivers canopy. The Airfix bus kit has a " 3 panel " body style which was just beginning to be manufactured in mid 1914 and the few that were constructed were held in store till after the war. This style of body was not used by London General until 1919 so it is very innacurate for any WW1 wartime vehicle. The body style should be like this, a pre war Body: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000241 B 43 was a bus used in WW1 but Please note that the radiator top in this image is also a postwar change. Selwyn Edited January 5, 2015 by Selwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 Thank,s Selwyn,I know you are a bus aficianado so a couple of Questions: is the downstairs seating on this kit correct? I notice in the Occre build in the vehicles section the seating is just a pair of continuous "bench" seats and any thoughts what paint was used if any on the inside of the lower deck interior?I wish I had known about the body panel before assembly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) Thank,s Selwyn,I know you are a bus aficianado so a couple of Questions: is the downstairs seating on this kit correct? I notice in the Occre build in the vehicles section the seating is just a pair of continuous "bench" seats and any thoughts what paint was used if any on the inside of the lower deck interior?I wish I had known about the body panel before assembly! The seating on the Airfix bus on both decks is correct, with two upholstered bench seats on the inside (officially seating eight a side) and "garden seat" types upstairs. I would not put any stock on the occre kit at all as it is woefully innaccurate. They even call it the Dennis B type on the box which is interesting as all B type buses were built by AEC! a London Dennis is a D type suprisingly, but these did not turn up in London until the 1920's and looked very different. http://www.londonbusmuseum.com/museum-exhibits/double-deck-buses/dennis-4-ton-d-142/ There were some B types with "garden seats" downstairs so called "Bentwood" bodies but these were trials vehicles and few and far between. Really the design of the B type was too narrow to have lines of seats inside, but legislation at the time limited the width of these vehicles. Selwyn Edited January 5, 2015 by Selwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) Many thanks Selwyn,I have replaced the card "boarding up" in the kit with plastic wood effect sheet.this because of my lack of tools and skill is not 100% accurate but compromise is the name of the game with this build and taking Selwyns advice i have filled in the curved bars above the cab and I think they will look ok once a few bits of filling in are done and the body is painted.I might give thought to filling the panels. Edited January 5, 2015 by stevej60 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Many thanks Selwyn,I have replaced the card "boarding up" in the kit with plastic wood effect sheet.this because of my lack of tools and skill is not 100% accurate but compromise is the name of the game with this build and taking Selwyns advice i have filled in the curved bars above the cab and I think they will look ok once a few bits of filling in are done and the body is painted.I might give thought to filling the panels. Just to let you know in the last picture above you have the roof on backwards! Selwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thanks Selwyn,long day! thankfully just dropped on for a dry run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi all,got some colour on and sprayed the interior green figuring that,s what the army might have done anyway,I,m really pleased at the look of the wood paneling so much better than the cardboard supplied in the kit.Thanks for looking. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregg136 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I love the idea behind the Diorama and that wood panel looks a hell of a lot better than the card you get in the kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Hi all,got some colour on and sprayed the interior green figuring that,s what the army might have done anyway,I,m really pleased at the look of the wood paneling so much better than the cardboard supplied in the kit.Thanks for looking. For those building the airfix Old Bill Bus a great reference is the book in the post below. you still need to sand off the three side panels though! Selwyn Edited January 6, 2015 by Selwyn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) A great reference for the old bill bus is this book; http://www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk/books/buses-books/product/ole-bill-london-buses-and-the-first-world-war.html Selwyn Edited January 6, 2015 by Selwyn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stesca Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Looking forward to this, I have always liked this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Hi all,todays progress,oop.s little bit of warpage on the rear tyres! ended up cutting them in half and once glued in place and a touch of filler they look fine. spent the rest of the time cleaning up the interior seating ready for paint and building the upper deck (just popped on for the photo) thanks for looking in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Mmmmm....those tires are not flat are they?!! The bus is looking very nice though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Some warm water in a basin and a little weight would have straitened out your tires for you.Nice work and great idea on this Diorama. Foxy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancieT Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Having just built this kit, I feel your pain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hi all,just a little time yesterday for modeling painting the wheels has begun and main pieces of figures assembled(helmets popped on for photo) I did a little bit of filling and cutting to get the figures arms extended as if about to shake hands.Next job is the interior seating and spraying of the upper deck and I need to start thinking of the size and type of base.Thanks for looking in. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Where are those figures from? Like the progress so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Where are those figures from? Like the progress so far... They are the two "tommies" from Masterbox,s Somme set with the two Germans carrying an injured man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Hi all,been a bit distracted by the P40 SIGB lately so now it,s time to do a little more work here so finished the interior with the seating and as not a thing can be seen once the top deck is fitted left it at that.There are a few extras I want to add to the bus referencing pictures of the real thing one being the canvas material hung around the roof of the open cab as protection against the weather this on a few photos was also done to cover the side of the cab as there were no doors.Next step is to add the rear stairs and then I can start weathering the whole thing.thanks for looking in. Edited January 16, 2015 by stevej60 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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