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Dear Colleagues Just finished the dual axle GAZ bus outfitted as a command vehicle. You have to be very vigilant as you build as any inattention and it'll bite you! I used a jig in the end, I wished I'd used it earlier to true everything. The wheels, apart from the spares, are Panzer Art resin. Still, the details are so petite it is hard not to like. So the crew try to get it going And get fed up So some locals come to help But the staff keep working Hope you like it Andrew

Werkstattkraftwagen Typ-03-30 (35359) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Ford’s AA light truck was license built in the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1950 by GAZ as their GAZ-AA, or GAZ-MM as it was sometimes known, with over 150,000 being built in various configurations including Anti-Aircraft, and buses based on the same chassis. Some of these were of course captured by the Nazis during the successful early stages of Operation Barbarossa in WWII, and as usual with their regime they were pressed into service, sometimes in their original form, but others were butchered around to suit different purposes. The Werkstattkraftwagen was based upon the Typ-03-30 bus, with the passenger seats stripped out to be replaced by benches and storage to become a mobile workshop for the repair of equipment and vehicles in the field. The Kit This is a substantial reboxing of MiniArt’s GAZ-03-30 bus (35149), containing the majority of the sprues therein, with the exception of the additional seat sprues that won’t be needed. Instead there are a raft of new sprues, some of which have been brought together from other sets and kits to provide a huge amount of detail that will result in a highly detailed kit once complete. The kit arrives in a standard top-opening box with fifty-eight sprues in grey styrene, two clear sprues, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in a card envelope, a small decal sheet and the glossy instruction booklet with colour painting instructions to the rear. MiniArt’s standard is excellent, and this kit meets it, with the bus parts originally produced as recently as 2015, so up to date as far as detail is concerned. The quantity of accessories and tools included in the box almost doubles the volume of plastic in the box, and the nature of the kit will keep you busy for a long time if you treat all the sub-assemblies as separate little kits to do them the ultimate justice. It is a full interior kit, and this extends to the engine, cab and former passenger area, so it leaves the modeller with a wide palette to make this model their own. MiniArt have included four of each of the wheel frets, when only two are needed and documented in the instructions. Spare wheels will be the result. Construction begins with the engine, which is a four-cylinder license-built Ford unit that is built up around the four-part block with transmission and accessories bringing the part count to 20. The ladder chassis is made up from the two side rails with the inverted rear suspension springs fitted to the outside, and numerous cross-braces added to prepare it for the engine, drive-shaft and rear axle with differential housing, which is installed at the rear end of the springs. The wheels are built up at this time too, the tyres laminated from seven tread parts to form eight tyres for the eight hubs. It will be important to be careful with the amount of glue used here, as excess could ooze out and melt the tread pattern, spoiling MiniArt’s hard work. After that little jaunt, attention returns to the chassis, which is further detailed with brackets, front suspension and steering, plus rear anti-roll bars and linkages. The spare tyre is stowed under the rear of the chassis, and the brake hubs with their tyres (twin tyres at the rear) are slotted into place along with the radiator with a PE badge for the top, brackets for the front fenders, and front bumper. The exhaust is installed on the left, then the earlier stamped fenders with foot-plates are added to the front, and the driver’s foot plate is inserted between them aft of the engine with 3-speed gear shifter and hand brake in the centre. The foot pedals are inserted too, projecting through the plate and attaching to the transmission for complete realism. The large floor panel with anti-slip strips and rear fenders covers the rest of the chassis, with short 2nd steps over those on the front fenders, and after that, the crew cab is begun, starting with the instrument panel, which slots into the scuttle with filler cap in the centre and firewall at the front, joined by two small side panels. This, the steering wheel with stalks, and the driver’s seat on curved rails are inserted into the cab, and the front windscreen is glazed with a clear panel, with a solitary windscreen wiper on the driver’s side. The front of the cab receives the window in either closed or tilted positions for ventilation, using a pair of curved PE sliders from days of yore. A strip with clear lights and destination display slot are fitted above the screen, offering a clue to the vehicle’s original purpose. A pair of braces link the radiator housing to the firewall, while the windscreen surround is slid down over the dash, and a set of steps with retraction links are added to the rear. The cab is left for a while to concentrate on the main body of the “bus”, with the two sides glazed and the large multi-drawer bench made up along with a short bench and pillar drill that has a PE belt and base plate, the latter set to one side for later installation. The left body shell and the aforementioned benches are fitted to the floor panel, and roller-blinds are attached to the headers of the windows, then a large number of tools and benches are made up as follows: Double-end bench grinder Bench vice Bench vice with clamp Hacksaw Closed expanding toolbox Open expanding toolbox with PE tools Chair Stool Shallow bench with drawers Mobile compressor with receiver Wooden toolbox Anvil Blow torch large Blow torch small G-clamp Angle-poise light Coping saw Bucket with large wrench & axe Small cupboard The starboard body panel is similarly glazed and fitted out with roller-blinds, and the double rear doors have glass, roller-blinds and handles added before they are glued in open or closed positions, with the single cab door made up similarly and having a stay provided for the open option, and an alternative folded-step for the rear in the closed position. The roof is prepped with a central line of clear lenses, not to be confused with the raised ejector pin marks nearby, which you may want to deal with if you think they’ll be seen. The engine cowlings are the usual 30-40s style with louvered sides that fold up with the split top panels on hinges that are outfitted with brackets and PE handles on each side. The large headlights fit either side of the radiator on a curved bracket and a rod that fits between the fenders, with the horn attached on another bracket below the left headlight. The front number plate glues to the front bumper to complete the actual vehicle, but there’s more to come. There is a large roof rack that covers the majority of the top of the vehicle, which is folded up from PE and glued in place, with a pair of PE brackets for the port side ladder also fitted at the same time. Then a cornucopia of stowage etc. is made up to fill it, and fill it completely. The sub-assemblies are as follows: Wooden ladder Wooden boxes in three sizes 40gal drum with alternative tops Triangular-shaped can with PE handle Hand pump Axle-stand 2-man saw Heat-exchanger/radiator (not sure which) Oxy-Acetylene bottles with bases (2 of) Oxy-Acetylene trolley Box-plane Handsaw Hessian bags in three styles with various contents 6 x jerry cans with PE latches and centre ribs Large bin with tools inside Spare tyre with hub 11 x posters printed on the back cover of the instructions The figure that accompanies the set is only mentioned on the back page of the instructions, in much the same style as their figure sets. There is a painting of the completed figure with arrows pointing out the various parts and colour options. It is a Wehrmacht soldier in a side cap leaning against the vehicle with one hand in his pocket, the other nursing a cigarette. It is up to MiniArt’s usual standard of sculpting, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in another of their boxes, but can’t quite place where. Markings There is only one option in the box, and that one is painted in German Panzer Grey, but its Russian heritage shows under the fenders, which remain Russian green. The decal sheet is small, and includes a few stencils, a pair of numberplates and some dials for the instrument panel. Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a great reboxing of this kit with a new purpose, and the sheer volume of sub-assemblies will keep you at your workbench for a long time. Treat each part as a separate model and you will end up with an excellent, highly detailed finished article that will have visual interest out the wazoo as our American chums say. Very highly recommended. Currently out of stock at Creative, but they're sure to order more in, so check back. Review sample courtesy of

Hello all Today a few pictures from a project I have been working on for a long time. My plan is to convert the W 39 as an early version into a tour bus of the artists for the troop support - therefore the title "Fronttheater". The Roden model is not that high in quality, but the price is The entire conversion is not based on an existing vehicle but only on my imagination. For wartime use, vehicles were often converted to suit the needs, so in my opinion it is not unrealistic. Another interesting vehicle would be a workshop bus-but there are already a few of those. So now a tour bus-let it rock MD Modification of the wheel housing and new resin wheels the rear axle is lower to simulate weight Pictures of the inside will follow...

I use these builds just as photographic props for my 1/72 aircraft models, so it is always good news when you can get a period proper scale (1/72) civil vehicle to accompany your aircraft models. In this case a soviet bus used by Aeroflot during the late 30s (although the kit does not provide that specific decoration) . This very nicely detailed kit does not provide as said the corresponding decals, but there is a 1/35 version by another manufacturer on the market that caters for that version, so that makes for a good reference. The kit has parts for at least three versions that I can tell. This is most likely a short run technology kit, so there is some little flash and the fit is not sharp, but you get a nicely detailed vehicle with interior and even engine and transmission, all fairly molded for the scale. I cut a door open to show some of the interior, And also cut the parts that cover the engine to show it is if some mechanical repair was being done, for which I added a few parts to bring up more detail. The instructions have the usual blurry, indifferent indications, mostly regarding how certain surfaces meet, and completely lacks precision regarding many other parts. Each part has to be cleaned to get rid of small imperfections (flash and sprue gates leftovers) but again the build is not difficult (and the label says "for experienced modelers", fair warning), but the fit of some parts is not good. I only wish that some contemporary manufacturer will issue vehicles in 1/72 scale with the same very high standards that Jordan Miniatures kits have (used to have, now out of production). It seems incredible that a kit from the 70s is much better regarding precision and fit than one made just now, almost 50 years later! The Jordan kits had more detail on the engine, for example. Yes, I know we have now "short run" technology, which supposedly allows for more variety and low cost (i.e. prices)...but so were Jordan Highway Miniature kits, varied and very affordable -and much better than many products now, and in a smaller scale (1/87)! (the prices now that the production stopped due to the owner's passing are of course escalating due to speculation). Mysteries of the kit industry. But I am happy because I have now my Aeroflot bus to pose with golden age Russian passenger planes, which is appreciated ,even if I had to commission decals for it.

LGOC B-Type London Omnibus (38021) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd After the invention of the motor car, it was only a matter of time before someone thought to apply it to carrying us proles around in groups, partly because the general populous couldn’t dream of affording a car at the time, but also because it cut down on traffic in the sprawling metropolis that was early 1900s London. The London General Omnibus Company – LGOC for short, developed the Omnibus X, the omnibus part relating to everyone or all. It was replaced by the improved B-type Omnibus which has seats for 16 inside and another 18 less salubrious seats upstairs open to the elements. It was capable of breaking the speed limit of the day and could do a staggering 16mph on the flat, with headlights being introduced just before WWI began. Up to 900 buses were shipped to the continent to bus the troops around the battlefield from trench to trench, with up to 24 fully-equipped men being carried on the two decks. Of course, the word Omnibus didn’t last long and gave us the Bus that we know and don’t really love today. With the side glazing easily broken by the men’s equipment and gun butts, it wasn’t long before many were covered up with planks, making for a dark but less draughty lower deck. Some were even converted to mobile homes for pigeons, with a loft built on the top deck and able to be driven from place to place where telegraph or telephone wasn’t a suitable means of communications. At the end of WWI, the remaining operational buses were also used to ferry the soldiers back to the UK, but it can’t have been very comfortable or quick on balance. The Kit This kit began with the militarised version in olive drab (39001), and now we’re looking at the civilian version on which it was developed. A few additional sprues are included to improve the comfort of the passengers by adding cushions to the seats, and to add a safety barrier to the area of the side between the wheels to prevent people from being swept under. The decal sheet is also brand new, and the Photo-Etch (PE) sheet has been re-organised to accommodate the curved advertising hoardings on the staircase at the expense of number plate choice. Detail is excellent with a full chassis, engine and interior included in the box, giving you just about everything you need to build a detailed replica of the early omnibus. Construction begins with the engine, which is well detailed and even has diagrams showing you how to wire up the spark plugs with some of your own wire if you wish. The exhaust manifold, big clutch flywheel are added to the block along with a load of ancillary parts and hoses, then the gearbox is made up with its short drive-shaft to link it to the engine later on. The chassis is made up from the two side rails and cross members, then the engine is inserted from below while the fan belt and blades; starting handle; leaf springs for the suspension; and a large rear axle are all added, then flipped over to begin work on the engine compartment. A wood-textured bulkhead is installed aft, and at the front the large radiator is assembled and fitted to the front of the chassis, then linked to the feed hoses that were fixed earlier. A small linkage is made from 0.3mm wire and joined with and end-piece that completes the link, which has a couple of scrap diagrams to assist you, one at 1:1 scale to ensure you have it right. The chassis is flipped again and the front axle is built then inserted into the leaf-springs, while brake rods are threaded along the length of the vehicle to provide the meagre braking force to all wheels. The gearbox gets a guard fitted to its bottom as it is inserted into the chassis, at which point it is also linked to the back axle with another drive-shaft that is bracketed by a piece of PE. The chassis is flipped again, and the gearbox is linked to the cab, with steering wheel, PARP! style horn plus the cab floor with foot board and cut-outs for the steering wheel, foot brake and other pedals (right-hand drive of course). Now the front and back of the engine bay are linked by the fixed centre panel, and you can build the cowling in either open or closed positions with PE plates attached to the vertical panels. The chassis continues again with the exhaust pipe and muffler, which has a PE lip added to each end of the welded cylinder. This and the remaining driver controls are fixed into the chassis, which is then set aside while the passenger compartment is built. The passenger compartment starts as a U-shaped floor with duck-board flooring, which receives end panels that are first fitted out with glazing. Seats are added along each side with back cushions fitted later, and the sides of the lower floor are made up with glazing and long slim openers at the top of each pane, capable of being posed open or closed by choosing different glazing parts. The front of the passenger box is also the seating area for the crew cab, with seat board, a thin cushion, and a cylinder in a pair of PE restraints installed ready for the later joining of the two assemblies. Long advertising hoarding brackets are fitted on the window frames outside and the lower floor is set to one side while the upper floor is made up. This has a slightly curved floor, solid sides, front and back, and four rows of double seats facing forward with a central walkway. Various rails are added to the top, beginning the handrails for the winding stairs, as well as ceiling-mounted grab-rails for the floor below. The two floors are joined together, and the staircase is begun at the bottom with the step-on platform at the rear, which allows access to the lower floor and leads to the stairs winding up the back of the vehicle. These steps are curved and have two parts added together, then strengthened by a side panel, and two curved sections on the outside that are combined safety rails and adverting hoardings that have three PE panels fitted to the outside ready for the included adverts. A number-plate and more handrails finish off that area. Underneath, the double length mudguards are glued to the cabin by brackets, and then the whole assembly is installed on the chassis along with front mudguards, crew steps, choice of lights and a front number plate. The wheels were built up earlier from a central hub surrounded by two tyre halves, and with drum-brake for the rear wheels, and simpler wheels for the front. Now that she’s stood on her own four wheels for the first time, the side-mounted people catchers are installed under the chassis between the wheels, preventing anyone unlucky enough to fall between the wheels from getting smooshed by the heavy back end. Markings The bus is painted in a dull red overall, with various accent colours from wood, metallics and brass colours, while many of the standard markings such as the destination and general stencilling are applied as decals. The adverts are all printed on the rear page of the instruction booklet and must be carefully cut out and pasted onto the hoarding boards in the top floor sides and rear of the bus, taking care to use a non-marking glue. The opposite side of the adverts are gloss white, so glue absorption shouldn’t be a major issue. The standard decals are shown applied to the bus inside the front cover of the booklet, while various advertising options are shown there and on separate pages at the back of the booklet next to the adverts themselves. This gives a pretty wide range of options to the modeller who takes a mix-and-match approach, but there are several options provided to get you going. Decals are by DecoGraph, with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There is a small addendum sheet included with the initial release, due to a misspelling of the word “Bridge” on the main decal sheet, so remember to discard those before you apply the wrong ones. Conclusion If you’ve been planning to adapt the military version to civilian use, now you don’t need to, as this highly detailed kit provides you with everything you need to create a great replica of this early bus. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of https://www.britmodeller.com/reviews/graphics/bin.jpg

Although the "Ole Bill" version of this kit has made an appearance in BM I don't thing anyone has done a WIP on the London General Omnibus version. To start the usual box and sprue shots Should be an interesting build. The decorations are a small waterslide decal sheet and two paper sheets of posters and destinations. The glazing is the small acetate sheet at bottom left.

Hi Everyone This seemed the perfect kit for doing many conversions so I decided to go for the camper van look with my usual detailing of adding working lights. I converted the inside and created a kitchen feature with built-in cupboards, oven, drawers, sink with taps and a microwave. I also added a removable table top and double bed along with an extending awning on the roof and roof rack. As this kit was built on an older model I only added working side lights, headlights, brake lights and indicators. Lastly I added the roof rack with luggage over the front cab. Building this kit, everything went together perfectly and it was a big help being able to add the glazing from the outside after the body was assembled. There was no flashing on the sprues and included were plenty of chrome parts with a lot of detailing. As I said before, there is plenty of scope for creating more versions of this bus and now that there is a panel van also available the idea's are numerous. More pictures are available HERE including some Work in Progress pictures and a video of the lights working. I hope that you enjoy the following pictures and my adaptation of a very popular vehicle still being used today and look forward to your reviews. With side lights on Headlights Indicators Rear side lights Rear brake lights

Hi everyone Well, it's been a while since my last posting as I've been dealing with my wife's breast cancer treatment, etc, but I have not been idle. I've done a few kits here and there which I hope to get on here soon. In the meantime this one I have now nearly completed. As usual I have added working lights but, this time, I have modded the inside to convert it into a camper van with an extended roof and luggage rack. All I have to do now is connect all of the wires to a switch box and it will be ready to post in the RFI section. Here is just a little sample:

Hi all This is my attempt at lighting the Revell Neoplan Cityliner. After lighting the Routemaster Bus it gave me the confidence to attempt the same with this kit although there wasn't so much space to work in, with such a large cluster of lights. To find out the external lighting setup I contacted the manufacturer and someone was kind enough to send a picture of the front and rear with every light function clearly marked. I also had to find a way of lighting the floor passageway and the internal roof lights but found something on the Internet that helped to achieve that. It is not perfect by any means and some blemishes can be found if you look hard enough, but when displayed in a display case, some of that is hidden. More pictures of the finished build as well as WIP pictures and a video can be seen HERE. As with the Routemaster, I hope to upload some pictures that I took as I built the kit so that it may give other members ideas for a future project. Regards Kevin.

Hi Guys For those who have looked at the pictures of my finished Cityliner coach with lighting photo's HERE and wondered how it can be done, I have uploaded some build pictures onto FLICKR which can be found HERE Hopefully it will give others an idea of what is involved and how, with a little patience and thought, lights can make a kit more realistic. Kevin More pictures to follow..............

Hi Everyone. It's good to be back. I wanted to have a break from building something and adding lights and so decided to make something simple and relaxing. If any of you feel like doing the same................do not get this kit!!! Before building this I checked out other members builds and saw how amazing they were. I read about the quality of the plastic and the flaws people found so as to learn any lessons beforehand. Why didn't I take more notice? I've been building kits for over 48 years (all makes) and this must be the worst. The injection mould must have been over 100 years old and the operator must have had to use several cans of releasing spray to stop the plastic from sticking to the mould. Firstly, there was so much flashing on nearly every part and secondry, no matter how much I scrubbed the plastic paint just would not adhere. Even primer caused problems. Many of the parts were bent and the moulding marks were in full view so could not be ingnored. If you like a challenge, get this kit. You will use all of the skills you have learned in building it. Anyway, rant over. It was from a Christmas present list that I received from Santa. The good thing is that it was typical Airfix plastic in that it was quite strong and nice to cut and the decals were first class (one of the best so far). Overall it looks pleasant to look at (not too closely) and will go well with my Routemaster Bus. It is not my best but, under the circumstances, I was just glad to finish it and decided to be brave and put it on the RFI forum. If they ever decided to bring this out with a new mould I would very probably buy it again as it is a nice kit to look at. Hope you like the pictures and I salute those who have built it before me. Thanks for looking folks and look forward to any views, good or bad.

Hi everyone I know that this kit has already been built and is not as such 'work in progress' but I thought it may be more useful in this section for those who may be constructing the same model. Hopefully it will convince others that it is possible to find a way to light this kit and improve on my attempt. Regards Kevin

Finally got this Busch 1/87 GM bus finished. Here's the link to the WIP page. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234985178-ho-gm-fishbowl-bus/

London General Omnibus Company Type B Bus. The type B was the worlds first mass produced bus. This example has been restored by London Transport Museum. It is seen here painted to represent buses which took troops to the front line during WWI. This example did serve in WWI and at one point was captured and used by the German Army. London Transport Museum keep this as a working exhibit to tell the story of London Transport workers during WWI. More info can be seen here. Pics thanks to Mish.

Hi Everyone I have posted this previously but Flickr have been taken over and changed all of their sign in details and I cannot now access my pics. I am in the process of uploading them to a new Flickr account and this kit was the first one I did. As I have had so much interest from this build I thought it would be better to post this as a new topic rather than try to go through all of my posts to replace the pictures. The links to both albums can be found below along with a video of the working lights. The first link is the finished build and second link shows how I built the bus and shows most of the methods I used to do it. I have built the kit twice now, once out of the box and the second with the lighting, but I am seriously considering getting another one as I have new idea's and ways to do the lighting better. I will say that it is one of Revell's best kits as it fits together so well and there are so many possible modding opportunities for it and I some of it was hard work and very fiddly but the end result is worth it. I hope you enjoy this updated post and I hope it inspires others to 'have a go'. Finished Build HERE How-to Pics HERE Video HERE Regards Kevin

Sunbeam W Trolley Bus, pics thanks to Rich.

Before I begin, I must thank Lindan who has appeared on this forum once or twice as he’d approached me to produce some custom transfers for his own build of the Revell bus. It was his build that inspired me to get myself the kit. I’ve not set out to be too faithful to any particular bus, but to build myself a model that I’ll enjoy building. Please excuse any technical inaccuracies, colour deviations or other ‘faults’. Let’s begin with the engine then. My preferred option was to go for the AEC Leyland engine rather than the Scania as I had better reference pictures that I’d taken whilst at the Cobham Bus Museum at Brooklands. The whole site there is well worth a visit as it houses a good story on the history of the bus with many fine examples to see, plus a superb collection of racing cars to compliment the history of Brooklands as a motor racing circuit. Outside, apart from some remains of the old concrete banked curve of the pre-war track, there’s also an interesting collection of aircraft that are accessible (yes, you can climb inside too) with in some cases, real human guides to take you through the history of the type. So, the engine. The basic block looks OK, and close enough to the one I had as reference, but it needed plumbing. This is simply some brass wire bent to shape and poked into appropriately drilled holes. I also sanded smooth the rocker covers and made new plastic card tops to match my reference. I also made the injectors (a little over scale) that the six fuel lines run into. They’re just some drilled scrap sprue that I heated and stretched until the diameter was about right. The black ‘boot’s on the wire is the insulation that came on the wiring. It’s all bent by eye, even though I considered a jig. There’s so much detail that could be added but I wanted to finish this someday as there’s plenty of other kits in the stash and only so much time! Here’s the block after a coat of Halfords acrylic primer and a bit of dirtying up with black oil wash. I used the kit supplied fuel rail (or whatever it is!) just removed the mounting tabs as it appears to be held in place by the short lengths of pipe from the injectors to the rail on the real thing. It’s the kit exhaust here too with a bit of weathering. There’s a tiny piece of foil at that joint that will hold a cable running past when the engine is installed. To lend scale, here’s the fuel cut off valve label that fits around the pipe. I put the kit transfer onto a piece of thin foil so I could bend it about a bit! The Engine's installed in the chassis now so I'll show this fitted just after we move on to the cab.

Sorry! I posted in the wrong place. See In Progress.

A Duel Door National.