MiniArt Omnibus Crew & Passengers (38092) 1:35

[Mike]

Omnibus Crew & Passengers (38092)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

We’re all familiar with the word bus, a shortened version of the original Omnibus, which in typical human fashion was shortened because that fraction of a second would be far better used doing something else.  Originally intended as transport for the masses before the motor car became prevalent, the bus was highly popular until after WWII, when cars became more convenient and relatively affordable, winding down to a mode of transport that was frowned upon as being inconvenient, sometimes dirty, and dangerous, as well as no-longer the cheap option that it once was.  If we go back to the 1920s and 30s however, it was a hugely popular method of transport that was used by people as an alternative to the expense of a taxi-cab, and was a lot faster than walking.  As such, ladies and gentlemen of working and lower middle class would use it to travel around their town or city, while the vehicles were crewed by a driver, and a conductor or conductress, allowing the driver to concentrate on driving, letting the conductor look after the passengers, collect fares and issue tickets with relevant change.  During wartime, the conductor job was sometimes taken over by a woman to free up men for military service, as was common in many home-front industries.

 

 

The Set

We reviewed The London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) Omnibus X a few years ago, one boxing of which can be found here.  This set of figures is intended as the human component of the model, and contains six figures, four passengers and two crew.  It arrives in a figure-sized box, and inside are six sprues in grey styrene.  A composite painting of the figures is printed on the front of the box, with the same figures separated with part numbers and paint codes with arrows acting as the instructions and painting guide in one set of drawings.  Underneath is a chart containing colour swatches, plus paint codes for Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK Real Color, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya and colour names for those that don’t have access or don’t use those brands.

 

 

The crew comprise a male driver in a seated position with his hands on the wheel, and feet on the pedals, wearing a long uniform coat and peaked hat, the standing conductress wearing a similar coat with a softer, wide-brimmed hat, plus her ticket machine and change pouches at her waist and lower chest.  The seated passengers include a gentleman with a bowler hat and walking stick, two ladies with wide-brimmed hats in early 20th century dresses, and a police officer with the traditional domed helmet and uniform appropriate to the era.

 

 

 

The parts for each figure are found on separate sprues for ease of identification, and parts breakdown is sensibly placed along clothing seams or natural breaks to minimise clean-up of the figures once they are built up.  The sculpting is typically excellent, as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt’s artists and tool-makers, with natural poses, drape of clothing and textures appropriate to the parts of the model.  The ladies have a parasol and open book, and one of their hats has a ring of flowers around the band that is made from two sections, with a purse on her knee under one hand.  All the figures have flat tops to their heads to accommodate the hats appropriate to their roles in the set, the ladies and police officer having a smaller dome that is used to locate their hats correctly during construction.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Another realistic, life-like figure set from MiniArt that will be perfect for inclusion in your LGOC bus kit, either separately or in a diorama setting.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of