Bits & Pieces

COLOURS...

STRATHCLYDE: Halfords Peugeot Seville with Humbrol 85 for the windows etc. Halfords also produce a Satin Black aerosol but I haven't tried it as yet. The Seville must be over grey primer or it looks very bright. I always use grey primer as it takes the brightness down a bit anyway.

CENTRAL: Halfords Renault Etruscan Red with Halfords Panama Beige which is good for most of the Scottish Bus Group.

MIDLAND: Halfords Peugeot Royal Blue with the above cream.

KELVIN: Halfords Peugeot Royal Blue and Lada Adriatic Blue. The yellow was mixed by hand and is enamel. Does anyone know if a Halfords yellow is a good match? Some are very bright.

CLYDESIDE: I used Halfords Audi Laser Red and Vauxhall Mustard Yellow on the first Leopard but I have reverted to my own yellow enamel and Halfords Ford Radiant Red.

WESTERN: Halfords Rover Flame Red. The yellowy cream was mixed by adding Humbrol Yellow and White together. Satin finishes usually look better than high gloss on a scale model I find.
Use Halfords Vauxhall Mexico Red for earlier Western SMT buses.

NORTHERN: Halfords Vauxhall Mustard (on white primer) I found was a great match. The cream is the same Panama Beige as above which isn't correct as I think Northern used a darker shade of cream. It doesn't seem to matter much though.

EASTERN: Halfords Ford Laurel Green with that cream again.

LOTHIAN: HELP ME! - I haven't looked very hard but does anyone know how good a match the suggested Halfords Vauxhall Mexico Red is?

GLASGOW CORPORATION: Every photo I look at shows a different shade of green! I may try the Glasgow Bus Museum.

GREATER GLASGOW: So far I have chosen to mix my own Verona green using scraps of paint picked off old buses or overpainted GG odds and sods I have as a guide! Again age seems to fade this paint at various rates so my first two buses are more green than the recent models which are more turquoise. The mix is basically Humbrol 2, 14 and 47 with some matt base, though lately I used 208 instead of 2 which makes it more vibrant. The yellow is also mixed by adding a little orange to Humbrol Yellow.


PARTS...

The Atlantean AN68 bustle I use is the version without shrouds and available from the Model Bus Federation shop or Key Kits, 36 Field Barn Drive, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 0ED, Great Britain, and is part number R.001. The shrouds are made from filler where appropriate. The bustle available with shrouds already fitted is incorrect for Alexander bodies and has a more basic design of air intake vents.

The Windscreens used for Alexander and ECW bodies and some of the etched wipers are by Mark Hughes Models, 23 Orchard Rise, Tibberton, Gloucester, GL19 3AT, Great Britain. He can supply a catalogue of his model parts.

Other etched wipers and the Autofare vault and ticket machine set (PA 0405) are by Paragon Road Services, 206 St. James' Park Road, Northampton, NN5 5EU, Great Britain.

The Mark One Metrobus etched grille is available from Taylor Precision Models, Unit 235, Stratford Workshops, Burford Road, London, E15 2SP, Great Britain.

Most of the parts I use are available from the ModelBuses shop


TECHNIQUES...

I always use Holts Cataloy NO MIX filler when working with metal. The filler works with resin too, but is not flexible and could crack. It's huge advantage is that it remains soft until you expose it to ultraviolet light, ie. sunlight. It then takes up to 24 hours to harden (or just minutes on a sunny day). Better than that is to obtain a UV bulb - or in my case a disused sunbed so I can set the filler in my own time and it takes less than 10 minutes to become rock solid and ready to sand. This way, complicated shapes can be built up in hours rather than days. The only downside is that it takes more than soapy water to get rid of it!

I use a rotary drill which is an invaluable tool. You can attach as many different ends as you can think of but most important is the thin cutting disc which lets you cut the a*se off a bus in 10 minutes with no effort. This disc is also ideal for grinding tiny details off a die-cast shell rather than cumbersome grinder attachments which are unpredictable.


I AM LOOKING FOR...

I am always looking to buy the following parts:
EFE lower deck side window sets for Alexander/MCW etc, Atlantean/Fleetline bodies.



SPARES...

I have the following parts available as spares:
EFE Alexander AJ and Y-type windscreens.
EFE Bristol VR front panel and engine cover (Series 3).


FOR SALE...

The following models are in my collection but do not have a place and will be either re-painted or sold - let me know if you are interested:

GREY BOX EFE RT, London Transport RT206, Duracell adverts.
GREY BOX EFE RT, Green Line RT981, Buxted adverts.
GREY BOX EFE RT, Northern General, National Garden Festival adverts.
GREY BOX EFE RT, Open Top Eastbourne Corporation, Beachy Head adverts

All die-casts are mint in box.


FUTURE PLANS...

I am planning to build the following list of models over the coming years. This list includes some kits. Any model with an asterisk beside it is one which I am looking for information on, invariably about interior colours, livery application and rear end design. Any photos you would like to share with me would be most welcome. They would only be used for research purposes.

EARLY PDR ATLANTEAN, GLASGOW CORPORATION *
PROTOTYPE ATLANTEAN LA1, GLASGOW CORPORATION
AYS 1971(J) LEOPARD, NORTHERN SCOTTISH *
EARLY T-TYPE, WESTERN SCOTTISH (GREY STRIPES) *
T-TYPE, CENTRAL SCOTTISH
T-TYPE, EASTERN SCOTTISH
T-TYPE, MIDLAND SCOTTISH BLUEBIRD LIVERY
AN68 ATLANTEAN LA1448, FIRST GREATER GLASGOW (ORANGE)
LEYLAND NATIONAL 2, CENTRAL SCOTTISH
2-DOOR AN68 ATLANTEAN, LOTHIAN REGIONAL TRANSPORT
ROE OLYMPIAN, TRANS-CLYDE
TE-TYPE DENNIS DORCHESTER, CENTRAL SCOTTISH *
TS-TYPE LEYLAND TIGER, CENTRAL SCOTTISH
TE-TYPE, STRATHCLYDE TRANSPORT COACH LIVERY *
R-TYPE METROBUS, KELVIN SCOTTISH
R-TYPE METROBUS, MIDLAND SCOTTISH
AILSA AV1, TRANS-CLYDE (PTE2)
AV AILSA, WESTERN SCOTTISH
AV AILSA, CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH
AN68 ATLANTEAN TRAINER, STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES *
PANORAMIC AN68 ATLANTEAN, GREATER GLASGOW PTE
LATE AN68 ATLANTEAN, GREATER GLASGOW PTE (TRANS-CLYDE)
PLAXTON PARAMOUNT 3200, STRATHCLYDE TRANSPORT *
Y-TYPE RECOVERY WAGON, MIDLAND SCOTTISH *
PANORAMIC AN68 ATLANTEAN, GCT (1990s) *
NORTHERN COUNTIES ATLANTEAN, MANCHESTER WITH STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES FRONT AND REAR *
AV AILSA, TAYSIDE WITH STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES FRONT AND REAR *
AN68 ATLANTEAN, BUSWAYS WITH STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES FRONT AND REAR
2-DOOR EARLY AN68 ATLANTEAN, GLASGOW CORPORATION
AYS LEOPARD (1972), CENTRAL SCOTTISH
2-DOOR PDR ATLANTEAN, GLASGOW CORPORATION *
PALATINE 2 SHORT OLYMPIAN, STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES *
LEYLAND LYNX, KELVIN SCOTTISH *
LEYLAND NATIONAL B, MIDLAND SCOTTISH
ALEXANDER M-TYPE, WESTERN SCOTTISH
LEYLAND NATIONAL 1, FIFE SCOTTISH
PANORAMIC AN68 ATLANTEAN, STRATHCLYDE'S BUSES WITH 'HELP' BUMPER
PEAKED DOME ALEXANDER ATLANTEAN, GRAMPIAN
ALEXANDER 'AD' BODIED DENNIS DOMINATOR, CENTRAL SCOTTISH
BRISTOL FLF, CENTRAL SCOTTISH
DUPLE LASER 2, MIDLAND SCOTTISH (CITYLINK)
LOTS MORE Y-TYPES - EVENTUALLY AT LEAST ONE OF EACH SBG COMPANY

This represents most of my adult life and as such is unlikely ever to happen. More ideas are added all the time and others are shelved for one reason or another!


WISHES...

Just in case any die-cast manufacturers read this(!) I would like to request the following models are produced. I think there is an opening for a low height Alexander AD body on Fleetline chassis (EFE fancy modifying your AJ casting?). At least three front panels could be fitted and would offer numerous variations on both sides of the border. A Plaxton Paramount 3200 coach would also be handy - the original Citylink livery would look nice. And what about the earlier Alexander body as fitted to hundreds of front engined Glasgow Corporation buses with different chassis. Maybe OOC could offer this in the same manner as their East Lancs half-cab range. I suppose a proper AYS body with more front panels would save me a lot of work too. And what about a proper AL style roof section for EFE's MCW/Alexander Atlantean/Fleetline casting?