My modelling abilities have been temporarily curtailed, along with my on line presence and reading abilities; I had a cataract removed from my right eye last Tuesday and am having the left one done this coming Tuesday. I am typing this with one lens in my glasses and a patch over the right eye!! Once the left eye is done, I will have to wait for some reading glasses before I can see properly to read and type again - I will be doing a little of both but with severe limitations for a month or so.

I did have one small wheeze though: I decided that the wheels on the Southdown Duple Commander coach were wrong for the vehicle it represents, as all the photos show proper coach trims fitted. A rummage through the spares produced some Pirate Models coach wheels from their Duple Dominant II kits, left over from the reverse swap I did when building a Metrobus AEC Reliance coach which had standard bus type wheels. The only reservation I have is that the Pirate wheels are about a millimetre larger in diameter than the LBC wheels. It's a bit hard to judge while they are unpainted, but I think it will look right once I have done that.

Just for the record,here is the previously mentioned Pirate Models Metrobus Reliance coach (all white metal), together with Paragon kits for an Optare StarRider (resin) and Tillingbourne Valley Plaxton Bustler (etched brass and white metal), all built some years ago.