7mm /1:43 Leyland National bus build

[37114]

Focus tonight was on the cab area. I made the bulkhead for behind the cab, this being the only one I will fix to the floor section rather than the body itself. I cut the bulkhead from plasticard and will add glazing after painting. Test fitting showed the cab section was still too long so I trimmed another 3mm of the cab.

I test fitted the cab in the shell with the window in place and was happy with the location of the bulkhead which is roughly half way down the 3rd segment of the window.  The design of the separate window surround works well and will make painting much easier. Also visible in the picture below is some filler on the lower panel; there is a spurious fuel filler there on the model but I found no evidence of there ever being a filler there and on later Nationals the batteries were in this location so presume is due to copy and paste in the CAD.

 

I then set about starting to deta the cab, adding in the steering wheel as well as my own details including handbrake, gear stick and indicator stalks from wire and a scratch built ticket machine and coin box.

[37114]

I decided that I was at a stage to put some primer on a few bits. Credit to Steve, the wheels are excellent, especially the front wheels which have the hub design well captured so they are ready for paint, as was the floor. I also decided to spray the shell so I can see if more filling is required.  The white primer can be pretty cruel in showing up gaps and has highlighted a few bits where I need to do more work, primarily the join in the body. It also vindicated my approach to the roof which shows no visible joins so I am glad I went the route I did.

[37114]

I did some work on the artwork for the transfers tonight.  Although it will be some time until I need the transfers, I am needing to get them custom made as there are no transfers readily available for my needs in 1/43 scale. This will be the third set of custom transfers I have had done and like the previous set I have I asked Jo at Steadfast models to work his magic on them.

 

As per previous projects, I have provided some artwork to Jo which I have made up from photos or in the case of the registration plates made up from scratch. First step is I print out on paper to check the sizing. In the case of the photo below the destination blind was too big, the "PAYE" display and National badge too small while the rest were just right.

 

Once I am happy that the size is right, I adjust the artwork, re print as a final test then add in a datum line/measurement to make sure they print the right size. Jo will now work his magic to get them sharp/print ready before sending off for final printing. 

[37114]

Not much progress this week for various reasons but I have finished making all of the seats up. As they are quite light I had visions of them flying across the workbench, so I secured them on a piece of sellotape and then gave them a blast with the primer. I will complete painting them before securing them to the floor 

[37114]

A bit more paint progress tonight, I have put the first of 4 colours on the seats. For the squabs I am using Humbrol 62 as a good match for the orangey brown used on Bristol (and a few other NBC companies) National seats.  The seat backs will go grey/cream while the legs are black and Handrails silver as my model represents a phase 1 National. 

 

The cab has had some matt black as has the tyres. The rear bench seat has been fixed to the floor with some I beam used to support the back.

 

The joins on the shell are getting there but will never be perfect and are better this side than the other. I got hold of an Aerosol of green paint in B&Q the other day which looks the right colour so I'm going to spray the shell when it warms up a bit as the garage is a bit cold at the moment. 

[Steve_Beattie]

I'm going to see if changing the location of the supports helps the body alignment. They matched perfectly on the test run I did so I think it's me being a bit heavy handed during the clean up! 

 

I'm also wondering if it's worth combining the wheel arces to the floor and the countersinking the body cross members into said floor while adding some details such as chassis and drive shaft etc. The AEC Swift I'm working on will feature that as the floor is quite detaild but that's for another day. 

 

 

 

 

[37114]

11 hours ago, Steve_Beattie said:

I'm going to see if changing the location of the supports helps the body alignment. They matched perfectly on the test run I did so I think it's me being a bit heavy handed during the clean up! 

 

I'm also wondering if it's worth combining the wheel arces to the floor and the countersinking the body cross members into said floor while adding some details such as chassis and drive shaft etc. The AEC Swift I'm working on will feature that as the floor is quite detaild but that's for another day. 

 

 

 

 

Hi Steve, 

Re the wheel arches being part of the floor, that would be a good idea as it means the wheels can be fixed as part of the floor and would make painting easier and it would also make fitting of the seats over the wheel arches much easier. My plan at the moment is to secure the front bench seats on top of the wheel arches once the shell is painted and glazed. The back seats are more problematic as there are 2 pairs of forward facing seats on each side so will make a small extra floor for on top of the wheelarches and fix them as per the front set. 

 

Which Swift are you planning to do please, one of the London ones?

Edited November 24, 2021 by 37114
typo

[37114]

I have sprayed the shell with the green  I had bought and despite many variances  in the shades of green used, I decided my commerically bought paint was too bright in my eyes. After a bit of research I found the correct BSC colour code and managed to find a supplier who will do a spray can. For future reference, if anyone needs a source of NBC Green paint link below:

 

https://www.yourspraypaints.com/product/british-standard-colour-aerosol-custom-spray-paint/bs-381c-colour-aerosol-spray-paints/british-standards-bs-381c-grass-green-218-aerosol-spray-paint-1k-2k-400ml/

 

[37114]

I went through the box of bits still to fit tonight which consists mostly of the window frames mirrors and wipers. In the case of the latter 2 work is required,  the mirror arms being the wrong shape and the wipers didn't come off the supports in one piece 

For the mirrors I decided to use the mirror unit but replaced the arms with wire rod, the picture below at the top shows the unit prior to bending the rod. I am yet to decide on the wipers if I will use the arms and make new blades or replace everything. I also made the floor pieces for on top of the wheel arches which will be fitted to the shell itself but are seen below loosely in position on top of the floor. 

[37114]

The correct green paint arrived on Friday and looks an excellent match colour wise. I can now get on with the white stripe, bumpers etc and the interior before I can fix the internal bulkheads. I temporarily put the wheels in to see how it was shaping up;

 

 

Putting the wheels in identified I needed to trim a bit more off the floor between the wheel arches. This won't be a problem as the seats above the arch will be fixed on the false floor I made on Wednesday 

I drilled the holes for the mirrors and bent the arms to the correct shape ready for painting. The mirror arms are different shape on each side and seemed to vary in colour as well, even with the same operator.

 

I also fixed the seats to the floor so I can now make a start on the handrails/poles which I will fit before I paint the handrails.

Edited November 11, 2023 by 37114
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[Steve_Beattie]

I believe Pheonic Presicion Paints do the correct Leaf Green shade? 

 

 

[37114]

8 hours ago, Steve_Beattie said:

I believe Pheonic Presicion Paints do the correct Leaf Green shade? 

 

 

Thanks Steve, I wanted an Aerosol spray rather that tins as I don't own an airbrush. 

[Pillar]

Really exceptional work on this. I just wish such a characterful model of the National was available in 4mm scale!

 

Looking forward to the finished article.

[37114]

I an nearly at the end of the making stage of the National with most of the last construction bits outstanding being the 4 bulkheads.

 

Firstly I made the tax and o license disc holders. These are made from 1mm rod glued onto some small L section which was then mounted in the windscreen surround 

 

Next I made the support for the raised floor section which will be fixed on top of the wheel arch. The seats are (prototypically) higher than those behind but as the floor is quite high the seat legs needed shortening a bit to ensure they were not towering over those around them.

 

Included in the parts provided is some lengths of brass rod for making the upright handrails. The placement of the poles seems to vary between the various door configurations and operators but I managed to find a couple of pics of Bristol 2 door variants to locate them. There are 1 for each door footwear which I will fit after glazing the bus as it will be hard to get the glazing in otherwise. There are also 2 floor to ceiling poles near the front wheel arch while the rest are seat mounted and are staggered up the aisle. On the real bus the handrails join up to a Horizontal bar but this would not be visible in the model so I have not included it for ease.

I then got the paint out, as I need to get the inside painted before I fix the bulkheads to the shell. The handrails are silver as my bus is a phase 1 Mk1 National. I also painted the cab area and windscreen surrounds Matt black.

While the black was out I painted the window frames for the doors; the centre bars are body colour so were sprayed at the same time as the bodyshell but the outer surrounds are black rubber. I also painted the black rubber where the doors meet in the middle. Another distinctive feature of the National is the middle rear seat frame is visible in the rear window so the seat frame had the 2 black vertical bars painted. 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by 37114
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[HillsideDepot]

The model is coming on nicely, Rob.

 

I guess the National is like the HST to me (and not just for the ribbed roof, noisy engine and raucous cooling fan!) not "favourites" in their own right but such a part of my childhood they are something special.

 

So, whilst this bus is very different to the dual door city bus you're modelling, the sound track is spot on, including the slightly different noise which the original style fish-tail exhaust pipe gives.

 

 

It sounds great through headphones  

[37114]

1 hour ago, HillsideDepot said:

The model is coming on nicely, Rob.

 

I guess the National is like the HST to me (and not just for the ribbed roof, noisy engine and raucous cooling fan!) not "favourites" in their own right but such a part of my childhood they are something special.

 

So, whilst this bus is very different to the dual door city bus you're modelling, the sound track is spot on, including the slightly different noise which the original style fish-tail exhaust pipe gives.

 

 

It sounds great through headphones  

Thanks for sharing Adrian, the noise on that video takes me right back to 1989 chugging up Park Street in Bristol on them after school. I was never much of a fan of them growing up but they have grown on me over time.

[Covkid]

Thanks also from me for posting that video. Takes me back to two distinct periods in my life.  Brand new N reg "shorty" Crosville Nationals that saw off the elderly MWs in Merioneth.  I believe the birth of the National was not without it's troubles and remember the grey plastic rainwater goods fitted to the corner of the cabs which I assume fed warm air around the feet of the drivers.

 

Later, when I moved to the West Midlands I experienced those lovely "DP"s with the beautiful blue stripes and the fluffy orange fabric on the seats. One memory I have was a visit of the Coventry WMPTE employees to the annual August extravaganza at Crich.  Graham Shaw drove us in Coventry coach 407 but we had some brake issues, so the garage sent out a DP as a change bus and Graham put it through it's paces on our return.

 

Finally I remember the final days of the Chase Nationals bowing out on their journeys from South Staffordshire into Walsall.  That video brought all those memorable raucous Leyland sounds flooding back.

 

If the video owner or bus owner is on here - thanks very much   

[37114]

Most of the progress recently has been painting as the build is in it's final stage. I made the bulkheads during the week, there are 4 in total, 2 wider ones at the step into the rear part and 2 narrower ones which go to the rear of the front door and in front of the rear door. I will add some clear perspex when they are painted and add some handrails.

 

One bit that has been tricky with the painting is the middle door footwear which are part of the shell so have to be painted through the door windows. Steve mentioned in an earlier post about relooking at how the floor is made so hopefully this won't be a problem in future builds.

As can be seen in the above photo I have started to apply the white stripe under the windows as well as the bumpers. Once the shell is painted I will ideally apply the transfers so I can varnish them before doing the window. I have signed off the final artwork, Jo at Steadfast has been brilliant with the effort on this project to get things right and suggested a couple of improvements so I am really looking forward to seeing these in place. 

[37114]

Not too much progress recently, mostly paint detail. Before I fit the glazing I am going to do the transfers so they can be varnished, I am also a window frame short so have asked Steve to send me a replacement.

 

One job I have done is to replace my original exhaust with a scratchbuilt fish tail exhaust that would have been fitted when new, this exited behind the rear wheel and as has been mentioned earlier was easily damaged so later moved to the rear bumper.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by 37114
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[Steadfast]

Lovely work on the National, Rob, it's really coming together well. Looks like a great paint finish.

Here's the artwork for the aforementioned transfers, the sheet is filling up with custom bits so they'll be off to the printers soon.

 

Now the hard work of drawing the transfers up is done, it should be relatively easy to modify them to offer custom routes, vehicles numbers and NBC operator logos. As you can see, the blinds give you the option of one piece transfer, or painting the black surrounds.

No idea on timescale or pricing yet, but it would be a nice thing to offer, especially if a few people are building these buses.

 

Jo

[37114]

5 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Lovely work on the National, Rob, it's really coming together well. Looks like a great paint finish.

Here's the artwork for the aforementioned transfers, the sheet is filling up with custom bits so they'll be off to the printers soon.

 

Now the hard work of drawing the transfers up is done, it should be relatively easy to modify them to offer custom routes, vehicles numbers and NBC operator logos. As you can see, the blinds give you the option of one piece transfer, or painting the black surrounds.

No idea on timescale or pricing yet, but it would be a nice thing to offer, especially if a few people are building these buses.

 

Jo

Looking lovely and good idea to make them customised in the future Jo.

[Hal Nail]

8 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Lovely work on the National, Rob, it's really coming together well. Looks like a great paint finish.

Here's the artwork for the aforementioned transfers, the sheet is filling up with custom bits so they'll be off to the printers soon.

 

Now the hard work of drawing the transfers up is done, it should be relatively easy to modify them to offer custom routes, vehicles numbers

Number plates and badges for the various British lorries in 1/43 would be a popular item if you fancy going into business!

 

Eg There was some chat which came up blank on Bedford badges when a few people were converting and repainting the Ixo TK

Edited January 3, 2022 by Hal Nail

[37114]

1 hour ago, Hal Nail said:

Number plates and badges for the various British lorries in 1/43 would be a popular item if you fancy going into business!

 

Eg There was some chat which came up blank on Bedford badges when a few people were converting and repainting the Ixo TK

Might be worth trying A Smith Auto Models, they do some Bedfords. 

 

I have previously produced my own reg plates via MS Paint and can send you over a sheet to print at home however I now prefer to include them in the artwork I send to Jo for the other transfers required for the project as they come out much sharper that way.

[37114]

I took the masking tape off tonight, a few bits to touch up on the bumpers but pleased how it has turned out. I need to redo the destination blind box as the green strips are too wide either side but that is relatively straightforward. 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by 37114
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[37114]

Jo at Steadfast @Steadfast has worked his magic on the transfers again for the National with these beauties;

 

This is the 3rd project I have done where Jo has supplied the transfers and as before the transfers have gone on perfectly. Jo spent quite a bit of time on the details such as the operators details behind the front wheel and the depot ID plates and the end result is excellent.

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by 37114
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