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MiniArt 1:35 scale
LGOC B-Type
London Omnibus

by Steve Pritchard

LGOC B-Type London Omnibus

Summary

 

Kit

MiniArt 1:35 LGOC B-Type London Omnibus Item 38021


 

Paints Used

Various Tamiya paints – a 6:1 mix of LP-7 Red and LP-18 Dull Red for the brighter red areas, Dull Red for the lower coachwork and stairwell. Racing White LP-39 with a touch of yellow for the white areas. Semi-Gloss Black LP-5 for the chassis, weathered with Tamiya German Grey XF-63. Tamiya enamel X-31 Titanium Gold was used on the brass parts.

 

 

I used their spray can Lacquer Gloss Varnish, TS-13 (decanted for airbrushing) prior to decaling, and a finish coat of LP-24 semi-gloss clear.

 

 

Construction

 

I did find construction a little tricky. Firstly, the parts were attached to the sprues in a lot of places per part – this made clean-up a bit of a chore.

 

 

Also, there are a lot of thin parts - railings and control linkages, and these were easily snapped when removing. I did replace some with either Evergreen rod, or Albion Alloy brass. I completely broke the steering wheel – it is a not quite accurate replacement shown in the pictures.

 

 

If you take care, it does all go together well, but remains a little fragile when handling.

 

 

The detail is outstanding. If I was to make another, I would not bother with the fiddly photo-etched spark plug clips, as they are a little overscale. I also didn’t get the right-hand engine cover fitting perfectly.

 

 

I did have some fit issues with the stairs – these have to fit square on the base and to the roof section – I ended up with slight gaps at both points but as these were prepainted, I choose not to fiddle with the joints too much.

 

 

I added a cable to the interior and connected it through to the driver’s bell.

 

 

I am not sure if the bus should have interior lights - the kit does not include any, so I left well alone.

 

 

Painting and Markings

 

Painting took a little planning, as it was not going to be possible to easily paint some areas after construction.

 

 

The engine was painted before insertion onto the chassis, and the interior walls, roof and staircase of the bus were likewise pre painted before assembly. I tested out the red shade on the engine covers and firewall before committing to the coachwork and was quite pleased with the look.

 

 

I painted and weathered the interior and exterior seats with Tamiya Acrylics, mainly XF-64 Red Brown. Lighter shades were used to show wear on the exterior seats, but the interior seats were first sprayed matt black, then rubbed down to create highlights before spraying the red brown.  Winsor and Newton Burnt Sienna oil paint was then thickly brushed on and the excess removed with a cloth to give a leathery look.

 

 

I kept weathering to a minimum - the grey shade to break up the black of the chassis, a bit of pre-shading on the coachwork, a wood effect where the driver’s feet may wear the paint and pastel powders in a turpentine slurry for dust effects.

 

 

A post shading with a dirty brown mix of very thin acrylic was used to tone down the various paper advertising signs.

 

 

The decals were very good, settling down nicely with a very thin carrier film.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In summary, this was a challenging but overall enjoyable build, and quite an impressively colourful addition to my cabinet of mainly aircraft models.

 

  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
  • MiniArt 1:35 London Omnibus by Steve Pritchard: Image
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Steve Pritchard

Christchurch

New Zealand


Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2022 by Steve Pritchard
Page Created 9 September, 2022
Last Updated 9 September, 2022

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