Landships II

Thomas, I think I might have sorted this one out.

There's a discrepancy that never occured to me. I assumed that the easiest dimension to get right on the kit would be the overall length, but it isn't correct.

The overall length of the bus was 22' 6.5". That scales down at 1/72 to 95.4mm. The overall length of the kit is 99mm - ten inches too long. The wheel base is also too long, by about five inches. That explains why the upper and lower side panels seemed wrong even though the scale dimensions were correct. So if we use the panels as the comparison, everything is more or less OK. See the new comparison.

The rear platform is too long, but since the stairs are so inaccurate any serious conversion would replace them with something better.

The engine/bonnet is about 2mm too high, which gives the vehicle a pug-nosed look. At almost 10mm, that's a scale height of just over 2' 4" (measured from the top of the chassis). It should be about 2ft. That, the radiator, and the driver's panel (which is far too thick) need to be replaced. With that done the whole vehicle looks much more "in proportion".

The upper deck, though, is still a mess, with the seats far too small. That is caused by a combination of things. On the kit, the front and rear panels sit between the side panels. In reality, they should butt against the front and rear ends of them. They're far too thick anyway, and replacing them will free up some space. Also, the roof fits between, not on top of, the two ridges on the inside of the hull sides; that moves them away from the sides by about 1.5mm, reducing the available space still further. The seats themselves taper slightly from 10 to 9mm wide - 2' 1.5". The actual width of the seats was 2' 8". So if the existing seats are removed and new ones 11.5mm wide are fitted right up to the hull sides, with 5mm for the aisle, that's almost spot on. That adds up to a total width, including side panels of 29mm - 6' 10", the official width.

All the above doesn't sound much, but the top deck was very snug, less than 13' x 7' for 18 people. Pinching those few mils here and there should make the top deck suitable for occupancy. For the Pigeon Loft conversion, of course, the business with the seats doesn't matter.

The bus on which the kit is based is the one in the London Transport Museum, not the IWM, and the bus itself wasn't sent to France, although it's quite possible that some of this type were. The brackets supporting the driver's canopy are the lightweight version, but are easily replaced, and the window frames are the arched pattern, which doeasn't matter if the kit is finished as the boarded-up version. The embossing on the downstairs side panels is a bit heavy. I have yet to check whether it should be removed entirely.

It's a creaky old kit, with a lot of sanding and filling necessary on the major parts just to get a passable fit. There's no suspension at all - not even axles; the "lifeguards" (the wooden slats between the wheels) are utterly unrealistic, but they were removed from vehicles in military service; the stairs and guardrail would benefit from a makeover. Even the instructions are ropey. But it's a lovely idea, and I'd like to turn it into an A1 model. It's even got little decals for the advertisements, handy if you want an early-War version. (Any help with turning it into a Daimler much appreciated).

Since you're wondering, the combined width of the RHA men's backsides is 11.5mm, which is just right.

Pics show: dreadful roof; roof mountings inside hull sides; correct front panel; decals.

Hi, thanks I will tray Abe books for it. regards, Sandy

 

update, found a copy for $3.50... which snow on its way to me.

 

thanks for the information greatly appreciated...

 

Regards, Sandy