General Information
Author:
Lutz Pietschker
Version: 2010-12-31
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General Information
This is a pretty model, but not one I loved a lot. Though it is not complicated, it took me a very long time to build, and in the end I managed to damage it irreparably by trying to varnish it. Well, such things happen.
Here is an impression of what the actual vehicle looks like, you will find loads of other pictures on the Web if you search for "routemaster":
The reasons why the model took so very long to build were that it was the very first model I went to work on after a very long time of abstinence, and my craftsmanship had declined deplorably. On top of that I deemed myself smarter than the designer and built some things differently than Mr Hansen intended– not a good idea, as it turned out. When I was nearly done I discovered that the mirrors had gone, somehow (not too surprising when you consider that the half-done model had spent years in a corner of my room), so I had to make new ones. Actually, this was what I enjoyed most in all the work.
And the came the day the model was complete, and I decided that it did not look bright enough, and I also would have liked a glossy finish. Out came the spray can, and when I was done and the varnish had dried I had a bus covered with hoar frost, as if it had just moved out of a very cold depot on a very cold winter day. The varnish just had not bonded with the paper surface. Of course I am aware that I should have tested this on some scrap paper, but well... nasty finish of a botched job.
(Click image to show it in large size in a new window.)
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Two general views of the finished model. The piece of road and curb and the telephone booth are part of the model as it is sold. |
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The other (driver's) side of the model. This really looks nasty. |
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A closer look at the front of the bus with the recessed passenger room that is so typical of this bus. |
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Close-ups of the passenger door (those were the days when people were allowed to ride in buses with open platforms) and the front again, showing one of my self-made mirrors. |
This is a model of the "L" (long, i.e. 30 feet) model of the famous double-decker buses London was famous for. It was built from 1954 to 1968 and served London from 1956 to 2005, with the RML model going into production in 1965. Some buses were refurbished from 1992 to 1994 with modern engines. The standard model could carry 64 passengers. All in all, 2876 Routemaster buses were built, and 1000 remain operational today for various purposes– you can even see and use them in London on the two heritage routes they still serve.
The peculiar position of the driver, sitting practically on the bonnet, is not new for this bus type but has a tradition from at least 1919, when the K-type AEC buses had the very same seating arrangement, with the subtle difference that the driver sat in the open (as did the upper-deck passengers).
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, last change 2018-08-12