The heat of summer is never a good time for modelling - certainly not in my workshop anyway! However did manage to make some wire 'tree skeletons' in the garden shade [a good way of spending a quiet hour or two] & since things have cooled down a bit, have been working on my Railbus 2A.

Photos show progress thus far. The model is scratchbuilt, but using the Alphagraphix card kit as a starting point. The chassis is nickel silver, with a small Mashima motor & gearbox from Branchlines. Found one or two castings from the scrapbox to use for front springs, while the wheels [slaters] will be embellished with a slice taken from the tyres of a Corgi Classis road bus to represent the patent ones on the prototype.

The body is all plastic, apart from the roof, which is sanded balsa. Buses and diesels are much more complex things than steam locos when it comes to modelling, because of all the subtle curves and a lack of fittings too. However, did find a suitable headlight in the scrapbox. Techniques used were those from David Jenkinson's book 'Coach Building Made Easy', plus a lot of head scratching on how to make the seats, fit the glazing, roof and rear passenger doorway.

The little trailer is a bit of a compromise, as W irons and axles boxes of a suitable size are not readily available for some reason [!]. Thinking about it, S scale ones would probably be a best fit, but again used some spare castings - LSWR type, but very cut down. Have fitted pickups to help spread the electrical contact, not least because neither vehicle has any compensation.

Paintwork is currently Halfords grey primer, which looks surprisingly effective in black and white, but am hoping that Ford 'Laurel Green' will be a reasonable match. Indeed, the paintshop beckons tomorrow, after which final fitting out [handrails, door handles, starting handle, drawbar & wiring] will take place, so may have further pics by next week.[attachment=:name]