Olympian... Or Something!
When I went to Rotherham a few weeks back, I came back with a bunch of model stuff I haven't had time to properly photograph and pay attention to. My weirdest purchase was undoubtedly this, erm, thing, which I paid all of £2 for and still has the price written on the roof.
I was drawn in by the big headlights and flat windscreen reminding me of Scania demonstrators NCT had in the 1980s, plus the rear area has been modified with a hinge and opening lower rear section to reveal an engine modelled from scraps. After a closer inspection I realised I had an ECW Olympian kit (possibly a Tower Models one?) with the modified backend and flat windscreen - the front panel is in fact the original one, just unusually painted and with the whacking great rectangular headlights stuck on. The front panel is also very wobbly and held on with blu-tac.
Win no registration but a number 88 front and rear, it seems this was part of someone's model fleet, although exactly whose or where I'm not sure. Best I found of Flickr is that it could be Albion Coachways, but the quality finish seems a bit inconsistent. The upper red band is actually a piece of tape running all the way around the model! Still not sure what kind of body or chassis it's meant to represent, but I assume its something from the 1980s.
So, what to do with it? It's too old for the model fleet, even by rock bottom Robertson Buses standards, and as ungainly as the rear hinge is, I'd like to keep it as it's a neat feature. None of the old ex-demo NCT Scanias match its looks around the sides or rear, which is a shame, but so far my best idea is to put it in green and cream, East Lancs-ify it a little and have it as a freelance NCT Scania demo, even if none looked like it IRL. Whaddya think? Suggest better ideas (or thoughts about who its previous owner was) below!
Also, this photo sees the return of the Victoria Centre diorama, originally made 'temporarily' in 2019... or at least the salvageable bits. It's in a bad way and really needs a complete rebuild. Which might happen some time before 2050.
Olympian... Or Something!
When I went to Rotherham a few weeks back, I came back with a bunch of model stuff I haven't had time to properly photograph and pay attention to. My weirdest purchase was undoubtedly this, erm, thing, which I paid all of £2 for and still has the price written on the roof.
I was drawn in by the big headlights and flat windscreen reminding me of Scania demonstrators NCT had in the 1980s, plus the rear area has been modified with a hinge and opening lower rear section to reveal an engine modelled from scraps. After a closer inspection I realised I had an ECW Olympian kit (possibly a Tower Models one?) with the modified backend and flat windscreen - the front panel is in fact the original one, just unusually painted and with the whacking great rectangular headlights stuck on. The front panel is also very wobbly and held on with blu-tac.
Win no registration but a number 88 front and rear, it seems this was part of someone's model fleet, although exactly whose or where I'm not sure. Best I found of Flickr is that it could be Albion Coachways, but the quality finish seems a bit inconsistent. The upper red band is actually a piece of tape running all the way around the model! Still not sure what kind of body or chassis it's meant to represent, but I assume its something from the 1980s.
So, what to do with it? It's too old for the model fleet, even by rock bottom Robertson Buses standards, and as ungainly as the rear hinge is, I'd like to keep it as it's a neat feature. None of the old ex-demo NCT Scanias match its looks around the sides or rear, which is a shame, but so far my best idea is to put it in green and cream, East Lancs-ify it a little and have it as a freelance NCT Scania demo, even if none looked like it IRL. Whaddya think? Suggest better ideas (or thoughts about who its previous owner was) below!
Also, this photo sees the return of the Victoria Centre diorama, originally made 'temporarily' in 2019... or at least the salvageable bits. It's in a bad way and really needs a complete rebuild. Which might happen some time before 2050.