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All of the pictures are © copyright by P1ay "All rights are reserved" worldwide. Please do not use, copy or edit any of my photographs. However please feel free to contact with me if you are interested in using any of my images.
With my normal lens still out of commission, I am using 50mm. Using this lens you really have to think about your composition as everything is very tight and you are forced to either take a step back or forward, which I love.
I recently bought some new toys and have not had a chance to use it any of them yet. One of my new toys is a small portable up lighter and I finally got to use it. I had turned it down to the lowest brightness and it was still to brighter, it was on red but changed colour with processing.
As it was the final stages of the blue hour, I used the spilt toning to changed the highlights to blue, decreased the highlights too, increased the clarity and finally added some vignetting in lightrooms.
All of the pictures are © copyright by P1ay "All rights are reserved" worldwide. Please do not use, copy or edit any of my photographs. However please feel free to contact with me if you are interested in using any of my images.
Excel 260 is seen arriving at Sutton-in Ashfield on the 141 service from Nottingham.
Tue 29th July 2014.
The TWM Excel was manufactured by Terry Wren Motors and is thought to be one of about 70 made. They were produced during the late 50s and early 60s. The firm went on to produce fibreglass housings for radar installations.
If there was ever a livery that was expected for me to put on an Optare Excel... this is not it. This is absolutely not it, but I did it anyway.
A thought I had before I remade the Excel drawing was what one would look like in the current 'Mango spare' TrentBarton livery. I think it looks quite good actually, which is a credit to the Excel for still looking modern, despite being about 25 years old. It's on the Skylink Express because there's always a spare on the Skylink Express.
Given TrentBarton's current vehicle shortage, they could probably do with a few of these. Though also given their current vehicle shortage, why did they keep withdrawing Solars and transferring Eclipses to Kinchbus and Solos to TM Travel when they knew they had nothing to replace them? Now they've run out of buses and I don't see anything from N&D/TM/Kinch going back the other way on loan.
Who cares? I made a thing.
See more car pics on my facebook page!
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The Type 89 Lotus Excel, built from 1982 to 1992, is a front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car designed and built by Lotus. It was based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Elite II.
Toyota engaged Lotus to assist with engineering work on the Supra. During this period, Toyota became a major shareholder in Lotus, later giving up their holding when General Motors bought Lotus.
Part of the deal between Lotus and Toyota included the use of many Toyota mechanical components in Lotus' cars. The original Excel (aka the Éclat Excel) used the W58 manual transmission, driveshafts, rear differential, 14x7 in alloy wheels, and door handles from the Supra Mk II, which was made from 1982 to 1986. The engine was the familiar all-aluminium, DOHC 2.2 L Lotus 912 Slant Four (which was used in the Lotus Esprit S3). During its lifetime, the Excel received two major upgrades with the introduction of the Excel SE (a 180 bhp/134 kW engine vs the standard 160 bhp/119 kW engined car) in 1985 and the Excel SA with automatic gearbox in 1986. Further facelifts in 1989 saw Citroen-derived mirrors, as featured on the Esprit, and 15 inch OZ alloy wheels to a similar pattern as the Esprit's.
According to Lotus records, only 1 Excel was manufactured to USA specification. The lack of release in the USA was due to the high emission regulations (which would hinder the car's performance), and poor sales of the car in Europe.
(Wikipedia)
Now at the very end of its life and about to donate some of its mechanicals to keep 693 running, TWM Excel 687 nears completion at Optare, 12 November 1998.
Ehh look it's an Excel on stilts.
In the space of a few weeks this summer I managed to go from having no Optare model bus kits to having three. One of them was an Excel 1 metal kit, which I intended to convert into one of NCT's Excel 2s. This was one of my shortest lived model plans ever, as within a month I'd procured myself this Excel 2 resin kit.
I know I've bodged Excels out of OOC Deltas before, but I always thought that if I were to ever do an NCT Excel model, I'd want the proper kit. Never expected to have two of them, though!
Because the metal kit has the front, rear, sides and roof all as individual pieces, there isn't really a way I could mock it up for a photo, but the resin one just slides together. It's on stilts because of the things the wheels are moulded onto (it took AGES to get it to balance like this) but you can sort of see what it looks like.
Unfortunately, it's banana-shaped. The middle is noticeably higher than the front and rear, especially along the window line. The whole bodyshell is slightly warped. The idea I had to fix it was to steam the bodyshell over a pan of boiling water, and hope that it went soft enough to bend back into shape without some other part warping in the process. Now, I did that, and it looks like it's worked, but the question now is will it stay fixed or next time I get it out of the box, will it be banana shaped again?
This is the eastern end of London's ExCeL Arena. To the right of the red cladding is an enormous sliding door. It was designed in Biggleswade to a high acoustic standard, to keep out the noise from City Airport. It is tall, so that boats for the London Boat Show can be taken in and out.
This Excel is in the as delivered livery that would soon be swept aside for the metro livery, this is modeled as one of the T. HCW batch and is a white metal kit
Seen here is an example of the unloved Optare Excel integral vehicle R209 DKG, one of a number new to Cardiff in 1997. It had formerly been with Central Connect before being photographed here at a dealers in October 2009. It latterly operated with Edwards Coaches in Cardiff. Alongside it is seen Volvo B10B / Alexander M416 UNW that had been new to Yorkshire Woollen in 1994 and had latterly operated with Arriva North West. Unusually although a red band has been crudely applied to distingush it as a sold vehicle, the Arriva names have not been covered over.
The exterior of 2646 this time, despite appearances it's not at a bus rally! Funnily enough, many years ago it used to share a barn on an Edenbridge farm with my own buses, then in a very dishevelled state. Credit to my old mate Eddie Knorn for having to foresight to save it.
Trent Barton Optare Excel 264 - Y264 DRC, one of only a handful remaining in the fleet, finds itself in Nottingham City Centre substituting for a Volvo B10M coach on the peak hours limited stop 'Club Class' service to Sandiacre. In the background may be seen the iconic Council House building.
Now there's something different to do with a badly exposed shot, invert the colours. Maybe not everyone's taste but I think it works here. Taken whilst on The Slip at Macduff.
Due to trademark issues with Peugeot the first generation Hyundai Accent was sold as Excel in the Netherlands. It was built from 1994 until 2000. This one is powered by a 1.3 litre engine wth 84 PS.
Thought I'd go and investigate the special service between Canning Town and Excel today, this being provided due to the DLR strike. Ensigns turned out much of their fleet, old and new(ish). For my first trip from Canning Town I had the Trident in the centre (now numbered 159, ex Stagecoach 18229) to Excel for M1 back. The bus on the left is Regal Busways ex Metroline TP64, parked up between peak workings supplementing the 474. 3/11/15.
First West of England 33506 (LK08FKY) is seen at Portishead, Combe Road on "Excel" route X4.
Formerly First London DN33506 and First Leicester 33506.
A look back at some more bus shots from a family holiday taken in North Wales in May 2013.
Here, Stena Line of Holyhead 3-door Optare Excel L1150 2 T783KNW works an internal service at the Holyhead ferry port. This bus, one of a pair operated by Stena Line, was new to Concorde Express of Heathrow in 1999.