There are two possible alternatives for making the sides. The easiest is probably to make from a single piece of timber with cut outs for windows etc but it's then hard to reproduce any curves or slopes to the side. As this bus has complex curves I realised I would have to construct the sides from crossbeams and upright struts as near to the original shape as I could get. This meant I could cut the side uprights and roof beams to follow the curvature of the bus and then panel the sides and roof with a thin plywood.
Things to bear in mind were:
1. A large opening on the nearside for the sliding passenger door.
2. Windows of different height along the sides of the bus.
3. Interior moulding around the windows.
Once the sides were formed I could get to work on the roof struts. The number and placement could be worked out from photos of the interior and exterior of the roof and of course from position of the side windows.
The rear of the bus would be a challenge due to the complex shape and curves. Here then I created beams to best suit obtaining this profile for the model and no doubt will have differed somewhat from the original.
Starting to look like something at last.
I initially thought to form the front mudguards from tin as the photo below shows but this proved unsatisfactory, so I later formed them in thin ply on bearers.
Bearers for front nearside Mudguards
