The models were produced by Rob Bender of Sydney, Australia. The project commenced in June 1998 to build a limited edition of 25 only post-war Sydney double decker bus models in large 1/32nd Scale. The real buses were produced between 1947 and 1952 and apart from livery, they are easily distinguishable from their British counterparts by the sloped front and rear ends, and triangular front and rear windows on the sides of the lower deck, making the design unique to Australian double deck buses of this period. They were built on chasses imported from England (supplied by AEC and Leyland) and Scotland (supplied by Albion) and the bodies were built by two Sydney based engineering companies, Commonwealth Engineering (ComEng) and Clyde Engineering (Clyde), both located in the Sydney suburb of Granville in N.S.W.

These models have been produced in a large scale for bus models, at 1/32nd scale (or close to 11 inches long, 3 inches wide and over 5 inches high). They are authentic AUSTRALIAN post-war double deckers - Hand Made in Australia. To ensure their collectibility and value only 25 units - each with its own signed, dated and numbered 'Certificate of Authenticity', were created. All 25 buses were hand built, hand assembled and created entirely from start to finish by 1 person . . .this project took 2 and a half years !

ONLY 25 in Total of these model buses were built.

Here are some of the spectacular features of these models :

These buses are highly detailed inside and out, comprising of up to 200 individual components! They include ALL interior and exterior signs and notices, right down to the advertising boards on the ceilings and all 25 individual interior light fittings

The livery (paint schemes) are genuine 'Dept. Of Government Transport' (DGT) and 'Public Transport Commission' (PTC) fleet formulations obtained from an obsolete Berger Paint Fleet formula handbook and using the original paint tinters, not 'eye matched' or guessed.

Normally the seats in such models are made in one slab, with a simplified seat design for mould simplicity. In order to duplicate the real seats as close as possible, and include the grab handles, each seat in the entire bus is INDIVIDUAL, to give specific left and right seats as well as the 'handle-less' seats which face each other on the rear wheel wells in the lower deck, and the 3 seater at the rear of the upper deck

The bus numbers, license plates, route numbers, destinations, run numbers and external advertisements are all authentic, most being acquired from period photographs and archives, and all buses are therefore replicas of ACTUAL buses that did exist. A number of models were also based on preserved examples at the TEMPE BUS AND TRUCK MUSEUM in Sydney.

Hand railings and partitions - even the safety bars on the windows on the upper deck and on the emergency exits are there!

The driver's door and front windscreen open ! The tiny driver's door bump stopper to prevent it hitting the body has also been included !

Attention to detail includes the authentic headlight lenses and the rubber "Goodyear Custom High Miler" tyres with their zig-zag tread pattern and small diamonds around the tyre wall !

Differentiation between the 3 makes is more than just a radiator grille swap common to mass produced models, each seperate make - AEC, Albion and Leyland, have different engine side-covers, different steering wheels, different instrument panels, different road wheels, different front mudguards (Leylands are humped instead of flat), and different drive-lines/transmissions according to make. The Albions and Leylands feature a manual shift transmission and driveline whereas the AEC's are equipped with the 'Pre-Selector' gearshift and driveline. The exhaust tailpipes are also different - Albions and Leylands use a shorter exhaust system coming out just before the RH rear wheels, whilst the AEC's exit from just after the RH rear wheels. All these details have been addressed in the production of these models !

BOTH makes of body have been represented - Commonwealth Engineering (ComEng) and Clyde. All AEC's in this model series (except the later style 2643 which features the double 'jack-knife' doors), have ComEng bodies, with examples of Albions and Leylands representing both makes of body, which required 2 different sets of moulds to produce the different bodies in order to represent the different body designs accurately.

A functioning "Wybrow signal hand" is the 'piece de resistance' !!!

Below are a few other examples:

	No. 2222, a 1949 AEC 'Regent MkIII', Route 290 Wynyard to Epping (run Y70), with a Commonwealth Engineering (H33/28R) body. This model is equipped with the 4 Speed Wilson'Pre-Selector' gearshift and driveline

	No. 2643, a 1952 AEC 'Regent MkIII', Route 302 Sans Souci to Circular Quay (run P97), with a Clyde Engineering (H33/26D) body. This AEC is one of 2 only models built to represent the 4 double deck buses of this type that were painted in the PTC (Public Transport Commission) livery of Mandarin Blue and Ivory. This one also has opening centre 'jack-knife' doors!

No. 2087, a 1948 Leyland 'Titan' OPD2/1, Route 444 Tempe Depot (Museum), has a Clyde Engineering (H33/26D) body featuring canvas 'concertina type doors'. All buses built between 1947 and 1951 were originally built with concertina centre door but these doors were progressively removed and replaced with a filler panel and an extra seat and window from early 1962. "2087" and "2643" are both currently part of the museum's fleet, 2087 shown here in it's 'restored to original concertina door form' as it appears at the museum. It also features original type front and rear destination diplays and thicker black bands around the midrift area of both decks, along with earlier style registration plate mounted below the front windscreen.

	Opening the driver's door with the special 'door opening tool' provided with each model, let's take a look into the cab of AEC No.2379. Detailed instrument panels, handbrake positions and steering wheels specific to each of the 3 makes are one of the many unique features to be found on these models.

	Shown here is the setup inside a typical AEC Regent III cab with a 'Pre-Selector' transmission.

	Here are the cab interiors of all 3 makes, from Left to Right, AEC, Albion and Leyland. The steering wheels, instrument panels, gearshift and handbrake position vary according to each.

	Here are the 2 types of undercarriage showing the different drivelines and tailpipes. The Albion/Leyland setup with manual transmission and short tailpipe is at left and at right is the AEC version with pre-selector transmission and longer tailpipe exiting after the rear wheels.

	Along with the driver's door, the windscreen also opens just like on the real buses!

Below is the full list of models produced

Press the 'next' arrow for heaps of large detailed pics of selected double decker models and an in depth account of how they came to be

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