ALEXANDER AT SEDDON PENNINE
WESTERN SCOTTISH MS2572 (MSJ 378P)

Western operated three batches of Alexander T-type bodied Seddon Pennines and this model represents one of the first, which carried a much rarer front panel design.

The model is a Mirror Image Models resin kit which is a good representation of the prototype. It is not without issues though and several modifications have been carried out. The kit has only two roof vents but the early Western buses had three. These were not at all well represented so I made resin copies of the vent frames fitted to EFE Y-types, cut the necessary holes and glued them in. This meant the curved EFE glazing could also be used. The interior roof detail was all removed as it was wrong for the early buses and the bulkheads altered from bus to coach spec. I also fitted a set of EFE wheels, albeit incorrect split rims but at this scale it is not too noticable and the wheels are much better and able to rotate. I also added some little details here and there including bevelling the skirts of the model. The most important change though was to sort out the badly modelled front and rear bumpers. This was achieved in exactly the same way that a new bumper was made for preserved MSJ385P but this time using an EFE Y-type as a mould, the fragile parts from which were glued into the resin shell. The indicators and sidelights were modified as Western specified unusual Lucas units, common elsewhere but not with the SBG. The front ones came from an ABC Ailsa model, the rest were altered from the kit.

The only survivor from this batch of buses is being restored in its later guise as Central Scottish SP1, which was along with several other MSJ-P buses, extensively modified by Western to carry wheelchair users, incorporating an electric lift and side entrance with plug doors.