The Knight Bus - (Harry Potter 75957 inspired MOD) - real world model

[Murdoch17]

When the Prisoner of Azkaban movie came out, I was very impressed with the Knight Bus prop.... but less so with the original LEGO version (set 4755 from 2004). I originally wanted to added a rear staircase using Fabuland part number 2046, necessitating making the model a double-deck bus and converting it to right hand drive as well. (This was back around 2005-ish) Then, after multiple changes to my bus, Harry Potter went away in 2007 and the bus changed color to all-black until 2008 when it was finally destroyed. When the redesigned set 4866 was released in 2011, I came out with a brown double deck one still using staircase part 2046. Finally, when the recent Winter Village station was released, I changed that bus to a double deck model in blue, designed with the well-used 2046 from the original 2004 MOC bus in mind. But something was missing: I had a hankering in my heart for the Knight Bus of my dreams, which I started to design in LDD but quickly hit a roadblock or three. (No pun intended!) then, Lego came back with out with Harry Potter again! Would the Knight Bus be made as as a set for a third time? I eagerly awaited until summer 2019 to find out yes!

But before i get to my latest Knight Bus MOC, what actually is the Knight Bus prop as seen in the third Harry Potter movie, and how was the sequence filmed?

The Knight Bus real-world movie prop is a triple decker bus originally made from three separate RT-class AEC Regent III buses as seen in beginning of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The triple-deck body was then fitted to a Dennis Javelin bus chassis. In order to portray the bus driving at high speeds, the cars around the bus drove slower while the bus drove at its top speed, and the footage was sped up afterward. Two buses were constructed for the film's external shots, while the interior shots were filmed on a set that would rock back and forth to simulate the bus' movement. Also, the bus's height posed a challenge for the filmmakers when the vehicle was required to pass underneath bridges. To solve this problem, the top of the bus was designed to be removable. (The photo seen above was gotten from Wikipedia and is NOT mine.)

The LEGO version of the Knight Bus is a mashup of set 75957 and my own imagination. I parted out the model using LDD instead of buying it, as it cost about the same to buy the parts, plus use some parts I had left from previous versions, than buy and fix the set outright. I'm also using the original 2004 "KNIGHT BUS" printed 1 x 4 tiles for the two sign boards, as a tribute to the first version and so I don't have to use stickers. Sadly, I don't have any Ernie Prang (driver) or Shaun Shunpike (conductor) mini-figures (they were disassembled long ago), but I will have the more recent version of Shaun soon, since the model doesn't open up at all to place Ernie at the controls. I will eventually have Shaun hanging off the end of the bus railing as if he's holding on for dear life!

The rear of the bus, which is designed for UK-style left-hand drive, unlike most of my vehicles designed for use over here in the USA.

Well, that's all I have to say about this model. Any thoughts, comments, questions, or complaints are always welcome!

[Jerry McGlade]

I like it, what I would do to improve it is to look at the Lego Double Decker bus.

 

Here is a link to it.

https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/london-bus-10258

Edited December 28, 2019 by Jerry McGlade