“AMO F-15” – the Soviet bus

The development of industry in the first five years caused a stormy growth of cities, which caused transport problems: the trams could no longer cope with the increased passenger flow, the construction of new lines required a lot of time. Only buses could help in the situation. Despite the fact, that attempts to organize the first bus routes in Russia were made at the beginning of the 20th century, those attempts did not progress further. Therefore, everything had to be started "from zero" in the interwar period. The first buses were bought in England and the first bus line in Soviet Russia began regular bus service on August 8, 1924, connecting Mykolay (Leningrad), Yaroslavl and Kazan stations with Brest (Belarus) station in Moscow. Half a year later the second route was opened. Their operational experience was useful and in 1925 the transport department of the Moscow Council bought another 112 buses abroad and 100 in the country. At that time, the AMO factory was already producing F-15 trucks, which became the basis for the creation of the first Soviet buses. This task was not unexpected for the factory team - back in 1919-1922, the body workshop produced bus carriages, which were mounted on repaired "White" truck chassis. In 1926 a small batch of two versions of buses was produced - with one and two passenger doors. They passed the factory tests successfully. The solid, well-designed construction of the truck served for this. But, at the same time, the AMO F-15 chassis was not suitable for fixing the bus body - the short base did not allow for the construction of a spacious passenger cabin, and the right-hand steering wheel arrangement, when the traffic in the country was on the right side, made the composition of the bus very difficult. English “Leyland” was more suitable for Moscow at that time. And AMO buses then mostly worked in small towns and as official vehicles.

A simple, medium-sized, well-detailed and well-designed model with simplified engine and chassis detailing, with average cabin and passenger compartment detailing and excellent exterior detailing. The model is intended for modelers of any experience, under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, this model can also be glued by a beginner and a modeler with little experience. The model recreates an ordinary bus, that transported passengers in small Russian cities at that time.