NEW BUS FOR LONDON - CORGI ANNOUNCES RELEASE DATE FOR DIECAST ‘BORIS BUS’

SMN update:

Corgi has announced a target release date of March 2012 for the 1:76 scale New Bus for London (NB4L) now under development, and currently running on a similar schedule to the real thing. The Corgi diecast model will scale out to 146 mm (5.75 in) long and be marketed under the successful London Original Omnibus Company (OOC) name. As planned, the first OOC New Bus will wear the livery, destination, and numbers of the first route that the new bus will serve. Corgi planners are expecting to see details of this route very soon.

NEW BUS FOR LONDON - CORGI TO PRODUCE DOUBLE-DECKER ‘BORIS BUS’

SMN report:

The familiar double-deck London bus is returning to the streets very soon - as planned there’ll be some of them running on the streets in time for the 2012 London Olympics. Sponsored by London Mayor Boris Johnson, the New Bus for London (NB4L) is a designer treat to look at, with swooping glass exposing staircases at front and rear, plus easy access for entry and exit. In our view, easy-access alone makes it a worthwhile project - it’s no fun queuing in the rain while you wait to climb aboard one of the present designs.

Corgi New Bus for London

Now Corgi is getting into the act by planning a 1:76 scale diecast model of the NB4L, for release later this year, under the Original Omnibus Company (OOC) brand name. The pioneering NB4L design draws inspiration from the original Routemaster's instantly recognisable red paint, as well as the traditional hop on, hop off open rear platform, both of which will be reproduced in Corgi's new model, which will measure 146 mm (5.75 in) long. 

NEW LONDON BUS NOW A RUNNING PROTOTYPE - SO WHEN WILL WE SEE A KIT OF IT?

David Jefferis reports

London’s new double-decker bus is coming along nicely by the looks of things. A few days ago London Mayor Boris Johnson test-drove the prototype around a test track, and in his typically ebullient form, praised it like a brand-new toy - which in a sense it is, as he was the man who gave the green light to the concept development.

Past-perfection returning with new style

I loathe hugely-long bendy buses, so I’m all in favour of a return to two decks, if only for the views from up top. The new bus will have an open platform at the back too - no more being trapped by closed doors when you are a couple of metres from the bus stop! And with the swooping glass areas, even going up and down the stairs ought to be an eye-opening experience, though I guess ladies in short skirts might have to check their modesty from the gaze of street-smart oglers, even through tinted panels.

BIG-SCALE LONDON BUS KIT COMING LATER THIS YEAR

Mat Irvine reports

I made a quick trip to the London Toy Fair at the end of January, and one of the biggest surprises of my visit was to find Revell-Germany announcing a 1:24 scale London Transport RM Routemaster double-decker bus plastic kit. Often suggested as an idea - and I recall there were rumours back in the 1970s that Airfix was planning such a venture - but the general consensus was that it would have been far too large a kit, and so that put the kibosh on the concept.