SPRING IS HERE AND SO IS THE TOURIST SEASON: SO HOWZABOUT A MODEL-SPOTTING TRIP TO LONDON’S COVENT GARDEN?

A recent visit to the famed Covent Garden Piazza in London revealed that there are miniatures to be found in the unlikeliest places.

1:24 SCALE RENAULT TN6 AUTOBUS KIT FROM HELLER

Bus modellers should be pleased to see this latest addition to the French Heller line. It’s a classic 1930s-era single-decker, a Renault design that gave reliable service for decades.

HOP ON FOR A FIRST LOOK AT THE BIG NEW REVELL LONDON BUS KIT

Mat Irvine reports:

It’s one of those coincidences that two of the most significant model kits to be made in recent years are both to 1:24 scale and both of classic British subjects. First came the Airfix 1:24 scale de Havilland Mosquito, now Revell has given us the archetypal London Bus - a name so familiar that the kit is called just that, not the AEC Routemaster, to give it its full and correct name.

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.

REVELL LONDON BUS AND TAXI KITS ARRIVING SOON

SMN update:

It looks like the Revell 1:24 scale AEC Routemaster London Bus will be generally available this side of Christmas. And better still, the big red double-decker will be joined by a same-scale London ‘black cab’ taxi. Both kits should be in the stores shortly, and by the looks of things, ought to be on any public transport lover's Christmas stocking list.

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.

MORE DOUBLE-DECKER LONDON BUSES - BARGAIN PRICES AND POWERED BY CLOCKWORK

David Jefferis waits at the bus stop

It seems that buses big and small are popular items with many collectors and model makers - certainly Mat Irvine’s news of the upcoming Revell scale kit of a London bus has struck quite a chord with visitors here at SMN.

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.