A large number of photographs of very early hand decorated samples and the real RT113 can be found by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page:

Press Release

Sun Star announces a major new 1:24 scale bus model

1939 RT:  RT113 – FXT288

Having made British bus model history with its superb models of the iconic London Routemaster, followed by the ubiquitous Bedford OB Duple Vista coach, Sun Star models is about to launch a major new bus casting. This new model will retrace the history of the highly popular RT which graced the streets of London for almost forty years following the entry into service of the prototype RT1 on August 9^th 1939. With this casting and planned tooling modifications, Sun Star will retrace the history of this remarkable vehicle through all its most significant variants and will cover both AEC and Leyland chassis, the LPTB, Park Royal and Weymann’s bodies, and London Transport and Green Line liveries.

Historical background

As public transport grew under the London Passenger Transport Board, which had been created on 1^st July 1933, the need for a standardised double-decker  became apparent. The first step towards that objective was taken on August 9^th 1939 when RT1 entered service on Route 22 from Putney Common to Homerton.

Following the successful trials of this prototype, production of the bodies started at LPTB’s Chiswick works, but later production would be undertaken principally by the Weymann and Park Royal companies, although the Saunders Engineering & Shipyard Company  and the Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company would also be called upon to boost supply after the end of the war. The Associated Equipment Company (AEC) had long been the preferred chassis supplier for London buses and so was the first and principal supplier for the RT project. However, again in an effort to boost output, an order was placed with a second supplier, Leyland, in January 1947. This in turn led to the addition of a further body supplier , Metropolitan-Cammell Wagon and Carriage Company (MCW).

In order to ensure inter-changeability of bodies and chassis, standardisation had now become a necessity. In total, over 6,000 RT’s had been manufactured by the time that production ceased in 1954. In April 1979, RT624 was the last RT to be withdrawn from service, marking a period of which had spanned almost 40 years.

The first order for 150 RT’s was placed in July 1938. Production of the chassis started in summer of the following year, with the last one being delivered on the 20^th May 1940 to LPTB’s Chiswick factory, where the bodies were made. The official designation for this first RT type was 2RT2 (chassis type 2, body type RT2) 

The 2RT2’s began to enter service in January 1940, but the first 15 did so without an off-side headlight . However, on March 7^th, the Drawing Office at the Chiswick factory issued an instruction to fit a small spotlight below the off-side dumb-iron, but  it was not until  October 1941 that a regular off-side headlight was introduced, albeit  fitted with a mask due to the prevailing black-out restrictions.

The model

Sun Star’s model of RT113, one of the 150 2RT2’s, replicates all the distinguishing features of the 2RT2 type including the front and rear roof boxes, sloping lower edge to the off-side and front cab windows, the horizontal beading running through off-side side light to the radiator and the seven air vents below the windscreen. Since the model is presented in war-time livery, the leading edges of the front mudguards and the sides and edges of the platform area are painted white to improve visibility during the black-out. The model also carries the large white warning circle on the rear and the route number sign at the top of the last near-side passenger window which would have been illuminated from behind by the lower saloon lighting.

Apart from the features which one has become accustomed to finding on a Sun Star 1:24 scale bus model, such as an opening bonnet with detailed engine, fully poseable front wheels, individually decorated seats and a detailed chassis, all RT

models will feature opening front and side passenger windows as well as an opening driver’s cab door.

All RT models will be strictly limited editions with numbered certificates.

Approximate UK retail price : £ 149.99

Item No. 2920 : RT113 – FXT288

Availability : through all good model retailers/internet sites by end November 2007

Sun Star exclusive distributor to the UK trade : A B Gee of Ripley 0177 357 0444