Monday 31st December 2018

Fleet number: RT3853
Registration number: LLU652
Route: 75
Destination: Catford Garage
Release date: January 2019.
Limited Edition of 800 supplied with certificate.

Thursday 27th December 2018

Corgi OOC
I can confirm that the following models have now been released by Corgi and should be in the shops anytime:
OM46514A Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Go-Ahead East London Transit, EL2 Ilford Station
OM46514B Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, Go-Ahead East London Transit EL1 Thames View Estate

Northcord Model Company
Many thanks to Chris at TTC Diecast for advising me that the following models have now been released in the UK:
UKBUS0061 ( Previously announced as UKBUS6506) ADL Enviro400MMC - Reading Buses - Fleet number: 758 (YX64VRU) Route: 17 Destination: Tilehurst
UKBUS0062 ADL Enviro400MMC - Reading Buses - Fleet number: 758 (YX64VRU) Route: 702 Destination: Legoland

Monday 17th December 2018

Monday 10th December 2018

Sunday 2nd December 2018

Thursday 29th November 2018

ADL Enviro400 MMC

UKBUS6507A / 6507B Bluestar

Following the significant success in launching the brand new casting of the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC model in the livery of Go-Ahead London, National Express West Midlands, Stagecoach London & Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, First Bristol and Reading Buses, Northcord Model Company is releasing the eighth and ninth versions – UKBUS6507A and UKBUS6507B in the livery of Bluestar.

UKBUS6507A / 6507B represents fleet number 1641 (HF66 CFM) that has 10.9 metre, single door bodywork and was new to Bluestar in 2017. 1641 carries a full and colourfully branded livery for route 1. The special, comprehensive livery and branding are 100% reproduced onto the UKBUS6507A and 6507B models. 

The stand-out features of the branding are : “Winchester Southampton in style”, “up to every 15 min”, and the prominent route number “1” alongside the Blue Star fleetnames. The newly released models carry destination boards showing the ultimate destination served inside the first full-width window on each side. The splendid shining “stars” are perfectly reproduced on both sides. Free wifi and USB power details are carried in the first nearside window as well as above the front destination board. Further lettering, extolling the comfort available on board, is carried on the rear engine cover.

Both UKBUS6507A and 6507B operate on route 1. UKBUS6507A is showing the destination Winchester, whilst UKBUS6507B shows Southampton.

The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC UKBUS6507A / 6507B is a one-piece casting whose clean lines accentuate the square, gasket-mounted windows and the livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible. Another main feature on the UKBUS6507A / 6507B models is the provision of twin tree protectors at the front. The front dome on the model is significant, with curved windscreens on both upper deck and lower deck.

Northcord Model Company is also creating new design standards within the interior of both saloons. These features, inside the compartments, will represent the real, outstanding layout of the Enviro400 MMC, such as the extensive portrayal of handrails on upper deck and lower deck, etc.

The brand new 10.9 metre Enviro400 MMC bus models will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK), Porte Publishing Company (Japan), 80M Bus Model Shop and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively. The UKBUS6507A and 6507B models are each limited to 660 pieces worldwide respectively.

Northcord Model Company (NMC)
------The World’s Miniature Bus Co.

Wednesday 21st November 2018

Thursday 8th November 2018

OM40821A Bristol Lodekka - Wilts and Dorset - Destination: Bournemouth Limited Stop - 750 pieces
OM40821B Bristol Lodekka - Wilts and Dorset - Destination: Salisbury Limited Stop - 750 pieces
CC42418 Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus

Unfortunately it appears that the two Wilts and Dorset models have been released with the wrong destination shown on the models box (see photograph below). Peter has advised that the A Version carries the destination originally allocated to the B version and vice versa:
OM40821A Bristol Lodekka - Wilts and Dorset - Now shows a destination on the box for Salisbury Limited Stop (originally advertised as Bournemouth Limited Stop)
OM40821B Bristol Lodekka - Wilts and Dorset - Now shows a destination on the box for Bournemouth Limited Stop (originally advertised as Salisbury Limited Stop)

Fusilier 50 Bus livery – When fate calls, heroes answer

Product artwork produced in support of this special dual release and featuring the Newcastle Wright Gemini 2 bus.

Subscribers to the Corgi Collectors Club were given an unexpected Original Omnibus 2019 exclusive announcement in a recent edition of their club magazine and as we are always keen to bring new model news to our own readers as soon as we are allowed, we are pleased to share these details with you now. As one of the first Corgi 2019 model announcements, this information is so advanced that the models in question do not yet have a product page on the Corgi website, however, that is no reason to prevent us from telling you about it, so here goes – the following section was penned by our talented researcher and writer Paul Isles.

The Defence Review of 1957 saw a number of reforms carried out to the British Army between 1958 and 1961, as it transitioned from the Regimental to a Brigade system, leading to the amalgamation of pairs of Regiments. In 1962, this process culminated with the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, seeking ‘tangible advantages from the point of view of recruiting and flexibility’ that could be gained from a large regiment system and by March that year, planning was well underway. The first of these ‘large regiments’ was created on September 1, 1964 with the formation of the Royal Anglian Regiment from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd East Anglian Regiments, and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. A year later, figures showed that recruitment to the large regiment had met Profumo’s stated ‘tangible advantages’, leading to the Army Board making it their stated wish and intention that regiments should amalgamate.
During 1967 the Fusilier Brigade, consisting of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) and the Lancashire Fusiliers, agreed to amalgamate in the face of mounting pressure from Whitehall, forming the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on April 23, 1968.

The new Regiment could trace its lineage back to the raising of the ‘Irish Regiment’ by the 3rd Viscount Clare in 1674, forming part of the mercenary armies employed by the Dutch States Army against the French. Immediately following the cessation of the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War, this was a volatile period of history, as allegiances and religious attitudes ebbed and flowed and the five English, Scottish and Irish Regiments employed in the Netherlands found themselves fighting against former allies.
At the end of May 1685, James Scott, 1st Earl of Monmouth and an illegitimate son of Charles II, set sail for England from the Hague, his aim being to overthrow England’s catholic King; James II. A former Commander-in-Chief and Captain General, Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis on June 11 and to counter this new threat to his Crown, James II had recalled two Regiments from their Dutch Service, the former ‘Irish Regiment’ and Colonel Luke Lillingston’s ‘English’ Regiment, establishing the 5th and 6th Regiments of the Line. At the same time, James II instructed Lord Dartmouth to raise an Ordnance Regiment to protect the armoury at the Tower of London, armed with the snaphaunce, or fusil, musket, to which the King referred to as ‘Our Royal Regiment of Fuzileers’, the 7th Regiment of the Line.

Separated in order of seniority only by the order in which they disembarked in 1685, the 5th Regiment of the Line became the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot in 1836, earning the ‘Royal’ status on June 3, 1935 on the occasion of George V’s Silver Jubilee. The 6th Regiment of the Line gained ‘Royal’ status a lot earlier, in 1832, when it became the 6th (Royal 1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot but did not gain ‘Fusilier’ recognition until May 1963, when it became part of the Fusilier Brigade.

This fascinating file shows the amount of decoration artwork which will be required for the Newcastle based commemorative bus. With the 7th Regiment being granted ‘Royal’ and ‘Fusilier’ status from its formation, the final Regiment of the quartet was formed in 1688, raised as the 20th Regiment of the Line by Sir Richard Peyton. Fusilier status was bestowed upon the 20th in 1881, under the Childers Reform of the British Army, the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot becoming The Lancashire Fusiliers. The same reform saw the 5th renamed as The Northumberland Fusiliers, the 6th as The Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the 7th as The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
The creation of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968 resulted in the four amalgamated Fusilier Regiments losing their traditional names, becoming numbered Battalions within the Regiment (the Royal Northumberland becoming the 1st Battalion, the Royal Warwickshire becoming the 2nd, the Royal Fusiliers becoming the 3rd and the Royal Lancashire becoming the 4th), but on November 1, 1969 the 4th Battalion was disbanded, a victim of the 1967 Defence White Paper reduction in infantry battalions.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers also incorporated Territorial Army elements, the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion RRF being formed in 1968 from the Fusilier Volunteers and the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion RRF being formed in 1975 from the Northumbrian Volunteers, along with two companies from the 5th (V). These two Battalions could trace their lineage back to the Volunteer Rifle Corps of 1859 and the Northumberland Militia of 1759 and continued as separate Battalions until 1999, when the 6th (V) Battalion was disbanded and absorbed into the Tyne-Tees Regiment, before being disbanded again in 2006; the original X, Z & C Companies re-joining the 5th (V) Battalion.

Since its formation in 1968, the Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have served in trouble spots across the globe, from Northern Ireland, Cyprus, the Balkans and Kosovo, to Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, but following the successful conclusion of the first Desert Storm Operation, on August 1, 1992 the 3rd Battalion was withdrawn from the Army’s Order of Battle, its personnel merged into the 1st and 2nd Battalions, as part of the UK Government’s ‘Options for Change’ policy. This policy was followed in 2010 by the Strategic Defence and Security Review which rendered further cutbacks under the ‘Army 2020’ plan and resulted in the amalgamation of 1st and 2nd Battalions at around 75% of the previous regimental strength.

The London ‘New Routemaster’ presentation will look very different to the scheme worn by the Northeastern operated bus.

Fifty years on from its formation, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers now comprises the 1st Battalion, an Armoured Infantry Battalion operating under the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, based at Tidworth Camp on Salisbury Plain and the 5th Battalion, part of the Army Reserve, based around the North-East of England. The Fusiliers retain the traditions and battle honours proudly earned by their predecessors and continue to wear the red-over-white hackle awarded to the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers by King George IV in 1829, following on from the original white plumes worn by the 5th (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot, following their victory over the French at the Battle of St. Lucia in December 1778.

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and working with the Go-Ahead Bus Group, a special commemorative livery has been applied to two of the company’s Wright buses; one based in Newcastle and one in London.

Corgi Original Omnibus is proud to be working with the Fusiliers to produce this special edition Go-Ahead Group Wright Bus twin pack in the ‘Fusilier50’ livery. At the time of writing, both of the actual buses will be appearing at the London Privilege Parade on September 5, 2018. Please keep checking Die-cast Diaries and the Corgi website for further details of this very special release.

Saturday 20th October 2018

16611 – Leyland National (Mark 1 short body, 2-door) - London Transport (Golden Jubilee livery)
Fleet number: LS194
Registration number:THX194S
Route:234A
Destination: Purley
Release date: Not yet known.

34115 – AEC RT - London Transport
Fleet number: RT3853
Registration number: LLU652
Route: 75
Destination: Catford Garage
Release date: Not yet known. 
Limited Edition of 800 supplied with certificate.

34116 AEC RT - Brown’s Blue
Fleet number: -
Registration number: KLB596
Route: -
Destination: Coalville via Barwell
Release date: Not yet known

Saturday 13th October 2018

Northcord Model Company News Release

Model Release Update

UKBUS6514 : First in Glasgow (33982HB – SN65OFX) 

Northcord Model Company is pleased to be able to advise collectors and traders of a change to the designated bus to be featured as UKBUS6514. 

Following the successful launch of the first bus from its order for 75 new buses, First Glasgow has approved changing the identity of the bus to feature as UKBUS6514 from 33982 to 33201 (SK68LWN). This change will reflect the massive investment in new buses for First Glasgow and will provide NMC with its first “68-plate” bus to be modelled. 

The newly designated UKBUS6514 will also provide another “first” for NMC as it will be the first model that has been produced by the company that will NOT portray one of the company’s trademark features : there will be NO driver rear-view mirrors fitted to the outside of the model. 

Instead, NMC is proud to announce that it will replicate the driver rear-view cameras that are fitted to 33201 on UKBUS6514.

Although the first bus from the order for 75 new First Glasgow buses was displayed at its public launch on 9th October 2018 inside a replica 1:1 scale model box, NMC confirms that it will replicate the model of 33201 to its standard 1:76 scale.

Northcord Model Company (NMC)
------The World’s Miniature Bus Co.

CONFIRMED DETAILS FOR RECENTLY ANNOUNCED OXFORD DIECAST MODELS
Oxford Diecast have now confirmed to me the details of the model buses announced last weekend:

76PAN009 Plaxton Panorama NBC - Ribble 
Fleet number: 745
Registration number: TRN745
Route: X55
Destination: Blackpool

76MW6005 Bristol MW6G - Thames Valley
Fleet number: -
Registration number: 520ABL
Route:-
Destination: RELIEF

76SB004 Saro Bus County - Donegal Railways
Fleet number: -
Registration number: ORR322
Route: -
Destination: LETTERKENNY

76DC002 Duple Commander Mk2 - Grey Cars
Fleet number: -
Registration number: HOD39E
Route: -
Destination: PRIVATE

NTR008 Tram - London Transport
Fleet number: 1858
Registration number: -
Route: 38
Destination: ABBEY WOOD VIA OLD KENT RD

NRT007 RT Bus Browns Blue
Fleet number: -
Registration number: KLB596
Route: -
Destination: COALVILLE VIA BARWELL, EARL SHILTON, NEWBOLD VERDON

Wednesday 10th October 2018

1:76th scale
76DC002 Duple Commander Mk2 Grey Cars
76MW6005 Bristol MW6G Thames Valley
76PAN009 Plaxton Panorama NBC Ribble
76SB004 Saro Bus County Donegal Railways

N-Guage
NRT007 RT Bus Browns Blue
NTR008 Tram London Transport

76COM008CC Commer Commando Coca Cola
Fleet no: -
Reg no: CC1947
Route: -
Destination: -

76DR005 Duple Roadmaster Ribble
Fleet no: 1059
Reg no: EFV150
Route: -
Destination: LEEDS

76IR6004 Irizar i6 Galleon Travel
Fleet no: -
Name: Isla Brooke
Reg no: YN15YTP
Route: -
Destination: -

76SB002 Saro Bus - Maidstone & District
Fleet number: SO68
Registration number: RKE540
Route number: 80
Destination: TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Friday 5th October 2018

A 1970's CIE Bodied Leyland Atlantean as operated by Dublin Bus, Fleet Number D376 (376IK)
As expected the usual highly detailed interior complete with Driver Running Board, Bell Wire & Ticket Machines.
This bus also has it's refurbished Leyland Wheel Embelishers.
This Model will be subject to 100 pieces & will be split: 50/50
22 - Drimangh
22 - Cabra West

Models Expected End October Priced at €160.00

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Also I will have DF520 (520ZD) new in 1973 with CIE & then to Dublin Bus in 1987.
It is modelled based on pre OPO (One Person Operation) i.e. (Pay the Conductor). Complete with period Adverts of the late 1980's
This Model will be subject to 100 pieces & will be split: 50/50
10 - Phoenix Park
10 - Belfield

Models Expected End October Priced at €160.00Models can be ordered by contacting Derek via his email: derekfarrelly@hotmail.comDerek advises that all overseas orders are sent via a Registered Tracked Parcel Company for parcels to arrive safely.

 Monday 1st October 2018

October to December 2018 - News

This page last updated Monday, 31 December 2018