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Rapido Trains Inc. announces 1:76 scale Birmingham New Look Bus


Andy Y
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I have just come across this posting and I will have to get one for if only for the memories.  When I was little my mother put me and my brother on the Outer Circle from the "Swan -  Yardley" to amuse us for much of an afternoon.  How long did it take to do the full circle? 

 

When I attended  school, I took the Number 11 from Kings Heath to City Road.  One afternoon after school, three or four of us had been training with the athletics team and we saw a Number 11 at the bus stop. We ran towards the stop but the bus did not wait and started off.  We sprinted after the bus,  caught up with it easily and jumped on, one after the other.  Then there was the boy who would climb the stairs and shout "Tickets, please" and almost everyone would display their tickets, then nothing happened.  One person said it was a great route for meeting girls.  For us, it was a good place to start on the homework or writing one hundred lines.  

 

   

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8 hours ago, 4901 said:

 

When I attended  school, I took the Number 11 from Kings Heath to City Road. 

George Dixon? For the first couple of years I was at Five Ways we were still using our old playing fields at the back of there. Used the 11 to get back to Harborne after games afternoon. 

 

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In the days of the old Friends Reunited site I was in a group called 'I spent my childhood on the No. 11'. That's one.

For courting I used the 11 to go to see the future Mrs SE. She lived on the No.32 route, so that's two.

Then for layout purposes I need one of the Dudley shared routes, like No. 74, so that's three. Expensive time ahead.

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13 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

In the days of the old Friends Reunited site I was in a group called 'I spent my childhood on the No. 11'. That's one.

For courting I used the 11 to go to see the future Mrs SE. She lived on the No.32 route, so that's two.

Then for layout purposes I need one of the Dudley shared routes, like No. 74, so that's three. Expensive time ahead.

Used the 11 from Hall Green to Cartland Road, Kings Heath for K.E. Camp Hill. The 32 was for the trip into town for Snow Hill and New Street spotting! (and much earlier for trips with mother to get her 'divvy' from the Co-op!), although we would sometimes get the train from Hall Green to Moor Street..bliss!

 Moved to Moseley in 1965 so cycled to school, but used the 11 for travel to mates and later to see the future first Mrs. 45568 who lived in Harborne.

 Then I got my first car......

Cheers from Oz,

Peter C.

Edited by 45568
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George Dixon? For the first couple of years I was at Five Ways we were still using our old playing fields at the back of there. Used the 11 to get back to Harborne after games afternoon. 

 

 

Yes, it was George Dixon Grammar School for Boys, 1954 to 1959.  Great rugby and cricket teams in those days.  Several of us had quite an interest in model railways.  

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On 22/09/2019 at 01:49, 4901 said:

George Dixon? For the first couple of years I was at Five Ways we were still using our old playing fields at the back of there. Used the 11 to get back to Harborne after games afternoon. 

 

 

Yes, it was George Dixon Grammar School for Boys, 1954 to 1959.  Great rugby and cricket teams in those days.  Several of us had quite an interest in model railways.  

 

I was at George Dixon Junior School next door to the grammar, late sixties/seventies, and then went to Lordswood Grammar Tech.

Small world.

Mr Evans and Bernard at Bearwood Models..!

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2 hours ago, Giles said:

 

I was at George Dixon Junior School next door to the grammar, late sixties/seventies, and then went to Lordswood Grammar Tech.

Small world.

Mr Evans and Bernard at Bearwood Models..!

Grammar Tech.

There's an awful cobble up for a school name.

I went To Bournville Tech(nical) and Lordswood was also just a Tech at the time.

Both got re-imaged as "Grammar Technical" schools.

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Not sure what you mean by 'just a Tech'..... it was a very decent Grammar School (with correseponding results) but which also took T.D., metal and wordwork extremely seriously. Things of course changed in '73(?) when it was forced to go comprehensive, like all the others......

 

I've been extremely grateful for the teaching there - it gave me some extremely valuable skills which have benefitted me and the industry I work in enormously.

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48 minutes ago, Giles said:

Not sure what you mean by 'just a Tech'.....

 

Both schools were originally branded just as "Technical" Schools and that was fine for many years but someone decided they needed re-branding as "Grammar Technical" schools.

AFAIK there was no change in the subjects taught or the results obtained.

I had the option of either but the Headmaster at my primary school suggested Bournville which was newer, I think we were only the third or fourth intake.

I could also have gone to Moseley, that was a "proper" Grammar school (and close to where I lived) but it had a more classical curriculum.

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birminghambus.jpeg.5c636265718df593201ed17b4c9cccab.jpeg

 

The wait is nearly over for Rapido Trains Birmingham 'New Look' Guy Arab Buses

 

Due in stock week commencing 04/11/19

 

Twelve versions are available to order, with all models being available in both the standard edition and the deluxe edition.

 

Limited stock available and pre-ordering is highly recommended

 

View images of all versions here

 

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10 minutes ago, Oliver Rails said:

The wait is nearly over for Rapido Trains Birmingham 'New Look' Guy Arab Buses

 

Do you know if any pre-orders placed with Rapido directly at the time of announcement will be fulfilled directly or are you handling those Oliver?

 

Can't seem to login to the Rapido system, doesn't recognise any of my email addresses so I can't check that route. 

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42 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Do you know if any pre-orders placed with Rapido directly at the time of announcement will be fulfilled directly or are you handling those Oliver?

 

Can't seem to login to the Rapido system, doesn't recognise any of my email addresses so I can't check that route. 

 

Hi Andy,

Our direct orders and direct Rapido orders will all be despatched at the same time.

 

We are not processing Rapido orders but we will be despatching them. Customers who have ordered from them directly will have an update from them late next week / early week after when all stock is ready for despatch. 

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Be prepared for some hoop-jumping if you pre-ordered on Rapido's site. The website has changed since early preorders and the accounting software so it wouldn't accept my original login. Roslyn has been very helpful in changing the billing address etc and noting the change to PayPal as the payment method (as their new cart has a minimum value of $CAN100). I can't pay up yet though until the accountant raises the invoices.

 

If you haven't already ordered I would suggest it will be a lot simpler to do it via Rails.

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I was just wondering what will be on the transfer sheet with the blank BCT one and how easy they are to fit to the destination blinds?

 

I would quite fancy a number 9 as this was my old bus in the BCT livery, so I'm debating whether to get the BCT blank version or the West Midlands variant

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We need more photos in this thread!!! :D

 

In addition to getting these from Rails, the Wythall Transport Museum will be selling the buses at our booth at Warley. So if you are coming to the show, your purchases will support the museum. Look for the real Brummie New Look in the exhibition hall.

 

We are very appreciative of Rails for stepping in to distribute the buses. Hopefully they sell out quickly and we can do another run.

 

More information in the newsletter: https://conta.cc/36iXsEJhttps://conta.cc/36iXsEJ

 

Best regards,

 

Jason

 

 

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rapidonewsuk18-8-Bus.jpg

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The one I ordered from Rails has arrived (well packed) and it is very impressive. I have no reason to have one other than to admire a beautifully created model which goes well beyond anything I have seen from other manufacturers of British outline buses. One small question for the experts, the moquette on the seats is indeed very impressive,  on mine the moquette is only printed on the seats downstairs, is that the same as the prototype?

 

It really is a stunning model and those of you whose models are based in the Birmingham of the period must be in seventh heaven.

 

All the best and many congratulations to Jason at Rapido and all those who helped to produce it.

 

Godfrey

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36 minutes ago, Godfrey Glyn said:

 One small question for the experts, the moquette on the seats is indeed very impressive,  on mine the moquette is only printed on the seats downstairs, is that the same as the prototype?

 

 

Indeed it is. Workers in grubby overalls and smokers went upstairs on the easy to clean seats whilst those in clean clothes went downstairs on the posh seats.

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2 hours ago, ian said:

 

Indeed it is. Workers in grubby overalls and smokers went upstairs on the easy to clean seats whilst those in clean clothes went downstairs on the posh seats.

Many thanks Ian, down in SW Somerset the Bristol buses had moquette both on the upper and lower decks. I do remember when the school buses were provided by a local firm called Wessex Coaches we occasionally were taken to school on old double deckers that had been bought from up North. I can recall we young teenagers were shocked on seeing written up at the front of the top deck of a bus from, I think, Bradfield,  the injunction No Spitting. We was terribly innocent in those days in Chard!

 

As I said above it is a lovely model.

 

Godfrey

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13 hours ago, Hilux5972 said:

Hoping for a Routemaster RM or RML to this standard next please. A few dotted around the layout would be amazing! Maybe even Harry’s Knight Bus? 

 

Rapido have looked into the license fees for at least one North American possibility based on Facebook requests - I believe the fictional "AmRoad" used in the movie Silver Streak - and the fees were so expensive it would significantly increase the cost of the model.  So I wouldn't expect anything Harry Potter.

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Although posted over on the Rapido Facebook page.

 

A fantastic model, one thing wasn't after but just took my fancy when was walking around Warley.

 

Some of my fellow work colleagues, loved the photo's i showed them. As a few used them when they were younger to.

 

Chris

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