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


Andy Y
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Hooray; everyone's got something else to grumble about that 'there's nothing in it for me'. ;)

 

Opens up a whole new world of buswishes, busmoans, busdelays and busprices.

 

Not.

Yup, Jason's efforts to spread rapidos wings across the Atlantic are definitely working, you guys have already learned the traditional lament about how whatever they've just announced isn't the wharsit you wanted and they should have done this one item that five people want for their super specialized layout/era!!

 

Back to more serious mode, looks like a fun day and an interesting model. Having seen the pre production versions of the NA New Looks, in sure the U.K. Bus will blow people away when samples are available and the production ones arrive in the future.

 

Stephen

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We had a wonderful day today - thank you to everyone who came out!

 

We're trying to find the time to update the blog thread but it may be a day or two. Immediately following the event we tried to find a vegetarian restaurant that was open and ended up doubling back to Brum to go for a curry. Apparently all the vegetarian restaurants in the Midlands are closed on Sunday nights, because of course nobody goes out for supper on a Sunday... We then drove to Epworth, where we've just been enjoying a glass of whisky with the fellow who owns the inn. 

 

Tomorrow it's all about trolleybuses...

 

Hopefully Gareth will be able to put together an update. Despite being the same day as Wimbledon and the Alton bus rally, we had about 150 people! That was way over our expectations. What a great day.

 

-Jason

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Hooray; everyone's got something else to grumble about that 'there's nothing in it for me'. ;)

 

Opens up a whole new world of buswishes, busmoans, busdelays and busprices.

 

Not.

 

For me Busdelays and Busmoans were there before and still are. This in 1/1 scale of course.

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Yup, Jason's efforts to spread rapidos wings across the Atlantic are definitely working, you guys have already learned the traditional lament about how whatever they've just announced isn't the wharsit you wanted and they should have done this one item that five people want for their super specialized layout/era!!

 

Back to more serious mode, looks like a fun day and an interesting model. Having seen the pre production versions of the NA New Looks, in sure the U.K. Bus will blow people away when samples are available and the production ones arrive in the future.

 

Stephen

 

I think in terms of the bus world , to me it sounds like Jason has just announced the "one item that five people want for their super specialised layout /era" and not something more widespread. It may well be a stunning model that people will want to own in their own right just because its nice, but there can't be that many layouts that need a Birmingham New Look Bus .  I'd never heard of it, although my bus knowledge being north of the border tends to be PD3s, Leopards, Lodekkas and Fleetlines

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Well Jason has to start somewhere. Does he take a done and dusted, go anywhere type or something fairly unique?

 

No easy answer to that. The former may not sell because "I've already got one" even though the Rapido sets new standards. The latter "too region specific" although that would affect mainly railway modelers rather than bus model collectors.

 

I wonder how bus collector forums have replied.... (Do they exist?)

 

Anyway, Rapido will be at Warley later this year which is in, ehm.. Birmingham.

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The NEC is in fact in Solihull even though it is called the NEC Birmingham. Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station are also in Solihull.  I once had a bit of a lecture about this from a Solihull mayor.

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Should 've gone to specsavers! :jester:

 

 

Oooh no, that'd bring it in to sharp focus and make it worse. But it's gratifying to know that the ugly can be adored and loved by some. 

 

Good luck to Rapido with the project.

 

G.

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I think in terms of the bus world , to me it sounds like Jason has just announced the "one item that five people want for their super specialised layout /era" and not something more widespread. It may well be a stunning model that people will want to own in their own right just because its nice, but there can't be that many layouts that need a Birmingham New Look Bus .  I'd never heard of it, although my bus knowledge being north of the border tends to be PD3s, Leopards, Lodekkas and Fleetlines

 

I would be one of those five if my layout was OO rather than N. My layout needs two or three "new look" buses as the ones I have are the earlier ones which don't really fit my era or my memory. As said earlier I will buy one anyway.

 

Here is my reverse of the classic bus on a bridge photo. It would be so much better with a new look bus.

post-12189-0-47502600-1500280606_thumb.jpg

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Excellent - Perry Common Court Lane 5 in WMPTE era.  Used to walk past the terminus, between home and the dentist's in Erdington as a boy. 

 

I'll be having one to rekindle such childhood memories. 

 

 

Is it relevant to my mainstream modelling? - No.  Am I whingeing that Rapido hasn't chosen to model a Borders saloon of 1964 vintage? - No.  This is a welcome development and I'm delighted because of the potential follow-on it may enable.

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The NEC is in fact in Solihull even though it is called the NEC Birmingham. Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station are also in Solihull.  I once had a bit of a lecture about this from a Solihull mayor.

The main reason they are the NEC Birmingham and Birmingham Airport because Birmingham originally owned the land and built them.

In the same way that Chelmsley Wood was developed and built by Birmingham but is also in Solihull.

 

Keith

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Well I certainly fall into the category of a modeller for whom this particular bus is well out of my area of modelling. However that did not stop me buying an APT and then being delighted to run it through Chard Joint. Based on what I have seen of the Rapido products I have no doubts as to its quality and therefore I will be buying one, just on the basis of it being a beautiful little model. Hopefully Jason and his team will go on to produce models that are more relevant for someone whose models are usually based on West Country/Southern themes.

all the very best and looking forward to it arriving.

 

Godfrey

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 Hopefully Jason and his team will go on to produce models that are more relevant for someone whose models are usually based on West Country/Southern themes.

.

 

Godfrey

Bristol Lodekka in Western National guise?

 

Keith

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I will say my earlier post was more to say where are the models to modern standards of the busses from the 70s and 80s. These are when the operators turned away from bespoke bodies seen in one area to ones that could have been seen nationally. The MCW being a case in point.

 

And (if you want to) a "nothing here for me" type post (I'm pretty sure none of these ever got into south Yorkshire). :-)

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Actually one bus that is absolutely crying out for the Rapido treatment is the dear old Cumberland Dustbin, the Leyland National.  EFE's model is compromised and the real bus was literally everywhere, highly standardised yet ran in a surprising variety of liveries and not just NBC Mucus Green or Nipple Pink, as it ran with numerous municipalities and PTEs and, being long lived, with a lot of interesting independents in later life.  If we are looking for something from the BR blue era through to privatisation then the Nasher fits the bill.

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I notice that on the Rails site it has 2 advertised as Undecorated Kit. Does mean unpainted? Or just able to choose your own route etc

 

I think it means unpainted. Certainly in the model bus world there are "fictitious" fleets just as in the US there are "fictitious railroads" where undecorated models are usually offered. The kit is aimed at people who choose to personalise the bus.

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 the dear old Cumberland Dustbin, the Leyland National.             the real bus was literally everywhere, highly standardised

?

With so many options I'm surprised there are two the same!

5 lengths, 1, 2 or 3 doors, different heating arrangements etc. (not to mention a variety of engines and gearboxes.)

 

Oh, and some had flanged wheels! :jester:

 

Keith

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?

With so many options I'm surprised there are two the same!

5 lengths, 1, 2 or 3 doors, different heating arrangements etc. (not to mention a variety of engines and gearboxes.)

 

Oh, and some had flanged wheels! :jester:

 

Keith

 

I did realise what I had said after I posted it!  However, I imagine that a Mk1 11.3m model in single door style would cover the majority of the vehicles.  Really the 10.3m type were predominantly London Country and LT, although the simpler podless "B" type did infiltrate a few other fleets like Crosville.  As for the Mk2, they arrived a bit late on the scene to make a substantial inroad nationwide due to the financial state of many NBC operators, and then de-regulation more or less killed it off.  Mind you the Mk2 is the most compromised of the EFE issues.

 

But yes, the Nasher, considering it was designed as a one size fits all bus, eventually became something of a chameleon!

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Well good luck to Rapido anyway. Looks like bringing a fresh look into model buses . Got to be commended. Now let's hope Jason makes it up to Lathallan or Bridgeton so we can get a nice Alexander D bodied Low height Fleetline .

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Just about to do a 'Nothing in it for me' post from the modelling point of view when I remembered that the Guy Arabs often appeared on the Birmingham/West Bromwich joint services. Checking back the numbers The 74 Birmingham to Dudley, 76 Birmingham to Great Bridge and 78 Birmingham to Dudley Port all passed close to the location of my layout. Looks like I will need some new blinds. And of course to go with it I will need a West Bromwich liveried Daimler (GEA174 preserved by Black Country Museum Transport Group would do nicely - hint).

 

I travelled on the Birmingham buses right through their service life. I used the Number 11 to get to my wife's house when we were courting and she lived by the Number 32 route. These two services passed the house where we lived for 14 years. 

 

That could be a lot of cash you've just cost me, Jason.

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Just about to do a 'Nothing in it for me' post from the modelling point of view when I remembered that the Guy Arabs often appeared on the Birmingham/West Bromwich joint services. Checking back the numbers The 74 Birmingham to Dudley, 76 Birmingham to Great Bridge and 78 Birmingham to Dudley Port all passed close to the location of my layout. Looks like I will need some new blinds. And of course to go with it I will need a West Bromwich liveried Daimler (GEA174 preserved by Black Country Museum Transport Group would do nicely - hint).

 

I travelled on the Birmingham buses right through their service life. I used the Number 11 to get to my wife's house when we were courting and she lived by the Number 32 route. These two services passed the house where we lived for 14 years. 

 

That could be a lot of cash you've just cost me, Jason.

 

Forward Models have announced a Willowbrook bodied Daimler in West Brom colours, route 74 to Dudley with M&B adverts, although they seem to have gone a bit quiet on it of late post the £ devaluation.  It's available to pre-order at a certain Merseyside box shifter.

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