A new page has been created for the forthcoming plastic model of CMB Leyland Titan TC1. 

KMB's Wrightbus pictured at Showbus in September

It is confirmed that a model of the KMB Wrightbus is planned for release in Hong Kong in January, the model coming from Drumwell. As soon as further details are known, they will be announced here. New  photographs of the Wrightbus in Hong Kong have just been uploaded to the Xtra page, as well as a couple of photos of one of KMB's latest Neoplan Centroliners.

Pictured above is one of the latest photographs of the new China Motor Bus Leyland Titan, TC1, from Car Model Box. This model, which is either plastic or resin, is due to be released before Christmas. I hope to upload some more photographs shortly.

Another new page has been created for the Best Choose CMB Daimler Fleetline (03014), also announced yesterday.

Unfortunately, owing to a shortage of time, I have been unable to upload the photos of Citybus 105 on it's farewell tour last Sunday, organised by the Hong Kong Transport Society - these should be uploaded tomorrow.
 

In its association with John Ayrey Die-Casts Ltd. as a wholesale distributor of CMNL’s non-ukbus products, John Ayrey has proved to be a dedicated and ambitious dealer.

Creative Master Northcord Limited and John Ayrey Die-Casts Ltd. are proud to announce an exciting development in this successful association whereby John Ayrey  will also market the ukbus product range in the UK, starting with ukbus 1012.

The expansion of their association comes at a particularly exciting time – concurrent with the expansion of CMNL’s product range which sees the introduction of 2 brand new castings – the hkbus 200x and ukbus 300x series.

John Ayrey Die-Casts Ltd. will have the honour of launching the first livery on each of these new castings, as well as what will prove to be a very popular livery on the ukbus 1012 replica.

Both companies are confident that there will be no difficulties for CMNL model collectors in sourcing these high-quality, collectable replicas. Collectors should ask their usual local retailer or mail-order supplier to pre-order stock from John Ayrey in the usual way. 

CMNL hopes that collectors will also benefit from the planned reduction of the RRP from the current £29.99 to an anticipated £26.99 for the ukbus 100x/200x ranges. The anticipated RRP for the ukbus 300x range (single-model items) should be around £19.99.

Please note that John Ayrey Die-Casts Ltd supplies to the Trade Only, and will not accept enquiries from individual collectors.

Future releases for the period Winter 2003 – April 2004 :
 

Photograph of sister vehicle No.144
courtesy of Dennis Law

Pictured above is sister vehicle to Citybus 133, which is Creative Master Northcord's next Hong Kong release, anticipated to be released just before Christmas This is an 11-metre Leyland Olympian which is on route 62R to City One Shatin, and will carry its original 'Flying-C' livery. Pictured below is a 'first shot' image of the model.
 

Photograph courtesy and copyright of 
Creative Master Northcord Limited

Photograph courtesy and copyright of 
Creative Master Northcord Limited

Pictured above is is the second release of this casting (hkbus 2002).

The winners of the 5th Anniversary competitions for Best Casting and Best Livery have now been contacted. One will receive the next Citybus model to be released, whilst the other will receive the next New World First Bus model to be released. I would like to take this opportunity to all of you who took part in the competition, and a special 'Thank You' to both Citybus and New World First Bus for kindly agreeing to provide these prizes.
 

Photograph courtesy of 80M Bus Model Shop

Best Choose have announced their next model (03014), China Motor Bus Daimler Fleetline, LF7,  on route 8 to Wan Chai Ferry. It is limited to 1,500 pieces, and is expected to retail for HK$268. Further details and photographs will appear tomorrow.

Photograph courtesy of Jotus.com

Last Sunday, a specially organised journey marked the last trip by Citybus 105. It is believed that the bus will return to a private owner in the UK. Further details and photographs will appear tomorrow.

Best Casting
1st  Creative Master Northcord Volvo Super Olympian
2nd= Corgi  Leyland Victory Mk 2
2nd= Drumwell  Neoplan Centroliner

Worst Casting
Collector's Model Leyland Victory Mk 2

Best Livery
1st  New World First Bus 'Millennium'
2nd New World First Bus  'Give Me Five'
3rd New World First Bus  'Route 15 - The Peak'

Worst Livery
Double Happiness

No-one's vote exactly matched that of the overall result in the Best Casting section, so it was a case of the closest vote. Creative Master Northcord were clear winners with their Volvo Super Olympian, whilst second place was shared by Corgi's Leyland Victory Mk 2 and Drumwell's, Neoplan Centroliner. Derek from Hong Kong chose the top three, but placed the Corgi Victory first and the Creative Master Northcord Super Olympian second.

In the Best Livery section, New World First Bus swept the board by taking the top three places. Again, no-one matched the overall result, however Julian, also from Hong Kong, was the closest, correctly choosing the top two liveries. 

As you will see, Collector's Model collected the prizes for the Worst Casting and Worst Livery.

Creative Master Northcord Limited has proudly released its second livery on the replica Mitsubishi FUSO Aerobus Coach model (JB3002) in 1988 Tomei Highway Bus colours. 

The Mitsubishi FUSO Aerobus for Tomei Highway routes, equipped with turbo engine, were delivered to JR Bus Kanto from February 1988. They replaced the buses of the JR era and became typical highway buses throughout Japan in the early 1990s.

The replica features excellent detailing, inside and out, including an opening engine door and engine detail. The replica has a toilet on board which is standard equipment on JR highway buses. This is a one-piece casting whose clean lines accentuate the windows and livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible. The model has no ugly metal poles to hold it together.

The JB3002 model is limited to 400 pieces for the UK and Hong Kong markets. They will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK) and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively.

Further to yesterday's news, and photograph, of TC1, I am reliably informed that this will be a plastic model.

Three new photographs of the real ex-NWFB MCW Metrobuses ML1, ML2 and ML22 have been added to the respective model pages (000803), (000811) and (000802), thanks to the KMB 2E Bus Page.

Due for release in December is the above model from Car Model Box. It represents China Motor Bus Leyland Titan TC1 . It is believed the model will feature working headlights! More news will follow in due course.

Voting has now closed for your favourite casting and favourite livery - counting is currently under way, and the results will be published shortly.

Photograph courtesy of 80M Bus Model Shop

The release of two new models is imminent. The first, pictured above, is KMB's next issue, being a Daimler 'A', with 'Birmingham style' radiator, and featuring the sliding gates (38205), produced by Cars Workshop. The second, pictured below, is Creative Master Northcord's second release of the Mitsubishi Fuso Aerobus, this time in the colours of Japanese operator JR Bus Kanto (JB3002). 
 

Photograph courtesy of Porte Publishing Co.

I am having problems with my ISP, and some votes that have been cast have not been received. If you do not receive an acknowledgement e-mail within 24 hours of voting, either vote again, or submit your vote by e-mail. Thank you.

Voting is now open, so visit the Voting Page and make your selection. Voting will close at 2359hrs(GMT) on Sunday 9th November.