I am able to report that the above book, 'Singapore Bus Service - Part 1' , the first volume in a Singapore Buses series, is due to be published shortly. Authors are Mike Davis, Ron Phillips and F. W. York and it is published by DTS Publishing.

The present day SBS Transit can trace its ancestry back 100-years to the opening of the first electric trams in 1905. It is therefore most appropriate that the first part of the vehicle history of SBS should be published in this centenary year.

Following the format of earlier DTS Publishing books on Hong Kong Buses, published in the 1990s, this book examines the vehicles inherited by SBS upon its formation in 1973 as well as most bus types purchased new up until approximately 1983.  Also included are the single-deck demonstration vehicles taken into stock for evaluation as well as the first double-deckers of 1977. 

The book is A4 softbound, with approximately 98 pages, 180 pictures (including a colour selection) plus fleetlists of all known buses within the period reviewed. A second volume to bring the story up to date is under active and advanced preparation.

The publishers are currently taking orders - just follow the link (link no longer available).

Following yesterdays news on the three new CMNL models, I am reliably informed that a second Sunwin trolleybus (cnbus1007) is due for release shortly.

Photographs courtesy and copyright of
Porte Publishing

JB1009 - Mitsubishi Fuso MP Kyushu Sanko Bus

JB1010 - Mitsubishi Fuso MP Nankai Bus

JB4001 - Mitsubishi Fuso Aero King Hato Bus

Porte Publishing has kindly provided me with photographs of pre-production examples of three new Japanese models from Creative Master Northcord. JB1010 and JB4001 are expected to be released in June and JB1009 later in the summer.

Pandabus Hong Kong is looking for a photograph showing the first open-topper used by them, namely Citybus DMS Fleetline D19 (CP2847, later re-numbered from D19 to 5) in the green/white/red open-top Panda Bus livery. If anyone has such a photograph, this should be sent to transX@utfa.org.hk.

Photograph courtesy and copyright of
80M Bus Model Shop

KMB are to release a model of one of their former London Transport DMSs, on route no.2c to Star Ferry. The model will be produced by EFE but no release date is yet known.

Photograph courtesy of Carl Bentley

Details of a further resin KMB Toyota Coaster model have been received from Carl Bentley of Australia, a photograph of which is shown above. Further details and photographs have been added to a new page in the Resin models section. 

I have been asked to remove the item of news featured on 14th April, and I have therefore complied with this request.

Good Friday saw the opening of the new tea-room at Pen-ffynnon, Llangeler. This forms the first phase of the West Wales Museum of Childhood, a project designed to bring new tourists into the area as well as to provide for local residents. The new toy and model shop will offer a wide selection of new and obsolete toys and diecast model vehicles as the aim is to provide for not only old and new collectors alike, but also young children. The shop also will have a good selection of gifts and souvenirs to satisfy the needs of tourists and local people alike.

The museum will be housed in two converted stone barns, and will feature a multitude of toys and childhood memorabilia from the last two hundred years. The collection of over 20,000  artefacts was formed by Paul and Hilary Kennelly and Vic Davey pooling their individual collections and includes diecast motor cars, lorries and buses, tinplate toys, model railways, dolls and dolls houses, teddy bears, Action Men, Barbies and Sindys, pull-along toys, dolls prams and pushchairs, board games, costumes, rocking horses and pedal cars from the past. 

Hilary said ‘We have toys of all ages for all ages – they include a dolls tea set dating from 1790, a Kylie Minogue doll of 2004, and many more in between. We have also in our collections many toys that were made in Wales and we plan to have a special display for these – Corgi Toys and Louis Marx toys from Fforestfach (Swansea), Crescent from Cwmcarn, Triang at Merthyr Tydfil, Jolly Roger,  Wendy Boston teddy bears and a cuddly Welsh dragon from Cwmpengraig’

The owners plan to open the museum’s display galleries in May this year but to give a taste of things to come, they have provided a preview of toys in the tea-room. For news of the museum’s progress, you can see the website at www.toymuseumwales.co.uk, or you may wish to enquire by phone at 01559 370428 or by email to info@toymuseumwales.co.uk.  UPDATE :-  I believe the museum is now closed.

Local residents say they will be pleased to see the new tea-room, which has its own good size car park, as they point out that  there is little provision for refreshment along  the A484.

The project is part funded by the European Union European Regional Development Fund through Community Enterprise, arranged by the Foothold Group of Llanelli.

Photograph courtesy of 80M Bus Model Shop

Due for release in Hong Kong on Monday (11th) is the second version of KMB's Enviro 500 from Cars Workshop (39402). This model features ATE38 on route no 1 to Chuk Yuen Estate and is limited to 3,000 pieces. It differs from the first issue in having a removable front panel. 

Photograph courtesy and copyright of
Philip Chan

I am very grateful to Philip Chan for sending me photographs of the newly released Best Choose Guy Arab Mk V with the Shek O bus terminus diorama (02046S) and these have just been uploaded to the new page.

For some reason I appear to have upset Creative Master Northcord and as a result I no longer receive their Press Releases nor am I favoured with replies to my e-mails. I must therefore refer you to Gareth Jones excellent British Model Buses website for further details of the third Megabus.com liveried Olympian (hkbus2005). I can advise that the quantity for this release is 1,700 and that it's release in Hong Kong is imminent. Photographs of a pre-production sample, kindly provided by John Ayrey Die-Casts, can be found by following the link.