This year is rather important to London and the UK – we had the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and we also have the 2012 Olympics. To celebrate that there are a number of items available to show the Pride of London, and this first batch are models of the iconic London Bus and Taxi from expert model maker Revell.
Revell’s London Bus Model
The red Routemaster double-decker bus was a true London landmark.
Introduced by London Transport in 1956, it saw continuous service in London until 2005. Even after being decommissioned, its amazing popularity resulted in heritage routes 9 and 15 in central London, encompassing Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.
It was developed specially for London, featuring the presence of a conductor for efficient boarding time and security, plus open access in the rear to allow passengers to board and alight quickly irrespective of stations. The pioneering design used techniques developed in World War II aircraft production.
This model, the RML “lengthened” bus, replaced the RM class on central routes, giving extra seats to cope with higher loadings. With original manufacturer AEC taken over by British Leyland in 1962, the RML class was intended to be the “Routemaster Leyland” designation.
The London Bus model has 150 parts and retails for £34.99. The model is incredibly detailed and a lot of thought has gone into it, even down to the decals for both the outside, and inside of the bus.
Revell’s London Taxi Model
The Hackney Carriage went into service in 1958, its black paintwork becoming a typical feature of the British street scene. This model, the Austin FX4, was the classic Black Cab. Designed in collaboration with a taxi dealership and coach builder, it was sold under a range of brands.
A 2.2 litre engine gave the vehicle sufficient power for inner city passenger transport. The vehicle ran until 1982 when regulations about exhaust pollutants prohibited the use of this type and production ceased in 1997, to be replaced by the TX series.
The London Taxi model has 68 parts and retails for £19.99.
You can see the difference in size between the two model kits below. The London Bus isn’t a quick job putting together so you should have a lot of fun putting it together.
Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers and from the Revell website.
Have you built either of these two models? If so, let us know by leaving a comment below.
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