Following the significant success in relaunching the casting of the Alexander ALX400-bodied Dennis Trident, Northcord Model Company is now releasing the second livery on the casting - ukbus 1502, a replica of an open-top ALX400-bodied Dennis Trident in the fleet of Stagecoach North West with Ribble White Lady heritage livery.

ukbus 1502 represents fleet number 17012 (S812 BWC).

17012, or TA12 originally, was part of a batch delivered new to Stagecoach East London in 1998 and these were some of the first low floor double-deckers to operate in London. 17012 – 17024 started to migrate North in 2003 when they transferred to Stagecoach North West and were allocated to Morecambe depot. None was used in service at Morecambe in dual door format until after single door conversion at Lillyhall depot and then repaint at Carlisle depot and the majority were branded for services 2/2A (later baylink 2/2A) converting the route to low floor operation at the same time. 17012 – 17016 then moved on again towards the end of 2008 where they were once again sent to Lillyhall depot for conversion but would this time lose their roofs and be repainted into a green variation of Stagecoach livery for use at Kendal depot on Lake District service 599.

This bus is fitted with a tachograph and has been used for hires in the past. To try and further expand this hire work and to make the bus fit in better, it is either used with, or as a replacement for the Routemaster. Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire have painted the bus in a special livery, naming it the White Lady.

This inspiration for the White Lady comes from a number of buses Ribble, one of the precursor companies to Stagecoach CNL Lakes operation, bought in the early 1950’s. These were buses fitted with coach seats and various other embellishments, they were used on express services out of Manchester. The buses were painted in a reversal of the standard Ribble livery which used Ribble Red as a base colour. Because of the reversed livery they became known as White Ladies, even if their base colour was actually cream.

The White Lady has been designed by Ray Stenning of the Best Impressions design agency and is very much inspired by the original rather than being a slavish copy of it.

The ALX400 open-top replica features excellent detailing inside and out. This is a one-piece casting whose clean lines enhance the livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible.

The interior plastic blister has been redesigned to ensure the secure positioning of the model on the plinth by following the shape of the White Lady open-top

The brand-new Alexander ALX400-bodied Dennis Trident Open Top UKBUS1502 bus models will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK), Porte Publishing Company (Japan), 80M Bus Model Shop and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively. The UKBUS1502 model is limited to 888 pieces worldwide.

First engineering prototype of our WMPTE Fleetline.
This photo was taken on my HO scale layout.
We really need a proper Brummy 4mm layout...
Phil Parker, are you listening???

The offside details are just as nice.
We're missing two panel lines on the front. They will be added before production.?

The 1980s are back with a bang! The West Midlands Fleetline is an iconic bus design used from the 1970s to the late 1990s in and around Brummigum – voted most amazing city on the planet by the guy I passed on Bristol Road in Edgbaston last November. This is the first model anyone has ever made of the West Midlands Fleetline. And before you get you knickers in a twist, we are also doing the later (more common) headlight arrangement:

Here's the more common, later style headlight arrangement.

And that's all we're going to tell you for now. We'll properly announce the bus, with liveries, product numbers and pricing in the next couple of months. We are open to destination, livery and bus number suggestions! Stay tuned...

Following the significant success in launching the brand new casting of the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC model in the liveries of National Express West Midlands, Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, Bluestar, Stagecoach West Scotland and Southern Vectis, Northcord Model Company is now releasing the ninth livery on the 10.9 metre long, single-door casting – ukbus 6519 in the livery of Stagecoach Oxford with full Gold branding for the famous route 7.

ukbus 6519 represents fleet number 10786 (SN66 VZH) that has 10.9 metre, single door bodywork and was new to Stagecoach in Oxfordshire in 2017. 10786 carries a full Gold branded livery for route 7, showing the destination to Woodstock. The special, comprehensive livery and branding are 100% reproduced onto the ukbus 6519 model. The stand-out features of the branding are : “stagecoach gold” on all sides; “we use Contactless” on the nearside, and “connecting local towns & villages with Oxford” on both sides.

Further additional details carried by the model include the free wifi, and contactless logos at the front, offside and the rear; and, a USB charging logo at the offside and the rear too.

Stagecoach Gold is a luxury bus sub-brand used by various Stagecoach bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach Gold (originally Goldline) was launched in 2007 and was designed to attract more middle-class passengers to choose bus travel as a method of transport as well as to reward passengers on some busy and popular routes. Gold routes have a luxury specification whose buses have stitched leather seats, metallic paint, special flooring and free WiFi.

In 2015, all brand-new Stagecoach Gold vehicles came equipped with USB charging facilities underneath every seat which enabled passengers to charge their mobile devices whilst onboard.

In the following year, Stagecoach took the delivery of the first Stagecoach Gold branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and Enviro200 MMC vehicles. The liveries on the new buses remained the same as the previous model however Stagecoach slightly modified the interior with new wood effect flooring and updated the upholstery with new style leather seats that incorporate a cream coloured headrest.

The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC ukbus 6519 is a one-piece casting whose clean lines accentuate the square, gasket-mounted windows and the livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible. Another main feature on the ukbus 6519 model is its single tree protector at the front. The front dome on the model is significant, with curved windscreens on both upper deck and lower deck.

Northcord Model Company is also creating new design standards within the interior of both saloons. These features, inside the compartments, will represent the real, outstanding layout of the Enviro400 MMC, such as the extensive portrayal of handrails on upper deck and lower deck, etc.

The brand new 10.9 metre Enviro400 MMC bus models will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK), Porte Publishing Company (Japan), 80M Bus Model Shop and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively. The UKBUS6519 model is limited to 1008 pieces worldwide.

NMC is aware of production issues that had affected some models of the ukbus6516 batch, and of the complaints that have been raised by some individuals on discussion boards. NMC has worked with its contracted manufacturing facility to try and overcome the issues that affected degradation of the decal and the model coming loose from its retaining lugs during transit. To this end we have insisted that the manufacturing staff apply a polythene sheet between the model roof and the plastic blister (as was common in the CMNL era) and that the tabs at the ends of the acrylic lid are FIRMLY attached to the underside of the plinth.