Corgi disappoint again

Six months ago I bemoaned how disappointing Corgi's release schedule for the first half of this year was, and predicted that the Original Omnibus Company models to be released in the second half would be little better. The full release schedule is due to be announced tomorrow but the list of OOC releases was made available by another website today and it gives me no pleasure to say I was right and the first words that came to mind on viewing the list were 'dismal' and 'pathetic'. I was hoping this was incomplete and there would be more to follow, but nothing was omitted so there is even less variety than last time and this batch of releases is far worse than I imagined it could ever be. If you don't like modern Wrightbuses then there is nothing here for you.

The best of a bad bunch

The number of new models has dropped to its lowest ebb ever, there being just four distinct vehicles although all but one come in the usual A and B versions with different destinations to give a total of seven variations in this rather sad collection. All are present-day Wrightbus products, comprising yet another Borismaster, two Gemini 2 double-deckers and the equivalent single-deck Eclipse 2, and apart from the Lothian Buses Eclipse (which sounds similar to a previous release) there is a heavy London bias. Every one is a contemporary bus that can be seen on the road today, so the many enthusiasts of historic vehicles have been completely ignored.

Green Line Coaches Ltd hasn't existed since 1931. Don't you mean First Berkshire?

The Borismaster is in London General's heritage livery and one of the Geminis is listed as liveried for 'Green Line Coaches Ltd', a company that doesn't even appear to exist, but presumably represents one of those vehicles operated by First Berkshire on the London-Windsor Green Line service. The other Gemini is probably the most interesting, based on one operated by either Mullanys or Golden Tours on the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour shuttle service, so this will hopefully appeal to Harry Potter fans as well as model bus collectors, although £35 is a lot of money for a piece of Potter merchandise.

The reason for the Wrightbus dominance is doubtless that Corgi have an exclusive agreement to make models of this company's buses. The sad part of this is that there are other Wrightbus products such as the StreetLite and StreetDeck that collectors really want to see and there is a ready market for. Corgi have not shown any inclination to produce these vehicles but this agreement is preventing other more willing manufacturers from modelling them, so they remain unavailable and potential customers are missing out as a result.

Yet another Borismaster

That is all that is planned for OOC over the next six months, barely one new model per month, and once again there are no new castings and nothing of even the slightest interest to me. Corgi are being slaughtered in the market by Oxford Diecast, yet don't seem to have a response and just keep churning out the same old uninspiring stuff. Okay, their parent company Hornby have been suffering from some well-publicised financial problems, but to be honest they haven't done much to inspire potential customers with a product-led recovery. I've pretty much given up on Corgi as a lost cause in the 1/76 bus market, a pity as back in the early 2000s they were one of the leaders but with the noble exception of Oxford Diecast, this industry is very much in the doldrums now, yet there are so many worthwhile subjects out there that have yet to be modelled.

The only single-decker in this batch

Full OOC release programme for Jul-Dec 2016:

OM46509A Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, Green Line Coaches Ltd
OM46509B Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, Green Line Coaches Ltd
OM46511 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Shuttle Bus
OM46616A New Routemaster, Go-Ahead London, Heritage General Livery
OM46616B New Routemaster, Go-Ahead London, Heritage General Livery
OM46712A Wright Eclipse 2, Lothian Buses
OM46712B Wright Eclipse 2, Lothian Buses

As Warner Bros used to say at the end of their cartoons, "That's all folks!"