Corgi buses for 2018

I've been meaning to write this for several weeks now but the announcement coincided with my busiest period at work and life has just got in the way since then, so better late than never, here at last is my review of Corgi's model bus release schedule for January to June of this year, revealed exactly a month ago. I didn't even bother reviewing the models from the second half of 2017 as there were only two of them and neither were worthy of note: yet another Borismaster and a second Harry Potter Gemini very similar to the one released the previous year. Things are slightly better this time around, with four all-new liveries, each available with a choice of two destinations. There are still no new castings though (unsurprising given the company's poor finances) and nothing of interest to me.

Wright Gemini, Brighton & Hove, Pride - all themes Corgi have already done recently

The biggest surprise is the complete absence of any Borismasters. Given how this casting has been done to death in recent years, perhaps Corgi have exhausted all the livery options and are having to wait until the real ones appear in some new colour schemes before they can make any more models. A Wrightbus product does of course make an appearance though in the shape of another Gemini for Brighton & Hove, a fleet Corgi seem to have an obsession with. Like one of last year's Borismasters this one is in Pride livery, which may be clever from a marketing point of view as it also appeals to members of the LGBT community who may not have any interest in buses, but is a one-off and hardly representative of the buses to be seen on today's roads.

A Routemaster that isn't red. Makes a change I suppose.

Disappointingly for those who like single-deckers or coaches, all four new models are double-deckers and the Brighton Gemini is the only modern one, the others being half-cabs. There is inevitably a Routemaster, although this is at least not red; it comes in the early-1990s green and red of London & Country, an attractive livery that surprisingly hasn't been modelled on an RM before. The other two at last see the return of some older tooling that hadn't been used for several years, the Guy Arab utility and the Bristol FS. However, these are starting to show their age and charging almost £40 for a casting that is now approaching twenty years old is poor value for money. The Bristol is in Wilts & Dorset coach livery, again not modelled before, but the Burton Corporation Guy duplicates a model produced by EFE just two years ago so it's an odd choice that I can't see selling especially well.

Two decade-old tooling in a livery that's already been done. Why bother?

This batch of new models met a particularly underwhelming reception given the much-publicised appointment of Oxford Diecast's Lyndon Davies as CEO of the Hornby group amid hopes that he will turn around the ailing company. However it must be remembered that the model manufacturers work a year or more in advance so these models would have been signed off in early 2017 or maybe even 2016, long before Lyndon was appointed, and it is likely to be 2019 at the earliest before we see his influence in the release schedule. Until then it seems Corgi are continuing on their current path of lacklustre models with limited appeal, and one only hopes he can make a difference before it's too late.

The FS casting dates back to 2002. Is it still good value at £38.99?

Original Omnibus Company releases for Jan-Jun 2018:

OM40821A/B: Bristol Lodekka FS - Wilts & Dorset
OM43917A/B: Guy Arab II utility - Burton Corporation 
OM46313A/B: AEC Routemaster - London & Country
OM46515A/B: Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 - Brighton & Hove (Pride)