It's the beginning of a new year and a good time to look at what may be in store for 1/76 scale model bus collectors such as myself in the near future. Apart from the noble exception of Oxford Diecast, 2016 was a disappointing year for diecasts, with Northcord and Britbus virtually invisible, Corgi suffering financial problems and the near-loss of EFE. I bought no more than two or three new diecast releases during the entire year and the majority of my new additions were resin kits from the growing band of cottage industry producers who have a very different business model but seem far more willing to invest in new products. So far it looks like 2017 won't be much better, with Brexit having had an adverse effect on production costs in China, but I'm still hoping I might be proved wrong and something exciting will unexpectedly appear.