LEGO London Buses
Posted by Huw,
Typical, you wait ages for a bus and then several come along at once!
10258, announced yesterday, comes just a year after the last London bus, 40220. But that wasn't the first one by any means: in fact, one of the first LEGO vehicles of any kind, released shortly after the invention of the wheel, was a London bus...
313 London Bus
313 was released in 1966, just a year after the wheel first appeared, and was one of the very first vehicle sets to be produced.
It's interesting to wonder why a Danish toy company would choose a British bus for one of its first vehicle sets: I guess it's because it's iconic and recognised the world over, which can't be said of any Danish vehicles.
I believe that red windows were in production at the time so it's a mystery to me why white ones were used instead.
Used examples can be found on the secondary market such as BrickLink but it's hard to find one without yellowed windows and perished tyres these days.
384 London Bus
384 London Bus arrived in Europe eight years later in 1973 and in North America in 1975 where it was released as 760 London Bus.
The wheel arches, black tyres, stickers and red windows combine to create a much more pleasing model than the previous version.
10214 Tower Bridge
It was not until the 21st century that the next one pulled up, in 2010. This little bus crosses 10214 Tower Bridge and includes some impressive details such as the rear platform and four wheels, despite its very small scale.
3300006 London Bus
A slightly larger promotional model was given away with qualifying purchases when the first brand store in London, at Westfield Shepherd's Bush, opened in 2011. This one has rolling wheels and a black rear platform stanchion, not unlike 384 London Bus from 1973.
40220 London Bus
Last year's bus is also associated with a LEGO brand store in London as it is always available at the Leicester Square branch. However, it was first produced for display alongside 10253 Big Ben and the advertising boards on either side are decorated accordingly.
21029 Buckingham Palace
The smallest London bus ever released consists of just seven pieces and is found driving around the Victoria Memorial outside 21029 Buckingham Palace. The model may be tiny but it is instantly recognisable as a classic Routemaster, just as the black car is evidently a TX4 hackney carriage.
10258 London Bus
10258 London Bus is by far the largest and most detailed version of the famous Routemaster yet released. It includes 1686 pieces, more than ten times the count of any previous London Bus set!
You can read the full details of the latest addition to the fleet here.
Which London Bus is your favourite and do you like the new one? Let us know in the comments below.
Brickset is attending the exciting product launch for 10258 London Bus at the Leicester Square LEGO brand store shortly so make sure to keep an eye on our social media channels over the next few hours!
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If anyone is looking to round out their collection of London Buses and needs a 760, I have one for sale in the marketplace on the forum. It's in amazing condition for a set from 1975 -- opened and built once by me and the stickers are still unused on the sheet. Box is in good condition, too. I'll post a pic in my marketplace post: http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/21131/selling-off-my-collection-southwest-ohio-usa/p5
Very nice article, Huw! Very interesting to read. My father has set 384/760, London Bus (still complete, too!). In my childhood (late 1970s) I spent lots of time playing with it. What a great bus and great memories.
And we still need one that fits minifigs comfortably!
I'm still waiting for a minifigure scale (I mean like Lego City scale) London bus.
A black cab would also be nice for a city display (they did one in the Friends Heartlake Hotel but ruined it by adding pink)
Hello @Huw ! I find this article very interesting and would like to repost it to LEGO Tribe on DriveTribe! Would you agree if I do that? I will be sure to prominently credit, and link to Brickset.com!
You forgot the little one in set 40183
I have to say, 384 is still the most charming of the bunch. I like the new one, but there's something just so wonderful about 384.
Chris, go for it...
313! Donald ducks car!
I think 384 and 10258 are the best.
You forgot the Harry Potter Knight Buss! : )
Great article just the same though! : D
I would imagine that TLG produced a red bus first because they had a lot of red bricks in stock.
Using white windows to copy this version?
https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/76rm102_2.jpg
Maybe they had less red windows available than they had white ones?
Only the TLG designers can say for sure .....
Hello Huw!
I just want to say that LEGO 40220 London Bus is also available to buy in LEGO Store Ljubljana- Slovenia,LEGO Store Sarajevo- Bosnia and Herzegovina and in LEGO Store Zagreb- Croatia.
P.S- Most favourite- 40220 and 10258.
40220 London Bus
I got the 313 London bus but not the instructions tho!
There was also LEGO Blueprint number 3 published in 1965 which were instructions for a London Bus.
The 384 is your typical ugly LEGO toy.
The one in the 10214 set is, if not seen from ten feet away, a joke.
The 3300006 seems to be closest to the best ratio between esthetics, build, and the need for the model to look like the real thing; from certain angles, it almost looks satisfactorily.
The 40220 appears to be a mere attempt to improve on the previous 3300006. The failure to replicate the real bus is most evident in the extremely limited number of windows and the huge amount of red between them.
The tiny bus from the 21029 set is great from a distance; in terms of simplicity and effect, it is really good.
And if 1.686 parts would not be enough to create a very good replica of the real thing, then the 10258 bus would be a disgrace and LEGO itself, garbage. Thank goodness, though, the bus looks good. Great for LEGO fanatics - nobody else will probably buy it (you can get an amazing replica of the iconic vehicle for a fraction of the cost if you really care to have one).
Nice roundup, Huw; more words than included would have spoiled it.
Wow, I did not know there were that many.
I like 40220
No mention of the best red bus lego have ever made... the Fabuland one. The best bus ever - it has flags and shutters on the windows!! Brilliant!
Bus 313 was produced in ENGLAND by LEGO ENGLAND first !!!
in colour of Suburban Busses ,
AFTER LEGO DANMARK take the opportunity to produce for all
the world this iconic model in 1974 in LONDON City Colour
(ALL RED )
This is the history of the White Windows !
^ interesting! Thank you for the info.
Back in 2014 I made a selection of Lego London buses through history which I displayed at the London Transport Museum Depot as part of their 'Year of the Bus' events. My designs were not dissimilar to 40220, which Lego released this year. https://flickr.com/photos/29845208 @N00/sets/72157637281652016
That old 384/760 was one of my first LEGO sets as a child, I remember building it and rebuilding it over and over, eventually I had the instructions memorized...
So, of course I had to get the mini when it was released last year- I wish I had $130 to blow on this set, I would grab it in a heartbeat if I had the funds
The 384 was my first London bus. Did not know about the 313 one.
Could be fun to recollect all parts for it and build it again.
For some reason my favorite is the old 384 bus, as it appears to be the closest to minifigure scale. I had a great chance to pick one up on the cheap from ebay a couple weeks ago. I forgot to set up a timer for the end of auction and lost out. It sold for less than 17.00 complete w/instructions but no box. The stickers were beginning to peal off but that probably would have been an easy fix. Anyway if I see another for under 20.00 I'm going to jump on it. I wish, as others have said, that Lego would produce a truly minifigure scale version. However with the release of 10258 such a set will most likely be years from now, if ever :(
I think this set is missing in the list - https://brickset.com/sets/4866-1/The-Knight-Bus