Revell Germany 1/24 Neoplan Cityliner N 1216 HD By Carl Kietzke

The Bus

The Neoplan Cityliner coach was first introduced in 1971 as a premium highway and tour coach. In 2006 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its original introduction, Neoplan completely redesigned the Cityliner to insure that it would once again be the premier coach in its class. The redesign modernized the appearance of the coach, while maintaining the classic styling cues of the original. The current features of the Cityliner include electronic cruise control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, and a situational awareness system to help with lane control, vehicle spacing, and accident avoidance.

This model of the Cityliner provides seating for up to 55 passengers. A lower deck Galley and restroom are designed to provide maximum convenience. Power is provided by an MAN 6 cylinder 400 hp Euro 4 engine with either a 6 speed manual or 12 speed electronically controlled automated transmission. Details were compared with information from the Neoplan website. Now for a little trivia, the second generation Cityliner was built in both Germany and Lamar, Colorado. Neoplan had a full line bus plant there from the late '70s through the early '90s.

The Kit

The Revell Germany kit comes in a large box quite solidly stuffed with plastic. 16 sprues hold 200 well crafted parts, with no obvious warpage of the larger pieces. There is one each chrome, tinted, and clear sprue included in this count. Ten rubber tires and a large decal sheet round out the contents.

The decal sheet provides factory demonstrator markings and all requisite placards and other minor details. The sheer density of the packing of the parts in the box did result in minor damage to the decal sheet. It does not appear that any of the actual decals are damaged. Some of the parts are engineered for simplicity of both molding and assembly. The resultant hollows do not detract from the initial dry run appearance.

The overall accuracy appears excellent, and all major dimensions match those published on the Neoplan website.

Conclusion:

First off, I will say, it’s about time-Transit has been overlooked in the standard scales for too long. That said. I hope sales justify further releases of transit vehicles. I would like to see a city transit bus to go with this kit. I will be building at least three of these kits, as I want to also do a private coach and a transit express coach. Value for money? An emphatic yes, this is a long desired model. I would have preferred a U. S. prototype, but the Neoplan Cityliner is found worldwide. This kit was obtained from Hannant’s and came in a box almost as big as my letter carrier!