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Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based die-cast manufacturer. It began trading in 1989, when the company released its first models of an AEC bus and truck. Models are mostly produced in 1/76th scale, which matches the standard scale for UK 'OO' gauge model railways. The initial aim of EFE was to provide a range of die-cast models representing diverse history of UK road vehicles. All models are designed in the UK and manufactured in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
By the end of 2010 the total number of EFE models produced had passed the 2000 mark, with around 90 new releases each year.
History
The first releases came in the summer of 1989. They proved successful with the AEC RT busAEC Regent III RT
The AEC Regent III RT was a variant of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly between AEC and London Transport. It was the standard red London bus during the 1950s.-Prototype:...
in particular receiving much acclaim. Expansion of the range occurred in 1990 with the launch of the first single deck coaches, the Harrington Grenadier & Cavalier. Around the same time another truck, the Atkinson Knight and a set of four sports cars were also added to the range, however it was once again the passenger service models that proved the most popular and from this point onwards the bus & coach
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
models became the main focus of the range.
In the following years the range of bus models was vastly expanded to include among others the famous London Transport Routemaster
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
, Leyland National
Leyland National
The Leyland National is a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries - the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall...
single decker, Bristol MW
Bristol MW
The Bristol MW is a bus and coach chassis., p. 6 — Photograph of chassis designed and built between 1956 and 1964 by Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd at Brislington, Bristol....
coach, MCW Atlantean
Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a model of double-decker bus built by Leyland in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986....
& Fleetline
Daimler Fleetline
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England. However, the last complete vehicle did not enter service until 1983...
, Bristol VRT, AEC RF, Leyland Titan and the London Transport GS class Guy single decker.
The number of truck types was also doubled with the addition of the Bedford TK
Bedford Vehicles
Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors, itself the British subsidiary of General Motors , established in 1930; and constructing commercial vehicles. Bedford Vehicles was a leading international truck manufacturer, with substantial export sales of...
and Ergomatic cabs in 1996. Between 2005 and 2007 four further cabs an AEC Mark V, ERF KV
ERF (lorry manufacturer)
ERF was a British truck manufacturer. Established in 1933 by Dennis Foden, its factory in Sandbach, Cheshire was closed in 2002, and finished as a marque by owner MAN AG in 2007.-History:...
, Foden S24
Foden
Foden may refer to:* Ben Foden , English rugby union player* Giles Foden , British author* Wendy Foden, South African conservation biologist- See also :* Edwin Foden, Sons & Co., a former British truck and bus manufacturer...
& Ford Thames Trader
Thames Trader
The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by the British arm of the Ford Motor Company built between 1957 and 1965.-Design:The distinctive cab design, which sets it apart from other British commercial vehicles, was a forward-control design and the Thames Trader model covered a much...
were added to the range. The original AEC Mammoth Major cab was withdrawn from the range and retooled to produce the later Mark III version in 2004.
MCW Metrobus
The MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
Mark I and EFE also plan to release their first single deck 1/24th bus model which will depict London Transport's 1950's AEC RF - no release date has been announced yet for this model.
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
ocean liners were produced, the models were issued between 1998 & 2000 and depicted the Titanic, Britannic and Olympic liners in various guises, these models no doubt came about because of the huge success of the Titanic Hollywood movie released in the late 1990s.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
tube trains. Three different types have so far been released depicting 1938, 1959 and 1962 stock carriages; these models are mainly of plastic construction but have been designed to allow motorization for used on model railway layouts if required.
A new range of trackside accessories were produced in 2009. Items include tube station style seating and sections of underground escalator. A number of roadside items were also released including various styles of UK pillar boxes, telephone kiosks and London Bus Stop flags.
Influence
Following the success of the EFE models other manufacturers have launched their own ranges of 'OO' scale model buses. Most notable among these are Corgi Classics LimitedCorgi Classics Limited
Corgi Classics Limited is a die-cast model manufacturer which has its origins in the Corgi Toys brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956.-The Corgi Toys era: 1956 to 1995:...
with their Original Omnibus Company range which now numbers over 800 models. More recent entrants to the field include Creative Master Northcord and Britbus. Both companies are quickly expanding their own catalogue of models.