I had a thought last night while the blog was offline about everyone's favourite supermodel 33423 - no don't groan this is a bit different. I was wondering how a compromise could be reached that would achieve the aim of repainting her so the fact she was an X1 vehicle was obvious as she approached, yet would maintain her individual uniqueness and wow factor. And then the lightbulb flashed and I thought of the current First practice of painting the front of vehicles a certain colour while leaving the rear in First colours, like Ipswich. It's obviously popular as my recent post on the topic has nearly reached all time top 5 status (see it here), so why not do it with the X1 livery?
So I contacted the genius at Norwichbuses blog, Sam Larke who has a programme on his computer that transforms ideas to images, and this is what she could look like, Thanks, Sam, for doing it so quickly. So what do you guys think? Could it work and be a fair compromise? We have a bit of extra time due to the unfortunate incident involving 37573 and when I suggested it to Chris Speed (who was a real gent yesterday) he said he'd put it to the MD. I hope this pic will help! It's quite a nice thought to think that enthusiasts could have a say in the final design for this photogenic icon. Of course another alternative is to use 33423 for the Heritage livery and repaint a third Gemini for the X1 - Sam?
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| Sam Larke's impression of what an X1 hybrid livery could look like. (c) Sam Larke |
Welcome back young sir.
ReplyDeleteMy thought to your thought; what a great idea. It could work, would be a more than fair compromise (saving on blue paint for one), and would really stand out from the crowd.
However, as First don't seem overly fussed about Yarmouth, and are content to have Yarmouth based vehicles running around in various states of disrepair (Presidents, Renowns and so on), I really don't see it happening personally. Cynical I know, and I'll admit I could be wrong here, but I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't. If she was based in Lowestoft or Norwich I'd be more positive, but as she's based in Yarmouth - nope, don't see it happening I'm afraid.
What a good blog Sams impression of what 33423 would look like in X1 colours with its tints on it still.
ReplyDeletefantastic idea! I hope this works :D Good to see your blog back online too Steve.
ReplyDeleteYarmouth fleet is constantly being updated, new streetlites due in November, the ex Leicester ALX wil be refurbished early next year, renowns will be withdrawn, i think you will find the Norwich fleet is worse than Yarmouth, it takes time to upgrade fleets and Ipswich is nearly complete, Lowestoft only has two vehicles not repainted and Half of Yarmouth has been repainted, 33423 is being repainted into a livery to match the vehicles already operating a route it works on! Norwich repaints have now begun so saying First are not fussed is a little naive!
ReplyDeleteYarmouth has a really good mix of vehicles - Olympians, Geminis and a certain E400 amongst the better of them. Norwich has Geminis on 2 routes and 37562 on just about anything. That's it. I spent an unintended hour on a President in Norwich yesterday ending up at some backwater called Drayton (think someone we know lives near there) and trust me I'd have happily swapped for the majority of Yarmouth's fleet.
ReplyDeleteHowever it must be said that if a depot is going to be raided and lose some good vehicles it's normally Yarmouth. But I think maybe judge again in a year's time as there are going to be many changes happening in the next year.
Inspiration for Ipswich's new excel paint jobby? ;)
ReplyDeleteIt would certainly appear so, Zak.
ReplyDelete