This colourful vehicle is a Land Rover Defender "Post Bus" as used by the Royal Mail in the remoter parts of the UK, such as the Scottish Highlands and parts of Wales. In addition to delivering the mail, the Post Buses can be hailed just as you would hail a bus. The fares are subsidised and hence low, and the idea is to provide a degree of public transport to sparsely populated areas which would otherwise not support a scheduled bus service.
Land Rovers are possibly the best off road vehicles in the world hence they are well able to cope with the difficult road conditions that can be found in places such as the Highlands in winter. The Defender is essentially the same car as the original Land Rover which first appeared in 1946. The bodywork has always been made from aluminium (which thanks to it's rust resistant qualities has resulted in a high survival rate for these cars, very old ones being a common everyday sight) which was purely because in the post World War II British economy, steel was rationed while Aluminium was not. Hence Rover could easily get enough to build their then new Willys Jeep inspired 4x4.
The Defender version arrived in 1990 and has remained essentially unchanged since then. The most popular engine is a 2.5 litre turbocharged 5 cylinder engine which is economical and torquey (an important asset for off road work) but not particularly fast. A V8 version has been available in the past but only in small numbers as most customers prefer the far more economical diesel. Land Rover plan to keep making the Defender for as long as it continues to sell in profitable numbers and of course as long as it meets current legislation.
Universal Hobbies make this 1:18th Post Bus and it is certainly one of the more colourful models in my collection. It is usually priced as a budget model, so it is not as detailed as some of the better models from AUTOart or Kyosho, but it does have some nice features nonetheless. The lights are the best feature I think, the headlights having a very realistic appearance without visible mounting pegs. The engine and interior look quite bland, but the model does have full opening features. Brake detail is almost non-existant and I found the paint finish to be poor on this model. It has an "orange peel" look to it which is a shame as it is otherwise evenly and thickly applied. Overall I do like the look and subject matter of this model, but as mentioned above it is not a "state of the art" 1:18th diecast.
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