Boris Johnson's model bus hobby drives frenzy of reaction

British prime ministerial hopeful Boris Johnson prompted puzzlement, amusement -- and some skepticism -- with the unexpected admission that he makes model buses by painting up wooden wine boxes.

The former London mayor, battling with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to be the next Conservative Party leader and prime minister, said he partakes in the pastime to relax.

"I make things," the 55-year-old told TalkRadio in an interview Tuesday when asked how he winds down.

"I get old wooden crates, right? And I paint them," the former foreign secretary added, noting the boxes would have typically contained two wine bottles.

"It will have a dividing thing, and I turn it into a bus and... I paint the passengers enjoying themselves on the wonderful bus."
The link was not lost on BBC television news anchor Simon McCoy, who -- with a heavily furrowed brow -- he quipped of Johnson's crafty bus hobby: "wonder what he writes on the side of it?"