BusTalk

[Rt4957]

All I have in my collection is a Paper Sacremento Rt Flxible and another HO scale one that was cast in some Powdery White Material that was never painted.

Has there ever been any talk of doing one in the future,,or past for that matter?

I`d fill the house with them as there are at least 4 SCRTD schemes I would do,,plus I`d make a copy of my 1:1 53102 that I own.

Curious
Rt4957

[Hart Bus]

At one time a fellow from, I believe, Virginia who kit-bashed a GMC into a Flx. I don't think it was a Corgi but perhaps a 1/87 scale. He had it up on E-bay, but I wasn't impressed. While I am far from a craftsman, the model didn't look good (to me) so I passed.

That's the only Flx New Look I know of. Considering Corgi has had trouble selling GM Fishbowls, where's the incentive for them to produce a Flx ?

[TheDriver]

really?

[TheDriver]

I saw some going for $400 or more and I wanted one
The only way I could get mine cheap was to find ones with the right wheels and features and sand and paint them to suit me
I had to find the unpopular ones that sold cheap.

[TheDriver]

I see that I am making a comment on something posted in 2007.
I bought mine some time after that. I bought 16 at one time.
I paid $20 for one at a swap meet a few years before that.
My problem with their Fishbowl buses is that they were not close to being accurate on the shape and size of the bus and many errors were made as if they created a mold from a single picture
The driver's window is not right and is too far from the windshield.
the front door is too narrow
the windows on the back doors are not right. Corgi matched the rears with the fronts where they should have been different. The upper windows and lower windows should have been the same size. The back doors should have been the narrow doors and the front doors wider. The mirrors hung in the wrong places.
The clearance lights were way too big.
the buses were all made too narrow. The scale would have made them 71/2 foot wide when they were supposed to be 8 foot wide or 8/12 ft.
My biggest gripe is the front end
the famous windshield.
and the roof above it.
Corgi got that wrong.
So I been working on mine cutting , grinding and filling and sanding to get the right shape.
I have to be careful or the clear plastic used for the windshield would not work.
That means I would have to learn how to make my own.
I can't find the right size people to fit in these buses.
3 people fit where there should be 5.
anyway there is not much I can do about the small front doors because the sides have the holes for the windows and it would take a ton of work to move and size each one to make it work.
The D window would be the hard one.

[Hart Bus]

[TheDriver]

1) It is not a similar model.
It is called a Flxible.
2)They were not good and were ugly. More so than these new buses.
The Flxible bus had a reason to exist and that was to give an alternative to GM's buses.
3) They were cheaper in every sense.
GM was also working to minimize the progress of their products because of litigation and so was working to improve on the competition.
Flxible got a softer ride, power steering and tinted windows and a better tranny.
That is all .
4) GM still beats them in spite of that.
Remember, FLXIBLE is UGLY.
ugly is not popular

I don't know if most GM bus fans are as picky as I am but any true Fishbowl fan would not really like the Corgi offering or the Busch attempts.
I have those only because I have given up on seeing a real replica.
I also have the skills to modify and to change them to make them real.
If I owned a 3D printer I would make a few in 1:25 scale and get the width right unlike Busch and Corgi. I would have the doors in the right proportions and the windshield and roof would look like the real thing

[frankie]

Driver pretty much summed up critiquing Corgi's version of GM's fishbowl. Aside from the inaccuracies cited, at least Corgi stepped up to the plate and produced a model that collectors starving for a decent American prototype were finally able to purchase. The availability of countless liveries more than made up for the casting inaccuracies (IMHO) and for me I was hooked on collecting them all. Since Corgi was the only game in town, I am more than grateful for their buses (including their other makes).

The one casting flaw that stuck out to me were the "Flxible" type side windows. The corners were too sharp.

Aside from the few US diecast prototypes being produced today as limited one off editions (IXO's TDH-3610 for example), we once again are in a waiting game.

Frankie

[JimmiB]

A couple of years ago a guy from Canada had asked me for help in designing a 1/160 N scale fishbowl. I sent him plenty of photos and schematics. He was doing the master using clay. He'd send a photo and I'd tell him what wasn't correct and he'd change it. Finally showed me the completed master copy and it looked perfect. Never heard from him again.

[GBL Rebel]

[TheDriver]

It didn't hurt to help. Who knows? He might have been the one to make a good model. I know if I had the money I would invest in equipment to get it done in several scales.

[TheDriver]

the best I can do now is to make a few jigs to cut and grind the current Corgi offerings to make them closer to being realistic.
I've even considered cutting them in half , lengthwise and adding a strip to make a true 96 inch or 102 in bus instead of the 7 and a half foot that is currently available. 90 inches. I can't even fit 4 people across a bus that seats 5 across.
Yes I've got plans to make the standee windows real on all my buses that have standee windows.

[TheDriver]

[TheDriver]

[Hart Bus]

I don't think so..I think you are referring to Angel Tollens. From dealing with him and seeing him at MOBT's Spring fling and other places, he only produces 1/50 models and nothing else.