Hi everyone,In advance, please forgive some of the blurry photos.The subject here is is an HO GMC Transit "Fishbowl" bus from Busch. Second one I purchased from Happy Hobo Trains a few years ago (Thanks Kevin, I miss ya). I've always been a big fan of these buses as I liked that body design! They were always a part of my childhood and youth years. As a kid, I often rode the prototypes with my mother in NY. As a young adult in Florida, I worked on them at a transit authority. Built factory tough with many racking up millions of miles. Anybody remember the movie "Speed"? Busch did a nice job on these and for the price they're hard to beat, There are 3 issues that I have with this model; two of which are easy to fix.1. The dull silver finish of the corrugated "aluminum" sheet metal is unrealistic.2. The painted-on red tail lights.3. The Condenser Fan Motor cover (roof spoiler) is about 4" too narrow.Instead of completely redoing the coach, I decided to try the "Work with what you got approach" on this unit and freshen it up a bit without spending a lot of time on it. It's not finished yet, as it needs additional lenses and more weathering (and mirrors; Grrrr!). Like my first unit, I wanted to alter the color scheme to a freelanced version that's in my head. BTW: I don't know how or where I put them but I can't find the mirrors for both of the buses, lol! I have many storage trays but I likely threw them in the wrong one. I'll probably find them when I'm not looking for them. Here is the bus in stock form and a photo of a prototype: For those wondering, here's an easy guide that shows with photos how to take apart one of these buses. http://www.barp.ca/bus/models/buschdisassemble/index.htmlAfter disassembly, I painted the bottom skirt panel a custom mix of Polly Scale CSX yellow and SCL Caboose Orange, allowed it to cure, then masked it off. I also took the tires off, and simply wet-coated the wheels with the paint mix. I wanted to the stock green to show through to give the effect of some grime and paint chipping on the wheels. Next, I slowly drilled out the tailight lenses starting with slim drill bits and finishing with larger diameter bits. I would never recommend a Dremel for this. The Pin Vise is much easier to control:
After cleaning out the residue from the lens housings, I carefully wiped off the wall section with isopropyl alcohol several times on a dampened cloth. Next I airbrushed 2 very thin wet coats of medium gloss gray and allowed to cure. Followed up with thin mist coats of Alclad #ALC 119 Airframe Aluminum.
Next, I put the now-Alcladded lower section back in the vise in a vertical position (good idea to apply cloth or masking tape on the jaws of the vise). I next applied "Zap-a-Gap" gel CA adhesive inside of each tail light /brake light housings with a tooth pick. Then carefully picked up each lens and installed. The gel adhesive allowed me enough time to move the MV Lenses around into position. For me, this was the most tedious part of this process. InteriorI remember well that odd aquamarine-green that the NYC Transit authority had in many of their fishbowl buses. Although I'm not modeling the NYC TA I still wanted to capture that basic appearance. I made a mixture of Polly Scale NYC Jade Green 70% with Polly Scale Penn Central Green 30%. To imitate the semi-polished steel grab rails mounted on the seats, I painted the top section Polly Scale Santa Fe Silver. Bumpers: I applied thin coats of clear on the rear bumper of this bus to dull it down a bit while I refinished the front bumper to a duller appearance. From my experience the the front bumper dulls more quickly, while the rear bumpers (inspite of the heat from the engine) seem to keep their reflectivity longer (although in New York they were often banged up from tailgaters.....just like today's buses!I reassembled the unit and took a few shots, including some of my first Busch bus. Notice the stock silver finish of the Yellow fishbowl compared to the unit with the Alclad finish. Both buses have MV Lenses on the rear. I ran out of MV Lenses so I could not do the bottom lights. Here are a few shots with the Condenser Fan Motor Cover (spoiler) removed as it lifts off easily. Many prototype units originally came in this version, with the motor mounted underneath the coach. If you want to model that version, fill in the hole with styrene and body putty. Primer, then paint to match. I plan on purchasing another unit and doing it in that version. BTW: You can alter the Aluminum's appearance (lighter, darker) with the basecoat, just as with passenger rail cars. I hope that this thread is helpful. I still have a ways to go in finishing both of these buses but imho, a little "sprucing up" like this can really make one of these classic transit workhorses stand out in a city or town scene. ;)
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Replying to a question regarding window tinting and other details on GMC fishbowls. I plan on tinting the side passenger windows and adding other details once I finish metalizing the my Budd and PS cars and those of a friend. I'll apply either Alclad's "Black Smoke" or the green "Armoured Glass". From my cobweb laden memory, the fishbowls could be ordered with no tint, a very light "smoked" tint, or green tint. The buses I worked on had a smoke gray tint, but the replacement glasses in our parts department had a light green tint. The windshield was in six pieces. The top two were sometimes tinted, depending on the owner. The 2 large glasses in the middle and the 2 lower glasses were untinted as was the large back window.Remember that these buses were produced from 1959 thru the mid 70s. I salute the Canadians in the GMDD plant for continuing to build them thru the 1980s. The interior/exterior/ options varied greatly in style and color over the years. There are loads of photos available on the internet for references.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a personal note, back in the late 80s my transit system's managers were working hard to dump our remaining fishbowls and Flxible New Look buses. Some of them sold for as little as $3,000 with spare parts included at the public auction! My boss, knowing I was a bus fan, asked me if I wanted one, but I passed on it. They had many miles on them, of course, but were generally in decent shape. I regret now not getting one as I did have space for one at my first house (tiny house, big yard). Fishbowl buses are collector's items now. At that time, it was considered "cool" to be a classic car fan or a hot rodder, but the attitude conveyed by some of my coworkers and friends was basically "Come on Tony, what do you want to do with a bus? Get something like a Camaro or an RX7!" (funny as I already owned a hopped up Firebird, and later a Trans Am) Yet, years later, I found out that there were many bus collectors all over North America that enjoyed restoring and running these pieces of American history just for the fun of it. Lesson learned.
AFAIK, new transit buses in North America starting from I guess the 1980s had no such chrome panels for you to Al-Clad - Flxibles & GMC RTS & Gilligs & Neoplans & New Flyers...almost all have plain 'painted' sides (with advertising/ wraps of course) - have there been any stainless steel modern transit buses - I don't know? If not, then might as well save the Al-Clad for the Pullmans and BuddsYour bus needs some side advertising on it for that true 1970s Transit Agency look...
Hello Chutton,
Thanks for the feedback. Yes I remember the side advertising, especially those horrid "bat wings" that started showing up on NY buses around 1969-70. Funny thing is that when I visited NY in 1983, the batwings were gone and ads removed from the bus sides. I'll keep the ads in mind as I still have quite a bit to do on both coaches. I'll likely be repainting the yellow topped unit.
Respectfully, which chrome panels are you referring to?? There are no chrome panels on these coaches. The exterior corrugated walls were aluminum and the bumpers were, generally, constructed of polished steel or aluminum, depending on the year. The Alclad metalizers can be used to simulate the appearance of any metal, not just stainless steel. Look at the photo of the Alclad bottle. It's Airframe Aluminum , not Chrome nor Stainless Steel. Although many transit companies started painting the sides of these coaches with solid colors and/or were covering them up with decal ads......., cities including San Diego, Boston, Santa Monica, New Orleans, and Toronto soldiered on with unpainted aluminum sides on their fishbowls and New Looks into the 80s.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hercwad/2414973863/
The fishbowls I worked on kept their aluminum sides until 1983.
Rubber bumpers actually started showing up on the Fishbowls as an option during the early 1970s, but became standard later. Yet, many of the Fishbowls and Flxible New Looks built in the earlier years survived well into the 80s with their metal bumpers.
BTW guys,Was going over a bit with a skeptical modeler regarding the bright seat color of the NYC fishbowls back in the 60s and early 70s. Putting into perspective, it was the 1960s-70s and "bright colors" were in. A picture shows it better:Photo by David DePrimo:Yes, that's a bit bold. I'm not exact with my color mix, but I think I came "reasonably close" lol .
Bright colors were used in trains too. In one of my books, a photo is shown of a Penn Central Metroliner club car's interior with bright orange seats for business travelers!
Well, when I wrote 'chrome' or 'stainless', what I should have said is unpainted (or 'natural') metal panels, which can be aluminium as well as stainless (or chrome). Looking at images of 'modern' North American transit buses (since the 1980s), there seem to no longer be such large 'natural' metal (or chrome) - in general a base paint coat of white, with various colored stripes, logos and panels applied (blue and green base coats are also not uncommon). There also seem to be be several models of transit buses offered in light grey in a semi-gloss, but that looks like painted metal (or very possibly molded plastic panels). In other words, for modern (post-1980) buses, put away the Al-Clad and break-out the gloss white and gloss grey (and have lots of colorful decal film on hand).
I took the "bright, colorful" seating you did for you buses in stride - actually, I didn't even notice anything out of the ordinary, as I rode the NYC subway quite a bit as a college student in the late 1980s, early 90s, and colorful plastic seats were certainly the norm (along with long, grey bench seating on the IRT)
Ok, I understand Chutton.
You're correct. In the 80s I saw my favorite buses vanish from my company and watched them be replaced with RTS, Metro, and Gillig coaches along with a few manufacturer "loaners" for testing. Surfaces were all painted. On the newer buses, the plastic seats were colorful but the edges were trimmed in white with the bright color on the centers of the back and bottoms.
You stirred up some memories for me as during a 1991 visit to New York, I was stunned to see NYMTA still running Fishbowls and Flxible New Looks in the Bronx on the route 42. I guessed that they would be headed for the auction block soon, but I was amazed at how incredibly durable those classic buses were.
Since I'm modeling the mid 60s-early 70s period, I'll be getting a few more of the Busch Fishbowls.
Now.........(wishful thinking) I just hope that eventually a lower cost type of "Faller" system will be developed where we can have North American 1/87th models of buses, trucks and automobiles that can be installed on our layouts. I would enjoy having a couple of Fishbowls only, time spaced apart, slowly running in a town and stopping at certain spots, simulating passengers getting on and off.
Antonio,
Wow, you never cease to amaze with your skills & attention to the models.I really like the details of the MV Lens' additions.If it helps, I like to center drill the holes by pricking a starter hole with a heavy sewing needle & then a small drill bit all through, & since I do machining, I have a small center drill (like a counterdsink bit) that I drill in part way. For the bucket (here is the tip) I have 3 differnet sizes of Dremel HSS Ball Burrs that makes an almost exact gluing surface for the MV Lens products, when you sink them to the desired depth. Personally, I had issues with them popping out with CA super glues, & their working time, so I moved to more of a rubber cement based adheasive like Goo & Tacky brands.
Your busses are stellar, very nice work & attention to the details in & out!
Many thanks for the 'How to' & suggestions, Always Welcomed, & often Practiced!!!! (by me!)
I am working on a couple of Walthers 20 foot Container Tankers, & will need to to do some body work on them & add Plano Walkways, when that order arrives.I will post them when I have some progress, one is in the paint removing tub right now.
Thanks again!
Chad,
Thank you very much.
I really appreciate your tips and will use them. Hard to see, but I did slightly damage the left brake light housing (small split) when I used the larger drill bit, but the MV lens covers it well.
I'm looking forward to seeing your work on the Tankers.
Ironcially I have a ball burr tip and had not even considered using it. I'll get additional ball-burrs in various sizes. After I metalize another batch of passenger rail cars, I'm going to finish this bus and probably redo the 1st one. I also plan on buying two more Fishbowls and will use your suggestion for the MV Lenses.
Hopefully I'll still be able to buy MV Lenses as I've read comments on various forums that MV Lenses are hard to find.
There was a rumor going around that Busch stopped producing these buses. AFAIK, that's not true. The Bus in the "Police" paint scheme version has been discontinued but the Busch models in other schemes are available. The cheapest ones are the units in the plain red and plain green schemes, which are in stock at Walthers.
You're welcome!
As for MV Lens, I ordered a big batch of them from Walthers, most said 'out of stock' but they all came in within a month or two.I think they may have been made on demand, who knows, but my entire MV Lens order was completed. Perhaps others will have similar results.
Hey guys,
I posted this on other forums.I recently experienced a "DUH" moment. I actually forgot that I have a Corgi O-Scale Fishbowl that I bought about 12 years ago! It's a commuter bus (note that it has no exit door in the middle). It's been sitting in my living room for years as a decoratiion piece along with my wife's "knick-knacks". Apparently I got so used to this bus that I simply ignored it after a while. As a modeler stated to me "Hiding in plain sight!". I noticed it as I was carrying my HO buses to my room and happened to look down at the shelf near the tv. I took it to take this little group photo.POTENTIAL: I'm thinking now that a Corgi O-scale bus like this would look really nice with an Alclad finish on the aluminum sides and MV lenses for lights. I'd like to redo it in the NYC MTA 2-tone blue scheme (early 1970s) which, imho, is very attractive (no, I won't add graffiti! ). I've added this to my "long term" projects list.
Wow,great job.Is the dark green exterior painted or is that the stock green?
Charlie
Thanks Charlie,
I wanted to keep this as simple as possible so the green sections are stock. My aim was a freelance, 2-tone paint scheme for a fictional transit line on my layout so it was an easy matter of mixing the orange-yellow to compliment the stock green.
Once I finish adding details and weathering, I'll tone down the green's glossy finish with one of Alclad's clears (either the #312 Semi-Matte or #313 Matte) to make it resemble a urethane finish that's at least 5 years old.
Thats just about the way I remember the seats on NYCTA buses.Didnt later New Looks have different color seats?Something like grey towards front of the bus and a pinkish reddish color towards the rear of the bus?
Charlie,
I do vaguely remember seeing the pinkish color you're referring to.
For other selections it depended on how what the particular transit system specked out and ordered. From my understanding, a variety of combinations were available. Tans, browns, and reddish oranges were common as well as the old standby of gray (which goes with anything color-wise). Padded seating was often ordered for commuter and tour run buses . Seating arrangements also varied between transit systems. To maximize standing room "strap-hanger" space, some systems had the seats between the driver and the rear exit door against the windows as in the New York City prototype photo. The saying "Pack em in like sardines!" fit that scenario like a glove in those days.
Photo by David DePrimo: charlieB Thats just about the way I remember the seats on NYCTA buses.Didnt later New Looks have different color seats?Something like grey towards front of the bus and a pinkish reddish color towards the rear of the bus? Charlie
charlieB Thats just about the way I remember the seats on NYCTA buses.Didnt later New Looks have different color seats?Something like grey towards front of the bus and a pinkish reddish color towards the rear of the bus? Charlie
charlieB Thats just about the way I remember the seats on NYCTA buses.Didnt later New Looks have different color seats?Something like grey towards front of the bus and a pinkish reddish color towards the rear of the bus?
BusChat to the Rescue!
The seats on the 1963 and 1964 MABSTOA deliveries were green on the front longitudinals, and pink on the rear forward-facings. On the 1965 and 1966 units, the seats were all-longitudinal, all-green. The seats on the 1963 and 1964 NYCTA deliveries were grey on the front longitudinals, and pink on the rear forward-facings. On the 1966-1968 and 1971 units, the seats were all-longitudinal, all-grey; the exception being the 1969-1970 Flxible order for both NYCTA and MABSTOA, all-longitudinal, all-green.
This was part of a longer discussion thread on BusChat/SubChat which you can find expanded out here
Great,Thank You
Hi guys,
Remember, when drilling out the molded on lights to install MV lenses........take your time.
Part numbers:
A. The brake lenses I used were slightly oversized. For the brake lights (large) use MV LS-281 instead of LS-200, (which is what I used).
B. For the smaller lights use MV #220.
Imho, it's amazing how much MV lenses enhance the look of these classic American coaches.