Curiosity Questions

Hi John :

I have this old Greyhound bus around somewhere and it may be around 1/60 scale or so. I will try and find it and check if it's a Corgi.

They should be compatible. I have a similar issue with my use of 1/72 scale airplanes on my 1/64 scale train layout. One thing to keep in mind concerns dioramas using both 1/43 scale cars and 1/50 scale buses is the placement of people. For example, a group of 1/43 scale people may, or may not, look good close to a bus. From my experience with Corgi military models, they do have nice models.

Mike, I just looked over at my Tootsietoy shelf and found, I think, one like yours.  Wieland & Force in TOOTSIETOYS- WORLD'S FIRST DIECAST MODELS 2nd Edition, p. 88 has a picture of it and the caption "1957 GM Greyhound Scenicruiser Bus, 6 inch."  

  Obviously, the was not the first Greyhound bus built by Tootsie!  And here's my favorite, a cast iron ARCADE Greyhound of about 9 inches, dating 1938-1941.  Many of these were sold in bus stations.

  I just checked eBay for Corgi Greyhound bus and found several, at least two different versions, commonly referred to as 1/50, and priced in the $20 to $50 range.  Happy hunting!

Posted by: @jcarnutz

1st, is anyone familiar with the line of Corgi buses?

How does the 1:50 scale compare to 1:43? Are they compatible?

I have a number of the Corgi (and other) buses in 1:50 and quite like them.   Here is a ACF Brill from circa 1948 by American Heritage Series.  All below are 1/50th.

And a Corgi GM "new look" AKA fishbowl,  transit bus. (circa 1963)  I sent Corgi detailed multi view photos of the 1:1 for a Santa Monica California livery idea and they reproduced it, but never sent me a free one.  😒

And a Corgi Scenicruiser (1954) along with a GM PD 4106 bus (circa 1966) in resin I picked up decades ago at a toy show and did the final painting and decaling.

And finally a Corgi GM "old look"  and an MTH model of a GM PD3751, AKA "silver sides" circa 1948.

And the best one, my transportation to high school,  a custom 1965 Gillig school bus I created using a Corgi old look as shown above.

@john-quilter 

Very nice models.

Posted by: @jcarnutz

1st, is anyone familiar with the line of Corgi buses?

How does the 1:50 scale compare to 1:43? Are they compatible?

I think they are quite nice for the price point. They do seem a bit small, especially when compared to a 1:43 truck from IXO. I can send you one to look at if you like...I have a few floating around. Let me know if you would like some comparison photos with 1:43 vehicles.

Comparison shots for the heck of it...

Then there are also Iconic Replicas buses at 1:43 scale: https://www.iconic-replicas.com/buses

(this link shows 1:43 and 1:87 mixed together randomly). I can get these for you as well.

IXO just put out a pretty nice 1:43 school bus. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more American buses from them. I have seen it in both IXO and Hachette packaging.

@daveg 

Thanks for the comparison photos. They do look interesting; the size may not be too bad. I have several IXO bus models already. So, I will have to look at them some more.

I really like the “O” scale bus from MTM and displays well with my 1:43 collection.  I also use a Corgi 1/50 classic truck in my fall display

and 1/50 Mac truck, also a Corgi, in my Christmas tree train (On30) along with a few 1:43 cars and pickups and Dept56 houses.  As a side note the Dept 56 figures a a little large for O scale but still make a nice display. 

Those newer Corgi buses are nice!  I have a few packed away. Tekno in the 1960-70s made 1/43 cars and 1/50 buses.  They were extremely well made and detailed but still basically toys.  Went together very well!  Lincoln Continental and Scania city bus.

In 2008 I bought this Corgi Flxible Clipper at the AACA museum - the real one was parked inside.

@mg-harv I was there the other day and saw the green Forrest Gump bus from the movie, very cool! 😎

Posted by: @jcarnutz

1st, is anyone familiar with the line of Corgi buses?

How does the 1:50 scale compare to 1:43? Are they compatible?

The short answer is no. But if you place the 1:50th scale buses in a background they may be OK. Heavy commercials, including buses, in 1:50th/1:48th are a legacy from toy vehicle manufacturers because at a smaller scale they could be made to a price point to enable them to sell. Where a company like Spot-On tried to have all their vehicles to scale, in this case, 1:42nd they were not a commercial success. Fortunately, back in the day Corgi/Dinky produced their cars in all sorts of scales and some provided a neat fit with their 1:48th scale commercials.