November 14, 200915 yr Please, I want a full functional bus. Automatic doors, god of hand steering, and pneumatic functionality where the bus tilts to the right for passengers with disability or sulky/pram/buggy like on a real bus. Yeah. Pneumatic front suspension and door opening. I once tried a bus with 82mm wheels, aiming to model a 6-wheel double decker coach with steering on the extra rear wheels. It got a bit unwieldy! At least in such a model there's room for all the Power Functions parts and gearboxes for as many functions as you like, since the luggage compartments don't need to be filled with suitcases! As a potential set, it would need to have enough functions for the money: - steering - extra rear steering - engine - differential - gearbox - pneumatic front suspension with lowering function - pneumatic door opening - make sure it does the action of a REAL door, and closes flush with the body side (not some flimsy cheap attempt). - rear suspension 8 functions meant a price of £100 is possible. A few opening panels just rounds it off with extra bits to fiddle with and allows the builder to see the functions once it's built. Facilitating PF motorization is a must. It would need 2 XL motors for drive and a medium motor for steering. A centring mechanism would be needed for the steering, perhaps using a hockey player spring. Some functions could be done only in a very large bus, too big to be a set. The set size limit would be to use the 62mm wheels from the latest truck, making the bus just big enough for the functions listed above. The recently-introduced Technic panels make it much easier to build a bus. I hope they would be a suitable colour to be used in many MOCs too. Market-wise, would a yellow school bus improve Technic sales in the US? Or should it be a silver Greyhound, with a franchise deal, to achieve a similar effect? A Greyhound would have light bley panels with silver stickers but a yellow school bus would miss out on the extra rear wheels (and 2 functions) worsening value for money. Either would be sufficiently iconic though. Marketing the model functionally would be more difficult, given that the functions are hidden. Catalogue shops don't show the images from the bottom of the box, which are the ones pointing out the functions. Mark
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.