Tomytec - Painted & Anything Model Bus Related

[serotta1972]

I'm a big fan of buses though I have not gone down the collecting route as of yet but after discovering this thread it's just a matter of time. I have fond memories of riding buses in the Philippines when we would travel to Manila from our province. Still today when I go to the Philippines I prefer to travel by bus instead of a private car. I love the different colorful liveries of the different bus companies. I am very very close to purchasing my first set of buses.

[cteno4]

Uh oh serrotta, do you know what you are getting yourself into? ;-P

 

whole subculture of collecting! But at least they take up less space than the trains!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited September 2, 2015 by cteno4

[korat]

The Toei buses are indeed addicting; I'm looking to get a few more soon, and probably the universal bus storage case as well when it comes out. Hopefully Tomytec come out with a big-headlight Toei Hino Blue Ribbon II at some point too.

[serotta1972]

Uh oh serrotta, do you know what you are getting yourself into? ;-P

 

whole subculture of collecting! But at least they take up less space than the trains!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

At one point I wanted to collect the Corgi 1:50 buses and they use to carry them at Franciscan Hobbies in SF thinking they would take up less space than trains, then I had HO.  Ah yes these Tomytec buses will be taking up much less space and can be hidden. 

[cteno4]

And there are the tomytec and other bus buildings so you can also easily make some nice little bus dioramas! Then get a moving bus set and a whole nother place to sink some cash! They even have nice storage cases for the bus sets!

 

Lucky you missed they hay day of tomytec vehicle collections of like 5-6 years back when a new vehicle (cars, trucks, busses, construction) set of 12-36 vehicles was rolling out every couple of months!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[serotta1972]

I just ordered my first set of buses. I don't really know what I'm getting myself into but let's see where it goes.

 

The Bus Collection Hiroshima Bus Center Set A (3-Car Set) (Model Train)

[JR 500系]

I just ordered my first set of buses. I don't really know what I'm getting myself into but let's see where it goes.

 

The Bus Collection Hiroshima Bus Center Set A (3-Car Set) (Model Train)

 

Nice!

 

You'll never know what hit you.... Haha ~~  :)

 

These buses are great for collection. I once thought of concentrating only on buses as it seems to be a cheaper idea than trains and require a much smaller layout size, but I couldn't resist the trains either so...

[korat]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this, as it (for now) only relates to prototype buses, but Isuzu announced a major update of the Erga last month, the first since it debuted in 2000. It seems to also apply to the Hino Blue Ribbon II as well. The new models are the (QRG/QPG/QKG/QDG)-LV290N1 and Q1. N1 is 5.3m wheelbase/10.43m OAL and Q1 is 6.0m/11.13m OAL. From what I gather, the main differences from previous models are:
 
- Wheelbase is now longer relative to the bus (less overhang, more non-step accessible interior space.) The 5.3m LV290N1 is essentially the same length as older non-step 4.8m wheelbase Ergas.
- Floor height is higher than current non-step but lower than one-step buses.
- The LV290 is only available in non-step.

- 2 length options - the 11.13m LV290Q1 fits between older 10.925m non-step and 11.28m one-/two-step models.
- HID headlights and a restyled front end, with a more Blue Ribbon II-ish setup of 1 headlight per side.
- Fuel tank relocated to above the front left wheel well. This goes along with some refinements to priority seats and wheelchair space that I can't quite make sense of. Interior lighting seems to now be LED, too.
- ~600kg weight reduction. (Not sure compared to what.)
- New 184kW engine (4HK1-TCS), which I think is a 4-cylinder, common-rail fuel-injected, two-stage turbo-diesel. (?)
- Option of (both 6-speed) automatic or new semi-automatic transmissions.
 
Press release: http://www.isuzu.co.jp/press/2015/8_18erga.html
Information page: http://www.isuzu.co.jp/cv/env/car/bus_d7.html
More information pages (menu on left): http://www.isuzu.co.jp/product/bus/erga_rt/index.html
Wheelbase comparison photos: LV290N1 (Isuzu interior layout page); LV234L3 (Twitter user @minbus65; source post)

 

Not sure how Tomytec chassis will or won't work with these if they decide to model them, as I'm not really up to speed on those.

Edited September 26, 2015 by korat

[JR 500系]

That's interesting! Thanks for sharing!

 

No wonder there seems to be a longer wheel base version of the Isuzu Erga recently released:

 

 

 

 

<JB027>ジェイアールバス東北
いすゞエルガ　ワンステップバス
型式:QKG-LV234N3
実車ホイールベース5300mm

 

 

This Erga bus also seems to be very long in wheel base:

 

   

<JB024>遠州鉄道
いすゞエルガワンステップバス
型式：PKG-LV234Q2
実車ホイールベース5800ｍｍ

 

The JB024 has a 5.8m body space... Amazingly long ~

 

I love these buses! They just look so nice! But the cake of all buses is definitely in my opinion the Enoden Enokun Bus:

 

The original

 

 

The model

 

Isnt it beautiful?  :)

[serotta1972]

I just received my first set of buses and I am blown away by the beautiful paint work and detail.  As I do with my trains, I will just be buying what looks nice and available and in time will learn more about their regions and companies that run them.  I am very excited.  One of my favorite movie is "Speed" and it probably has something to do with the bus.

[JR 500系]

Dang... Here's another set that Toni san would be able to get and collect and I would not be able to and can only drool at....

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/news/20151013/index.html

 

[ToniBabelony]

Dang... Here's another set that Toni san would be able to get and collect and I would not be able to and can only drool at....

I have a little plan to actually get in line for these the 24th at Hiratsuka, seeing it's not too far from where I live and I'll be going to the JMRA in Kamata that day as well. Maybe I can get a few more than I need. ;)

[JR 500系]

I have a little plan to actually get in line for these the 24th at Hiratsuka, seeing it's not too far from where I live and I'll be going to the JMRA in Kamata that day as well. Maybe I can get a few more than I need. ;)

 

Nice ~~~ :)  I think you get an idea what to do?  :P

[korat]

I updated my Toei spreadsheet with some more information (registration plate number, destination board, set release date, etc.)

 

First sheet is new and for buses with the 1982-2013 "knuckle line" white/green/beige color scheme. Second sheet is an updated version for buses in 1997-present non-step white/green/orange. I originally planned to do the older ('51, '59, '68, and '80) schemes as well, but gave up as there's not much information available going that far back.

 

A note - "Toei Bus Successive Color Set" is 都営バス歴代カラーセット. I couldn't find a less awkward translation; other sets are more straightforward. Also, the release date on this set seems to differ a few months depending on who you ask, so it might not be accurate.

 

With this, it turns out I have all the currently-released Toei buses I want. This frees me up to continue my never-ending pursuit of a solo K102 (Nara Kotsu 724) - I don't need or want the other bus in the set. It seems (understandably) quite rare for sellers to split up 2-car original sets - I got lucky and picked up a K091 recently, but I've yet to see a K102 for sale alone.

 

(I know JB028 is coming out, but it's just not quite the same - Nara Kotsu 634 is a one-step 5.8m wheelbase bus rather than a non-step 5.3.)

 

Edit: Also, less positively, just found out that the suspicions I had about the accuracy of my Osaka city bus (a U-MP618K from Bus Collection 13) were correct. I'll give them a pass on the silver wheel hubs (I don't think they're prototypical, but I suppose they could've been fitted at some point), but the front registration plate is in the wrong place and the front bumper has molded-in fog lamps that shouldn't be there. Another Osaka U-MP618K released 1.5 years earlier in an original set had the exact same mistakes and Tomytec never bothered correcting them. Disappointing.

Edited October 29, 2015 by korat

[JR 500系]

Amazing work Korat san! And I thought I was the only one. Salute!

 

Yap you're right about that K102... I have that 2 bus set, but for the sake of collection I would like to keep them whole. I know what you mean, I recently picked up the 都バスオリジナル 2 only because I wanted the K013 いすゞ エルガ（type-Bノンステップ）[CNG] and is not a huge fan of bonnet buses... But like you said it will be very difficult to find the K013 alone, or any of the buses in thee 2/ 3 bus sets alone for sale...

 

I did recently however, got lucky with this set, 都営バスブルーリボンセット, N006 - N010

 

I'm a huge Toei bus fan!

 

By the way, not sure if I had shared this before but here is a really impressive list of the Tomytec buses and their corresponding serial numbers, including the rare 'K' 事業者特注限定品 type:

 

http://dc-crafts.main.jp/trm/bus-colle/lineup.html

[JR 500系]

Oh wow Tomytec just announced a new painted bus!

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/items/pdf/newitem_20151112_03.pdf

 

What's with this Ultimate Nipako recently?

 

It seems to be some kind of a plier tool?

 

Also, the price is kinda serious, 1800 yen for 1 bus...

Edited November 12, 2015 by JR 500系

[cteno4]

Some nice clean and flat nippers for cutting off parts from sprews or cutting small plastic stock quickly. Look nice!

[JR 500系]

Hihi all!

 

Need some help...

 

I've been working with decals recently and I was wondering, if there was a template of Tomytec bus models much like this:

 

 

Available? Because I suck at painting and I know most of these beautiful self-modelled buses are done by hand painted:

 

 

 

 

 

*Credits to the owner of this blog: http://trmexe2.exblog.jp/i3/

 

I've been following his blog for sometime now and I must say the buses he made are LENGENDARY.... They are all so beautiful!

 

I'm trying to make a short-cut by getting a template in and working on the graphics, then printing them out on decal paper and pasting them on the non-coloured bus models... I know the decals wouldn't look as nice as what he did, but at least it works for a guy who sucks at painting....

 

Any ideas?   :)

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Jr500,

 

yes this will work. only issue with printing your own decals is doing any white in the decal image since printers dont print white!

 

if you print on clear decal stock then you will need to have any white bit of your image on the decal go over something that is white on your bus, otherwise its just whatever color is on the bus.

 

you can print on white decal paper and this helps, but if your outside edges or any internal bits need to show the bus thru (like the characters alone w/o background) then you are sunk as anyplace w/o image will be white. this works well if you are doing a rectangular picture as you can just trim it down.

 

some have tried to match the color on their background with the printer so that you print on white decal stock and cover up the white. but these never seem to quite match totally. edges too are an issue a little.

 

professional decals go on clear decal stock and use either silk screening with white ink or use a dye sublimation printer that can print white...

 

decaling tiny like this also involves proper softening of the decal t make sure it flows over all the physical detail on the model as well as finish clear coat to seal and hide edges well. decaling like this is a real art. Best to take some cheap busses and practice and dont get discouraged if the first few dont come out, its one of those things that practice really helps at! its the gentle art of teasing the decal into place, not forcing it! I did gobs of decals when i was young on plastic models. nothing like putting in huge amounts of work on a model and screwing up the last stage of putting on the decals! so again practice practice practice! Youtube is your friend as gobs of videos on the basics and tricks to watch and those are work thousands of words!

 

a few small tools that help:

 

A decal tray also helps to lift decals out of the water when too large to easily grasp flat with tweezers. larger decals will want to flop around and stick to itself like tape and this helps pull the decal out of the water flat and slide it onto your model

http://hlj.com/product/WAVHT-201/Sup

 

smooth tweezers. sharp edged or tipped tweezers can poke holes in and tear decal film so better to use a flatter, rounder tipped tweezer to grab them. ive also used plastic tweezers and sanded the edges smooth (and you dont want any teeth/serrations in the tweezer!). bent ones can also make it easier to grab them floating on the water.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-BST-36A-Stainless-Steel-Bent-head-Matte-Tweezers-Maintenance-Tool-/371160817075?hash=item566ae89db3:g:tLgAAOSw-jhUKnZX

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4Pcs-Stainless-Steel-Tweezers-Set-Crafts-Electronic-Jewellery-Maintenance-Tool-/381060727503?hash=item58b8fd42cf:g:k2IAAOSwofxUbwai

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHIC-Smart-All-Purpose-Precision-Tweezer-Set-Stainless-Steel-Anti-Static-Tool-/231666062552?var=&hash=item35f05f94d8:m:mmz7_4vHkkqFPfEmKrrmSbQ

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-13-Flat-and-Round-Tweezer-Stainless-Steel-For-Phone-Laptop-Repair-Tools-/231721378870?hash=item35f3aba436:g:feUAAOSwAYtWH4ow

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Plastic-False-Eyelash-Extension-Applicator-Remover-Tweezer-Nipper-Beauty-Tool-/281675865001?var=&hash=item4195309ba9:m:mTX2zdv-bu0zsKeHVZF4rdg

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-Plastic-Heat-Resistant-Straight-Bend-Anti-static-Tool-Tweezer-7pcs-5Y-/281783198309?hash=item419b966265:g:mAcAAOSwd0BV3ZxJ

 

makup sponges and brushes to help set things in proper place and remove excess water. adding water to float a decal to move it with a brush is better than trying to pick at it with tweezers to pull it which can lead to tearing and poking holes in the decals.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Women-10Pcs-Makeup-Double-end-Eye-Shadow-Eyeliner-Brush-Sponge-Applicator-Tool/201456824262?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D34293%26meid%3D8fe0108ddb8141c79bb189d016be43b9%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D201397378823

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pcs-Makeup-Disposable-Lip-Brush-Wands-Applicator-Lip-Gloss-Cosmetic-Tools-HG-/261984700327?hash=item3cff8147a7:g:wHYAAOSwT6pVuPfR

 

Fine brush set. this will help move the decal around, brush out bubbles etc. cheap nail set like this does great to give a good selection of tips

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15-pcs-Set-Pink-Nail-Art-Paint-Dot-Draw-Pen-Brush-for-UV-Gel-diy-Makeup-Tool-/271968982200?hash=item3f529d54b8:g:L3gAAOSwLVZV2t2n

 

Did he hand paint those at N scale? i am totally amazed if he did as the detail is just stunning.

[korat]

From some older posts, it seems that the author masks/airbrushes large color areas and uses an ALPS MD-5500 printer to custom-make decals. (I'm impressed they manage to match decal and paint colors.) I suspect certain small details like black wheel well edges may be hand-painted, but it's hard to know without reading the blog.

[katoftw]

Yes if you want to do the properly. You'd have to do the bus a complete base colour and then use clear decals with prints over the top.

[JR 500系]

Thanks for the feedback guys and especially Jeff for the detailed description with links! Tools ARE addictive...

 

I think the best way will still be painting them, as it can cover all the crooks and crannies of the model like the doors and wheel arches and front etc.. which stickers will prove to de really difficult...

 

I am just amazed how the guy painted his buses to be SO beautiful... A printer was used? I guess so as it CAN'T be that he painted so perfectly especially on the Snoopy bus and the wordings on the Kanchu buses...

 

Now where might I be able to find these transparent decals like he used on the Yamate buses?

 

I really hope to try this out one day when I brave myself for the worst and be prepared to lose one 'unpainted' bus model...

Edited November 20, 2015 by JR 500系

[kvp]

 

I'm impressed they manage to match decal and paint colors.

One trick i've seen is to use refillable printer cartridges and use the same ink to paint the model that you use in the printer.

 

Another idea is to print to transparent decal film and paint any white areas underneath before adding the decal. It only works if the white is surrounded by a relatively large border of printable colors. Also, some decal printers actually support white paint.

 

I think it's also possible to create rub on transfers at home and it's possible to get them in white. At least one hungarian hobby shop also creates custom sheets if the pattern is supplied to them by the customer.

 

Fourth option is to use a 3D surface capable UV cured inkjet printer. My Fleischmann M62 got its front printed this way, so it's considered commercial/production level these days. It's not as nice as pad printing, but comes close and you can print in any color, including white.

[cteno4]

You are welcome. good thing about these tools is they are cheap if you poke around ebay!

 

You can get white in decals and transfers, but it takes some real doing. there was some white powder you could use on clear decals to make white, actually have a bottle of the stuff but no directions for it (surplus box from a friend). there is a system that lets you put down foils and white, but its a pretty complex little proceedure and also a couple of hundred bucks for some equipment.

 

The ALPS dye sublimation printers are the ones coveted by decal makers. they can print white (and silver and gold) and work great for decals. usually starts around $25 for a sheet of printed decals. 

 

the 3D inkjet is really coming along and improving! its how they do some of the real trains and busses with a huge frame they just put up against the side of the vehicle. does 3D scanning to judge how to paint.

 

i have the laser toner transfer paper that works pretty well. its works the same as clear decals. you print the color toner onto a carrier film with a layer of adhesive. then you have to cut out the decal as close as possible to the image and rub the toner down. the adhesive layer is thin so goes over things well, but you need to cut close to the edges as adhesive is there. clear coat helps this edge effect and they come out as good or better than waterslide decals on some irregular surfaces. I did some Tama images like this to do a tama portram and the test came out well (ill see if i can find the test photos).

 

they also have decal film you can color laserprint on which saves you clear coating the inkjet printed decals before applying (ink comes off in water w/o it!).

 

You can get the decals down into the tiny crevasses and over bumps. after applying the decal you apply softener to get the decal to suck down onto the surface. sometimes on larger bumps you may need to slice the decal a bit and soften.

 

making the decals is pretty easy once you have the images! just practice.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[korat]

I missed this as I wasn't expecting this to happen until this month, but as of a couple weeks ago, the new-generation LV290/KV290 Ergas/Blue Ribbon IIs I mentioned on the last page have already started delivery to (among probably others):

 

Keisei

Kokusai Kogyo

Seibu

Hokutetsu

Miyako Kotsu

Kintetsu

Nara Kotsu