Which Bus is Better?

mikersoft

Hey everyone.. My son has been asking for a bus for our LEGO town, and I agree that we need one. I'm looking at picking up either #7641 or #8404 as a Christmas present.

Any opinions one way or the other? Obviously, they're very similar. I'm leaning toward #7641 because it looks more like a regular city bus compared to #8404, which appears to be a commuter bus.

Aside from appearances, any design or playability points that might make one nicer than the other? Thanks...

Also, if any of the friendly neighborhood resellers have an extra at a decent price, please PM me (box condition not very important)
:-)

-Mike

prof1515

7461 is more like a city transit bus while 8404 reminds me more of a cross-country transit/charter bus (think Greyhound).

bluemoose

They are both nice models, with similar play features. The 'public transport' coach is a bit bigger, and has storage space in the sides. It's meant to be a longer-range intercity or touring coach/bus.

For a 'tabletown' Lego city, I would have thought the 'city corner' bus would be the best fit. I remember that lots of customers were asking if Lego would sell the bus on its own when this set was out. It is a very nice little model.

Both models are configured for left-hand drive; if that's an issue, both can be converted to right-hand drive; it's trivial for the 'public transport' coach (just swap the drivers seat & steering wheel - there's already a door on both sides), but it requires a bit of a rebuilding for the 'city corner' bus to move the doors to the other side (iirc I just built a mirrored version of the one in the instructions).

Instructions for both are available through links on the main site, so you could Bricklink the parts and build in your local bus company's colours?

Crazyaddict

8404 can be bought for msrp from bricklink. You probably just need to pay extra for shipping.

beegeedee

7461 is a decent set and is probably more affordable and also fits in with #8403 as well - if I recall it shows interchanging the building sections between the 2. I've been looking for 8404 for a while at a good price as well.

lovelego

i like the 7461 set. The set integrated very well into my other city modulars like GE, PS and FB. If your son is still to young to enjoy the modulars mentioned, this set is in a way a small introduction to that. It has a bus stop, bike shop and a small pizzaria which is cool

mikersoft

Thanks for the comments... I'm going to hunt for a decent priced 7641.

-Mike