1960s Greyhound Bus Diecast 1:87 Scale: Collector Guide & Value

Bureau Classification Preamble

This record has been filed under Docket 1:87-GHD-60s, subcategory: Intercity Passenger Conveyance, Civilian, Non-Military, Predominantly Blue. The Bureau has reviewed the submitted vehicle and determined it to be a subject of considerable collector interest, moderate identification complexity, and an unreasonable number of stripe variants that have caused significant interdepartmental friction since 1987.

History of the Real Vehicle

The Scenicruiser Era and the Americanization of Distance

The vehicle in question traces its most significant lineage to the GM PD 4501 Scenicruiser, introduced in 1954 and operated by Greyhound Lines through the early 1960s. Built by General Motors' Truck and Coach Division, the Scenicruiser represented a genuine engineering ambition: a bi-level intercity coach with a raised rear observation deck, twin 4-53 Detroit Diesel engines, and an overall length of 40 feet that made it, for a brief period, the most recognizable vehicle on American highways not driven by a cowboy.

By the mid-1960s, Greyhound was transitioning toward the MC-series coaches built by Motor Coach Industries, a Canadian firm that would eventually dominate the North American intercity bus market entirely. The MC-5 and MC-7 variants served Greyhound through the late 1960s and into the 1970s, offering a lower, cleaner silhouette that photographers found easier to fit into a single frame. The Bureau notes this approvingly.

The Livery Question

Greyhound's iconic blue-and-white livery with the running greyhound logo underwent multiple revisions across the decade. The mid-1960s saw the introduction of the "highway traveler" styling with bold blue bands and a more stylized dog, replacing the older, rounder logo that collectors refer to, incorrectly and persistently, as "the fat dog." The Bureau has issued three formal corrections on this matter and expects to issue more.

Notable Diecast Manufacturers

Rietze and the German School of Bus Accuracy

The most significant producer of 1:87 Greyhound bus models for the collector market is Rietze, a German manufacturer based in Altdorf bei Nürnberg. Rietze has produced multiple iterations of American intercity coaches in 1:87 scale, including livery-accurate Greyhound releases that have become the Bureau-preferred reference standard for stripe verification disputes. Their casting quality is high, their livery research is thorough, and their packaging is distressingly difficult to open without causing damage.

Wiking, another German 1:87 specialist with roots in the postwar era, produced American bus models during the mid-20th century, though their Greyhound-specific releases are less numerous and more loosely interpreted. A Wiking Greyhound from the 1960s or 1970s is a legitimate collector artifact, though the Bureau recommends examining the dog logo carefully, as Wiking occasionally exercised creative liberties the actual Greyhound Corporation did not sanction.

American and Other International Producers

Corgi, operating out of Wales, produced a number of American-market bus models in larger scales, but their 1:87 Greyhound output is limited and not considered definitive by the Bureau's Standards Committee. Aurora, the American plastic model kit manufacturer, produced Greyhound coach kits in approximately 1:87 during the 1960s that are now collectible in their own right as artifacts of the model kit era, provided the builder did not apply the decals crooked, which most did.

Collector Value

What Makes a Good Example

In 1:87 scale Greyhound bus collecting, condition of the livery printing is the primary value driver. The running greyhound tampo or decal must be crisp, unflaked, and correctly centered — a bus with a smeared or ghost-printed dog is considered distressed inventory by Bureau standards and should be priced accordingly. Wheel condition matters significantly in this scale, as the small diameter of 1:87 wheels makes replacement difficult and reproduction parts nearly impossible to source without an argument.

What Drives Price

Original box presence adds meaningful value to any 1:87 Greyhound release, particularly for Rietze models where the box identifies the specific prototype and livery era. A boxed Rietze MC-series Greyhound in the 1960s highway livery commands a premium in the $25–$60 range depending on condition and platform, while loose unboxed examples in good condition typically trade between $12 and $30. Rare promotional releases produced directly for Greyhound corporate use exist in small numbers and should be regarded with equal parts enthusiasm and documentary skepticism.

Limited production runs tied to specific regional liveries — including trial schemes applied to small fleets in the American South and West — represent the ceiling of this collecting category. The Bureau declines to publish specific prices for these variants, as the last time it did so, a citizen filed a formal grievance that consumed fourteen months of departmental calendar.

Bureau Field Notes

Pop Culture, Racing History, and Other Disturbances

The Greyhound Scenicruiser appeared in a substantial number of Hollywood productions between 1955 and 1970, functioning as shorthand for American mobility, working-class transit, and the particular kind of journey that ends with someone reconsidering their choices. Its presence in films including Midnight Cowboy (1969) contributed to its cultural permanence and, collaterally, to the diecast collectibility of the prototype.

The Bureau is aware of no formal racing history involving the Greyhound Scenicruiser and considers this appropriate. It is a 40-foot intercity coach with twin diesel engines and a top speed of approximately 75 miles per hour. Any racing would be unsanctioned and the Bureau would not cover it under existing docket classifications.

Collectors are advised that the 1:87 scale, also known as HO scale, was not originally designed for diecast vehicles. It was designed for model railroads. The Bureau raises this point not to discourage anyone, but to maintain an accurate record of how things began before they became something else entirely.