JLiu15

Thanks! Designing it in Stud.io beforehand definitely helped, as it allowed me to see where everything could go especially with a mix of normal building and SNOT.

UPDATE 8/5/26 After more than three months of work on this MOC, the building process is finally finished. This is probably my most artsy MOC to date, since the entire multicolor livery was made using LEGO elements. I just wished LEGO could make more wedge pieces with no studs, sine areas using lots of wedge pieces are quite studs-heavy. I still need to make custom stickers for it, which shouldn't be a large amount since it's really just the Fairfax Connector logo, the fleet numbers, and the destination signs. I really like how the brick-built livery itself makes it recognizable enough even without any stickers. Unfortunately, I received word recently that all remaining 2008 Orion VII NG buses in Fairfax Connector's fleet have been retired. They've had a good run...but it's about time since they have been in service for 18 years. Now, a new fleet of 2024 and 2025 Gillig Low Floor 29' buses fills the niche these Orions held. Photos:

UPDATE 8/2/26 I've made a lot of progress on the bodywork the past few days! I already had many of the body panels built before getting to this stage, so much of it was simply installing those panels I had already built. The model is definitely starting to look like the real bus now, though the body panels on the left side still need some work. My favorite part is how I captured the entire livery using only LEGO elements; the front end also looks realistic, and I like how the rear grille turned out especially with the angled grille design Orion VII NG buses use. I am still waiting on a few more Bricklink/PAB orders, but I anticipate finishing the built by the middle of this month. Photos:

UPDATE 7/30/26 The roof support frame is complete, with the pneumatics and rear door installed. The L motor drives the compressor and controls the valve for opening and closing the doors, while the M motor switches the two valves that activate either the front or the rear door. It was more complex than running a separate pneumatic circuit for the front and rear doors, but it also allowed for a more compact build. Let me know if you have any suggestions! Photos:

UPDATE 7/14/26 I've completed the front section, with the drivers seat and working steering wheel. All 25 passenger seats are also in place. I took the rims off because I was experimenting with other rim colors (e.g. flat silver), but found metallic silver to still be the best fit. The front passenger door is installed along with its pneumatic mechanism, as well as the front destination sign. The front destination sign is integral to the upper support frame, and the axle the top of the front doors slide along when opening/closing is attached to the destination sign module on one end since space is limited. I've also added the rear engine door. Let me know if you have any suggestions! Photos:

UPDATE 7/3/26 I've started building the chassis of the model. The rear raised section is largely complete with the seats in place. The removable engine model, a Cummins ISL, is largely identical to the one in my New Flyer D60HF model. The PF rechargeable battery box and SBrick are placed into the chassis in a very compact way, with them sitting on either side of the engine model. The drivetrain consists of a single L motor with an almost direct connection to the rear differential with a 12:28 reduction. I am concerned whether or not it will be enough torque, but I shall see as the build progresses. The low floor section, despite only being two studs thick, is very robust thanks to using multiple of this piece as reinforcement. I have everything built up to the steering servo motor so far, which will be connected to the SBrick with a PF extension wire. I had thought of placing the servo motor in the roof frame and transferring its motion via a vertical axle to keep the low floor section completely flat, but I was concerned whether that would introduce too much play to the mechanism. Overall I like how the build is progressing so far; the chassis looks good and is very robust. Note the red axles sticking out from the side - they will be used to attach the body panels, which are red in the rear section. Photos:

I had the opportunity to showcase this MOC at Brickworld Chicago 2026, where it was nominated for Best Land Vehicle. I've added my Brickworld photos to this topic!

I had the opportunity to showcase this MOC at Brickworld Chicago 2026. I've added my Brickworld photos to this topic!

The instructions are now published on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-265143/JLiu15/2005-orion-v-05505-bee-line-bus/#details

Thanks again for the feature!

Thank you 😊 this was definitely one of my favorite bus MOCs so far in terms of looks.

Model of a Westchester County Bee-Line 2005 Orion V (05.505) transit bus. The model uses Power Functions IR remote control for motorized drive, steering, and opening doors. It also includes a Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine behind an openable engine door. Functions/features: Drive Steering Working steering wheel Motorized passenger doors Opening engine door Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine model (removable) Instructions available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-265143/JLiu15/2005-orion-v-05505-bee-line-bus/#details The Bee-Line System, the public transit agency in Westchester County, NY, ordered 21 Orion V (05.505) buses in 2005 numbered 116-136. This order of the 05.505 model, which is 32ft long and 96in wide, succeeded buses 101-115 from 2002 and are the last of this model ever built. At the beginning of their service life, buses 116-129 were operated by Liberty Lines Transit, Inc. while 130-136 were operated by P.T.L.A. Enterprise for routes 16, 18, and 31. The first retirements occurred in 2016, with the first four units (116-119) retiring and two of PTLA’s buses (135 and 136) transferring to Liberty Lines. In 2021, PTLA’s 131-134 were scrapped, and Liberty Lines’ 120-123 were transferred to PTLA to fill the gap. In early 2024, all remaining buses (124-127 and 129) were transferred to PTLA while all other units in the series were retired. These five buses are still active at the time of writing. My model depicts bus 124. When I decided to attend Brickworld Chicago 2026, I wanted to display a smaller bus model next to my New Flyer D60HF model from last year. I had already been wanting to build an Orion V bus model for a while, such as a 2000 05.501 model (40ft long and 102in wide) in Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission livery. However, seeing that Bee-Line is also quite famous for their Orion V buses, especially being one of the last operators of Orion V buses today (they also have a few 2008 05.501 suburban models numbered in the 800s still in operation), I decided to do it in the Bee-Line livery. From the start, I knew that a challenge would be the livery, since their livery includes diagonal stripes that would not translate as well to LEGO pieces. Unlike my previous bus models, I actually started with the bodywork this time in Stud.io, then built the Technic chassis around that. This meant fewer changes to the chassis to attach the bodywork, a revision that was often needed for my prior bus MOCs. I designed the livery to have the horizontal stripes done using LEGO bricks and plates, and I found LEGO blue and bright light orange to match their livery quite well. The diagonal stripes, which continues onto the roof, I decided to make using custom stickers. I first got the idea for this MOC in mid-February; by mid-March, I had a bodywork designed in Stud.io. This was followed by designing the chassis, and in early April I began the building process starting with the chassis. The shorter length of the bus meant that the build had to be compact, but there was enough room in the chassis to fit a PF L motor for propulsion, a PF Servo motor for steering, and a PF AA battery box. Because my PF Rechargeable battery box and SBrick are still in my New Flyer D60HF model, I used PF IR control for this model. In fact, it is my first time using IR control in a MOC since 2020! I was initially concerned whether a single PF L motor would be enough torque, but given that my Airport Crash Tender MOC from 2017 was even larger in terms of dimensions and did fine with a single PF L motor geared 1:3 and then 14:20 at the differential, I decided that the same gearing in the drivetrain was sufficient. It also helped keep the rear stepwell area compact, as the drive motor sits directly adjacent of the stepwell and two L motors may have taken up too much room there. One of my favorite parts about this model is the inclusion of a Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine model connected to the drivetrain, as that is the engine the real-life bus uses (their 2008 units use the Cummins ISL instead). For this, I ordered some sand green Technic pieces to capture the iconic Alpine Green that Detroit Diesel engines are painted in. A notable difference between Detroit Diesel Series 50 and Cummins powered Orion V buses is that those powered by the Series 50 omit the middle seat in the rearmost row due to the larger size of the engine. This meant that I was able to keep the cylinders exposed on my model, so you could see the pistons moving even without removing the engine model from the chassis. The doors use a different mechanism from my previous bus models. On the real-life Orion V, the door leaves protrude significantly from the body when open. A mini linear actuator here would have 3 studs of travel, leaving the door leaves flush with the body when open. I went for one fewer stud of travel range, and used a linkage mechanism driven by a worm gear. The mechanism performed flawlessly despite my initial concerns; I was worried this setup would be more likely to jam when opening and closing. Both the front and rear doors use a PF M motor and a 24T clutch gear is used on each to prevent the motor from stalling when the doors are fully opened/closed. The steering mechanism is set up similar to that of my New Flyer D60HF model, and likewise, a working steering wheel is connected to it. The doors’ motors and the PF IR receivers were placed in the roof, attached to a Technic frame; I was able to blend the IR receivers in almost seamlessly with the rest of the roof, which is largely made using 8x16 tiles. I am overall satisfied with how this MOC turned out, and in some ways, it looks even more realistic than my New Flyer D60HF model. I like how I captured the shaping of the driver’s side windshield, which is sloped to reduce glare for the driver. While there is a slight shade difference between LEGO pieces and the colors printed onto the stickers, from a distance the livery still looks pretty seamless, especially the side stripes. I had fun making the video as well - I also included a few video clips of the real bus taken by Kyle Garcia, a friend of mine on the East Coast. I’m also glad I finished the model while the real bus is still in active service, as I wouldn’t be surprised if the last 5 remaining units are due for retirement very soon. Video: Photos: Brickworld Chicago Photos:

Thanks! The livery is definitely the highlight of this model IMO. I just wish LEGO made more wedge pieces without studs, for a clean finish. At least it's a reminder that it's built with LEGO pieces, lol.

UPDATE 5/2/26 I've made a preliminary design of the bodywork in Stud.io. Overall, I like how well it captures the livery of the real bus, but there were definitely some shortcomings. At the front destination sign, the curves around it on the real bus largely follows the A-pillars, but they look much tighter on my model. The destination sign itself also appears angled down slightly on the real bus; because of this, the destination sign appears to protrude a lot more on the real bus. I tried a variety of slope pieces, arch pieces, wedge plates, etc. but in the end I feel my design at least captures the shaping to an extent even if the proportions look off. Sometimes I do wish LEGO had more angled pieces for more complex curves/angles... As for the roof, I actually used a Google Earth view of Reston Town Center (where many such buses originate/terminate for their RIBS routes) to determine the livery on the roof. This is because very few enthusiasts take photos of buses where the roof is visible. I designed the roof livery using tiles and wedge plates; I'm not sure if my design is 100% accurate, but it seems to capture the general shaping of the yellow/white/red sections. The roof vent is also visible in the Google Earth imagery, although I probably need a close-up view of it to determine the paint used on the grille itself. It appears to be black in the imagery, but I feel it could also be painted red matching the color of that section. I've also put in place the passenger seats; when I rode 9789 I did not closely check the exact seating layout and only got a few photos/videos, but thanks to an auction listing, I was able to model the seating layout. I made a few renderings of the model so far in Stud.io. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Yessssss!! I'm really looking forward to the end result, especially the livery designed entirely with LEGO pieces!! 😁