Author Topic: 4821 fire engine  (Read 16729 times)

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
4821 fire engine
« on: February 15, 2010, 15:47:15 »
The new fire engines have arrived in the UK and I picked up a 4821 today from my local toyshop where they'd kindly put one on one side for me when the stock came in.  I'm pretty busy at the moment preparing a talk for next month, so I'm assembling the new buy a bit each day and taking photos for this review at the same time.  I'll be posting the review day by day, too, so if any comments are saved until it's complete that will be good.  I plan to do two other topics, one comparing the 4821 with the 3880 it replaces and the other looking at some simple customs that can be carried out on the 4821 largely by adding different bits and pieces.

So to start, the box pictures.  The box itself is large enough to take the fire engine when its all assembled which helps with storage later, and there is room in it for other fire accessories.  The box is the design where there is a lid hinged at the back of the box.

The front of the box is just a general picture of the fire engine, while the back shows the usual picture of the items in the set.

The pictures on the end of the box are just repeats of the front, but there are three detail pictures on the sides. 
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2010, 16:17:22 »
We start here with the third of the pictures on the side of the box and then show the contents of the box.  As you can see, there are a fair number of packets of bits and pieces and inside some of the larger packets are smaller packets with parts in.

The first job is to fit the tyres on to the wheels and then the wheels on to the stub axles.  The wheels have a moulding which I have noticed before where the wheels and tyres come separately which looks as if it were meant to represent where the tyre valve would project.  However, it is on the inside of the wheel!  It would be interesting to know what Playmobil had in mind when the wheels were designed with this on them.

The tyres are treaded and have the name Playmobil moulded on them together with the tyre size.  I'll check the dimensions to see if they refer to the actual model tyre.
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”

Online Jimbo

  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 1396
  • Gender: Male
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2010, 16:29:06 »
Wow!  Very impressive fire engine.

Thanks for the pictures, Playmofire

Best regards,
Jimbo

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2010, 16:41:01 »
The stub axles will only fit on the chassis one way and this is with a small "click" projection facing upwards (see picture).  This isn't clear from the instructions as the picture is too small to show the detail of the stub axle.

The chassis is a general purpose one as there are three possible points where the rear stub axles can be fitted.  In the case of the 4821, the stub axles fit in the middle of the three possible fixing points.

The last stage for today is fitting the chassis into the body.  This is designed for the rear to be positioned in place first and then the front just slips in place as the chassis unit is pressed down.

The 4821 uses the new RC system (I think it's new, Playmobil seem to have used at least three RC systems so far, this, I think, being the third).  The chassis is removed, the wheels taken off and fitted to the RC unit, and this is then slotted in in place of the chassis.  I've attached a scan of the instructions showing the assembled RC unit (the RC unit comes in four pieces which are fastened together with yellow System-X connectors).

Finally for today, there is a top view of the main body unit showing the rectangular space in the body which  is there for strengthening as the sides and ends act as trusses to support the top.   Tomorrow we should make more progress as it's just fitting equipment by and large from now on.
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”

Offline Gepetto

  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 1776
  • Gender: Male
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2010, 16:42:03 »
Thanks Gordon, looking forward to the rest of the review, sure does have a lot of parts!  :wave:

Offline Bill Blackhurst

  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 6158
  • Gender: Male
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2010, 18:54:52 »
Great new set & review, Gordon! Thank you! Can you check & see if the new 4821 roof with lights would fit the retired 3880 engines with minimum modifications?
« Last Edit: February 15, 2010, 19:51:44 by Bill Blackhurst »
  Forget about all of the other stuff,....all we need is the reintroduction of the 3526 Fire Engine!

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2010, 18:57:30 »
Great new set & review, Gordon! Thank you! Can you check & see if the new 4821 roof with lights fit the retired 3880 engines with minimum modifications?

Something I've already started looking into, Bill.  The short answer is "No", but I'll expand further when I compare the 4821 and 3880 in a new topic.
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”

Offline Giorginetto

  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 7846
  • Gender: Male
  • Playmobil Aficionado
    • TheGiorginetto channel
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2010, 19:10:14 »
Great set and review. Fire engines have come a looong way since the 3236 fire engine set ,  ;D ;D ;D. The detail is great in these fire engines and they look faboulus!!
:knight: Steck is Holy . Bring back more steck sets and its guardians , the Nuremberg Guards :knight:

Offline Richard

  • Retired Playmobil
  • Wargamer
  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 4965
  • Gender: Male
    • Garden Wargaming
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2010, 12:39:34 »



I'll be posting the review day by day, too, so if any comments are saved until it's complete that will be good.



Hmmm ...  :hmm:

Doesn't seem like any of us have honored your request, Gordon ...  :-[



The 4821 uses the new RC system (I think it's new, Playmobil seem to have used at least three RC systems so far, this, I think, being the third).  The chassis is removed, the wheels taken off and fitted to the RC unit, and this is then slotted in in place of the chassis.  I've attached a scan of the instructions showing the assembled RC unit (the RC unit comes in four pieces which are fastened together with yellow System-X connectors).



Will you be fitting the 4821 fire engine with the new RC System, Gordon?
If so, please let us know how it works!

All the best,
Richard

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
Re: 4821 fire engine
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2010, 12:51:55 »


Hmmm ...  :hmm:

Doesn't seem like any of us have honored your request, Gordon ...  :-[

No problem, Richard.   :)

Will you be fitting the 4821 fire engine with the new RC System, Gordon?
If so, please let us know how it works!

It's another £35 and I'm not sure I want to spend that much on something I may not use all that much. 

All the best,
Richard

“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”