4821 fire engine

[Rasputin]

Hi Gordon

I have been holding off making any comments due to your request  I see many just could not contain themselfs and I certainly see why. This is a great looking fire truck and I do look forward to getting one new and as many as  possible used for years to come. I have all kinds of ideas for that chassis. I like all the features you clarified in your informative review.

Thanks for taking the secret time to do this 
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

[Gepetto]

I get the look just about everyday when USPS, UPS, or Fed Dex shows up at our door, & the words uttered "now what did you get?" "Don't you already have one of those?"

I think we can all relate to that! 

[Gepetto]

He almost always asks if anything is broken due to all the rattling going on inside  . I just grab the box and go running away yelling "Thankssss!" 
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

I hope you don't go hopping back to your office going "My preciousss! We knows what it is doesn't we!" 


Gepetto

[Richard]

Hi Gordon

I have been holding off making any comments due to your request ...

Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

Oh, yes, Ras ... you're so good ... 

Gordon surely must like you the best ... 

Actually, I beat you to it ... 

Hmmm ... 

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

Gordon probably likes me the best ... 


However, as you so aptly said, Ras ...

It is great to be part of such a silly forum. The world is so serious as it is and "you people" are just silly fun .

Apologies, Gordon ... 

Looking forward to the conclusion of your wonderful review of the 4821 Fire Engine!

All the best,
Richard (the clown)

[WarriorOfToys]

Hello,
I think the fire truck is amazing!!!
It is not my area of collecting, but I can appreciate it all the same as it really is a sight to look at!

I get "the look" all the time too! 
And the unavoidable question "Dont you have one already?" (Mostly for my romans...  )
Can't wait to see more pics!

[Rasputin]

Oh, yes, Ras ... you're so good ... 

Hi Richard

Yes I was the youngest of 3 boys so you can only imagine how "good" I was 

Apologies, Gordon ... 

Looking forward to the conclusion of your wonderful review of the 4821 Fire Engine!

All the best,
Richard (the clown)

I just find these reviews so informative and revealing not only how great these toys are designed but also how much I am addicted to collecting them Thanks Gordon

Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

[playmofire]

I'm looking at the top of the fire engine and the interior fittings today, plus some detail points.

Starting with the top, as you can see in the first photo there are a good number of bits to assemble.  The white chequer plate top is disappointing as a metaillic grey finish as on the wheels would have been more realistic and looked better.  Maybe there is a problem with metallic finishes over large areas as, although the wheels on this model are very good, a ladder supposedly with a metallic finsh I got from DS some time ago looked more like the sort of sparkly finish you sometimes see on party dresses!  (A photo of a wheel is attached to show the high standard of the metallic finish.)

The lighting unit uses the same framework as that on the mechanic's rally trailer, although the working lighting unit can be fitted instead.  On the white top plate, the rearmost System-X hole takes the base of the lighting unit extension poles when the unit is in use, and the larger circular shape to the right of this takes the lighting unit head when it is not in use.

The water monitor is partly new, the "business end" being the same as that on the 3880, but the mounting is anew style incorporating System-X parts which allow the monitor to be lowered flat on to the roof when not in use.  (See the overhead view.)

The last photo shows the lighting unit erected and the water monitor in use.

[playmofire]

The roof for the cab is a welcome development.  The same roof is used for both the pump and the turntable ladder, which is reasonable enough.  In fact, the channel in the centre of the cab roof where the extending ladder rests on the TL is needed when mouting a ladder on the pump.  The cab roof on this example had two pale red scuffs on it behind the blue lights, presumably from movement in the box after packing.  Gently rubbing with T-Cut got rid of these.

Turning to the interior fittings, there are four slide-out trays and two hose reels.  However, there is only one hose, which seems a bit odd.  Presumably, the need to keep costs down is pressing.  The hose reel holders go in the centre topmost space and are held in place by yellow System-X connectors, hence the System-X holes in that compartment.  Beware, the order in which you fit things here is important.  Fit the yellow connectors in place first, then fit the hose reels to the hose reel holders and then fit these to the yellow connectors.  If you fit the holder first and then try and fit the hose reel, you can't do it.  Whether you fit the hose before or after doesn't matter, but I found it easier to fit the hose last.  The hose is the new, semi-translucent sort which first appeared with the firefighter carry case.

The hose reel itself is the new style with only four depressions, rather than the early style with numerous depressions representing where the hose reel is drilled out for lightness.  (The new style is on the left in the third picture and the original is on the right.)  I find that the hose reels out much more easily with the old style reel and so I've fitted these in place of those supplied.

Why they chose yellow for the hose reel holders I can't imagine.  Why not grey or black, or even stay with red?  I've fitted red hose reel holders in place of the yellow ones. 

The placing of the hose reels is a weak point of design.  They would more realistically be place at the bottom of the rear compartment, but I suppose the need for those strengthening trusses in the top middle meant that you couldn't have a slide-out there so realism was compromised for strength and to maximise storage capacity.

[playmofire]

The last post for today looks at the cab interior and some detail points.

The cab is nicely presented with a nicely detailed dashboard.  The fire extinguisher holder is back having vanished from the 3880 cab round about 1999.  Notice that the design of the gear lever shows that this is an automatic gearbox model.

The headlight cluster is a superb piece of injection moulding and though the stickers for the rear lights are well done it would be nice to have plastic rear lights in the future which the owner could press in place, as with the small front-mounted blue lights.

Tomorrow, it's a look at the equipment which comes with the pump.  Some of this has been looked at in detail in another topic, so rather than repeating myself, I'll put a link in to the original topic.

[playmofire]

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?

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.

We were very busy Friday and Saturday and so I didn't have the chance to take the next lot of photos and today it's snowing so the light isn't good.  However, I did manage to provide the answer to Bill's question with a quick bit of not too careful cutting on a spare 3880 cab.  The 4821 roof does fit with a bit of modification to the 3880 cab.  For a really neat job a bit of sanding is needed, but the two photos below show things well enough.