4180 Carry Case Firefighter

[playmofire]

I'd looked at the Carry Case Firefighter a number of times after it became available in the UK, but it was Martin's review of the Carry case Knight which led to me buying the set.

Like the other Carry Case items, the set is made in the Czech Republic, i.e. the pieces are packed there and maybe some assembly minor work undertaken.  The carry case itself has a card outer over it showing the contents, the back of the outer showing these in the usual formal Playmobil layout.  The case itself is nicely made of, appropriately, red plastic and the interior compartments are large enough to take the items requiring assembly such as the portable pump and barriers in their assembled form.

[playmofire]

The firefighter comes with full firefighting personal equipment in the form of yellow helmet with visor, work gloves, and BA (breathing apparatus) gear.  The work gloves are not some I have seen before and are in a fluorescent yellow and look as if they are maybe from one of the new underwater theme sets.  Strangely enough, the figure still has white hands and so could have had the usual white add-on cuffs to represent work gloves (as does the new fireman Special reviewed here - link to follow). 

The BA cylinder is the new style, which again, I think, comes from an underwater set.  With it's extra length and flat top it more truly reflects the BA cylinders used in Germany, but, doesn't fit well in the old BA harness.  However, a slight trimming of the projection on the harness does allow a better fit. 

As well as the BA set, the face mask from the early firefighter figures is also included.  However, this is not a good fit and easily slips out of line.  The plastic seems much softer than the older versions of the face mask and this may be the reason for the poor fit.  Possibly the piece is softer because of the changes made recently to the constituents of the plastic.

The standard firefighter's axe is also amongst the equipment provided, along with the cutters from the 3880 set.

[playmofire]

For use when off duty, a brimmed cap is provided, while for use at, for example, road traffic accidents, a reflective orange safety jacket is included.  This is actually a life jacket from the customs boat set.

Other safety gear consists of two cones, a warning sign and a barrier with four orange lights.

[playmofire]

A good selection of fire fighting equipment is provided, two lengths of hose, four hose connectors (two straight and two bent), a hose connector, a hose branch and branch stand, a hydrant, a portable pump and a ceiling hook.  As you can see form the photos, there are a number of ways in which the different items can be combined.

Lastly, there is a selection of miscellaneous items in the form of communications equipment (two-way radio and loud hailer), forcible entry gear (sledge hammer and large crowbar) and scene safety equipment (brush and shovel), plus a pickaxe.

I paid £7.99 for the set, but I have seen it as cheap as £6.99 and as dear as £8.99.  Overall, at the two lower prices I'd rate it good value for money and offering good play value.

[Gepetto]

Thank you for the review Playmofire! I had wondered about that set, but since I didn't know what most of the items were I didn't know if it really was a good value or not, good price here is $7.99-$9.99 for the series.



Gepetto