4082 Mega THW set

[pingo]

Hi playmofire
I got the same problem  whit the wheel rims on my THW lighting trailer.

pingo

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hi Martin,
It would be an interesting poll to conduct to see what the "opinion" of the current younger generation is on the subject of volunteering their time toward helping others in times of natural disasters, & inhumane suffering, such as fires, building collapses, etc. It seems its more of a "gimme" attitude floating about!
I volunteered for nearly 20 years on schedules as an EMT/EMT-I, & 8 years as a volunteer firefighter/rescue tech. In dark times of my personal life it gave me purpose, & kept me from making some very bad choices. I think sometimes youngsters have to much idle time on their hands  !
This causes unfavorable consequences!

[LHAAP]

More information about the organisation of the Technisches Hilfswerk can be found here.

In Denmark we have a unit similar to the THW called "Beredskabsstyrelsen" which has the similar tasks.
Denmark has conscription and in this connection 18-year-old men can choose between the Military or the "Beredskabsstyrelsen" for 4-6 months.

[sbblabotw]

Most people start their training at a very young age!

Aha, hence the presence of the children in 4088 - THW Bus.  I wondered about that.

[playmofire]

Aha, kind of like National Service in the UK, that was got rid of back in the 60s.

I can come up with so many reasons why National Service would be good for both the individual and the country they serve, it would be top on my list of things to reinstate if I were in a position to do so.

If anyone's interested in my theory, let me know and I'll start a separate thread.

I think National Service ended in 1958.  I'd be interested in your views, Martin, so let's have a separate thread.

[playmofire]

Aha, hence the presence of the children in 4088 - THW Bus.  I wondered about that.

The German fire service also has a strong young people's section, no doubt because many of the fire brigades are volunteer ones.

[playmofire]

Wow, I'm trying to get my head round why Playmobil would release such a huge set, instead of making it 3 or 4 smaller sets. How many of these do you think actually sell?

I wish Playmobil would offer these items for sale in the USA, but I can understand their marketing prejudice  ! But still,....... I want them  !

The set was produced for Kaufhof, an online retail department store (link here: http://www.galeria-kaufhof.de/sales/aktionen/catdetail.asp so there's no marketing involved by Playmobil or risk for them.  As sets appear on eBay fairly regularly, maybe Kaufhof resell the sets to other sellers.

I'm wondering how the authorities divvy up work between the THW and the regular emergency services, such as the fire brigade. I'm impressed that so many people are willing to put in so much time and effort, and put themselves in the way of danger, with no financial reward.

I imagine through local and national government depending on the scale and type of emergency.

The nearest the UK seems to have got to anything like the THW is the Civil Defence, although that was largely seen as useful during war.  For a time in the 1990s there were Community Defence Advisers (I was one) but I cannot recall any emergency leading to them  being used.

[playmofire]

Now for the truck which is both a dropside and a tipper.  This is the only item in the set which requires stickers, the THW logo above the radiator, the headlights, red and white striping, front and rear number plates and rear lights all being stickers.  The cab roof is removeable for access to the cab and the flashing blue light is also separately removeable.

[playmofire]

With the rear body tipped there is access to a storage area on each side of the chassis.  In addition, although it's not specifically designed with this in mind, there is a central area between the main chassis members which could also be used for storage, e.g. of ropes or cables. 

A word of warning, it is very easy to reach out and pick up the truck by taking hold of either side of the cab roof - don't, it comes off easily!

[playmofire]

To give some idea of the size of the truck, here it is with a crew member posed alongside. 

The cab comfortably takes a crew of two and there is storage for a fire extinguisher and a place for a tow-way radio in the dashboard.

Amongst the accessories is some 90g of "rubble" as a load for the truck or trailer.

A bit premature, here is a photo of the truck and trailer together.