4089 THW compact loader

[playmofire]

In my review of the 4082 mega THW set I mentioned that the front loader with that set was too big for my purposes and so I later (as in two days later at most!) bought the 4089 compact loader as more appropriate in size.  It also had the advantage that it would fit on a blue vehicle trailer I already had (thank you, Walt-Trains for the measurements).  Not only that, but the blue is pretty much the THW blue.  Again, I bought it under buy it now on eBay, this time from hausmeisterkrause who I can recommend as an international seller.

Usual start with the box front and box back.  I forgot to do these with the contents so they have just been quickly photographed now on my desk - apologies for the quality.

The vehicle is a re-issue of the earlier compact loader but in THW livery.  It is authentic in that the THW use this sort of vehicle.  It's neatly finished with the THW striping and logo printed on, plus rear indicator lights.  Because of the dark blue background the indicator lights look as if they are the result of a double printing process, a white circle first and then the orange and black of the light on top.  This shows up because the lights (particularly the left hand one) have not quite exactly printed over the white under printing.

[playmofire]

A head-on view of the loader.  The knobbled bar above and behind the scoop is a control for operating the scoop and the hydraulic arms.  It appears to operate in something more than three dimensions and planes, or at least it seems to with my co-ordination!  Playmobil not only stimulate the child's imagination, they also develop eye/hand co-ordination.

The movement of the hydraulic pistons on the lifting mechanism is very loose (there is no series of "locking" points as with the front loader) and so I feared that there would be problems keeping the scoop clear of the ground when "driving" with the scoop loaded.  However, a neat bit of design work solves this problem, lugs behind the control bar fitting over a ridge on the front of the cabin roof.

Lastly, meet the driver, complete with removeable work gloves.  Notice how the top of the loader lifts up for easy access to the cab.  (One thing I forgot to mention was how difficult it could be getting the driver into the cab of the front loader in the 4082 set.  More hand/eye co-ordination needed.)

[playmofire]

Accessories are a spade, three warning cones and the triangular warning sign.

Two pictures now showing how well the compact loader fits on the old trailer and what a good match the trailer is for colour. 

All in all, a very neat set which nicely complements the 4082 set.

[Bill Blackhurst]

Excellent review Playmofire, it makes me want that whole collection even more  ! Are you going to get the SUV, Zodiac boat, small officers car, & van in the THW series?

[playmofire]

Excellent review Playmofire, it makes me want that whole collection even more  ! Are you going to get the SUV, Zodiac boat, small officers car, & van in the THW series?

Thanks, Bill, glad you enjoyed it.  Maybe you should treat yourself.

I'm limiting myself to the two sets I have as the other sets either duplicate services my fire brigade can provide (although I am considering buying the boat trailer in bits through DS for my brigade boat as it would free up another blue trailer for possible THW use) or in the case of the officer's car are the wrong time period, hence the planned custom on the old blue family car.

[Bill Blackhurst]

Thanks, Bill, glad you enjoyed it.  Maybe you should treat yourself.

I'm afraid that the prices you discussed for this complete series with shipping to my locale, & my problem of needing 2 of each one of these extraordinary items just because, would cause a wee bit of a problem here! I look forward to seeing your custom officers car!

[Martin Milner]

Very nice set and review Gordon.

I'm not into the digger, but a couple of the smaller parts are very interesting - the yellow handled spade (I'd call this a spade, not a shovel), snd the white gloves.

The spade goes on my list of tools to add to my Fire and Rescue theme, and the gloves would be perfect for the batsmen in a cricket team. The same style in dark blue, black or brown would be ideal for a wicketkeeper's gloves, so these go onto my next list of parts wanted. Red might be best, but they haven't done red yet.

[playmofire]

Very nice set and review Gordon.

I'm not into the digger, but a couple of the smaller parts are very interesting - the yellow handled spade (I'd call this a spade, not a shovel), snd the white gloves.

  I did call it a spade! Spades have an almost flat blade and shovels have raised edges to the blade.

The spade goes on my list of tools to add to my Fire and Rescue theme, and the gloves would be perfect for the batsmen in a cricket team. The same style in dark blue, black or brown would be ideal for a wicketkeeper's gloves, so these go onto my next list of parts wanted. Red might be best, but they haven't done red yet.

Good use for the gloves, Martin.  There already are brown gloves but (although I haven't actually compared them with the white ones) I get the impression that they are bigger, which wouldn't be a problem anyway for a wicketkeeper.

[Martin Milner]

I did call it a spade! Spades have an almost flat blade and shovels have raised edges to the blade.
Good use for the gloves, Martin.  There already are brown gloves but (although I haven't actually compared them with the white ones) I get the impression that they are bigger, which wouldn't be a problem anyway for a wicketkeeper.

My mistake Gordon, it's labelled a shovel in Playmodb and that was what I was referring to.

If the brown gloves are indeed bigger that would be better still. 

[sbblabotw]

My mistake Gordon, it's labelled a shovel in Playmodb and that was what I was referring to.

Picky bunch!  Here, all bases covered: PlaymoDB Parts Containing "shovel"

If the brown gloves are indeed bigger that would be better still. 

They aren't, but probably are still suitable.  PlaymoDB Parts Containing "glove, protective"