Playmobil Aerial Ladder Platform (Fire Service Custom)

[Rasputin]

That must have taken a long time to create . It is so well put together it is hard to distinguish the original and the custom parts . I am having a hard time identifying what is what and where it came from. It is better than Playmobils version .  Thanks for showing your work

[Tim_w]

Hello Bill,

Thank you again for the kind feedback. I forgot to respond to your last message . I thought where you mounted the spotlights was great, it really did stand out and i don't know why i didn't put mine in the same place. I think what i will do is mount a set where you put yours for standard operations and then have a second set on the side of the basket for when its used as a lighting tower. I noticed you mentioned you cut the ends off the rods to hold them in place, that's cheating I thought you said you didn't like to 'fully' customise things Be warned its a downward spiral from now on

Tim

Hello Rasputin,

Thank you very much indeed for the kind words of encouragement. I allways try to disguise the parts i use so its very hard to tell what they were originally I think i can safely say that 100% of this custom was made from original Playmobil parts from many different sources. For an example the cab was taken from the old 'garbage truck', the small ladder is off the first Playmobil fire engine (i used the best bits of two broken ladders), and the hydraulic cylinders are off the 3001 Excavator. I think i have a picture of the original version being made, i will try and dig it out for you.

Tim

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hello Bill,

Thank you again for the kind feedback. I forgot to respond to your last message . I thought where you mounted the spotlights was great, it really did stand out and i don't know why i didn't put mine in the same place. I think what i will do is mount a set where you put yours for standard operations and then have a second set on the side of the basket for when its used as a lighting tower. I noticed you mentioned you cut the ends off the rods to hold them in place, that's cheating I thought you said you didn't like to 'fully' customise things Be warned its a downward spiral from now on

Tim

You might say I'm getting quite daring the more I hang around you  !

[Tim_w]

Hello Everyone ,

I was digging through some old photo's and i came across a few of the ALP from several years ago. These pictures were taken before it was withdrawn from service due poor reliability and cut backs. I must apologise for the quality of the pictures, they are really old and out of focus.

A picture of the cab modifications. The bottom half of an old ladder truck cab was used to make the smaller cab fit into the chassis properly.



This picture shows the first stages of production at our brigade workshops. The cab has been offered up to see how it fits onto the modified chassis. As you can see by the picture there are still a few gaps that need filling in with plastic card.



A picture of the appliance when it was first delivered to my fire service HQ. It was quite revolutionary for its time. Note: The old colour scheme, white ladders and old style ladder rest



After about a year in service the vehicle was sent for a complete strip down and repaint. While it was in the workshops the ladder rest was replaced with a more practical design. After another year in service and due to technical problems the appliance was withdrawn from use and placed in storage.

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hello again Tim! I keep finding myself coming back to this awesome custom's debut !
I was wondering what kind of stabilisers you have ordered for this unit to make it more stable when the ladder is fully extended?
Is it the ones from the crane in Mega set 4084?

[Tim_w]

Hello Bill,

Thank you again for the reply. I haven't sorted the stabilisers out yet but i had considered those you mentioned from the mega set. I only ever saw a small picture of that crane and the stabilisers look huge !! I dont know if i can get hold of them yet but if they are as big as they look in the picture then they are going on the next DS order . I didn't actually know the set number so you have done me a really big favour posting it, thank you Bill !! I am going to have a quick look on PlaymoDB to see if i can find them

Tim

[Bill Blackhurst]

On that same mega set, I noticed what looks like a smaller foldable side access ramp on the transport truck flat bed trailer. Have you seen that also? There looks to be a different colored chain saw in the pickup truck bed too, black & orange .

[FireChief]

Hey Tim,

As usual, great work. I think Rasputin said it best, you make it better than Playmobil can. Everything looks great. I am currently working on another rescue unit, I hope to have it done within the next week or so. I can't wait to show everyone.


- Ben

[Tim_w]

Hello Ben,

As i said in my other reply its great to see you back ! Thank you very much indeed for the kind reply . I think its a big improvement over the old version . I guess the pictures show how old things can be improved and new skills are being learned all the time. I still make quite a few silly mistakes when i am making things

Tim