Author Topic: 5705 Fire Starter Set review  (Read 6663 times)

Offline playmofire

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5705 Fire Starter Set review
« on: October 04, 2009, 16:27:32 »
Here's a review, as promised, of the possibly rather unhappily named 5705 Fire Starter Set.  Originally a US edition, it is now available via DS world wide but I imagine without the box.

First, the usual views of the box, front and back, and then small side images.  You'll notice the extra printing on the front of the box explaining or saying how the different parts can be played with.  I think it was Ras who first pointed out that this seems to be a US trait.
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Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2009, 16:34:08 »
Now the remaining two side pictures and then a look at the parts making up the set, starting with an overall view of the parts connected with the actual fire fighting element, and then a close up of the warning sign and the barrier to keep the inevitable crowd back.



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Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2009, 16:53:58 »
The actual fire fighting gear consists of three main pieces of  hardware, a hydrant, a ground monitor (the branch part of which can also be attached directly to a hose and be hand held - I'll post a picture of this later) and a water pump.  The pump is the original version where each press of the pump button squirts out a jet of water rather than the later pressurised pump.  This isn't necessarily a disadvantage as I have found the pressurised system not over reliable in use.  The pump is connected to the hydrant and this is connected to the ground monitor, although there is no reason if you wish why the pump and the ground monitor shouldn't be connected directly to each other.

The ladder is the version from the 3881 jump set except that it is moulded in blue plastic and is rather more flexible than the original grey ladder I have from the 3881 set.  This is because of changes to the constituents of the plastic in recent years.  It consists of three extending lengths, a stabilising hook and a connector for when the ladders is used free-standing (see the picture).  The free standing approach means that one of the extensions is turned upside down and then clipped over the yop of the lower of the two remaining ladder pieces, the two being stabilised by the connector between them.  Unfortunately, this doesn't work too well because the design of the ladder is such that the two pieces do not lock together properly and though this didn't matter too much on the original "stiff" plastic version, with the more flexible plastic the tendency is for the two parts to spring apart.  As we'll see, there is also another disadvantage.
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Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2009, 17:01:57 »
The other disadvantage of setting the ladder up free-standing is that this puts the head of the ladder further away from the person being rescued, as the first picture shows, even reducing the height of the ladder doesn't help as the head is still too far away to reach the balcony rail.  The answer is simply to use the ladder propped against the balcony rail and stabilised by the hook at the head of the top section of the ladder.

Well, I'll take a break here and be back later on.   :wave:
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Offline Richard

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #4 on: October 04, 2009, 18:32:00 »


Great review, Gordon!

I had seen this set. Picked it up. Looked at the box (front and back). Then put it back. And, never thought that I wanted it.

However, after reading your review, it looks like a lot of fun. And, the Playmobil quality is so obvious with your review. To me the box made the set look very shoddy and cheap.

Thanks for showing that this is a really fine set once you get inside the box!

All the best,
Richard

 

Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2009, 19:20:19 »
We'll look at the crew next.  You get three of these, two men and a woman.  The equipment for them consists of a BA (breathing apparatus set), a handheld radio, a megaphone and an equipment belt of some sort.  The crew are wearing the later version of the grey uniform introduced in 1996 with white/cream hands and detachable cuffs to represent work gloves.  The helmet design is the US style, as you'd expect with a set designed originally for the US market.

It's up to you to decide which figure uses which pieces of equipment with one exception - the female figure cannot wear the BA set properly because of her pony tail.  However, if you change her hair style for one without a pony tail, the set fits OK.  When I bought the set the BA cylinder was the original, shorter bodied design and it is still shown as this design in the DS section of the Playmobil website.  However, that design of cylinder has not been available as a DS spare for quite some time, so it may well be that the new, loner, flat-topped cylinder is now used.

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Offline Richard

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2009, 19:26:22 »


I really like the "nostalgic" look of the old style fire helmets. Reminds me of the toy firemen that I played with when I was a child (both chronologically and mentally) ... ;)


Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2009, 19:39:24 »
The final picture of the crew shows the third member wearing the equipment belt.  This is quite fiddly to fasten and so it's probably a case that you decide which figure will wear it and that's that - it stays on that figure.  It needs to be pushed right down to the widest part of the upper body to stop it riding up and getting in the way of the arms.

The final figure is the young lady in need of rescuing, and her cat.  The cat's head/neck moves uo and down, but the tail is fixed.

On to the house next, with a view of the separate parts.  Connections are made with System-X connectors, but there are only four of these.  The connections for the balcony railing are moulded in as part of the piece.
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Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #8 on: October 04, 2009, 19:45:28 »
The two small white circles at the bottom left of the house parts picture in the previous post are used to help "stiffen" the two pavement pieces.  The easiest way to explain this is to show them in use and also show how they "connect" the two pavement sections.

A picture now of the house assembled and then one of the house from behind to show that it is made of a semi-translucent plastic (and is not all that easy to photograph!)
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Offline playmofire

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Re: 5705 Fire Starter Set review
« Reply #9 on: October 04, 2009, 19:54:39 »
The flames and smoke are part of the printed design on the house which in some ways is rather a pity as if they had been stickers they could have been put on in different places and it would have been possible to construct a terrace of, say, three houses with only some of them on fire.

Two overall views of the set showing all the parts together and the rescue well under way followed by a shot showing how the house can be used to keep the smaller parts "under control" to some degree in the box.

Finally, apologies for the quality of some of the photos; it wasn't until I had posted some of them that I realised how dark they were; sorry.   :-[
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”