4820 turntable ladder custom work

[playmofire]

I'm trying to keep custom work down to a minimum as in recent years it has got a bit out of hand - all custom and no play, as it were.  However, I have made some changes to the 4820 turntable ladder, partly to make better use of the storage locker, a problem I mentioned in my review here:

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=4263.0

and also to make better storage provision for the hose reel.  In addition, there have been some detailing changes.

Starting with the storage, I fitted a reduced height storage tray below the stretcher.  The tray was simply sanded down with wet "wet and dry" paper until it was shallow enough to fit into the locker while allowing a full depth tray at the bottom containing the road traffic cones, petrol can and chain saw.  I checked progress regularly and once I was sure that the tray was shallow enough to fit in filled with equipment, plus the supporting brackets and the tray of equipment at the bottom of the locker,  I glued the brackets in place.

Here are the photos, starting with a comparison between the original depth of the slide out tray and the finished one after rubbing down and then the equipment carried in the new tray.





Next, the two storage trays in place and then a photo of the lower slid out to show the equipment in it.

[playmofire]

On storage problem was where to put the hose reel as it didn't fit well in the storage locker and now, with the two slide out trays in there, won't fit at all.

I thought of fitting a System-X connector or the rear of the bodywork and then making use of the hose reel cart from the 4825 accessory set, as noodwachter72 did, but decided against this.  Instead, I glued on a modified floodlight bracket (which gave a larger glueing area) and attached a hose reel carrier and hose reel from the 3178 trailer unit.  Small double connector clips fitted to the carrying handles of the hose reel carrier allow the standpipe and hydrant key to be stored with the hose reel.  In practice, the length of hose will just be run out most times rather than dismounting the carrier.

First then, a side view of the whole vehicle:



Then the view the following traffic sees:



And finally for this post, a close-up of the hose reel etc in place.

[playmofire]

Lastly, some detail touches.

I don't like the logo on the new fire equipment so I'm removing it from the roof units by rubbing down with very fine wet "wet and dry" and then polishing the surface up with car polish.  Care is needed so as not to scratch the light lens with the rubbing paper.



I've also fitted the turntable ladder with a fount-mounted winch as this means that it can also act as an emergency crane at incidents.  As the winch replaces the registration plate, I've put the registration number just below the windscreen.  This has also been done with the 4821 pumps as they both have the front-mounted winch fitted.  Some custom work will be needed to allow the winch to be used as a crane, and I'm thinking on how to do that.



The last detail custom is a prototype fitting of a floodlight.  There is a System-X clip on one side of the rescue cage which takes the hose when it is fitted to the monitor.  Currently, however, I've fitted a stretcher handle in the clip and attached a floodlight to it.  It's not ideal, of course, but the hose can still attach to the monitor without using the clip.

[playmofire]

Thank you for looking at these minor customs and any comments would be welcomed, especially on the floodlight and crane customs.

I'm getting the hang of using photobucket, although some of the photos are still too wide to fit without having to use the bar at the bottom of the photos to see all the picture, so a little bit more experimenting is needed still.  Meanwhile, thank you to everyone who gave encouragement and advice which led to me persevering with photobucket.

[flatcat]

The pics look great, Gordon

What you've done is really great! The locker really needed that better storage, and the reel on the back looks fantastic. The spotlight I really like also, as it fits in perfectly, and would be much needed when fire fighting in the dark

I personally am not a fan of the winches on the front of Playmobil fire engines, but I like how you cleverly repositioned the number plate like it would probably be in real life

Damo

[playmofire]

The pics look great, Gordon

What you've done is really great! The locker really needed that better storage, and the reel on the back looks fantastic. The spotlight I really like also, as it fits in perfectly, and would be much needed when fire fighting in the dark

I personally am not a fan of the winches on the front of Playmobil fire engines, but I like how you cleverly repositioned the number plate like it would probably be in real life

Damo

Thank you, Damo, your comments are always appreciated.

Like you, I'm not a great fan of the front-mounted winches but the new ones are a better, smaller design, and I like the operating handle.  One fire fan on klickywelt has cut space in the underbody for the winch itself and drilled a hole in the front bumper through which the winch cable has been fed and the hook then fitted.

[Gis]

Lastly, some detail touches.

I don't like the logo on the new fire equipment so I'm removing it from the roof units by rubbing down with very fine wet "wet and dry" and then polishing the surface up with car polish.  Care is needed so as not to scratch the light lens with the rubbing paper.

I love seeing all the thought and work you put into these to make them better in what they are meant for. Thank you for sharing your pictures I know it's not been easy :-)

As someone not fully imersed in this PM line it would be great to put some before and after pictures like you did with the tray.

I had (have) no clue how the 4820 looks "with" the new logo. I just know it looks great without it :-)

[Abbot Hamilton]

Fantastic custom work as always playmofire

and i much prefer using a hosting site as it allows more detail than the thumbnails. The turntable ladder is fantastic and reminds me of the Scania Metz ladders Strathclyde Fire Brigade used. I've seen a few real close up at house fires when i worked in Glasgow. The detail on the new Playmobil ladders look so much more realistic than the old ladder series, though i still liked those ladders as well.

Abbot Hamilton

[skypurr]

This looks another fantastic and detailed custom Gordon. 
Like Gis says, for us non experts it would be good to see what it looked like before!
I have just noticed one thing which I'm afraid never occurred to me before 
I hadn't realised that the number plates on vehicles showed the year of production and set number - has this always been so?

Elaine

[playmofire]

I love seeing all the thought and work you put into these to make them better in what they are meant for. Thank you for sharing your pictures I know it's not been easy :-)

As someone not fully imersed in this PM line it would be great to put some before and after pictures like you did with the tray.

I had (have) no clue how the 4820 looks "with" the new logo. I just know it looks great without it :-)

Thank you, Gis, for your comments.  I have posted some before and after photos below. 

How about getting immersed in the fire brigade?  Every zoo needs a fire engine!