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Monday, 13 January 2014

New Toys

At the beginning of December whilst on a one of my regular hospital visits, I took the opportunity to visit Poundland, on the way there (and back) and I spotted a couple of fire-fighting vehicles.
The first vehicle, shown on the right,  was one I'd seen several months before but didn't get and had regretted it ever since.



I've made amends now and have actually bought two !
 The second one I have plans to convert at some stage.
The model is nothing remarkable but it does look about the right scale and size against this foundry figure (Sid seems to be off on a holiday break)
The second vehicle I'd never seen before but I was delighted with it and its extending cherry-picker type platform.
You can see on the photographs that the front cabs and the chassis of the vehicles are identical, which to me is a plus.








And just in case you were wondering, the platform does extend and also rotates. The platform cage itself will hold two figures on  20mm bases (just) but is far to narrow for any bigger base size.
There is a slight problem with the joints in the platform as they are very loose and any lead figure sitting in it will cause it to droop, but tightening it up a bit shouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility. 
The final vehicle I picked up was probably the weakest looking of the three as it's just a plain white box with no details on it whatsoever other than the transfers (decals) on the sides and rear.
It wasn't on display on my first visit, but luckily was there on my return.
When I saw it, I didn't have much enthusiasm for it as part of the fire service, but did think it would be useful for something, quite what yet I don't really know, as it will need some work on the rear "box" to make it look useable in some form or other.

After I'd purchased these my thoughts did turn to the fact that I can't find any 28mm sized models of any firefighters although I'm, sure that there are some out there; the only ones I'm aware of is the dire Mega-minis  set. - so along with paramedics there is a gap in the market there.

That's all for this week and as always your comments are both welcomed and appreciated.

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23 comments:

  1. Michael Awdry13 January 2014 at 07:49

    What a series of finds! Absolutely wonderful.

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 08:24

      Thanks Michael, now I only have to get around to painting them

      Delete
  2. Clint13 January 2014 at 07:54

    Yes some very good finds. I think I would just repaint the last one to make it a generic truck as opposed to a fire truck. All three are good finds though and do look the right scale.

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 08:24

      The third vehicle will certainly not be used in its current form.

      Delete
  3. Colgar613 January 2014 at 08:08

    I think I'd repaint the 3rd truck. Maybe add a less-rounded body to it as well (or just remove the body and turn it into a flatbed).

    I believe you're right about firemen and paramedics; I cannot think of any in 28mm either (apart from the old, crude Mega Minis ones, which I wouldn't use myself). Time for some serious conversion work, or throwing a big wad of cash at a competent sculptor!

    Hmm, after writing this, I thought I'd check the GZG website. They *do* have some paramedics, though these are 25mm and may therefore be a little small: http://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/index.php?_a=category&cat_id=122 .

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    1. Colgar613 January 2014 at 08:19

      ...and I was forgetting about Warm Acre, of course. They have paramedics as well as police: http://www.warmacre.com/shop/no-go-zone-police-2/

      Delete
    2. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 08:28

      I'd completely forgotten about the Warm Acre medics too, but you have to buy six figures to get the two I'd want.
      The flatbed idea is a good one and I'll be looking into taking the model apart.

      Delete
  4. lrqan13 January 2014 at 11:29

    Decent models, I think they need a bit of an ink wash or repainting to bring out the detail. They;ll look good in your scenarios.

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 15:34

      They can certainly do with a wash or something to bring out what little detail they have

      Delete
  5. pulpcitizen13 January 2014 at 11:46

    Good find. :)

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 15:34

      And more especially so, as they're cheap !

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  6. Simon Quinton 13 January 2014 at 12:07

    They look good size wise no wonder you could of kicked yourself for not getting it when first spotted.

    Brigade models to some firemen in there Victorian range. Perhaps abit of putty work?

    http://www.brigadegames.com/Victorian-FiremenFirefighting-Club-5_p_787.html

    The only other thing I can think of is converting some EM4 hazmat troopers into firemen.

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 15:35

      I've seen those guys before, but they're rather "gangs of New York" and I'm not that good wqith putty.

      Delete
  7. Vampifan13 January 2014 at 14:39

    Good old Poundland, Joe. Where would we be without it? I like all of your vehicles and I agree that the third one needs a new paint job at the very least. I feel the urge to have a trip into Newcastle to visit the Poundland stores.

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    1. Zabadak13 January 2014 at 15:37

      My wife reckons Poundland is my favourite shop and she's not far wrong.
      Strangely I haven't seen these models in my local shop, stock between branches varies immensely it seems

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    2. Simon Quinton 14 January 2014 at 08:11

      Yep the Soviet Cars still pop up in various places so keep your eyes peeled.

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    3. Zabadak15 January 2014 at 10:18

      You're right Brummie.

      Delete
  8. Nobody66713 January 2014 at 15:45

    Cool trucks, they will make for a good fire fighting group. I love finding the inexpensive vehicles in the right size like that.

    It's too bad there are no really good 28mm firefighters, I keep hoping to run across some right-sized toy firemen (like toy soldiers, but scaled right for 28mm) but no luck.

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    1. Zabadak15 January 2014 at 10:18

      When I've looked at other similar vehicles they've always been way out of my price range. Still looking for suitable US balck n white squad cars

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  9. Zombie Ad14 January 2014 at 04:01

    Nice finds Joe, can't wait to see what you have planned for the fire truck conversion

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    1. Zabadak15 January 2014 at 10:16

      Thanks ZA, I've been given a few ideas to work on.

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  10. Baconfat19 January 2014 at 10:24

    Now you need to make a firehouse to keep all the trucks in.

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    1. Zabadak19 January 2014 at 10:31

      You're right of course and I do already have a card US firehouse in my card terrain file, but it's not on my list of priorities

      Delete