Reader's Digest (1999) 1948 Task Master

Today on Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday we bring yet another in Reader's Digest series of 1/64 scale die-cast fire engines, the 1948 Task Master. The neat thing about fire and emergency vehicles is that there were so many manufacturers who produced them. The uninitiated would perhaps think that only the major auto and truck firms made fire apparatus and emergency vehicle but in point of fact there were a myriad of companies like: Ahrens-Fox, American LaFrance, Ward LaFrance,  Christie, Ford, Garford, Nash, Seagrave, Studebaker, Mack, Stutz, Gramm Bernstein, Maxim, FWD, International, Task Master, Buffalo, Dodge, Packard and so on. It's a lot of fun tracing the development of these fascinating vehicles over the years and one of the neatest ways to do this is collecting miniatures. The Reader's Digest series is great because it doesn't take up a lot of shelf space. Because of its small size it may be lacking in finer detail, but is nevertheless a terrific way to build a collection. Enjoy!

Reader's Digest (1999) 1939 Ward LaFrance

Today on Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday we continue the Reader's Digest series of 1/64 scale die-cast engines. Front and center today: the 1939 Ward LaFrance pumper. Reaching back into my imperfect memory I can remember as a young boy visiting the fire station on the next street over from mine. My uncle was a fireman and was assigned there so occasionally I would visit him. There were two apparatus stationed there, one was a more modern engine (i.e., 1950s era as I grew up in the '50s) and one of them looked a lot like this Reader's Digest engine. I've tried desperately to remember exactly what that engine was and the only thing that really stands out is a) it was a pumper and b) it had an open cab. Oh well, perhaps some day it'll all come back to me in a flash! We Hope you Enjoy it :) The Berg's :)

Reader's Digest (1999) 1919 Pirsch

It's Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday! Well, at least for now while I still have a few to offer. For the next few weeks we're goin' to take a look at the remainder of the Reader's Digest series of 1:64th scale die-cast apparatus'. These were offered as premiums by Reader's Digest for those who renewed subscriptions. I honestly don't have a handle on the years they were offered because many of them are dated 1999 but that may just be the copyright year and the toys may have been held back so as to offer them on an annual basis,  but we can pin it down at least to the 1999-2000 time frame. I also don't know exactly how many were in the series. I have seven vehicles and quite frankly haven't yet seen any more offered but will remain on the lookout. These are terrific little vehicles that are great for the collector who simply doesn't have a lot of room or for the operator of American Flyer S-gauge trains. One of the features I like about the series is that the vehicles  are generically lettered 'No. 1 Fire Dept.'. No worries that these will match up with whatever you've named your layout. Enjoy!

Reader's Digest (2000) Horse Drawn Pumper

AUBURN UPDATE: For those who have been following our Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday's, you know we've spent the past several weeks looking at many of the Auburn Rubber Company's line of vehicles and figures. The series was put on a small hold until I could acquire a few more pieces. Well, those pieces have arrived and hopefully by next week we can resume the series after photos are taken. A couple of the vehicles Auburn made may be left out of the series because quite frankly, they've gotten to be just too pricey and it may be awhile before I'll be able to acquire them - we'll see, you never know, maybe I'll catch a break.

So, in the meantime we'll look at a different line of fire engines (or apparatus' - a more appropriate term), the Reader's Digest line of 1:64 scale die-cast vehicles, made in the late 1990s/early 2000's as premiums for subscriber's. Today's entry is the Horse Drawn Pumper and measures 1 3/8" (3.5cm)  H x 2 3/8" (6cm)L. The apparatus is shown with the pumper engine engine hood raised, ostensibly to reveal the engine. But here's the problem - the engine has minimal detail and is painted black, making it hard to see. It could have been a nice little touch but unfortunately the detail is lost. Each of the vehicles in the line has 'High Speed China' molded underneath the frame. These are terrific vehicles in their own right and are perfectly sized for the person running American Flyer Post-War S-gauge trains. They'll look OK with Marx trains as well but will look awfully dinky around Lionel or MTH unless as background detail. Enjoy!