WTF is for Wheeled, Towed and Fire-fighting!

The last/rest of the wagons, phew! I do have a few shots still in the Preiser folder, and may do a couple of military round-ups in a week or two, but this is the end of the Preiser 'season', and the last of the wagons donated to the blog by Gary Worsfold, and the last of my words on the subject - for now!

Top right; I could have put this in the pneumatic post, but it's neither agricultural, nor horse-drawn so it goes here as an oddment. The other two were both sent by Gary, one being a petrol engined beast: shouldn't be here at all, but it's such a tiny little thing, and clearly trying to be a wagon; a horseless wagon!

The next few are all from the catalogue as I haven't any of the fire appliances, but they need to be covered to get everything ticked-off. I hate to think what that scene would cost to produce at high-street prices, but when you get the chance (a lottery-win is required!) well worth the effort.

Steam-pump, hand-pump, coal and water, just add fire! These really are lovely little things let-down only by matching horses and drivers, but a little home-conversion would sort that out.

There's a fifth fire appliance, a 'crew-bus'! The wagon top right is perfect for British outline railway layouts, being the same to all intents and purposes as a rag-&-bone cart, or costa-mongers or street-traders wagon, and the sort of thing you'd find down the docks taking things from quay-side to warehouse.

The removal van or pantechnicon is a more European design, similar to the road-workers or construction-site vans or circus wagons, both of which we haven't covered in this season, the site wagons seem to be being phased-out, you don't see them like you used to; in real life or model railway catalogues, but I'm guessing that they are still used for [local?] removals?

Both Roco Minitanks and Preiser used to carry a few of them (we looked at a Preiser for Aristocraft one in an early wagon post here), but other than a couple of office-bodied military ones in Roco's last listing and the Preiser circus ones, they seem to have all but disappeared.

So to the death of horse-drawn transport as a mass feature of everyday life, the Daimler motor-wagen! It's a tiny little thing, fascinating, and explains in part why both horse-flesh-power and electric vehicles were still more numerous before the First World War.

Open-wagon look, central steering wheel, little engine in a box at the back, only two pedals (?) and barely room for three bodies . . . err . . . I mean bags of potatoes! Yet you can see the attraction - imagine Toad of Toad Hall; "Poop poop! Coming-through, no horses, make way for the future, plebs!" I probably should have used WWI figures for the size'ers. Lovely - thank you Gary.

Only for completeness, and very useful for war-gaming, the 17103 is an unpainted kit and provides for a whole street-barricade, not much use against T34/85's but it will slow-down Cuirassiers!

Modern versions of the previous trolleys with electric tugs and hand-barrows.

My final addition to these posts, and the last of Gary's contributions, and arguably the nicest, it's certainly a fine sight. Underneath the logs is the 'standard' Preiser frame and the red cloth is a nice touch, also interesting to find the practice was universal

A few close-ups; when I say it's arguably the nicest, I'm thinking the VIP coach is the better finished, the beer wagon is just 'the best', the post wagon is a dinky little thing, while this has a grandeur by dint of its presence, the obvious weight, the visual length - it needs a team of four I think?

The same log-wagon is currently still available in the catalogue, along with Santa and his sleigh, also two more of the more work-a-day wagons, these both having the older, spoke-wheels, all three would look good busying themselves next to the Matchbox/Revell Flower Class corvette 'down the docks'!

Finally - it's November and Santa has swopped his two horses for four reindeer; he needs four more animals, but only to cover the names Disney invented to accompany Rudolf!

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A few years ago, someone stated that he wouldn't produce a complete list of Preiser as it would run to 100's of pages; actually it currently runs to less than 60 - with all or most of the blanks in place; and I am in the process of completing it for the A-Z entry.

However I have two gaps, one is the very early days (with any additions to the small 3xx series we looked at the other day), the other being the four-number codes from the 1970's/1980's.

Also while I have various lists of Aristo-craft, Bachmann, Faller, E-R, VIP, Vollmer and Walther's/Terminal Hobby Shop products as supplied by Presier, I'm sure they are not all complete. If anyone can help supply scans of old catalogues (mine is PK 12 I think, but in storage now) or listings of early stuff or the mid-four number era, that would help, and all help will be acknowledged when I publish, also you will get my current draft by return.