I know someone posted about this a few weeks back, but I also saw the booklet at a local Hallmark and the piece is 100% IDENTICAL to the Athearn Ford C--I mean IDENTICAL! Right down to the axes mounted behind the cab. It says 4 inches long and from the illustration it looks like there is a button on the hosebed which will activate flashing roof and head lights. It's ashame they did black over red. Wish they would have stayed consistent like the other trucks and done straight red. In any event, I bought the first 4 pieces and this is the last one in the set so it will become part of the holiday fleet--plus I feel obligated after I slammed the hell out of the other guys for skipping a year on their Christmas release!

Actually the point of that post was to ask if any of the insiders on the Board know if Athearn granted permission to Hallmark to use the mold? Either they asked or stole it!

John,

What kind of booklet was it that u saw at ur Hallmark store? I was in my store the other day, and they said they didn't have any new literature. This is a very large Hallmark store, so I wud think they wud have the same info....Tks for the help.....PTT

Paul,

It was the Keepsake Ornament Booklet. The one that shows all the 2007 ornaments. I got it at a Hallmark Gold Crown store in Massachusetts. They had a bunch of them behind the counter in plain view. I just asked for it and she gave me one.

John, the maker of the Hallmark ornament is not obligated to ask Athearn for anything. Athearn does not own the rights to that particular Ford only the license to have it produced. The pumper body is most likely generic, so as not to make is specific to any one manufacturer. It is a very good possibility that the maker of the ornament is the same maker of the diecast that Athearn has made for them. I suspect you are correct though, as it is very common for the toy/hobby/collectible industy to buy or aquire one of something, and copy it in another scale. Generally, they think that changing the scale is all that is required, so if there are mistakes on the larger one, the same mistakes are on the smaller one.
Take the Classic Metal Works Ford Crown Victoria police car. Remember the large radio microphone that is very prominent on the dash? Now look at a Welly Ford Crown Victoria in 1/43ish scale. All the features of the CMW are there, right down to that huge microphone. Its very accepted, and in fact, it saves them thousands of dollars of tooling, as they can duplicate something that has alreadby been done. There are only so many foundries in China that can produce the quality of non toy like collectibles. They make a run of HotWheels one day, and a run of cheap toys for Wal Mart the next. So they either had the model right there for comparison, or they made the original and just shrunk it down. Seems to me I remember being told that the maker of last years beautiful Chevy front mount pumper ornament, was also the maker of the large 1/18 scale Chevy trucks. Hope this helps explain it a bit. Rich

Rich.....Interesting comments. If we go back to the 50's and look at the famous Tonka Ford TDA and the Structo TDA, they both used the same aerial ladder assemblies. Always wondered about that one, as I think Tonka was first out of the gate, and probably used their own design. I am sure there are other instances of this.

The previous post was mine. The body is NOT generic, it is a KME. The Athearn pumper model is based on a 1989 KME/Ford which, at last report, was still reserve piece Engine 71A in Riverside County, California.

I still think it is a shame that, to end this series, Hallmark could not have produced another original model.

Location: Owen Sound, Ont.

John Christie...

Just for the record...

I think this year's ornament is based on a piece of fire apparatus made by the Towers Fire Apparatus Company in Illinois...at least that's the information I was able to research for my column...

The Riverside Pumper, I believe, was the first one in the series and was replicated on the C-Series Ford chassis.

Larry Phillips
TOY TRUCKER Magazine

Location: North Dakota

Larry I think you may be confusing the next Athearn release (which I recall was a Towers vehicle) with the Hallmark Ornaments.

This year's Athearn release is based on a Towers model but the Hallmark truck is the Ford C originally based on the Riverside model you are talking about.

John A.

To John A...

Thanks! You're absolutely correct...

The Hallmark 'Bumper Pumper' was LAST Year!

Like I mentioned in an earlier post on another subject, I gotta get off this pain medication! Two weeks to go and it's time for surgery!

Thanks again, John, for setting the record straight...

Larry Phillips
TOY TRUCKER Magazine

Location: North Dakota

Got an e-mail with thge 2007 Hallmark Catalog...here is the web site for it:

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ArticleView?pageName=%2FHallmarkSite%2FKeepsakeOrnaments%2FKeepsakeOrnamentClub%2F2007DreamBook%2F2007_DREAM_ONLINE_01&storeId=10001&mailID=BAE_E_GCC_052407G_V_DreamBook_NA&tabOn=stores&campaign=BAE_E_GCC_052407G_V_DreamBook_NA&catalogId=10051

The fire truck is on Pg. 45.