Let's just wait and see if someone takes delivery of one of these and see what they have to say before we REALLY bash this model to death! The pictures from PTH on the Code 3 website make the model look a little bit more appealing than the model shown on the C3 website.

I, too, had one of the Corgi ALF tillers back in the early 1970s (I'm "only" 46!) and remember the jeweled headlights and warning lights, and the knobs to raise and lower the ladder. The Code 3 ALF is much nicer, IMHO.

I really think that the excitement is over for a lot of collectors in regards to Code 3 because the "heydays" of years ago are gone, when Code 3 was brand new and we all looked forward to the upcoming models from month to month. I mean, come on, who offered modern Seagrave pumper models in 1/64 scale? Then there were the Seagrave tiller ladders, Seagrave straight sticks, Seagrave ladder-towers, Sutphen pumpers and platforms, Mack CFs, Ford E ambulances, Suburbans, etc., that followed in the years to come, and the rest is history.

It was all brand new to us! No other company ever offered us anything like that. It was exciting. I was right there in the thick of it as well!

We were ALL in a tizzy over these models. And now it's "old hat" to most of us. Nothing is really exciting anymore. We've had our share. "The thrill is gone", like B.B. King says. Maybe our favorite models aren't "up to snuff" as we'd like them to be, but you know what? That's life, unfortunately.

There ARE other things to do in this world than sit around and collect firetruck models and nitpick every little detail about them and think about them night and day as if that's ALL you live for! There's golf, fishing, camping, playing a musical instrument....much more to do than worry about toy firetrucks, guys! Really! Be happy with what you have and live life. It could be a lot worse.

Location: St. Charles County, Mo.

For those that want to see out of the box pics, I have posted 14 photos on Fireengines.net, for those who do not like to visit that site, the photos are also on my site at www.policecarmodels.com
Click on the "Shipping - Ordering & More" section, scroll down, click on "SO / OS", scroll down to the bottom of the page---

Location: Earth

Thanks, Jeff. Not a bad looking rig.

I think that people's expectations are so high these days that when a Code 3 model isn't perfect, they complain about it. They think back to 1997 when the first Code 3 Seagrave pumpers came out and compare them to today, and so their expectations keep growing.

Look at a Code 3 Seagrave from 1997 and compare the hose in the hosebed and the pump panel to a 2010 C3 model: No comparison! The tooling is fantastic compared to 13 years ago. They've come a long way!

When I look at a Code 3 model, or Matchbox, or even one by TWH, I keep one thing in mind: They're a TOY! OK, maybe not exactly a toy, but you know what I mean. They're not going to be exactly, 100% perfect, like the prototype, but close. And that's what we have to live with.

Location: St. Charles County, Mo.

I STILL SAY ...THE PRICE SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!

Location: PA.

I don't think it has anything to do with expectations other that to see that basic things are done right. I agree that the level of detail from C3 when it started was not what it eventually evolved to but that is not the issue with this piece. Fundamental mistakes like the windshield wipers and size of the scaling ladders are things that should be picked up at the design stage and corrected. That's just plain sloppy work.

Location: Wareham, MA