Out of curiosity, I am wondering why the compartment door latches on the Athearn Ford C/John Bean/FMC "Short Fire Truck" are oval shaped instead of the traditional round or square shaped. I thought that the oval latches would put it in a certain time period, but after looking at several pictures on the internet of John Bean/FMC fire trucks from the 1950's through the 1980's I saw rigs with square and round latches and none with the oval latches.

If anyone knows the answer as to the oval latches I'd appreciate it. Just curious is all.