K15 Merryweather Fire Engine

[Brad Pittiful]

was looking for something yesterday and found a box that had some models in it...one was the K15 merryweather fire engine...so wanting to learn more on this model i checked here to get some info on it and found there wasnt a thread on this model...mine is missing tires...missing some labels...missing the inner ladder...the outer ladder is a bit bent...missing a bell...this model doenst to seem to have a lot of play wear but the ladder sure got damaged from the little amount play it had

a couple pics for ya

[Tinman]

Tis a wee bit more about the model here: http://www.vintagebritishdiecasts.co.uk/kings/k15-1.htm

[Brad Pittiful]

i saw that numerous times and when i was about to make this thread...here is the description from that link

The Lesney Matchbox King-Size K-15 Merryweather Turntable Fire Escape joined the range in 1964, It had a red painted body and ladder turntable with a grey metal lower ladder and a grey plastic upper ladder, The cab was fitted with green plastic windows and was enhanced with silver trim to the front bumper, headlights and radiator grille, Shield decals were applied to the doors along with 'Kent Fire Brigade' to the sides of the body and 'No.18' to the sides of the cab, On the final issues labels replaced the decals and the red paint found on the labelled versions is a shade lighter than the earlier issues, Two gold coloured bells were attached to the roof and a gold coloured control panel was fixed to the turntable, The hubs were red plastic fitted with black plastic tyres, In 1970/71 the model was converted to superfast wheels, It was later recoloured to metallic red and it was also released as a 'Big MX' set complete with a plastic burning building, The Big MX sets are quite hard to find, It was packaged in E and F type boxes, The F type box was a window box that can be with or without a header card attached. The model was finally deleted in 1973 to make way for the Londoner bus.

i underlined a mistake...nick wrote an 18 instead of a 15

also i was on ebay looking at these...and noticed...a mix of decals and labels on models...most i saw was shield decal and number label and kent fire brigade label

also the shield decal location on the door has an outline where the decal goes and later ones like the model i have has no outline where the shield decal/label goes...im sure there are more variations but i only have one of these models and it is missing things

i know Nick is a busy guy and i wonder if he will ever do a comprehensive major pack and king size guide like he did for the regular wheels...citing all the variations...i think it would be a valuable asset to our hobby

[Idris]

I wonder if he will ever do a comprehensive major pack and king size guide like he did for the regular wheels...citing all the variations...i think it would be a valuable asset to our hobby

I understand that one of our number other than Nick is currently working on draft Major Pack variation listings which will, one day, be presented on this Forum on a regular basis (e.g. fortnightly, monthly) for comment and finalisation.
There is no reason why anyone interested should not do the same for e.g. Accessory pack or King Size. Even if it's only one model, it will help enormously and add to our knowledge.

[Brad Pittiful]

wow cool...cant wait to see the finished result of the major pack guide

i still consider myself a novice in the hobby and would love to help out...but i do not have many majors or king size...i just got the ones i had as a kid...one model...then i ventured to get a few more...but mostly just a single example...how would one go about making a good guide with out but one variation of that model?

[Diecast]

There is a lot of unlisted variations on the K15a Merryweather Fire Engine. There are both painting and casting variations. Perhaps it will help someday to Nick by compiling a new list of the King Size variations (similar to Regular Wheels)
Antonin
First the most visible variations:
a) silver trim to grille & headlights and front bumper
b) silver trim to grille & headlights

[Diecast]

a) light grey ladder
b) darker grey ladder

[Diecast]

a) bright red body
b) darker red body

[Diecast]

a) with red hydrosleeve
b) with black hydrosleeve

[Diecast]

a) without towguide
b) with towguide