Showcase Miniatures' Announcements

[cfritschle]

I have not seen an official announcement yet (I am guessing the "official" announcement was at the National N Scale Convention in Nashville), but Showcase Miniatures has three new vehicle kits listed on their website.  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/n_scale/n_scale_vehicles/

SKU 146 is a Pierce Class pumper truck:  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/n_scale/n_scale_vehicles/146.html

SKU 147 is a 1990's Volvo/White WG single axle tractor:  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/n_scale/n_scale_vehicles/147.html

SKU 148 is a 1990's Volvo/White WG tandem axle tractor:  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/n_scale/n_scale_vehicles/148.html

Nice!

Edit:  I did not notice at first that the kit comes with two etched stainless steel grilles.  One grille is for the White-GMC version of the truck (approximately 1988-95), and the other grille is for the Volvo version of the truck (approximately 1996-2001).  I am having difficulty finding with any certainty the exact model year the grille changed. 

[bman]

If the wiki is correct Volvo bought out GM's stake in their joint venture in 1997 and branded the trucks Volvo. One of the regional LTL companies I worked for had 1995 White GMC badged tractors. We did start getting Volvo badged tractors in the late 1990's or even early 2000's.  I don't remember the exact year. The wiki is an interesting read for sure.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Motor_Company

[sirenwerks]

Showcase rocks, even if these will never see my layout because they're too modern.  I hope we'll see more 60s/70s era offerings soon.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I'm pretty sure the grill changed with the Volvo takeover of White-GMC in 1996. Models before that time have the vertical slots with White-GMC and a diagonal keeper. After that it featured the central Volvo logo.


That Pierce Pumper though - I'm all over that!

[Ike the BN Freak]

That Pierce pumper, anyone have a rough idea of the era of it?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

That Pierce pumper, anyone have a rough idea of the era of it?

I believe the cab was introduced in the early-mid 90's. Here is a 1992 model with a similar cab:
https://www.firetruckmall.com/AvailableTruck/13461/1992-Pierce-Lance-Pumper
The AC may be a late addition and the pump may be a re-body.

COEs like this go back further into the 1980's. Many of the older 2nd hand trucks you see today have been rebuilt at some point. A major modification was to fully enclose the cab. This was done in mass in the early 2000's as nerf bar restraining devices were banned and a fully enclosed cab helped keep the weather out. Many fire departments had extra money due to Homeland Security grants. The second reason behind enclosed cabs was it could be used as a rehab in a pinch. Thats where you'll see AC units attached to the cab.

The body is fairly upright and compact. The end is squared off. Hoses are covered. equipment panels are roll up rather than swing out. This indicates it was probably based on a 2000-2010's prototype. To backdate, I would do the following:

Remove the roof top AC.
Remove the secondary AC over the pump unit - I'm not sure why this has both, but it could be an air compressor for air supply.
Flip the etched roll up doors around to make swing-out doors.
Open up the hose bed from the top.

That would bring it back to roughly the mid 90's. If you wnat to backdate it further, you can:
Open up the small cab windows.
modify the radiator opening.
Add angle sheet to the rear of the hose bed like this - http://firetruckresource.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/IMG_4166-876x535.jpg

That would bring it close to a very early 90's version:
https://www.firetruckmall.com/AvailableTruck/12836/1990-Pierce-Lance-Pumper

This design had very long legs in general.

[Ike the BN Freak]

Thanks Daniel, looks like a fairly easy mods to make it fit 92-94 era I model.