GSE Review Pt5: Aeroclassics Sets 3.0

Following on from part 2 in this series I take a look at some of the more obscure Ground Service Equipment (GSE) pieces that appear in Aeroclassics sets less regularly. In the last part we looked at the commonest 8 pieces, which means there are 9 more to go. So let's begin...

For my other GSE reviews in this series see:

GSE Review: Modern Buses
GSE Review Pt1: Gemini Jets Sets
GSE Review Pt2: Dragon Wings
GSE Review Pt3: Aeroclassics Sets 1.0
GSE Review Pt4: Aeroclassics Sets 2.0

By the way since my earlier posts I've come across photos of two of the sets I didn't have shots for. These are the Trans Mediterranean (TMA) set (thanks Akira Hiraco)

and the BEA Red Square set. As I understand it the colouring of the GSE is complete fiction but even so they are nice:

There is also a Swissair set but I haven't seen any photos of it. Anyway onto the remaining GSE items.

Towed Auxiliary Generator

At least that's what I think this is, a unit designed for providing power to aircraft which don't have an APU. It's a nicely detailed little unit that can be towed by the small by the baggage cart in the last part. As you can see this is actually a quite common piece and appears in the following sets:

BEA, Braniff International, British Eagle, Cathay Pacific, Eastern, KLM, Lufthansa, National, Blank, both Northeasts, TWA and United.

Airstairs Truck

This is one of my favourite pieces in the GSE sets. It has a nice feel to it and as you can see below the airstairs move up and down. The truck cab is rather lacking in details like a radiator grill or lights but it has a good shape. As far as I can tell this piece appears in the following sets:

British Eagle, Eastern, Evergreen, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, Northeast Yellowbird, TCA, TMA and United.

Sanitation Truck

This sewage lorry has a lovely old fashioned look to it that matches that of the fuel tanker with a nice radiator, bonnet and lights. I only have a couple of them but it definitely appears in the following sets:

BEA, British Eagle, Eastern, Iran Air, KLM, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, Northeast Yellowbird, TMA and United.

Pushback Tug, Tow Bar and Large Baggage Cart

These three pieces don't appear in many of the smaller sets and indeed I only have an example of the vehicles in the Iranian set (and even then not the tow bar (see the TMA photo above for an example of it)). That's a shame as they are really nice pieces. From what I can tell they appear in the following sets:

Pushback Tug and Tow Bar: Eastern, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, TMA, United

Large Baggage Cart: British Eagle, Eastern, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, TMA, United

Modern Coach

This is easily the largest of all the GSE pieces and in fact seems almost too large. It certainly is very wide, much wider than buses from other GSE sets. It is also very rectangular but nonetheless is still a nice piece. It only appears in a small number of sets - mainly those that have all 17 pieces:

Eastern, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank and United.

Container Loader & Forklift Truck

These are the two most obscure units in the GSE sets. I only own one example of the container loader - from the DHL set. It is another large piece and has two moving decks. Unfortunately it is very fragile and the moving parts easily pop put of place and break, which is a shame. I don't own any forklifts but the piece looks great from the poor photos I have. Especially good is that the forklift moves up and down by the look of things. These two pieces appear in the full sets or those with a cargo bent:

Container Loader: DHL, Eastern, Evergreen, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, TMA and United.

Forklift: DHL, Eastern, Evergreen, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, TMA and United.

In conclusion these Aeroclassics GSE sets are gems. The vehicles are generally excellent though often they tend to fit older dioramas and look a bit out of place alongside A330s. That's hardly a criticism though especially if you collect lots of Aeroclassics! I like the logo work but it would perhaps be nice to have more realistic colouring or even generic colouring (like the ESSO tanker in the DHL set). That's a minor gripe though especially when they often came free with Aeroclassics model sets. It goes without saying that I'd like to see more, especially for the US trunk airlines.