Playing with Fire

Fire Expo

By Michael J. Legeros

 

This month, more modeling with members of the Chesapeake Model Fire Engineers and the Metropolitan Miniature Fire Apparatus Association. As they do every year at the Firehouse Magazine fire expo, they populated the upstairs lobby of the Baltimore Convention Center on the Saturday of the show. Check out some of these amazing kit- and scratch-built apparatus:

     

Jim Church - Norfolk, VA

Vintage apparatus

1:32 scale

    

 

     
 

Jim Clarkson - Lancaster, PA

1948 Mack E pumper, Liberty Fire Company, New Holland, PA

1:32 scale

Scratch-built, including hood and fenders carved from solid PVC fence material


 

 
     

Mel Epstein - Irvington, NJ

Chevy Suburban, Newark, NJ

1:18 scale

Kit-bash of Welly die-cast model


 

 
     

Will Grow - Philadelphia, PA

Horse-drawn apparatus

1:25 scale


 

 
     

Will Grow

Half-track, Philadelphia

1:35 scale

Kit-bashed military model based on actual Philly brush unit


 

 
     

David Gusky - Bear, DE

Hummer crash truck, Summit Regional Airport

1:25 scale

Scratch-built fire body and details


 

 
     

Zoli Honeczy - Bowie, MD

Spartan / Supervan heavy rescue, Middle River, MD (foreground), Pierce heavy rescue, Blades Delaware (background)

1/25 scale

Completely scratch-built (except for wheels and tires)


 

 
     

Joe Horchar - Baltimore, MD

Mack L city service truck built by the late Bob Pumphrey (January 1934 - December 2003)

1:32 scale


 

 
     

Steve Lichtman - Mt. Airy, MD

1970 Miller Meteor Ambulance

1:25 scale

Kit-bashed from a Johan ambulance kit, a resin 1970 Cadillac body, and sheet styrene


 

 
     

Joe Kisser - Baltimore, MD

Kit-bashed fire apparatus fleet

1:87 scale


 

 
     

Ed O'Connell - Cedar Grove, NJ

P. T. Cruiser, Birmingham Hose Company

1:25 scale

Maisto die-cast model kit-bashed as fictional fire chief's car


 

 
     

Paul Richmond - Boca Raton, FL

Apparatus, City of Troy

1/25 scale

Kit-bashed for fictional city


 

 
     

Joe Roberts - Charleston, SC

1984 Emergency One, Boston

1:50 scale

Kit-bashed from a pair of Conrad models


 

 
     

Charles Rowley - West Wareham, MA

1966 Dodge W-300 Power Wagon brush truck once used by West Wareham, and that the modeler once operated

Completely scratch-built


 

 
     

Charles Rowley

1937 Seagrave Aerial Ladder, City of Falls River, MA

1:25 scale

Completely scratch-built


 

 
     

Bob Schierle - Westfield, NJ

Vehicle fire

1:50 scale

With Corgi Dodge / HCB / Angus crash truck


 

 
     

Bob Schierle

1933 Chevrolet high-pressure unit

Kit-bashed, started out as a 1982 Hess truck


 

 
     

Charles Shultz - Baltimore, MD

Baltimore fire apparatus, including (left to right) Rescue 1, a BWI crash truck, and the first Box 414 Association canteen

1:87 scale

Scratch-built from hand-drawn plans


 

 
     

Scott Strandberg - Lexington, MD

Fire Station for Code 3 Collectibles Chief Editions

1:64 scale


 

 
     

Rob Volkert, Sykesville, MD

Rescue tools

1/25 scale


 

     

Whose name did I misspell? What model I incorrectly identify? Let me know. And thanks to Ed O'Connell, who helped with this column.

A version of this column originally appeared at Code 3 Collectibles.


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