A Kit-Bashed Fire Station

[absnut]

Bashed Fire Station
Years ago, I accumulated 21 months of full-time fire fighting experience before finishing college plus several years as a volunteer. The result is, of course, I am also a fire buff of sorts. My layout is well protected with seven fire engines, some bashed and scratched, and two fire houses. So, when I saw that a "front" for a city fire station was available that could be bashed with DPM's Hayes Hardware, I jumped at the opportunity to add another fire house to my layout. While waiting for the primer paint to dry, I remembered a time (before N) when I was in HO and scratch built a fire station, detailing the interior to the hilt. I wondered why couldn't I do that in N and so, masochist that I am, I did just that. Realizing N has its limits when it comes to minute details, I did my best to at least "hint" at some of it. Since I model the era during which this type of station existed and I actually worked in the fire departments of the time, I relied on my memory for the detailing. There are still a few details to be added but, it is done enough to find its place on my layout.

Materials used:
DPM Hayes hardware, side and rear walls
Chicago Fire Station front by N Scale Structures Studio
N Scale Structure Studio | Lebanon, PA
Evergreen styrene strips and sheet.
Brass wire.
Model Power people.
Fire Engine by Lineside
Kristal clear for all windows except front.
Emery paper on roof.

I am quite pleased with the extra work and results and, I might just have to build another one to have a new station for my scratch-built hook and ladder. (Still a masochist!)











Dick

[sirenwerks]

Nice job, Dick!

[peteski]

Awesome!  I love the interior details.  You even managed to make that front wall casting look decent. 

[brokemoto]

You have a scratch built hook and ladder?  I have never seen it.  What does it look like?

I do not have a scratch built hook and ladder.  I do have a scratch bashed hook and ladder, though.

Nice job on the firehouse.  I have to do my interior, as well.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I love it!

The bay should have more clutter though. Tons of rolled up hose, uniforms on a rack and "jump-ins" neaxt to the truck. Don't forget to connect a hose to the tail pipe to evacuate the truck's exhaust!

You might also want to put in a hose tower. Fore non-fire nuts, this is little more than a large square chiminey looking thing attached to the station. The tower should have access to the bay, with a long ladder to the top. At the top of the tower there should be a few windows, a loft area and open floor with bars to hang wet hoses from. These date back to the 1800's and even todays modern fire houses have them.
A good spot would be the rear of the alley way, but you would need to knock out the green cabinates inside to cut a door to it.

http://www.natickarts.org/images/centralfirehouse.jpg
Natick's old station one. See the hose tower at the top? the crown of the hose tower would usially hold a series of bells, horns or whistles. This would alert off duty firefighters of a pending calls. These also served as disater warnings after WWII.

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-IH070180.jpg?size=67&uid=8ce638f4-70ad-4889-9ead-130b613249f6
Wellesley's main fire station has a visible hose tower on the front.

[absnut]

Daniel, apparently you didn't read my commentary completely.  I have had a little fire department experience and am familiar with truck room floors which my house captains insisted be neat.  I tried making some rolled up hose to put on a rack but, ran out of finger dexterity for a while so, in the mean time, it's all at central station.  Not that it will be easily visible, I may try it again some day.  Not all sub-stations had hose towers.  I have considered adding one here but, have not made the final decision.  Perhaps it's the memory of standing on a 2" x 6" plank 30 feet in the air hanging 2-1/2" and 1-1/2" hose to dry that keeps me from doin it!    If I do it, the stairway in the truck room will lead to it.  Turnout gear in N scale is another creative problem but, I'm working on it

Phil, my towns are well covered by three fire stations and seven fire engines, kits, bashed, and scratched.  Here's my old time wood, spring loaded "big stick", loosely based on a photo I have and a memory of one I remember from my younger days in Portland. (and I did extend the right-hand bay with an addition in back, presumably to accommodate the aerial ladder).  I have considered getting another "front" so I can scratch or bash a new station for the H&L but, I am running out of real estate on my layout! LOL

EDIT: I found another host for the photo.  Here's another try. 





The whole department:

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Ah, wasn't aware this was a local house.

Man you should see the mess of hoses, gurneys and support equipment behind our ambulances in Natick. Its all need, its just... packed. Every square inch has apparatus or equipment. Of corse this is all post-9/11 grants.

I wonder if you could just print jackets and pants on paper and cut them out. That might look good on a rack.

For rolled hose, I have used .005x.030" strip styrene. I pinch the end with a pair of tweezers and roll it around on a flat surface untill it coils. When it is coiled tightly, i pinch the strip between the center and the outer portion of the coil and hit it quickly with a dab of Tenax. The result looks pretty good for 4" hose.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make coiled attack lines.

[UP4-8-8-4]

   Again Dick, I gotta say you did an unreal job on that fire station.
And the interior is unreal with all the scratch built items !
Your pics shows up a lot better here than the other forum ----------------------- 



Ernie

[craigolio1]

I love it.  It feels like an old house.  I can smell the sausage in the pan and cigar smoke in the kitchen.  I wish my hall had a pool table.

Craig

[joebalto]

 Nice work on the firehouse reminds me of the firehouses that I worked in for the City of Baltimore. The only difference is we had a flag pool off of the second floor over the bay door and we had a round staircase, and that was to prevent the horses from going up stairs in the early 1900's. And another station for just the ladder is not all that out of place, that was what I was stationed out of. Keep up the good work can't wait to see more.

[sirenwerks]

Turnout gear in N scale is another creative problem but, I'm working on it

Brush painting it is tricky (especially yellows), but tinfoil provides the drape-ability to make hook-hung jackets and pants. I did a clothesline once with it. Granted, open, wind-blowing clothes are different than heavy, straight-draped jackets, but it's doable. Boots? Maybe bent tubing for the sleeve and shaped styrene for the foot?

I have done auto body parts (fenders, hoods, and doors) for a parts rack and strewn around a junk yard too using heavy tinfoil. Just burnish it over an existing model, paint it, and be careful placing it. Of course, rough handling adds dents and crumples many junkyard inhabitants have anyway.

BTW, where's the dog?

[sootblower]

Nice work indeed. In Sagle Id at our VFD fire house, we have a tower to hang wet hose to dry , you could do that as well , maybe. use 1/64th inch hemp for the hoses...Our turn outs were aligned along one wall with the names of the firemen over a long bench to sit and grit ..
and our dry hoses are racked against another wall to replece the wet ones once the pumper is back. Keeping the clutter out is paramount to effective FS and saftey.
Still all in all very cool FS absnut.
Paul
former attack capt'n Sagle Valley VFD.

[absnut]

Thanks for the kudos and suggestions, gents.  I did forget the flag pole on this one ( ) but will rectify that shortly.  I will have to get a dog sometime as your comment, Sirenworks, reminded me of our house Dalmation, Spanner, who used to sneak into the convenience store next door and grab a can of Alpo to bring back to the station.  I thought I might keep my eye out for some plastic figures wearing boots....  I could cut the boots off and put them in proper locations where turnout gear was hung.  Aluminum foil sounds interesting.
Joebalto, one of the stations at which I worked was old enough that the bay that held the ladder truck used to be the stable and overhead was where they stored the hay.  Every morning, during housekeeping routines, we dusted the trucks which included dusting hay chaff of the ladder truck!  There seemed to be a never ending supply of it trapped between the floor and ceiling.  I also remember the horse-resistant stairway.
I am still undecided about the hose tower.  Think I'll continue to let the LPP's at central station deal with the wet hose! LOL

[Kev1340]

Excellent job there Dick, it turned out great.

Look out for 10mm wargaming miniatures for a source figures with boots. Pendraken Miniatures have a great range and I think they have a stockist in the USA.

http://pendraken.co.uk/

Cheers,

Kev

[Wardie]

I like it, especially the full interior. I have come back to this thread three times now and noticed new details inside every time. Great Job!