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This is the Fire Barn Fire Department Shops. Here is where we do our re-fits and custom work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but that doesn't stop us!
NOTE: As I add more pictures, it takes a little longer for the page to load - be patient!
Above you see a Road Champs Chevy Stepvan that has been re-worked into a older style HazMat/Rescue vehicle. The stepvan was a "Cheetos" delivery van with Cheetos and Frito-Lay markings on it. The truck was disassembled and nail polish remover was used to remove the Frito-Lay markings. After that the truck was taped off and the lower half was sprayed "Apple Red" using Rust-Oleum spray paint. The wheels were then swapped out for a set from a Marjorette tractor-trailer, using a set of duals for the rear.
Looking for some roof lights, I found a couple of Chinese-made "Seagrave"? trucks that became donors and after some sanding and some "chrome" paint, the lightbars were mounted to the roof with Superglue. The original side/rear flashers and "scene" lights were made from small squares of adhesive vinyl in red and white. They have been replaced with rhinestones from the craft store.
The headlights, taillights, markers, rear bumper and other details were then spot painted and the truck was completed with home made decals using the name of a small town I live next to. The town is real, but the fire department is not! The door shields are replicas of our township fire department - which is real! This vehicle has the honor of being the FBFD's first kit-bash rig.
FBFD kitbash number 2 is a Road Champs again, this time an International "Snapple" beverage delivery truck. The truck was disassembled and nail polish remover was used to remove the tampo graphics. Then the top was removed from the box of the truck and the box was cut down to cab height and the window openings in the cab were reworked a little bit with a file - tried to give them a little better look.
The top of the cab was taped off and the cab and box were given several coats of "Apple Red" again courtesy of Rust-Oleum. The top of the box was glued on and the cab and box were re-attached to the frame. The "spotlights" on the roof of the box were scratch-built wsing plastic scrap with lenses painted silver. Bumpers, headlights, taillights, and trim were spot painted and home made decals were used to stripe and letter the truck.
The roof lightbars came from two Majorette Sheriff Jeeps one of which was cut in half and used on each rear corner in back. There are two flashers on the grill in front and two on the box in the rear made from red rhinestones. I'm going to keep doing this until I get it right!
What do you do with a "retired" Hess fire truck? FBFD's third kit-bash started life as a 1989 Hess white fire truck that I received as a "parts" truck. The white paint had yellowed, the chrome was in sad shape and it was missing the third section on the ladder.
I disassembled the truck and took the chrome pump panels, wheelwell panels and outriggers and sprayed them with a clear coat. after that dried I sprayed them again, this time with a "chrome" paint. I used the same chrome paint and sprayed the top deck and hose reel areas. The entire body was then sprayed "Apple Red" and the cab was taped off and the lower half sprayed red also. After drying time and a "clean-up" the truck was reassembled.
I decided to make this a FDNY memorial and designed some homemade decals for the truck. These two pictures show the decals in detail.
Kit bash No. 4 was formed from a Boley Seagrave FDNY Memorial pumper. This 1/87 or H.O. scale truck is really a nice looking offering from Boley and if you don't have one, you really should add one to your collection. This truck represents Engine 280 from the St. Johns Pl. firehouse "The Eye of the Storm". This is the "earlier" version of E280's Seagrave with the Company's "flaming skull and hose" shield on the cab doors instead of the FDNY shield.
This was an easy bash that only required removal of the flag and "Dial 911" tampos from the cab and the removal of the "pogo sticks" from the front bumper. Home made decals provided the truck's new numbers, the "Eye of the Storm" shield and the small "F.D.N.Y." letters under the side windows. A little spot painting and you have a pretty fair Engine 280!
Kit bash No. 5 was started by dis-assembling a Johnny Lightning JLPD Ford tow truck (see picture above). Once it is apart, you can see the areas that need to be "Modified". Of course, the biggest thing to be done is to cut the tow body away from the cab. This was done with a Dremel-style tool with a cut-off wheel. You can see the results in the picture below.
After cleaning up the back of the cab where we made our cuts, the cab was test fitted to the frame. At this point the top of the cab is scheduled for a file job to remove the two ribs in the roof-line and to putty the holes that were left after the cab visor was removed. See picture below
The next thing is the construction of "patient box" using some scrap plastic that I had lying around (I know, I'm cheap). Below is a picture of the truck with the new box.
Here is a picture of our rig with a fresh coat of white paint and some red striping. Note the air conditioning unit installed above the cab roof. Now all we need are some decals!
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