FIRST DUE FIREHOUSE REPLICAS

About the Owner/Designer/Builder/Author

Andrew Benzie began collecting model emergency vehicles in the 1970s when his grandparents gave him his first Corgi and Dinky toy fire engines. He has an extensive collection and knowledge of Code 3 models, and has published three books on Conrad, Siku, and Tomica emergency vehicles. Andrew currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he runs a design and book publishing company, and plays bass and drums with several local bands.

First Due Firehouse Replicas

Release #18:

FDNY Ladder 8

“Ghostbusters”

The eighteenth release of First Due Firehouse Replicas:

FDNY’s Ladder 8 “Ghostbusters”

Code 3 never released a model of New York City Fire Department’s Ladder 8, however—due to numerous special requests—we are happy to present our model of this beautiful world-famous firehouse made popular by its appearance in Ghostbusters—the eighteenth release from First Due Firehouse Replicas.

About the Firehouse

FDNY Ladder 8’s firehouse is located at 14 North Moore Street at its intersection with Varick Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The firehouse was built in 1903 (after the establishment of the FDNY) at the site of the formerly independent Hook and Ladder Fire Company 8. The building was designed as the first of a series of Beaux-Arts style firehouses by the city superintendent of buildings, Alexander H. Stevens. The building, which originally had two vehicle doors, was halved in size in 1913 after Varick Street was widened.

The firehouse was selected as the base of the “Ghostbusters” for the 1984 film after an early draft of the script envisaged the Ghostbusters as a public service much like the fire department. Reportedly the firehouse was chosen because writer Dan Aykroyd knew the area and liked the building. While the firehouse served as the set for exterior scenes, the interior of the Ghostbusters base was shot in a Los Angeles studio and in Fire Station No. 23, a decommissioned Los Angeles firehouse.

The firehouse has also appeared in the 2005 film Hitch and in episodes of the television series Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother. In 2015, Lego announced a 4,634-piece “Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters” set based on the building, released in January 2016. It is the ninth-largest set ever made by Lego.

In 2011, the firehouse was threatened with closure as the city planned to close 20 fire companies. After a public campaign to save it, supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio and actor Steve Buscemi (a New York City firefighter from 1980 to 1984), the firehouse remained in service. The building underwent a complete renovation between 2016 and 2018 at a cost of $6 million.

Ladder Company 8 was first established as a volunteer company on October 16, 1865, and was quartered at 153 Franklin Street. They moved to their new quarters at 14 North Moore Street on June 18th, 1905.

About the Replica

First Due Firehouse Replicas goes to great lengths to capture as much accuracy and detail as possible within each model we produce. Once the research is completed and a firehouse is chosen to replicate, the process involves taking photographs, creating an architectural building plan, assembling and editing the photos to digital 1:64 scale artwork, printing the artwork on glossy poster-quality paper and mounting the prints to foam-core board. Next the walls are cut out using a professional-quality mat cutter (to achieve 45° angle cuts for joins), and each model is then assembled by hand. Additional exterior details are added including air conditioning units, railings, exhaust vents, etc. Finally, remaining small details are hand-painted, the custom-built apparatus bay doors are installed and the raising of the flag completes each firehouse replica.

Fore more information about this product, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page. If have any further questions, please Contact Us.

Code 3 produced seventeen models (within four distinct release series) of FDNY rear-mount ladder trucks (not included with firehouse purchase). Unfortunately Ladder 8 was never released, however this unit can be easily replicated from an existing Seagrave rear mount model. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in converting existing models.

Ladder 8:

1. •Seagrave Rear Mount Ladder (chassis and body by Code 3, 1999, decals by First Due Shops, 2021)

About the Apparatus

How to Order

You may Place an Order for any of our products online. Once we receive your order we will contact you via email with more information about availability, payment, shipping costs, etc.

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About Us     Firehouse Replicas     Custom Models     Fleet Services     FAQ     Contact/Order

Location:

14 North Moore Street

Manhattan, New York, NY

Years in Service:

1905-present

Companies Quartered:

1. •Ladder 8 (organized 1865, quartered June 1905–present)
   

Videos:

FDNY Ladder 8 “GhostBusters” Responding First Due To Canal Street In Lower Manhattan (Code 3 response, 2014)

Ghostbusters Day 2021—Hook & Ladder 8 Ceremony (movie fan club celebration, 2021)

Release Date:

• June 2022

Dimensions:

• Base width: 6.25 inches

• Base depth: 12 inches

• Building width: 6 inches

• Building depth: 10 inches

• Building height: 10.75 inches

Features Included:

1. •Black base with 2 inch apron in front
   

2. •Removable roof
   

3. •Working apparatus bay door (slide it into any position with the touch of a finger)
   

4. •Flag/Flagpole
   

5. •Printed firehouse fact sheet booklet
   

6. •Apparatus re-number sheet (a poster-printed sheet of apparatus numbers you can use to convert existing models into units quartered in this firehouse)
   

Pricing:

Our introductory price for this firehouse replica is $359 plus shipping (Note: the models of the apparatus are not included). The price covers the cost of the photo-quality prints (starting at about $50), the building materials (various paper, foam, plastic, wood and metal products), and around eight hours of time to construct (not including the many hours of preparatory research and design time spent to create each prototype model). Note: We create each or our replicas by hand—this is NOT a 3D printed or laser cut model.

The Ectomobile, or Ecto-1 (and 1A), is a Miller-Meteor Futura Ambulance/Hearse mounted on a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood Professional Chassis used in the Ghostbusters films.

Ecto–1:

1. •Cadillac (Hot Wheels #DJF42, 2009)

Ecto–1A:

1. •Cadillac (Johnny Lightning #JLSS004-SP, 1996)