FIRST DUE FIREHOUSE REPLICAS

Website by Andrew Benzie Creative Design.

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 #37:

FDNY Rescue 5/Engine 160

“Blue Thunder”/“The Hillbillies”

The thirty-seventh release of First Due Firehouse Replicas:

FDNY’s Rescue 5/Engine 160 “Blue Thunder/The Hillbillies”

FDNY’s Rescue 5 was originally organized on May 16th, 1948. They were disbanded on June 1st, 1962 and reorganized on August 20th, 1984. The firehouse they share with Engine 160, Division 8 and Tactical Support Unit 2 in the Concord section of Staten Island was designed by Macdonald & Reddy in 1915—the thirty-seventh release by First Due Firehouse Replicas.

About the Firehouse

Rescue 5, known as “Blue Thunder,” responds on all 10-75’s (working fires) in Staten Island and South Brooklyn from their classically designed three-story firehouse. Rescue 5 is a scuba-trained unit as well as a backup hazmat support unit—several rescue boats are stored outside the firehouse.

In 2015 Engine 160 celebrated their 100th anniversary. Engine 160 was given the nickname “The Hillbillies” as they cover areas on Staten Island known as Park Hill, Grymes Hill, Emerson Hill, Todt Hill, Fox Hill, and Dongan Hills.

Tactical Support Unit 2, Building Collapse 5, and other units assigned to this firehouse are stored across the street in a quonset hut garage to keep the vehicles out of the snow and elements.

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 two versions of FDNY’s Rescue 5 (not included with firehouse purchase). Unfortunately they did not replicate Engine 160 or Division 8—however these units can be easily recreated from existing models. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in converting existing models. Don Mills/Hobbytown also produced a version of Rescue 5 in 1:60 scale.

Rescue 5:

• Emergency-One (Code 3 Collectibles #12691, 2004)

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.

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

Join our Facebook Group where you can learn about upcoming releases and share photos of your own models.

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

Location:

1850 Clove Road

Staten Island, New York, NY

Years in Service:

1915-present

Companies Quartered:

•Rescue 5 (organized 1948, quartered 1948-1962, 1984-present)
•Engine 160 (organized 1915, quartered 1915-present)
•Division 8 (organized 1898, quartered 1930-32, 1940-51, 1990–present)
•Tactical Support Unit 2 (organized 1990, quartered 1990–present)

Release Date:

• December 2023

Dimensions (firehouse):

• Base width: 9 inches

• Base depth: 14 inches

• Building width: 9 inches

• Building depth: 12 inches

• Building height: 11 inches

Dimensions (quonset hut):

• Base width: 5 inches

• Base depth: 14 inches

• Building width: 5 inches

• Building depth: 13 inches

• Building height: 3.5 inches

Features Included:

•Black bases with 2 inch apron in front
•Removable apparatus bay doors Note: for this special apparatus bay area the roof and front facade must be removed to remove/insert the bay doors.
•Flag/Flagpole
•Printed firehouse fact sheet booklet
•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 $429 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.

Proposed design for auxiliary garage from 2009

Engine 160:

• Seagrave (Code 3 Collectibles, decals by First Due Shops, 2023)

Rescue 5:

• Mack R/Hammerly (Don Mills/Solido, 1980s)

In 2009 designs were drawn up by the Marble Fairbanks firm for a large five double-bay garage structure to house these auxiliary units, but unfortunately the project was shelved. You can see images of their proposed designs here:

https://www.marblefairbanks.com/portfolio/engine-160/