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 #16:

LAFD Engine 18

Knollwood

The sixteenth release of First Due Firehouse Replicas:

LAFD Engine 18

Code 3 produced their first die-cast models in April of 1997. This series consisted of five Seagrave pumpers representing Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Engine Companies 18, 39, 51, 88, and 90. Code 3 also released a model of Engine 18’s previous 1960s Crown Firecoach in 2000.

LAFD’s historic Fire Station 18 is located less than a mile west of downtown Los Angeles—the sixteenth release from First Due Firehouse Replicas.

About the Firehouse

Built in 1904, the station was designed in the Mission Revival style by architect John Parkinson, whose later works included Los Angeles City Hall, Union Station, and Bullocks Wilshire. In 1915 Engine House No. 18 was one of a dozen stations closed because of budget cutbacks resulting from the “two-platoon ordinance” passed by the Los Angeles City Council. The station reopened in 1920 and remained an operating fire station until 1968.

Engine Company 18 was organized on April 1, 1906 and responded from their quarters on South Hobart Street for 62 years. The company moved to their new quarters at 2050 Balboa Boulevard in Granada Hills in 1968.

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 LAFD Engine 18—a Seagrave model in 1997 and an open cab Crown pumper in 2000 (not included with firehouse purchase). The Seagrave engine was part of the first series ever released by Code 3, and the Crown was sold as a set along with Pumper 80 (yellow, stationed at LAX).

Engine 18:

• Seagrave (series 1, #02450-0019, 1997)

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.

Location:

2616 South Hobart Street

Los Angeles, California

Years in Service:

1906–1968

Companies Quartered:

1. •Engine 18 (organized 1906, quartered 1906–1916, 1920–1968)
   

• Rescue Ambulance 18

Photos:

LAFIRE.com: Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive

(historical photography, 2000)

Engine Company 18 under construction in 1904

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

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

LAFD Station 18 is one of the few remaining firehouses dating from the days of the horse and carriage. The building was declared an Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles in March 1988.

In 2011 the Exceptional Children’s Foundation purchased Engine House No. 18 and converted the cultural landmark into a fine arts training center for adults with special needs and a community creative space for the residents of South Los Angeles.

Approximately 50 participants with developmental disabilities annually are provided with daily fine art instruction, life skills training, and case management services at this location. The center also hosts exhibits of the participants’ artwork along with creations by other community artists.

Release Date:

• May 2022

Dimensions:

• Base width: 5.25 inches

• Base depth: 14 inches

• Building width: 5.25 inches

• Building depth: 12 inches

• Building height: 7 inches

• Height to tip of hose tower: 11 inches

Features Included:

1. •Black base with 2 inch apron in front
   

2. •Removable roof
   

3. •Working apparatus bay door (slide 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 $379 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.

Greenlight produced a generic “City Fire Department Paramedic” van in 2014. Our First Due Shops converted this unit into Paramedic 18 with the simple addition of a few decals. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in converting existing models.

Ambulance 18:

1. •Chevrolet G20 (chassis and body by Greenlight, 2014, decals by First Due Shops, 2021)

Engine 18:

• Crown (#12952, 2000)