GHOSTBUSTERS FIREHOUSE Scratch Build

[Carlb]

Hello friends,

Welcome to a 1/87 scale scratch build of the Hook & Ladder #8 station, located at 14 N. Moore Street in Manhattan, otherwise known as the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters.

The firehouse was built in 1903 in the French based Beaux-Arts architectural style, common in the U.S from 1880 till 1920. Features of this style include an oversized first story, arched windows, symmetry, and other classic details.

Hundreds of fan photos exist on-line, many were high resolutions images that should give me the opportunity to blow up the details..

My son in law, a huge fan of the 1984 film, suggested the project to me, and the model will be gifted to him.

It's a popular tourist attraction for movie fans , and even today, the firefighters inside sell Ghostbusters themed merchandise to benefit the NY Fire Department.

You Tube modeler Dave Hourigan (Dave's Model Workshop) happened to display his own build of the firehouse recently, and I emailed him about the CAD plans he drew up for his project. He gladly sent me PDF copies, which saved me the time and effort of generating my own.

I reduced Dave's' (larger than 1/48 scale) plans to 1/87 scale. Based on Google satellite images, the prototype perimeter is approximately 25 ft X 75 ft.

By 1/87 standards, the actual dimensions are large, approx. 10 1/8" long, 3 3/8" wide & 7" high. I started taking my own measurements.

I'll be using Monster Modelworks wood brick sheet for highly visible areas....

And Vollmer styrene brick sheet for the rarely seen, nearly blank, alleyway left side wall...

And Evergreen styrene sheet and strips for the many masonry finishes, moldings and decorative elements....

Beginning the build.... next time...

 

[yuumi2891103]

I am eager to watch it.

 

[joberg]

Oh yes!

 

[Attirex]

Sweet project! I had no idea the building was still around, will have to visit next time I'm in NY. Just assumed it had been bulldozed for luxury condos and/or a Starbucks.

 

[Carlb]

Thank you Katsu, JediMichael, Joberg and Attirex for following along.

The firehouse had fallen into disrepair some years ago, but somehow New York found the money to restore and update the structure.
I will be recreating it as it appears today, not as in the film. Apparently, fans still walk by every week for a typical selfie.

 

[JediMichael]

I can imagine a lot of fans come to see it, being so iconic.

 

[stevielewis]

Will be watching this one for sure!

 

[Carlb]

Thanks for following stevielewis.

 

[Carlb]

Appreciate all the thumbs up!

There are 17 windows, and only 5 will be commercial units from Tichy. The remaining 12 will be scratch built of styrene. I made a jig to assemble & glue all the different sizes I need. Since these are all set in masonry walls & to match the prototype, I made the frames much wider and deeper than usual.

Ready for a primer coat of black...

The substrate for all four walls is .05" chipboard. Testing window and door locations here...

The 2nd and 3rd floor windows in the front wall are 9 individual units each. I also built a similar jig for them.

Both units now ready...

The alley wall requires some guess-work. I built up the bump out with wood and card, and am covering it with the Vollmer brick sheet. These sheets are small, so a few splices must be made....

I braced the walls, and then built out the inside top to provide each wall some "thickness". Built up the chimney form too. I used more Vollmer brick sheet here. It's .057"(14.5mm) thick, so I don't recommend it for a wall that needs many window cutouts. The flat roof will be mounted just underneath.

Till next time...

 

[joberg]

Great way of building repetitive parts (the old jig will do just fine ) Eager to see your next update Carl

 

[Carlb]

Yes sir Joberg, jigs to the rescue.

Thanks for all the thumbs up!

 

[Carlb]

I printed a photo of the front door in 1/87 scale to get the shape of the door frame, and traced that onto ."04"(1mm) styrene sheet.

There are actually two arches, one structural, the other decorative. The bottom, or first layer was .010" (.25mm) styrene. Each side was run long and then sanded down to a 45 degree angle at the corners. I'll build the door later on.

Windows were then glued into the chipboard substrate.

The front, right side and back chipboard walls were glued together. The left side (mostly blank alley wall) was held in only temporarily. I also built a "temporary" roof and floor, to keep the carcass as square as possible.

Finding a suitable color for the non-brick masonry was difficult, and I tried 21 different recipes. In the prototype photos, depending on the time of day, season, sunny or cloudy, they all look like a different shade! .... I compromised and finally settled on the third one in the top row....

I fit and glued the first floor wall .040" (1mm) styrene sheet to the chipboard....

A large ledge is located at the top of the first floor. It's made from two styrene strips, but with a strip wood core. This provides rigidity & gluing surface, rather than just an L-shaped strip of thin styrene.

The ledge was applied to all appropriate areas. I added another layer of .04" (1mm) styrene for the plinth base.

Till next time...

 

[Carlb]

Thanks for the "likes" - christrom, Bjorn, 19narvik40, Bloop, stevielewis, the DOCTOR, TDahl and Lupano.
I appreciate your interest.

 

[Iskelderon]

Awesome job!
Thank you for sharing this. I want to build one later this year, so being able to learn from someone else's progress is a real life saver.

 

[RayLuis]

Very cool project.

 

[Carlb]

Iskelderon and RayLuis- Thank you, and I appreciate you following the build.

 

[srspicer]

Looking good Carlb!

 

[Carlb]

Thanks very much srspicer.

 

[JamesM242]

Watching with much appreciation! Thanks for sharing your work!

 

[Carlb]

Thank you JamesM242. My pleasure, sharing is what the forum is all about!