Ed Simmons
Skokie, Illinois
Ed’s 1/25 scale Pierce Saber firetruck is mostly scratchbuilt and modeled as Niles (Ill.) Fire Dept. Engine No. 3 “still in service,” he says. He spent about 1,000 hours over three years working from Pierce drawings and photos and says he fabricated about 95 percent of it from sheet styrene. However, there are several commercially made parts: wheels, tires, steering wheel, ladders, and a few fittings came from an AMT LaFrance pumper; light bars from Lindberg’s Ohio State police car; a door and cabinet latches plus a few pump-panel fittings from Don Mills Hobbies; and hose couplings made from brass porthole frames by Bluejacket. Ed designed decal lettering and heraldry himself; Don Manlick printed them.