A couple of weeks ago, on March 29th, 2023, an episode of NBC’s Chicago Fire aired featuring scale auto modeling as part of the plot. According to the press release from Round 2, the episode was Season 11, Episode 17, and the description of the episode says, “Mouch builds a classic firetruck model for the Deputy District Chief, but quickly needs some assistance from Gallo and Ritter.”
The model used in the episode was an AMT 1/25 scale 1972 American LaFrance pumper firetruck kit. Chad Reid, marketing manager for Round 2, explained the company was contacted for permission to use the kit.
“So, [Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television] wanted to utilize some tooling for this episode, and it was our AMT American La France Fire Truck kit,” Reid said. The production made a few changes to the kit, including a deck gun to the top, custom decals, and switching the box art.
The deal came together quickly, Reid said, taking only about a month from the initial approach to the model’s debut on set. In the episode, Randy “Mouch” McHolland, played by actor Christian Stolte, tries to rush through building the model. The props models seen on set were actually built for the show by professional modeler Paul Newitt, who had to move quickly to keep up with the production schedule.
Asked whether he thought Mouch’s experiences were reflective of the average modeler for a project like this, Reid was tactful.
“I think that that's probably hard to say,” he said. “It really depends on the model or modelers.”
Although an infrequent sight, it’s always fun to see scale models featured in pop culture.
“We certainly hope that it would help to grow the hobby,” Reid said.
So do we!