Agent G

A little inspiration for you! Looking good so far!

Primer the body then spray a base coat of enamel or lacquer. Pick a dark red brown or a suitable color for rust corrosion. Use an acrylic for the top coat. I'd go with Tamiya thinned with their X-20A Acrylic thinner. Then use Windex and water with an old brush to scrub and chip the paint. That way you can expose the rusty base without harming it. G

I know the people who make this sheet. I have a set like this. They do great work. G

https://inquarters.com/Police_Decals.html Here's a better link. LOL G

https://inquarters.com/Police_Decals.html Here's a link to the site. Look for his CHP "History" sheet. G

The "mouse ear" lights were how the CHP tackled the emergency lighting issue back then. The decals are a home made print. I scanned an old Chimneyville set. The entire emblem should be gold/black with no colors like I have included. Someone makes a sheet with correct vintage markings, but I don't recall who now.

The build looks great. Lots of possibilities with that kit. Get a ball headed straight pin, cut the pin shaft 1/4 inch from the ball. Take a disc of styrene about the same diameter of the ball, drill a small hole in the center and insert the cut off pin shaft through it. Now you have the base and the attachment flange. Drill another small hole in the ball at a 90' angle (or other suitable angle) from the pin shaft. Insert a suitable length of straight wire, I use .015 music wire, as the antenna itself. (I don't care if it is too stiff to bend over) Use some floral wire and wind a tight coil over the shank of a small diameter drill bit. trim it to length and slide it over the antenna. Now you have the ball mount with mounting flange, spring assembly and whip. Drill a small hole in the appropriate location on the fender and use the cut off pin shank as a mounting pin. Here's my take. here's a better illustration. G

Yup, 10-21: Call by phone. A little code talking for a UC vehicle. G

In the Anti-Crime Unit we took an old CVPI, had the department body shop paint it red and then added "Laclede Cab" decals obtained from the local company. Radio techs took the police radio and programmed it to display "TAXI-01, 02 etc. instead of the normal district numbers. Taxi drivers were required to wear white shirts and black trousers so that's what we wore when driving the car. Made a great ride for decoy operations. Of course sitting in midtown protecting the straights visiting the entertainment district, I would always get someone trying to hop in for a trip home. I probably should have done it for the extra cash...…Coppers will recognize the significance of the fender number.

To add to my brother's comments: I started in late 1979 and every car I drove had AC. As mentioned above, it was not for the benefit of the end user, us flatfoots, it was extra value at the end of the road. Commanders BTW, had big fully equipped Mercury Marquis. All our cars prior to the 1982 model year not only had the "radio delete" option, they had the techs mount the police radio in the dash in it's place. We were strictly forbidden from listening to or even having a small portable radio in the car. ( St Louis Cardinal games were the one exception).1983 saw the advent of the Celebrity as a radio car. They had radios in place when delivered and the "powers that be" lost their collective minds. Budget and Finance announced that "times were a changin'" and that the deletion of the radio by the factory was not only cost prohibitive, it lessened any trade in value our dogs would have in the future. Fast forward to 1993 when a portion of our Caprice fleet came with power windows, power seats and GASP!!!, CARPET! Imagine all wool uniforms, long sleeve shirts. ties and hats in 99% humidity at 90 degrees without a cloud in the sky. There's a reason old skool coppers looked grumpy. G

I am still what is called "essential" here in my second career. Still working nights, 8pm to 6am, four days a week. Casinos are shut down, but we still have to ride heard on them. Command switched manpower around and I work alone. That couldn't be better! If something comes up and I need assistance, I call the Highway Patrol to assist. My commute time has been halved, I'm using little or no gasoline and life is good so far. I have completed three builds and am working on another as we speak. My lovely wife is slowly going stir crazy, but her condition is such that any exposure to anything, even the flu, could kill her. We have been exercising great care and for the most part I have done all the shopping. We do miss eating out every now and then though. G

Every nickel I've spent on model building is better than money spent on a therapist or medication. My wife says she'd rather I sit at the breakfast bar building a model that sit in a bar hitting on one. That's why I will keep this wife! G

Kevorkian's VW van is currently in Las Vegas. It is on display at Zak Bagan's "Haunted Museum". I saw it back in November.

Very well done sir! G