Chuck Most

I've wanted to do an MSP cruiser for a long time, and finally just finished up this one. Learned a whole lot of how not to do it, but overall, pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Way cooler than my buddy Cory's Accord.

Under Glass pics shortly. I hope...

So did I for a while there. I think I might be able to get the pushbar uprights from the Lindberg Grand Cherokee to work for the pushbar on this- despite being from a 1:20 scale kit they look pretty close to what I need.

I'd love to see somebody do a '92 and/or '93-'94 transkit for this. I doubt it would be a hot seller, but a boy can dream, can't he?

I have heard that Jbot isn't accepting orders at the moment- which is a shame- he sells a pretty nice set of Michigan State Police decals I'd like to get, among others. I haven't heard if or when he'll be back up and running with his decal line.

Probably not the "Six Window" versions depicted by the Lindberg kit though- the newest examples of those are 17 years old. The later models (which are available in diecast) absolutely- I'd bet you'll still be seeing them in use as taxis for at least another decade. I do know that taxi meters are easy to make- I've made a couple, I'm just kind of tired of having to make one from scratch every time I need one.

Even though the Caprice and Crown Vic are no longer in use (though I do know of at least one 1996 Caprice that was still in use by a small local agency up until just a few years ago), I still think there would be some demand for parts made specifically for the kits. They do have pretty good existing coverage- I know of alternate wheel choices available in resin for both kits, just as an example, and there still seem to be a pretty good number of them being built. I don't know if parts for these two kits would sell like crazy, but they're certainly subjects worth looking into. The 2000-2005 style Impalas (like the Revell snap kit) aren't as common as they once were as police cars, but the other day I was thinking of a front bench seat for the Revell 2000-2005 Impala- the majority of police Impalas I've seen had buckets, but a few of them do have bench seats. Come to think of it a front bench for the Lindberg Crown Vic might be worth considering too. Same thing goes for the Revell Expedition you mentioned. Have you seen the latest version of that, the SSV? That kit does include some new police specific parts- a grille with molded in flashers, a dash cam, laptop, partitions for the rear seat and cargo area, and a few other pieces. It also has steel wheels, instead of the alloys the previous versions of the kit had. Trouble is- the wheels Revell supply with the SSV version are wrong for a '97-02 Expedition- the version supplied in the kit are from the current style police Expedition, which won't fit a 1:1 '97-02. Current Expeditions have six lug wheels, the version depicted in the Revell kit had five. A CORRECT set of steel wheels for a '97-02 would be nice to have for that kit. The stock alloys were also used on police versions, but the proper steelies would be a nice option to have. And speaking of taxis- I've never really been able to find much in the way of taxi meters in 1:24 or 1:25 scale. Not sure how much interest there is in modeling taxi cabs, but there HAS to be somebody out there who'd be interested in having such a thing.

I've only seriously been getting into US police vehicles in the last year or so, but I've found myself getting fussier about things regarding them. I've had pretty good luck with the decal sets I've gotten so far, but yes, there are some turkey sets out there. Doing a cop car model seems pretty simple on the face of it, and it can be depending on what you're building and how you do it, but it seems like a lot of people don't want to give it that little extra effort. Even some companies that sell factory built police car models miss the mark. Sometimes, the mistakes are pretty glaring- I wince every time I see a particular 1:43 Michigan State Police Ford. There are two pretty key elements to an MSP Blue Goose, and this particular model missed both of them... the hood-mounted hailer (not present on the model), and the Spitfire gumball flasher (the model comes with a Vector light bar). You were right to feel let down by that decal sheet you bought, and I applaud you for trying to make something better. "If you want something done right, better do it yourself" after all. That being said, I've manage to find more gold than garbage with the police car items I've gotten. I have to say I'm more than a little interested in the proper wheels and hubcaps you have in mind to cast for the Monaco- of all that kit's specific shortcomings, the rolling stock is the big one for me- why MPC chose to use those dirt car tires on it just boggles my mind. The Charger stuff intrigues me too, even though I have yet to build the Lindberg Charger. Any modern equipment for the interior of the car would be welcome. Car modelers often use photoetch- though you are right that sometimes these details look a little flat compared to the 1:1 script or emblem they are supposed to represent. Things like grille inserts and mesh patterns would be handy to have. And don't just limit it to stuff for the car itself- for example, I could see a use for a set of handcuffs on the photoetch fret- the modeler could place it on the console, or somewhere inside the car to add a little visual interest. Since you're here and doing parts for Chrysler police cars- here's one I'd like to see- a front bumper fascia/grille piece to convert the Revell Dodge Magnum SRT8 to non-SRT8 specs. I've seen a few Magnums in police use, but none of the ones I've seen were the top-line, special edition SRT. Sounds like you have a pretty specific and solid plan in mind- can't wait to see what you turn up with.

X3 on the shake and knead- that will pretty much eliminate the problem. I get a tube of hardener like that ever so often.

HOW DARE YOU.... .... use that Cadillac for anything other than a derby car. I'd have liked it even more had it been a '59 El Dorado hardtop.

The price on the Shapeways site is for a pair, not a set of four.

Very nice! Always liked these old Datsun pickups- something about that tailfin-like styling crease along the sides just gets me.

Radio and radar antennae are on the car... hailer is made and on the car... flasher dome is decaled and on the car... plates are on the car. Looks like my last hurdle is going to be that push bar.

How did I miss this the first time around! Now, the question is... will the perennial non-finisher finish it? Seriously, though, great work on 'er so far. I've wanted to convert the Lindberg kit over to '92 specs for a while, and now I have a pretty good guide to go by. I'd wondered about using the AMT Taurus grille opening to convert the front end- seeing it actually done is a big push in the right direction for me. That it was- I believe the Monogram Mustang was the intended donor kit. I'd assume they're the Modelhaus wheels- they come in a set of four wheels (done in black resin) and four plated caps. Just got a set not even a week ago for a '97 I'm building.

Oh yeah- I'm all for this!

I'd have to agree there- that's a solid bargain for the tractor and trailer. The amount you spent on the trailer load might be a bit more considerable- it's so easy for me to picture that trailer loaded down with some '70's and '80's Skylines...

Please keep us posted on this- I can't speak for everybody here, but I'd personally love to see a few of those CL9000s built.

Regarding some earlier comments... Sold my "reference material" last week, but since there are six of these things in the area (seven if you count the one that's been out and about painting new white lines on the road), and two of those are owned by a relative, more pics should be forthcoming. Hendrix Manufacturing sells the sleeper cab for this kit. A chopped and slammed C-Series model is on my to-do list, just a matter of when. Highway Orange can become Hillbilly Orange once the vehicle leaves the Highway Department and enters the hands of a hillbilly. But I'm holding off on the big numbers on the doors and flag on the roof.

I think the guy in the Envoy I was behind earlier today thinks you need to apply the brake to keep moving forward- I was behind him for about eight miles, and his brake lights were on the whole time. Then again, maybe GM has a brake light switch fault they aren't telling us about...

The stock Aurora '34 is about as ill-proportioned as any other '33/34 Ford kit out there, but that street rod version...! I've wanted the kit just so I can build that version. I could have gotten one that was built, lightly kitbashed and missing a few small parts for $20 a couple of years back, but passed on it because I didn't recognize it as the Aurora version when I saw it.

Unless that cell phone company was Apple... they have the slavish devotion of iPhone users on their side.

Yeah- I'm really happy with those. Originally I had planned to work on some of the other stuff while I waited for the wheels to show up. But as it turned out, I didn't even get to ordering the wheels until about a month ago, so there went that plan. Getting the wheels and seeing them on the car ended up being the shot in the arm this project needed, because now I'm acutally making progress on it again.

1- You don't need the step and handle to get into the box. You can step onto the bumper and pull yourself up by grabbing the bed rail, just like you would in a pickup that doesn't have a step and handle. Trust me, I spent most of the day yesterday crawling in and out of a 1:1 similar to this one, and didn't once use the step and handle. Neither did the truck's owner, and he has a bad hip. 2- Why would you load the bed from the sides, when it has this neat thing on the back called a tailgate? Again- the one on the 1:1 example I was working with all day had one, and it was fully functional AND much easier than lugging things over the sides. Lift-over height was about a whopping three-and-a-half feet with the gate down. I'd rather lift something that high than up and over chin height, like I'd have been doing if I'd been loading the bed from the sides. 3- If you don't follow the logic of 1 and 2, know that trucks are built to tow as well as haul, so you can throw whatever you want into a trailer, which a 1:1 example of a pickup like this would have no trouble pulling.