av405

I haven't actually tried to figure out if there's a pattern but as far as I can tell its random. Every 1-2 weeks they'll do free shipping for orders of $49 or more and that's what I'll take advantage of if I want/need something.

I emailed them about a year ago regarding one of their bodies. I never received a reply. I'd be nice to know how to get in touch with them.

Nice work! I think your headlight work is very convincing. I wanted to comment about the light bar you would need. You should definitely try to get in touch with Dwayne Larriviere, a fellow member here. He is the only one who, to my knowledge, makes the light bar you need. Check out his work here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/116809-1982-dodge-dip-louisiana-state-police-custom-parts/ The bad news is that he hasn't been on since September and he hasn't answered back to my last PM. I thought I'd provide his info anyhow for your project.

Great build, looks very clean.

I can't see them on his site. Are they there or would I have to contact him directly for a set?

Absolutely beautiful, nice work!

Nicely done! Did you buy a second one to do a Border Patrol version?

Yes, the ride height on these kits is yet another glaring error. I left it under the "good enough" category on this one but I will see how I can improve on it when I (eventually) do my next Taurus.

Thank you all for the kind remarks on the build! And thank you to my fellow LEOs for the warm welcome. I actually started this project off with the intention of doing it as an AZ DPS car. They were, as far as I can tell, the most prolific users of the 1990-1995 Taurus at the state level. I have the decals and light bar but I was desperate to finish this build and didn't want to scratch build a push bar so I went for the simpler Utah car. My next police Taurus will be an AZ car, followed by a San Diego Police car. Even though the kit leaves a lot to be desired, I like how uncommon these police cars are, both in 1:1 and in the modeling world.

After a very long dry spell from modeling that saw me finish school, become a sworn peace officer, and just grow up in general, I finally got to sit down and finish a model. Here is my 1990 Ford Taurus police-package car in Utah Highway Patrol markings. The Taurus is the Rescue 911 version of the AMT Taurus as it has the correct 1990-1991 dash and steering wheel that the real police versions had. Resin wheels are from Custom Squads/Models by Tony, decals from Chimneyville, police equipment is a mixture of stuff from the Taurus kit, the Lindberg Crown Victoria kit, and the Revell Caprice kit. The Ford decals also came from the Crown Victoria kit and the slotted grill vents came from the 1989 "Police Car" version of the Taurus kit. About the kit itself, it wasn't exactly the easiest to work with. First and foremost, the AMT Taurus is not a true police package/base model kit but a SHO version. To make the car more accurate, I filled in the "SHO" emblem in the rear bumper, sanded off the corner signal lights on the front bumper, and cut/sanded down the car flares surrounding the bottom of the wheel arches. The front bumper is still technically incorrect but I decided I didn't want to push my still-developing skills. Also, the front headlights didn't fit properly but I didn't notice until it was too late. The wheels were also a pain in the behind and the front passenger side one ended up not fitting very well, even with extensive modification (as you can see below). As for the final product itself, I was pleased given the custom work I had to perform. I got a chance to practice some new techniques and figure out some do's and dont's. I did not polish the paint job, but that is something I will definitely tackle on my next build. Oh and I accidentally dropped the car near completion, resulting in some minor scratches near the front passenger side wheel well Without further ado: I used pictures I found on the internet and reruns of Real Stories of the Highway Patrol to piece together a fairly accurate interior of an early 90's UHP car: The inspiration: This one is a 1992 but it provided an excellent shot of the rear lighting and antenna setup: Both pictures above are not mine.

I'm beyond excited for this.

I ended up spray painting the headlights with Tamiya Pure White and then brushing Tamiya Smoke over the white once it had dried. I think it came out okay. I'm almost done with the model so I will post pictures once it is complete.

Bill, I have to hand it to you, I respect you for coming to that realization and posting it here. Replace the video with one of an adult modeler trying to sell an equally bad build as "pro built" for some serious cash and then maybe we can have some laughs.

Ah yes, my mistake. You're intellectually superior, we're not capable of grasping it. Whatever man. I have respect for your work and the model-related advice you've given on this forum but this is one thing I won't go along with. Have a good day (no sarcasm here).

There are no lenses. The headlights themselves are chrome. I'm working on an AMT Ford Taurus.

Yet you also claim to know what is in this kid's mind. This kid should be having fun, first and foremost. Maybe this build was fun for him, maybe uploading the video was fun for him. He didn't submit it to a contest or for praise (I see no evidence of him asking for it). If he has the maturity to be self-critical then good for him. But if he's having fun then he's already doing much better than a bunch of grown men arguing about his work on a forum.

I'm currently working on a kit with chrome headlights and I'm trying to make them look more realistic. I've thought about painting them white, but the body is white as well and I wouldn't want the headlights to match the body in color and look. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

You keep saying that but what if you're wrong? What if it isn't a joke? In which case this perception applies: I think I'm just reading much less into the video than you are. But if I'm wrong and this was indeed a joke build posted by an adult () then I'll eat my tie...

Yeah, the quality isn't great but what's the problem? If this is indeed a young kid building a model, kudos to him for being interested in our hobby. For every "good" builder out there, there's going to be many more of these type of builders. And it's not necessarily a bad thing since their purchases ultimately help us by convincing the model kit companies that there is profit in selling model car kits. Now if it had been labeled as "pro built" or something along those lines, then it would indeed be a joke. But that's not the case here. That's quite the stretch given how we know very little about this person and why he choose to upload the video. Maybe he's having fun doing so? Isn't that the point of this hobby?

Very clean! I love the color. I would be interested in seeing more of your work!

There were small, yet significant changes with the facelifts. So yes, in this case what you find online in official Ford brochures and articles is true As for the facelifts themselves, well it seems that there are those that consider them to be worthy of different generational designations and those that don't. I think we can respectfully agree to disagree on that one since there doesn't appear to be any official documentation from Ford to clear that question up

The changes were significant enough to break them down into different generations. Just do a search online.

The Phoenix Police Museum says otherwise https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-phoenix-police-museum-phoenix

What era are you focusing on for these, particularly the gas station and shop signs?

Very interesting project. I love detail-oriented threads like this one. I too am interested in this class of trucks so I will be following closely.