1/25 1973 NYPD patrol car

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French demon

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Hi buddies

First, excuse me for my average/poor english and all errors I surely made :rolleyes:

I'm a retired Police officer, so I love Police cars :D
And despite that I'm from Europe, I especially love american law enforcement cars.

I'm building an AMT 1970 Ford Galaxy (one of the rare 4 doors sedan model kits).

In 1970, the NYPD color schemes for Police cars was green/white/black (a color scheme adopted by the NYC Police from 1938 to 1972).
Ford Galaxie 1965 NYPD.jpg



From 1973 until 1999, NYC Police adopted an all-new color scheme : blue cars with white roof and stripes.
Dodge Monaco.JPG



So to be historically correct, a NYPD 1970 Ford Galaxy would have to be green/white and black.
But I cannot imagine that in 1973, 3-years old patrol cars have been junked.
So, they have been probably repainted in blue even though I've never able to find a period picture of a blue/white NYPD Galaxy...

Nevertheless, it's my favourite version and it's the model I want to assemble.

AMT.JPG

The AMT kit.

Molded in white, the kit is old and of average quality.
It needs to be enhanced, but it's a good base.
No NYPD version offered by AMT.

Despite that NYPD is the largest police department in the United States, the 1973/1999 decals set is hard to find. I found one at Conroy's cruisers shop.
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Some pics of the "building job"

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Clear primer and Tamiya blue.

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White roof and silver trim.

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Black accent color on chrome grill.

Grill.JPG

Complete bumpers with matt varnish on headlights and translucide orange paint on blinkers.

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Underbody. No trick here. Flat black paint with some greyish weatherstriping.

To be continued...
 
Really neat. I remember the blue and white patrol car schemes very well from my childhood. Im not old enough to remember the green/black.
As the streets in NYC are some of the most cratered, and it was worse in the '70s when everything including roads were neglected and left to rot, I could definitely see hard worked patrol cars retired after 3 years :lol:
 
A lot of times it's based on mileage.

I've worked at a couple of places with sizable fleets.

One place was 100,000 miles and they were strict about it.

One of my company vehicles got replaced at 86,000 because it was "close".

I've also seen the "overlap" of new and old paint schemes a few times.

That also depends on several factors, like- is it cost effective to repaint a car that's going to get replaced in 30,000 miles.
 
Really neat. I remember the blue and white patrol car schemes very well from my childhood. Im not old enough to remember the green/black.

I understand that the blue & white patrol cars are iconic for NYC people under 60 years of age... They’ve seen them prowling the streets for more than 40 years :D
 
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Wheels :

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Matching body blue paint.

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Dog dish

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Blackened dog dish border

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Good Year tire

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An easy way to give some wear to the tire tread : a wireless drill and a nail file.


To be continued...
 
Interior.

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No decal in this old AMT kit for the cluster. So, I have had to paint it.

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Front seat, acrylic camel color paint.

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After shadowing and dirtying with a brown drybrush.

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In place with rear seat.

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Radio and fire extinguisher.

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12 gauge shotgun.


To be continued...
 
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Excellent work ! Love the old school police cars.
 
Great work and attention to detail to detail!
 
Interior.

View attachment 1715798528
No decal in this old AMT kit for the cluster. So, I have had to paint it.

View attachment 1715798533

View attachment 1715798529
Front seat, acrylic camel color paint.

View attachment 1715798530
After shadowing and dirtying with a brown drybrush.

View attachment 1715798531
In place with rear seat.

View attachment 1715798534
Radio and fire extinguisher.

View attachment 1715798535
12 gauge shotgun.


To be continued...
Reminds me of when I built model car many moons ago. Interior detail is very painstaking to tackle.
 
Little job today. Installation of a separation/protection grill.
Useful for K-9 units or to avoid strangulation with violent detainees

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1/25 aluminium mesh

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Frame is made from part tree. Shaped with an heat gun and glued to the grill with cyanolite (the mesh is metallic, not plastic)

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In car.


To be continued...
 
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Little job today. Installation of a separation/protection grill.
Useful for K-9 units or to avoid strangulation with violent detainees
...

I have it on good authority from a former LEO :D that when a prisoner gave them a hard time, they would give them a "screen test". Put them in the back, forget to belt them in, drive off, and one would yell "Watch out for that dog". The driver would slam on the brakes... :lol:
 
I have it on good authority from a former LEO :D that when a prisoner gave them a hard time, they would give them a "screen test". Put them in the back, forget to belt them in, drive off, and one would yell "Watch out for that dog". The driver would slam on the brakes... :lol:

Probably the most effective way to test grid strength :D
 
Installation of side windows (absent in the AMT kit). Rear glass half-way down.
Side glasses.JPG


NYPD, 15th precinct decals
Decals-1.JPG


Lightbar. Directly out of the box w/o any modification
However, 70's NYPD rotators were transparent and AMT only offers blue or red ones.
I'm waiting for a correct pair of clear rotators from Custom Squads shop.
Custom Squads rotators.JPG

Lightbar 2.JPG


With interior and frame.
Complete.JPG



To be continued...
 
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Police cars generally don't have seat belts in the rear.
 
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