Police Vehicles In Miniature
Helping Corgi With Their Enquiries
Click to transfer to Corgi Website
PC-UK has been assisting Corgi with its Police range since 1987. This includes the Corgi brand in all its formats, whether that be Corgi Toys, Corgi Classics, the Lledo Vanguards range (before and after Corgi took over at Lledo) and the Corgi Vanguards range. To date (January 2009) PC-UK has assisted Corgi in producing no less than 170 Police vehicle models.
It would be impossible to show you all the material we have used over the years as space does not allow for that, so we have decided to show you the current crop of vehicles plus many others from 2008 backwards to about 1998.
So what does helping Corgi involve? Firstly we are in an extremely privileged position in that we generally know almost a year in advance what new castings are going to be made available. Absolute secrecy on our part is vital in order to maintain the trust between Corgi and PC-UK. We will never release details of any new model until such time as Corgi starts advertising them.
Corgi will approach us to discuss what new castings they are going to produce plus give us a general idea on the numbers of Police related models they would like to issue. Generally speaking it’s about one per month. I then set about researching the very best material available to make the most of the castings. Sometimes it simply isn’t possible. Not all cars were used as Police vehicles or we discover that what we thought might be viable, sometimes isn’t for technical reasons and this can sometimes be frustrating. For example, the Vauxhall Cavalier was produced by Corgi as a hatchback. Every item of material we dug up revealed that although the Cavalier was a very popular Police car, every force seemed to use the saloon. Then there was the Jaguar XJS. Only one was ever used as a Police car and it was used by a variety of forces, ie the same car but in different force liveries. However it transpired that the car the Police used was a 4.2 litre but the model Corgi were going to release was the 5.3 litre V12 with a power bulge on the bonnet that the 4.2 didn’t have. So that was the end of that.
Once we have settled on the subjects then I set about doing all the necessary detailed research. Generally speaking I only have one photo to work with, especially if it’s an older car and the photo is usually in black and white. Herein lays a big problem. Firstly if I only have a frontal shot I have no idea what might be at the rear of the car, ie a Police/Stop box or perhaps some reflective material. Secondly what colour is the interior? Obviously as Corgi starts moving more towards more modern models like the Astra and the Range Rover then I can rely on PC-UK photographers to have photographed both the front and rear for me plus the roof and other detailed equipment shots etc.
If I only have one frontal shot to go with then I sometimes have to rely on my own extensive archives to compare vehicles from the same force. Most forces follow a pattern on the types of lights they might use, or the vehicle graphics or the font type for the Police lettering etc. You could almost call it Police vehicle DNA. This sometimes provides me with the clues I need for successful research. If I get stuck then I quite often refer to a PC-UK member who I know is an expert in that particular force (usually because they served in it) and 9 times out 10 they can provide me with the answer.
I then provide Corgi with a detailed schedule on every facet of the car together with the photographic evidence. This is submitted as a complete package and can sometimes take weeks of work. Despite the research and the time taken I have to confess that there have been times when I’ve made a mistake or omitted some detail. It’s only then of course that we discover a new ‘expert’ who materialises from no-where and usually on the pages of a model magazine! Likewise of course Corgi has made what we light-heartedly refer to as a ‘Corgi cock-up’ and despite being given the very best material available they have left something out or got a colour wrong. This can be very frustrating of course, not just for me but for Police model collectors in general. Certainly PC-UK members, most of whom really know their stuff get rather irritated about it and rightly so. Despite these mistakes (which in fairness are becoming less frequent) we must congratulate Corgi on giving us so many Police models over the years, far more than any other model manufacturer ever.
PC-UK will continue to assist Corgi wherever we can. When they went to the wall in 2008 I was seriously concerned that perhaps this was the end of an era for us. But with Hornby taking over and keeping the Corgi brand alive I am really pleased to say that not only will the Police range continue much as before but is set to expand into 2009 and beyond with a whole raft of new castings. Come back and visit this page again in the future to examine the photographs of the actual cars on which your models are based.
If you have any material you think could be used as a future Police model do please contact me at steve@policecaruk.com to discuss further. May I take this opportunity to thank those members both past and present who have assisted me in so many ways to bring these models into your collections.
Steve Woodward
2009 First Half Year Releases
Range Rover West Yorkshire Police.
Morris J2 minibus Met Police Special Patrol Group.
Ford Capri 3.0S Sussex Police.
Austin 1800 British Airports Authority Constabulary.
Hillman Avenger Avon and Somerset Police.
Ford Escort XR3i Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Landrover S1 Cumberland and Westmoreland Constabulary.
2008 Releases and other Archive Material
MGB Leeds City Police.
Vauxhall Astra West Midlands Police.
Ford Sierra Sapphire Met Police Diplomatic Protection Group.
Mk3 Ford Cortina Thames Valley Police.
Ford Anglia 105E Royal Ulster Constabulary.
MGB (white) Lancashire County Constabulary.
MGB (black) Lancashire County Constabulary.
Ford Capri 2.8i Greater Manchester Police.
Mk2 Ford Cortina Cheshire Constabulary (150th Anniversary Model Set).
Range Rover Cheshire Constabulary (150th Anniversary Model Set).
Mk1 Ford Escort Mexico Merseyside Police.
Mk3 Ford Cortina 2000GT Hampshire Constabulary.
Mk1 Ford Consul GT Lancashire Constabulary.
Hillman Imp Renfrew and Bute Constabulary.
Ford Sierra Cosworth Isle of Man Constabulary.
Mk1 Ford Escort Stirling and Clackmannan Constabulary.
Austin 1800S Durham Constabulary.
Range Rover Met Police Special Escort Group.
Range Rover Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Vauxhall Astra Greater Manchester Police.
Mk3 Ford Contina 2000GT Lancashire Constabulary.
Ford Sierra Cosworth Tayside Police (Tayside Police Set).
Land Rover 110 Defender Tayside Police (Tayside Police Set).
MG ZT Police Service Northern Ireland.
Mk1 Ford Granada 3.0S Dorset Polcie (150th Anniversary Model Set).
Land Rover 110 Defender Dorset Police (150th Anniversary Model Set).
Triumph 2500 Cleveland Constabulary.
Ford Sierra Cosworth Devon and Cornwall Police.
Vauxhall Astra Metropolitan Police.
Jaguar XJ6 S1 Ayrshire Police.
Vauxhall Astra Cheshire Constabulary.
Mk1 Ford Escort Wiltshire Constabulary.
Triumph 2500 Dorset Police.
Morris Minor Van Cardiff City Police.
Vauxhall Viva HB Hertfordshire Constabulary.
Mk1 Ford Escort Suffolk Constabulary.
Rover 3500 SE SD1 Sussex Police.
Austin Minivan Ayrshire Police.
Rover 3500 SE SD1 Metropolitan Police.
Austin 1800 Met Police Diplomatic Protection Group.
Rover 3500 V8 Metropolitan Police.
Fire Brigade Models Review
It’s not everyday you get a whole new range of Police models to review, so it wouldn’t be right for us to pass the
opportunity by without taking a good look at Fire Brigade Models all new range of Mercedes Sprinter vans.
Please click below to view the article.
fire brigade models review