One of the themes of the 1992 NNL East was "Light Commercial Vehicles". With that in mind, the Town of Newburgh Model Car Club put their efforts into a group project featuring police vehicles. The members decided to build various cars that would illistrate the changes New York police vehicles have undergone over the years.

   The models shown here were built by eleven different members of the club. Before you say that no club could get eleven different guys to agree on the same kit - let alone build it in a coordinated way - think again. We did manage to work together on this project and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Now on with the story.

   This was to be a project for fun, not for the scrupulous eye of a judge. Therefore the club members set out to build light commercial models that would be "light" in detail. In keeping with the light theme, the following descriptions of each model will also be on the "light" side. The occasional scratchbuilt part, custom decal or body modification may be apparent in the photos accompanying this article, but will not be highlighted in the text.

   Simplicity itself aptly describes the appearance of the first three subjects. Ron Weissinger created these models to represent the early years of police vehicle use in New York City. The markings could have been for Yourtown, USA, but since the club is located near New York City, it was easiest to do some basic research in our own backyard. With the exception of one model in this article, all of the subjects are based on actual police vehicles used in New York city and state. Sources of information that served as the basis for particular models were plentiful and free. This information was taken from books, gathered from police archives and visits to police departments, gleaned from the club's collective memory and shared by a collector of police vehicle photographs. This collector was generous with his time and photos and without his help, many of the models could not have been built.

   Ron's AMT '25 Ford Model T in Photo 1 is highly representative of early NYC police cars. The monochromatic paint and lack of distinctive markings and police equipment are obvious. Each of those early vehicles was lettered "PD" for police department and had a number for the precinct the car patrolled. The Fords were stock production units without specially modified engines or suspensions.

   Paddy wagons were used by New York City to haul the incorrigibles from the site of the infraction to the pokey. Ron's box stock AMT '25 Model T van (Photo 2) captures the mood of its era perfectly.

   Basic black was still the only color utilized on police vehicles by the early '30s. However, the markings had become a bit more descriptive as seen on Ron's MPC kit-based 1933 Chevrolet paddy wagon in Photo 3. The emergency lights you might expect to see on the roof and fenders were not used by the NYPD at this time. Rather, a conservative light fixture or two was placed on the front of the vehicle as can be seen on Ron's Chevy. The monochrome paint was replaced by a green over black paint scheme in the mid-'30s.

   By 1938, the NYC brass decided that for the safety of the public and the officers driving to an emergency, a new paint and lighting format had to be developed. The cars had to be more visible. Unveiled that year, with much fanfare, were a new tricolor paint scheme, more markings and a roof mounted blinking "police" light. The AMT/Ertl 1941 Plymouth in Photo 4 was built with this forward thinking in mind. Your author based this model on actual photos of a New York City police car from that year. Photo 5 reveals an apartment dweller's view of the Plymouth. Notice how the markings are arranged so they could read from above and how the new paint distinguishes the car as a police vehicle. The interior shows the beginnings of the special modifications that would play an important role in the future of police work. The large box that replaces the rear seat is a radio! By the late-'30s, radio patrol cars were beginning to enjoy widespread use among police departments. Because transistorization had not yet occurred, it was necessary to highly modify the interior and trunk of these cars to accomodate their large radios. It wasn't until the 1950s that police radios became smaller and easier to install.

   Ken Uhler based his 1940 Ford (Photo 6) on the cars he saw as a youngster growing up in Yonkers, New York. As is often the case with a municipality that isn't far from a much larger city, Yonkers borrowed some of the ideas of their wealthier neighbor. Yonkers went for a period of time with a paint scheme similar to New York City's green over black. As you can see, police car paint and markings were still fairly conservative during this time period. The rear antenna give this cruiser away as a radio car.

   By the '50s, emergency lighting, sirens and radios had made great progress. The nation's automobiles also featured many new and dazzling body and paint designs. The New York City police, however, continued to use the same tricolor paint throughout this and the following decade. Dick Schoonmaker's Revell 1955 Chevy represents the typical ride of New York's finest (Photo 7) that year. This Chevy, which is an 11th precinct car, does not resemble most police cars of that era. That's because NYC didn't utilize four-door cars until 1958, experimented with different flashing roof lights until they went to the standard Federal signal beacon ray-type in 1956, and never used the conventional black and white paint layout. Compare Rick Hanmore's '56 Plymouth (Photo 8) with Dick's '55 Chevy and you will see the difference between a typical police vehicle of the era and a New York City police car.

   Rick's Plymouth fits the generic image for cop cars of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. In keeping with the "light" theme, this model is based on a Johan '56 Belvedere promo, has no engine or suspension parts, and sports a number that should be familiar to fans of '60s TV sitcoms.

   New York City utilized the same tricolor paint scheme with some slight variations from 1938 to 1972. Imagine all of the changes the city, the nation, police methodology, and police equipment went through during that nearly four decade period of time! A new bicolor scheme with reflective lettering was finally introduced in 1973 and remains, though slightly modified, in use to this day. Dave Best's AMT/Ertl Dodge (Photo 9) sports this bicolor scheme with basic police department markings. While Dave didn't add them, specific police department division names and precinct numbers could have been applied to represent any of the many divisions serving a city as large as New York. For instance, the Corrections Department or Bomb Squad may wish to add markings to distinguish their vehicles from those of other divisions. With this concept in mind, a multitude of markings could be used to model an entire fleet of police vehicles for any city.

   Dave's Dodge also serves as a snapshot of the evolution of many police car features. Such items as the light bar, sophisticated electronics, dash-mounted firearms, reflective lettering and high performance engines, suspensions and tires were commonplace by the '70s, but were not so a generation before.

   Over the years, New York state police vehicles have not followed the general paint scheme of the New York City police. Vince Lobosco's Mustang (Photo 10) illustrates the latest pursuit vehicle used to intercept speeders on New York state roads. Vince modified Monogram's Mustang GT convertible to build this LX police car.

   Note in Photo 11 the complete circle police vehicles have made during the past 60+ years. This side by side comparison highlights many striking similarities which otherwise might escape the casual observer. Aside from the obvious similarity in make, they both have monochromatic paint; the Model T because all Fords were painted black in 1925 and the Mustang because it is economically more feasible to purchase them that way. The markings on both are relatively conservative and are absent from the roof, hood, and trunk. Neither car possesses a large whip antenna; the T because radio hadn't been developed yet and the Mustang because of the seemingly daily advances in electronics and miniaturization. The lighting equipment also makes for an interesting comparison. The T's lighting was physically small and probably did not blink or flash. The Mustang's lighting fixture is small as well, but for a different reason. Here again, significant advances in electronics allow a multicolored light emitting beacon to be compact and aerodynamic.

   All of the models featured here were assembled with the "light" concept in mind. Therefore, you may notice that some of the colors, lettering, and details are not exact replicas of the originals. That's OK. It IS possible to do some research, build a model that is not an exact replica, admire it when completed and learn something in the process, without feeling guilty about overlooking something or leaving a specific detail off the car. By documenting the history of the New York police vehicle through the medium of model building, the Town of Newburgh Model Car Club proved just that.