Diecast Police Cars

Diecast cars are frequently used for gaming, but the market is dominated by box scale (with no indication of the actual scale), 1/64, or 1/43 scale models. Hongwell, Yat-Ming, Real-X, and Furuta make 1/72 scale cars, but they are not particularly easy to find. Oxford makes 1/76 scale cars, but they don't always look right for the fanatically scale conscious.

Matchbox of course was once the king of box scale diecast cars. Most of the cars are marked with the actual scale on the bottom, so it is possible to find some appropriately scaled cars for use in 1/72.

One type of car that Matchbox seems to like making in ~1/72 scale is the police car. Last week, I had to stop by the local megamart to pick up some cars because I saw that the 2011 line had a Highway Patrol 1978 Dodge Monaco.

Anyone remember this show?

Matchbox Dodge Monaco Police Cruiser (MB53) 1/71 scale


The car scales out nicely, though they are using a modern low profile lightbar instead of the proper older model lightbar, and the roof is black rather than white. I bought one model, but I want to get a few more of these.

Matchbox Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (MB54) 1/70 scale


These are older Matchbox police cars. I'm not sure if the markings are for actual police cars, but what I really want to get are the Highway Patrol and El Segundo PD versions of this model. The only problem I find with these models is that they sit too high (even for 1/70 scale). The 2011 Matchbox Crown Vic is a taxi (as Ford decided to discontinue the CVPI) so was not used in this post.

Matchbox Ford Police Interceptor (MB49) 1:70 scale


This car is the successor to the CVPI, based on the Ford Taurus. I had the misfortune to drive a Taurus many years ago, and it had awful driving characteristics. They must have made some major improvements since then to be able to use it as the basis for their new police interceptor. Fargo PD has adopted this vehicle. I'm not sure if the Sheriff markings on the other car are used in reality. Again, I think these models sit too high for their scale.

Maisto Police Car


This car is from the Maisto Fresh Metal line. It does not have a scale, but is roughly 1/69 scale by my estimation. It is loosely based on the 1998 Cadillac Seville, and bears a generic front grill because of licensing issues. Unlike the Matchbox cars, the Maisto cars have suspensions like lowriders, and sit about 5mm lower than the Matchbox cars.