Andrew Hughes Model Police Car Collection

Home	THE ANDREW HUGHES MODEL POLICE CAR COLLECTION




	MAY THE FORCES BE WITH YOU!

	Evening All! Well, it will be evening somewhere on the World Wide Web, but I digress. I am here to inform you of one Andrew Hughes of Stroud, Gloucestershire, who is not as well known to the police as the police are well known to him. In fact he has been collecting model police vehicles for some years now and may well be displaying them at an exhibition near you. But don't have nightmares! He can be easily approached and is more than keen to talk to members of the public about his hobby. In fact if you would like him to proceed to your event - or even discuss the possibility of setting up a die cast collector's club in Gloucestershire - click here to email. On the other hand, if you feel the need for Gatso busting speed and prefer Formula One cars, click here. In the meantime, here are some incriminating photographs of a 1/76 scale diorama and some forensic close ups of his more detailed 1/43 scale models. Mind how you go....

	CALLING ALL CARS!

	AFTER A RECENT ACCIDENT - FROM WHICH HE IS NOW HAPPILY RECOVERING - ANDREW HUGHES WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EXPRESS HIS SUPPORT FOR THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE, A FULLER EXAMINATION OF WHICH CAN BE FOUND IN THE ROTORS OVER GLOUCESTERSHIRE FEATURE.





	"And furthermore M'Lud, after a long journey across continental Europe to attend the classic car rally, my client became confused about which side of the road to drive on after his arrival at the ferry port. Temporarily blinded by the low winter sun, he was then startled by the blue flashing lights of the police escort - led by the aforementioned BMW and Jaguar - and thus collided with the abnormal load trailer which, as he observed on his insurance claim form, "just came out of nowhere"... Click on the picture above for more on Gloucestershire lorries



	LET'S BE HAVING YOU!



	On a newly opened stretch of motorway in the early 1960s, the long arm of the law reaches out toward some newly mobile villains. But keep 'em peeled for more 1/43 scale particulars



	This 1959 vintage Jaguar Mark II is in the unique British Racing Green paintwork of the Somerset Constabulary and served up to 1968.



	In contrast to the curvy Jaguar, this Ford Zephyr II has a more boxy shape and Detroit styled grille and fins. Even the word POLICE on the driver's door has go-faster stripes! Introduced by Ford in February 1956, the Zephyr marked the mid point of a range of saloons that also included the Consul and Zodiac. These were in production until April 1962, although the range was heavily modified with considerable factory retooling in 1959. This involved the roofline of the cars being lowered by 1 1/2" and the "lowline" Zephyr is also recognisable by the chrome headlight surrounds and straight bodyline centre strip. This example was used as an urban fast response car in New Zealand ( where it is now preserved ) but the sturdy, powerful yet economical Zephyr was also used by Dutch police and other forces around the World. Perhaps the most famous police Ford Zephyrs though were the Mark IIIs used in the British television series "Z Cars". First screened in 1962, "Z Cars" was arguably the first TV drama to show policemen as fallible human beings as well as law enforcers. In addition, the flute based theme tune was based on Merseyside folk song Johnny Todd and the Z Cars music still accompanies the players of Everton Football Club as they ran out on to the pitch at the start of a match! This tradition started when the cast - led by a long time Evertonian who played P.C. Sweet - visited Goodison Park and the music was played in their honour. However, such was the popularity of Z Cars that Sunderland and Watford also ran out to the theme as well for a while. When in 1962 writer Troy Kennedy Martin was confined to bed with mumps, he decided to pass his time listening in to the police wavelength on his radio. What he heard was a far cry from what had been depicted on television. The result was a series set in and around Merseyside at a time when Liverpool was on the verge of significant social changes. Everton Football Club was to win the Championship in 1963, the Merseybeat pop scene was booming and in October 1962 a Liverpool group called The Beatles released a single called "Love Me Do". But new towns were still being built to replace houses bombed during the Second World War and, as we now know, their planning was not always condusive to traditional forms of policing. Policemen were thus taken off the beat and given fast response vehicles, the 'Z Cars' of the series title (so called because the cars were Ford Zephyrs), and - on television - put on patrol around the old district of Seaport and the modern 'high rise' development of Kirby Newtown. Many of the scenes were actually filmed in Kirkby - today in Merseyside but then in Lancashire - and the police actors had Lancashire badges on their hats. The stars of the show became household names, Brian Blessed as PC 'Fancy Smith' drove Z-Victor 1, whilst later additions to the regular cast included Colin Welland and Leonard Rossiter. Stratford Johns as the no-nonsense Charlie Barlow, a superior officer not adverse to pounding his suspects into submission, and Frank Windsor as his gentler sidekick John Watt, were given their own series in 1966, Softly, Softly, which saw them head off to form the Regional Crime Squad. Guest stars also went on to successful careers and included John Thaw, Judi Dench, Alison Steadman, Kenneth Cope, George Sewell, Joss Ackland, Ralph Bates and Patrick Troughton. The series continued until 1978 but by this time it was beginning to face competition from US imports such as Kojak, Hawaii Five-0, and Starsky and Hutch. The new generation of all action, car chasing, door kicking format was in vogue, and in Britain the new kids on the block were The Sweeney. Somewhat ironically, given that Z Cars had undoubtedly paved the way for the brutally realistic success of his cousin’s (Ian Kennedy Martin) later creation, Troy Kennedy Martin branded The Sweeney in his book ‘Crimewriters’, as: "...a world of vanity and self-mockery." Accusations similar to those that he himself had experienced during the early days of his own creation's success. Just as Z Cars had made Dixon of Dock Green look old and dated so The Sweeney had the same effect on a show that had, by the late 1970's, very much outlived what public taste was now demanding, and in 1978 it became a case of 'Z-Victor 1, out'.



	More Panda than Z-Cars, the van version of Sir Alec Issigonis's legendary Morris Minor also joins the fight against crime. Especially the vandals who bent its offside mirror! First launched as a saloon car in 1948, the Morris Minor was initially powered by a 918cc side valved engine before switching to the 803cc Austin A series engine in 1953. The Morris 1000 - with a 948cc engine - followed in 1956.



	Also from the British Motor Corporation range is this Wolsey.



	IT'S THE DIBBLE!



	Moving on from the era of Dixon of Dock Green to The Sweeney, this Ford Granada with the very 1970s vinyl bonnet served with Greater Manchester Police.



	Just along the M61 meanwhile, Lancashire Constabulary were also using some Dagenham built "jam sandwiches", the evidence being the Cortina Mk III 2000 GT with the stolen wing mirrors ( above ) and the Consul below. The Mark III Cortina was a very popular police car, especially in its 2000GT guise, as the 2 litre OHC Pinto engine yielded a good turn of speed. However, these often had the lowest levels of trim available: the Lancashire suburban traffic cars not even having reclining seats! When launched in October 1970, the coke bottle shaped Mark III Cortina was intended to replace both the Mark II and the Ford Corsair. After a revamp in 1973, the Mark III was able to yield to the Mark IV in 1976 with 1 126 559 units sold - more than either the Cortina II or Corsair!



	Also built by Ford, this mid 1970s Transit with its variable height beacon would have been invaluable in alerting other traffic to an incident on a busy road. Launched in October1965 as a Thames van replacement, the Ford Transit could carry a standard forklift pallet and its blend of efficientcy and performance was appreciated on both sides of the Law! This version with its V4 petrol engine and two wheelbase options continued to be built until January 1971.



	Keeping Longbridge on the case in the 1970s ( and those wing mirror thieves in business ) were this Morris Marina (below) and Wolsey 1800 (bottom ) Roy Haynes as the product stategist behind the Cortina Mark II and an experienced Ford cost cutter. He joined British Motor Holdings in 1966 as the Director of Styling and was amazed at how little money was being made. The Issigonis front wheel drive cars such as the Morris Minor and Mini were technically advanced but were expensive to make and their warranty costs were huge. He, and engineering chief Harry Webster, proposed a simple Ford-like rear wheel drive car based on updated Morris Minor components which would sit above the existing 1100 range. Development work on project ADO 28 - later known as the Marina - started in 1968 with the idea of the floorpan and bulkhead being easily re-usable for other models. However, this strategy only extended to a two door Morris Marina Coupe after the initial saloon launch in May 1971.







	INSTITUTIONALLY DYSLEXIC?

	The high-tech culturally-aware "Bill" of 2006 in their fluorescent painted vehicles of course no longer screech about cuffing villains a la Regan and Carter. But perhaps some die cast model makers - in this case Chinese firm Caramia - need to be less inclusive when it comes to spelling. Have you solved the mystery yet?



	Once again the Ford Transit is helping the police with their enquiries, but European manufacturers are also starting to feel the Force...



	Jaguar, now owned by Ford, made this S Type used by the North Yorkshire Constabulary..



	.. But from across the North Sea comes this 2000 vintage Volvo V70.



	Mercedes of Germany is meanwhile represented by the C-Class saloon ( above ) and Sprinter Van ( below )





	WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?



	Do you recognise this car sir? It is in fact a rarity from the Andrew Hughes Model Police Car Collection - a Range Rover Vigilant, the first demonstrator Police Variant of the Range Rover built at Solihull in March 1970. Nowadays the Range Rover is used by many British constabularies.



	POLICE? STOP!



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