Auto Pics

Models of working cars in general greatly appeal to me. Usually Police and emergency vehicles are brightly coloured and have neat accessories on them such as sirens, lights and extra internal equipment, a big attraction for model collectors in general I feel. Trucks and commercial vehicles are usually large and/or brightly coloured and this I feel makes them highly desirable.

The United States has always had the coolest Police cars or "cruisers". These big cars look like they mean business with their imposing size, rows of colourful lights and big police lettering down the sides. European police forces generally use relatively bland "family" cars, such as the Ford Mondeo, or the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra. However, the police in the UK occasionally use high performance specials, such as the Subaru Turbo Impreza and the Volvo T5 estate, which tend to brighten up the police car scene on British roads. In Germany, some police use Porsches as Autobahn patrol cars, to give them the required edge in high speed pursuits.

Taxicabs, most are just ordinary cars with a sign on the roof. However, the bright yellow NYC cabs and the London black taxis are part and parcel of the streetscenes of those city's, and make interesting models in their own right.

Fire engines, ambulances and other emergency vehicles are often very impressive looking vehicles too, and I'm also very happy to see 1:18th tractors being released (by Minichamps and Schuco as of April 2006) as I love variety in my collection.