Valiant Charger Police Highway Patrol

I read somewhere that only South Australia and New South Wales used Valiant Chargers as Highway Patrol vehicles. I can’t remember seeing them in NSW, but I clearly remember them using the Ford Falcon coupes with 351 V8s. They were awesome. I witnessed more than one pursuit where they were used and I can confirm they sounded awesome when floored ( no I wasn’t the one being pursued, not by the Coupes anyway 🙂 ).

However I can confirm South Oz used Chargers. On our trip across to South Oz in 1978 ( see my earlier EH Holden Wagon entry https://doogiesdiecast.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/1964-eh-holden-station-wagon/ ) I saw them. From memory they were CL Model Chargers, light blue with high vis colour stripes. They stood out and were a bit of a novelty back then because  if you can remember,  most cop cars were rather drab in that era.

Anyway, here for your viewing pleasure is my Trax VH Charger Highway Patrol in 1/43 scale. I think it is supposed to be NSW Highway Patrol but I don’t know much about the NSW Chargers. I found some detailed info in PDF format http://www.cavoa.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=25 Not my info but take a look anyway. Also if you’re reading this and you know more about NSWHP Chargers, let us know in the comments section. Thanks.

Valiant Charger Highway Patrol by Trax in 1/43 Scale

1964 EH Holden Station Wagon

The Open Road In A Holden EH Wagon

In 1978 we returned to Australia after about 10 years in New Zealand. After spending sometime in Melbourne, the family bought a EH Holden Station Wagon and drove across to Adelaide and then back to Victoria and settled in Ballarat for a short time. We did it in a wagon of the same colour as this Trax Model 1/43 Scale Saltbush Green with White roof. This is one of those models that I have always kept because of the relevance to my family. If I remember correctly, the “old-man” traded it in on a very nice 1970 VG Valiant Sedan with a Hemi 245 under the bonnet. Two very different cars.

On the way to Adelaide, we went via Port-Fairy (great flake & chips from a milk-bar there) and Mt Gambier. On the return trip we went via Bordentown and Ararat. I can remember while travelling somewhere between the 2 states hearing on the old original radio “I need your love” by the Kiwi band Golden Harvest. A song I have never since heard on Aussie radio. I guess it stood out to me because we had not long returned from Kiwi-land but hows that for a memory?

EH Wagon White Over Saltbush Green

Dom’s1970 Dodge Charger 900HP The Fast And The Furious

1/18 Scale Dodge Charger The Fast & The Furious

Okay, for the most part i don’t go for modified cars. I prefer original “stocko as a rocko” cars, no matter what make. However sometimes a car comes along that modified or not, I just love. Sometimes these cars might be Hollywood cars like Dom’s 1970 Dodge Charger from the movie The Fast And The Furious. I love it. A 900HP firebreathing wheelstanding monster. Awesome!

I have always loved Dodge Chargers and if you follow this blog you will see some more 1/18 or 1/43 scale models of Chargers. Enjoy the pics and please leave a comment.

A True Outlaw

Toyota Corolla Pilot Project Part 1

Toyota Corolla

I used to own a VH Valiant Charger and I plan to repaint a Trax 1/43 model Charger in the same scheme as the car I owned. But I haven’t done this before so I thought I would get some experience on a another model before I start on the Charger. So off I toddled to Big W and picked up the above model for the princely sum of $6. Then I took it took it apart. Now if you’re going to attempt this maybe you can do what I did and go on up to you tube and check out some vids of people doing this very thing.

Ok so then I went to Bunnings and bought some paint stripper and some paint and then very cautiously and using protective gloves and eyewear, put the little corolla into a ceramic bowl, and poured some of the stripper on to it.

The Corolla gets the stripper treatment

It worked a treat. Within barely a minute the paint was almost falling off. Then with a paintbrush we helped it along.

Using the brush to shift the paint off the body

All good so far…not completely. I ignored the part about removing all the plastic bits like lights and trims etc. We did try to cover them but that stripper is good stuff and ate through all that and destroyed the plastic. So next time, remove ALL the plastic bits.

So then we washed the now stripped model down with water and let it dry off.

The Corolla stripped and washed and ready to dry

Check back soon for the continuing story of the Corolla project. I don’t think it’s going to end too pretty but keep in mind this is a learning curve and the Charger had better be done a whole lot better!

The Journey Begins…Leyland P76 Targa Florio

As you may have read in my “about me” link, this blog is as much about the why I have some of these models in my diecast collection, the journey, as it is about the models themselves . Of course I have in the past collected some diecast cars simply because I like them, and I still do. However, like many of you reading this blog,  I have collected/kept some for more personal reasons. In upcoming posts I hope to share some of those reasons with you and I hope to hear from some of you in the comments section where you can share some of your stories. First up here is a model I have which falls into the “just coz I like it” category, despite the fact that I have ridden in one of these Targas over 20 years ago. Even then they were becoming scarce. Enjoy this Trax 1/43 Scale Leyland P76 Targa Florio and please leave a comment.

Leyland P76 Targa Florio