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BALTO. CO. PD ROAD CHAMPS
About ten years ago a fellow police officer made an inquiry about my interest in collecting these 1/43 scale police car replicas. At the time I had maybe 5 or 6 cars and had no clue as to their value. Little did I realize that I would get into this hobby in a manner that can only be described as a quest. My modest acquisition of these cars was then transformed into what is now the only bona fide collection I have ever owned. I currently own over 300 of the Road Champs themselves to include an original Kettering, OH car, the very first police department Road Champs produced and the New York State Error Car. For those in the know I only have a quality reproduction of the PA State car and do not have the desire to acquire an original at its current price. However since it sits on a co-worker's shelf in his home maybe I will pull a switcheroo on him! HAH! He has an anti-theft device enabled to detect me if I walk more than three feet away with it. Curses, foiled again. I also dabble in 1/18 and 1/24 scale police vehicles, vintage police cars, police trucks, police trailers, police helicopters and police motorcycles of all types from the Franklin Mint, Danbury Mint and other manufacturers. A recent acquisition from Franklin was a 1956 Nash Metropolitan. Way Cool! I am buying more of those than I can afford. Ashville Die cast apparently has new management and are working to get some of their lost business back. I have German and Italian models as well and have also acquired nifty Russian 1/43 scale police, military and KGB vehicles. They are quite different than what we normally see and are not cheap. Cars made for Australian agencies by Gary Duncan have unique designs also. I picked up a 1972 Dodge Charger "Mad Max" Aussie custom equipped with a roof bar with spotlights! There are many different ways to collect these 1/43 scale police cars, by state, state capitals, cities and premiere editions which are produced for individual agencies. Now that my fifth display case is almost filled and I have mortgage payments I think it is time to just stare at the walls and not "desire" any more cars for awhile! I DON'T THINK SO! Collectors who also create custom cars are a very good group of folks. Everyone I have met through this hobby have been great. The Internet has allowed this hobby to have its own networking and there have been many Web Sites dedicated to this. One can buy or trade models, find out what the prices are as well as make new friends. Larry and Susan Strong at Code 3 Customs (formerly Mike Pittman's biz) can make just about anything you want in a customized model. They probably make more money creating Road Champs customs because of people like me! This hobby is shared by all and you need not be in Law Enforcement to be excited about it. Check out Manny's Die Cast Collectibles for product information and fun Road Champs trivia too. You have to appreciate those of us who scramble around looking for what's new and what we still need (sometimes for a hefty price!). I think we may appear to some as scavengers scouring the aisles of Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart for any car which may be fresh off the truck. A long time ago a colleague came to me with a bunch of "cars" in a plastic grocery bag. He had bought six cars at a yard sale, for shall we say, a bargain. No big deal they are just toy cars, right? Well, it seems his purchase included one of the most sought after Road Champs ever. The New York State Error car! Road Champs made the faux pas of putting an Alabama State Seal on the New York State car and of course it is unique and certainly rare. Another car in the bag was the Ohio State Trooper Anniversary car! At this point I was feeling faint. Only RC collectors would understand. Fortunately with exception to the error car I had all the others. The third car was only (only?) a Georgia State Trooper Chevy pre-1996(still worth a few bucks). The last four were in demand but not so expensive. They were pre-1996 Minnesota, South Carolina, Virginia and Rhode Island. That purchase in better times would have amounted to a "gold mine" in the area of $300-$350 but not for those who really want them in their collections. Just think, he was carrying them around in a plastic grocery bag! I did get first dibs on the NY Error Car. Yes, even I paid "top dollar". Like Wall Street, police car collectibles have taken a hit in terms of value. There currently are too many models to possibly acquire and a lot of so called "enthusiasts" have made this hobby less than affordable. I would also add that let the buyer beware when it comes to purchases of cars from private collectors here on the Internet. I always experienced some tinge of guilt when my sons wanted to have a car which I had purchased at a high price. I almost feel like a Scrooge when we were shopping in a retail store and I "denied" them the opportunity to add to their "collection". Ultimately I gave in and bought them a car or helicopter or rotate something older out of my collection for a newer model. The reality is that when I am long gone all will be theirs anyway. My Department offered five Premiere Editions and all sold out immediately. My kids were playing demolition derby with cars which are worth upwards of $70 - $100! But ya know, they are still just toys, albeit expensive ones! As such, my Department released BCOPD #005 a Crown Vic with Vector Bar and our 125th Anniversary logo on the hood. One of these days I will get more pics of our cars here.
Courtesy of Captain Patrick
Swift
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The Real #001
