Model: Greenlight 1971 AMC Javelin – Alabama State Police
Line: Hot Pursuit Series 1 (2009)
Where to get it: eBay
Why it is in the collection: The reasoning for this one being in the collection is threefold. First, I am trying my hardest to be a completist collector when it comes to the Hot Pursuit series. I picked up this Series 1 release back in July of 2015 and it’s sat in a storage tote since then. Because I don’t plan on selling my collection anytime soon, I wasn’t concerned with keeping it eternally carded. Featuring it in a Lamley Daily was the perfect way to liberate it from its plastic prison.
The second reason is the casting itself. I’ve been keen on the Javelin ever since I caught a glimpse of the Mark Donohue Trans-Am racer years ago. Greenlight released a good looking replica of that car in 2010 in addition to a rainbow of standard releases. Having it featured in a vintage Alabama State Police livery seemed like an amalgam made specifically for me.
A few unique details on this particular car include the flat hood, which was only used in one other instance (the yellow Javelin SST of GLMuscle S2) and the plain grill (again only present on the SST). Under the hood, the engine block is painted a medium blue, similar to the correct paint on the real car. I don’t have many of GL’s earlier Javelin releases, but the newer ones are mostly painted silver.
And third is it represents a unique and brief period in a state’s history (this one being Alabama) in which budget concerns forced them to think outside the box when it came to filling their radio car fleet. It’s an interesting read, if you’re so inclined, to learn about the AMC’s short assignment with Alabama’s Department of Public Safety. (Did you know they were equipped with the rear spoiler to act as a billboard for ‘STATE TROOPER’?) I’m glad that Greenlight connected the dots between an existing casting in their catalog and an inclination to inform a wider audience of the 1:1’s existence.
If you’re either a Hot Pursuit habitué, an AMC aficionado, or an Alabama mama, this car should be in your collection.
I have two of these. I used to have three, but I gave one to friend who is also an Alabama State Trooper.
And I do remember this car from my childhood. The Javelin Trooper Cruiser was a familiar site on the Alabama roads during the early 70s. My home area was well known for hotrodders, but when the Javelins showed up, the speed demons all but disappeared from the scene; they did their racing on backwoods dirt roads.