Model: 1975 Ford F-100 California Highway Patrol
Line: Single release, hobby exclusive line
Where to get it: buy the hobby exclusive CHP F-100 on eBay
Why it’s in my collection: Like many of you growing up, I watched CHiP’s reruns as often as they came on TV. Jon and Ponch would blast down the freeway in their California Highway Patrol Kawasakis, usually followed by a few Dodge Monacos in order to haul the perp’ off to jail. Most episodes featured a fleet of various CHP cars, quickly igniting my love for the west coast black-and-whites from an early age. Over the years we’ve gotten different CHP cars from various manufactures, such as Johnny Lightning, but never a full line of CHiP’s era cars until Greenlight showed up.
Enter GL’s 1975 F-100 CHP truck
Greenlight has become the undisputed KING of police cars. Their Hot Pursuit line has given us over 200 different police cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans, and shows no signs of stopping. While there are some real stunners in the line, such as the series 1 Alabama State Police Javelin, and the Florida Highway Patrol ’80 Firebird, the CHP cars are my personal favorite. What I also like about the GL Hot Pursuit cars are that they produce various cars from the same agency – which has given us a fleet of amazing 70’s CHP cars, like the F-100.
While the Chrysler B and C bodies are by far my favorite patrol cars, the F-100 is a damn stunner. Seriously. This truck looks so good in black and white.
There’s something about the black and white, topped with the red and blue Aerodynic Twin Sonic lightbar, that is just the perfect color combination. The gold HIGHWAY PATROL lettering on the doors and tailgate are spectacular, and the silver trim around the windows and tailgate are equally nice. The truck just oozes quality.
Another good thing about the Greenlight brand is that they are diversified – they have excellent accessories, including road barrels and traffic barricades, and the centerpiece of the CHP line, the Mechanic’s Corner CHP Central Command Station. Photo blast incoming!
Greenlight did an initial run of the CHP F-100, and they were so popular they will be doing a second round of them. So if you like CHP cars as much as I do, I highly suggest snatching up a few of the F-100s before the price skyrockets like some of the other CHP cars have — and they look hella good opened too…so free those babies 🏁
I have become an avid fan of Greenlight. I have collected over two hundred and fifty of Greenlight 1:64 scale diecast.
However, some are disappointingly poorly manufactured.
Wish they were manufactured in USA and not that country – China
I think you’d agree on that point
So many have defective axles and move all wonky – Not at all free rollers
My light blue Chevrolet Impala coupe’s rear axle is disappointingly bad.
In others the the wheel drops into the wheel well, like in my 76 Dodge van.
Still in some others, the roof lights fall off, bumpers separate from the body of the car model
or w0rse still the steering wheel is so low that there is no way that a driver can get in to the driver seat as it is touching the driver seat.
Several other note-worthy points are there as well..
Such good models ? Some are superb
Superb finish but little things ruin the beauty of the well finished model
And none of them come cheap.
But what i HAVE OBSERVED ABOUT GREENLIGHT is that none of them have internal rear view mirrors, off side rear view mirrors, save a few.
And lastly,another one of my observations is that some of the interiors are so detailed , but it is in black, so one cannot see any seat, steering wheel or dashboard inside the model.
This is a really nice model. I hope I find one where the bed and cab line up well, and the bumpers don’t fall off. Greenlight has always been hit or miss with me quality-wise. This one seems to have everything down right and captures the essence of the real truck. Let’s hope the axles roll well and aren’t too long (I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a pet peeve about long axles) and that the execution is as good as the pictures indicate. And yes, it’s getting time to make them somewhere else.
Greenlight needs to start doing some motorcycles. The standard retro style bikes form the 70’s & 80’s like the 1983 Suzuki GS1100, 1984 Yamaha RZ350, the 1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona and other like bikes. But most of all they need to start with their most glaring hole in their Police lineup: the Kawasaki KZ1000P that Ponch and Jon rode.
Yes Glen You’re spot on !!! Several models have longer & slightly bent axle rods that cause the wheels to go wonky. And. Because they are sometimes too long they rub against the wheel well and are hence not free-rollers. Wonder if there is anything like quality checks at all ?
Billy, Believe me !!! Just the other day I was wondering if Green Light would come up with some bike models, that were in proportion to fit into the pickup bed of dually drivers or other pickups.
There are so many other american car models of the 60s and 70s that Greenlight can make replicas of…wish
But United States must discourage China from making these models so so cheaply. They should be made in the US going forward. Maybe they’ll move over to Malaysia, Vietnam, or Thailand if not Hong Kong /China. But frankly I am getting cheezed off seeing such poor workmanship after paying so much. and they don’t come cheap either.