RoboCop and OCP Ford Taurus

Made By:

Jada Toys

Scale:

1/24

MSRP:

US$24.99

Overview:
Packaging (Design):	8/10
Packaging (Durability):	8/10
Casting (Body):	9/10
Casting (Interior):	9/10
Casting (Chassis):	9/10
Casting (Engine):	9/10
Paint (Exterior):	8/10
Paint (Interior):	N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):	9/10
Overall Panel Fit:	9/10
Total Score:	8.7/10

 

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Background

As RoboCop went into production, the titular hero was supposed to drive a custom vehicle designed by Robert Webb dubbed the "TurboCar" or "RoboCar." Built around a second-generation Camaro, the TurboCar was to have a traditional black-and-white paint job, flared fenders, an aerodynamic nose, and twin turbine exhausts that could shoot flames up to 20 feet out the back. Six of these cars were built by Jay Ohrberg Show Cars and delivered to the set, but ultimately never used. The exact reason why remains speculative - some say that the cast and crew found the finished builds lacking, others say it was a simple contract dispute as one may find in many Hollywood production. Either way, the TurboCar was out and director Paul Verhoeven needed a replacement. Ford had just released their all-new Taurus, and with its composite headlights and lack of a traditional grille it looked appropriately futuristic enough to fit movie's needs.

Packaging

Packed in Jada's 2020+ box, the background is a deep blue fading to nearly black with subtle mechanical details. "RoboCop & OCP Ford Taurus" and a drawing of RoboCop are at the right side of the front panel next to the window, with the movie title in the bottom left corner and on the window end flap. At the other end, the solid end flap has a large OCP logo, and the back panel has a large photo of the car and figure above the requisite legal jargon. Inside is a slightly lighter blue with the same mechanical details. The car is held in place via two screws and plastic bands around the hood and doors keep them closed and a plastic tray around the rear of the car to keep the trunk closed, and the figure is screwed to the base near the front of the car.

Casting/Paint

This is an all-new tooling from Jada and is up to their current standards. The body is nice and clean, with smooth panels and clean break lines. The body is a multi-piece diecast assembly, and everything fits together beautifully. Only the sideview mirrors glass, light, and push bar are plastic, so it's surprisingly heavy for its size. Of those parts, the mirrors are black with chrome glass inserts, the push bar and roof spotlight housing are black, the taillights are transparent red, and the rest of the glass and lights are clear. Most of these are well done as expected, though it looks like the tooling was keyed wrong for the push bar - the outsides of the uprights appear to be 180° from where they're supposed to be.

Paint is generally good, aside from a small chip and a scratch, both in the right rear door. Otherwise it's a nice smooth finish of satin black across everything. The paint is quick to pick up marks from the package or handling, but they clean off just as easily. Matte black is used for the top and center section of the light bar, transparent red and blue for the lenses on the bar, and transparent orange for the front corner lights. Silver is used for the lights on the push bar. "OCP/Detroit Police" badges are on each front door, and "154" is marked on the rear fenders just below the C pillars. Centered under the trunk lid is the single license plate.

Under the hood is a solid black representation of Ford's SHO V6 engine. The intake manifold is the only separate part, but the way that it's done - and the more than adequate detail included throughout - make the engine bay feel appropriately busy. This work continues underneath, where a surprising amount of detail is included. The exhaust, oil pan, transaxle, gas tank, axles, and subframe components are all nicely picked out despite this being Jada's typical one-piece pan. The tailpipes are separate as usual, though not chrome plated. Wheels are relatively thin high vinyl tires over multi-spoke wheels and the expected disc brakes with red calipers.

The interior is also entirely cast in black, and while the first generation Taurus had a pretty basic interior this is positively spartan. So much so, in fact, that it feels like a deliberate choice to make this a stripped-down "cop car" interior. The dash, door panels, and seats have enough detail to let you know a designer was thinking about things, but everything has been smoothed over and filled in to allow for just the essentials. This includes separate seats with detailed seatbelt hardware and a center console, a separate dash computer, and vents in the dash face. A single sticker is used for the instrument cluster. The trunk is equally barren, though spacious. My copy has a stress mark on the floor, as if something were pressed against it or overtightened underneath.

Features/Accessories

The hood, doors, and trunk open and close. The hood hinges are actually sliders, so as you raise the panel it also shifts slightly away from the body. It works fine, but be aware hat some finesse may be needed getting it opened and closed. Also included is a 1/24 scale figure of RoboCop. It's one of Jada's better figures, with excellent casting and paint. As usual the arms and head are separate plastic pieces attached to a metal body, but here there is no visual change from one to the other - everything has the same high level of detail, and the finish is a fantastic blued metal color that shifts to a near purple hue depending on the light. Edges are sharp and dead-on, even in tricky areas like the thin visor or the area around his face.

Accuracy

I struggled with this part a bit. The license plate and car #154 mark this as the car used in the early chase scene, when Lewis and Murphy were pursuing Boddicker's gang. But that car had a front plate, quad circular lights behind plastic covers, stock molded side badges, a stock (dark blue?) interior, and red/blue roof lights. This diecast has no front plate, stock Taurus headlights, slick sides, a custom black interior, and blue/red roof lights. All that in addition to the odd push bar and SHO engine. So, major demerits? Eh....

I can ignore the missing plate, no big deal. The headlights are likely an attempt to get more use out of the mold, and stock units were correct for later movies. No one is going to miss the side badges. As mentioned above, the interior looks to be intentionally designed to be something one might find in a near-future police car rather than an off-the-shelf Taurus with a new paint job. The SHO engine is wrong for the movie, but was a feature of the AMT kit that has been around forever and - again - seems appropriate for a police car. In short, it still feels right. It captures the look and feel of the car exactly as it should, even if some details aren't quite there. Something like the reversed light bar pattern is a mistake, but it's one of the few things that is flat-out wrong. Another is the rear license plate, which is about 70% the size it should be. Other than that, it feels like whoever was in charge of this at Jada made some deliberate choices that made it in-universe accurate without necessarily being screen accurate, and I can respect that.

The figure is excellent, with a paint job that simply could not be better. Scaling for both it and the car are pretty good, right between 1/23 and 1/24.

Overall

Unless you're incredibly strict about absolute screen accuracy, this is going to be a winner. The car is great, the figure is exceptional, and it really feels like they took some time to create a replica that truly fits the look and feel of the classic 1987 movie. Very highly recommended.