Reno 911! Lt. Jim Dangle's 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor

       
 
 
GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor
GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor packaging GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor grille detail GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor interior GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor door detail GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor wheel GreenLight Collectibles Reno 911! 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor rear

 
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NOTE: This is a modified reissue of an existing model, and this review will focus on the changes made between the cars. You can see the original review for more details.

Background

Fearless (and if you look close, tan line-less) leader. Jimmy believes that preparedness is the most effective weapon...unless the guy has a bike chain. He runs the department like a well-rehearsed dinner theater. He may work hard, but he plays harder.

 

Packaging

GreenLight went with a simple but clean design for the Reno 911! box: primarily bright blue to reflect the Reno sky, with a mountain range printed to create a continuous scene if the box is viewed at eye level. The show title and GreenLight logos are all in their usual places, and a large photo of Thomas Lennon as Lt. Dangle makes up the right edge of the window with the car name written at an angle with a combination of typewritten and police tape styles. The back of the box has a file folder design with another photo of the Lieutenant as well as the above blurb. The car is held in place with the usual single folded tray, though it also has soft plastic sheets over the nose and tail to further protect the car.

 

Casting/Paint

The only casting differences between this and the Dexter car are the push bar, wheels, and spotlight. The push bar is now the older loop style, and the wheels are chrome with printed center badges to reflect full wheel covers rather than the smaller hub caps. The spot light is done in the same black plastic as the push bar and mirrors, with a chrome sticker acting as the lens. The new parts look good, but unike the MotorMax version (and actual Crown Vics) it's mounted to the door rather than the roof pillar.

The paint is mostly good, though GreenLight appears to be having some problems with edges. The white from the doors bleeds onto the rockers, the silver window surround bleeds up onto the C pillar on the right side, and bits of white are visible around the windshield seal. There's also a scratch in the black paint on the right front fender, and the front right wheel cover is scuffed in a few places. None of the problems really take away from the overall look of the car, and is more than offset by the excellent work on the badges, license plates, and door shields. This is the first time I've seen them use a chrome grille, which they've detailed with a black wash to bring out the details.

 

Features/Accessories

No change, the door hinges still feel solid and open and close correctly.

 

Accuracy

The only difference I see is the light bar: GreenLight repainted the low profile LED bar they had on the Dexter car, but every screnshot I can find of the car used in the show had what appeared to be a Code 3 MX7000 halogen bar. Other than that, the markings and plates all look spot-on.

 

Overall

I appreciate that GreenLight is getting as much mileage out of this casting as they can without being lazy about it: they likely could have kept cranking out the exact same car with different markings and no one would care. But they made a solid attempt at changing up the details like the grille, wheels, and pushbar to reflect the license as accurately as possible. The spotlight looks perfectly acceptable with the door closed, so extra kudos to whoever figured out this cost-effective way to get it in place. I do wish the light bar had been updated, if only because a wider variety of bars is always welcome.

 

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