MSRP:  $8.95 each in HO

Two for $11.95 in N

When the first version of the Ford Taurus was introduced in the late 1980’s, the car was considered conservative, with the exception of a styling cue applied across the Ford line from Mustang and Escort to Crown Victoria:  No front grille. Above the bumper was a blue oval; below the bumper, only an air intake for the radiator.

The second iteration of the Taurus, the subject of the Atlas release, was a screaming headline by comparison. With only a slit in the hood to suggest a typical front end, and overall styling that looked much more slippery and aerodynamic than it actually was, the 1996 Taurus was an In Your Face styling statement that polarized buyers – either you loved it or hated it. Some compared its frontal appearance to the face of a lizard or Gila Monster, others sang of futuristic simplicity. Either way, people eventually got used to it, and it resumed a climb up the sales charts to become, most months, the leading seller among automobiles with American names.

A carryover model from the first Taurus was the SHO, sometimes called Special High Output, or Special Handling Option. No one was exactly sure, but with a special motor with Japanese-engineered cylinder heads, it provided what little excitement could be found in what was essentially a grocery-getter car. The SHO option was discontinued shortly into the run of the Taurus second versions.

After a change of leadership in Ford Motor’s styling department, a larger grille opening and higher trunk lid brought the Taurus silhouette into line with the remainder of the automobile world about the turn of the century. While the car today is less radical, most agree that it is significantly more attractive.

The Model

Atlas chose well for its first venture into HO and N automobiles. Since the Taurus is a very common sight on American streets, it’s appropriate for any model railroad set from fall 1995 to today. Atlas has taken that strategy considerably further by initially releasing their model in six different colors, each authentic to a Ford prototype color. In a recent Atlas ad, several Tauruses are shown in a street scene with some of the previously-released F-150 Ford pickups, and the wide variance of colors makes it much less obvious that they’re all the same car. Atlas released HO cars singly, with the N versions in pairs. The HO releases are in clear plastic boxes with brightly-colored inserts reading “Motoring 2000,” while the N scale cars are in mostly white with lettering only on the box ends. A really nice touch is a sheet of soft vinyl between the painted model(s) and the clear plastic roof of the box to prevent scratching the model’s paint.

The first six colors to be released are predominantly dark, which to some extent hides what little detail is present on the car. Please note, since the prototype Taurus has a very little surface detail, and the model captures this perfectly, that means not a lot to attract the eye. Door handles, trim strips, all are body color, visible only by their shape. On the Vibrant White model, it’s clear that the seams between the front and rear windows are edged in black, perfectly capturing the appearance of a Vibrant White full-size Taurus. On the Moonlight Blue car, however, that detail is hard to discern. The medium Willow Green, Toreador Red, Rose Mist, and Charcoal Grey models vary in how easy it is to see this detail, according to their relative darkness.

A second batch of colors has been announced, and it appears that at least three colors will be light enough that this detail will be more visible. Slated for fourth-quarter release are, on the light side, Silver Frost, Iris Frost, and Light Saddle, with darker colors including Pacific Green, Midnight Red, and Ebony.

The only other detail, as such, on the exterior of the Taurus is the tail light casting. On the Atlas models, both HO and N, this is a single piece of clear red styrene, which looks excellent. However, on the Taurus prototypes I checked in a local parking lot, the plastic part is black with red, amber or white areas for tail and brake lights, turn signals and backup lights, respectively, Honestly, I don’t expect Atlas to duplicate this feature, but if you are truly fastidious, or masochistic, go ahead and do it yourself. Some Tauruses got a vestigial spoiler on the trunk lid, and it was also black. It would be a tiny sliver of plastic, but I just know somebody is going to add it.

Don’t look at the underside of the Atlas Taurus. There isn’t anything there. Flat plastic, with two humps for axle clearance, but hey, that’s okay unless you’re planning to display your Taurus upside-down in a ditch. In every other way, the Atlas Taurus is a to-the-last-decimal-perfect replication of the prototype. Some people have commented that the tires look a trifle large, but comparing two prototype tire measurement to the model’s put the model exactly in between the two prototype sizes.

Because the prototype car has little detail, adding a few extra touches to your Taurus will lift it even farther out of the ordinary. Biggest of all would be to add license plate front and rear. In HO, decal license plates are available, and in N even a different-color rectangle of paint would break up the blankness, and give a shot of authenticity. Adding a driver and passenger or two would give live to the model, particularly if it’s posed as if in traffic. The interiors of the Atlas Taurus are well-made, disguising the fact that a thick floor and chassis leave the seats much lower than the prototype. As usual, to make passengers fit, some amputation will be necessary. On the darker colors, it’s not obvious that there are no side panels on the interior. You might want to paint the inside walls of the Vibrant White Taurus to match the seats. Another easy touch would be a tiny piece of foil or silver paint on the faces of the rear-view mirrors. A super-thin wire from the fender is a radio antenna, and yes, some police departments use the Taurus, so fancy paint and light bars are also appropriate.

A lot of modelers have been asking for a typical American vehicle for a long time. Now we’ve got one. Really, how many Corvettes, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis do you see in traffic on a typical day? Atlas has scored a touch-down and two-point conversion on this model, and I can only hope that other typical sedans are being considered. If you’re modeling the mid-1990s to today, in either N or HO scale, you need several of these cars. Your depot agent drives a Taurus, doesn’t he? You know the grey one? And the lady who runs the QuikMart? Isn’t that Rose Mist one of hers? And there’s the green one parked by the Post Office, and the white one over there…..