The Victoria Project Outline

The Vicky project will involve the construction of three high-effort Vicky models. The first model will be a well-detailed, kit-based 1/25 scale model of the Gemma Jackson Club Vicky (in its factory-issued guise except that I’ll be outfitting the engine with the factory Supercharger parts) that I hope will portray a scale miniature of a ‘57 Club Victoria. This model will benefit, both, from an array of exterior detailing parts purloined from a discarded Danbury Mint ‘57 Skyliner diecast,

 as well as parts based upon the wonderful, vintage ‘57 Ford Fairlane from AMT and the more recent and excellent ‘57 Ford Custom 300 kit from Revell. The combination of those out-sourced parts, and kit-based parts, will hopefully help me create a hyper-accurate model that I trust will represent an enormously better model than my 1979-built, factory-stock 1957 Ford Club Vicky model in every way. Additionally, I’ll be using a large handful of custom-made Vicky photoetched parts I’ll source from Bob Wick and Gary Kulchock,  as well along with a number of custom-made machined parts. I’ll be using some custom resin-cast parts, helpfully supplied by The Modelhaus, to correct the problems with both kits – e.g., the engine compartment panels in the Revell kit, and the combined frame/underbody in the AMT kit. It will be interesting to compare this model to my earlier kit-based Vicky – my 1979 model!

Read more about the Gemma Jackson Club Vicky.

The second Vicky model will be a significantly-restyled car that will suggest what an insightful 1958 Thunderbird/1957 Ford concept car might have looked like in 1955 when the 1957/58 Fairlane was being designed. Ford was intent, in 1958, to explore the styling connections between the ‘58 Ford and the first Squarebird, but Ford just wasn’t able to create a graceful design that successfully merged Thunderbird and Ford Fairlane styling elements. This model will fantasize about what such an insightful styling might have been like had better stylists been able to amalgamate. We’re developing ephemera to best tell the tale of this phantom Ford concept car design.

Read more about the story of this fictional Vicky styling study.

The third Vicky model will plant me, center-stage, in the arena of model car heresy. I’m going to build a highly-accurate, detail-oriented, fully-functional ‘57 Ford Vicky slot car. Yes, you read that right. Historically, there’s been no one more vociferous, and accurate, than me in denouncing slot cars as the principal reason for the decline of static model car building in the mid-to-late Sixties. Any initial pretense to authentic appearing slot cars in the early days of that hobby soon gave way, in the name of the un-holy pursuit of speed for its own sake, to the “thingies” where, eventually, the vestigial front tires didn’t even touch the track. But a functional slot car doesn’t have to look like a recollection from a Haight-Ashbury drug experience. As Revell and Round 2 have shown in the last few years, slot cars can be highly realistic in appearance and beautiful in scale. I intend to go to a much higher level – I want to build a concours-quality, operational 1/25 scale Vicky slot car that will operate at realistic speeds on a custom-made track and equip the model with the actual sound of a Ford Y Block where the sound will be linked to the speed of the model as it runs around a detailed and landscaped slot track. And where this model would do reasonably well in a static model car contest. Yes, this is an insane aspect of the project, but I want to advocate the possibility of merging sophisticated static building with equally sophisticated slot car technology.

Read more about this slot car project.

The Monogram/Revell Shelby Cobra Daytona coupe is incredible. It’s hard to believe that such comprehensive, in-scale detail could be mass-produced in 1/32 scale.

The Round 2 1/25 scale slot cars are also great. The scale fidelity is astonishing!

Because I understand my limitations and strengths, I have retained the services of the best consultants available to assist me with the 1957 Ford Victoria Project. Wanting to focus my time to the significant tasks of building the models that will be required for this Project, I’ve decided that I don’t have the time (and probably not the talent) to develop a number of very specific skills that will be required. Rather, my time and talents will be spent hammering brass panels, creating brass bumpers and other trim items, scratchbuilding hundreds of parts, building operating lights and related switches, and cobalt-plating brass parts, painting, and assembling three Victorias. Here are the great guys that have signed up:

The Real Car and the three Vicky Models. I’ve turned to a number of great friends to assist with this Project – – in both scales – – either uniquely producing some of the bits and pieces for the scale modeling Project, restoring the 1:1 car, or supplying readily-available aftermarket parts. With the understanding that I wanted to focus my time and talents on the construction of a large list of parts needed to build the three scale Victorias required by this project, these great friends and craftsmen have jumped on board to help create, or will supply, or have supplied research, for some of the many unique parts necessary for this model project to succeed. Other guys are helping with the restoration and modification of the full scale “Jackson Vicky.” Here’s The Vicky Project Team:

Mike Barlow is maintaining a photographic record of the restoration and modification of the 1:1 Victoria. Mike’s work can be see in the many photos appearing on this site, including the photo galleries referenced on this site;

Mark Benton (Identity Design, LLC) is our Project’s webmaster and has created this great site. Mark also created an earlier version of this site that debuted in 2009;

Tim Boyd has dipped into his extensive historic kit knowledge (certainly the best in the model car hobby) to offer us a complete list of kits that have offered Ford Y-block engine parts;

Bob Breslauer/Scale Hardware and Robert Bentley/RB Motion.  will supply the superb, and almost impossibly small and accurate, miniature bolts and other details.

These guys are wizards!

Wayne Egbert has been instrumental in assisting Mike Smith, George Layton, and me in the restoration and modification of the 1:1 “Jackson Vicky.” Without Wayne’s help in disassembling parts, parts chasing and handling a million small tasks (not the least of which is the clean up of the frame and underbody), the modification and reconstruction of the Vicky couldn’t occur;

Don Holthaus (the Modelhaus) will be supplying many resin parts necessary to build a replica stock 1957 Ford Cub Victoria, the restyled design, as well as the parts for the slot car Victoria;

Mark D. Jones (Scale-Master Decals) will create a wide array of decals for the dash (radio/ Conelrad, gauges), and decals for the seats and headliner, and the like. It’s our pleasure to turn to this famed decal artist/producer to create many water-transfer decals for the Vicky models;

Gary Kulchock. A master at digitalizing images, Gary will convert Bob’s photoetch art to e-files, and send the same to a high-zoot photoetcher;

George Layton, a forty-year auto body restoration and restyling professional, is handling the modification of my 1:1 Vicky sheetmetal and respraying the blue-painted panels. George is fearless in his work and can handle any project. George’s work is impeccable;

James Long has joined The Vicky Team to create and engineer the electronic systems necessary for the fully-accurate functioning of the lighting systems on the restyled Vicky scale model. Using James’ designs and systems, I’ll install high and low beam headlight, turn lights, brake lights, interior (dash, overhead) lighting systems in the restyled Vicky. Jim will also turn his talents to creating the realistic engine “sound to speed” feature of the Victoria slot car when it’s run on a special track we’re going to build;

Steve Roullier will create the photoetched “fascia” parts that I will require to build an authentic miniature Ford Y-Block for both the factory stock and restyled Vicky models. Steve has already demonstrated his profound knowledge of Ford mechanical components and systems by creating the fantastic fascia pieces to create master parts for a 1/25-scale engine kit of the early production Ford 260/289 five-bolt small block engine;

Mike Smith has ably handled the rebuilding and modification of the Ford -Block, the rebuilding and installation of the 4-speed transmission bolted to it, the installation of a front disc brake conversion, and the thousand other tasks associated with the mechanical renovation and modification of my 1:1 Club Vicky. Mike’s forty-plus years of experience in restoring rare cars and building hot rods for his clients has been brought to bear on the Vicky modifications and restoration. Mike is also a consultant judge at the GSL Championship where he assists the other judges in evaluating the entries there for mechanical realism.

Bob Wick – – I’ve retained the help of graphic artist and illustrator Bob Wick. Bob’s artistic skills are of the highest caliber, and his technical skills are enhanced by his profound acquaintance with Ford history and his deep interest in automobiles. For instance, Bob created the “Victoria” art that prefaces each page on this site, and will find itself as the lead in to each of my articles in Scale Auto. I’ve worked with Bob for a quarter century on a number of projects, including developing and administering the world-famed GSL International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention.  Of course, Bob Wick’s skills will also be called into service to create the artwork to photoetch dozens of parts that will be needed for The 1957 Ford Victoria Project. After Bob and I work together to refine and finalize the photoetch art, Bob will send the original art to Gary Kulchock (another big winner at the GSL Championship) whose technical digital skills are essential to prepare the e-files so the parts can be photoetched. Photoetched parts are necessary to create the many hyper-technical, detailed “assemblies” that I’ll need to build both Vicky models.

I’m preparing a series of intense, how-to articles on how to build a factory stock replica of the “Jackson Vicky” in its factory guise (but adding the blower engine option) and, later, the restyled 1/25-scale Vicky model that will appear in the venerable pages of Scale Auto. These intermittent articles will focus on every significant element of the factory stock model. In fact, Scale Auto was particularly enthusiastic about a sidebar article on how to build an authentic Y-Block in 1/25 scale which will be a part of my article series for that magazine and we’ll show how to build the blower engine! The 1957 Ford Club Victoria Project will be presented in the pages of the model car hobby’s flagship magazine, Scale Auto. We will start with an article on building the 312 engine and move on to “accurizing” the vintage AMT kit body using the new Revell ’57 Ford frame. Please subscribe to Scale Auto.