I don't remember when I first started to build model cars, but it was pretty near to the time when my dad bought me an AMT 1959 Thunderbird kit that required his help to complete (I'll never forget him wielding a framing hammer to pound the hubcaps into those nearly rock-hard tires). I must have brush applied five different colors of Testor hobby enamels to the point where only the overall shape was still discernible. I don't know what happened to that now-rare model, but I'll never forget it.
After that first model, I built others, too. A series of Monogram, Revell, AMT, Johan (and even a few Palmer!) kits found their way to my impromptu working area in my bedroom. It was an exciting pastime in an era when the American car was king. It seemed that my interest in the hobby was renewed each time my dad took me to the new car dealerships each Fall (later, I would come to understand that building scale vehicles had its own challenges and rewards, and wasn't merely a substitute for owning a full-scale car).
Starting in about 1965, I started to build a series of AMT 1957 Ford based upon the venerable 1962 kit. Those models, all built with varying degrees of ineptitude, reflected my interest in this car that I had first seen when I was a small kid. As I grew older, I got really enamored with that Ford, and started to notice the differences in the various versions of the '57 Ford.
Welcome to the 57 Ford Club Victoria project! Thanks for dropping by and sharing my obsession.
Mark S. Gustavson
Gemma Jackson Car
see pics of the Gemma Jackson car. More...
The Original Model
Take a look at my original 1957 Club Vicky model from 1978.. More...
The New Vicky Model
Decide what you think of my new Vicky project . More...
Finned Fender Updates
Updates on the Project are found here.
Galleries
Photos of the Supercharged 312 and more! Soon...
Original Factory Lit.
Check out an array of original Ford brochures and data. Soon...