Intro continued
In high school and college, I sandwiched building model cars with studies, dates, more class work, more dates, marriage and then graduate school. While a first-year college student, I built a quite-crude custom ‘57 
that strongly hinted at the rear quarter panel design of the Vicky. 
It was clear that I was a fan of – maybe obsessed with! – the AMT ‘57 Ford kit (with all of the customizing and styling parts!), and the real car. Of note here is that the ‘57 Ford was a favorite of customizers – it was restyled hundreds of times during the heyday of traditional customizing.
After I graduated from law school in 1976, I started to build model cars somewhat more seriously because I had finally had the time to spend. My interests were split between custom and replica stock building. Over the next couple of years, I built a factory stock ‘56 Ford Fairlane 
and a pair of ‘61 Ford Starliners 
one of which was featured in an article published in Special Effects Modeler – my first piece in a hobby publication. One of those Starliners was dead factory stock two-tone 
which even featured a scratch built representation of the optional (and really ugly) continental kit, and the other one was an early Sixties-style vintage custom 
which won an Auto World “model of the month” contest. 
But since my childhood, my attention kept coming back to the ‘57 Ford. While I liked the full-zoot ‘57 Fairlane 500, I grew to appreciate the more restrained and minimalist Club Victoria with its simple trim fitted to the “tall fin” body. 
In the summer of 1976, when I took some time off from studying for the Bar Exam, I noticed a beautiful ‘57 Vicky that showed up at a couple of local car shows: it was a hardtop 
(not the alternate pillared tudor sedan Club Vicky), 
and it was in mint condition – the windshield still bore the factory “Carlite” marking! One day late that summer, I saw the car again at another outdoor show but this time someone acting like an owner was with the car – he told me that had less than 45K miles on it, was totally original (paint, upholstery, chrome, and the like), and had been won by a Salt Lake woman in a Libby Food “jingle” give-away promotional contest in 1956. (Jackson Items – Western Union) On a closer inspection then permitted, I discovered that the car was in magnificent condition, and the story was charming. Little did I know the role that car would later play in my life.
With my interest piqued, I started to gather factory research on the car, starting when I purchased some original ‘57 Ford factory brochures and related factory items from a dealer who sold through Hemmings Motor News. I poured over those brochures, 
and related mechanical data, and learned more about the top-of-the-line Fairlane and came to understand that the Club Victoria was a lesser trim level of the Fairlane series – just one click down from the Fairlane 500. 
I decided then to one day build a model of a Vicky and, in late 1977, I grabbed an original issue AMT kit and started to convert the body to resemble the Vicky trim level. I removed all of the Fairlane 500 trim on the front fenders, doors and rear quarter panel – the trim on the front fenders and door was removed with a flat file to preserve the sharp body character lines. Also, the chrome along the side of the roof and the chrome trim above the windshield were removed, and the factory “rib” was added above the windshield as well as a drip rail on the roof sides. The roof trim differs substantially between the two versions of the Fairlane: First, the “500"-level trim over the top of the windshield is distinctive, with lots of polished stainless trim covering up the stamped steel lip at the leading edge of the roof as distinct from the less “busy” and cleaner appearance of the Vicky.
Second, the trim along the side of the roof distinguished the two cars, with a surfeit of stainless trim slapped on the roof side on the 500 as distinct from the bare and painted drip rail on the Vicky. 
Additionally, Strip styrene was used to create the trim on the rear quarter panels (later covered with the then still-new Bare Metal Foil) using only a factory photo and a photo taken from Ray Miller’s book on Fifties Fords as a guide, since I had lost the name of the guy who was showing the blue and white Club Victoria hardtop the previous year.
Because the model was to be a fully-detailed replica stock model, attention was next paid to the chassis. 
Original research data, which yielded the correct colors for the engine and chassis (and their various components), also detailed the rear suspension. 
Clearly, the gross inaccurate AMT rear axle setup had to go. Again, thin strip styrene was used, bent into neat little eyelets at either edge of the leaf springs. The other necessary support leaf springs also formed from sheet styrene including the two rear springs that were joined together with Plexiglas liquid cement – it had a nice capillary action so that the glue did not “build up” on the part, obscuring the fine detail. The problem with this is that the thin strip styrene was very fragile, meaning that the springs have broken over the years – making them out of thin strip brass would have been a much better idea. Careful consultation with the factory materials showed that the rear axle and third member from Revell’s ‘59 Ford Skyliner were very close to an accurate ‘57 assembly: it was appropriated, and detailed with a drain plug, vent tube, and an appropriate juice brake junction box. In order to complete the rear axle assembly, “U” bolts and a mounting plate (for shock and rear leaf springs) were built from wire and sheet plastic. After painting, the “U” bolts were detail painted, as was the brake junction box. Accurate rear shocks were then built from 1/32 o.d. aluminum tubing and stainless steel spring wire. 
The engine, engine compartment and front suspension were next on the agenda. (Note, though, that I did not correct the grossly inaccurate inner front wheel shrouds). An examination of the factory engine photos and wiring diagrams indicated the correct placement of the following items: complete electric wiring system (from starter to solenoid, to regulator, to coil and plugs and battery), miscellaneous circuits to the headlights and turn lights; the windshield washer system, and all master cylinder tubing for the brakes. Closely allied to this detailing was the completion of the chassis brake, fuel and electrical systems. Both brake systems were detailed, from the hand brake yoke to the return spring to the front chassis brake junction box for both front wheels. 
Miniature, scale mounting brackets secured all brake and gas lines. Finally, a removable oil filler cap and dipstick were added.
Interior appointments were next researched. As this model was meant to replicate an early-production ‘57 Ford, and since I chose to paint the model Cumberland Green and Colonial White 
(as illustrated in the dealer brochure), the headliner was airbrushed the correct light green, mixed to factory specs according to a headliner sample. 
Similarly, this model was outfitted with the early production two tone green and white sun visors made from sheet styrene. The rest of the interior was also modified: seats, dash, door panels and the rear window shelf found in the Fairlane 500 kit were inaccurate for the Vicky hardtop, and had to be corrected. Since the T-Bird engine was depicted (though, of course, the mechanical differences can’t be detected in scale!), a “Bird” emblem in three colors was painted on the glove box door.
I relied upon my friend and certified ‘57 Ford expert Rick Reichardt (for supplied me with a wealth of materials and information) who has since, sadly, passed away. Rick was extremely knowledgeable about these cars (and others!), and he shared a lot of trim and mechanical detailing with me, a very small sample of which is presented here.
The local DuPont jobber mixed up the factory-authentic Cumberland Green and Colonial White in Centari acrylic enamel (applied by custom-filled spray cans – this was before master painter George Layton taught me how to airbrush lacquer!). 
Initially, the factory “F-O-R-D” lettering on the header panel between the headlights, and the “Fairlane” scripts on the side of the front fenders, were painted on though the “Fairlane” script on the driver’s side was later replaced (and inaccurately placed) by a photoetched nickel script I once marketed through The Putty Thrower 
– my aftermarket company that I owned for a few years in the mid-to-late Eighties. For the time, this was a detailed model, and Tim Boyd graciously told me that he really liked this model.
Starting in early 1977, I was so interested in model cars, in fact, that I was getting involved in the “infrastructure” of the hobby. The legendary builder and writer Dennis Doty and I became fast friends, and soon I found myself helping him with subscription lists for the Model Car Collectors Association and Model Car Journal (an enthusiastic magazine that can be fairly said to have kept the model car hobby alive in the time following the collapse of Car Model magazine) that Dennis and Robert Woolley were then publishing.
About six months before Gary Schmidt launched Scale Auto Enthusiast, I got a call from Dennis Doty one afternoon, and he told me about a new model car magazine that Gary would soon offer. That call was significant because my work with Dennis gave me, of course, access to hundreds of file cards with information on model car enthusiasts across the United States, Canada and a couple of other countries.
Dennis gave me Gary’s number and indicated that it would be okay to share with Gary the subscriber list for Model Car Journal. I soon called Gary and we talked about his new magazine and his hopes to create a leading publication. With Dennis’ permission, I sent Gary a copy of the entire MCJ subscriber list, and Gary used that information (to which he added additional names) as the mailing list to distribute the first free issue of SAE (no recipient was charged for that first issue of which just around 900 copies were printed).
My relationship with Gary got off, unintentionally, to a rather rocky start. Prior to the time that I met Gary, I had sent a photo of my ‘57 Ford Club Victoria replica stock model to Dennis Doty and Bob Woolley for possible use in Model Car Journal. Right after making Gary’s acquaintance, I submitted a re-written article on the Vicky to him that also featured the same model along with a series of photos. As “luck” and my naivete would have it, the same model appeared on the covers of both magazines (MCJ # 28, March/April 1979 
and SAE May/June 1979 
– nearly simultaneously – though the pictures differed. Gary was wroth with me: he was justifiably upset, and I was greatly embarrassed: I had no intention of harming the integrity of either Scale Auto Enthusiast or Model Car Journal. Foolishly, I hadn’t given a moment’s thought to the interests and objectives of editors who wanted exclusive editorial content. The problem was more acute because Gary put my model in the inaugural issue of his new magazine, and because I debuted a long-standing column – the Putty Thrower – in that premiere issue 
Though it wasn’t a great way to start our friendship, things were soon patched up with Gary, and I freelanced for him for many years. I give great credit to Gary for allowing me to write a regular “opinion” column for him for many years, as well as presenting many projects and how-to articles in Scale Auto Enthusiast and Car Modeler for several decades. Additionally, Gary covered GSL (link) during its formative years, and presented several stories on the International Model Car Builders’ Museum during its early years.
After I finished the Vicky, I returned to my more common interests and built a series of street rods, customs and faux design study models that were published in Scale Auto, Car Modeler, the 2007 Contest Annual, and the IPMS Journal. About six months after the stock Vicky was finished, I built a mild-custom version of the car on which I tested out my newly-acquired lacquer painting skills just learned from master painter George Layton.
I created “cobwebbing” panels, used the “designer pearls” to create random paint patterns, fogged candy colors and then buried the whole thing in clear lacquer that is way too thick! I lent the model to Terry Jesse for a period of time until he graciously returned it in the early Eighties. I took a couple of pictures of both Vicky models for a comparison. 
In fact, the ‘57 Ford has been the subject of almost an uncounted number of customizing efforts, including this recent mostly tasteful example using a transplanted ‘58 Thunderbird hood scoop.
Let’s jump back in time to fill in our story. In the Spring of 1988, a friend called me and asked if I might be interested in purchasing a 1957 Club Victoria hardtop from a local “special interest” car dealer that just a year before had for sale a really nice ‘57 Ranchero that I almost purchased. I rushed to the dealership after postponing a client’s appointment, and I just about collapsed when I discovered that the car in question was the ‘57 Club Vicky I had first seen in the mid-seventies! I poured over the car, and it was still in terrific condition. We put the car up on a lift where I discovered that the drive shaft still had the factory paint stripes on it. In fact, the United Airlines bill of lading – stamped in indelible ink – could still be clearly seen under the silver front gravel guard. I struck a deal that afternoon, cut a check, and had the car flat bedded to my garage whereupon a mechanic-client-friend of mine (Mike Smith) tuned up the car, changed the oil, installed new brake cylinders and drained the coolant and refilled the radiator. (Later, Mike pulled the steering column to fix the manual transmission shift linkage/mechanism that had seized up when the grease congealed). After that, I thoroughly washed the car, touched up a few chips in the vintage synthetic enamel, and applied two coats of Carnuba wax before detailing the dusty interior and trunk (where the original spare tire was still mounted on the spare wheel). When I opened the trunk, I found an astonishing wealth of historical information related to how the car was won, and how Ms. Jackson cared for the car after it was delivered to her in late 1956 (just before Christmas). Check out The Real Vicky section that follows!
When I drove the car home, I compared it to my 1977 model, and discovered some miscues in my model, like the misplaced front fender “Fairlane” script, 
the inaccurate “F-O-R-D” letters across the header panel between the headlights (just a “Fairlane” script, smaller than the “Fairlane” script on the sides of the front fenders, is placed there), together with several areas where I just about got things right on (the different roof and rear quarter trim). At this time, I pledged to myself that, one day, I’d build an improved version of my first Vicky model once I had developed the skills I would need to build an upper-end model. In the meantime, other model projects took over.
Fast-forward about 20 years and, with the 30th Anniversary issue of Scale Auto approaching, I decided it was time to fulfill my old decision to build an upgraded version of my original ‘57 Ford Club Vicky model. I started this project by deciding to present a tribute ad to Scale Auto in that anniversary issue that featured a copy of the first issue of the magazine: (present advert here) my deepest thanks to Bob Wick for designing it, and to Mark Benton for doing the production work. Not incidentally, I am very pleased that SA editor Jim Haught invited me to do a how-to article on using polyester putty (link to the Custom Clinic piece on the two T-Birds) allowing me to have an article in both the first and 30th anniversary issue of this great magazine.