BROOKLIN AND THE 1951 FORD VICTORIA

The standard 1951 Ford Victoria (BRK51) was released in September 1995 and deleted in January 2009. It is finished in greenbriar green metallic with sea isle green top, light green interior, white license plate and whitewall tyres. The convertible-based body styling of the Victoria was Gordon Buehrig's work and Brooklin captured it in excellent fashion.

MODELEX

The Modelex International 1995 scale model motor show was held in October 1995 and for the 6th year sponsored a Brooklin special to commemorate the event. The choice was the 1951 Ford Victoria, the first special to be done using this model. The choice of whether or not to continue the half-decade old Modelex color scheme of bright metallic green with beige interior was seriously deliberated and the decision was made to change the presentation of that year's special and use a light green for the body, limiting the "Modelex" metallic green to just the roof. This provides a classy, stylish look to the model and with the usual beige interior still maintains the lineage with previous specials. The name of the event site appears on the front fender and door and the Modelex 95 logo is placed on the leading portion of the rear fender. A beige interior with steering wheel in black, yellow license plates and a "1 of 500" engraving on the baseplate complete the model. 500 pieces were made.

CANADIAN TOY COLLECTORS SOCIETY

The C.T.C.S. once again chose a beautiful Brooklin special with a Canadian theme for their 1996 Greatest Collectors Toy Show, a 1951 Ford four-door sedan in Diamond Taxicab livery. Done in black and orange, with the distinctive diamond-shaped logo on the doors and roof, this is a very special piece. The Diamond Taxicab Association is one of Canada's oldest taxi companies, formed by an amalgamation of several smaller companies in 1949. The make and model of their vehicles has changed over the years, but their distinctive black and orange color combination can still be seen today on a thousand cabs in Toronto and other Canadian cities. In the 50's, Diamond used 1951 Ford Fordors in their fleet and this was the C.T.C.S. choice for their annual special. The Fordor is a very different car from the Victoria, not just in the number of doors, but in the length of the roofline and design of the rear window. In cooperation with Brooklin Models, Ed Hohberger made the necessary modifications to BRK51 to have the BRK51A with his fine skill and hard work. Brooklin put the proper black and orange color scheme onto the Fordor model, fashioned the diamond-shaped roof light, blacked out the wheels, and added “ONTARIO CTCS 96” license plates to have a beautiful finished product. The familiar PL 6868 sign is on the doors, as well as an orange 24 on the front fender, designating the cab number, as well as acknowledging the 24th anniversary of the Toy Show. Only 375 of the C.T.C.S. 1951 Ford Fordor were produced with “1 of 375” cast in base.

DEALER SPECIAL

In May 1998 another 1951 Ford Fordor was released as BRK X3, the third Dealer Special. This version was finished in Hawaiian Bronze and was available from dealers for the price of a standard Brooklin when accompanied by eight Brooklin stickers. The license plate reads “FORD 51 X3 DEALER” and the baseplate has “Our third dealer special only available with a completed collector card” engraved.

FACTORY SPECIAL

The 1951 Ford Fordor decorated as a Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Car was released in October 1998. This "black and white" unit rejects the usual white doors on black body and features instead a broad white stripe stretching from the hood badge, over the hood, under the windows, and back to the taillights. This is an accurate representation of the 1951 Fords used by the Lincoln, Nebraska, police department. The Brooklin factory even modelled the actual license plate on the car which says “2 230 20 NEBRASKA”. Additional details include the red safety light on the roof, small wheel covers on blackwall tyres and an extended radio aerial on the trunk.
Most of these models have the front badge mounted upside down, but this error was corrected later and the badge was attached in the right position. The white decal on the hood is also positioned differently.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY BROOKLIN CLUB

The World Trade Center Relief Fund was established by the State of New York following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, with the purpose of assisting all persons who were injured or killed and their families. In October 2001, Denis Francois from France and John Roberts from England arranged the S.F.B.B.C.’s initial contribution to the W.T.C. Relief Fund, $725 collected from the sale of three specially modified Brooklin models on Ebay. The S.F.B.B.C. and the B.C.C. then commissioned Brooklin Models to produce a special 1951 Ford Fordor for an additional contribution to the fund. This special charity model is done in fire engine red with black interior and features the letters "FDNY" in gold on the rear doors and the "Twin Tower" shield of the New York City Fire Department on the front doors. Although not accurate to the era, this shield was specifically chosen to further honor the site of the incident. A plated light / siren is added to the roof, special license plates reading "911 NY" are used and plated door handles and windshield wipers are added, “WTC Relief Fund 1 of 350” is cast in base. A special label is affixed to each model box. Although initial plans called for the production of 350 models, the number was later limited to 200, released in January 2002. The sale of these 200 F.D.N.Y. Fire Chief’s cars generated $12.000 in proceeds. This model not only honors the many lost in this tragic incident, but will serve as a reminder of the amazing response and caring by so many people around the world.

ANGEL COLLECTION - CITY ANGELS TAXI

In the series of Taxies, David Angel produced in 2012 a Code 3 1951 Ford Fordor as a Taxi cab for City Angels. It is finished in yellow with red roof, grey interior and green license plate. A white Taxi sign is visible on the roof and a black decal is applied on the doors with the City Angels, Washington, name and telephone number. Only 7 were made.

ISRAELI MODEL CARS COLLECTORS CLUB

In 2015 two specials were made by Brooklin for the I.M.C.C.C. derived from the Ford Fordor, but with some changes to the original model because based on the 1949 Ford. These two specials are an Israeli Police Car and a Cleveland Police Car. Only 100 pieces for each model were made, numbered on a silver plate attached to the baseplate.

Author: Gianluigi Cappi

You may find more pictures and information on this model plus many other Brooklin stories in the Brooklin Models Collectors Guide.