Claude Thibodeau

Hi! The 32 Vick also had a roof that was a smidge lower than the sedan. Already chopped, so to speak... CT

Hi Greg! I believe only the 3W body style had suicide doors in 32. The other models had standard doors. CT

Hi Roger! Surprisingly "current" for a model built 20 years ago! The wheels, the stance, the powertrain... The only detail a 1/1 builder would probably discard today would be the side vent glass. Other than that... Bravo! CT

Hi Clifford! Great fleet. And you certainly master the "glossy" part of model car painting! Bravo! CT

Hi Gary! Ae usual, world-class painting and a perfect shading job, ever more impressive at that small scale. Bravo! And to top it off, your silver flake top is in the perfect "scale" with the model size, perfectly replicating the ultra-flake many lowriders use on their contrasting tops... CT

Hi Ray! Don't be too hard on yourself. This is a finnicky kit, and don't ask me how I know. What is the saying, already? "Let's have fun"... Just one more to add to your lurning curve! CT

Hi Gentlemen! Nice collection, even after just 2 posts! 3 years ago, I restored a 1/1 64 Mercury Marauder BreezeAway (with the notchback roof and roll-down rear window) for a client. But I've nerver seen that body style in scale... Regular "fastback" Marauder, of course. But the BreezeAway? Wonder if a styrene version was ever offered, or maybe just a resin version? CT

Hi RRR! Well, I don't know about your age... but I'm 66, and as the years pile on, one constant is that whenever a product satisfies me... it usually gets discontinued or so much altered that it becomes useless to me. Go figure! One of the privilege of getting older, I guess? CT

Hi Gary! Wow, that is sweet. It is absolutely period-correct, bravo! Now, all that's missing is the angel hair show display, and it's back to the good old days! CT

Hi RRR! Thanks you for your "recipe". I'm always interested in other builder's experiences, as I've learned a lot that way! My go-to clear was Testor's WEt Look 1 coat lacquer. Here in Canada, it's been discontinued, and I suspect it is on your side of the border too? I tried to stock on it as much as I could, but my stash won't last for years, alas, as I build about 10 projects per year. Therefore, I tried all kind of options. Since Testor's was part of the Rustoleum empire, I wondered if any one of their clear lacquers would happen to be of the same consistence, or thickness, if you will. My view is that said sirupy texture was key to it flowing so well, and resist vigourous rubbing once dried. As you may know, Testors also had "regular" clear lacquer (the blue label cans), but it is much thinner, and more hot... So much so that it would sometimes get settled bodywork to ultimately telegraph to the surface later. Cautious use is my take on it. Actually, the shiniest Rustoleum spray-can lacquer I found was the glossy "furniture" variety, sold along black furniture lacquer at big box stores. Good thickness, not prone to runs, but... REALLY HOT. So much that it got my test panels of Tamya's lacquer to MELT & RUN before it settled and dried. SO, here again, caution! I tried the new Revell lacquer clear in spray cans, found it fine, but a bit on the thin side, much like TS-13 from Tamya. I had to pile-on many coats, which of course caused some orange peel once cured, and in turn, required more color-sanding to get it smooth as I wanted. Back to square one, I guess? So, while I watch my WetLook clear reserve dwindle, I entertain using House of Kolor urethane 2-part Show clear on a Bonneville Streamliner I'm completing. I have much experience with this HOK clear, as I use it on 1/1 cars and rods I build for customers. But once fully dried, it is so hard that the vigorous sanding and rubbing required to fully "flash it" have me concerned with the fragile bodywork that my mash-up building style propose. I will experiment with various viscosity reduction, to see if I can attain that sweet spot of perfect flow and lesser polishing that Wet Look got me accustomed to. We'll see soon enough! Finally, I know there is a debate going on about recipe changes at Testor's regarding the Wet Look clear, dating back about 18 monts or so. I never had any adverse effect in my use, so to me, it was and is a "non-issue". You'll be the judge when I post an upcoming streamliner on this site, hopefully before the end of the summer. Regards, CT

Hi David! Very clever scratchbuilt! Bravo! CT

Hi RRR! Very nice. The dark solid color suits this style of car very well. Bravo! I heard mixed comments about the Minwax clear... Some love it, others claim it is very thin, and prone to runs? And what about drying time? Your take? CT

HI! Great selection, sharp pics. Thanks! CT

Hi Steve! I worked on a Johan 68 Javelin promo a couple of years ago. While opening the hood, a small crack happened at the base of the cowl/windshield. Believe it or not, NOTHING would glue it back! Superglue, styrene, epoxy, even pure acetone... I had to live with the tiny crack, and hide it with a scratchbuilt shift light. A friend told me it was because some promos back then were molded in acetate. Just a guess. Good luck with your project! CT

Hi Mike! Impressive bird cage, really! I'm impressed by your lever-activated brake master cylinder. First time I see one recreated in scale. Just imagine the mojo needed to steer that thing at the end of the strip with just the left arm, while applying the brake and parachute... Can you say "heroes of the quarter-mile"? CT

Hi Mike! Impressive. Having rebuilt a couple of vintage 1/1 T's back then, let me just say that if Henry had installed that kind of metal reinforcement in his bodies back then, instead of a wood structure... a lot more would have survived today! Keep on! CT

Hi Michelle! Well, your grille and hood update to 70 vintage is a success! And the colour brings me back to the 70's. Bravo! CT

Hi David! Great surgery, doctor... Bravo! CT

Hi Dan! You are doing good with your detailing. I've build this generation of chassis/powertrain lately, and if it is any comfort to you, these are NOT the best fitting components out of the box. So, your assembly is competent, to say the least! Keep on! CT

Hi Dave! Very nice rendition of this quite unusual body styte in the funny-car field of the days... The paint combo is very nice! Bravo. CT

Hi Francis! Wow, that's quite litterally surgical precision. As they say: you "dodged" all difficulties on this lettering... Bravo! CT

Hi Mike! To sum it up in one word, I would say... GRACE. All those FED's of the 60's were real eye candy, on countless covers of Hot-Rod Magazine, back when I was a teen. I can envision yours with some goldleaf trendy lettering, as was the custom circa 68-69... The Cerny & Kelly team painted and emblazoned quite a few, didn't they? Memories! Bravo! CT

Hi Dave! Very clever, kind of a double-scoop of showmanship... Bravo! Do I see that it is a solid-axle front end set-up? Just curious... CT

HI! I've subscribed (it's free!) and it is good quality, soul nourishing writing for rod and custom nuts... Try it! CT

HI Patrick! Thanks for the infos... Those are notions in aerodynamics that I will try to put to good use in one of my upcoming Bonneville cars. I ignored that. One learns things everyday, as they say! CT