Claude Thibodeau

Hi Martin! Great mill. Most of the 33/34 had a small cavity added in the firewall, to clear the distributor and avoid any rubbing... Yours is very tight! CT

Thanks Paul! Truth is... it's an ever-learning process... CT

Thank you David. This HOK color is always a crown pleaser, if I refer to countless custom paint jobs I've done on HD customs... CT

Hi Larry! Cool as it was back in the 60's. Memories... CT

Thank you Ray! Please, try it and show us what you did with it, I'm certain I've only scratched the surface. I once used it to pinstripe the border of contrasting panels on a funny-car, and it proved great for that too... CT

Hi Ricky! Thanks for the comments. The decals that came with the kit included a peace sign, of course... but it looked a bit off-register, so I skipped. Hence the gel-pen pattern. Peace and love Man! CT

Hi Dan! I agree... I'm just an old guys who sees thing trough the lense of his youth, sometimes. Far from upsetting me, your comment makes me feel more "contemporary", if anything! As to the paint effect, it was just a flash that struck me as I was gazing at my coffee mug filled with those pens that I use to be creative with my grand-daughter. Who knew? You just have to leave it untouched for many days before clearing, and do such in light dusting first: this stuff takes forever to dry on a non-porous surface. Thanks for the comments! CT

HI! Those among us who lived trough the late 60's will remember that, in the face of declining musclecar sales, Hot-Rod started to feature more dune-buggies (!) and... Custom Vans! The Keep on Trucking mantra took hold, and no vanner worth his salt went to a Van-In without some custom paint, mags and groovy interior with an 8-track tape. Ah, the good old days! The VW van always tickled me, and I found this Revell California Roller dirt cheap at a show. Good news: all-opening doors and hatches built in. Bad news: a zillion parts, with adjustment issues that called for just a "quick styling job". So: scratchbuilt rear shelf and tubs, lowered suspension, front wheel pans that craddle the scratch-built seats, a custom roof rack (gotta go to Woodstock, eh?), an HOK pearl and Gel-Pen "Psychadelic" paint effect under Tamya's TS-13 clear. Molotow Chrome brush-painted here and there. Snap NewBe rolling stock, and the 66 Riv Low Rider bike thrown in for fun. I guess you had to be there to understand. Apologies to all! CT

Hi Dave! The Stude is one of my favorite subject, and I must say your bodywork and paint look flawless. Bravo! CT

Hi Ludwig! All the class of the vintage Caddy is reflected in your built. Great color too! Bravo! CT PS: Who doesn't have a soft spot for vintage Johan kits?

... and "hot" OEM lacquer spray cans from the auto parts store that almost melted the car body... CT

HI! In relation to the post I entered yesterday (see above), I just learned that I was mistaken as to the identity of the talented man from St-Jean Port-Joli who repaired old neon signs (among many other creative activities). His name is not BOURGAULT as I speculated, but rather EDDY FOREST. He originally came from North-Bay, Ontario, and also was involved in Pierce-Arrow automobiles. My thanks to LANDMAN (Pat St-Martin) for setting the record straight. Sincere apologies for my error. Also, looking at other pictures on the thread, we can see a 33 Ford Cabriolet being serviced by the car-hop, and a 35 Ford in another pix. The main picture at the beginning of the thread is a bit more difficult to "date". Forensics anyone? CT

Hi Jay! Thank you for the comments. To your point about the wheels: I agree! I much prefer deeper wheels, But the Jag XK220 IRS was too wide for that. That explains why I settled for more "contemporary" late model, high offset wheels, alas... The only other option would have been to flare/widen the rear quarters... But I felt it deterred too much from the original design. CT

Hi Raymond! I scrolled trough your post, and it is a fascinating project. I live 30 miles from St-Jean Port Joli, the little village refered to earlier in the thread, where a sculptor was also repairing old neon signs. It must have been Mister BOURGAULT. Their whole family is well know for that kind of art. In the opening picture, there are a couple of 1930 Ford sedans, identified by the one-piece splash apron that ties the runningboard to the lower body. Therefore, I'd guess it was taken at least in the fall of 1930. The same picture shows large "nets" hanging from poles far away in the background skyline. What are those? Keep on! CT

Hi Jerry! Funny you should ask, because I'm currently building this kit too. Mine is the '70 Ram-Rod version (post Gene Snow licensing deal). You are right: it's easy to loose the front bumper, cause most builders did not glue it. Actually, the flash in the front panel slots held the bumper tabs in place reasonnably well, so that may be why most skipped glue. Mine was still in the bag of parts that came with the kit. No trace of glue in the usual spots. This is a great kit: the panel tolerances on the inside shrouds and bulkhead is incredible for a kit of this era. The only snafu I noticed in the instruction is the rear disc brakes/hubs must be mounted in such a way that the brake discs sit under the brake calipers, not against the rear wheel flanges as instructed... Good luck with your search. If I see one, I'll get back to you! CT

HI Dave! You are right about HOK Show Klear Urethane: I use it on my 1/1 cars, and it is world class: medium thickness, great flow, extreme shine, but... Once catalized and fully cured, mucho difficulto to polish to perfection. On a steel body, no problem, you just rub or polish harder. On a flimsy styrene scale body... a gentle approachj is needed. Ultimately, I guess we are a bunch of hard to satisfy fellas... LOL. CT

Hi Dave! Thank for the detailed reply, Just what I wanted. Actually, my technique is the same as yours, except I never used the Duplicolor clear. And I use Farecla rapid cut compound. But, you are the second person I know who achieves great results with it, the other being a friend here in the Great White North. So, I guess I'll give it a try on my next model. I am a fan of Testor's Wet Look clear: easy to apply, virtually never runs, and the perfect viscosity to achieve a glass look even before polishing (at least, in my experience!). Alas, Testor's is going out of the paint market, and my reserve is drying up slowly... Tamya's TS-13 is fine, but much thinner, hence more coats (hello orange peel) and even at that, sometimes prone to rub-trough at polishing time (don't ask me how I know...). The new Revell line is good, but somehow, it is even more "thin" than TS-13. So, Duplicolor experiment, here I come. Here's a pic of Wet Look on one of my built... CT

Hi Phil! Thank you. And to say that I never cared for baseball... I should have! CT

Hi Paul! Thanks for your comments. My only aftertought is: should I had enlarged the rear wheels openings, raising it higher? The whole car might have seemed less heavy... Next time maybe! CT

Hi Francis! See, you start to have an influence on me... I find myself building Mopars more and more. I even have a real 1970 Challenger 440 6-Pack under resto in my garage. Besides, I always wondered what SRT meant... Now I know! Thanks. CT

HI! Thanks for the reply. I also have some of those, from MIchael's. In my case, the brand is Jacquard, if I remember correctly. Good product. I bought a quart of their powder directly from the factory two years ago, and used it with great results on a 1/1 car. CT

Hi Dave! Wow, great inventory! Luckily for us, you found some time to "unpack the gems". World class! Your mastery of paint application and finishing is clear. Can you expand a bit on your clearing and polishing techniques? I ,for one, could benefit! CT

Hi Russell! Great rescue indeed. Bravo! Now with the question: you mention pearl in the clear coat. Did-you mix and airbrush it? Or used Tamya's Pearl clear as an intercoat before the final clear? Just curious... CT

Hi Sir! Thank you for your care and dedication. Our hobby would not be the same without people like you. CT

Hi Tim! There must be something with guy named Tim... Maybe the Styrene Fairy visited them in the crib? Who knows... Thank you for the kind words. As you know, scale modeling is a formidable way to explore ideas, concepts, and techniques... and still do no harm! Where else can you built strange things without raising the fear of a paying customer or Department of Transportation inspector? For a while, I had the chance to work with a very creative and successful comedy writer. He was always coming up with bits that we did not expect. Pressed on it, he would say: "It's easy, when everebody is staring in one direction, I force myself to look the other way. So, I'm just the first to notice something that's in plain sight". I cannot claim his mastery of that technique, but I try to give it a shot as often as I can. That may explain some of my experiments... CT