Claude Thibodeau

Hi Alan! Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. To your point about the fact the car is tightly "packed"... I agree. As we know, frontal surface is the enemy on the lake, because of air drag. I hesitated between the AMT or Revell roadster variety at the beginning ( I had both on hand), and chose the AMT because of its light "sectionning", a well documented fact among Deuce afficionados. Sleeker, but more packaging constraints. Hence the inverted snorkel scoop and belly reveal: even a small L-4 was too tall! Also had to make the turbo intake tube go in front of the engine, versus above it (OEM). All in all, a pleasant packaging challenge. My next FLAT EARTH SOCIETY car is underway, and will pack the Allison engine from AMT's ALLISON IN THUNDERLAND fantasy funny car. I located one last week-end, to my surprise. It will be a full-bodied looooooooooong streamliner. Variety, you know! Regards, CT

Hi Roger! Thanks for the comments. The rolling stock comes from Mickey Thompson's Challenger Streamliner (Monogram's), painted magnesium with Alclad. The front and rear axles are scratchbuilt, the front one being a mono-air shock "canteliver" system, to adjust riding height on the fly, just before the "Measured MIle"... For a while I juggled with the idea of encasing the wheels in aerodynamic pods (teardrops)... but they are so well molded, I changed my mind. CT

Hi! Was very active during the pandemic. and found time to build my annual Lakester. This 32 roadster (AMT'S) is my latest member of the FLAT EARTH SOCIETY. What if a Cannuck was to challenge the famous So-Cal Speed shop car on the salt? It is a mostly scratchbuilt frame, based on the Phantom Vicky rails, but all the cage, belly pan, suspensions, instruments, tanks, axles, air-ride shocks, Optima battery & all are scratchbuilt. The engine is from Monogram's Turbo Coupe TBird, heavily modified. Scartchbuilt electrical panel, brake & clutch hydrulic cylinders, fire extinguisher, floor pan, etc. The front section is made of Monogram's 36 Mercedes hood top, sheet plastic side panels, Haye's TBird inverted scoop, a pencil eraser "nose cone", some fabrication, and the rear wing is made of a Gilette cartridge blades tray. The belly pan bulge is a plastic spoon, and the clear canopy is from a lightbulb blister pack. The tonneau cover was made with an Avanti roof panel. Fully wired & hosed. Rolling stock & rear quickchange section from MT's Challenger. Custom decals. Tamya's pure white + Italian red lacquer panels. Hours of fun with styrene. Long live the salt! CT

Hi! Looking at your coupe, I think one thing you could try to get even closer to the feel of the Boydster would be to fabricate hood sides that would bridge the whole distance between the rear of the grille shell and the front cut line of the suicide door. The flow of the whole thing would be "un-interrupted" as Mr. Coddington aptly pointed to onlookers. One of his "trick of the trade"... It would require you shave some thickness of the side wall of the firewall. But I'm not minding my business here, am I not? CT

Hi Wayne! Thanks for the infos. I am NOT familiar with archery... Do you mean a material to wrap or "decorate" the body of an arrow? CT

Hi Jim! That famous coupe is also known as the VERN LUCE Coupe. And I was mistaken about the Anthony's car: it was called the FIRE ROADSTER a,d NOT the fire COUPE. There was also a famous 33 called THE CHROME SHOP SPECIAL, similar to the Luce coupe. but for the nose section. Voilà! CT

HI! Great build, keep going! CT

Hi Jim! To my knowledge, the closest thing to a "Boydster" coupe would be the famous 33 Ford Coupe Mr. Coddington built for a customer in the early 80's, and won the Al Slonaker's award with at the Oakland Roadster Show. The car was penned by Thon Taylor, of course. A timeless design. Boyd also built a car for Michael Anthony, of Van Halen's fame. Testor's sold it as the "Flamed coupe" for a while. Rare and hard to come by nowadays... The main component of the Boydster look, aside extended nose, of course, is the sliced and tilted forward body, that considerably reduces the height of the body sides. The Alloway Speedstar and Kugel Muraoc roadsters were of the same design school. CT

Hi! Great car! What was your technique for the flames on the hood & top? Are these modified decals, or one-off stuff you made? They look different and unique! CT

Hi! Nice concept and execution. Bravo! Do I see "latches" on the side of the front fenders? Just curious to know... CT

Hi! This is a nice kit. I removed the top, used the rag top from another Revell VW, and transplanted the Nailhead V* from the 29 A. Enjoy your build! CT

Hi Bruce! If one car ever had the "wet look", this is it! Bravo! CT

Hi Marty! Definitely more contemporary, bravo! CT

Hi Gentlemen! Exactly...Thank you! What a rush of happy memories. Simpler times, as they say... Chances are that the "Demon" version might still be avail at flea markets/swap meets in my neck of the wood. I'll stay on the look-out! CT

Hi! There was a custom Corvette avail in late 60's, probably derived from the Mako Shark... Twin nostril extended air intake front "bumper", long swept rear roof- window that reached the tip/spoiler of the rear end, side pipes exiting the front fenders, and loooooong seats, that looked more like lounging chairs than car seats. All I have left are the side exhausts and seats, crudely painted (alas, I was about 10, and only had access to Humbrol enamel). Has-it ever been re-issued? CT

Hi Chris! Actually, Can Tire bought "clearance" leftovers from Rustoleum, and carried a very limited variety of extreme lacquer, untill they ran out of it. My local Michael's sells the spay cans for 2.47$ these days, and little bottles fo 1.77$. . My local stores in Qc city (I visited them all...) have no clear, alas... CT

Hi Sir! I read with interest your latest comments quoted above. In Canada, the Covid situation hastened, in my view, the failure of two major magazines distributors. Someone new stepped up to the task of distributing american mags, but got in a "fight" about revenue sharing with the newstand owners.... Their usual share of the cover price would have been unilaterally reduced by that new distributor. They then decided to "sit him hout" to force a new revenue sharing, that they recently obtained, to their satisfaction. Starting with september 20 issues, all titles should be back on shelves. after a 4 month hiatus. Further, I learned yesterday that two distributors in Europe (One in France, the other unknown to me) also went belly-up in the Covid crisis. Therefore, all those distribution channels having been impacted, it is easy to imagine that the operating margins of publishers, already thin, have been further impacted. They printed and delivered issues that, sadly, never made it to large territories. I guess outside of John Bolton and some other "tell all" book authors, these days, the print media is not exactly making millionnaires... Ragards, CT

Hi Carl! Well, the various communications by Testor's were, shall we say, at the least "confusing". The only way to clear it would be to contact Rustoleum US headquarters, I guess. Good for you if they keep offering it in the USA. But their first press release seemed to place USA and Canada in the same "market definition", outlining the "international" nature of some cancellations (the rest of the planet outside US/Can?). I got lucky in finding 4 leftover cans at a small hobby shop 300 miles from me. But all hobby shops I talked with, in 6 different provinces, confirmed the "whole paint line was cancelled". Go figure... CT

Hi Pete! I see. Sorry to hear you lost many of them. Here in the Great White North, the weather is so punishing, maybe it has unintended effects in spray-can conservation...That would be one rare side-benefit... CT

Hi George! I have an extensive stock of Testor's One coat lacquers, and only once in many years did I encounter a can that was leaking by the nozzle. It was glossy black. I figured it was a faulty valve, or me not cleaning the tip correctly before storing it after use. Who knows? CT

Hi David! It is a common problem, so much so that many articles from various magazines confirmed it. I had first-hand experience of that myself. The rule of thumb is: If you want more than one application, you must proceed with your second coating within about 1 hour... or wait 30 days (!), otherwise, you will most likely see your finish "boil" or wrinkle. I guess it has to do with slow gassing-out time. Wet Look doesn't have that problem. TS 13 is great if ou use it as a clear coat over another TS colour. You can stack as much as you want, within reason, in ONE session. But if you do a panel painting scheme on a car, or custom effects, and you need successive application as an INTERCOAT, to protect your work as it progresses, the 30 day curing time for TS13 is a pain. CT

Hi Carl! Well, there was a thread on this very forum last october about that. And my local Michael's stores started discounting the paint line at clearance prices (1.74$ per spray can!). Asked about it, they said it was formely discontinued. This morning, I called Rustoleum (Canada) directly to inquire if any was left in stock ( I REALLY want to get some more). They said they had none in stock for 2 months now, because discontinued. If the manufacturer says it, I guess it's quite official. CT

Hi! Thanks fo chipping in with ideas. I'm familiar with Tamya's line of X paints. I've never tried X22. I gather it is acrylic, like the rest of their x range? I will try it with my trusty Badger Crescendo. Any other idea for spray can stuff? Today, I saw the VALEJO line at my LHS. Anyone with experience of their Glossy clear (acrylic) in spray cans? CT

Hi! I've been a devoted user of Testor's Wet Look Clear for many years. Tops in my book: smooth shiny look even before polishing, fast drying, no restrictions as to re-coat time, etc. Now that I'm told Testor's will not offer it anymore, I raided every Michael's store inventory in my neck of the wood, but alas, now all is gone. So, let me pick your brains, fellow modelers... I know the actual paint was made by Rustoleum, as stated on the labels for about a year. So, I tried to identify and bought any Rustoleum spray can CLEAR LACQUER to carry out tests. I figured they may sell the same "blend" under a different label. Somehow, the best I foud was a HIGH GLOSS LACQUER, avail in black and clear at WalMart (designed for furniture). I carried tests, and even if it is fairly glossy on application, and appears to be of "medium viscosity", as the WetLook is... It is so hot a lacquer that, in order to obtain a good gloss on test panels, I ended up "washing away" Tamya's various lacquers, and some Testor's also. Obviously, it is a good product, but doesn't really give me the shine I was used to with medium-heavy coats. Just too hot. Now, I do custom painting in the 1/1 world on rods and bikes, so, I'm familiar with HOK clear, which is a fabulous product. But you have to mix it, catalyze it, and once rock hard, it requires mucho friction (therefore heat) to flow to a glass shine. And fragile scratch-built cars in styrene don't like heat, isn't it? SO, my question to you is: any othe rspray-can hobby paint (outside of Tamya's TS 13) to substitute to the Wet Look clear. TS 13 is great, but you can't stack it without waiting 30 days, or risk wrinkling. I've been there. My best scenario so far: build up my clear coating with Testor's regular less shiny lacquer clear (I stacked-up on it), as an intercoat, if you will. Then, use my precious remaining cans of Wet Look to put the final flash coat. Or do so with TS 13 once i run out of Wet Look for the flash coat. Some fellow builders on this site advised Minwax urethane clear, avail in hardware stores. But I'm warned that it is VERY THIN, therefore, prone to runs. What is your two cents? Thank you! Clauide Thibodeau

Hi! Mister Fisher, again, I hope I am mistaken... CT