Claude Thibodeau

Hi! Don't push him too hard, because, the Francis I know might decide to start scratch-building his own functionnal dome light door jamb switches.... CT

Hi! Would have been a shame if this thing stayed buried in a box under your bench. Keep on! CT

Hi! Reading the comments on this thread, it appears most of us are, shall we say, of the "mature" variety... I can't recall the number of times I was told that we need to "bring new blood" to this hobby, meaning, get younger peoples interested. Well, it appears that whatever the amount of pre-decorated or snap kits they sell, the "younger types" are just paying a temporary attention to this hobby. A "passing trough" phase, if you will. Go to your collection of SAE, and check the circulation data that are required by law to be made public once a year (usually in the latest issue of a going year, or the first of the new year... buried at the end of the mag, in VERY small print). They show: the net amount of copies printed, distributed to vendors, mailed to subscribers, sold an returned -unsold-totals. Rare are the publications, the days, who show a growth curve. Quite the opposite... Difficult to maintain a profitable business in these circumstances. For a while, I was an advertiser myself in a few 1/1 hot rod magazines. When I challenged their advertising rates in light of ever-diminishing circulation, they countered that "... every issue is read by more peoples". At some point, if you believed them, each and every Street Rodder Magazine issue would have been circulated amongst 38 persons (!?!). Are you stlll an advertiser? I tought so... I came to the conclusion that our hobby, mostly, is populated by mature adults like me, who discovered, or most likely, re-entered the hobby at some point in their mature years. That would explain the endless mining of old tools by new owners (Retro-DeLuxe packaging, anyone?), and good sales numbers for kits that are perfectly aimed at the market "demographics". Not a bad thing in itself, but not creating a new audience, I'm afraid. I doubt they can come up with enough rehash of Fast & Furious to lure a steady flow of youngsters to the hobby shop for anything but a drone or RC toy. For me, I will still delight in the joys of detailed "static" styrene, thank you. Hope I'm dead wrong, however! CT

Hi! I've spend all my professionnal life in the media: radio, TV and ultimately newspapers. Here's my 2 cents... All mass-appeal media (radio, traditional TV and daily papers) are based on a model of "inefficiency", meaning they used to cast a content destined to please the largest amount of people AT ONCE. Alas, the 80's brought "niche casting". The huge top40 stations died, because there was no such thing anymore as "music everybody loves". Urban, classic rock, indie, dance, jazz, ad nauseam. Intense programming, distined to a narrow audience who will, hopefully, stay tuned for loooooong listening time. TV? remember ABC's Wide World of Sports on week-end afternoons? Replaced by infomercials, while pro sports moved to ESPN and al. Money talks. Newspapers? Can you say non-efficient? My local paper delivers 64 pages of news, human interest, sportys, art scene, crosswords & al. Only a fraction interest me, truly. And I have less and less time to stop everything and read the hole slate in 40 minutes. Result: circulation and readership falling. Bleeding money. Specialized mags? Ahhh, a blessed species you say? Not so fast, Joe. By definition, they cater to a narrow audience. Snail mail is taxing them to death. Flooding the newstands requires at least 40 to 50K issues, of which half are actually sold, and the cover price revenues are split as such: 40% for the news stand operator, 40% for the distributor, and 20% for the publisher. Who must also pay to dispose of the "unsold" gathered back by the distributor. The advertisers see the actual sales number, and argue for lower ad rates. A vicious circle, isn't it? Finally, when the web became a thing, paper barrons were dubious: to go web or not? Some advisers said" anybody can get on the web, whereas it takes a huge infrastructure to publish and deliver paper... Let's stay on a playing field where we have the advantage, instead of moving to the playing flied where all the start-ups are. It's too crowded there, they won't survive for long on such small revenues" ... Was it a wise advice? We are all monday morning quarterbacks, but, you be the judge. Sorry for our loss. CT

Hi Gary! A JGA gun tatoo? Well, that's a product endorsement, if ever there was one! CT

Hi Gary! Well, I was right in seeking your input on that! Now that you mention it, I remember the term "vailing", and that Gypsy Rose car IS the one I was thinking about. My first gun in the early 60's was a Devilbis JGA, a top notch gun at the time, that could be used both as a pressure feed (with a remote cup) and a suction feed with a regular cup. That gun was way too much for my capacities, but I was coaxed into buying it by an old man, who was running the paint shop at the furniture factory where my dad was production manager. Anything the old painter said was gospel, so... He gave me the big Devilbis catalog, circling what I would need to start on a good footing, as he said. I'll try to retrieve it in my files... that special veiling gun (or head?) might be featured, who knows. If so, I'll let you know! Thanks for kindly answering my quest! Regards, Claude Thibodeau

Hi Sir! Since you've been around paint guns for a while, I would pick your brain, if I may... On some low riders, I've seen a technique that to me is rare, so much that I don't know of any name for it. Let me describe... It is a long, uninterrupted "swirl" of a fine paint line, about 3 inches wide (the swirl), that was included in panel painting, mostly on roof of low riders. The visual effect is akin to taking a SLINKY toy (those coils that went down stairs from our youth !) and stretch it along a painted pannel. I always tought that it was done with a revolving spray gun head, and that the painter varied the width of the "swirl" by moving closer or further from the surface... I suppose it is done with thick lacquer, like cobwebbing, to get a long filament. A freshly applied clear coat would get the swirl to adhere and stabilize, like with cobwebbing. Have-you ever seen or done this technique yourself, and can you advise about it? Thank you! CT

Hi! Interesting concept, clever building techniques, and promising results. We'll stay tuned! CT

Hi! Clearly the 90's look, Bravo! CT

Hi! Absolutely gorgeous! It reminds me of the craze for "panel painting" that was so popular in the late 60's. All customs and funny-cars had them in that era. Just like you, I suppose, I've painted countless "custom vans" with those techniques in the 70's. It IS making a comeback, as I could tell looking at the "Cars of SEMA show" in trade magazines. The current urethanes make using big flakes more fun than the kazillion coats of lacquer required back then... Your work is stunning on model cars... I can only imagine the effect on 1/1 cars! Keep having fun with styrene. CT

Hi Gary! Thanks. I've done it countless times in 1/1 with thick lacquer and a PRESSURE FEED gun. Never tried it with my airbrush. I'll sure do! I've experimented with "cobweb in a can", those novelty items sold in craft stores around Halloween... but the results were far from convincing. Time to start the Badger! CT

Hi! Impressive body of work, really. Bravo! I'm intrigued by the large Chevy: it features what appears to be "cobwebbing", in scale !?! It's a chore to do in 1/1, much less in scale... Any advice on your technique? CT

Hi! Wow, that paint is great! World-class built. Bravo! CT

Hi! Today, a friend called me because he had to move, and wanted to sell some old kits he had built over the years. Out of curiosity, I went, and lo and behold, there was a Johan Rumbler Javelin funny car! Complete, with the alternate parts to built it stock, custom or F/C, the last being the version he elected to do back then. The box was nice... BUT... mices found their way in the big box, and the stench was horrible. Had to junk the box (always sad with a JOHAN original), alas... I notice looking at your project that you have the scooped hood, much nicer than the standard issue on the Rumbler. The F/C version features a flat red rear stop "panel" in place of the standard unit. Good luck with the completion of your project! CT

Hi Dale! You are right to "stick with what works fine" for you. Far from me to try to steer you back to "hobby paints". All that counts is your enjoyment, and satisfactory results. Keep having fun with styrene! CT

HI! interesting idea, and great execution. Those injectors are great, they look more in line with the "mission" of the car than the vertical tubes you used at the beginning. Bravo! CT

Hi Sir! Great work, and I'm not surprised! They look convincingly like those on the cover of Hot-Rod back then.... Since yours are machined and not cast... maybe a smidge more shiny than the OEM. Keep on, you are a great inspiration to us all. CT

Hi! This is spot-on. Suddently, I'm back to 1967! Is-this the engine from the 53 Stude with the "pyramid" intake for twin-blower? And if so, what is the provenance for the exhaust headers? CT

Hi Francis! Tremendous work, as usual! I was browsing tru pictures on my computer, and I found this one from RAM 2019. You swept the first place in competition-drag with your Plymouth (left of picture), me 2nd with my Duster pro-mod, but alas, I can't remember the name of the gentleman who picked 3rd and is pictured between us... Just to wax nostalgia in this year of cancelled or postponed shows... CT

Hi Mike! Thank you for the comments. Much appreciated, coming from the Brass Master! Funny you should mention a 32 Ford. This winter, I completed my "annual" Bonneville car (I try to built at least one a year...), and it is a 32. I was inspired by a feature in The Rodders Journal, about a car under construction on a 32 platform, albeit extremely modified for the speed trials. So, I used the bare 32 frame from AMT's Phantom Vicky, lengtened and kicked it up, built a full roll cage, put the Monogram 87 turbo coupe 4L in it (heavily modified), and all sorts of other extensive details. The body is the AMT ProShop 32 roadster, with a scratchbuilt loooooong hood and nose cone, full belly pan, air ride fore & aft, etc. To poke fun at the famous So-Cal lakester... I called mine S0-CAN Speed Shop. (is there such a thing as southern Canada, anyway?) I must do a photo session for the 8 models I built this winter, and post them here. Just can't pry myself away from the bench to shoot them all, Tomorrow, maybe... Keep having fun with styrene.

Hi! I can see you are not afraid to tackle major "resurrection" work, and that's good. Your ability to make it fit nicely is worthy of mention. Keep at it, and above all else, have fun! You can be proud of your work. Bravo! CT

Hi Francis! Thank you for the compliments my friend. Coming from a MASTER, it's much appreciated! CT

Hi Sir! Thank you for your comments. It was a long built... but very gratifying. To my surprise, the most painful part to produce was the "mail slot" windshield. I made it of thin CD case plastic, and it is so short vertically that I broke a few in final shaping before being capable of having a perfectly flush fitting unit. On a different note, I'm still mystified by the fact that so few modelers seem to be familiar with the "salt cars". Of course, it doesn't get the coverage of, say, Nascar, but nevertheless... CT

Hi! Unusual subject for a low rider... but how sweet! Bravo! CT

Hi! Lots of imagination here! Here's a Speedwagon, but stretched "à la Boydster", using the hood, front fenders (with wheelwells filled) and front frame section from AM'T's 32 Chrysler cabrio. The cowl was removed and rebuilt under the hood to allow continuous side panels to the front door cut-line and base of glass, which was replaced with a slightly curved unit. Lot's a fun! CT