Claude Thibodeau

Hi José! Nice rod, and the color combo/graphics really scream late 80's. Those Buttera suspensions are tricky to build, but look so great. Bravo! CT

Thank you Scott! I'll do my best to "keep them coming"! CT

Hi Steve! Happy to see it brought back good memories for you. Sure did for me! CT

Thank you Tony! I'M glad that I did not get your pressure to go up! CT

Hi Steve! That would be, in fact, a colorful match-race! CT

Hi Gary! Thanks for the comments. That would be spectacular, indeed! CT

Thank you Jerry! It came out better than I expected. Lucky day... CT

Hi Dave! Thank you so much for the great pictures! Mucho inspiration here... CT

Thank you Stephen! CT

Thanks Gene! CT

Hi Francis! Thanks for the compliments, but I'm just an old guy with too much time on his hands! And I try to explore diverse "fields" to avoid being bored. Can't wait to see the "green wonder" completed. Keep at it! CT

Hi Steve! Thanks for the compliments. Truth be told, your own Mystery Van reminded me that smiling while building a model is still very much allowed, and should be something we shoot for! So, this old standard, less stage coach and more contemporary, struck me as a possibility. I must confess that I'm not certain that I would have the cojones to induce it into a drift. Getting older by the minute... Keep at it! CT

Thank you Craig! CT

Thanks for the great pics, Sir! CT

Hi John! The MPC 32 body is nice, the rest of the kit is showing its age. Here's this very body (with scratchbuilt floor, interior panels, etc.) sitting on the Phantom Vicky frame, with scratchbuilt suspensions. I'm confident you could pull it off starting with this body. Good luck, and keep up posted on your progress! CT

Hi Tim! I see yours was at some point more "discounted" than mine... The joys of clearance sales! There's a price sticker on mine that says 117.50$, but I suppose it was Canadian $ when it was on the shelve of an unknown LHS. Who knows? To your question: I sold my last personnal 32 3W a few years ago. The pic below came from the Goodguys website, many moons ago. Currently in the garage is a 70 Challenger 440 6-pack manual that I'm repainting for a friend. So little time, so much styrene... CT

Hi Tim! Last week, I bought a Big Deuce mint 2013 issue 1/8 32 Ford. I just felt I might give it a shot. Then I realized I would certainly throw so much scratchbuilt at it that it would be substantially modified. And where to store such a BIG rod? I haven't even opened the butifully molded and detailed parts bags yet, and I'm more and more thinking about reselling it in mint condition to someone who would build it "as intended". We'll see... CT

Hi Tom! Mr Teresi is certainly one of the best modelers of his generation. He never fails to amaze. I followed his buid of the monocoque Mustang, and was very impressed. When I came back to the hobby in 2014, the first car I scratchbuilt was a tribute to this very monocoque Mustang, albeit on a more humble level than Mr Teresi. Here's how it looked...

Merci Mario! I think I will resort to my "woodwork tools" more often. Fellow modelers seem to aprreciate... CT

Hello Mister Anonymous Admirer! Thanks for the compliments. But be it known that I started from a new kit, that I found for cheap. My original one from the early 70's was long gone, thanks to the yearly spring floods of the Chaudière river. Now, I'm working on a couple of projects that may make you smile, one of which is a Javelin funny-car glue bomb that I'm "updating". Stay tuned! CT

HI! The gene pool of the family shows up in Bella's work. Bravo! CT

Hi Gentlemen! Interesting discussion. It reminds me of the concerns that grew in the 80's when the world of 1/1 street rods was taken by the mega$ all billet, shop built "objets d'art". On one side, "regular" rodders complained that whatever they did paled in comparison to those masterpieces. The Coddingtons and Fooses of the world countered that they were only "pushing the envelope", and that we should all rejoice that they could assemble dream-teams of craftsmen to reach such levels. Then, ensued the "Riddlerization" of car showas: The Great 8, AMBR final contenders, etc. Mega bucks competing with mega bucks. To the satisfaction of the automotive press, always on the lookout for eye candy to put on the cover page. Coddington famously admitted that he was willing to "loose money" on his flagship cars, because he was making his pay elsewhere: billet wheels, accessories, clothing, etc. The cars got your attention, and that was priceless. For all the rest, he had Master Card! It's interesting to note that when those celebrated cars got on the block, at say, Barrett-Jackson, they mostly raked in MUCH LESS than their building cost. They were not less sensationnal, or decrepit... Just the flavor of last month, I guess? A space in time experiment, at most an "icon"? It's also amusing to notice that lately, the Goodguys Top ten and all other major shows trophy winners tend to be... recreations of old rods of the 50's and 60's! Can you say "leather straps to hold down the hood"? Old tech, executed to the nth degree. Oh well... Everything old is new again. Heritage anyone? It's interesting to note that when kit manufacturers came up with large scale cars, it was mostly because, of their own admission, it was perceived as "more stuff for my bucks". And the suggested retail also went up, and so did the profit margins. So, if someones shows up with a magnificently detailed and finished large scale model, I will be the first to marvel at their accomplishement. But I will also be mercyless for any flaw that might have escaped me on a smaller scale car. It comes with the territory, I guess... Just my two cents, FWIW... regards, CT

Hi Daniel. Just saw your comment. Thanks! CT

Thanks for the comment, Chris! CT

Thank you Bob! CT