Claude Thibodeau

Hi Mark! Obviously, you guys from upstate NY have made rust an art form. Very convincing! Your model A "tractor" reminds me of the things I used to encounter in the late 60's, when we were running the contry roads to find remnants of antique cars to find parts for our hot rods. Of course, the collector/restorers crowd would no sell us any extra part they had, because of the "horrible cars" we wanted to build. Nostalgia... CT

Hi Steve! very nice, and the detailing is world-class. Bravo! CT

Hi Jim! Your recreation of "chemical decay" is true to life, and you obviously master the technique. Bravo! Since you invited more examples of degradation... CT

Hi David! What an unusual, but very effective color combo. Bravo! CT

Thank you Sir! I was just trying to do something unusual with a Gremlin... as if the basic design was not peculiar enough! LOL. CT

Hi Josh! Thanks for the compliments. I alluded to Pike's Peak in my intro, cause I knew it was more of an household name than the Mount Washington's Run to the clouds. I never raced that mountain, but climbing it with my Harley was interesting. First, the warden at the gate advises you that temperature at the summit is 40F degrees lower that at the base. So much for lightly dressed summer riders! While climbing, you run trough 3 succeding types of vegetation: full forest canopy, then lean bushes, then rock and moss. And you can't really appreciate Mt Washington until you drive back down. Good luck with the brakes! Finally, the TV and FM transmitters buildings at the summit are CHAINED to the rock, for this is where the highest winds ever measured on earth were reported. 265 MPH, if I remember properly (don't hold me on this... I'm getting older by the day...). Whatever the exact number, I can attest that it humbles you when you think about it, on a "mild" summer day at the summit. CT

Thank you Chris! CT

Hi Jonathan! I'm sorry, but I don't have the WIP shots... Here are 2 more angles, plus the car that inspired me... CT

Hi Marc! Thank you. The "recipe" was found by accident, but it certainly makes for a color that "pops". CT

Hi Jonathan! Thanks for the comments. It might just be that... there is just too much fantastic stuff to grasp on this forum! Good for us... CT

Thank you Carl! It certainly was a bit unusual... CT

Thank you Steve, happy you like it! CT

Hi Steve! Thanks for the comments, it means a lot to me. You know, in the french language, we have a saying that would loosely translates to " when it happens twice, it's bound to happen a third time" . So, after pizza and Tex-Mex, what will it be? Let me see... One of my friends runs the best italian restaurant in town, and his "linguine pesto" has delected guests from all over the world visiting Quebec city. I'll see what I can do! CT

Hi Phil! Thanks for the comment. Happy you like it. CT

Hi Andrew! Your comment is more than many people said about the Gremlin when it came out... LOL. CT

Hi Robert! Please do, I'm certain we have not exhausted the creative possibility for this little critter. The standard fender flares are well suited for any application that requires a bit more rubber at the four corners. Keep them coming! CT

Hi Tim! Thanks for the comments. Your concept reminds me a bit of a couple concept cars that AMC created for the show circuit, back then. One was a mash-up of an AMX/Javelin front end, with a Gremlin rear section. It was really nice. Yours has more of a "show car " attitude, with the layered grille and giant rear meats. Really unique! As for the Tex-Mex, I sampled many fine restaurants in your neck of the wood. There used to be one on Mountain Road, in Stowe, in an old house. I think they later moved to the lakeshore /Church street district in Burlington, in search of year-round clientele... but I'm afraid they are closed now. There's also the Nero Gato in downtown Burlington, that was fine. But nothing tops the Cafe Noche in Conway Village, NH. Hope to be there soon, I'll stop by to shake hands with you on the way to the feast... CT

Thank you David! It's a mashup of parts... and real life influence! CT

Hi Francis! Thanks for the comments. And come to think of it, I think you are right: any Gremlin growing on you in the rear-view mirror might have a disconcerting effect! Another case of "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear"... LOL. CT

Hi Larry! Thank you, much appreciated! CT

Thank you Chris, happy you like it! CT

Thank you Andy! CT

Thank you Ray! I remember a fellow modeler ( Eric Ritz maybe?) who post on this forum once made a gasser version, in purple and bright green "flake", that was REALLY nice. What can I say: variety is the spice of life... CT

HI! To Tim's point about new tooling of the AMC Javelin and AMX... It would be great. The glorious Trans-Am years, coupled with aging demos amongst model builders might be a solid sales "floor", providing for stock and drag variations on the kits. Who knows... I was lucky to find two (!) Javelin 68 and 69 promos in good shape, at about 80$ apiece, plus a complete Johan Javelin funny-car kit, 68 vintage, for... 5$ ! (yes!) Trouble was mice had relieved themselves on the original box. Try as I might, could never get it at an acceptable "smell" level, alas. But the kit survived. It's in line for a build session later this year. So much styrene, so little time... CT

Hi Phil! Both are very nice, and minimalist, which today is a quality IMHO... Bravo! CT