Claude Thibodeau

Hi Francis! Marvelous, and I imagine, fragile to whittle down of a chunk of aluminium. Bravo! Now, how-many CFM will this thing flow at full throttle, really? Just curious... CT

Thanks Andy! Actually, you read my mind. That is why the clear hydraulic lifted roof is tinted... to cut back on the harsh sun on the lake, of course... CT

Hi! Think I would settle for AMT's 53 Stude. The design is still freash, and with just a few contemporary touches, it is surprising what you can get out of it. Here are two I played around with... CT

Hi! Design wise, this car was noted for the "Bunkie Beak" (pointy nose requested by Mr. Knudsen upon going trough revolving doors at Ford - short stay, return to GM fast), which was criticized by most. The positive attribute was seen as the roof: almost "chopped" in comparison to the 67-69, which was taller and more formal. Hence the Stanford design concept that he claimed married "the best of both designs"; a sleek roof on a more distictive front section. All a matter of taste, I guess... Tom Thaylor also produced sketches for Street Rod Builder magazine, and he seemed enamored of the side profile of the 70-71 too. CT

Hi Marty! Well, who would have tought? Very credible, and fun! CT

Hi Jerry! The joys of cooking with styrene, sort of... Thanks. CT

Hi Steve! The key word here is "tight". A lady on my street has one (stock, of course), and just looking at it reminds me of the packaging job you faced. Bravo! CT

Hi Alan! The most interesting component, in my opinion, is the chassis. Details and design are fine as-is, or you can use only the bare frame as a nice base for fat-fendered Fords, and add/scratchbuild your own suspensions. CT

Hi Jim! Sweet paint job. Reminds me of root beer... Bravo! CT

Hi! Variety is the spice of life, they say... We'll be watching, interesting! CT

Hi Gareth! I was lucky to find Model King's 68 TBird lately (Allison in Thunderland pseudo funny-car). The body is perfect, and in the same scale as the 71. Designer Steeve Stanford created a fantastic concept in The Rodder's Journal a few years ago, grafting the "chopped" roof of the 71 on the body of the 68. This is exactly what I intend to recreate this winter. I share your view about this kit. Basically a promo, I would say. Have fun! CT

Hi Andy! Thanks for the link. Instructive. In fact, I understand they set-up a temporary strip, by removing packed snow from the frozen surface of the lake. Many cities do the same to create outdoors skating rings around here. Who needs Bonneville anymore? When may be on to something... CT

Hi Sir! Great subject, superb execution! CT

Thank you David. Happy you like it. CT

Thank you Scott! Problem was, I had this urge to eat any time I had a work session on the catering trailer's food "parts". It was hard... CT

Hi! Considering the hurdles you say you faced, this is a superb result. Bravo! I have this kit in my stash, and I will look at it hard and long, the glass in particular, based on your remarks. CT

Thank you Carl! I'm honored by your comment. CT

Thank you Jonathan! CT

Thank you Andy! Now that you mention it, I must say I never imagined that... But what about the traction on ice? Who knows... CT

Hi! For what it is worth, the bugcatcher scoop on this coupe was "plated" with Chrome spray paint from Michael's. Not as chrome as Alclad chrome, more like polished aluminium. CT

Hi Tony! Thank you. Hard to resist the smell of a warm slice of pizza, isn't it? CT

Thank you Ken! CT

Hi Tim! Thanks for the picture. Formative. Besides, I would venture this unit is worth enough today to finance a comfortable retirement, should the owner be willing to sell it... CT

Hi Alan! Thanks for the comments. It looks like that PU in your picture is about to serve some refreshment on tap. Don't drink and drive? Hmmmm..... My exhaust pipes are long sprues, drilled at the end just passed the bend. The shields were made with sections of a Ford Taurus rear shelf speaker's bezels, wrapped around a 1/1 brake line tube for radius. They are stiff to bend, but the pattern felt in scale for the intended purpose. The clear "cases" over the counters were made out of recording cassettes boxes! Memorex had a variety that had slightly rounded corners, and they reproduced the typical food store rounded counters fairly well. I kept those for years, not knowing what I would do with them... but now you know! How come people seem to be driving on the wrong side of the road in your pictures? Just kidding... CT

Hi Tim! The colorizing of Hot Rod front page was indeed frequent, you are perfectly right. The real thing you are showing in your pictures, on the other hand, show the effect of time, that slight dullish surface old cars rebuilders know so well. One can only imagine how the parts looked when they came out of the box, back then... Keep on! CT