Claude Thibodeau

Hi! The big 68 Charger is seen once in a while in Pro-Touring guise, so, to make it more unique, why not move an SRT late Hemi in the back, throw in IRS and twin turbos, scissor dors, an opening roof/hatch? Based on Revell's 68 R/T, with 06 Dodge Magnum Hemi, and AMT's Jag XK 220 transaxle, IRS, floor pan, and a host of scratchbuilt systems, hinges, cabin, etc. (too many to mention).Finished in Tamya's Silver leaf (VERY hard to shoot to my satisfaction...) with TS-13 clear, fully polished. Rolling stock from my parts box (Corvette?). Hours of fun with styrene! Enjoy. CT

Hi Richard! Very nice and flowing. Just what some factory designer might have designed as a "concept car" back then. You should build it! CT

Hi Sir! All are great, and I must say your paint polishing is world class. Bravo! CT

Hi Rickard! To say that the "stance feels right" is... the understatement of the year Sir! Great! CT

Hi Mike! Great work. Your rear wheel, to avoid getting the nose too high upon launch, reminds us how tricky those cars were to pilot back then. Memories... CT

Hi Martin! It moves forward, very well, bravo! For your floor "bell" to tie the sharpie hump to the firewall, you may want to give a try to either: nose drops squeezable plastic bottles have a styrene screw-on cap (most of the time). This happens to be just the right size to cover the transmission bellhousing/case most of the time. Slice and glue the required section, and voilà! Or, you could try to use a section of blister pack, like the type used to protect new lightbulbs. Many have rounded shapes that you could cross-section to adapt and bridge your current gap. Just my two cents... Hope it helps! CT

Hi Mike! Cool idea. I remember around 1971, Harry Bradley came up with a series of concept drawings for long gone Car Life magazine: The wagon as a GT. He draw station-wagon versions of the Javelin, Mustang, Cougar, Cuda, Challenger, Camaro & Firebird... But not the Charger. I guess the MPC staff kinda filled the void. CT

Hi Jim! Very nice, bravo! I like your idea of sign vinyl for the belts. I have some here, and I will try it. Thanks! CT

HI! I guess your description is more acurate than mine. It must have been Dinky, not Corgi. It was more than 55 years ago, so... I tend to forget! CT

Hi Pierre! Then, you got your work cut out for you. Good luck with the spot repair. CT

Hi Tom! If this is not a scratchbuilding masterclass... I don't know what is! CT

Hi Jason! Like on a real car, tight quarters call for "packaging" magic. Looking at your exhaust/turbo combo, that makes the grade, bravo! CT

Hi Sir! A gas tank, eh? Well, let me throw you a "challenge": We know how talented you are bending styrene and milling aluminium and brass... SO: why not fabricate a gas tank out of, say... Carbon fiber? Think of the plusses: light weight, almost impossible to puncture, etc. Just kidding, of course! Gotcha! CT

Hi Mike! Wow, the soldering and finishing of the batwing brackets on the front axle are world class. Bravo! CT

Hi Francis! Well, forget about the shift light. The tach is right in your line of sight, and since you have years of experience with Mopar big blocks... I'm certain that you will be able to shift by ear, as we used to do back then... Great work! CT

Hi Pierre! Happened to me once, and I could establish that it was caused by a not fully cured colour coat, sealed too soon with a clear coat (it was Tamya's TS-13 in my case). When this happens, nothing can be done but stripping all paint to bare plastic and start again. Sorry if this is your issue here... CT

Hi Les! I know, I do it frequently. With this cheap nail stuff, the "resin" was so bad that to thin it enough for airbrush use, the "flakes" were just not in suspension anymore. But to simulate carpet finish, great result. CT

HI Jim! Nice progress. Lately, I tried something unexpected to get the carpet texture you achieved here. At the dollar store, I found real cheap heavy flaked nail polish. Hoping it could be airbrushed, I bought the tri-pack (gold-red-blue), but upon opening the bottles, I realized WHY it was at a discount: it was a gooey, jelly consistance. Now way to thin and airbrush it: it looked like sand in a tablespoon of water! Then, I tried brushing it as-is on a plastic scrap... Bingo: heavy grained, compact finish, that dried in 5 minutes. Top it with acrylic colour of your choice, and perfect instant carpet. Who said a little experiment can't pay off? CT

Hi Sir! Very impressive work, bravo! Unique subject, exclusive model, and a good lesson in self-reliance. I had this car as a small Corgi die-cast when it came out, but it was 1/43, I guess. The front and rear compartments lids were hinged, with minimal details inside. Your model brought back great memories of my youth, only much more detailed! Thank you! Respectfully, CT

Hi Mike! Ah, the eternal grace and beauty of FED. Keep welding! CT

Hi Dennis! I'm currently polishing a 41 Lincoln that I painted with Tamya's colour and clear (like you did), and I must say that your 37 is a textbook case for "great polishing job". Bravo! CT

Hi Tim! Le Cirque is going trough major restructuration these days. They filed for Chapter 11 last spring, and Covid just destroyed their business model. Even in Montreal, they are at a standstill. We better find joy in model-building for the foreseable future. On that, back to the bench. The smell of melted styrene is calling... CT

Hi Mike! Well, Canada already spun Le Cirque du Soleil, known across the world for its clowns and public amusers. Maybe Francis is also an extraordinary export from the Great White North? It's just that his field of expertise, luckily for us, has to do with this hobby of ours that we cherish so much. Amen! CT

Hi Mike! If someone here can invent a new system, it certainly is Francis! CT

Hi Tim! Well, on this side of the border, it's been the metric system since, oh, 1981 I believe. But since we are open minded about it, all our rules and tape measures still show both. As to the US dime and currencies... how come there is latin words on it? Foreigh language? Just curious... CT