Claude Thibodeau

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

Hi Aron! If you refer to the chips samples above, once you find the colour you want, give the numeric code next to the chip to your automotive paint house. Back then, enamel was the norm, and lacquer was an option on some upscale models. Therefore, in our era of base-coat/clear coat paints, your local shop will likely have to call the manufacturer (ex: PPG or Axalta) to CONVERT the code to a recipe that they can mix with their base colours. If they claim at the start "I can't do it", insist for the manager to call. Usually, they get the recipe from the manufacturer within 24 hours. Most shops can also sell you your mix in a spray can, made on the premises. Good luck! CT

HI Francis! Then I wish you an Imperial 2021! CT

Hi Steve! I look at your door panels, and I can smell the "new car vinyl odor" that was so typival of new cars when I was a kid. For reasons I can't explain, the GM interior smelled different from Ford's or Mopar... I know because in october of each year, I visited all the dealerships in town to get brochures and colour chips. And climb behind the wheels of some cars in the showroom. Now, why my mom threw those artefacts away is still a mistery to me. CT