Claude Thibodeau

Hi Ray! Wow! I had never seen that kit before, either in print or de visu... You certainly made the most of it. Bravo! CT

Hi Phil! Thank you. I have seen numerous creations that came from your workbench over the years, and I'm honored by your comment. CT

Hi! The 69 Camaro is a timeless design, a "one year car" as they say. It's replacement was marketed as the 70 1/2... What if that new grille had debuted on the 69? And some experiments took place? Mix a Revell 69 Z28, ZR-1 Corvette powertrain, radiator and tailights panel, IFS, rolling stock, fuel cell and battery case from the Phantom Vicky, all modified. Nose & hood from AMT's Baldwin Motion 70 Camaro, with hidden headlights (ah... the 60's!) headers from revell's 41 Willys motor, and now let's start cutting... The monocoque frame is totally scratch-built. The front section rises on electric actuators, the new cowl is there, as are the door sills and seat-belt retractors. The inner door panels are part of the front section, the rear window becomes a hatch, the rear seat is junked to give way to a powerfull speakers enclosure & amp, and the trunk welcomes a pedestal on which resides a twin-cantelivered mono-shock air suspension, fed (as are the front air struts) by a Ride Tech air compressor & reservoir. The 9" Ford rear is anchored by a triangulated 4Bar system. The floor pan is totally flat, using a taller "tunnel" to encase the tranny & driving shaft, leading to huge tubs. Scratchbuilt console, arm rest, cup holders, fire extinguisher and hand brake lever. Bucket seats are from my parts box. Fully hosed and wired, including the AC hard lines running to the radiator. Scratchbuilt: pedals, shifter, column, steering shaft, 4W disc brakes and calipers, carpets, valve stems. Blacked-out window surrounds. Paint is Tamya's Titanium silver + Testor's Wet look clear. Custom Tamya's acrylic mix for the interior and carpets. Alclad chrome on numerous parts. The joy of scale modeling is you can let your imagination run, and have fun! CT

Hi Francis! Thanks for the kind comments. Being a 1/1 street rod builder/owner, I aften deplored that 30's Ford rods were powered by "the other brand" engines. So, I wouldn't DARE do that to brave Chevy owners. Besides, it is not a very detailed build, just a "style study". Tonight, I will start a thread with a Camaro Pro-Touring that should make you smile... Stay tuned! CT

Hi Dan! The question is: is this Nova distributing free samples, or prescription orders? Even I don't know... CT

Hi David! Actually, I understand that this very pharmacy really DO exist, at least according to what I found on the web, I just borrowed their actual logo to make it into home-made decals. I'm happy you noticed the roll-down rear window. Few people examine pictures with such attention. Thanks for the comments! CT

Hi Larry! Thank you. Must say that Exner was really prescient with his "Forward Look". Even had Harley Earl playing catch-up. That speaks volume... The 58 design doesn't need much to make it more "contemporary". CT

Hi Jeff! Thanks for the comments. You are right... the mighty elephant motor would barely clear the shock towers. Besides, why hurt Chevy lovers with a Mopar swap? The rolling stock is actually the alternate "contemporary" units found in the fine Revell 70 Cuda, an excellent kit in its own right. CT

Hi Glen! Thanks for the comments. The decal appl;ication made me nervous... I only had one set, and the shape of the fender required it would be cut, and angled straight forward about 18 scale inches before the tip. If you zoom on the pics, just over the rear tire, you'll see a tiny irregularity. Well... Couldn't do better. My eyes are getting older, or maybe it's the hands? CT

Hi Marty! Thank you for this enthusiastic comment. CT

Hi Andrew! Well, I write it down as we chat. Life is short, and I'm 65... I guess you can argue with the border agent that attending GSL is "urgent" to me? Worth a try... CT

Hi Peter! Wow, that colour combo is really nice. Love it! CT

Hi Jim! As a matter of fact, I think that "dip", à la 57, is exactly the most striking feature of the Chezoom. And the grafting allowed me to keep it. Thanks for the comments. CT

Hi Tom! Exactly what I feared. And it should be noted that, not only does this ultra-shiny plastic bleeds, but it is more brittle... I had to be very patient in the bodywork phase after the mash-up. Who said a curbside was less work? Me fool I did! I stand corrected... CT

Hi! I love Arizona! I visit as often as I can. I've noticed a great deal of "mature gentlemen", even more so in the winter months (the dreaded snow birds!). One day, I drove trough a town called Hope, and it gave me an idea... What about a convenient medicine delivery "ute" with the livery of the local pharmacy? On to the web, searching for actual phramacy logos. And voilà! AMT's 66 Nova, mashed with the bed of the 61 Ranchero. Chopped top, fabricated B pillar & tailgate, scooped hood with Altered states air intake, wood pallet made of coffee sticks, with a crate of the blue pills. Home made decals. Tamya's racing white + Wet Look clear. Rolling stock from Revell's 70 Cuda. Life is short, might as well have fun with... styrene! What were you thinking? CT

Hi Keith! Thank you. As you may know, this ultra-brillant (and brittle!) plastic is so imbeded with the red colour, it almost restricts using any hue but one who will resist any bleeding, later on. Hence the dark orange. Almost as bright as the shirt of the character on your avatar... CT

Hi Jim! Thank you for the comments. Coming from you, a modeler who has shown great imagination and mastery of ther craft, it's an honour. CT

Hi Andrew! The discs are from a Revell Ferrari California found in the trash bins at a local event. Nicely detailed box stock. To be honest, attending GSL and the races at Bonneville are BOTH on my bucket list. But as of now, the Canada/USA border is closed to all but urgent traveling. So, who knows. I can dream... CT

Hi Francis! Thank you for the comments. Having been blessed to meet the late Mr. Coddington a few times, I know he was a great person, if maybe a little introvert. Getting any compliment from him would be quite a thrill! Hope we can attend our upcoming local event in october. Let's all pray to the god of styrene! CT

Hi Sir! It's an honour, thank you! As the great Tom Woodruf once corrected me on this forum, while I was mentionning one of my model as "just a curbside": the point is to have something that draws you in and make people smile. Thankfully, that curbside seems to have that effect. Lucky me! Regards, CT

Hi Paul! Thank you for the comments. I actually have a sort of white foam packing material here (much like the lining of shipping envelopes). The surface pattern is quite random, cracked, and translucent just enough that I couldn't help it: I mounted it over a light blue coarse-brushed sheet of flat plastic, and placed random accumulation of "salt" (made of white glue and embossing powder), just like the streaks you see alongside the graded section at Bonneville. It looks convincing, but of course, it is mostly white in color. Therefore, when you shoot pics of the white model on it.... it saturates the camera, and you loose details. Well, if I was a better photographer, I might find a solution, I guess... CT

Hi Peter! As a fan of your numerous and varied creations, I'm flattered. Thanks! Here's how it started, in the butchering stage... CT

Hi Ray! Thank you for the comment. I juggled with the idea of painting it as a full bore lowrider.... but sticking with the bogus concept car theme prevailed. I have other ideas for my next custom, and paint will be more splashier, for certain. Model on! CT

HI Tom! Thank you. Coming from a Legend, it's much appreciated! regards, CT

Hi! I do a lot of mash-up builds... so... lotsa leftover parts! What to do with those? What if Mopar came to the market with the Hemi Cuda in..... 1958? Don't laugh: the Forward Styling was already afoot, so why not? I took an AMT Slammer 58 body, grafted the Chezoom Slammer ubiquitous roof, made my own glasses, shoehorned AMT's 66 Riv interior (modified), sunk a Revell 70 Cuda shaker scoop in the hood, grafted an MPC 72 GTO grille & lights, added Pegasus wheels, and shaved down the rear wings + added a bodyside reveal, à la Imperial. The stoplight is a plastic slit at the bottom of the trunk panel, and the HEMI decal was "spliced & reconfigured" from the 70 Cuda kit. Paint is a custom mix of Tamya's orange, an ancestor to Hemi Orange, if you will... Just a curbside, but lotsa fun. The point, isn't it? CT