Claude Thibodeau

Hi! Color choices and finishing are superb. Bravo! CT

Hi! Great choice of colors for the interior. Your "sources" are clever. You may also use the textured paint for Hartzcloth type convertible roofs. The trick is to spray it from about 18", so only the lighter particles reach your painted surface. Flat clear then dulls it in a convincing way. Some modelers also use that paint (grey-black variety) to reproduce asphalt in dioramas. Keep-on working late... CT

Hi! Great solution! I built real 1/1 rods for customers, and this is exactly how we "hang" hood sides. On 1/1 cars, there are usually an index pin at each end of the hood side support bar, that slides tru a corresponding hole in the upper "fold" of the side panel(s). This way, they don't move around. A Dzuss fastener secures them at the bottom. The hood top is also drilled, and gets indexed at the perfect location whenever you close it. Of course, at this scale, you can skip that. Great, I can't wait to see the finished car! CT

Thanks for the comments. This one was long to come... so it's appreciated! CT

Hi! Thanks for the comments on a built that I worried would "shock" purist. You nerver know... CT

Hi! Great built, can't wait to see the color combo! As for the steering... since your wheels have "fluted" spokes between the kidney holes... I would match it with the second left on the top row. Just my 2 cent's worth... CT

Hi! Thanks for the comments. I am partial, but I agree the color suits this Caddy body just fine... CT

Hi! Very interesting. Will the Vette seats fit the narrow "wells"... or will you need to fit custom units between the tunnel and your new "door sills"? Just curious... CT

Hi! Masterful. As they say; "the whole amounts to more than the sum of its parts". That's sayin a lot, looking at the parts in the first place... Magnum Opus!. Bravo! CT

Hi Bob! Thank you for posting this stimulating and very well shot video! CT

Hi! The stance is sweet!. As I'm sure you know already, many teams that were "pushing the envelope" back then were acid-dipping the bodies, to thin the sheetmetal and reduce weight. Some went overboard, and the shells became to thin and flexible... they had to put some "rigidity" back in. They resorted to installing temporary "walls" inside the quarters, trunk and c-pillars, trough which they injected high-density foam, then removed said walls after the foam hardened. Virtually no weight penalty, and reduced body flex. I think the Mopar Missile (if my memory is not failing...) had that on one of their early Challenger or Demon/Duster. I've never seen anyone push realism to this level, but if someone can, it certainly might be You! Regards, CT

Hi! Interesting solution! Question: what would you say is the wheelbase (in scale) on this 'liner? Just curious... CT

Hi! Actually, the belly pan is made of a CD case, traced, trimmed, grooved and painter to mimick carbon fiber. I han no such decal on hand, so a fryin splatter screen from the Dollar store had to do, with two shades of Tamya gray to create the effect. Poor man's Kevlar! CT

Hi! Lotsa work and details here. Bravo! CT

Hi! Thanks for the comments. No, never tried it before. I built new and shiny real hot rods for a living... so rust and decay are a turn-off for me in real life. However, having read about weathering and patina in model publications, I just wanted to give it a try. I was not shooting for "absolute decay", as some do. Just a slightly used and worn look dit it. As for the paint, color and partial rust, there was a VW platform van in Contest Cars a few years ago, that had just what I considered "perfect". That was actually what got me started on this one. That the car would be roadworthy in real life was a major consideration for me. This one is "borderline", I will concede... Warning: it IS more work to do a rat than an average model... CT

Hi! The historic look is spot-on. ready for the pages of The Rodder's Journal. Wait 'till Steeve Coonan sees it... Bravo! CT

Hi! A friend of mine who's into the packaging industry told me the beer/soft drink cans are of the same thickness as throw-away aluminium plates you get with pies, or buns. If you find a plate that is squarish or rectangular, you will find the "floor" of the plate is made of flat and embossed (or "quilted") alternating surfaces. The flat spots should provide you with more than enough material for most 1/24 scale parts you may want to fabricate. Plus, you can trim it with typical paper scissors. Just a suggestion... CT

Hi! Good concept, the roof (in particular) is in tune with the general design of the 'bird. Some who attempted that conversion used 61 Galaxie roof, which, from the get go, is similar to what you achieved trough your hard work. I'll follow that! CT

Hi! For what it is worth... here is a "basic" scratchbuilt injection system on a Boss 429 engine, with the horns made of shoelace eyelets. CT

Hi! Having worked in a print shop in my early years, I confirm that litho plates are a smidge thicker than those alternatives I mentionned. I remember seeing people making hood hinges made of beer can aluminium, of all things. This Bud's for you! CT

Hi! Glad you ultimately got your pics uploaded. Great work! I saw very thin aluminium plates, virtually "paper" at Michael's, in the Cricut cutter aisle... They call it "embossing material". As the name implies, they might be pliable and stiff at once to fit your purpose. Some folks also use the foil that seals the cork on wine bottles, or even some tooth paste tube foil (the inside is natural alumnimium finish. Might do? CT

Hi! Great built, tremendous paint finish. This is what we would call "dripping wet" gloss. Bravo! CT

Hi Sir! Got them, loaded them, drooled over them, and responded directly about them to the email address from which you sent them to me. You should have it by now... CT

Hi Sir! Well, sorry to hear that. I fear we won't see the pictures... Depending on the maker of your computer, it may very well be that instead of a Microsoft software, your computer is running on an "open" software, i.e. free software, but with different configurations. Those are surprinsingly common among people who don't require so called "state of the art" software for their usual needs. I went with Microsoft because my former line of work required it, mostly. And a final note: it's Claude, not Charles. No offense taken, rest assured. Respectfully, CT

Hi Sir! Thanks for the comments. I build real 1/1 street rods for a living... therefore, I may have more sensibilities as to what might work or not in real life... But I admit some of my builts are a stretch (!), That's the fun of modeling: less boundaries, eh? I see you live in Perth. Funny... a few years ago I sold a custom Engine cover to a rodder from Perth. The shipping cost more than the part... but he wanted it badly, so... I can't remember his name, alas. Getting older by the day... CT