Claude Thibodeau

Thank you Keith! History tells us he was not an easy person to work with... but judging by his work, nonetheless an influential designer. How many cars drawn after WW2 are still looking mostly contemporary to our jaded eyes? The 53 Stude is certainly among them. I'm building a roadster version today, in the "less is best" philosophy. I'll post it here when completed. CT

Hi! Interesting work! These colored and super-shiny plastic tend to "bleed" trought final color, unless you put a barrier-coat of silver or aluminium under your chosen final color. I experienced it on this Bug panel made of snap kit PT Cruiser roof-greenhouse and New Be body (both red plastic ). I had to "red-proof it" for final Tamya's Racing white to stay white. Mandatory, or you will get red (and red in the face!) later... CT

Hi! Your vinyl roof looks very realistic! CT

Hi! Thank you for the comments. Out of curiosity, I checked and saw a few Pro-Mods with radiators, even if Drag Racer suggested otherwise. I suppose some racers have soooo much money invested, they want to extend the lifespan of their engine? I know some racers run solid CNC billet blocks, with no water jackets, but some still favor water cooling, apparently. CT

Hi! To Espo's point... These eyelets are avail in different sizes. The TBird uses the smallest variety. The twin-carb on the following 29 roadster uses the large variety. The smaller version is also used as a frame-exiting exhaust outlet on the roadster and side outlet the GTX. Many uses, as you can see... CT

Hi! Thank you for the comments. To be associated with Mr. Stanford is quite a compliment... CT

Hi! Thanks for the comments. The injector stacks are... shoelace eyelets! From Michael's Craft store. They come in many sizes and colors. Those were of the "chromed" variety, tinted to simulate anodizing with Tamya's clear red. The body of each injector is made of a 1/8th " aluminium tube, slid inside a corresponding I'D' brass tube. The manifold is scratchbuilt. I forgot to indicate that the chassis and interior are also from Monogram's 1987 Turbo Coupe TBird. A shoe-in. CT

Hi! No street version of this particular TBird exist... therefore, Iacono Pro-Stock modified with 87 Turbo-coupe quarters blended in to replace widely radiused units to make it a "civilian" version. Boss 429 engine & tranny, with scratchbuilt injection system. Hidden front headlights to smooth-out the OEM front end. Testor's Diamond dust silver. Parts-box wheels. Hours of fun! CT

Hi! I love the XR Sierra. Han three of those in the 80's (the real car). Thrill to drive on backroads. CT

Thanks guys! When you work with this kit, you can't help it but realize that Raymond Lowry was a designer with an eye on the future. Minimum shaving and updates make it very contemporary, or rather, ageless... CT

Hi! A design exercise (curbside) mashing AMT's 53 Studebaker with the hood & greenhouse from Linberg's Chrysler Atlantic concept car. Rolling stock from Revell's Camaro showroom model (snap). Tamya's gold + Testor's Wetlook clear. Door cut-lines relocated, side cove moved rearward and at an angle to match B-pillar & door line. Custom lower valance & grilles + canted flush-fit scratchbuilt headlights. Interior converted from 4 places to 2. A winter blues remedy... CT

Wow! The finishes are as real as it gets. Bravo! CT

Hi! Johan 68 300C, but now 300 V (Viper powertrain). First attemps with Dollar store nail polish + ghost flames on side. CT

Hi! Thank you for the comments, guys! And to Snake 45 suggestion that Mr. Gustafson would "approve"... I have my doubts about that! He has an eagle eye for design proportions, although I don't always agree with his comments. But I would be curious to submit this curbside to his critique. Had I disposed of two Avanti kits at the time, I would have grafted two rear ends together mid-door, since I favor the blade design first and foremost. Then maybee drop the standard hood lower and move the headlights to the front bumper. Might have been les "balanced" that way, however... Maybe next time! CT

Hi! Thank you for the comments. My only regret is that all the sanding and smoothing of the body almost erased the small kick-up on the top of the rear qurater panel, just past the door line. You can't have it all, I guess... Siome show goers casually think it's an Imperial. The custom grille provided in the kit facilitates this mis-conception. And let's not forget that the head designer for this Lincoln at Ford moved across town to Chrysler later on... and was in charge of the Imperial refreshing. Makes sense to be duped, then... CT

Hi! My favorite subject: Bonneville cars! This is a resin reproduction of the Cosmic Charger, by Altered States (good product!). Alterations include: front section made of a kitchen ustensil handle molded to the body, Tommy Ivo's TF rail chassis (shortened), glass canopy out of lipstick tube cap, plus countless scratchbuilt panels, scoops, air extractor, radiator, water & fuel pumps, wiring, hoses & al. Wheels & tires from old Lindberg S-10 Cyclone PU (1/16). Custom made decals, airbrushed decanted Tamya Italian red scallops, spattering & fades. Testor's white pearl base & Wet look clear. Of course, Round 2 reissued the styrene kit one year after I completed this build(!) I have one in my stash, with a Sodium Glider 2 in the cards for this fall. Another member of my fantasy FLAT EARTH SOCIETY Bonneville cars team! More next week... Gotta love styrene, isn't it? CT

Hi guys! Thank you all for the kind words. To Speedfreak point... I guess about 250 hours total. Here are some pictures of the major components before paint, finishing and assembly. Sorry for my photo skills, who need improvement! As for the colors, I wanted a "warm" palette. The gloss on the roll cage is not as vivid as I wanted, next time I will try Krylon, who remains wet look better than Testor's enamel. CT

Hi 89AKurt! Well, actually, I tried to avoid panel joints other than the joints you see on the car: hood, trunk lid, etc. And since some of those had styrene glue a the bottom of the seraration lines between panels, it made for soft plastic when I accent-scribed the lines prior to primer & paint... Had to finesse them, and it wore my nerves. With a curbside model, there is a certain amount of hours you should not reasonnably exceed, isn'it? Being a Boomer, I am partial to the "blade" school of design so prevalent in 60's cars (67 Eldo, 66 Riv, etc.). The front blades of the Avanti tickled me, and mooving them to the back end allowed the blade style, as on the Lincoln X concept of a few years ago. So the general mess-up of the standard Avanti was at no moment a source of "WIP Anxiety"... Besides, I think I will eventually move the tires outward a bit. They are fine for a 60's car, as was the style back then. But in 2019, our eye expect tires and wheels almost flush with the wheelwell openings, as on BMW's and Audis. We'll see... CT

Wow! Is it LOW or what? Great stance and style. CT

Hi! An experiment with the iconic Lincoln: removed roof and trunk, custom-made box & wheelwells, Dodge Sidewinder truck interior & glass. Late -model Challenger rollingstock, Testor's metallic & Wetlook clear. Just a Curbside styling exercise... Claude Thibodeau

Hi! Thank you for the comments. B-Ram, don't you dare switch hobby! The goal is to have fun, and inspire each-other. Drag Racer: for the radiator, I guess you are right, but I did not have a copy of the rule book for reference. Stange to want to cool an engine when you live in the Great White North like me, eh? Just an urge to scratch built a Griffin, I guess. The paint is Tamya's TS-87 Titanium gold, with ONE light coat of Tamya's Clear Orange. Light coat is the goal here. That leaves that amber shade that I was looking for. The central roll cage is separate from the platform, as is the underfloor "spine" that connects the rear suspension to the front engine cradle- IFS. Allows for easier final assembly and sprinkling of ancillary components trough the car, like pedals, master cylinders for brake & clutch, not talking about hoses and wires that remain a chore anyway. . CT

Hi! Thank you for the comments. The hardest part was the doors and doors cut lines. On this actual AMT kit, the doors opened, which was a rare occurrence on a kit of this era! They are quite bulky, and were glued shut, filled smooth, and new door lines were traced. As you may know, scribing a smooth and consistent door line in a surface that alternate from styrene to catalized putty under a thin coat of primer is nerve wrecking. The rear quarter panel was pie-sliced, lowered, aligned and filled as well. It is now the front fender, of course. Would have been too tall and thick if left as is. Hours of fun with styrene, that's the goal, right? CT

Hi! I was a fan of the Lincoln X Concept car rear end styling, based on the 2005 TBird platform. I noticed that I could recreate the same style using the Avanti, but modified to a roadster, and reconfigured front end backward(!). Lots of slicing and finishing, but the end result is amusing. I call it the Avanti Inverso. See if you can spot: The Dodge Challenger hood, the 60 Styline Galaxie optional custom rear end used as a grille, and the Dodge Concept car (AKA Copperhead) interior, windshield & rear deck, and the Foose Eldorod rolling stock... The rest is fromt the AMT Avanti, albeit very modified. Just a curbside to fight the winter blues... CT

Hi! Bright sunlight today, so, some additionnal pix. Comments & critique welcomed. CT

Hi! The rear spoiler was made using a discarted plastic "cartridge" of Gilette Trac-II blades. Once you sand off the exterior "walls", the perfectly spaced vertical dividers spare you the agony of aligning wing blades in symetry, and the risk of glue joints showing. And it's akin to styrene, so easy to glue mounting brackets and paint. Same use on this Nova Pro-Stock... CT