In memory of Claude...

Thank you, John, for your contribution. 

The majority of models Claude had built over the years were Cadillacs of different periods. There were some Lincolns and Rolls-Royces in the mix. Even an odd Mercedes. He made a lot of conversions of Rio and Solido depicting various 1930s cars, while he was best known for the four major lines of his own - 1950/1951 Series 62/75/86, 1957 Eldorado Seville, 1975/1976 Eldorado and 1975/1976 Fleetwood Series 75. These were scratched built by him, and while 1957 Eldorado had been also made by Solido, all the other models were not made by anyone until the recent years. (OK, AMR had a 1951 Series 62 Coupe/Convertible, but it was white metal). Many of Claude's creatures were unique; some were made in very small quantities. I never met Claude in person, but we communicated a lot through email. He was a great guy.  

Rest in Peace, Claude.

One of the great modellers and an inspiration to amateur scratch builders everywhere. 

Thanks to Albert for his post. Such lovely models. I don't have access to my Elegance photos at the moment (there were quite a few in my GM book) but they were all superb. I remember buying 21 Cadillacs at one time from a European collector. I guess I loved Claude's work. His models were....perfection. I was fortunate to have several e-mails from him over the years. Yes, such a great guy, too.

Thanks Albert, for previously donating some of these photos to hobbyDB - I will try to upload many more of yours in remembrance of M Thibivilliers!

I was very saddened when I heard the news of Claude's passing.  I always admired his art work of one of my favourite automotive brands, Cadillac. I only own two of his pieces due to availability and cost, but I treasure them for their beauty and quality.

Now I know the below is not an Elegance, but the whitewall decal on this Sakura was crafted by Claude.  The decals are a vinyl sticker, cut with precision and they work wonders.

RIP Claude, you were the Cadillac of model makers.

Alfred