Occasionally a challenge presents itself, and I feel that it’s worth trying to meet that challenge.

Below you will find the results of those occasions. I’m absolutely firm that these builds are one-offs, never to be repeated. Sorry … .

And here are a few more pics.

“Michael, can you build me a 30” version of a Thunderbird?” “Sure, why not.”

That’s not actually what happened. I was pretty reluctant to attempt this build simply because I try to stay away as far as possible from established body shapes (OK, the B is an obvious exception, bit one is OK, right?). But ultimately it was simply a challenge I couldn’t just ignore. So the “Thunderchick” was hatched and here it is.

Here are the specs which speak for themselves, really:

body wings sapele

fretboard wenge

headstock matching sapele veneer, sapele truss rod cover with Polaris logo using 2 mm Luminlay dots

electronics cover matching sapele

neck 7 piece maple and sapele, with black pinstripe veneers, dual action trussrod; 20 mando-sized EvoGlod frets and zero fret; TUSQ string guide; 30” scale; Luminlay side dots (3 mm)

finish satin Osmo

hardware Hipshot UltraLite mini clover, 3/8” string post, black; Hipshot SuperTone bridge, black, 17 mm spacing; custom wood knobs (3) made of maple, sapele and wenge; Dunlop Flush Mount strap locks, black

pickups matched pair of Delano SBC 4 HE/4-S, mounted in scale-adjusted original Thunderbird positions; each pickup can be switched individually P/series/reverse P

electronics volume/volume/tone, Electrosocket

strings DR HiBeam short scale, 0.045 - 0.105

misc. threaded inserts (M3) for pickup and electronics cover screws; pickup routes and electronics cavity shielded with nickel.