Friday, January 22, 2010
Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby Ecto-1: Geezer (Dad) Division
My Pierce's cub scout pack has a Pinewood Derby geezer's heat for parents who'd like to participate in the event. He and I spent this weekend building both a car for him, and one for me.
I based the Pinewood Ecto on the new Ecto-1 Christmas ornament. My original plan was to surround the pinewood block with a block of foam then carve and sand the shape. Unfortunately, the polyethylene (housing insulation) I was using tore easily on a razor and/or my palm sander. I did get a basic shape made, but it was pretty rough.
Plan B involved covering the shaped foam with Bondo, then sanding and dremeling to add detail. I built a roof rack from scrap polystyrene and the ladder from a metal coat hanger. Weight became a real issue, the entire car, with nails and wheels, can't exceed 5 ounces and I came in well over 7.
Plan C... dremel out all the insulation leaving the Bondo shell. Then, of course, re-Bondo where the shell was too thin and the foam was exposed. Also had cut cut and sand the pinewood block to about .33 inches tall and cut off the front and back immediately behind the axle holes.
Plan D, give up on weight cuz the car ain't getting any lighter and plan on being disqualified from racing. Hopefully the car is still eligible for creative design or some other non-speed related entry. I tried to dremel out door and window lines, but they were not as straight was I would have liked. Painting was a challenge, the windows are high-gloss black, the body high-gloss white, then the entire car was coated with a high-gloss clear-coat. I used the dremel lines to help cut painters tape for the windows, after they'd been painted black, so I could get good sharp paint lines separating them from the body. I met with just mixed success. I need more practice.
This turned into a rush job -I had to travel for business and had to have it finished in time for the weigh-in -so no front grill or back lights. The paint's a little rough but, for a 2-day build I'm pretty pleased.
-Eric (Dad)
I based the Pinewood Ecto on the new Ecto-1 Christmas ornament. My original plan was to surround the pinewood block with a block of foam then carve and sand the shape. Unfortunately, the polyethylene (housing insulation) I was using tore easily on a razor and/or my palm sander. I did get a basic shape made, but it was pretty rough.
Plan B involved covering the shaped foam with Bondo, then sanding and dremeling to add detail. I built a roof rack from scrap polystyrene and the ladder from a metal coat hanger. Weight became a real issue, the entire car, with nails and wheels, can't exceed 5 ounces and I came in well over 7.
Plan C... dremel out all the insulation leaving the Bondo shell. Then, of course, re-Bondo where the shell was too thin and the foam was exposed. Also had cut cut and sand the pinewood block to about .33 inches tall and cut off the front and back immediately behind the axle holes.
Plan D, give up on weight cuz the car ain't getting any lighter and plan on being disqualified from racing. Hopefully the car is still eligible for creative design or some other non-speed related entry. I tried to dremel out door and window lines, but they were not as straight was I would have liked. Painting was a challenge, the windows are high-gloss black, the body high-gloss white, then the entire car was coated with a high-gloss clear-coat. I used the dremel lines to help cut painters tape for the windows, after they'd been painted black, so I could get good sharp paint lines separating them from the body. I met with just mixed success. I need more practice.
This turned into a rush job -I had to travel for business and had to have it finished in time for the weigh-in -so no front grill or back lights. The paint's a little rough but, for a 2-day build I'm pretty pleased.
-Eric (Dad)
Labels: cub scouts pine wood derby ghostbusters ecto car
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