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Pinewood Derby Stories and Photos from Maximum Velocity
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PINEWOOD DERBY CAR SHOWCASE
SoCal Coupe - Nathan Paul I built this car the SoCal Coupe because I always liked the look of the car. The finished product was okay; I just need to work on the smaller wood items next time (front struts and axle mounts). They were a little tricky to keep from cracking when installing the axles and the brass starting rod on the front of the car. I didn't race this one on race day but did put it through some runs on testing day and it did okay.
Nimbus 2000 - Bob Hodgeman My son Sam, a Bear this year, is a voracious reader. He recently finished the Harry Potter series, and his mom voiced the idea of making a Harry Potter themed derby car this year. Thus, the idea behind the Nimbus 2000 was born! We drilled a hole in the back for lead wire, I did the rough cuts on the scroll saw, and he did the rest with a Dremel. He picked a shade of polyurethane stain that worked well, and we pulled bristles out of some glue brushes I had in the tool box for the broom bristles, which are attached with rubber cement. For finishing touches, we wrapped gold thread (tacked in place with super glue) around the bristles and used hot glue to attach Harry. I surprised him a couple of days before the derby with my hand-painted "Nimbus 2000" logos, painted with a super fine artist brush with about 2/3 of the bristles removed. He was absolutely thrilled with that small detail! While the car didn't finish at the top of the standings, he was just as happy with his "Cub's Choice" design award!
Semi Cab - Bob Hodgeman My son Jacob, now a Tenderfoot Boy Scout, built this car for our pack's Outlaw Division, so he was able to go with an extended wheelbase. The original block was supplemented with another partial block on top to form the cab, as well as 3/8 inch basswood sides to fill out the cab and form the fenders. Jacob did everything, from the rough cutting on the scroll saw, to working with the Dremel, to the paint job (I did help with the masking). From concept to finish, this one is absolutely HIS car (a fact that he's rightly very proud of). A neighbor with a vinyl cutter supplied the Autobot logo. Next up, he wants to build the matching trailer and add starting-gate-activated sound & lights!
