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Pinewood Derby Stories and Photos from Maximum Velocity
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Displaying Your Pinewood Derby Car
By Randy Davis
The sawdust has settled, the race is over, and now you must decide what to do with the car. Whether or not your car won an award, you put a lot of effort into building it, and you want to display it proudly. But how can you display the car and at the same time provide some level of protection? This article will explore the various display options available to you so that you can pick the method that best fits your situation.
SHELF METHOD
The most common method for displaying a car is to simply put the car on a shelf in your room. The method is free and allows easy access to the cars. However, the problem with this method became very evident one day when our youngest son was changing his clothes. Instead of placing the dirty clothes in the basket, he decided to throw them upwards towards the spinning ceiling fan. I am sure you can imagine what happened; the clothes hit the fan, flew across the room, and wiped out a few cars. We managed to glue things back together, but realized then that the shelf method of storing cars is not the safest. Not only can cars be knocked off easily, but since cars roll very easily, any bump to the shelf or furniture can cause a car to roll off.
HOMEMADE PEDESTAL OR PLAQUE
Another common method for storing pinewood derby cars is to build a pedestal to hold the car. The pedestal doesn't eliminate the "flying object" problem, but does eliminate the "rolling problem". An advantage to the pedestal (and other non-shelf methods) is that a label can be placed on the pedestal noting the car owner, date of race, any awards, etc. Building a pedestal is fairly easy, but if you would like some inspiration, a simple plan for a pedestal is given Here.
An alternative is to build a wall plaque. Typically, the car is attached to the plaque with screws into the bottom of the car, or with a patch of Velcro. A plaque may be a bit more difficult to make than a pedestal since the lettering is generally larger. For inspiration and plans, take a look Here.
Note that making a pinewood derby pedestal or plaque can be a great craft project for your pack or club.
PURCHASE A PEDESTAL
Maybe you don't have the time or tools to build a pedestal or plaque to display your car. Not to worry, these items are available for sale. Below I have listed some options available on the Internet. The current retail price and the web site are also provided.
PineCar Pedestal - $6.99
This unit consists of a wood base with a curved metal arm to which one
car is attached.
Scout Stuff Pedestal - $10.49
The unfinished stand holds one car, and includes an engravable brass plaque.
Derby Gurus Pedestal - $34.95
The pedestal holds four cars and optionally mounts on a wall. Price shown is for the pre-finished version, but an unfinished version is available for a lower price.
PURCHASE A DISPLAY CASE
All of the options listed above have two inherent problems: 1) The car will collect dust, and 2) the car is not fully protected from flying objects (clothes, elbows, baseballs, etc.). A display case solves these two problems. If you have many cars, then you may want to consider building or purchasing a trophy case. But for a few cars, the DerbyDome display case is a nice solution.
DerbyDome - $10.95
(Click on "Car Stand")
The DerbyDome is a sturdy case for displaying a pinewood derby car. The product has a clear, protective dome, and a black base with a no- tools-required mounting system for holding the car in place. A custom plastic label is available from the manufacturer.
CONCLUSION
You and your child have made an investment of time in a pinewood derby car. Once the race is over, don't put the car in a box. Instead, display your car proudly and safely.
