Derby Car, Part II

When we left off, the Jedi Starspeeder was still in its rough cut stage. Fortunately, Commuter Dad was in town this weekend and he and the boy got the car into racing shape.

Here, the sanding is finished, the paint is on, and we're ready to work on the legal specifications.




First, it was time to add some weight. Derby cars can weigh a maximum of 5 ounces, and the builder's goal is to get the car as close to that 5 ounce cap as possible.

Although we had some fancy weights, we opted to use quarters. Each slot has two quarters that have been hot-glued into place.







This is a high-temp mini hot-glue gun. It gets quite hot.

Here, I'm holding a chunk of aloe
vera plant on my burnt fingers.

Success: 4 7/8 ounces

Our pilot is an ice Ninja. Several Jedi, both Lego and action figure, tried out for the slot, but the were all too tall to fit comfortably, especially after we added the canopy.





And finally, here's our Jedi Starspeeder, ready for the Pinewood Derby. We're all pretty happy with it. I'll let you know how the race goes.