2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

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dirtjoedirt
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2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by dirtjoedirt »

Tron
I thought the EL wire looked cool in the dark but once the lights were on I didn't like the looks of the hot glue so I removed that then restarted the process from the sanding at 600 grit stage.

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Optimus Prime
My kid did every thing a Webelos 1 could be reasonable expected to do. As we started on this before Thanksgiving he was definitely glad once he was done with it!

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this is what the pack master in my friends pack idea of getting the kids ready for pwd. no saw no tools other than him a dremel and 30 seconds going to town...

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We weren't going for speed so much as trying to have the coolest looking cars. We probably spent way too much time and money and I am sure we drove my wife crazy but it was worth it imo.

**edit-we are also gonna do the trailer for OP some time in the next few weeks before we start to gear up for this years set of cars.


special thanks to felverdesign on flickr for helping me to focus on what I wanted to do on my tron cycle and bgracing for the help with the EL wire
if you have any questions just ask I feel semi professional after all the hours we spent on these lol
Last edited by dirtjoedirt on Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:57 am, edited 3 times in total.
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whodathunkit
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by whodathunkit »

dirtjoedirt,

Totally awesome builds on the tron light cycle and optimus prime semi truck.

Are you useing BSA wheels that you've cut down on width for the tron light cycle?
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I'm really likeing how you did up the wheel skirts also.

It's cool to see kids building semi trucks also. :thumbup:
Wish now that I would have painted up this one.. to look like the optimus prime semi truck also.
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Best of luck on building that trailer for the optimus prime semi truck.

Whoda.
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
dirtjoedirt
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by dirtjoedirt »

Thanks for the comment, 50+ views and no comments-sheesh, so thats how it feels!
wheels were standard bsa sanded down with a sander and my handy dandy dremel.
the wheel skirts on the tron were a bit of a challenge considering this was only our second year with pwd and I had not really done any wood work since high school.
and man! Your truck isn't to shabby either! :bigups: You kind of make me feel like a little kid with that quality semi you put on here. Is that thing even made out of pine? I'd love to know the process used , years of working with pine wood, etc. cause that semi is sick! it definitely asks me to step my game up for this years pwd. :nod: oh yes it does.
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whodathunkit
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by whodathunkit »

dirtjoedirt,
Hay man, your car and truck has me wanting to pick up my game that's why I commented about them.

Thanks for the info on the wheels you used on the tron light cycle I thought they looked like,
BSA wheels. I haven't made a car that uses wheel skirts so I really like how you did them.
And I like how you used the El wire for lights on it.


[quote="dirtjoedirt"
and man! Your truck isn't to shabby either! :bigups: You kind of make me feel like a little kid with that quality semi you put on here. Is that thing even made out of pine? I'd love to know the process used , years of working with pine wood, etc. cause that semi is sick! it definitely asks me to step my game up for this years pwd. :nod: oh yes it does.[/quote]

Tell me about it guys.. I feel the same way about your OP semi truck.

Thanks, that big rig truck is a scratch built version.
that is useing a ten inch long frame instead of a seven inch frame like your OP semi truck.
It is made from pinewood with a few metal parts for details.
Here is one is useing a seven inch frame like your semi truck.
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This one well it's my 3rd semi truck build useing the 100th anniv kit for the truck only.
This one was my first semi truck build and the green one above was my 2nd build.
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At the time when i made them.. I was looking for something fun to share with the kids,
at a work shop about the semi trucks and a semi kit that was used for big rig racing.
My local Scout shop had a kit like this one in a display case (marked not for sale.)
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I asked if they were still in supply.. he told me thay had been pulled from supply and that he would make me a copie of the plans and rules. So that's what i build my frist two semi trucks off of.
It wasen't long after that BSA had the 100th anniv big rig kit out on supply.
And at the time we diden't know that Betacrafts still had the kits on supply also.
same kit as the one seen above.
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Best of luck to you guys on building the trailer for your OP semi truck. ;)
Mark
Last edited by whodathunkit on Sun Sep 30, 2012 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
Lead Reindeer
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by Lead Reindeer »

How do you get the wheels in and aligned when working with enclosed fairings like the light cycle?

It's a very neat design -- thank you for sharing.
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whodathunkit
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by whodathunkit »

Lead Reindeer wrote:How do you get the wheels in and aligned when working with enclosed fairings like the light cycle?
Is fairings the technical term for what they are called Lead Reindeer?
I thought wheel fairings were an aircraft term for the covering over the wheels.

Funny.. that I called them fender skirts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_skirts" target="_blank
Fender is a U.S. term for mudguard or wing.
What term would you call them by for pinewood derby cars?
According to Max-V's pinewood derby glossary..
A fairing is a partial canopy used to reduce wind drag a decorative item on a pinewood derby car.

Here is a term for cars you don't here much about any more Curb feelers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_feeler" target="_blank
This one makes me think of the three wheeled pwd cars useing a Rail guide fin.

You know heres a cool car that uses the fender skirts or farings that i can think of.
kinda like the tron light cycle.. the 1940's Bat mobile.. to me it looks alot alike to a 1939 cord.
Might have to see if I can build this car sometime after seeing a few batman cars on here.
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
dirtjoedirt
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by dirtjoedirt »

Thanks for the pics of the unassembled pieces. I had not fully worked out in my mind how I would build the trailer, just a general idea but your pics gave me exactly what I wanted. I tried looking online at betacrafts and at my local scout shop and neither had any semi truck kits so I guess I am going to have to build my next semi from the pics you have posted. :D It is always nice to see the pieces unpainted and apart (at least for me) to let others recreate the process involved. Still amazed at both the kit and the from scratch built versions.
whodathunkit wrote:dirtjoedirt,
Hay man, your car and truck has me wanting to pick up my game that's why I commented about them.

Thanks for the info on the wheels you used on the tron light cycle I thought they looked like,
BSA wheels. I haven't made a car that uses wheel skirts so I really like how you did them.
And I like how you used the El wire for lights on it.


[quote="dirtjoedirt"
and man! Your truck isn't to shabby either! :bigups: You kind of make me feel like a little kid with that quality semi you put on here. Is that thing even made out of pine? I'd love to know the process used , years of working with pine wood, etc. cause that semi is sick! it definitely asks me to step my game up for this years pwd. :nod: oh yes it does.
Tell me about it guys.. I feel the same way about your OP semi truck.

Thanks, that big rig truck is a scratch built version.
that is useing a ten inch long frame instead of a seven inch frame like your OP semi truck.
It is made from pinewood with a few metal parts for details.
Here is one is useing a seven inch frame like your semi truck.
Image
Image
Image
This one well it's my 3rd semi truck build useing the 100th anniv kit for the truck only.
This one was my first semi truck build and the green one above was my 2nd build.
Image
Image
At the time when i made them.. I was looking for something fun to share with the kids,
at a work shop about the semi trucks and a semi kit that was used for big rig racing.
My local Scout shop had a kit like this one in a display case (marked not for sale.)
Image
Image
I asked if they were still in supply.. he told me thay had been pulled from supply and that he would make me a copie of the plans and rules. So that's what i build my frist two semi trucks off of.
It wasen't long after that BSA had the 100th anniv big rig kit out on supply.
And at the time we diden't know that Betacrafts still had the kits on supply also.
same kit as the one seen above.
Image

Best of luck to you guys on building the trailer for your OP semi truck. ;)
Mark[/quote]
dirtjoedirt
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Re: 2012 pics of the tron light cycle and optimus prime

Post by dirtjoedirt »

I am not sure of they are fairings or fender skirts or what. I was only trying to find a way to cover the wheels on the tron cycle because the actual cycles in the movie did not have wheels any way. I just referred to them as wheel wells or fender wells and assumed most would understand what I was referring to. As far as how I did it I had to play with it alot. I put the wheels on the main body multiple times with the four skirts unattached to any thing to get an idea of the different measurements involved. After drawing on the primered body where the skirts should go I had a better idea of how to approach it. If you look at some of the pics I posted I tried to make sure that I placed the forstner bit high enough on the fender skirt so that its narrowest point on the skirt would still allow me to push the tire and axle straight in from the body. Since I had been loosening the groove for the nail several times in anticipation for this it was not to hard to push it in by hand. This is under the presumption that I was racing for looks not speed since I obviously could not make any other adjustments at that point.
Always nice to talk to veteran pine heads for advice.
whodathunkit wrote:
Lead Reindeer wrote:How do you get the wheels in and aligned when working with enclosed fairings like the light cycle?
Is fairings the technical term for what they are called Lead Reindeer?
I thought wheel fairings were an aircraft term for the covering over the wheels.

Funny.. that I called them fender skirts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_skirts" target="_blank
Fender is a U.S. term for mudguard or wing.
What term would you call them by for pinewood derby cars?
According to Max-V's pinewood derby glossary..
A fairing is a partial canopy used to reduce wind drag a decorative item on a pinewood derby car.

Here is a term for cars you don't here much about any more Curb feelers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_feeler" target="_blank
This one makes me think of the three wheeled pwd cars useing a Rail guide fin.

You know heres a cool car that uses the fender skirts or farings that i can think of.
kinda like the tron light cycle.. the 1940's Bat mobile.. to me it looks alot alike to a 1939 cord.
Might have to see if I can build this car sometime after seeing a few batman cars on here.
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