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Optimus Prime

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:28 pm
by SoloTSi97
My oldest son is now in boy scouts, but as Scoutmaster and Assistant Cubmaster, I try to keep the two units fairly closely assocated. So, the scouts assist at many of the cub events, including the Pinewood Derby. As a "thank you", all boy scouts that help on race day get a free entry into the Outlaw Division race. Last year, my oldest wanted to build Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before a trailer could be built ... but apparently (he tells me) that's our project for this year's derby. :)

I am happy to say that, other than consulting, I was hands off with this build. I tend to be mostly hands off anyway, stepping in primarily to direct (but not do) the various speed tuning steps, but this was all his work. Five years of cub scouts taught him a lot, and I was very proud of his methodical approach to the build as we have done with his past cub scout cars.

First, a sketch:
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He first cut side skirts out of basswood on the scroll saw and glued them on:
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The rest of the cab and rear was filled in with part of another pinewood derby block, then drilled out on the drill press for weight savings. From there, the rough shape was cut from the whole thing:
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He doesn't mind time spent with the Dremel or sandpaper, so it didn't take long to get the shape he was after (he had several photos of Optimus printed out laying around to help):
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He painted the entire block a metallic blue, then masked it for the red/flames. Both were Rustoleum Metallics colors, which turned out very nice, IMHO:
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After everything was masked, he sprayed the truck with the red metallic. A neighbor who has a vinyl cutter provided the autobot logo for the roof, which really made my son happy. The windows are electrical tape and the grill is some chrome spray paint sprayed into a glass bowl and then applied with a sponge brush. The stacks and fuel tanks were made from the metal handles on some "glue brushes" from which my other son scavenged the bristles for his Harry Potter build. 8)
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The middle pair of wheels is raised, and our Outlaw Division allows extended wheelbases.

Hope you enjoy!

-Bob

Re: Optimus Prime

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:44 pm
by whodathunkit
Mercy Sakes... Looks like we got us a Convoy of semi trucks on DT!

Wow what a nice job SoloTSi97.

First, a sketch:
Image
He first cut side skirts out of basswood on the scroll saw and glued them on:
Image
Image
Image

The middle pair of wheels is raised, and our Outlaw Division allows extended wheelbases.

Hope you enjoy!

-Bob

Thats a Big 10-4.. Your son really put alot of work into makeing this Optimus Prime Truck.
And it shows from all the hard work he put in.. into the sanding and shapeing of it.

Mark

Re: Optimus Prime

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:07 pm
by ciodude
I'm waiting for it to transform on the screen! Great work!

Re: Optimus Prime

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:42 pm
by SoloTSi97
On behalf of my son, thanks! I'll be sure to pass your comments along to him, as I really can not take credit for this build at all. From concept to finish, it was all his work. :)

He tells me that this year he's building the matching trailer and he really wants lights & sounds. There were a couple of cars last year with LED headlights and such, but he wants a switch on the front that will cause lights to come on and the truck to say "Autobots, roll out!" (or similar) when the start gate drops. I'm sure he'll be able to pull it off and can't wait to hear his ideas.