The Pack my son belongs to has really grown quite a bit this last year. We are still relatively small - about 40 boys - double what it was last year, which was double his first year. They are really doing the Pinewood Derby up right this year, with lots of categories, and races for siblings and adults & leaders. So, we did three cars this year in my house - one for my son (a Webelos), one for his little sister, and one for myself (as a Den Leader). Other than the first rough cut, my son did all the work on his. I did my little girl's car (she's only 5, after all). And decided to do mine more for show than racing.
Well, here is the one my son made:
As you can see, we used inventive "weights" for the rear - 230-grain FMJ .45 ACP bullets!
The driver is a .44-caliber round ball for a black powder pistol.
Here's my little girl's car - which really ticked off her older brother!
For weights for her car, I countersunk holes over each axle. The rear has two 300-grain .45-caliber rifle bullets.
The front has two 115-grain 9mm FMJ bullets over each wheel axle.
Lastly, is the one I did. I was inspired by something I saw on the internet when surfing for ideas. My son and I love "Star Wars" - and so do the kids in the Pack.
R2D2 is a .69-caliber round ball that goes with the Pedersoli "Charleville" my wife got me for my 40th birthday.
The driver, like my son's, is a .44-caliber round ball!
Well, we had the weigh-in, test run and impounding this evening. Mine went the length of the track, but isn't going to win any speed prizes!
My daughter's has real possibilities - it was fast! She is on cloud nine, and can't wait for the real race this Saturday.
My son's didn't do so hot. One of the other scouts - a younger one - got a hold of it while I was helping register and weigh in the cars. I think he pressed down on it, as one of the axles blew out the wood. It was not like that when we arrived.
His was the only one not to make it to the finish line, and he was really bummed. I fixed it as best I could, and he did finish the second run, but I think it doesn't stand a chance in the actual race...Well, it was his first year really doing the car mostly himself. Many of the younger scouts cars did very well - but you know who did most of the work! Last year his car won best design, and came in second over all, so he can't complain. As long as it finishes the race he'll be happy.
Here's last years' car - "the hammerhead", and boy is it fast!
The eyes are two .31-caliber round balls (seeing a trend here, hey?); the rear is loaded with a couple 405-grain .45-70 rounds.
Here is the one from his first year in scouting: It was a slow-poke, but we had fun building it together!
Well, wish us luck this weekend!
