Around here, we obviously have a passion for fresh cut fries, Kings Island chicken tenders, and Bay Harbor’s lobster bisque. However, the real excitement comes when our bellies are full and we are taking the best collection of roller coasters in the world from across the Cedar Fair chain.
Our same passion hit our oldest son hard after his first ride on Cedar Point’s Millennium Force. That desire to constantly crave the thrill carries over into his everyday life often. He made us make him a Millennium Force Halloween costume that won him the best in show at the park. His artwork at home and school often centers around roller coasters. Lastly his passion carried over when asked what he wanted his Boy Scouts pinewood derby car to resemble.
When asked with the question, would you rather it go really fast and potentially win, or would be like it to look cool, he declared his desire to race the Millennium Force.
So off we went to design his pinewood derby car to resemble a roller coaster.
As any pinewood derby car goes, it starts out with a solid block of wood, 4 nails, and 4 wheels. The rest is up to you. So off we went on this journey by researching online about how to design a pinewood derby car, what makes them fast, and to review the rules for our local Boy Scouts pack.
We then used our son’s Millennium Force model as a guide in designing the vehicle.
First we carefully traced out the general locations where we wanted to make cuts in the block of wood to get the general shape of the vehicle. Then we carefully used a bench grinder to sand away the wood to resemble the shape we wanted.
Once we were content with the shape, we sanded the vehicle down with two grades of sandpaper.
Next came painting, which was a multi-day process. We carefully painted the vehicle and sanded to make sure a smooth finish.
Once we were content with the paint, we used a clear coat to seal the vehicle.
After outfitting the Millennium Force pinewood derby vehicle with wheels and using some graphite powder on the wheels, we were shocked to see our vehicle was substantially under the allotted weight of 5 ounces (we were only at 2 3/4 ounces). So thankfully we pre-purchased a weight kit. Again to our surprise, we used the entire package of weights, and the final weight of the vehicle came in at 4 5/8 ounces.
Based on pinewood derby tips, we placed all the weight within 1″ forward of the rear wheel.
Will we top out at a speed of 90+ MPH like the real Millennium Force. Of course not. However, we set out to design the vehicle more for visual then function. If we happen to win, great. If not, our son has a great souvenir he can use to pretend the wind is blowing in his hair during the off-season.
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Adorable!
When I was a den leader for my son’s den, the adults always made their own and competed as well. (helped the more competitive dads get it out of their system!) I built a three bench PTC car for mine one year, and an NAD Century Flyer with working lights for another. Your son did a great job! How’d he do in the race?