My son's pack just settled on plans for this year's pinewood derby. I'll be making a bunch of cars again as I help my kids and the neighborhood kids. Thought it'd be cool to hear pinewood stories and share tips.
My son had a really slow car the first year and he was very disappointed. Both of us set about learning how to make a fast car after that. Last year, he got 1st by a comfortable margin. He does all the work on the cars but I helped with the research on what makes a car fast.
My daughter absolutely crushed her girl scout troop. The track wasn't even built right for how fast her car was. A wheel was damaged during one run because they had to have a kid catch it as it flew off the end. She still beat everyone after that. The sad thing was that the awards for "most sparkles" and whatnot were big trophies and a bunch of candy. My daughter's award for the fastest car was a tiny plain trophy. It's like 4" tall. She was pissed about that. Rightfully so because she did all the work on that car.
Anyway, I'm excited about helping the kids. Painting tips would be great because that's my weak area. I'm happy to share knowledge on speed if there's any interest. It's not expensive or difficult if you're just a little handy. Getting 1st might be tough but getting in the finals should be doable for anyone.
My son had a really slow car the first year and he was very disappointed. Both of us set about learning how to make a fast car after that. Last year, he got 1st by a comfortable margin. He does all the work on the cars but I helped with the research on what makes a car fast.
My daughter absolutely crushed her girl scout troop. The track wasn't even built right for how fast her car was. A wheel was damaged during one run because they had to have a kid catch it as it flew off the end. She still beat everyone after that. The sad thing was that the awards for "most sparkles" and whatnot were big trophies and a bunch of candy. My daughter's award for the fastest car was a tiny plain trophy. It's like 4" tall. She was pissed about that. Rightfully so because she did all the work on that car.
Anyway, I'm excited about helping the kids. Painting tips would be great because that's my weak area. I'm happy to share knowledge on speed if there's any interest. It's not expensive or difficult if you're just a little handy. Getting 1st might be tough but getting in the finals should be doable for anyone.