Home > Yoshi Pinewood Derby Car learn how to make one for Cub Scouts
Yoshi Pinewood Derby Car learn how to make one for Cub Scouts
This page was created to share how we created a Yoshi Pinewood Derby Car called the Yoshi racer who is of course the famous Yoshi from Mario Bros. Originally we had purchased an authorized pinewood derby car hoping we could just put it together, paint and customize it with stickers but returned it. Instead this car was created to be unique and have fun making it. Last year Charles created a Ninjago Lloyd ZX racer and won for most creative car.
After reading the Official Pack Rules for Car Construction, we had to return the kit car to the store. This is the car we purchased, its called Revell Pinewood Derby Funny Car Premium Racer Kit.
Pinewood Derby Weights
So being that we are not carpenters but we are get better at this each year! We searched the internet for ideas on how to create a cool looking pinewood derby car. And boy there are tons of cars which are so awesome. But there was another hurdle to overcome, after reading the rules more closely, it said:
"This car is your son's car, it is not your car. You can help him build it but this more that a race, it is a learning experience that you should share with your son. They will get more satisfaction seeing the car that they built go down the track than seeing the one their dad built for them, win".
Ok so with that said we decided to shape the car very similar to this Superman Wrap Kit we found for sale. This shape is very simple to make from the stand block of wood you start out with.
We started our Yoshi Pinewood Derby car from this idea above for inspiration. Here is a photo of the Official Pinewood Derby® Car Kit that Charles received from his Pack.
Basically the block of wood was cut on an angle to match the Superman car. Charles drew a diagonal line across the side of the wood and dad cut it on a circular chop saw. Together Charles and Adam found and printed out Yoshi Mario Bros pictures and cut them out.
Afterwards the car was painted white with a small paint brush and allowed to dry over night. The Yoshi pictures were glued on the top, sides and back with Elmers glue and allowed to dry over night. The car was weighed on a American Weigh Digital Pocket Scale thanks to John who let us borrow it, to make sure it was 5 ounces or less before the axles and tires were put on. This scale is great and less than $9, great to have around the house especially for weighing pinewood derby cars!
To add weight to the car, we drilled five holes in the back of the car. Afterwards we placed 2 inch wood screws into the holes which brought the weight of the car up to 4.7 ounces. To cover the silver hex screw heads, Charles thought to put Yoshi's name on the back of the car. This serves two purposes, it hides the screws and it looks cool, like a license plate!
The race is next week and we will try to take photos or some video to add to this page. Keep you posted if we win any award whether for the race or for a cool looking car!!
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