Pinewood Derby Mars Rover
Hey Pinewood Derby Race Fans!
Need an idea for this coming Pinewood season? Have a look at our Mars Rover from the 2012 race season. I’m proud to announce we won first place for the “People’s Choice” award. Good thing too, this car design is not the fastest car on the track.
The three blinky LED lights are all hacked from other sources. The big dish on top came from K Mart. The dish was a sphere before we broke it open. It was originally designed to float in a fruit punch bowl. K Mart sold them as a pair for $5 bucks.
The two tail lamps were tea LED lights. Bought these in the grocery – these can be had for around 30 cents each. We hacked them down and be smaller then the originals. The on/off switch also got reworked so that it now accessible along the back edge. Otherwise, the switch points out of the bottom of the lamp.
The top deck is covered in aluminum foil. The bottom chassis is covered in copper tape. The copper tape was some 1″ sticky tape I’ve had forever, and a day. The two covering gave the car a nice two tone look. Note, the middle wheel is non-functional and is mounted a full 1/4″ above the track.
Well, hope this give you some more ideas for you next car. If so, post some comments below.
