Pinewood Derby time

That’s this year’s effort — a collaboration between dad and son, of course, though my 2nd grader did more of this than has sometimes been the case for our past years’ Pinewood Derby cars (3 kids = lots of cars).

Idea:  well, we had bacon as part of dinner last night and were running short on time.

Cutting to size:  Dad.

Adding the shape:  Dad + Son, taking turns, following Dad’s instructions.

Sanding:  Both, taking turns.

Color:  Son, with his oil pastels, sealed up with Mod Podge.

Chiseling out space for and inserting weights on the bottom, sanding the axles, and installing the wheels:  Dad.

But we’re all quite pleased with how this turned out, although it’s rather underweight and won’t have much of a chance in the Speed competition.  And now what I’m curious about is how the cars in the no-holds-barred parent competition goes.

But if you’re looking for a helpful hint:  I was really pleased with the oil pastels.  They wouldn’t work for something more precise, but they were much easier to apply than coats of spray paint, and there was no waiting for anything to dry.  I think the Mod Podge also did a decent job of sealing, and dried a lot faster (I used the hair dryer) than the polyurethane we’d used in the past.