First build (in 40 years) - The Batmobile
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:31 am
Hi all,
First post here and thought I'd throw out our project as an ice breaker. It's a stylized Batmobile that is a blend between an all out fast car, and something that still has enough design character to resemble our design intent. It's nowhere close to the caliber of most the builds on this site so be kind, we are just trying to have fun.
We started off narrowing down what Lucas wanted to build, and even with my Darth Vader suggestion it was an easy decision for him - The Batmobile. So we found several Batmobile examples, photos, drawings (including some of the "blueprints" from the 80's Batmobile), and previous projects and started throwing ideas on paper. I moved the bulk of the ideas into cad and did some basic drawings that evolved and were printed to be cut out as templates.
Our rules don't stipulate wheel placement other than all 4 must touch the ground, they have to be 1.75" apart, a minimum distance between them longitudinally and they can not extend beyond the front or back of the car. So we went with a long wheel base car.
Drilling for the axles:
We transferred out templates to the block:
Lucas working on smoothing out the first cut:
As it stands after the first days work:
Our next steps were to address weight and make the "batwings". I don't have a bandsaw, but rather a "porta-band" mounted to a stand. Not exactly the best wood working tool but it does the job. In an effort to keep all Lucas' 10 fingers in tact he had minimal exposure to this, but he did cut the basic shape out for the Batwings:
After some sanding we were ready for primer.
Some instruction:
First attempt:
I got this Dad, back off:
We stuck it in my powder coat oven to accelerate the drying:
Now it's time for decals. I have a small vinyl cutter so we drew up a decal package for our design.
Now we just need to get some black paint on it - but wait.....
Dad decided to make an identical car for the "family" class (same rule set except previous year cars may run). I was experimenting with some aero around the wheels and before I knew it, Lucas stole my fenders for his car!
So I did what any competitive father would do and told him to make his own:
And that's where we are to date. We have a little over a week before the "test and tune" night, and the races the following day. Hopefully we will get his car primered fully again and ready for paint tonight. My car is a long way off.
First post here and thought I'd throw out our project as an ice breaker. It's a stylized Batmobile that is a blend between an all out fast car, and something that still has enough design character to resemble our design intent. It's nowhere close to the caliber of most the builds on this site so be kind, we are just trying to have fun.
We started off narrowing down what Lucas wanted to build, and even with my Darth Vader suggestion it was an easy decision for him - The Batmobile. So we found several Batmobile examples, photos, drawings (including some of the "blueprints" from the 80's Batmobile), and previous projects and started throwing ideas on paper. I moved the bulk of the ideas into cad and did some basic drawings that evolved and were printed to be cut out as templates.
Our rules don't stipulate wheel placement other than all 4 must touch the ground, they have to be 1.75" apart, a minimum distance between them longitudinally and they can not extend beyond the front or back of the car. So we went with a long wheel base car.
Drilling for the axles:
We transferred out templates to the block:
Lucas working on smoothing out the first cut:
As it stands after the first days work:
Our next steps were to address weight and make the "batwings". I don't have a bandsaw, but rather a "porta-band" mounted to a stand. Not exactly the best wood working tool but it does the job. In an effort to keep all Lucas' 10 fingers in tact he had minimal exposure to this, but he did cut the basic shape out for the Batwings:
After some sanding we were ready for primer.
Some instruction:
First attempt:
I got this Dad, back off:
We stuck it in my powder coat oven to accelerate the drying:
Now it's time for decals. I have a small vinyl cutter so we drew up a decal package for our design.
Now we just need to get some black paint on it - but wait.....
Dad decided to make an identical car for the "family" class (same rule set except previous year cars may run). I was experimenting with some aero around the wheels and before I knew it, Lucas stole my fenders for his car!
So I did what any competitive father would do and told him to make his own:
And that's where we are to date. We have a little over a week before the "test and tune" night, and the races the following day. Hopefully we will get his car primered fully again and ready for paint tonight. My car is a long way off.