Custom Hot Wheels: Batbuild 6.0!

Here it is: Batbuild 6.0!  The latest build-off is finished and looking for your votes.



Several entries. Please follow the link below and vote for your favourite by "liking" it. DO NOT attempt to figure out who made what, just pick your favourite and VOTE!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1497568640552444.1073741832.1459737441002231&type=3

Custom Hot Wheels- Steampunk 2-4-2 #3

And in the category of trying something new, why not spin some walnut wheels up for it on the lathe!





First attempt at the skinny sets. Didn't work out the way I wanted so they got remade.


Drive wheels were a different story. I wanted some tractor lug style patterns but have never been able to find anything close, so here's what I came up with.



See the wire? Yeah. Thats the lug burner...



Result:





Didn't like these ones either, so I redid them with a bigger chunk of walnut and a different lug burner made out of a sliver of sheet metal. Pattern came out great.

Here's roughly what I'm shooting for.





Don't care to count how many hours I already have into it at this point... *sigh*

Custom Hot Wheels: Steampunk 2-4-2 #2

Steampunk. Copper, right? Lets see what we can find in the scrap bin.



Look like some useable bits here.



Start with the boiler.

Custom Hot Wheels: Steampunk 2-4-2 #1

Starter pic. Started out as a decent looking old Chevy. I've noticed that there are a few "standard" cars that people use for builds, and I'm trying to not get stuck in that rut so I went with something a bit off the wall for me. Well, it's a Chevy, anyways... Old trucks are kind of my thing.





Chopped.



Stripped.



Hacked.

 

Winter's here.

So after like 2 years of dealing with the stupid buggy ignition switch, I finally got fed up with it and swapped it out. Also borrowed the battery from the 316, and now it fire's right up without the song and dance. Got our first snow so I went out and put the Plow on. Also got to test the lights out for the first time ever, and WOW are they bright!





The middle lights leave a little bit of a dark spot but not to bad!



Now that the plow's on, we probably won't get any more snow for the rest of this season...

This Old House #10: Winters on it's way.

Few more items checked off the list. Been busy with the roof so I haven't had time to work on the leaf situation... Spent Saturday vacuuming up leaves and hauling them to the back. Only got one little corner of the yard done but there were a LOT of leaves just in that one corner. Spent an evening draining the pump and the hoses too...



Taped the leaf blower up to the line and went down it pushing the air out.





Even managed to get all 9 billion feet of hose unhooked and drug over out of the way.



Canals are finally empty, so the boys went exploring. Found some racoon? tracks and some dead crawdads.





Still hoping to get more of the leaves picked up over Thanksgiving break.

Custom Hot Wheels: Lickety Split #8

Final pics.











And done.



This was a way fun build. Very challenging and very rewarding. Tried lots of new things and they ended up working out great. Pretty proud of this one!

Ready for another? The Steampunk build is up next!

50 Miles West of Nowhere.

Took the scouts camping this weekend.  We went to Government Cave, which is almost exactly 50 miles West of Blackfoot.  I'd been there once before, on my bike, but I had some directions and gps coordinates and was meeting another group there but that was 5 years ago.  In the daylight.  We left Friday in the dark, and it took us a while to get there.  Lots of rough desert road and we could only go about 10 mph for the last several miles.  With a little luck, a map, a gps that kept telling us to turn around, and spotty cell / data service, we eventually found it.




Just a hole in the otherwise pretty flat ground.  It's a really cool cave though-  It drops about a hundred feet over bouldery rock falls and levels out.  There are two wings- the right fork only goes in a couple hundred feet and tapers off to nothing.  It's got a great floor though, so thats where we set up camp.




We were intruding on lots of these guys, but they were OUT.  Don't think they'll be moving until spring.




Looking back up the cave towards the rock fall / entrance.  Its a lava tube cave- formed thousands of years ago from molten lava flowing through the ground like an underground river.


About 4 in the morning, we had a visitor.  This little (big) guy decided to go on a chip run and woke us up crunching away on the potato chips.  Wasn't scared of anything, either!




Tried to take a bite out of the boot, then mustve smelled my granola bars 'cause he headed over to me-



Stuck his head in that yellow bag about 6 inches from my face and wouldn't leave for anything until I popped him one on the backside.


Morning finally came, although you wouldn't know it!



Sunrise on the desert.








It was CHILLY...




Fried up some of Kenny's Ca-ca for breakfast and wrapped em up for breakfast burritos.


After breakfast, it was time to head back in and explore the LONG fork of the cave. 


So you head back in there a ways down the left fork, and you come to this: 


Once you get through this little bottle neck (only about 10 feet long) it opens WAY up.  Hard to see but I'm guessing its 30 feet tall through a long portion of it.





 You get to go up to lava spills which are kind of cool.







At the very back is a guest book, and the cave just kinda ends.  Lots of dirt back there.


Headed back out.  This is at the top of the back lava spill, with a big cavern at the bottom.




Planking, of all places...



Other lava spill.  Looks like concrete!


Back to the front, on the way up.  Can finally see daylight at the top of the rock falls!


All present and accounted for, time to head home!



Great trip.  Perfect for "winter" camping- it was CHILLY in the morning, but in the cave we stayed nice and warm.  Guessing it was around 50 degrees.  Can't wait to go back next year!