Build Journal : Cardboard mountain
I recently finished building my first track , and it was made with cardboard . I loved it , but it have some major drawbacks :
-It is short
-The turn stop a lot of cars
-there was no way to add scenery
So I decided to build a new one , larger , more reliable , and with scenery (still with cardboard) , and I will share the evolution of the track here.
Here is my first track :
I choose to build it directly on a cardboard base , to be able to move it .
Adding support :
The major downside of making a cardboard track is that it's very time-consuming to build all the road tiles (even more true for the turns) .
Time to make my first turn :
Here it is integrated with the track , I tested it and it works pretty well :
The track will be higher in the future , I'm just building the track bottom to top .
Discussion
I built the 2nd turn of my track , but it had to be very sharp to stay inside the building zone :
The cars weren't consistent at all on this new part of the track , so I had to scrap it :
Have you any ideas on how to fit a consistent turn in such a small space ? (15 cm - 5.9 inch)
I figured it out by myself after a bit of trial and error . Here is my 2nd try :
It was working as badly as the first one . It had to be wider to work :
The 3rd one was better but still , not very reliable . I didn't wanted to build another turn all over again , so I searched for ways to improve it :
Here's the final turn : cars go through it consistently , it's good enough .
Then I built the start drop and the first turn :
The track is almost functionnal , but there's still all the scenery to do .
... and installed it :
The drop is in place :
It was almost impossible to connect the 2 parts of the track , so I just built this :
The track layout is done , finally . Here are some pictures :
So I just took it off and changed the design a bit :
It's even more reliable now .
I bought an arduino pack to build an electronic door :
I added one more pillar to the first drop for more stability :
I used a bench to raise the track , it allows for easier filming of the races :
A demo video of the track : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1a1Ixiy7IQ
Names:
Corrugated Heights
Cardboard Ridge
Creased Lightning
Crinkled & Wrinkled Incline
Plunge of the Fluted Furrow
or just: The Fluted Furrow
- I'm not sure i'l keep an english name , because i'm french , but I do like Cardboard Ridge . Still , I will keep Cardboard mountain for now , thanks for the suggestion — Deedose
- Montagne en Carton — TexTenn_Racing
- Coîte à Canon — TexTenn_Racing
la petite montagne de la boîte? Lol I love this though honestly! Very awesome way to utilize Cardboard. I too made most of my Tracks out of Cardboard!
Just finished my Second Track, lots of Cardboard and Acrylic paint! I used Crash Racers Track for the racing surface itself but everything else is mostly just cardboard!
Glad to know you can actually make a usable racing surface with it. I lacked the patience to carry on with it! Though with enough thought and care to plan it, id like to make a "Drift Mountian" of sorts next.
Awesome work! Dont be shy to use some paints on it! :) -D1G1
- I will keep the english version , it sounds cooler — Deedose
- What would you recommend to make the mountain slopes ? — Deedose
- for me ive found using Brown paper bags is a nice match to the cardboard and can be shaped and formed like wanted or needed around a stick frame. all of my background Mt. are all just ripped up paper bags glued to the wall! — D1G1T4L
- Also i havent utilized it yet but i plan to make Rocks and Boulders for my Track with Expanding insulation foam. Plan to make molds for different sizes then may go back and form the foam once dried by cutting it down with a knife. then painting them. It's been rather cold lately though so havent gotten outside to do it, Hoping to implement them before my 'Dirt Devil Championship Racing League" kicks off here on the 2nd of March! — D1G1T4L
New improvements on the track
Small slope at the start of the straight :
I tried racing with some cars . They all make it to the end , so that's a win .
The finish lane is now in place :