At the Derby all last weekend!

This week has been nuts! Tons of hours, and we're ready to crash!
The weekend was spent entirely on Zerby Derby, trying to get the first delivery schedule completed on time.
I spent most of the time getting the ferry wrapped up.

  I decided to go with 1/2" copper pipe for the loading ramp push rod. This was bolted to a hinge plate that will allow the ramp to drop down at varying angles, while being strong enough to still retract the ramp.

We also got the eye and head animatronics built and installed. I added a damper to the head swivel after the video to slow the head down and eliminate any torque lash if the head moves quickly.

Tired little "Bob the Boat" and his stunt double also spent the weekend getting a brand new paint job. I think John has him wrapped up at the shop, but I'll know tomorrow.

This year they want actual eyelashes on the car bodies, instead of being painted on the eyeballs themselves. The eyelashes needed to be strong, flexible in-case of a roll-over, and be black without painting. This will stop any color from scratching off. I went with a .020 poly-propylene plastic sheet.
The drawback is you can't glue it at all.

The solution was to use a soldering iron, burn a hole through the lashes and body, then quickly squeeze the 2 melted plastics together with pliers. The final piping around the eyes, held on with RTV silicone should keep these holding on for good!

The trucks came together nicely!

A couple of the characters also got color changes to better stand out on screen. They also got some accessories to help distinguish them apart more quickly.

Tons more to go on this stuff!
8)
JWO