VIDEO: DIY rocket-powered Hot Wheels
Show of hands. How many of you used Black Cats and cherry bombs to incinerate large numbers of Hot Wheels as kids? Especially the pink ones, right? Because they were for girls. Do you know how much those cars in their pre-charred, uncrispy state could be worth right now? What were you thinking?
Here's a better use of miniature cars and pyrotechnics not endorsed by Mattel (this we can guarantee): rocket-powered Hot Wheels. Even if you choose not to study the step-by-step instructions (basically, just strap a model rocket motor to a Hot Wheels car) at Instructables, you must watch the video we've embedded after the jump. It's what we as kids were trying to accomplish 20 years ago. We think.
[Source: Instructables]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
.josh. 7:47PM (7/15/2007)
I remember doing this with record breakers and a larger model rocket engine size. Definitely much better then watching the record breakers doing figure eights. Especially since we used engine holders from a model rocket but without the little clip that holds the engine in when it fires the parachute charge, so the cars would rocket down the parking lot and then shoot the engine back in our direction... definitely one of the better things I did as a kid.
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Joe 9:03PM (7/15/2007)
I would build cars out of K'nex specifically for attaching rockets too. Then let them shoot across the blacktop at the elementary school. Usually they would go straight, but sometimes they would hit a stick and fly off course.
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Carlos 9:15PM (7/15/2007)
I did the exact same thing about 15years ago.
Strapped model rockets to these japanese slot cars and raced them down the street. Our fun ended when one of the cars hit something and shot right up in the air and over a fence. It caught a 10 acre field on fire and almost burned down a few homes. true story and not one I choose to remeber.
This post is incredibly irresponsible without a disclaimer - what are you guys thinking!
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TheClassic 11:34PM (7/15/2007)
Here let me add a disclaimer:
don't be a moron... making things go really fast and playing win rocket engines (like nearly anything else in life) can be dangerous
Carlos 12:13AM (7/16/2007)
TheClassic, was that directed at me?
I was 11 when I did that - we all did moronic things when we were kids.
Anyway, my point was that giving people the idea of tying a rocket to a hotwheel without spelling out the dangers is sort of stupid - yeah adults get it but i'm sure a few younger kids read this blog.
... 10:09PM (7/15/2007)
those things are reminiscent of ford's lastest concept cars.
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Car Designer 8:43AM (7/16/2007)
Reminds me of a time about 12 years ago, when a friend of mine and I took a model rocket that had one of it's tail fins broken off, taped on three wheels removed from a pine wood derby car (one to each remaining wing, and one to the front, imagine the camber!) all during a large family party at my house. When we ignited that bad boy on our street, it rocketted down the asphault until it hit a bump and went into a crazy airborn series of barrelrolls into a yard several houses up where several toddlers were playing. Imagine their parents horror when this thing came flying at their kids, and several seconds later the nose cone shot off at them! The best part, we ha moms permission, though she claims to this day that we didn't accurately describe what our plan wa.
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Jay Evans 10:51AM (7/16/2007)
Mid sixties we used 1/24 scale plastic cars, a small metal flashlight with the reflector turned around to create the nozzle and packed with a home brewed powered rocket propellant. (One run and done)
Stupid, yea. But it worked.
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tnriverfish 11:24AM (7/16/2007)
The string is a good idea but really does take the excitement out of the whole project. we strapped engines onto boy scout rain gutter regatta boats without the sail, pinewood derby cars, Contstruxs cars, nothing, mini-snow sleds, balsa wood gliders, lego cars, ect. The best was the lego cars since the nose ejection charge was actually set off inside the lego car so the car blew into a shower of lego bricks when it went off. The key was always an empty, wide open parking lot and a long ignition wire.
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