Archive for August, 2008

Chicken License Plates

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

What would a car be without plates? Look for 2 of these plates to be on the car itself. All 3 will be given away as limited edition stickers on race day (Sept. 7)! While supplies last! WOW!

I have a personal favourite. Which could it be? Hmm…hehehe.

Arrested Development and The Chicken Dance

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Again with me and tv shows (see here, here and here). But this post doesn’t have anything to do with soapboxes; this post is really just a fabulous excuse to post clips of the hilarious Bluth chicken dances from Arrested Development.

How is this relevant to our team? Read our official team bio to find out 😉

Also, guess what we’ll be doing in our skit?

I heart GOB!

Update:
Argh! That first video was taken down. Here’s the next best video I could find of the Bluth chicken dances. Enjoy it before it gets taken down, too.

So you wanna build a soapbox car…

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

And you’re expecting tips from us? Hahaha…

From our team’s experience, all you have to do is ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 different answers on how to do it. So really, there is no right way. (But there are definitely better ways – but we’re still not the team to be giving advice on that!)

You could try Googling, which is what we did, and that helped give us ideas. Try Googling for billy cart construction instructions (billy cart is an Australian term). These billy cart instructions were pretty good.

You could also try searching for what past Red Bull Soapbox teams have done. This team, who participated in a Red Bull Soapbox race in 2004 (somewhere in England?), took two bikes and welded them together.

However you plan your cart – make sure it has brakes and steering! Red Bull is a stickler for that

Chicken Guts

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

So, what have we been up to you might ask… We’d like to know too 😉 har har

Here’s the bare bones of it all. Well maybe not so bare anymore! We’ve finally got some meat on dem bones!

. . . No, it’s not actually the doggie…

It’s newspaper! Not only can we put a shape into the craft, but we can catch up on our daily news too! For example, do you know who the Jonas Brothers are? I had no idea until we glued their faces onto the cart! Amazing what you can find out when you read a newspaper eh?

Wow, we can’t believe it’s almost time to race, and WIN! Well, see you on race day! Gotta go read…I mean GLUE some more newspaper on the cart! (…Maybe I can finally find out who Michael Phelps is!)

Chicken wire for the chicken car

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Let’s see how our roast chicken soapbox car is going…

Our team has scars from working with lots of chicken wire (ugh, these puns write themselves).

Time to papier-mache! Our car is bigger than a Smart Car, even without the drumsticks and wings. Yowsa.

Plum

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Our team extends a wing salute and a hearty ‘thank you’ to our sponsor, Plum.

Plum is a locally-owned women’s fashion retailer.

Check for a Plum location near you – there’s one in Kitsilano at West 4th & Vine. Hey – that’s where the Red Bull Soapbox race is being held!

You’re not sushi – you’re chicken! official team bio

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

It’s online on the official Red Bull Soapbox Canada site! Tear into the meat & bones of our team.

Full House’s Soapbox Derby

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

By now you must’ve noticed that I have a thing for sitcoms and soapboxes. (See here and here).

Well then, I couldn’t possibly leave out the most annoying yet utterly hypnotizing sitcom from when I was growing up: Full House. I must’ve watched every episode at least 4 times (sorry, Leonard). But strangely, I can’t remember much about the Full House episode where Michelle enters a soapbox derby.

I couldn’t find a fansite that posts screenshots or video clips of the episode. I guess Full House fans just aren’t as rabid as Simpsons’ fans. But fear not – I think I can piece together the major plot points:

Michelle: “I wanna enter a soapbox derby! Uncle Jesse – help me win!”

Uncle Jesse: “Sure thing short stuff – anything for you…as long as it doesn’t mess with my hair.”

Stephanie: “How rude! Michelle always gets her way – like being Princess for a day by cutting in front of me at Disney World!

Joey: “Stephanie – Cut.It.Out.”

[Cue slow violin music – it’s time for the moral of the episode!]

Danny: “Michelle, I just want you to know that we love you no matter who wins the race. We’re just proud that you’ve tried your best. But when the race is over, please make sure you wipe your shoes before you enter the house.”

Michelle: “You got it, dude!”

Michelle goes on to win the race. (Shock!)

The End.

What we’ve been up to

Monday, August 4th, 2008

So far, on Day 3, we have almost completed our basic cart, and taken it out for a test run. What fun! If only our cart had a complete braking system and a few more safety features, we’d be ready to tackle 4th Ave.

Our next step is to figure out how to roast a giant chicken and attach it to the cart ;p

Almost forgot – team photo!

Team Photo