Star Wars X-34 Landspeeder

This was my quick and dirty Landspeeder X-34 for my sons 6th birthday party. I didn't plan on an instructable, so the photos are a mixture of construction and deconstruction. (it took up ALOT of room, I needed the garage back) It's also my first instructable, so excuse the rough edges.

The first step is to find a suitable chassis. I used an "Original KettCar" that we already had. I know that they have several models and sizes. It's pedal powered, although some of the younger kids needed to get a little boost to get all of the mass moving. Once you have your chassis, you need to identify your mounting points where you can build your sub structure. this method could be used for any sort of bodywork, although it could get quite heavy the more structure you have to build. I'm not sure how much more the drivetrain could handle.

I Rested two 1"x10"x6' common pine boards on my mounting rails and measured between for my cross members. Once I had them tied together, they basically rested on the frame without any hard mounting points. I boxed in the steering wheel support at the front and the seat at the back to keep the sub structure from moving fore and aft. Once that is stable I added the 90 degree supports.

I attached the shelves, 1"x8"x6' common pine boards to create the horizontal surface or the deck structure. (no clear photo)

Using the crossmembers, create a horizontal structure that protrudes forward to support the deck up front, that has a vertical member that approaches the ground. the vertical member will be the foundation for the bowed side skirt. For the skirts/body, I had a stack of cheap paneling that was left in the garage. it has a very 70s wood printed on the front side. as you can see it's fairly flexible. this is a deconstruction photo so the skirt has some memory in the shape. it started out quite straight. first fasten the center of the skirt to the vertical member so that from the top the entire thing looks like a large "T". Over the course of 2 or 3 days, I used ratchet straps to slowly pull in the "wings" of the skirt until I could fasten them to the shelf structures on each side. This step looked like a large crossbow as the nose radius was slowly developed.

deconstruction photos

Once the skirts are in place, time to deck. First fit the cockpit making sure you have enough room for the nose. Once the cockpit is trimmed flush to the pine vert pine boards directly adjacent to the seat, simply use the side skirts to trim the deck paneling. Do the same for the rear portion of the deck.

created the engine pods out of wood scraps and gallon or two flower pots.

I felt that it needed a little something extra in the detail area so I decided to make a bumper sticker that I think any young Luke would appreciate.

make some light sabers for some epic battles. they make a good whap with a direct hit! Enjoy!!!