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| Motorized Cat Trac Skid Plate |
The skid plate is now in place (see photo below). Actually, it's more of
an "anti-wheelie" device than a skid plate. The vehicle is funtional
without this part, but does not perform as well.
During the prototype's maiden run with the good Major on board, a mishap occurred. While Major Matt was negotiating substantially rough terrain (where the kitchen vinyl floor meets the living room carpet), the vehicle flipped over backwards and dumped the Major on his head. Well I tell ya, the Major jumped, dusted himself off and hollered, "I WANT SOMEBODY'S BUTT... AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!" That is when the skid plate idea was formulated.
Actually, this part makes the Cat Trac (with Matt seated on board) enormously stable when climbing over obstacles. The plate is glued to the bottom of the motor housing and extends approximately 1/4" beyond the rear of the vehicle. When the Cat Trac is upright on its tracks, the plate is almost unnoticeable. With this device, the Cat Trac will climb some pretty impressive obstacles ... and believe me, I have put it to the test.
Now that I have two Cat Tracs completed, I think I will build another one. These things are as much fun to build as they are fun to play with. The Sharkman says that a wireless remote controller would be nice. Come to think of it, that is a great idea. It just so happened that the good Major was walking around the Cat Trac and tripped over the remote controller wire. He got up, dusted himself off and hollered, "I WANT SOMEBODY'S BUTT ...!!!"
This is the last installment of my Cat Trac building series
(yeaaaaaaaaa!). Okay, okay, it wasn't that bad. I hope that you, my
Masonite friends, got something out of this. I certainly enjoyed writing
about the project. Now let me go find those radio control parts for my
next project. Adieu! Adios! I'm outa here. :-)
I thought I'd better add this bit of info to the remote control Cat Trac series I just finished. For anyone who is considering doing a similar project using the styrene plastic modeling material to build components, be sure to use model glue for construction. The epoxy I spoke of in the series was for adhering the styrene plastic to the Cat Trac body, which is a different type of plastic. Also, be sure to use the model glue sparingly or a weaker joint will result.
Toby
During the prototype's maiden run with the good Major on board, a mishap occurred. While Major Matt was negotiating substantially rough terrain (where the kitchen vinyl floor meets the living room carpet), the vehicle flipped over backwards and dumped the Major on his head. Well I tell ya, the Major jumped, dusted himself off and hollered, "I WANT SOMEBODY'S BUTT... AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!" That is when the skid plate idea was formulated.
Actually, this part makes the Cat Trac (with Matt seated on board) enormously stable when climbing over obstacles. The plate is glued to the bottom of the motor housing and extends approximately 1/4" beyond the rear of the vehicle. When the Cat Trac is upright on its tracks, the plate is almost unnoticeable. With this device, the Cat Trac will climb some pretty impressive obstacles ... and believe me, I have put it to the test.
Now that I have two Cat Tracs completed, I think I will build another one. These things are as much fun to build as they are fun to play with. The Sharkman says that a wireless remote controller would be nice. Come to think of it, that is a great idea. It just so happened that the good Major was walking around the Cat Trac and tripped over the remote controller wire. He got up, dusted himself off and hollered, "I WANT SOMEBODY'S BUTT ...!!!"
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| Matt and Storm Checking Out Their Rides |
I thought I'd better add this bit of info to the remote control Cat Trac series I just finished. For anyone who is considering doing a similar project using the styrene plastic modeling material to build components, be sure to use model glue for construction. The epoxy I spoke of in the series was for adhering the styrene plastic to the Cat Trac body, which is a different type of plastic. Also, be sure to use the model glue sparingly or a weaker joint will result.
Toby
All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2023 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton.
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