Tail of the Dragon track build journal, premise & insights
The Lady of Speed, Speedzilla and Speed Force are heading out of town for a few days on Sunday...so expect some build photos Sunday and the days following...this is going to be a fun build!!!
The Point of Origin for the Tail of the Dragon has been laid and set...it's all downhill from here on out.
Stage 1 and the Drop for Tail of the Dragon are reversed from Bootleg Run...Tail of the Dragon has a 6' Drop into a 4' Run-out as the cars enter Plunder...whereas Bootleg Run has a 4' Drop into a 6' Run-out before the cars enter Widow Maker.
...more updates and pics to come.
2 30" 1x8 was the way to go...post race I'm going to jig saw them to shape and paint them black...most likely won't have time to paint the lumber for the first race.
- Plunder...Ravage...Scorch...Pillage...now you know the 4 Curves of Tail of the Dragon. — LeagueofSpeed
Moving right along...Plunder is ready...going to cut the rest of the legs for the other 3 curve stands next...then work on the Drop and Transition.
- Excited to see this build! — 3DBotMaker
- It wouldn't have happened without your Start Gate my Brother...so you have a direct influence on this build...you're the Uncle of a Dragon. — LeagueofSpeed
If you are building your Fat Track course on a wood frame...the connectors come with pilot holes...perhaps Mattel thought about this all those years ago...I made mine a little bigger than the factory hole...now when I fender washer down the curves...should have great stability...I'll be securing the connectors at the halfway juncture of each straightaway.
Start Gate secured to the top of the Drop.
Well the Transition was just a theory and I knew making the Drop longer at 6' would make the angle of Transition less severe...I'm proud to say the most difficult and problematic part of the build works absolutely perfect...and yes, I'm somewhat proud of myself.
In order to finish...we must start, and I tested some cars that I knew were 1,2 and 3 in order of fastest...and fastest would have entered Plunder in the lead from all 3 lanes...so a successful field test.
- Glad to have found a use for some of that Vinatge Redline Track I had lying around and it looks good with the orange and black of the Start gate...going to number the lanes 1-3 and keep them as the single lane section of Tail of the Dragon. — LeagueofSpeed
Now I know why my Dad used to cuss so much putting the rubber bands on the curves 
The simple wooden skewer will be incorporated into the build of the Tail of the Dragon...I have some of my best ideas right before I drift off to sleep...and I think it's going to look pretty damn cool as well as working perfectly.