Good Morning all,
I was hoping to get some input on a dio/playset I will be building for my son. My son is 3 and loves (read: fanatical) the movie Cars. I am in the process of obtaining all the race cars from the movie for him, if any of you or your kids collect the matchbox size cars you understand what a feat that is in of itself. On top of that though I want him to have a race track to play with them on. Unfortunately all the movie toys made to depict the tracks in the movie are..well..crap, cheap plastic, no detail, most are one lane only. Maybe a good toy for some kids, but my son has a FineScale modeler for a father so they just aren't going to work. I intend on drawing up plans over the next day or two then hit michaels for supplies this weekend. Probably going to take a week or two to get it together, but I have until christmas so I am not too worried.
In the movie it is what appears to be a round amphitheater type structure with an oval track in the center, I only intend on building the outer amphitheater walls and grandstands on one side, leaving the other side open for my boy to sit at to play, I most likely will be having it sit on a small table and while not having it attached completely I want it to have some sort of mount so it doesn't take a slide off the table, I figure total size would be about 3.5' long by 3' wide and probably about a foot tall at the highest point (the front gate, which is really the only portion where you can get any kind of detailed pictures of the exterior.
My plan was to use Balsa wood for most of the construction but have concerns about its durability. So I am open to suggestions. Definitely going to use fine grit sandpaper for the road area and some fake grass for the infield. I should be able to come up with most everything but I wanted input from this community, what recommendations for materials, things to avoid, things to ensure are completed, basically any advice you can give me. I have experience in plastic models, and some dio experience back in my school days (my mom was always big on those kinds of projects and I always had the most elaborate and detailed dio's in the class)
I appreciate any help you can provide
Thanks
TLP