Skis for Hobbyzone Champ

Hi everyone. I thought I'd share the process I used to build simple skis for the mighty Hobby Zone Champ. I hope you enjoy my first article! I apologize for a few of the pictures being blurry.

1. First I removed the wheels. Yup...I made tundra tires.

Next I found some .047 guage music wire. It certainly does not have to be this material, it's just what I happened to have on hand.

I made a simple V bend to make the leg lengths abour 3.25 inches long.

Then I bent the toes. Just the width of whatever plyers your using should be fine.

Test fit and twist as required.

Next I found a strip of good old Dollar Tree foam board.

One could also use a nice strip of balsa wood, but I went with the foam board.

The dimensions are as follows. 1" wide, 6" long from tip to tip, 1" to the bend. I cut a relief channel and warmed up the hot glue gun. apply glue into the gap, and bend up to about a 45 degree angle. I did these both at the same time so the angles would match.

All glued up and we're ready to move on to waterproofing.

Time for our trusty friend, the Minwax. If you go this route, also great to apply to balsa, make sure to NOT get the water based one. Looking back, this step could be replaced with Scotch tape. If you dont want to fuss with Minwax, you could simply seal your skis with strips of Scotch tape cut to size to seal them up.

Foam brush and were ready to go!

Applied to all surfaces, and let it seep into the paper. I let it sit for 10 mins. It'll dry slower in the cold, and faster in the heat so your time may vary. The key is to NOT let it dry all the way. 10 minutes should get you close for this small of a surface.

Wipe off the excess, and let it dry a bit more. Now we're ready to paint!

A simple rattle can will do! even though we've applied our Minwax or tape, still use caution and spray at a distance, and lightly!

A few coats at a time. Spray...walk away. Flip, spray, make a cup of hot coco. Rinse. Lather. Repeat...but remember...every layer adds weight!

All dry and ready to move to final assembly

So with your wire installed, just set it up and give it a look. Look from the nose. Look from the tail. Look from above. Note the angle of the skis to provide for stability. Have a friend put eyeballs on it and ask them if it looks straight!

Once you're happy with the alingment, insert the toes into the skis, with carefull attention NOT to penetrate through the bottom of the skis. When they're lined up, hot glue in place. Note the width compared to the landing gear.

Well there she is...ready for service in the great white north!

And a shot from the side. I hope you all enjoyed the little Champ's upgrade for winter operations!