Le’ Skateboard tutorial:
Alright then… first off, I just have to say that I’m doing this because those slack bastards at threeA have refused to heed my repeated demands for some street transport for their figs. I couldn’t be arsed to wait for the Adventure Kartel Zomb zimmer frame and decided to make a skateboard or three in the meantime. Also, big props to much missed threeA forum boardie Dante for the OG suggestion.
Down to business…
The materials you’ll need..
- super glue (or crazy glue to the colonials )
- stock card (old cereal packets, birthday cards are ideal )
- exacto knife and sharp scissors
- steel rule
- cutting mat
Skateboards are a very personal affair and first ye’ ve got to decide what style ride ye want… old school, street or a long board.
Once ye’ve picked yer poison ye’ll have to create a template. I do all mine by eye alone… ye computer whizzes should be able to knock something out in no time though!
Ideally it should be a rectangle roughly 14 cm x 3cms. Once you’ve that measured out, take a pencil and draw a line bisecting the rectangle. Then draw or trace yer shape out. Once yer happy cut it out, rounding out any imperfections. Then simply use the template you’ve just created to draw out 4 – 6 more “boards” depending on how thick the card is and how thick ye want yer deck.
I find 4 layers of average greeting card stock will do the job nicely .
O.K… taking care not to glue yourself together, carefully glue the layers of card together one at a time. Ye can add kicks at this stage by simply bending the card where ye want em..
I find drawing around the edge of the board then a few lines in the middle will do. After each layer take care to trim any excess off and round out any imperfections. Rinse and repeat until ye are satisfied with the shape and thickness.
Apply more glue (ye may need to open a window unless ye dig cheap highs..) around the edge of the board to make sure the layers are firmly in place. This will also create a hardened edge that ye can lightly sand to add shaping.
After that its time for the grip tape. I use any old sheets of sandpaper or aluminium oxide cloth paper about 80 – 120 grit. Take what you have, glue it to the board and trim to fit !
Apply glue once more around the edge of the board… once again, sand and clean up any last irregularities.
Now its simply a matter of adding any designs ye want. You can print off graphics and decals from yer computer or just doodle with a brush or pen. This is for me the most fun part of it all… I’ve gone for a homage or two to the first board I ever rode.. my big bro’s dog town board. No doubt a few of ye will have similar nostalgia in mind .
Once yer happy with the graphics its time for some wheels. Silly enough, there’s not many decently sized trucks and wheels about. I find Tech Deck (TM) ones too small but you can lengthend them a bit with appropriately sized plastic tubing and the wheels glued in place on the end.
The trucks I have are old ones from a Dragon “In Dreams” skate fig, which are ideal at 3cm wide.. ye can either glue them straight on or mark the bolt holes and drill them out with a pin drill or dremel to retain the spin.
Hopefully this will inspire a few of ye out there. I’d love to see some pics of a few finished decks at some point.
If any one out there happens upon a company thats producing some decent 1/6 sized trucks hit us up, my zombs would appreciate it!
Many thanks!
Rad Toy Review 