MOUSETRAP POWERED CARS

The Branding Iron comes with our the most advanced and easiest to operate braking system available for a mousetrap powered vehicle. The Branding Iron uses our unique wing-nut locking bar braking system that can be set to stop at any distance from 0-9 meters. As the front wheels rotate a wing-nut travels along a threaded axle held from spinning by a locking bar until the wing-nut wedges tight against the frame of the vehicle causing the vehicle to come to an instant stop. Setting the braking system is as simple as placing your racer at the finish line where you want your vehicle to stop with the wing-nut in the locked position. Then the car is rolled back to the start line setting the wing-nut to the exact stopping position. The Branding Iron comes ready-to-assemble with pre-cut and pre-drilled parts so you will be ready for action on the same day. As with all our kits, The Branding Iron comes with our complete step-by-step instruction guide that is written the for the visual learner filled with tons of top secret performance tips and tricks that have been developed exclusively by Doc Fizzix, with over 30 years of experience, so you will have all the information you need to make The Branding Iron a winner.

The biggest challenge with all high-speed and stopping contest is wheel traction. If wheels do not have enough traction your racer can spin its wheels and/or skid past it stopping point at the finish. The Branding Iron comes with our ultra sticky, low inertia foam wheels that are made from a very sticky lightweight urethane designed to grab any floor surface and bring you vehicle to an instant stop without skidding. With our ultra-sticky foam wheels your vehicle will come to the perfect stop each time you test your car so you can dial in your vehicles performance to perfection. While the rest of the field is skidding past the stopping point, The Branding Iron will be coming to the perfect stop right on the mark.

Travel Distance:

0-9 meters (0 - 29.5 feet)* Adjustable stopping distance

Top Highlights:

• Top secret, high-tech mousetrap car braking system that can be set for any distance up to 9 meteres.
• Comes with our 2" inch ultra-sticky foam wheels for the ultimate that will not spin out at the start for rocket accelerations.
• The perfect mousetrap vehicle kit designed and engineered for your success. Comes ready-to-assemble with pre-cut and pre-drilled lightweight balsa wood frame.
• This mousetrap car kit comes with lightweight, 3/16" inch diameter brass tubing axles that spin freely with less friction for an increase in both speed and distance. Brass tubing axles do not warp like wooden dowels and provide for a much smoother ride without wobble.
• Features Doc Fizzix's "easy-wind", "snag-free" propulsion system designed specifically for mousetrap powered racers.
• Comes with our complete step-by-step instruction guide that is written the for the visual learner filled with tons of top secret performance tips and tricks.
• Finished vehicle measures approximately 5 x 6 x 21.5 inches (H x W x L)
• All our products are 100% made in the U.S.A by Doc Fizzix in Spicewood, TX.

Assembly Time:

The Branding Iron can be assembled in less than 60 minutes for most first time builders and when finished it will travel from 0-9 meters (0 - 29.5 feet).

Skill Level:

Required Skills

• Some knowledge of how a mousetrap car works.
• Able to measure with a ruler in both inches and/or centimeters.
• Experience working with wood glue and/or Cyanoacrylate glues (Super Glues).
• Able to glue two pieces of balsa wood together.
• Able to tie a loop knot in string.
• Able to use needle nose pliers to cut wire.
• Can problem solve during construction and make adjustments.
• Can determine how to make adjustments to improve performance.

Recommended Skills

• Able to sand parts to make them smooth.

Tools Required:

• Needle-nose-pliers
• Wood or Super glue

*Kits require assembly, actual results will vary and depends on the constructions skills of the builder, glue and tools not included.

Includes the following:

• 1x - Victor mouse trap
• 1x - Top secret high-tech braking system
• 2x - Pre-cut and pre-drilled balsa wood frame
• 1x - Pre-cut balsa wood deck top
• 4x - Ultra Sticky Foam Wheels
• 2x - Tire treads (balloon)
• 2x - 6" inch Brass tubing axles
• 4x - CD/DVD flexible rubber wheel adapters
• 4x - Thrust washers
• 1x - 12 inch lever arm
• 1x - 18 inches Kevlar high-tech string
• Doc Fizzix's easy-wind, snag-free propulsion system
• Step-by-step plans with performance tips and tricks

Breaking System

The Branding Iron comes with our the most advanced and easiest to operate braking system available for a mousetrap powered vehicle. The Branding Iron uses our unique wing-nut locking bar braking system that can be set to stop at any distance from 0-9 meters. As the front wheels rotate a wing-nut travels along a threaded axle held from spinning by a locking bar until the wing-nut wedges tight against the frame of the vehicle causing the vehicle to come to an instant stop. Setting the braking system is as simple as placing your racer at the finish line where you want your vehicle to stop with the wing-nut in the locked position. Then the car is rolled back to the start line setting the wing-nut to the exact stopping position.

Ultra-Sticky Foam Wheels

The biggest challenge with all high-speed and stopping contest is wheel traction. If wheels do not have enough traction your racer can spin its wheels and/or skid past it stopping point at the finish. The Branding Iron comes with our ultra sticky, low inertia foam wheels that are made from a very sticky lightweight urethane designed to grab any floor surface and bring you vehicle to an instant stop without skidding. With our ultra-sticky foam wheels your vehicle will come to the perfect stop each time you test your car so you can dial in your vehicles performance to perfection. While the rest of the field is skidding past the stopping point, The Branding Iron will be coming to the perfect stop.

With all quick accelerating vehicles the gearing needs to be setup to release as much energy as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. Our Ultra Sticky foam wheels are the perfect wheels for maximizing the transfer of potential energy into energy of motion. The ultra-sticky urethane keeps the vehicles drive wheels from spinning under high torque at the start so your vehicle can get to top speed sooner than all the rest with no wasted energy.

Pulling Distance and Travel Distance

When it comes to building a top performance mousetrap powered vehicle gearing is probably the most important concept every builder will need to understand. Gearing is how you control both the speed and the pulling distance for any mousetrap powered car. In order to understand gearing you will need to understand the following three terms:

• Gearing.
• Pulling Distance.
• Total Travel Distance.

The gearing of a mousetrap vehicle is determined by three components, the length of the mousetrap's snapper lever arm, the diameter of the drive axle, and the diameter of the drive wheels. By attaching a lever arm to a mousetrap's snapper arm you can control both the pulling force and the amount of string that can be wound around the drive axle. The amount of torque delivered by the mousetrap's spring does not change but you can change the amount of pulling force delivered to the drive axle by changing the length of the mousetrap's lever arm. A longer lever arm decreases the pulling force but extends that pulling force over a greater distance. Shorter lever arms deliver a larger pulling force to the drive axle but have a shorter pulling distance. If you want to build a good long distance traveling mousetrap car then you will want a longer lever arm that has a smaller pulling force but that force acts over a greater pulling distance. Longer lever arms will give your vehicle more wraps of string that can be wound and unwound from the drive axle. If you want to build a good speed-trap racer then a shorter lever arm will generate more force for a greater acceleration but over a shorter pulling distance. The ratio of the drive wheels diameter to the drive axle diameter also play an important part in the gearing of a mousetrap racer, but the most common way to control both the speed and the pulling distance for any mousetrap powered car is by changing the length of the lever arm.

The Branding Iron Kit comes with a 12 inch lever arm for a maximum of 24 inches of string that can be wound around the drive axle. If needed, you can adjust the length of the lever arm by cutting with a dremel tool to increase the pulling force and get more speed out of your racer. Based on the overall gearing, the maximum pulling distance for The Branding Iron Kit is 6 meters (19.6 feet) with an average total travel distance of 9 meters (29.5 feet) after the pulling force is spent and before the brake is applied for most first time builders.

Easy-wind, snag-free propulsion system

As with all our top mousetrap racer kits, The Branding Iron Kit includes our "easy-wind" and "snag-free" string release system that will not tangle and/or snag on release for increased performance, a technique developed exclusively by Doc Fizzix for mousetrap and rubber band powered racers. Our snag-free propulsion system is designed to release from the drive axle once the pulling force is complete in order to maximize the coasting distance.

Low inertia axle system

One of the design secrets that make The Branding Iron a guaranteed winner is it's low inertia axle system. Our lightweight, 3/16" inch brass tubing axles spin with less friction than wooden dowels for an increase in both the speed and the travel distance of your vehicle. Lightweight brass-tubing axles will not warp like wooded dowels and have a lot less mass than steel axles used in many of our competitors kits so your mousetrap vehicles will travel smoother, with less wobble, and less wasted energy for an increase in both speed and travel distance.

Easy to Follow, Step-by-Step Instructions

As with all our mousetrap vehicle kits, The Branding Iron comes with our complete step-by-step instruction guide that is written the for the visual learner filled with tons of top secret performance tips and tricks that have been developed, tested, and perfected exclusively by Doc Fizzix, with over 30 years of experience, so you will have all the information you need to make your mousetrap vehicle project a success. Our easy to follow, step-by-step instructions are filled images and diagrams designed to eliminate the guess work. You will feel confident and feel like a professional builder as you follow our detailed step-by-step instructions.

Reversible

A common mousetrap vehicle challenge is to build a car that travels forward and then comes back to the start. The reversibility of a mousetrap racer is just how you wind the string around the drive axle. Because of the unique design of our snag-free propulsion system, this kit can be used for all reversing mousetrap car challenges.

Same Day Shipping!

All orders received before 12:00 p.m. CST are processed and ship on the same day as long as the item(s) are in stock; orders received after 12:00 p.m. CST will be processed and shipped on the following business day as long as the item(s) are in stock. Online orders take priority over phone and mail orders and therefor ship with a priority level of Burning-Red-Hot. Because of the extreme popularity of Doc Fizzix Products, items can go out of stock without warning. If an item goes out of stock, it will ship as soon as the item is back in stock with a priority level of Super-Duper-Burning-Red-Hot.

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