MADEONEARTH
Yabba Dabba DIY
Bill LeMaster, a 44-year-old retired Air Force
technician living in Montgomery, Ala., enjoys a great
many hobbies, ranging from arts to electronics. He
also enjoys his family, his most beloved passion.
Although, if you ask his wife, she’d probably
say collecting hobbies is his biggest passion.
Last Halloween, when he heard his grandkids
were dressing up as Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm
from the Flintstones, LeMaster volunteered to build
them the Flintstone car to perfectly complete the
look (and to make sure he got to join in the fun).
“I just wanted my grandkids to have the most
awesome costume in Montgomery,” he recalls.
He started the build six weeks before Halloween,
allowing himself plenty of time to get the project
rock solid. Once the car was done, the kids were all
set to shuffle their feet down the street — Yabba-Dabba-Doo! His grandkids were happy, the neighbors
were amazed, and LeMaster was satisfied with the
outcome of the project.
People continue to ask him where he bought
the car and if he’ll bring it out of the house.
In response, LeMaster has posted a how-to, comprised of step-by-step instructions on making your
own Flintstone car, on the Instructables website.
“I originally documented the construction to
simply capture the memories of the build, but it
just so happened that I came across Instructables
shortly after I started so I decided to enter the
contest. I figured people might be interested in some
of the techniques I came up with,” he explains.
LeMaster says it took him about three weeks
to build the car, with most of the work done on
Saturdays. The bulk of the material he used was
scrap wood that he found lying around the house.
Swim noodles and bondo glass both helped in the
construction.
All in all, the project cost him about $100, and
LeMaster says it was worth every penny. “This was
nothing compared to the priceless expressions on
my grandkids’ faces when they saw the car.”
—Ed Troxell
>> Flintstones Car How-To: makezine.com/go/flintmobile
Photography courtesy of Bill LeMaster
22 Make: Volume 14
