Oct. 19th started out with heavy winds and rain and I was damp for most of the day, but by the start of the teapot races the rain had stopped.
Sweet Tea was built as a teapot racer to be loaned out to someone who did not have their own racer. That someone was very specific this time, though. Heidi Icenogle volunteered to be one of our judges, a job she has done in the past, but I had already filled both positions, so I asked if she would race instead, if I provided her with a teapot racer. She enthusiastically agreed.
Heidi is a bee keeper, so I was inspired to create a queen bee themed racer.
Heidi not only created bribes for the judges, she even made a bribe for me, a beautiful poppy themed journal.
Driving an RC car without any practice is quite a challenge.
We had three tank based teapot racers at Renninger's Steampunk and Industrial Show on October 20th.
Tankpot was built and driven by Lord Theodore Puddleton and sponsored by Aethertopia.
There was plenty of time to practice before the races.
Introducing our esteemed judges, John Sprocket of the band, The Cog is Dead, Heidi Icenogle of the Cowford Steampunk Society, and time keeper, Clete Rooney.
Tankpot was the first contestant of the day and was a first time racer. Lord Puddleton had to help his racer out a bit towards the end of the course, but did it with such panache that he received a full 10 points for showmanship and a medal for being the "Most Dastardly Driver".
First time teapot racer, Baron Von Spear of Prussia created and drove this Dalek themed teapot racer at Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show on Oct. 21, 2017.
Presenting the racer and then the bribes to the judges:
A lot of work and creativity went into creating Tealek, but since it was based on the evil Daleks from Dr. Who, it was not surprising that it was hard to control and exterminated a couple teacups.
Tealek did finish the course in a respectable 2 minutes and 29 seconds and was awarded 10 out of 10 points for "overall look of the vehicle" by the judges. SaveSave
I was excited when the Hamilton family showed up with a teapot racer at the Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show in Mount Dora. They are very memorable as the only people to build a teapot racer while sitting next to the registration table, just before a race. They hadn't even owned a remote controlled vehicle when they first stopped by the registration table that day, but went out and bought one, so they could compete. The resulting racer was "Last Minute Lucy".
This year, they came prepared to race with this cute fairy themed racer and fairy jars that flashed different colors, as judges' bribes.
Jeff Hamilton does the driving, but it's easy to see that this is a project that involves the whole family.
The Hamiltons received full marks for showmanship and the quality of the judges' bribes, but lost a couple points on negotiating the hazards of the obstacle course.
"Astor Burner" was built and driven by Tristan Van Cise. This young man was present at the very first Splendid Teapot Race, to watch his mother race, but this was his first time with a vehicle of his own.
Judges' bribes don't have to be physical things. They can be poems, compliments, songs, dances, or jokes. Tristan gave the judges the gift of laughter.
The judges' bribe joke:
"One day the Engineer pulled into the station. He went into the station and when he came out the train was gone! He turned to a train yard worker, where did the train go? The worker didn't know. The engineer asked several other people getting angrier and angrier that he couldn't find the train. Walked around another train that had pulled in while he was inside the station and there was his train. It had been there all along and he got STEAMED over nothing."
His bribe received the maximum possible points from both judges.
Winner of the "Most Splendid First Time Contestant" ribbon.
This was Rocky Sawyer's entry in Splendid Teapot Races on Oct. 21, 2017 at Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show in Mount Dora, Florida. The little man inside the teapot, driving, is Kit and his racer is called Kabootle. The judges were so impressed by this design, that Rocky won the "Most Splendid Design" ribbon.
His score may have been helped by the presentation of the bribes, as much as the bribes themselves, as he fished around in his sporran for the small bars of scented soaps.
Besides competing in the teapot races, Rocky also contributed his Alice in Wonderland themed obstacle course.
The clever design and amusing bribe could not help Kabootle on the race course, where it turned out to be woefully underpowered. Rocky did get full marks for showmanship, though.
What do you do when you've built a beautiful teapot racer, only to discover that it doesn't have the power to make it through the obstacle course? You cheat.
Leann Drury arrived at Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show with a plan to win the "Most Dastardly Driver" ribbon, the prize for most entertaining cheat. Her racer has a mermaid and ocean theme, so she came up with an alternate method of powering it, that fit perfect with that theme, a small, plastic fishing rod.
Between the creativity of the way she cheated, delicious cupcakes for the judges, and Leann's ability to entertain the crowd, she had no trouble winning her desired prize.
This teapot racer releases a constant stream of tiny bubbles as it runs.
Katie Sawyer won the Grand Champion trophy with this vehicle a year ago at Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show, but "Lady Kate's Bubbler" did not do as well this time around. Katie, however, made it a fun and memorable race.
A boozy bribe for the judges.
Bartender, Katie, gave each of the judges a custom made bottle of "snake oil".
Not a teetotaling teapot racer:
If you ever wondered how to turn Splendid Teapot Racing into a drinking game, this may be it.
Every time the driver touches the vehicle, take a swig of beer.
This week's featured teapot racer is Sir-Brakes-A-Lot, which was driven by MaiLee Addison on January 28, 2017 at the Royal Renninger Races (Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show, Mount Dora, Florida).
A pre-race practice run:
Even practicing for the race attracted an audience.
Since Sir-Brakes-A-Lot was built out of a metal tea kettle, dry ice could be added, so that steam poured out of the spout as the racer made its way around the course. It really is a fun effect!
Lay your head down to the right in front of your computer, relax, and enjoy this sideways video.
Sir-Brakes-A-Lot made it around the course in 1-minute, 30-seconds and received extra points
for the quality of the bribe, as well as showmanship.
Our set-up at Renninger's did not lend itself well to drag racing, so we tried something new this time, an alligator round-up.
To keep the audience entertained while the judges were busy calculating score sheets, I invited the racers to use their vehicles to move small stuffed alligators to the "open water" end of my son's old play mat. Really, what could be more Floridian than relocating alligators?!
The first racer to move two alligators to the water would win.
It didn't look like it was going to be much of a contest at first. MaiLee was the only one brave enough to try. But, once the other racers saw how much fun she was having, one by one they all joined. Then chaos ensued!
This is Lori Knott's latest teapot racer, Mad Hatter's Tea Party. It came with a support crew, made up of representatives from her two previous teapot racers.
I was excited to see Mad Hatter's Tea Party! Along with being adorable, it went perfectly with the teapot racing obstacles that I borrowed from Rocky Sawyer, which have an Alice in Wonderland theme.
A practice run before the main event:
The Mad Hatter wasn't being completely cooperative and required quite a bit of manual assistance, but Lori managed to complete the race in a respectable 2 minutes and 19 seconds.
Mad Hatter's Tea Party received full points for the overall look of the vehicle and the quality of the judges' bribes. SaveSave SaveSave
