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Television Media

Junkyard Wars Tour 135

Posted by michael from the mallrats dept.
ArtEnvironment writes "Junkyard Wars coming to a... MALL near you!? Here's your chance to experience Junkyard Wars firsthand, or at least a glorified pinewood, er I mean JUNK derby! You can build unique gravity-racers and compete on a 'special effects-filled', mini race track. In addition, you can watch clips from the show and possibly even win prizes, yay!"
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Junkyard Wars Tour More

Junkyard Wars Tour

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  • Woot! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Networkink*Man ( 468175 )
    Yay -- one of my favorite shows is coming to a mall near me?! Where do I sign up? :)

    A nice step forward for a television show -- involving viewers in person.

    • Well if you live in one of the VERY select cities there ya' go. If not, well you SOL. :(
      • Or if the tour has already been through the selected city near you, and you didn't know about it.

        I would have driven to DC for this. My kids love watching JW with me and would have loved this.

        Maybe next year, a couple semis filled with an actual junkyard sets up in a mall parking lot. I'd pay money for something like that.

    • Wha ?... Whats That? The MALL?? ... Uh. .. I thought you said the MAUL.. Let me just pack up my killer robot...

  • Yeah but will they let you keep it? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by toygeek ( 473120 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:41AM (#5918604) Journal
    Or will they crush it at the end of the competition?

    Seriously, this sounds like fun. Hey Junkyard Wars, over here in Reno, eh?!

  • Cathy Rogers (Score:5, Funny)

    by bathmatt ( 638217 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:43AM (#5918624)
    My only question will Cathy Rogers be there??

  • JUNKyard Wars? (Score:5, Funny)

    by dolby2 ( 196255 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:45AM (#5918644) Homepage Journal
    I want to be the guy that gets to dump alll the "junk" into the mall and watch little teenie boopers try to figure out what a fulcrum is good for, instead of spending 19 bucks on a Justin Timberlake CD.

  • Not-so-junk yard wars (Score:2, Insightful)

    by dfn5 ( 524972 )
    I watched a couple of episodes of junkyard wars and the word that comes to mind is lame. They couldn't build half the stuff they do if they only used junk. They have to seed the junk with things like working hydrolics, rocket motors, etc. Junkyard wars is as fake as the WWF. The A-Team was able to build cool stuff out of junk, but then that was fiction, and reality is boring.

    • Re:Not-so-junk yard wars (Score:5, Insightful)

      by digidave ( 259925 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:58AM (#5918773)
      "Seeded" is not the same as "staged". It would be a really crappy show if they had to build boats, but nothing in the JY would float! They seed the JY with many things that can be used to help the teams, but the teams have to put together this junk in a useful fashion.

      For instance, planting a long chain isn't the same as handing over all the parts to build a wrecking ball. The seeded stuff is still usually junk. The few exceptions are stuff like airplane motors, which is more of a safety precaution.

    • Seeding the Scrapheap (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SimplyCosmic ( 15296 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:58AM (#5918778) Homepage
      One of the teams that competed earlier on in the series, The N.E.R.D.S., have their thoughts on this here [the-nerds.org].

      The short answer is that yes, there are parts there that one wouldn't find in a normal junkyard due to safety concerns, and that yes, there are a higher number of "good junk" than the average real world junk heap, but honestly it's not like it's still not difficult as hell.

      The "Junkyard" concept is only that, a concept designed to hold the show together, not an absolute reality that must be adheared to or else.

    • Re:Not-so-junk yard wars (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      As B.A.Barracus would say "I pity the fool who can't make a rocket launcher out of an old fridge"

    • Yeah, but... (Score:3, Funny)

      by tinrobot ( 314936 )
      They still get to saw cars in half...

      Now THAT'S entertainment!

    • It's an educational show, sheesh. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tuffy ( 10202 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:03AM (#5918812) Homepage Journal
      The point of the show is to get the viewer to watch the little animated bits where they tell you how a certain piece of technology works (or might not work, in some cases). The rest is just hooks to get the viewer interested.

    • Re:Not-so-junk yard wars (Score:5, Informative)

      by heli0 ( 659560 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:03AM (#5918818)
      There is a "making-of" episode where they show what is actually involved in creating a single show.

      If you have not see it then read this page:
      How 'Junkyard Wars' Works: Behind The Scenes [howstuffworks.com]
    • It still takes considerable skill and elbow room to design and put the things together so it works. And many of the components laying around aren't in that great of condition, making it even more fun.

    • Re:Not-so-junk yard wars (Score:4, Informative)

      by awol ( 98751 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:14AM (#5918923) Journal
      Geez, for the last time. _it ain't about building stuff from junk_ it's about science (for want of a better word) education disguised as something that people will actually watch. The original, Scrapheap Challenge, here in the UK (and ain't that name change a bit of cultural giveaway), had no real pretence otherwise.

      On a related note, one of the UK presenters (of Scrapheap Challenge), Robert Llewellyn (Kryton from Red Dwarf FWIW) has another great show called "Hollywood Science" where he and a scientist mate pick three films pick a bit of science out of the film and then test to see if it actually works. They then rate the science based on these results from 0-10 and pick a winner for that episode. It's actually pretty cool and some of the stuff they have tested has been very interesting, from explosions in water (some deniro film) to infrared cameras (the Pierce Brosnen remake of the newman film) to the egg eating in "Cool Hand Luke". http://www.open2.net/science/hollywood_science/

    • they also remove stuff (Score:4, Informative)

      by dj_virto ( 625292 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:27AM (#5919031)
      I forget quite where, but I read an interview with one of the producers who said they also remove stuff from the yard that would make the challenge too easy.

      Despite seeding the yard, if you watch the show you'll notice the teams still often face the dilemma of being unable to find the stuff they need/want which sometimes results in the failure of their machines.
      • We probably also don't see the shows where one team grabbed all the seeded steam engines so the other team had none. "Cut! People, we need a little change here..."
    • WWF? What, they have Pandas building hovercraft and swamp racers now? Cool!

    • That depends on your definition of "junk".

      I have built machines out of "junk", such as the sprocket and hydraulic drive from a discarded concrete truck, and got the steel from a scrapyard or recycling center for about $60/ton. Yes I used a lot of oxy/acetylene and welding rods.

      Typing monkeys produce 5 pages of gibberish [xnewswire.com]

    • They couldn't build half the stuff they do if they only used junk. They have to seed the junk...

      Hey, glad to see you're on top of things there, Captain Wonder. Of course, this is like annoucing you have perceived the sky to be blue, or that you are almost certain water flows downhill.

      The show admits it seeds the junkyard. I think they even showed the techs placing the rocket motors you mentioned. Please try to pay attention. Reality is much more enjoyable when you do.

    • Having a steam engine does not mean your boat will move in a straight line and is not going to leak. If the "steam engine" rule was not in a specific game they'd just use six automobile engines to power their boat (two to launch it in the water at 30 MPH instead of hauling it with a rope, two engines for propulsion, and two in the water cannon to blast the other team). The fun is in seeing how they try to make something seaworthy and streamlined out of pieces of things that were not designed for this situ

  • Which stores will they unleash us in? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ediron2 ( 246908 ) * on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:47AM (#5918669) Journal
    To heck with attacking other robots, I wanna build a robot that I can turn loose into 'The Gap' and a few other choice targets.
  • now you tell me... I live not but 5 minutes from Perimeter Mall in Atlanta =)

    May 2-4, 2003: Atlanta, GA -- Perimeter Mall

  • Backyard Wars? (Score:5, Funny)

    by genessy ( 587377 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:48AM (#5918682)
    I notice they never get near Montana like so much else I'm interested in. We're a prime location guys! Almost every other hovel/trailer/dive/barn has their own junkyard in their front or back yard. Think about it!

  • Mallrats + Junkyard Wars = (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chagatai ( 524580 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:48AM (#5918683) Homepage
    That kid is on the escalator again!

    Cathy: Today's competition is to knock a five year-old off a moveable staircase using no wheels and only gravity.

    (Meanwhile, Silent Bob goes swinging by on a line thethered to the ceiling to knock the kid out.)

    • FLY FATASS FLY!

      Seriously, though, this isn't too much of a tour... There were only about 10 stops, and many regions were skipped over :( Looks like it'll still be making a CD player out of his mom's old vibrator with chickenwire and shit at home for lunchbox again....

  • Tour dates/locations (Score:5, Informative)

    by PHPee ( 559830 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:48AM (#5918685) Homepage
    This sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad there's only 9 stops on the tour...

    Tour Schedule/Hours:

    Fridays: 2 p.m. -- 8 p.m.
    Saturdays: Noon -- 8 p.m.
    Sundays: Noon -- 5 p.m.

    April 25-27, 2003: Washington, DC -- Montgomery Mall
    May 2-4, 2003: Atlanta, GA -- Perimeter Mall
    May 9-11, 2003: Philadelphia, PA -- King of Prussia
    May 16-18, 2003: New York, NY -- Roosevelt Field
    May 23-25, 2003: Boston, MA -- South Shore Plaza
    May 30-June 1, 2003: Chicago, IL -- Woodfield Mall
    June 6-8, 2003: Minneapolis, MN -- Mall of America
    June 13-15, 2003: Dallas, TX -- The Parks at Arlington
    June 20-22, 2003: Los Angeles, CA -- Westfield Shoppingtown, Santa Anita

  • Awesome (Score:2, Funny)

    by mrpuffypants ( 444598 )
    My college (UTA, in Arlington) is really big on engineering and such. As a lowly MIS major I need to make some engineering friends ASAP and bring them to this.

    Step 4.....Profit!!!

  • It's all in the timing. (Score:2, Informative)

    by vistas ( 214241 )
    Thanks for the heads up. It was at my local mall last weekend. I saw it as they were packing it up. There were bins of toy wagon wheels, and zip ties, and a long, bumpy, twisting, downhill track for three vehicles, as if Salvadore Dali designed outdoor play equipment.

  • But what the hell to use as building material (Score:3, Funny)

    by StormyWeather ( 543593 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:58AM (#5918777) Homepage
    Do they expect you to go around smashing up cash registers,soldering all that shit together with coat hanger wire, and then use burning bras from Victoria's Secret for fuel?

    Maybe they can just use some of the hot air from the jewelry stores instead of burning undergarments.

    Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day.
    Light a man on fire and he will be warm the rest of his life.
    • Do they expect you to go around smashing up cash registers,soldering all that shit together with coat hanger wire, and then use burning bras from Victoria's Secret for fuel?

      Yes..... yes they do...

      They were thrown out of the first mall stop they did after only one event when one of the contestants raided a radio-shack and a gander-mountian store and proceeded to build a napalm thrower onto his car to help knock out the competition.. Unfortunately it set the Abercrombie store on fire and the resulting s

  • Damn, no Albuquerque (Score:5, Funny)

    by Indomitus ( 578 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @09:59AM (#5918788) Homepage Journal
    Of course they're going straight from Dallas to LA, with no stop in Albuquerque. Since the freeway between those two cities goes right through here, maybe I'll be able to at least watch the trucks go by, a single tear streaming down my cheek.
  • Hmm... I work less than 2 miles from the KoP Mall... Mayhap a rest-o-the-day-lunch is in order...
  • Count me in !!!!

    I work 2 blocks from that place.
  • But I lost intrest after determining how horribly setup the show is...

    I now put this show in the same category as battlebots.

    -Rob
  • I would always watch it, and enjoyed it very much. A couple seasons ago they started allowing/requiring too much cheating, etc. (eg: Things that were out of line with what I see as the spirit of the show). Watching became annoying - seeing the "wrong" team win, etc. I stopped watching. - blah.
    • Yeah. I stopped watching after the end-of-series special with the two remote-controlled cars - this was in the UK version. Basically they had a Toyota people-carrier and an old Peugeot estate fitted out with improvised RC gear, and they had to battle it out in a quarry. You got most points for a hit on the roof, and all the Toyota van people did was dangle chains off poles welded to the roof, which scraped along the roof of the (rather lower) Peugeot, doing no damage. Consequently, they won, even though

  • Engineers? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kaamos ( 647337 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:12AM (#5918901)
    As one for all things scientific brought to our yought, I thing this mall idea is quite good. Maybe this will bring more kids out there tinkering with old remote controlled cars and rockets this summer.
    Yes it is my intention to do this exact same thing, remote controlled electric car with rocket boosters attached on the side : bring the car up to speed, then clutch the transmission to go free-wheeling then trigger the boosters at a distance. Yes fun. Volunteers? - I am aiming for physical engieneering and hope that this program will bring more people into the wonderfull world of physics

  • This is recognizable as a fancy version of good old Cub Car [reddz.com] racing. That was a lot of fun as well. I remember agonizing over the aerodynamic design. And the paint scheme.

    • Re:Cub Cars (Score:2, Interesting)

      by stratjakt ( 596332 )
      Bah, they screwed me with cub cars.

      Mine was so simply designed and executed, that it was altogether unimpressive, but it was by far the fastest one out there.

      I cut the block into a wedge. One cut. The end. I gave it a coat of poly.

      Now, to get to weight, I came up with an ingenious idea. I filled the wheels with plaster of paris. There was absolutely nothing in the rulebook about the wheels, other than that you must use the ones they provide, with the nails they provide. Ie; no ball bearings etc. N

  • Has anybody actually seen the exhibit already?

    I'll be at the King of Prussia exhibit in suburban Philadelphia this weekend, and I'll post a brief report to this forum after I get a chance to see it. I really like the show, so I'm very excited to see what they have.

    Too bad the JY is seeded... it makes the show seem more like the WWE than a 'game-show'

    • If the JY wasnt seeded, there'd be no show. Go to a real junkyard, see how far you get building a dune buggy with no engine and no wheels.

      In a real junkyard you'll never find a good set of 4 working tires, or a hydraulic pump, or a solid truck chassis, or even a good supply of solid angle iron.

      The junkyard thing is a theme, they still build the shit from scratch in a day.
    • There is a reason its called a JUNKyard and not a WORKING-BUT-RUNDOWNyard. If I could find all that cool stuff at a real JUNKyard, I would have my own show: Tag Sale Wars, and all the /.ers would show up and make me a millionaire!

  • Thanks for the heads up... (Score:4, Informative)

    by jgerman ( 106518 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:17AM (#5918939)
    ... it was very timely, JunkYard wars came to a mall near me a month ago.

  • Not the same... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Stween ( 322349 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:18AM (#5918944)
    Junkyard Wars will never be the same as the original Scrapheap Challenge. JW doesn't have Rob Llewellyn (sp?) for one thing.

    • Re:Not the same... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Idarubicin ( 579475 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @11:42AM (#5919590) Journal
      Junkyard Wars will never be the same as the original Scrapheap Challenge. JW doesn't have Rob Llewellyn (sp?) for one thing.

      For another, more important thing, they also don't have Cathy Rogers anymore. She's jumped ship and moved to Full Metal Challenge. Sadly, she represented the last bastion of Britishisms on the show--nevermore will we hear the verb, to bodge.

  • But they're coming Memorial Day weekend, and I will be out of town. That's just wrong. :(
  • Dear Slashdot,

    What is this "Mall" thing you keep talking about. Is it like a Best Buy?

    Sincerely,
    Debbie Gibson Fan Club Member #1337

  • Woo Hoo!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by tmasman ( 604942 ) <tmasman@gm a i l . c om> on Friday May 09, 2003 @10:31AM (#5919063) Homepage
    I finally get to sit in the middle of crap and try to make something out of nothing & make it work like what I'm trying to imitate is supposed to work!

    Oh... wait...
    That's what I do for a living...
    (Network Admin for a small (50 Users) company with $0 IT budget)

    At least this time I'll get to do something fun!
    (They're coming to my town!!! Yipee! Arlington, TX)

    ~ tmasman

  • I did this with my kids (Score:5, Informative)

    by Call Me Black Cloud ( 616282 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @11:06AM (#5919325)
    It was a lot of fun, but we didn't win (2nd place). Here's how it goes:

    Stand in line, then stand in line some more. Fill out a sheet where you list your car's name ("Thundermobile", courtesy of my 3 year old) and the team members (myself, my 5 year old daughter and my 3 year old son). Sign a waiver saying that if you die it's your problem and if you're on TV then you get no money.

    Finally it's build time. 3 teams get 10 minutes to assemble their race cars. First, pick a frame from about 1 dozen or so shells and then head to your workbench. Pick 4 wheels (sizes are large, medium, small). Attach wheels (don't forget cotter pins). At this point you have a car to race. You're provided with other items to attach...basically a bin of junk that serves only to dress up the car but can add weight. You also get flashlights and batteries. I was going to pile on the batteries for weight but was told that too much weight will sometimes make the car get stuck on the track. Everything has to be secured with either colored electrical tape or zip ties. After a final check the cars are loaded on the "junkivator" and lifted to the start of the course. Teams are put on stage and the race is run. Winning times are around 5 seconds. The winner gets a team picture with the host and the losers go off to an old auto bench seat. For our effort each of us got a JYW bag containing promotional flyers, radio shack coupons (they're sponsoring the tour), a picture frame magnet, and a JYW mini maglite in a JYW-branded plastic case. The winners get the same plus a t-shirt.

    It was fun though not really a challenging build (remember, they have to crank through as many teams as they can which is why the time is limited). A great thing for a family to do together. There's a lot of hype - the host is very energetic (he's the same guy on the tour commercial) and everyone is very nice. The kids liked being on the TV screens around the display and liked the race. My son has been talking about doing it again. All it all it was worthwhile and if they have a tour next year we'll do it again.
    • I visited it but did not join in. The "challenge" consisted primarily of determining what size wheels to use (of 3) and how much other weight-adding stuff you could duct-tape or wire-tie to it.

      All in all, it's not really worth the trouble unless you have kids who want to try it. it was targetted primarily at children and teens.

      My group of friends just ended up watching for a few minutes and then going to the bookstore and the Electronics Boutique.
  • you insensitive clod!

  • More like Operation Junkyard (Score:3, Informative)

    by coolerthanmilk ( 312282 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @12:07PM (#5919782)

    The mall tour sounds more like Operation Junkyard, the kids version of Junkyard Wars as part of the Discovery Kids shows on NBC. Although all the parts are nicer rather than just being junk, the show has kids participating rather than adults. It's a little different format but still a set time period (6 hours) to build something and then a competition. Instead of experts they have engineers they can consult with for a very short time at the beginning. My kids like the show a lot along with regular Junkyard Wars. It's not bad. More info is available here [discovery.com].


    OT rant: Now for a really lame kids version of a show (since the adult show is lame as well) there is the Discovery Kids show Endurance, a kid version of Survivor. Now that bores my kids to no end. It makes me proud to see them go build stuff instead of watching it when it comes on after Operation Junkyard.

  • Whatever its called (and I've seen both) I still can't but help Kryten (Robert Lwellyn) is the best host. Also use of the term bodger is fun :)

    Rus

  • Related event... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zobo ( 60591 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @01:09PM (#5920431)
    ...in San Francisco this Sunday: Power Tool Drag Races [qbox.org].

  • They already have a similar exhibit here... (Score:3, Funny)

    by ZorMonkey ( 653731 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @01:12PM (#5920465)
    ...except they call it Pottery Barn. The junk doesnt do as much fun stuff though.

  • I was there the first weekend in Maryland (Score:4, Informative)

    by snoitpo ( 182768 ) on Friday May 09, 2003 @01:25PM (#5920594)
    I was there on their first weekend, a few miles from Discovery Channel HQ (TLC's overlord). The Missle Masters (the Navy team from this season; they live about 200 miles away) were there to say "hi" and helped a few people with their models.

    It was about as much fun as you would expect when you realize that they want to get a few hundred people to build the models and they don't allow arc welding. Lots of flat screen TV's, and the mall's Radio Shack manager came down with a bunch of ZipZaps (the small RC cars) to play with (and sell); my 4 year-old had much fun (and the ZipZap has survived 2 weeks (3 sets of batteries) of use).

    I kept asking for Kathy Rogers. I figured one of the TV hosts would show up for the first stop of the tour. Maybe on the last...

    If you have the fastest car at the end of the tour you'll get to be on the show. The fastest run at the first weekend was 4.4 seconds.

  • Sell-out (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by blair1q ( 305137 )
    Junkyard Wars is the most un-Mall-Culture thing on the television. Going to the mall to drum up business for corporate fixers selling plasticky crap is the antithesis of their do-anything-with-refuse ethos.
  • OK, for better (in forethought) or worse (in hindsight) I actually took a few hours and showed up when it was in Maryland a couple of weeks ago. A timeline...

    ~2:00PM Stroll into the mall thinking 'Really cool concept on paper- especially if they let you use such junk as the espresso machine from StarBucks, the ear piercing gun from Claire's, the laser barcode scanners from any store, and god only knows what else to create a Caffiene powered, laser guided, ear piercer (or something)'

    ~2:01PM I see the stag

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