dunefreak

Just in time to get the heck out. You can't even see across camp. There are 20-30 mph winds blowing dust everywhere. On a good note, the road is in excellent shape.

Duners were blown away with what rolled into Dumont Dunes this year for Halloween Weekend! Star Wars characters Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and Princess Leia pulled up to Comp Hill in the Landspeeder X-34. Cel phones and cameras couldn’t come out quick enough. Everyone surrounded the homemade creation and were in awe at how far these guys got into the Halloween spirit. The Landspeeder drove up and down the rows at Comp Saturday night playing the Star Wars music and handing out candy to everyone. Between the music, the costumes, and lightsaber swords, the force was strong with this crew! Duners loved it and thanked them for their hard work and dedication. Once again, Howard, Trish, Walter and Laura, of Las Vegas, wowed Dumont beyond everyone's expectations. photo by Neal Rideout photo by Neal Rideout photo by Neal Rideout photo by Neal Rideout The Story Behind the Star Wars Landspeeder RZR Halloween weekend at Dumont is one of the most festive weekends of the year. For some people, it’s a fun excuse to throw on a funny wig or go as far as wearing full costume or string some orange lights up on their rig. Some choose to take things to a completely different level though. Meet Howard and Walter of Las Vegas, NV. You may remember their past Halloween RZR creations such as the Kia commercial hamster-car or the Flintstones mobile. Each year they’ve lifted their creations off the RZR chassis and hung on to them in Howard’s shop. They made such an impression at Dumont and on the internet with these builds that they felt like they had to take it up a notch this year. I think they succeeded in doing that, don’t you? After the Flintstone's car, the bar had to be raised even further. Howard's wife, Trish, came up with the Star Wars theme idea and from there the build was in full force. Since Star Wars is so hot (especially lately), they completely converted their same 2015 RZR XP 1000 into the easily recognized Landspeeder. A photo of the Landspeeder was printed up as a reference for the build, taped to the workbench, and work began! They started with the same bone stock, 4 seat RZR 1000 that was used for the previous builds. They built a skeleton frame around the outside to make up the overall shape of the Landspeeder then added sheet metal to form the body. Most people would probably stop there. Actually, most people would never even go that far in the first place! They then refined the body with bondo, paint, and added fully functioning jets. Many hours went into shaping the body and getting the paint just right. They didn’t skimp on the details. For example, they added the authentic dent in the front and even went as far as building a custom Star Wars Landspeeder style steering wheel, windshield and dash with functioning lights and controls. Even though they had this thing looking identical to the X-34 Landspeeder, that was not enough. Presentation is key! So in addition to the smoking, LED-lit jets, they added an outdoor sound system to blast the Star Wars theme songs. The seats were raised in order to show off their elaborate Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia costumes. Hundreds of hours went into this project and they managed to pull it off in just a few weeks leading up to Halloween Weekend. Howard, Walter, Trish and Laura have blown away the community once again and outdone themselves. Any idea what they might have in store for next year? Suggestions? Build thread by @b370... Additional photos, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/gallery/category/25-star-wars-landspeeder-rzr/