1October 2006

EditorEditorEditorEditorEditorBrian Rogers

27 Paige CloseWatlington

King’s LynnNorfolk

PE33 0TQTel/Fax:- 01553 813090

e-mail:- editor@nscc.co.uk

TTTTTrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade AdvertisingAdrian Leggett

RosevilleWestwood Lane

NormandyGuildford

SurreyGU3 2JG

Tel:- 07773 967333 day01483 810102 evenings

e-mail:- sales@nscc.co.uk

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents

NNNNNOOOOO. 295 O. 295 O. 295 O. 295 O. 295 OCTCTCTCTCTOBEROBEROBEROBEROBER 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006

Swapmeets.................................2Diary Dates................................5Messages From Margate............7Ninco News................................9Fly On The Wall......................13Racer News..............................15H:O World...............................17Kits ‘N’ Bobs............................19Slot Rally GB Special..............21Ebay Watch.............................37Letters......................................38Scratch Built Toyota................40Presto Park Club......................42A Tantalising Mystery..............45MRRC Review........................47Adverts.....................................49

Epsom tales - the prologueEpsom tales - the prologueEpsom tales - the prologueEpsom tales - the prologueEpsom tales - the prologue

No prizes for guessing the dominant feature of this month’s issue.Once again the Gareth Jex, Scott Brownlee and Toyota

combination served up an absolute cracker! I thought they couldn’ttop last year’s 25th Anniversary event but Slot Rally GB was evenbetter. I don’t believe so many slot tracks, from all scales anddisciplines, have ever been gathered together under one roof before.

There have been the inevitable calls to make this an annual eventbut, much as I would like to see it happen, I really don’t think it is arealistic proposition. Bear in mind that Toyota lend us their buildingand staff totally free of charge - if we had to pay commercial ratesof hire for such facilities the cost would be way beyond the meansof a small club such as the NSCC. We are also extremely fortunatethat Gareth has been prepared to donate his time so willingly -organising exhibitions might be his day job but he normally has ateam of skilled employees to back him up and, once again, you reallydon’t want to know how much he would charge for his services ona commercial basis!

I cannot praise Gareth’s efforts highly enough - since joining thecommittee he has single handedly raised the profile of the club indramatic fashion. The rest of us get roped in to help but everythingstems from his drive and determination to get the show on the road.He is now going to take a well-earned break and set aside some timefor himself and his family so, if you want another event, thensomeone else has to step forward and take on the workload. Anyvolunteers?

And Finally - Rallying is not really my cup of tea so I foresaw noproblems in manning the NSCC stand full time at the show. Thatwas before I discovered the Woking Slot Car Club’s superb routedwooden race track in the basement! Twice, during the weekend, Ihad to be forcibly dragged away from it by my fellow committeemembers. Far be it from me to mention that I set fastest lap of theday on Sunday!

Till next monthBrian

2

There has been a huge number of newreleases this month with many A1GPliveries, some great American muscle

and the brand new Seat Leon.

C2704 Seat Leon WTC2704 Seat Leon WTC2704 Seat Leon WTC2704 Seat Leon WTC2704 Seat Leon WTCC JCC JCC JCC JCC J. Gené No9. Gené No9. Gené No9. Gené No9. Gené No9Let’s start with a brand new model – the SeatLeon. It’s great to see a touring car back in theScalextric range and as the Seat races in most ofthe national championships in identical form weshould see plenty of them. This first release isthe Gené version from last year’s WTCCchampionship. Finished in the always popularRed Bull colours the Seat looks great and shouldbe a good seller everywhere, especially Spain.Look out for the BTCC version of Jason Platosoon too.

C2712DC2712DC2712DC2712DC2712DW/C2713DW/C2713DW/C2713DW/C2713DW/C2713DW Nissan 350ZW Nissan 350ZW Nissan 350ZW Nissan 350ZW Nissan 350ZOn a similar vein are two more unique SSDcars. This time they are both Nissan 350Zs fromset C1186 Digital Ignition. C2712DW is blueand C2713DW is orange. These SSD cars areeven more fun if the two little screws preventingthe 360° spinning are removed and there arecars going in all directions.

A1GPA1GPA1GPA1GPA1GPC2741 A1 Grand Prix Team New ZealandC2743 A1 Grand Prix Team AustraliaC2744 A1 Grand Prix Team USAC2745 A1 Grand Prix Team ItalyC2746 A1 Grand Prix Team GermanyC2706D A1 Grand Prix Team Great BritainC2707D A1 Grand Prix Team France

The range is nearly complete with just theDutch and Canadian entries still missing. With

such a wide range of liveries on identical chassisit is easy to choose an attractive livery. The A1GP cars look even better when many are racingagainst each other in Digital racing. Hornbyhave released two versions, Team Great Britainand Team France in ready to race SSD formatbut it is easy to either chip the others yourself orswap the bodies between the SSD chassis.

C2754DC2754DC2754DC2754DC2754DW/C2765DW/C2765DW/C2765DW/C2765DW/C2765DW PW PW PW PW Porsche Boorsche Boorsche Boorsche Boorsche BoxsterxsterxsterxsterxsterI mentioned last month about exclusive carswithin a new Argos set. These cars are bothPorsche Boxsters with plain colours and twolarge silver stripes. C2754DW is the yellow carand C2765DW is the white one.

C2759 Camaro StubberC2759 Camaro StubberC2759 Camaro StubberC2759 Camaro StubberC2759 Camaro StubberHistoric THistoric THistoric THistoric THistoric Touring No31ouring No31ouring No31ouring No31ouring No31

C2740 Chevrolet CamaroC2740 Chevrolet CamaroC2740 Chevrolet CamaroC2740 Chevrolet CamaroC2740 Chevrolet CamaroBehrens Racing No74Behrens Racing No74Behrens Racing No74Behrens Racing No74Behrens Racing No74

C2760 Ford Mustang 1971C2760 Ford Mustang 1971C2760 Ford Mustang 1971C2760 Ford Mustang 1971C2760 Ford Mustang 1971“Dan Furey“Dan Furey“Dan Furey“Dan Furey“Dan Furey” No61” No61” No61” No61” No61

The Scalextric range of 60s and 70s Americanmuscle has proved extremely popular forScalextric-USA so it is not surprising that ➳

3October 2006

new liveries continue to be released and two newCamaros and a Mustang can be added to yourcollection. The Stubber Camaro is bright yellowwith black stripes but the Behrens Camaro is anunusual shade of red with yellow stripes whichis a very attractive combination. The Mustangis yellow with black detailing making it verysimilar to the road version, C2574 released sometime ago. There should be a new Corvette alongsoon too.

C2723 RC2723 RC2723 RC2723 RC2723 Renault F1 2006 No1enault F1 2006 No1enault F1 2006 No1enault F1 2006 No1enault F1 2006 No1C2724 RC2724 RC2724 RC2724 RC2724 Renault F1 2006 No2enault F1 2006 No2enault F1 2006 No2enault F1 2006 No2enault F1 2006 No2

Whilst the 2006 F1 battle between Schumacherand Alonso is a very close thing the race torelease their respective Scalextric cars has beenwon hands-down by Renault as Hornby havethe latest pair of Renaults out already. Howeverthese are reliveries of last year’s car and arealmost identical in every way except the racingnumbers.

C2756 MercedesC2756 MercedesC2756 MercedesC2756 MercedesC2756 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLarenF1 Safety CarF1 Safety CarF1 Safety CarF1 Safety CarF1 Safety Car

The SLR safety car will appeal to many kids asit has orange flashing lights on the roof and, dueto the use of clever electronics, alternatelyflashing headlights. These are extremely brightand white. Who will be first to control their SSDrace with a safety car?

C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 No58C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 No58C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 No58C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 No58C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 No58The Aston Martin DBR9 has been one of themost popular Scalextric cars for some years and

now there is a second version. This has the rednose and window detailing as raced at Sebringlast year.

C2731 PC2731 PC2731 PC2731 PC2731 Porsche 911 Gorsche 911 Gorsche 911 Gorsche 911 Gorsche 911 GT3R FlyingT3R FlyingT3R FlyingT3R FlyingT3R FlyingLizard No44Lizard No44Lizard No44Lizard No44Lizard No44

Originally C2731 was released in the PorscheSuper Tuned set but now is available throughthe UK Collectors’ Centres as a solo release. Todate this is the only solo release that uses theSport+ Tuning parts as it has the yellow 20Kmotor. Surprisingly there is absolutely nothingon the packaging to say this – surely a marketingopportunity missed. The Collectors’ Centreversion is a limited edition of just 1100 pieces.

A Sneak PreviewA Sneak PreviewA Sneak PreviewA Sneak PreviewA Sneak PreviewAt the recent Slot Rally GB event Hornbyshowcased some future releases just to get thecrowds drooling. The stars were definitelyLauda’s Ferrari and Hunt’s McLaren from the1976 F1 championship battle. Both featureamazing details with the gearbox mouldingcleverly shaped to hide the contrate gearextremely effectively. The helmets are fullydetailed and Lauda’s even has the distinctiveshape he tried that year to get some extraventilation. Look out for the twin pack of thesecars at Christmas. They are certain to beextremely popular. Next on show was the newSubaru Impreza WRC. This has front wheeldrive with a rubber band taking traction to therear wheels. Apparently this format proved verypopular on the Peugeot 307 as it gives good rallycar handling. Also on show was the handdecorated version of the Jaguar XK8 raced inthe American Trans- Am series and which wonthe manufacturer’s title in 2005. Looking greatin green and silver this looks mid way betweena Super GT or Le Mans GT1 and a NASCAR.Finally we saw an early version of Button’sHonda. The detailing looks great but don’t allmodern F1 cars look the same without theirliveries? See page 25 for colour shots of thesecars.

Stop Press: There is a new Toys-R-Us setwith unique cars. More details next month. ■

4

With the summer quiet spell well andtruly over, this month brings much toreport…

ItItItItIt’s Here! (Finally!)’s Here! (Finally!)’s Here! (Finally!)’s Here! (Finally!)’s Here! (Finally!)The most exciting news of the month has to bethe release of Ninco’s long awaited N-Digitalsystem. The first showing of this equipment inthe UK was mid-September at the Hobby Co inMilton Keynes. I was lucky enough to be invitedto experience the finished system and learnmore about it during a series of seminarsconducted by Ninco there.

N-Digital is clearly aimed at those who arealready familiar with slot racing, bringing awhole new dimension to the hobby. One of thekey features of the N-Digital system is that it istotally compatible with all existing Ninco track,whatever the surface. The quality of thecomponents required to move into the digitalera is as high as we have come to expect fromNinco; the lane-change track sections fitseamlessly together with standard track and

have the same robust feel and appearance. Thethrottles fit comfortably in the hand and have atrigger to regulate power to the car and a “lane-change” button that is reasonably easy tooperate with the thumb or indeed a thumb orfinger from the opposite hand. The main controlunit is of a compact, modern design whichcomplements the race position tower and handthrottles. The control unit will connect up toeight throttles, two transformers and includes aninput for accessories as well as an output forconnection to a PC. There are seven modes ofplay that can be selected from the control unitoffering race formats such as Grand Prix, Rally,Endurance and Timed modes. Included in thiscontrol software is a “Pitstop Strategy” mode. Inconjunction with one of the accessory packs - PitLane Kit - a race can be held involving thenecessity to stop in the pit lane to take on morefuel. Once in the pitstop, the racer determineshow much fuel is taken on by the length of timethe lane change button is held down. The signalto pit is given by a vibration in the throttle. Thisvibrating feature can also indicate last lap orfastest lap depending on the race mode selected.

Another great feature of this system is theease of which cars can be converted to run onN-Digital. A small circuit board or “chip” canbe fitted to the chassis by placing the motor wiresinto the board using small plastic plugs thatresemble the connectors used to secure the leadsto the guide brushes. Two wires from the circuitboard are then connected to the guide in theusual way. No soldering, no cutting, no drilling,no gluing... Fantastic! These chips can be ➳

5October 2006

secured to the chassis with a sticky pad but futureNinco chassis will include a moulded pin for theboards to clip on to. There is also a facility toconnect lights to this board – something we canexpect more of from Ninco in future.

On Sale, Now!On Sale, Now!On Sale, Now!On Sale, Now!On Sale, Now!A digital Master Track set (N40101) is offeredwhich, aside from over 12 metres of track,includes the control unit, transformer, two pairsof lane changers, three throttles and three chips.For those who already have enough track, aconversion set (N40202) consisting of theminimum components required to start racingin digital is also available (this is everything in theMaster set but without the standard track).Additional sets such as Pit Lane, Multilane Kitand Race Control Tower as well as LaneChange track sections are also released thismonth.

Keeping TKeeping TKeeping TKeeping TKeeping TrackrackrackrackrackNinco allowed the NSCC to showcase the N-Digital components at the recent Toyota SlotRally GB. These parts were added to a standardMaster Track System and made available for thepublic to try out exclusively at this event. Whilstthis was a fantastic opportunity to show-off N-Digital, I must admit, we hadn’t thought itthrough fully… I had already committed to runa Special Stage during this event and inspired bythe “17th Race of Champions” event staged inthe Stade de France last year, I designed thelayout using the Ninco TrackMap software.Now, I know I should have checked earlier butthe first time this circuit was fully assembled wasthe night before Slot Rally GB. Once the boardswere laid out, assembly began and the trackconnected together perfectly! The originaldesign included Raid track on the “infield”section but on the night I was concerned thatnot all the cars would be able to cope with therough terrain and so built this using only asphalt

N-Digital control tower and pit laneN-Digital control tower and pit laneN-Digital control tower and pit laneN-Digital control tower and pit laneN-Digital control tower and pit lane

6

track. However, at the eleventh hour (quiteliterally) I was persuaded to go with “Plan A”and so swapped the entire infield section toRaid. Thanks to those who persevered with methat night, (you know who you are) - but whenthe track was completed with all the borders,barriers and stone walls, we all agreed, it was theright choice!

As we finished, Gareth reminded me thatthe N-Digital system was waiting for me toassemble it! A quick sprint over to where this wasto be displayed, I found a pile of cardboardboxes. After opening them all, I had the MasterTrack, Control Unit, Control Tower, Throttles,Cars and Pit Lane. The one thing I didn’t havewas any instructions! So from a picture of theDigital Master Track layout, assembly began. Afew minor changes to enable the inclusion of allthe digital parts and the set-up was complete. Allwe had to do now was connect the Europeanstyle plug to a power supply and… oh-oh…European style plug, mmm. Already into thesmall hours of Saturday, we decided to leave ituntil the morning. Overnight the ‘Power Fairies’had found an adaptor plug and installed powerto the track. All I had to do was programme thecars and away we go! Thank goodness I hadattended the N-Digital seminar at the Hobby Coearlier in the month as I remembered the simpleinstruction of how to program the cars. “Placethe desired car on the track, press the button andawait confirmation from the control unit…Simple.”

Due to the tight and twisty layout, it wasgoing to be tricky just to drive the cars around,let alone change lanes, so I decided to set up thesystem using just two of the three cars.

If you attended Slot Rally GB, I hope youhad a chance to give it a try. I did try to stay withthe system throughout the whole weekend butinevitably I had to leave it on occasion. I wasable to meet many of you over the weekend andthose who tried it whilst I was there werecomplimentary of the system but as mentioned,it was probably too twisty to fully appreciate thebenefits of N-Digital.

Ninco reign supremeNinco reign supremeNinco reign supremeNinco reign supremeNinco reign supremeAs you will no doubt find plenty of other articlesin this month’s Journal relating to the Epsomweekend, all I would like to add is, “Take a lookat the results… Ninco cars feature highly,winning standard classes on both days (I alwayssaid they are the best race car straight from the box!). Inthe modified class another first place onSaturday but only second, third, fourth, fifth andsixth on Sunday!!

Thanks again to all the volunteers whohelped over the weekend, particularly those ofyou who helped me assemble the Race ofChampions and Digital demo circuits, even ifyou did just add a barrier or two(!) and a specialthanks to Conor Spark and my daughterDaniella, for manning the Special Stage duringthe weekend.

GoingGoingGoingGoingGoing, going, going, going, going, going, almost, almost, almost, almost, almostgone!gone!gone!gone!gone!

Finally, the NSCC club cars are almost all sold.Many have waited until it appeared in the fleshand have promptly purchased one. It was goodto meet many of you at Milton Keynes and Iwish I could have met you all at Epsom but asyou can see, I was mainly in attendance at theN-Digital display. By the time this issue iscirculated, the final few collections will be madeat the Dudley swapmeet. For those who areawaiting cars to be sent, please be patient, all willbe posted at the end of the month. ■

N-Digital control unitN-Digital control unitN-Digital control unitN-Digital control unitN-Digital control unit

7October 2006

New models are beginning to filterthrough after the summer break and,just when I thought this was going to

be a small report, Fly go and announce theirrelease schedule to the end of the year. Thereare 22 in total, two of which form part of thelatest historical team set and there are two brandnew models, including a surprise new evo racer!

RRRRRecent Recent Recent Recent Recent ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesBMW M3 E30 “Warsteiner” #2 (A1703),DTM 1987 championship winning car, drivenby Eric Van de Poele. Painted in white with threediagonal stripes in light blue, blue and red goingacross the car from the front driver’s wheel arch

to the opposite side rear wheel arch and finishedoff with gold wheels.Ferrari 250 GTO, blue #24 (A1802), 12hrSebring 1963. Driven to 4th place by RogerPenske and Augie Pabst after completing 203laps. This is the third GTO released by Fly todate and is decorated in a rather nice metallicblue with a broad white stripe down the centre.Ford GT40, white #130 (A187), TargaFlorio 1967. After completing 10 laps this “FordFrance” sponsored car driven by Henry Gredenand Jean-Michel Giorgi, managed to finish in 5th

place. It is mainly white with a blue stripeflanked by red pinstripes down the centre andalong each lower sill. ➳

8

Ferrari 512 CL, red #5 (A2006), The sixthmodel in the anniversary collection, which is are-issue of the 1970 Le Mans entry, previouslyreleased as catalogue ref. C27. Driven by JackyIckx and Peter Schetty, the car posted a “DNF”due to an accident on lap 143. As usual with thisseries the anniversary logo is printed on the lefthand front wing in silver. One visual differenceis that the original version has black side windowframes with silver rivets tampoed onto the clearplastic, whereas the re-issue has just plain clearplastic side windows.

New AnnouncementsNew AnnouncementsNew AnnouncementsNew AnnouncementsNew AnnouncementsFly has announced the models they will beproducing from October through December. Inno particular order, they are as follows: -

Dodge Viper GTS-R “Khalifa” (A211).BMW M3 E30 “Jägermeister” (A1704).Ferrari 250 GTO, red (A1803).Renault 5 Turbo “Elf ” (A1207).Buggyra MK002/B “Cepsa” (Truck 75).Chevrolet Corvette C5R “Valeo” (A133).Lola T70 Mk.IIIB, white (C96).Porsche 917 LH “Gulf ” (A1405).Porsche Carrera 6, white (A1605).Porsche 911 GT1 evo, white (A521).Audi Quattro A2, white “Audi” (A1901).

Audi Quattro A2, “Funkberater” (E1901) –Limited Edition.Ecurie Francorchamps (Team 14) containing aFerrari 250 GTO and Ferrari 365 GTB/4.Chevrolet Corvette C5R “Goodwrench”(A2008), Anniversary edition.Lister Storm “Datasonix” (A2009), Anniversaryedition.Dodge Viper GTS-R “Playstation” (A2010),Anniversary edition.Porsche 911 SC “Danone” (Fly 134), evo racing.Saleen S7R, silver (Fly 12), evo racing.Alfa 156 Racing (Fly 152).Porsche 911 GT1 98 “Martini” (Fly 115), evoracing.Sisu Truck, white (Fly 200), evo racing.

Both the Audi Quattros are listed on theDecember schedule, so may not be available intime for Christmas. The surprise here is theannouncement that Fly are expanding their evoracing series into the Trucks and could prove tobe very interesting. Also, there is a continuingtrend for Fly to produce exclusive authenticliveries on the evo racing range. The above listhas two additions to this, being the silver Saleen(Le Mans 2006) and the relatively new “RallyRacing” Porsche 911 SC decorated in the“Danone” livery. This model also has a fullcompliment of spotlights on the bonnet. ■

9October 2006

Racer have now released pictures of theirnext two models, which should prove tobe very popular due to their colour/

livery. Both are re-liveries of existing models andboast unique features: -

RCR29 – Porsche 935 K3 - Jägermeister #2DRM championship 1980 – Axel Plankenhorn.

RCR30 – Ferrari 250 LM- Vestey Racing#19 Le Mans 1968 – Paul Vestey/Roy Pike

Beginning with the Porsche 935 - the differencecompared to the two previous models releasedis in the rear of the car; much bigger side fins onthe rear wing, taller fins which run from the rearwindow towards the wing and a differentposition for the NACA duct below the wing.This model, like many other “Jägermeister”models you see around, is painted in orange andvery stunning indeed.

The Ferrari 250 LM on the other hand ismodelled on the privateer “Vestey Racing” carthat took part in the 1968 Le Mans endurancerace but failed to finish due to gearbox failureafter completing 99 laps. The model itself issimilar to the David Piper wide bodied car buthas two sculptured panels/flaps moulded intothe bonnet and the addition of two red lights on

the roof. The colour of this car is a strange darkblue/violet, which Racer inform me is provingvery difficult to reproduce. The story of how thereal car colour scheme came about is verystrange indeed. Apparently, the owner originallypainted it in red, but the result did not satisfyhim and subsequently decided to paint it againin blue whilst the varnish was still fresh. Theoverall result was to end up with this uniquedark colour. The photographs that Racer hasreleased of this model are of a pre-productionversion which is very beautiful indeed. ➳

10

The colour does suit this car nicely and, at thetime of writing, they are still looking for the rightcolour mix. I suppose the only answer would beto paint all the models in red and then bluewhilst they are still wet – only a suggestion!

The Porsche is currently scheduled forrelease around late September/early October,whilst the Ferrari is scheduled for November.

Future DevelopmentsFuture DevelopmentsFuture DevelopmentsFuture DevelopmentsFuture DevelopmentsLooking further down the production scheduleis the Ferrari 312P. A very early resin test shotwas shown at this year’s Nuremberg Toy Fairand a much advanced prototype decorated withdecals of the first livery was shown at the“Slotlandia” Toy Fair in Milan recently.

Both the Vestey 250LM and 312P prototypeattracted much attention. Racer informs me thatthis model has been the most difficult toreproduce to-date. The very flat shape of the carhas forced them to spend many hours in findingthe correct positioning of the full interior inrelation to the engine, gears and guide. In factthe curves of the body have also proved to bedifficult to get right, even more difficult than theFerrari P4. Despite these problems Racer are

hoping to release the first model in December.A new feature of this model is that the smallwinglets on all models will be made of plastic toreduce the risk of breakage and to allow thepossibility of replacing them. The first twoliveries planned are as follows: -NART – Daytona 24hrs 1970 – Piper/ParkesNART (bubble roof) – Sebring 12hrs 1970– Chinetti Jr/Adamowicz

The other new model in development is theChaparral 2E. A prototype should be availableto show at next year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair.

“““““TTTTTop Racerop Racerop Racerop Racerop Racer”””””Also at this year’s Milan show was the 4th “TopRacer” event. This is a one-off race wherewinners of the various Italian championshipsare invited to compete with a specially preparedcar supplied by Racer. This year the car was aracing version of the Porsche 935. There wereeight in total, all painted in different colours,with Racer stickers applied. All the cars ran verywell with the first three drivers all finishing onthe same lap. The winner, by the way, wenthome with a brand new Racer car for his efforts– very nice! ■

11October 2006

By the time you read this it could well bethat Jacques Villeneuve is a Nascardriver. Whatever the reasons or politics

behind his removal from the BMW F1 team, hisdeparture could be NASCAR’s gain. If you area supporter of the outspoken Canadian and anH:O slot car enthusiast then you stand to gaintoo. The same goes for Juan Pablo Montoyawhom we already know is stock-car bound. Thechances of being able to drive the Nextel car ofeither JPM or JV sometime in the next year is,I would say, good to excellent.

When Lifelike produced a couple ofgenerically liveried Dodge Chargers last year,the NASCAR slot community were pleased butassumed that they were cars due to be releasedin any case prior to the sale of the company tomodel train giant Walthers. Given that Waltherswere keen to acquire the LL train line, a fairassumption but one proved wrong by the releaseof more Dodges and followed, last month, withthe release of several authentic models of Ford’s2006 stock car, the Fusion. There is nowoptimism that there will be continued newreleases, including the most anticipated stock carfor many years, the Toyota Camry. Which iswhere the former Colombian and Canadian F1winners come in. Given that it is very likely thatNASCAR itself helps its teams increase theirstature, it is not hard to see that they push hardto bring in sponsors, drivers and makes thatincrease the ‘draw’ of the series and any toycompany with the appropriate licensing deal islikely to be very keen to tap into that. So aMontoya #42 Dodge stocker seems a safe bet,

but for now Walthers is enjoying good sales withits more recent releases after previous designshad been heavily criticized for being too bloblike and top heavy with ride heights more akinto a 4WD than a racing car. The Dodge bodyseemed to return them to former glories and thisyear has seen the release of the best one yet, theNumber 22 David Blaney Caterpillar Charger.The low Dodge body, allied to the vibrantyellow, black and red scheme looks especiallymean and purposeful.

The Ford Fusion, whilst not quite as sharplooking, is a big improvement over the previousTaurus, and it is impressive that Walthers hadthese for sale within a few months of the realcars going public. For my money the DeWalt carseems more striking than the Office World car,although the latter has the better nose. Thesilver grill takes a bit of getting used to, but thisis true of the full size cars, and overall the Fusionis a big success. In addition to the two carspictured there will be the Greg Biffle ‘NationalGuard’, Jamie McMurray ‘Irwin’, Dale Jarrett‘UPS’, and Elliot Sadler ‘M&M’ Fusions.

Aside from the Cat car, the Dodges arecoming thick and fast with 2006 releases ➳

12

including the Scott Riggs ‘Valvoline’ car (whichlooks gorgeous). Then there are no less than fourDodge Dealers cars, two versions of KaseyKahne’s #9 car in red/white and white with redstripes and two of the Jeremy Mayfield #19 car(both red and black but quite different in design).Finally there is the Scott Riggs #10 Stanley car,another fantastic looking item strikingly deckedin black and yellow. The Lifelike Chevy MonteCarlo continues to be the runt of the litter, onecan only hope that the rumoured Impala switchhappens in 2008 and that Walthers follows suit.The 2004 colour schemes have all been updatedbut the same hunched, overly high looking shellremains. Nonetheless, to complain too much inthe face of so much prolificacy seems churlish sofor now we have to make do with tweaks of theTide, Army, Lowes, Home Depot and Interstatecars with the Tony Stewart and JJ Yeley carbeing the best of the bunch.

The sheer number of new releases wouldperhaps suggest that Walthers have a substantialand comprehensive licensing deal with Nascar

and one can only hope this is the case. Most, ifnot all, of the cars mentioned in this article willreceive ‘real world’ graphic tweaks in the offseason, there are a dozen better known cars thathave not been done at all so far. Many teamsmay switch manufacturer this winter. TheMontoya Texaco or Target car is an obvious oneto watch out for, but the really big news inNASCAR is the Toyota program starting nextyear. If Walthers really do have a sweet deal inplace we could be driving H:O Camrys in a yearfrom now! Watch this space…. ■

13October 2006

Kits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releases

By Phil Insull

Apologies this month for any new releasesI’ve missed in late September as my wifeand I have been sunning ourselves at the

Rally of Cyprus.Last month I mentioned that E.J.’s Hobbies

have released their 1/24th sixties Strombeckerkits including the Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midgetdirt racer, and promised a picture of the finishedarticles, with decals for the Lotus and Cheetahfrom MRE. Well I didn’t quite make it but I didget the Cheetah and Lotus finished, with theMidget just awaiting painting and detailing sohere’s a picture of the almost finished trio. Ed isalso listing a 1/24th Strombecker Chaparral 2C,and 1/24th Revell Porsche RS60 and early 60sBRM and Lotus F1 cars. These are great bodykits mated to Ed’s superb brass chassis and, inmost cases, a powerful Fox motor although I waslucky enough to get a Lotus with a big 36dmotor. I believe Ed only has limited supplies ofthese. Staying Stateside for a moment ReineckeMotorsports have now released the 1980Oldsmobile Omega and Pontiac Ventura kits

but I just haven’t had time to build mine yet soyou’ll have to wait until next month for a picture.The hot news is that they intend to follow thesetwo releases with two more Busch GrandNational cars from the same year, these beingthe Chevrolet Nova and the Buick Apollo. Inaddition to these actual cars, Reinecke havereleased a generic Craftsman Series Truck,which lends itself to a number of highlycolourful liveries.

French manufacturers MMK have theirnew Ferrari 612 Can-Am, and a 1960 DBHBR4 Coupe, which has unusual “bread van”styling and I believe finished 18th at Le Mansthat year, winning the Index of Performance inthe hands of Laureau and Armagnac. Stayingin France, following the release of their beautifulJaguar XJR5 kit, Protoslot have news of an AlfaRomeo TZ2 LM65 and a stunning lookingAston Martin V8 LM 1979, both available in kitform. GOM have some nice new liveries of theirAlfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 with a particularlynice rendition of the Carlos Sainz and Jesus ➳

E.J.E.J.E.J.E.J.E.J.’’’’’s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24ththththth scale Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midget dir scale Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midget dir scale Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midget dir scale Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midget dir scale Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Midget dirt rt rt rt rt raceraceraceraceracer

14

Diez entry in the 1985 500Kms of Jaramaavailable from Pendle Slot Racing. While on thesubject of re-liveries Sloter have the ClayRegazzoni version of the 1972 Ferrari 312PBand the Claude Beaumont version of the LolaT290 due out by early October.

I can bring you a picture of the new OCARFiat Dino built on the PCS32 chassis andcomplete with my own little touch of fourjewelled headlights in place of the kit ones. Asan aside, Classic Slot Limited/World Classicsdisplayed one or two of my own humble effortsat the Toyota NSCC Slot Rally GB, whichalmost makes up for me missing it due to theCyprus trip, but those of you lucky enough toget to Epsom should have a great time. ClassicSlot / World Classics are also our title sponsorsfor the upcoming Trans-am and touring carevent at Wolverhampton on October 15th andare offering a special prize for the highest placed

OCAR or World Classics bodied car. Gareth Jexhas also offered a prize for the highest finishingNSCC member, so remember to bring yourmembership card to the event. I am alsodelighted to announce that our good friends atMRE and World Classics Limited have agreed

to sponsor our two historic events for 2007, thesebeing the MRE Le Mans Classic on SundayMay 13th 2007, and the World Classics Trans-am and Saloon Event on Sunday October 14th

2007.Finally this month, the much anticipated

Maxi Models Ferrari 612P Can-Am car is nowavailable in several kit formats and as a handbuilt ready to run car. These are exquisitelycrafted and I have ordered my kit from MREbut sadly don’t have time to build it for thismonth’s piece. Hopefully the finished article willbe available for you to see next month alongwith a short review. ■

OCAR Fiat Dino LM 1968OCAR Fiat Dino LM 1968OCAR Fiat Dino LM 1968OCAR Fiat Dino LM 1968OCAR Fiat Dino LM 1968

15October 2006

There was a marvellous moment as mygirlfriend and I strolled up the futuristiccovered walkway of Toyota’s HQ on

the Sunday afternoon. A happy family – somegirls, a boy and a proud mum and dad – werecoming towards us, bearing Scalextric goodies,including a large SCX set. It seemed to set thetone of the event: a fun day out for the family,with plenty to see and do, and with every chanceof adding new and younger members to theNSCC in the years to come.

Once out of the walkway, the event’s rallytheme was brought sharply into focus as wesurveyed a glorious display of rally cars,including one of my all-time favourites, the

Lancia 037. What a joy it was to see this neat,slick and purposeful rally car in real life. It allboded well for the event.

The emphasis was certainly different fromlast year’s impressive 25th anniversary two-dayer.Less about trade stalls and celebrating the club’shistory, this event was firmly rooted around themyriad of special rally stages spread about thevenue. You could simply watch the competitionin full swing (although at times quite what wasactually happening was a bit bewildering), but,best of all, you were strongly encouraged to havea go yourself, especially on the public tracks, orthe stages when they weren’t being used for thecompetition. ➳

TheTheTheTheTheVisitorVisitorVisitorVisitorVisitor’s’s’s’s’sTTTTTalealealealeale

By Paul Strange

WWWWWelcome to the showelcome to the showelcome to the showelcome to the showelcome to the show

16

The vast effort that had gone into producingsome of the landscaped tracks was breathtaking,the hill climb being of particular note. Havingseen the photos and read about it in the Journal,I just had to have a go. The track was trulymagnificent, looked even better in the flesh, wasincredibly difficult to drive, and although Ideslotted quite a bit, it was a great thrill to havecompleted the stage. The other landscapedtracks that took my fancy were the water splash(with its ingenious use of distilled water), asnowscape (complete with a skier) and a farm-land circuit.

The public tracks were terrific too. I had lotsof fun on the Scalextric digital circuit, but wasbowled over by the enormous Woking Slot Carwooden track. The largest circuit at the venue,it was a very smooth run, was beautifullydesigned and well marshalled. I’m pleased to saythat in my 20-lap race I came second with a bestlap time of 10.53 seconds, although that timepales into insignificance compared to the hot lapof 8.14 seconds put in by our Editor.

Best of all, there was much more roomaround the venue. Last year’s event was over twofloors, and often felt uncomfortably tight. TheSlot Rally GB had more room, was spread outover three floors and the venue felt far lessclaustrophobic, which my girlfriend and Iappreciated.

There were many cars built specially for theevent and the effort from all the modellers wasimmense, but the moment of the day was whenDerek Cooper proudly showed us his scratch-built 1962 Volvo P544. Hand-carved out ofbalsa, beautifully finished in dark red, and using

an Atlas motor, Monogram wheels and aStrombecker chassis from the mid-60s, Derekhad taken many weeks to carefully build themodel, and it really showed. The real car hadrun in the Monte Carlo rally that year and theattention to detail was awesome, right down tothe little maps held by the co-driver, the tool kitand pliers on the rear window shelf and the car’sradiator grille made out of a tea strainer and apaper clip! Derek proudly told us that the carhad done well on the rally stages the day before,had even blasted down the drag strip in a recordtime, but he’d had problems on the hill climbdue to a thicker slot guide. He’d finished 45th

overall and, although there were plenty ofexpensive prizes up for grabs, all Derek had toshow for his huge creative effort was a cuddly toyfor the highest placed Volvo model at the event.That didn’t seem right to us, although Derekwas commendably philosophical about it all.

If I had a small niggle about the Slot RallyGB, it seemed there was just a little somethingmissing – perhaps a little less buzz around thevenue compared to last year, a slight feeling ofbeen there, done that, and a sense that maybe itwas too large an event too soon after ourimpressive 25th anniversary celebrations. Butthat being said, like last year’s event, there wasa great family atmosphere with plenty for thekids to do, and there were lots of wives andgirlfriends in attendance. Fantastic, and just thesort of thing that the club needs to do more ofin the future.

So, all in all, another very good event at theToyota HQ. Congratulations to Gareth Jex andhis hard-working team. A tremendous effort. ■

DrivDrivDrivDrivDrive the logoe the logoe the logoe the logoe the logo

DDDDDerererererek Cooper’ek Cooper’ek Cooper’ek Cooper’ek Cooper’s Vs Vs Vs Vs Volvolvolvolvolvooooo

17October 2006

ScrapbookScrapbookScrapbookScrapbookScrapbookPhotos supplied by PPhotos supplied by PPhotos supplied by PPhotos supplied by PPhotos supplied by PeteretereteretereterEmeryEmeryEmeryEmeryEmery, Gareth Je, Gareth Je, Gareth Je, Gareth Je, Gareth Jex, Davidx, Davidx, Davidx, Davidx, DavidLawson, Brian RLawson, Brian RLawson, Brian RLawson, Brian RLawson, Brian Rogers andogers andogers andogers andogers and

PPPPPeter Solarieter Solarieter Solarieter Solarieter Solari

Some vSome vSome vSome vSome very special visitors from The Childrery special visitors from The Childrery special visitors from The Childrery special visitors from The Childrery special visitors from The Children’en’en’en’en’sssss

TTTTTrustrustrustrustrust

Adrian and JAdrian and JAdrian and JAdrian and JAdrian and Jenson Leggett try out theenson Leggett try out theenson Leggett try out theenson Leggett try out theenson Leggett try out the

SlotFirSlotFirSlotFirSlotFirSlotFire tre tre tre tre trackackackackack

MiniaturMiniaturMiniaturMiniaturMiniature Gare Gare Gare Gare Gareth and Scott on marshallingeth and Scott on marshallingeth and Scott on marshallingeth and Scott on marshallingeth and Scott on marshalling

duties - yesduties - yesduties - yesduties - yesduties - yes, they hav, they hav, they hav, they hav, they have found the Te found the Te found the Te found the Te found the Toyota girlsoyota girlsoyota girlsoyota girlsoyota girls

againagainagainagainagain

Slot Rally GB champion JSlot Rally GB champion JSlot Rally GB champion JSlot Rally GB champion JSlot Rally GB champion Jacob Wright collectsacob Wright collectsacob Wright collectsacob Wright collectsacob Wright collects

a huge haul of prizes from Gara huge haul of prizes from Gara huge haul of prizes from Gara huge haul of prizes from Gara huge haul of prizes from Garethethethetheth

18

AbovAbovAbovAbovAbove - Pe - Pe - Pe - Pe - Peter Solari (left) and Peter Solari (left) and Peter Solari (left) and Peter Solari (left) and Peter Solari (left) and Peter Binger (Hobby Co) admireter Binger (Hobby Co) admireter Binger (Hobby Co) admireter Binger (Hobby Co) admireter Binger (Hobby Co) admire the NSCC Méganee the NSCC Méganee the NSCC Méganee the NSCC Méganee the NSCC Mégane

AbovAbovAbovAbovAbove - Scale Models’ giant stande - Scale Models’ giant stande - Scale Models’ giant stande - Scale Models’ giant stande - Scale Models’ giant stand

Below - AssorBelow - AssorBelow - AssorBelow - AssorBelow - Assorted Rally Marshals - Join theted Rally Marshals - Join theted Rally Marshals - Join theted Rally Marshals - Join theted Rally Marshals - Join the

NSCC, you know it makes senseNSCC, you know it makes senseNSCC, you know it makes senseNSCC, you know it makes senseNSCC, you know it makes sense

A study in concentrA study in concentrA study in concentrA study in concentrA study in concentration by a youngation by a youngation by a youngation by a youngation by a young

competitorcompetitorcompetitorcompetitorcompetitor

19October 2006

ScaleScaleScaleScaleScalextric prototypes on showxtric prototypes on showxtric prototypes on showxtric prototypes on showxtric prototypes on show

AbovAbovAbovAbovAbove - Je - Je - Je - Je - James Hunt’ames Hunt’ames Hunt’ames Hunt’ames Hunt’s McLars McLars McLars McLars McLaren M23en M23en M23en M23en M23

Below - new SubaruBelow - new SubaruBelow - new SubaruBelow - new SubaruBelow - new Subaru

JJJJJenson Button’enson Button’enson Button’enson Button’enson Button’s Bs Bs Bs Bs BAR/HondaAR/HondaAR/HondaAR/HondaAR/Honda

New JNew JNew JNew JNew Jaguar (abovaguar (abovaguar (abovaguar (abovaguar (above) Lauda Fe) Lauda Fe) Lauda Fe) Lauda Fe) Lauda Ferrerrerrerrerrari 312T (below)ari 312T (below)ari 312T (below)ari 312T (below)ari 312T (below)

20

AbovAbovAbovAbovAbove - A Fiat tackles the snow stagee - A Fiat tackles the snow stagee - A Fiat tackles the snow stagee - A Fiat tackles the snow stagee - A Fiat tackles the snow stage Below- The magnificent WBelow- The magnificent WBelow- The magnificent WBelow- The magnificent WBelow- The magnificent Woking club troking club troking club troking club troking club trackackackackack

21October 2006

AbovAbovAbovAbovAbove - The infamous water splashe - The infamous water splashe - The infamous water splashe - The infamous water splashe - The infamous water splash Below - Hell’Below - Hell’Below - Hell’Below - Hell’Below - Hell’s grs grs grs grs grannies rannies rannies rannies rannies race down the hillclimbace down the hillclimbace down the hillclimbace down the hillclimbace down the hillclimb

stagestagestagestagestage

22

Special Stage AssortmentSpecial Stage AssortmentSpecial Stage AssortmentSpecial Stage AssortmentSpecial Stage Assortment

23October 2006

The RacerThe RacerThe RacerThe RacerThe Racer’s’s’s’s’sTTTTTalealealealeale

By Matt Tucker

Rallying is my favourite form of racingwhich is borne out by my slot car habits.35% of all my slot cars are rally and I

have a permanent, hand built, rally track in mycellar. So when Gareth announced the GB SlotRally event I was quick off the mark with myentry.

I firmly believe in the 5 Ps. Poor preparationequals piss poor performance. This meansgetting the car set-up to handle the best for thegiven track and surface. Well, with the conceptof over 20 different stages all with their owndifferent characteristics, I could never achievethe ideal set-up for each track. I thereforedecided to go with cars from different classesthat handled my own rally track happily. Themain criteria was stable cars as I know a steadyrace with minimal de-slots is more likely to winthan an out and out speed machine that is a realhandful and likely to de-slot far too often.

With this in mind I chose my beasts. I hadentered both days and wanted to race a tad ofvariety so I chose a Ninco Austin Healey for theClassic category – to make it more driveable Iput an NC-1 in it and some MRRC Cobra fronttyres on the rear, and with a tad of weight ithandled very nicely. The second car was a TeamSlot, Rothmans liveried, Vatanen Ford EscortMKII. This took a fair bit of work includinglowering the body, changing the rear axle to anSCX version and swapping the guide to a Nincosprung guide – after much truing the carhandled sweetly.

I got lazy after this and entered a NincoPeugeot and Mitsubishi both with Pro-race partsand NC-6 motors – comparing them to JacobWright’s Mitsubishi and Bill Charter’s Peugeotthere honestly was not a lot of difference withthe standard model and my upgraded versions

on the wide variety of tracks – probably mydriving skills weren’t up to getting the most outof them.

My secret weapon was a chassis I’d had fora while, sourced from sunny Spain and made byPKS. A purpose built rally chassis with theability to alter the motor height, sponge brakes,alter guide height and front axle height andvertical movement. I attached this to an SCXCelica and decided to try racing it with a frontwheel drive with bands providing power to therear wheels. In the many months of practice thisset-up worked brilliantly giving a really easy todrive car that was immensely forgiving.

I found Ninco Pro-race tyres worked well onmost surfaces so the cars were shod with these.I packed all my racing gear in a box only to endup using some spit and my finger which luckilyI carry round with me at all times.

On arriving at 09.30 on Saturday, with myChristmas Eve butterflies racing round mytummy I paid my dues and wandered round thelight and spacious Toyota building. There weretracks everywhere including the spectacular hillclimb, a rather impressive Ninco Raid stage (notmany cars liked it though!) and my personalfavourite a super special stage (a Slick SlotRacing creation) which I have just got torecreate. ➳

DrivDrivDrivDrivDrivers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefing

24

All the drivers gathered and checked in ourcars, being told we were not allowed to fettlewith them again – if you were faced with acatastrophic failure you needed to see theheadmaster Mr Jex, and if you failed to finish astage you were given a 200 second time penalty.

We spilt into groups of five on both days andwe instantly formed a really friendly bunch ofracers. My personal thanks to all of them as

their camaraderie and support made the eventeven more enjoyable. It was also good to seesuch a wide array of cars and I was lucky to racewith Jacob Wright (undisputed winner), CliveMills with his stunningly beautiful Toyota 800Sand Peter ‘race through the pain’ Emery (he hadmore excuses for poor times than I’ve everheard) with his excellent Toyota Toyopet Crown1500s (obscure, yes, but they were apparentlyToyota’s first competing rally car)

Anyway, my first three stages were a bit ofa mixed bag – my Escort and Peugeot weregoing great guns but my lovingly preparedCelica went about one metre on each of the firstthree stages and then would not budge. Themantra of the five P’s came flooding back to me.One of my rear wheels had slipped on to the4wd pulley and was snarling up the band. Oncediagnosed I wiggled the offending rim out on theaxle thereby curing it – faultless performancefrom then on but now I was only competing forpride.

Game onGame onGame onGame onGame on

TTTTToyota Toyota Toyota Toyota Toyota Toyopet Crown 1500s by Poyopet Crown 1500s by Poyopet Crown 1500s by Poyopet Crown 1500s by Poyopet Crown 1500s by Pete Emery - Sunday’ete Emery - Sunday’ete Emery - Sunday’ete Emery - Sunday’ete Emery - Sunday’s ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Event’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winner

25October 2006

The racing took all day even though theactual stage time was 7 ½- 8 mins . You neverknew how well you were doing overall butactually that did not matter as it was about youand the stage - slot racing at its elemental best!I loved the hill climb although, as it had nowired brakes, if your car was a free runner (aswas my Ninco Healey), you basically had to freewheel down the climb in order not to come offon the hairpin. I also perversely enjoyed theH:O racing and drag strip which were about asfar removed from tail sliding round corners asyou can get – it was good to see Peter’s Porschefinally get a chance to stretch its legs and buryitself like a missile in the foam catcher.

There were a few nightmare tracks, eitherbecause of the horrible standard controllers, orthe fact that you had no borders and with thetwisty nature of the tracks you just had to keepthe throttle on half way – however it was thesame for everyone.

As racing on Saturday did not finish till18.30 the number of tracks were cut down onSunday from 20 to 17, taking about two minutesoff the overall times. My Celica was hastilychanged to become a 4wd without belts – ithandled faultlessly all day other than a couple oflapses in concentration when I sent it flying overa hump back bridge and watched it less thangracefully collide with the barriers.

I had immense fun and that was down tothe, cannot be applauded enough, Mr Jex andall the organisers, the superb hosts and, on theday, the excellent company of my fellow racerswho all took the event in the spirit it wasintended – to have fun.

Please note that the obscene amount ofprizes I accumulated had no bearing on myenjoyment of the event – honest guv, althoughthe Waldegard signed Celica did and does bringa big Cheshire cat grin out of me. ■

TTTTToyota 800S by Clivoyota 800S by Clivoyota 800S by Clivoyota 800S by Clivoyota 800S by Clive Mills - Se Mills - Se Mills - Se Mills - Se Mills - Saturaturaturaturaturday’day’day’day’day’s ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Evs ‘Spirit of the Event’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winnerent’ winner

26

Sunday afternoon, 4.30 pm, Mr Editor asksme how the weekend has gone in my roleas a ‘volunteer’, to which I reply my feet

are very tired and my bank account a lot lighter!So , how did I get myself into this situation?

Whilst browsing the August issue of the Journal,I noted that Gareth was asking for volunteers tohelp out at the weekend , even if only for acouple of hours. Not being a racer , but wantingto attend the event anyway, I thought this wouldbe a way of putting a little something back intothe NSCC, particularly as myself and mypartner Trish had been fortunate enough toattend the Hornby weekend in Ramsgate earlieron in the year.

We travelled down on the Friday afternoonexpecting a two and a half hour trip fromLoughborough but nobody told us that the M25had been converted into a car park and, five andhalf hours later, we arrived at the hotel, stressedout, and therefore had to take a glass or two ofwine to help us unwind!

Bright and early on Saturday morning at thesplendid Toyota headquarters we were allocatedour tasks by Gareth. Trish was to be on the doorwith Mrs Editor and Mrs Secretary, whobetween them admitted some 1,100 people overthe weekend and commented on how nice thegeneral public were, and very supportive of TheChildren’s Trust charity. Gareth asked me if Iwould be a track marshal, and when I said yes,asked again to make sure! Not being a racer,surely a track marshal just puts the cars back onthe track when they crash?

How wrong I was! After attending thedrivers briefing I was given a master time sheetfor the three tracks I would be marshalling,where I would need to record each racer’s time,and then put this on their individual timesheet

and sign it. This was after running the actualraces as two of the three digital timers were notworking, and therefore having to manually timethe laps with a stop watch. Thankfully, AlecEdge had also volunteered his services, andbetween us, we got everybody through by4.30pm which didn’t leave much time forspending cash on building up the collection.However, I am pleased to report that the missionwas well and truly accomplished with the shelvesat home somewhat heavier and my walletlighter. There were some real good bargains tobe had if you were after new cars. How about anSCX Mercedes CLK for £11.50? Amazing!

After the event had closed for the day, racers,helpers and traders were invited to stay on for afish and chip supper and a glass or two of wine,the chance to play on the tracks, and foreveryone to have a good chat. A very pleasantend to the day.

Sunday was very much a similar format butwith Alec not attending, I was pleased that thebumpy Ninco circuit had been withdrawnleaving me with just two tracks to marshal.

The day flew by and it was time yet again togo and give those nice dealers yet more moneyin exchange for just that last car I need to keepthe collection up to date!

Overall, a great but tiring weekend, wouldI be a marshal again now that I know what itactually involves? Very probably. It was good tohave the opportunity to speak with so manypeople who clearly enjoy their hobby. Even mygood lady Trish is starting to enjoy, rather thantolerate it.

No repeat of Slot Rally next year accordingto Gareth, but we will be there for the nextevent, and a little wiser for it, after a greatweekend. ■

TheTheTheTheTheVVVVVolunteerolunteerolunteerolunteerolunteer’s’s’s’s’sTTTTTalealealealeale

By Andy Smith

27October 2006

Well we did it and in my opinion(however biased) we did it well! I justhad to check back on the PC to see

when we officially announced that the NSCCand Toyota would hold this event and ‘computersays’ 17th November 2005 - 11 months ago! Thatwas after Scott Brownlee and I had competed inthe Wales Slot Rally event and thought, “thatwas fun, we should do something similar.”

The event took thousands of man hours toorganise and set up. First we needed to find outfrom Toyota when we could hold the event attheir headquarters, then convince the slotmanufacturers to exhibit, sign up traders to booktables and finally build, borrow, buy or steal rallytracks.

Toyota were, as always, excellent and offeredus several dates, some of which were just tooquick and didn’t give me enough time to arrangeeverything. Other dates clashed with slot,sporting or my work events. So September 23rd/24th was picked and confirmed, Carrera,Scalextric and SCX all signed up at the LondonToy Fair. Ninco signed up the following week,Fly, Revell soon followed suit and Teamslot (viaClassicSlot Ltd) gave their full backing.

Traders were given a heads up at PhilSmith’s Orpington event and then tables wenton sale at Milton Keynes. We sold out veryquickly and this allowed us to press on and startto spend some cash! Unlike the 25th Anniversaryevent we had to build some proper rally tracksand I can tell you now that this takes time, effort,cash and a lot of hard work.

The project was given a great opportunityafter Scott, Jim Moyes and I returned with agood haul of prizes from the Wolverhamptonclub rally and we got talking about how wecould promote the event. Toyota exhibiting at

the Goodwood Festival Of Speed seemed anideal opportunity and we initially thought abouta small track and several photo opportunities.By the time we had reached home the idea hadgot slightly enlarged and a hill climb rally trackseemed like a good idea at the time. I won’t goon about this, but most would agree the finalresult was bigger, better and a lot heavier thenoriginally planned.

With support from several members, FirstFour exhibitions and Ninco (The Hobby Co) thetrack was built and ran perfectly at Goodwoodproviding us with excellent exposure. All weneeded to do now was build the rest of thetracks! Back to Uxbridge for another fourweekends of track building and we had fourcomplete tracks and the same number of baseboards ready. At this point I must give thanks toall those who came down to help, gave us track,figures, scenic material, buildings and advice.

Mark Sanderson volunteered (OK armtwisted) to design and run the Slot Rally websiteand we began to write rules, take pictures, designlogos, forms, etc, for the event. Entries began totrickle in and hundreds of questions were asked.The website was an invaluable tool and Markhas done a fantastic job.

The competition was just one part of theevent, but it did inevitably take the most timeand effort to organise. I originally thought thatwe would get about 50 entries each day, I waswrong, and we hit our maximum number of 100three days before the event. There was someconfusion about rules, but I think there alwaysis. Most seemed to understand what I wrote, butnot all and the biggest area of misunderstanding– MAGNETS! Personally I think they should bebanned in all slot cars and if I never see oneagain it will be too soon. ➳

TheTheTheTheTheOrganiserOrganiserOrganiserOrganiserOrganiser’s’s’s’s’staletaletaletaletale

By Gareth Jex

28

I will jump several months of phone calls,emails, building, collecting, delivering, chasing,sweating, worrying, panicking and cut to theweeks prior to the event. In my original planningI always wanted to have a display of slot rallycars so visitors could see exactly how manyvariations were out there to collect, what I hadnot banked on was:

a) just how many I had andb) just how many I didn’t! Lots of cars were

purchased to fill gaps (well that’s my justificationand I’m sticking to it!) and I very quickly madethe decision to stop collecting anything non rally.Most of my cars are in display cabinets with theboxes in the loft, so I needed to individuallywrap each one for transport. What a mess - myhouse already resembled a slot car shop withtracks, building materials, paperwork, posters,tools and stuff everywhere. My wife finally brokeand said enough was enough, she wanted thedining room back! So I had to ask the committeefor permission to rent a lock-up! They agreed,not that they had much choice really, and I filledit! Space created at home was quickly replacedwith the collection of rally cars, Wendy was notimpressed!

So there I was, two weeks before the event,lock-up full, collection boxed up, more tracks instorage at First Four, Toyota and my office.Anyone I knew had some involvement with theevent, knew about it, helped out, stored some-thing or worked on some aspect. All I needed todo now was set it up.

Friday 22Friday 22Friday 22Friday 22Friday 22ndndndndnd September September September September September, D, D, D, D, D-----DayDayDayDayDay

Early start. Meet up with First Four to empty thestore, not everything fitted in! Loaded as muchas I could into the car and headed to Toyota viaRob Smith’s house. Dropped my car at Toyotaand borrowed a van to collect everything else.Back to the lock-up to load final bits, back homefor more, then to the office to clean that out.Great weather for loading - it chucked it downand Rob and I were soaked to the skin. DroppedRob off at home and headed to Toyota with avery full van. It normally takes me 45 minutes

to get to Epsom from Farnham. It would appearI upset someone upstairs, the M25 and generallyall the home counties appeared to have come toa standstill and it took me 2 ½ hours to get toToyota. Great start - I was late for my own event!Some early bird traders had already arrived,tables were stacked in front of the doors andToyota staff were just leaving for the weekend.Thankfully lots of volunteers turned up to help,the same friendly faces greeted me to help set up,most of whom had either helped build thetracks, run Goodwood or foolishly promised tohelp.

Toyota staff removed the cars from thedisplay area and we were in! The build up was,as expected, very hard work. NSCC display, 20rally tracks, three public tracks, 62 trade/charitytables, three manufacturers’ exhibits, signage,electrics, showcases, model railway display, realWRC cars, security walling, barriers, withapproximately 100 people all eager to set up.Hurry up and wait is the best way I can describethe night. I was not the only one to be caught intraffic. The two lorries from First Four with allthe tracks, walls, showcases etc were stuck intraffic and didn’t arrive until about 7 - it tookthem over three hours to cover less than 30miles! Not everything went exactly as planned –sorry Woking Slot Car Club, but I must havehad a blonde moment when I checked if yourtrack would fit, we re-arranged downstairs threetimes before it all fitted. Not all the tracksworked first time out and a Herculean effortfrom all ensured they would. Mad, mad panicand lots and lots of hard work and we were justabout ready. I started putting cars into thecabinets at about 1am and finally got into bedat 3am.

Saturday 23Saturday 23Saturday 23Saturday 23Saturday 23rdrdrdrdrd September September September September SeptemberOpening day. Another early start, up at 5am toput the traffic signs up and then straight to thevenue to open up. Many traders arrived onSaturday morning to set up their tables and Ihave to admit that I had to move some of themaround to fit them in, last minute cancellationsand alterations caused some minor headaches,

29October 2006

but generally speaking all was OK. So there Iwas at 0900 with a full, very full, venue, driversarriving for their briefing, early visitors waitingin the entrance lobby, ladies on the reception,NSCC committee members manning our stand,tracks being tested, traders engaging in early preshow deals, coffee on the go, PA sound systembeing checked, score sheets being produced.Better let it start.

I have no idea who the first person in was, Iwas elsewhere and, to be honest, I disappearedto the drivers’ briefing room to check how thescrutineering was going. Hectic is the bestdescription I can think of. Jim Moyes agreed tohelp out, but I don’t think he had banked onbeing on his own! Where are the Farnham clubmembers when you need them? Ah, here theyare, queuing to check their cars in, forget thatguys, go and help Jim can you? Proceedingsspeed up and I started welcoming and givingcompetitors the low down.

We had approx 100 cars entered into theSaturday rally and I knew that time would betight so I wanted to get the first batch ofcompetitors out as quickly as possible. Rulesexplained, stages explained, format explained,off they went. Track marshals were instantly hitwith competitors rightly expecting that morewould be explained on each stage, of course itwould not be like that, I had not really givenenough thought to the track marshals, most hadnever done anything like this before and thisbaptism of fire was pushing my luck to themaximum. Vaguely organised chaos, but it didwork and by about 11.30 most drivers were wellunderway, making their way around the tracks.

At 11.00 the general public were admittedand the event started to fill, not a mad rush, buta steady trickle. The café was open and peoplestarted to enjoy themselves. Where was I? I wascollecting money from the traders and checkingwith the exhibitors and track owners to see if allwas OK. Generally yes was the answer, a fewminor problems, but people sorted themselvesout. Time flew and an announcement over thePA alerted me to the fact that it was lunchtimeand the local fish and chip shop needed to know

the food order for that night. Off I went againto invite people to the evening do. Numbersconfirmed and Richard and I popped off toAsda to buy the drink! Back to the show and thefirst batch of drivers had completed all thestages bar the last – the water splash!

Adrian Leggett had tested the track in themorning so I knew it worked (this was the firsttime it had been tested!) more water was appliedand the power turned on. What a laugh, thesplash itself was not too difficult, but the rest ofthe track soon became wet and very slippery.Many struggled but, as far as I know, allattempted the stage and all completed it, even ifthey needed the odd push or three.

The show closed at 5pm, but we werenowhere near finishing the competition. I thinkwe got the last batch of results around 6pm.Richard Winter did a sterling job inputting thetimes and collating the results. We announcedthe results on the balcony and awarded thenumerous prizes. Half way through I realisedthe food needed collecting and thankfully Scott’sstep son Michael and Julian agreed to collect thefood. We had lots and lots of prizes and awardsto give and the whole process took about ¾hour. Massive congratulations to Jacob Wrightwho came first, Paul Darby 2nd and Jim Moyes3rd. Various class awards were also given out.Clive Mills won the Spirit of the Event with hissuperb Toyota S800 (which is described inanother article this month). I think everyoneenjoyed themselves and was pleased with theirprizes.

PPPPParty Timearty Timearty Timearty Timearty TimeAll the drivers left for the day and the partystarted. Typically I had short ordered on thefood and needed to dash out for more, but otherthan that, it was a relaxed evening with guestsable to enjoy the tracks at their leisure andgenerally chat to each other, something which is,in my opinion, sadly missing from other events.We shut the party at about 10 and after I haddrained the splash I returned to the hotel for awell earned drink. Steve and Jill from AEC(SCX) greeted me in the bar and we discussed➳

30

bits and bobs. I had every intention of goingstraight to bed, but the bar was pretty full offamiliar faces and inevitably a few more drinkswere consumed and slot chat ensued. I gave upat about 11 and crashed out very quickly.

Sunday 24Sunday 24Sunday 24Sunday 24Sunday 24ththththth September September September September SeptemberLast day! I had a lie in until 6am, checked no-one had ‘borrowed’ any signage and arrived atToyota to tidy up, re-group, and plan the day. Ifelt much more relaxed Sunday morning andhad already discussed the night before to dropsome stages. We had a delivery of two morestages from Wales on Saturday evening and Ireally wanted to mix things up for Sunday. In theend we dropped six of the original stages andadded three more in. 17 was a far more realisticnumber. Again early bird traders began to arriveand competitors made their way to the briefingroom. Many of the drivers had competed on theprevious day, so knew the format, which helpeda lot. Briefing was swift and competitors were ontheir way quickly. The marshals were muchbetter prepared and the competition ran verysmoothly. Again a steady trickle of visitorsarrived from around 11am and continued allday.

Around lunchtime we had several VIP visits.The most important was a visit by four childrenfrom The Children’s Trust with their familiesand carers. Christine (Mrs Editor) gave them aguided tour of the stands and tracks and theyenjoyed themselves blasting down the drag strip.We gave them a Teamslot Toyota and SCXgenerously donated some T-shirts. I must admitto feeling very humbled by the whole experienceand any notion of my hard work paled intoinsignificance when I think of the effort andhard work done by the charity for these children.They were the most important visitors to thewhole weekend and were most welcome. Also avisit by my wife and daughter lifted my spirits noend and Lottie was proudly introduced to herfirst slot car event. Next to visit was my godsonRory and his brother Dominic, thanks to Scottfor lending me the keys to the Supra, they lovedsitting in the car and had a whale of a time

racing on the tracks. You will be pleased to knowthat they both have slot car sets and are wellsupplied at Christmas and Birthdays!

The competition was going extremely welland the reduction in stages and generally moreexperience of the format ensured that we wereready to open the water splash at 3pm. Scott wasone of the first to compete and insisted ondeeper water - much deeper water! Why not? Itseemed to go down well and produced somefantastic photo opportunities and fun. All thecompetitors completed the stages and Richardonce again compiled the results. We held theprize giving ceremony at 4.45 just as peoplebegan to pack up. Once again young JacobWright was the overall winner and crownchampion, picking up another set of greatprizes, Phil Field 2nd, Paul Darby 3rd and MattTucker won the modified class. With all theprizes awarded we began the pull down.

Time TTime TTime TTime TTime To Go Homeo Go Homeo Go Homeo Go Homeo Go HomePulling out a show is always quicker than set upand with help from our great volunteers, Toyotaand First Four we were loaded, packed and outby 9.30pm.

We had around 1100 visitors to the eventover the weekend, down on the 25th Anniversaryevent, but still good and actually exactly asbudgeted. We don’t know the actual amountraised yet, Bob is still counting as I write, butwith entrance money, Teamslot Toyota sales,raffle, Rally entries and traders’ table fees I’mconfident we will be making a sizeable donationto The Children’s Trust. Many members andvisitors paid more than they were asked to,which was very generous of them. I have alsoplaced a Teamslot limited edition event car oneBay and, as we go to press, it is already standingat £210 so it should provide a healthy sum forthe charity.

By the time you read this the final full resultsof the competition will be on the web site(www.slotrally.co.uk) along with more pictures.■

31October 2006

This has been a busy month withswapmeets at MK and Epsom but thisseems to have little effect on eBay

numbers particularly in the UK, where listingsdoubled overnight to 6000+ during the monththanks to a cheap 5p listing day at the beginningof the month and remained buoyant with a 5pBIN listing day towards the end of the month.Whilst there have been plenty of bargainsaround, there are signs that prices are firming upas we head towards the colder months whichtraditionally see more interest in the hobby.

Spellings!Spellings!Spellings!Spellings!Spellings!Brian has asked me to point out that thedescriptions I use in this column to illustrate theprices are how I find them spelt on eBay and arenot due to poor checking by either of us! Theseoften lead to an odd bargain. For instance thismonth on Slot Rally GB Epsom Saturday, three“Scalextrix” catalogues numbers 7, 10 and 19 inreasonable condition fetched just 20p more thanmy silly bid price of £4.20.

It never ceases to amaze me how people donot bother to check websites before bidding oneBay. This month has seen the new Scalextriccollector centre Flying Lizard Porsche fetchingup to £36 when the very same seller has themavailable on their web site for £28! ManyScalextric ex set packs still have been appearingbut are starting to appear at higher prices nowthough it was still possible to pick up the Batmantwin sets for £15 plus P&P.

As I have mentioned before, it is alwaysinteresting looking at newly listed items. Onesuch item making a brief appearance was aScalextric Eddie Stobart liveried Roadtrainlorry, a supposedly one off factory special.However, the listing was ended early andenquiries subsequently have suggested this wasnot a factory produced item.

Top prices mainly with a Scalextric bias forthis month:Scalextric Very Rare C70 Original blue Bugatti!! VG £2250 (small repair to steering)Scalextric Very Rare De Havilland C70 Bugattiin green and yellow @ £450 each failed toattract bids from same seller.RARE 1960s Scalextric James Bond 007 SetBox £230 (Worn box only)1/32 SCALEXTRIC C2402A Ford Boss 302Mustang 1969 $232.50 (sister ship no 15 fetched$228.50)1/32 SCALEXTRIC C2401A Ford Boss 302Mustang $122.50Scalextric Triang Bentley MM/ C64 - Boxed£230 (Green excellent condition)60’s Bentley Spare Parts All Original 50+ Parts£52 (50+ various parts including repro bits)Scalextric Williams FW20 Plain red & white –New £62 (car made up from plain white shelland red wings)Scalextric C453 Ultra Rare Brabham TeamDodger Car £6 (VGB – guess no one took theultra rare bait on this car!)Vintage Scalextric Brochures-magazines Triang1960’S £70.25 (number 1,2 and 6 catalogues inVG condition)2x Scalextric Jaguar XJ220 NSCC bodies rare£16 (just green shells on their own!)Rare Goodwood 1960S Pits £13 (Goodwoodchicane, 2 pit buildings, 20 odd figures and 2 Lemans cars needing repair. No my low bid did notwin this but someone did fairly well here!)VERY RARE Scalextric Mercedes D2 phonecover NO RESERVE £16.20 (Nokia 3310/30phone cover tampoed by Scalextric factory withreportedly five made)SCX matchbox ferrari F1 resin prototype *rare1 of 6* £51(Matchbox version)Lastly, Turtles seem to be in demand again withMB examples fetching from £12.50 to £26. ■

32

Sir,I would really like to thank you for the verygenerous hospitality you gave our group fromThe Children’s Trust at the Slot Rally event.

The four boys really enjoyed themselves andto watch their concentration and skills beingused was brilliant for the staff. It was a trulyexciting outing, which we all enjoyed. Pleasethank all the track owners for their patience andparticularly to Christine who showed us round.

I am, yours etcRosemaire Gilthero(The Children’s Trust)..............................................................................

Sir,Words cannot even begin to thank Gareth Jexenough for his superhuman efforts in making therecent Slot Rally GB event the resoundingsuccess that it was; however, I am writing toexpress my own very sincere and heartfeltthanks to him for creating such an enjoyable andmarvellous weekend.

There was something for everybody and Ieven managed to shock Gareth by the sight ofseeing me – a notorious non-racer – try thefantastic Woking Club routed track, recording afirst and second in two races. Thank you also tothe clubs who brought their tracks with them,the competitors, and the manufacturers/ traderswho attended. The racers all seemed to enjoythemselves on the variety of interesting andchallenging rally stages, and I didn’t hear a crossword anywhere, all of them were friendly andenjoyed themselves. They were even patientwith me when I ran one of the stages for a while(first time I’ve ever done that, and it was veryenjoyable). Most of the traders reported areasonable amount of business and there weresome interesting old Scalextric items to be found– I spent more than I should have on these.

Finally thanks have to go to Toyota andparticularly Scott Brownlee for enabling theevent to go ahead, and to the magnificent workof Christine, Sandi and Trish, who greetedvisitors at the reception desk and managed tosign up no less than 20 new members. Thankyou to all who contributed and supported theevent, but most of all to Gareth.

I am, yours etc,Stephen Barber, NSCC Secretary

Sir,I’m sure you’ll have many similar comments, butmany thanks (again!) for the NSCC Rally. Samand I could only come on the Saturday, but werevery impressed by the stages, the volunteers, andthe friendly atmosphere of the whole day.

We’d never done anything like this beforeand I was a bit worried how others would takean 11 year old with little experience, but he wasaccepted, offered help (as was I) and we neverfelt anything other than welcome. Are thereother rally events? I fear I have been bitten bythe bug.

Finally, from talking to people through theday, it seems that some of the routed stages wereconstructed for the event: would anyone beprepared to do an article in the magazine onthis? I am not very practical, but with a guide, Ithink I could make a simple stage for home use.

We are, yours etc,Chris and Sam Dulledge

33October 2006

Sir,I know a list of names must be exceedinglyboring but I cannot let the Slot Rally event passwithout thanking everyone involved for theirtremendous efforts in getting the show up andrunning. Apologies if I have missed someone outbut I have done my best so here we go:2LK Design Ltd, ABC hire, AEC Models,Lawrence Atrill, Audi, Steve Baker, SteveBarber, Steve Beard, Beck Interiors, ShaunBennett, Pete Binger (Hobby Co.), BMW, BobBott, Matt Brice, Scott Brownlee, BSDRA,Carrera, Paul Chandler, Chris Yates, Citroën,Robin Clark, Classic Slot Ltd, Jamie Coles,Croydon Model Railway Society, RichardD’Cruze, Alec Edge, Peter Emery, Face Media,Farnham Scalextric Association, David Farrow,Ferrari, First 4 Exhibitions, Fly, ReubenForrester, Gaugemaster, EAHORC, David Jex,Wendy Jex, Jill,Sandi Harris, John Haywood,Stephen Langford, Adrian Leggett, Martin,Martini, Dan Mason, Ian McKay, MHSC,Mitsubishi, Monarch Lines, Simon Moss, JimMoyes, MRRC, Ninco, Adrian Norman, PaulYates, Peugeot, Ali Pope, Quorn Slot Car Club,Racer, Renault, Revell, Brian Rogers, PhilipSalisbury, Sam Publications, Mark Sanderson,Tony Sandom, Scale Models, Scalextric, SCX,SEAT, Phil Shearsby, Slick Slot Racing, Slot 32,SlotFire, Slot Forum, Slowly Sideways, AndySmith, Lorraine Smith, Rob Smith, DaniellaSolari, Peter Solari, Phil Stringer, Subaru,Teamslot, Toyota, Toyota Celica GT4 OwnersClub, Matt Tucker, Phil Upton, Volvo, VW,Christine Wakefield, Deane Walpole, KenWebb, Steve Westby, Phil White, RichardWinter, Woking Slot Car club, WolverhamptonSlot Car Club, Trish Woolley, Steve Wright.

As you can see from the list of names above Idon’t do this all on my own, but there are severalindividuals who deserve special praise:• Scott Brownlee. I blame Scott for thewhole thing; without him it would never havegot off the ground. He staked both his andToyota’s name on our ability to run this eventand that is a huge undertaking for which we allowe our massive thanks.

• Paul and Chris Yates and Steve Baker.When I asked for help building the tracks manypeople came along to help the first weekend.Over the following weekends people droppedout for good reasons, but Paul, Chris and Stevewere always there, on one occasion I had toleave them to it. All three of them have beensuperstars - not only helping build the tracks, butthey were the first to arrive and last to leave overthe weekend, working tirelessly without reward,we all owe them our thanks.• The NSCC committee. All of us areunpaid and all have real jobs, I convinced themthis was a good idea and they backed me all theway, approving expenditure and helping in anyway they could on top of their normal clubfunctions, thanks.• Last, but not least, my family. Wendy andLottie have had to put up with me not being athome over weekends for the best part of sixmonths, our house being full of crap all the time,people ringing the house at all hours. My FatherDavid Jex brought along the Tramlink ModelRailway display, provided the PA sound andsorted the raffle and Teamslot sales, it was hisvoice you heard most of the day.

Both Brian and myself have received somany letters of thanks that it would fill an entireissue of the Journal if we published them all soa small sample will have to suffice.

Many of you said, “When is the next one?”The general answer I gave was, “I don’t know,are you volunteering to organise it?” I havestated before and will say again that I will not beorganising an event next year and have no plansto do so in the immediate future. I am sure thereis both scope and demand for an annual eventof this nature and I would love someone to stepforward and organise another one. I will gladlyoffer any advice and the NSCC will help in anyway it can, but I wish to spend some quality timewith my family and finally get round to buildingmy own track at home.

I am, yours etc,Gareth Jex

34

When the idea for the Slot Rally GBcompetition came out, I thoughtabout what I should build. I wanted

a Toyota so a search started for a 1/32 kit. Idecided on the Toyota 800S made by Imai. Didit ever take part in a rally? Yes, one was enteredby Shuji Kawasaki in the Targa Tasmania in2004.

I wanted to build it as a front wheel drive, asI felt that it would be a challenge to get all therunning gear in the front and still have room fora full cockpit with driver and navigator. Also Ifelt that front wheel drive would possibly handlebetter with no magnets to stick it to the track.

The first problem was that the car has smallwheels (SCX Fiat 600 rims and tyres) so requiresan angle winder configuration. The motor Iused is from a Tomy H:O scale car as these arequite powerful but very compact. The first thingwas to mount the axles. I used the chassis fromthe kit and made up brass bearings from tubeand araldited the rear axle into the position forthe original. The front of the chassis was cut

away to allow room for a Slot.It gear and thedrive end of the motor to lie at the correct angle.Two short bearings were made and carefullyaligned in the front before gluing in position.Unfortunately this meant that a lot of thestrength had been taken from the front end, sobraces were made from the floor pan to the frontwheel arches. The motor was also used to bracethe front with small brass brackets glued to themotor sides and fixed to the chassis with screwsand nuts. At this stage I thought to myself, Cliveyou must be very keen or stupid. This thing willnever work. Where are you going to fit a guide?The one I chose is a Ninco sprung type. It wasfitted between the wheels straight through thechassis with a piece of strengthening metal ontop of the chassis. After two weeks of swearingand cursing, I now had a black piece of plasticwith a motor and wheels attached.

Test time. The chassis did actually run (MyGod it works). After a couple of laps the Tomypinion stripped (bugger!). Another was fitted,three laps later this stripped (double bugger!).

Scratch Built Front WheelScratch Built Front WheelScratch Built Front WheelScratch Built Front WheelScratch Built Front WheelDrive Rally TDrive Rally TDrive Rally TDrive Rally TDrive Rally Toyotaoyotaoyotaoyotaoyota

By Clive Mills

35October 2006

What now? Into the spares box and no pinionswould fit the small shaft of the Tomy motor,until I found a Scalextric motorcycle motor andthe pinion from this fits, the mesh is perfect.Back on the track and the chassis was soonrunning lap after lap with the tail hanging outaround the bends. (Bloody Great!)

The body was then made to fit the chassiswith mount post at the front and rear so that itcould be removed. The cockpit was built ontothe chassis and a pair of Fly drivers weremodified to fit, the poor driver had both feetamputated and the navigator lost one as themotor is in the way. The navigator had his armsbent and a clipboard put in his hands. After thebody had been fitted and the car tested, the bodywas painted the same colour as the original andall logos applied. The Targa Tasmania logos Imade myself by downloading the image from aphotograph, resizing and printing onto decalpaper. The cockpit was detailed, a roll bar fittedand seat belts were made for the occupants andfitted to the rear panel. The finished car is justabout the same as the original (except Mr.Kawasaki rolled the real car on the second dayof the event).

The building of this car took quite a longtime with a lot of frustration at times. Now that

it is finished, I am very pleased with it. It is notanywhere near as fast as most modern slot carsand it gets a lot of wheel spin when accelerating,even with a weight over the front axle. But it isgreat fun to drive and very forgiving in tightcorners as the tail hangs out well but it has to bedriven very hard to make it deslot.

It was entered in the Slot Rally GB event atEpsom, so by the time you are reading this wewill know if a front wheel drive classic rally carworks (OR NOT). Personally it does not matter.It looks good, I enjoyed building it and surelythat is what our hobby is all about. Enjoymentand not coming first in every race. ■

36

My love for Scalextric started when Iwas twelve years old. My first set wasa basic figure of eight with two

Cooper Formula 1 cars, one British RacingGreen and the other pale blue. I can stillremember my excitement when I unwrappedthe box on Christmas morning 1961.

In the 1960s Norwich had three shops thatsold Scalextric, the main one being Pilch in thecity centre. The manager of the shop at the timewas called John Watson and seeing how obsessedI was with Scalextric he invited me to the localclub with my Dad.

It was called Presto Park and was situatedabove a coffee shop called The Presto Bar, henceits name. At that time club members weremodifying their cars with Pittman five polemotors and fitting the extra wide Vanwall axles

with MRRC soft diamond tyres. The guide pinwas also moved further forward and a piece oflead placed in the hole. This enhanced thehandling on the rubber Scalextric track. Iremember feeling frustrated that I could not jointhe club as it was for adults only and I was onlytwelve years old.

The club stayed in that location for a shorttime and in 1964 moved above another café inthe city and completely revamped the track withthe new Scalextric Plexitrack as it was calledthen. The circuit was built with six lanes and was85 feet to the lap. It was about this time that VIPcars were produced by Victory IndustriesProducts and they took our club by storm withfive pole motors and chassis with Ackermannsteering. Wow! It was at this time I attendedevery Monday night as a visitor with my Dad.

Presto PPresto PPresto PPresto PPresto Park Rark Rark Rark Rark RebornebornebornebornebornBy Mike Harvey

PPPPPrrrrresto Pesto Pesto Pesto Pesto Park cirark cirark cirark cirark circa 1964ca 1964ca 1964ca 1964ca 1964(r(r(r(r(reprinted from an areprinted from an areprinted from an areprinted from an areprinted from an article in the Eastern Dticle in the Eastern Dticle in the Eastern Dticle in the Eastern Dticle in the Eastern Daily Paily Paily Paily Paily Prrrrress)ess)ess)ess)ess)

37October 2006

They used to run a visitors’ race each eveningand I won every one. As I was really, really keenon joining I asked John if I could be consideredfor membership. My application had to gobefore the committee and, in September 1965,I became the first kid to be a member. Was Ichuffed or what? I think the others thought I wasa smartarse as I regularly beat them, whichdidn’t go down too well with the hotshots and asa result that year I received the ‘Driver of theYear’ award. We had some great drivers in thosedays and I remember one member in particularwho I received a great deal of help from, hisname was Sid Denney. He worked for AngliaTelevision in Norwich as an electronics engineer.His cars were always fast and immaculate and Ibought my first MRRC powered Lola T70 GTfrom him.

As time went by in the late 1960s, woodentracks became popular so a new Presto Parkcircuit was constructed. It was 160ft long, sixlanes with a main straight of 40ft. What a trackthat was. Technology started to take off thenand most cars were powered by Ks, RicochetMabuchi cans or MRRC motors using Cox,Airfix, Atlas and Monogram shells. Then, in1967, I discovered girls and quietly left thehobby as so many youngsters do.

Presto Park continued for several years, the160 foot track being broken up as it was far toolarge for most rooms that were available and torent. A new wooden track was constructed andlocated above a pub in Beccles, Norfolk but I wasnot aware of this move as I had, by this time,relocated to Cambridgeshire. I understand thetrack was dismantled and stored in a gardenshed from there on.

In 2003, my cousin sent me a feature fromthe local Eastern Daily Press which showed theclub in 1964. This rekindled my interest and Isubsequently joined the Mussel Bay Raceway atKing’s Lynn. Strangely enough I had helpedbuild part of their track many years ago and itwas in fact the old Presto Park track that hadbeen at Beccles. I had many happy times atMussel Bay and lots of great races with BrianRogers, our Editor. In 2005 I moved back to myroots in Norfolk and found that it was too far to

travel from where I lived on the poor roads toKing’s Lynn so I decided to resurrect the PrestoPark club.

My wife Averil and I searched for weeks tofind a site where the track could be permanentlylaid and eventually, by chance, stumbled acrosswhat is now the new club room located in aschool that has now closed in Aylsham, Norfolk.

I decided that I would use the existingbenches to support the track as the room hadbeen a science laboratory for some years and thecupboards and bench units were very sturdy andoffered an excellent base. The baseboard wasconstructed using sheets of chipboard screwedto a battening frame. This in turn was screwedinto the tops of the bench units. I wanted toachieve the largest track I could in the spaceavailable to me.

I was quite fortunate as a local toy shop wasselling off new Classic track very cheaply and,coupled with a response to an advert I placed inthe same shop, I purchased everything needed ata good price. The circuit was laid giving fourlanes with a lap length of 82ft and a mainstraight of some 20ft. After searching around forbuildings I was able to buy lots of the cardScalextric ones at a bargain price and theseadded to the authenticity on the layout. Averilpainted the scenery and flocked the grass areasin and around the track which looks veryrealistic.

The power to the circuit is by Scalextrictransformers, one for each lane, wired to a 2amp 3 pin plug – the usual BSCRA design.

It was decided from the outset that the clubwould run just three classes of box standardScalextric cars with a few modifications to makethem run and handle better (see John Watts’feature, NSCC Journal July 2003) these beingNASCAR, Sports GT and Saloons. At thepresent time we do not run F1 and Indy cars dueto the high accident damage sustained to thisclass of car.

Our main objective is to attract membersfrom fourteen year olds upwards that can raceand be competitive on a relatively small budget,hence box standard classes. I have seen so manypeople coming into slot racing and departing ➳

38

soon afterwards as they are disillusioned withbeing constantly beaten by more wealthymembers who seem to have a bottomless chequebook enabling them to buy hot motors and thelatest chassis for their cars. By running theseclasses it was felt by our founder members thatit would be more of a level playing field andpeople who joined would be more likely to stay.

We meet every Wednesday with track timefrom 7-30 to 10-30pm. The club is located onthe outskirts of Aylsham, Norfolk, in thegrounds of a private country estate overlookingfields and paddocks. All NSCC members andScalextric enthusiasts are most welcome to payus a visit, please telephone Mike on 01603754319 for directions. ■

39October 2006

So there I was, driving up London’s NewKent Road at about 8.15am one Sundaymorning in early August, about to

approach the fearsome Elephant and CastleShopping Centre roundabout, when I saw it....

...A metallic green people carrier, just infront of me, piled high with boxes. Lots of boxes.So many boxes it was unlikely that the drivercould use the rear-view mirror. “Look at that,”I said to my girlfriend. “They can’t possibly seeout of the back.” “Mmmm,” she said, lookingat the A-Z, and not paying the people carriermuch attention. Gradually - from a distance ofabout 15ft - I began to recognise one of thesmaller boxes. “That’s a Think Tank!” Ishrieked. “A what?” said my girlfriend. “Oooh,quite a rare little unit, one of the early 80sScalextric electronic gismos, that along with theSound Track and Fuel Tank added morerealism to your circuit,” I said. “The C452Think Tank was, in fact, the master unit,allowing you to control both cars on a two-lanecircuit in a practice or race session, recording thenumber of laps, the fastest lap time and speed,average race speed and total race time. Theother two units could link to it, and provide extrainformation.” “Oh . . . “ she said, glancing at theA-Z again. I was not to be perturbed. “I believethat people carrier to be stuffed full of historicScalextric items!” I announced in determinedChurchillian mode. “Perhaps there’s evenearlier stuff there, perhaps some rare 60s stuff,perhaps all the stuff ’s for sale, perhaps they’regoing to a car boot to sell it all for next tonothing. I could probably pick up a hell of abargain by offering them money for the wholelot, right here and now.” “What on earth are yougoing to do?” she asked. “Head them off at theMetropolitan Tabernacle?” “Mmmmm,” I said,and prepared for evasive action. Then senseprevailed. We were running a tad late for awedding of very good friends in north London,and that obviously had to take precedent. Andhow would I get the people carrier to stop? Flash

my lights at them? Unlikely to work quickly withthat amount of stuff piled up in the back.Accelerate sharply past and slam my carsideways into them in true Sweeney style?Foolish, expensive and likely to end in tears,expensive garage repairs, and a possible visit tothe local hospital followed by a chat with theboys in blue. No, I had to be sensible, and sadlythere was nothing I could do.

At the Elephant roundabout, the peoplecarrier, stuffed full of vintage Scalextric as far asI was concerned, took a sharp left, and headedoff towards Vauxhall, while we continued in astraight line towards Waterloo. So now I’ll neverknow what was actually in that people carrier,and what it was all about. It could be the stockof a toy fair dealer, of course, but somehow Isuspect the whole episode will remain atantalising mystery. Unless you know otherwise,of course . . . ■

A TA TA TA TA Tantalising Mysteryantalising Mysteryantalising Mysteryantalising Mysteryantalising MysteryBy Paul Strange

40

A few years ago there was a slot car brandcalled Proslot, they made some fast, andvery lightweight, slot cars. For a spell,

before first the Fly “racing” series, and then laterthe Slot.It range took over they had a car thatwas one of the best GT cars a club racer couldbuy, this was the Toyota GT-One. Howeverwhen sales began to decline the parent companystopped making slot cars and, so I’m told, wentback to making shoes, which had been itsbusiness for many years prior to getting its toesinto the slot car scene. Few of us ever thoughtwe’d see the much-loved GT-One again, whatwe didn’t know was that MRRC/Scaleauto hadacquired the rights to start making these carsagain. Furthermore Scaleauto had plans not justto reproduce the car but also to totally redevelopit for the highly competitive European slotracing market.

Having both the old version from Proslotand having been sent a nice shiny new Scaleautoone courtesy of U.K. stockists Pendle SlotRacing, I thought it would be interesting tocarry out a back-to-back test for this review. Firstthen the packaging; the old ones came in a largesquare crystal display box, which it has to be saidtook up far too much storage space, the newScaleauto version has no such problems comingin a plastic and card blister pack, held in place

by a single screw. As most people buying this carwill be racers, they’ll probably store it in theirrace boxes, but it does mean a collector wouldprobably need to buy a display box for it. NextI took the cars apart and, apart from the lightermoulded lexan cockpit on the Scaleauto version,they are absolutely identical and can easily beswapped between the two chassis if required, thelivery on the Scaleauto one is the Marlboro carof Katayama, Suzuki, and Tsuchiya thatfinished second overall behind the BMWV12LM, won the GT1 Category and in thehands of Katayama set the fastest race lap at LeMans in 1999.

Now the serious bit, the chassis and runninggear, the old Proslot car had a very light flexiblechassis with a strangely shaped in-line motorholder allowed to flex on a rubber widget. Themotors were versions of the Mabuchi small can,with a plastic pinion, and gear, a ferrous rearaxle turning in plastic bearings. The stub axlesat the front were just push in plastic pins, withplastic rims all round, and excellent sticky slicktyres. Completing the set up was a speciallyshaped 6.5gramme lead weight just behind thefront axle line, and a push fit guide with shortcopper braids.

The new Scaleauto car retains the samebasic chassis shape, but it has additionallongitudinal ribbing to add rigidity, with an L-shaped motor pod held in by four adjustablescrews to allow some rear end flexibility. Themotor itself is a powerful Scaleauto boxer, heldinto the motor pod by a covering strap and twoscrews either side of the pod. The rear pinion isstill plastic, with a Slot.It type nylon and bronzerear gear. There are calibrated steel axles frontand rear, with the rears running in what appearsto be encased roller bearings, while the front axlehas two top and bottom grub screws allowingthe front axle height and travel to be adjusted.➳

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By Phil Insull

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41October 2006

There are alloy hubs all round, held in placewith grub screws, and reasonably soft slick tyres.The weight is no longer provided, but a space isavailable in the front of the motor pod to fitmagnatraction, and the guide is longer, withscrew type fitting and what appear to be softSlot.It copper racing braids. On paper thisshould be a no contest, the improved car haswhat appears to be all the right changes to makeit a superior racer. As has been said beforethough, races are not held on paper.

Off to Wolves for a first session with bothcars on the wooden copper taped track. I’d leftthe old Proslot warhorse exactly how I’d lastraced it some three years ago with an additional10 grammes of weight to the standard 6.5grammes. Using my trusty MRRC 35 Ohmcontroller I managed to lap in 8.1 seconds withthe old timer, some way off the pace of one ofour regulars with a well sorted NSR Mosler, butthen I’m no real racer these days and I’m surethe quick boys could easily knock a second offmy lap times. The best comparison is alwayssame track, controller and driver so I turned tothe new Scaleauto Toyota. It felt much better todrive, smoother, easier, looked quicker too untilI checked the lap times, 8.4 seconds I couldn’tquite believe it. I added some weight, swappedthe rear tyres for Slot It ones, and went again.Better this time at 7.9 seconds but still not asmarked an improvement as I would havethought, made less impressive by me swappingback to the old car and also getting down to 7.9with this one. Opening up the new car I noticedthat the rear pinion had started to wear badlyand the teeth were not meshing smoothly. Idecided to change the rear gear for a slightly

smaller Slot It one, and to change the pinion toa brass Slot It one while I was at it. Now camea problem, the motor shaft appears to be slightlybulged towards the end, to allow the plasticpinion a tight push on fit, but the brass pinionhas to be mounted further back along the motorshaft, and by so doing it is no longer held by thebulge and simply spins free on the shaft. Thesolution was finally a Scalextric plastic pinionrun at low revs for an hour or so with constantlubrication until a smooth mesh was achieved.

The modifications took me about two weeks(working between other projects) to sort out, butfinally I was ready to try again. With 7.5grammes of weight, and after playing with thefront axle height and switching the new Scale-auto car onto Proslot rear tyres, I managed tolap consistently down in the 7.4s occasionallydipping into the 7.2 bracket. This was theimprovement I’d been expecting all along, it hadjust taken more effort than I thought it would.The new car still looks good just as the Proslotone did a few years ago, and with a littleperseverance the performance is a markedimprovement on its predecessor. Some mayargue that a car redesigned with such emphasison racing should maybe not need so much effortto make it competitive, but I would say this, wewere looking at just one track type, and all slotcars need setting up for the specific track to getthe best from them. In fact I had to change tyresagain and do some more tinkering before I couldreally push on the Slotfire track, and bycomparison a really fast HRS chassis car atWolves was rubbish at Pendle just two days latersimply down to the differences in surfaces. Yes,the wearing pinion was a bit annoying but aplastic Scalextric replacement is only pennies soit won’t break the bank, and with the ScaleautoToyota you do get lots of quality parts for yourmoney and plenty of scope for development. Ihave seen the NSR Mosler go quicker at Wolves,but this car is more expensive than the Toyotaand still needed a lot more doing to it to makeit quick. With the right driver and a bit ofdialling in I’m convinced that ScaleAuto’s newimproved version could see Toyotas back as theGT racecar of choice. ■

The new chassis with boxer motorThe new chassis with boxer motorThe new chassis with boxer motorThe new chassis with boxer motorThe new chassis with boxer motor, new guide, new guide, new guide, new guide, new guide

and alloy hubs (on the left)and alloy hubs (on the left)and alloy hubs (on the left)and alloy hubs (on the left)and alloy hubs (on the left)