1January 2008

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 967333between 09:00 - 18:00

01483 810102 eveningse-mail:- sales@nscc.co.uk

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContentsEvents.........................................2Competitions.............................4Diary Dates................................5Hornby/NSCC Weekend.........6Messages From Margate............7Ninco News..............................11Fly On The Wall.....................13H:O World...............................16Kits N Bobs..............................19GT Raceway Club...................23Half Tonner Grand Prix.........25Scalextric Review.....................28Wrenn 152...............................31Ebay Watch..............................33NSCC Tuning Experiment.....36SCX Review.............................44Members Adverts.....................49

NNNNNOOOOO. 310 J. 310 J. 310 J. 310 J. 310 JANUANUANUANUANUARYARYARYARYARY 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008

Lose the weight in 2008Lose the weight in 2008Lose the weight in 2008Lose the weight in 2008Lose the weight in 2008

A Happy New Year to you all. 2008 already promises to be thebiggest year ever in terms of new product with Hornby’s recent

announcement of at least 80 new cars. No doubt the othermanufacturers have similar plans so the collector’s wallet is going totake a sizeable hit, particularly as Scalextric have also added a ‘stealthtax’ in the form of a £2.50 increase in the recommended retail price!I wonder, is there anybody left out there with sufficient disposableincome (and storage space!) to purchase every single model? It usedto be relatively common for people to try and collect the completeoutput of certain manufacturers but I suspect they are very few innumbers these days.

On a different subject, you may already have noticed that theJournal has been on a diet over Christmas as I have used slightlythinner paper in order to get the weight of the thing a bit lower. Thisis because of the ever increasing financial appetite of what islaughingly called The Royal Mail - I bet the Queen doesn’t have toqueue up in her local W.H Smiths to post a letter following theclosure of her main Post Office!

The cost of Journal postage (with a further increase due in April)is threatening to outstrip the printing bill and is becoming a matterof some financial concern. I would much prefer to use the moneyto increase the amount of colour in the Journal rather than fill thecoffers of the Post Office! Most issues of the Journal contain 48 pagesor less and my aim has been to get the weight of those below 100gmsand thus drastically reduce the monthly bill. With a bit of luck Ishould be able to save in excess of £2000 in a full year which willmore than pay for some extra colour pages or even a full colour issueonce a year. Mind you, it hasn’t worked this month as this issue hasstretched to 52 pages!

If you feel I have reduced the quality of the Journal to anunacceptable level by this action then please let me know - this issueis by way of an experiment and I can easily revert to the previousstandard if necessary, although you won’t then get the benefit ofincreased colour later in the year.Till next monthBrian

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And a Happy New Year to all of you! I dohope that Santa brought you all theScalextric cars that you wanted, and

there were some great ones to choose fromaround Christmas. However, I hope you havelots of money left for the new releases plannedfor 2008.

ScaleScaleScaleScaleScalextric 2008 Newsxtric 2008 Newsxtric 2008 Newsxtric 2008 Newsxtric 2008 NewsHere is a brief run down of the planned releasesfor this year. Scalextric have several TV and filmtie-ups for 2008 with a new DBS for James Bondfans, a proper Mini Cooper Italian Job triple carpack with DVD of the original film, and a TopGear Powerlaps set so you can take on the Stigat Gambon Corner.

Other planned items include the new Fiat500, the latest Nascars and closer co-operationwith McLaren Mercedes. Returning to therange is a modern Touring Car in the form ofAndy Priaulx’s BMW 320si. A new 997 GT3RSwill keep Porsche fans happy with road and raceliveries. Three new A1 GPs join the range forSouth Africa, The Netherlands and China.

Classics include the Lotus Cortina Mk1.Lotus 49 and Eagle Weslake single seaters will bein a special 1967 Year of Legends twin pack too.A Mercedes 300 SLR Coupé looks superb asdoes the classic GT40 with no 7 and a blackbonnet - remember the old Hong Kong madeversion?

Of course there are reliveries of many carsincluding the classic Mini Cooper and a scaryItalian Police Lamborghini. Rally enthusiastswill enjoy the Stobart Ford Focus and newSubaru Impreza and Peugeot 307 liveries. Theblack and yellow Coastguard Range Rover looksgreat.

For digital fans there is a new six carpowerbase and an electronic pitbox whichshould give hours of amusement as you cancontrol pit stops via a series of lights.

More information will be in the 2008catalogue available in early January.

RRRRRecent Recent Recent Recent Recent ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesC2853W BMW Mini Cooper SC2853W BMW Mini Cooper SC2853W BMW Mini Cooper SC2853W BMW Mini Cooper SC2853W BMW Mini Cooper S

After Eight No9After Eight No9After Eight No9After Eight No9After Eight No9C2854W BMW Mini Cooper SC2854W BMW Mini Cooper SC2854W BMW Mini Cooper SC2854W BMW Mini Cooper SC2854W BMW Mini Cooper S

After Eight No8After Eight No8After Eight No8After Eight No8After Eight No8Now these two Minis are an absolute must forany collector and they will not prove easy to find.They are two Mini Cooper S cars finished indark green (#8) and black (#9) with Union Jackroofs and After Eight logos on the sides. Theyare only available in a set and that set was givenaway by Nestlé Germany as an internal onlypromotion. 1500 pairs of cars were made and afew sets have appeared on eBay Germany so far.

The set was not put together by Hornby,although you would never know this from thebox, and the likelihood is that the basic sets werereturns to the German importer who changedthe polystyrene car tray and created new boxart. It does not, therefore, have a C number. ➳

3January 2008

C2775 Ford Mustang No9C2775 Ford Mustang No9C2775 Ford Mustang No9C2775 Ford Mustang No9C2775 Ford Mustang No9This Australian only release did appear back inNovember and a few are now back in the UK.Finished in a striking red with Coca-Cola logos,this represents the Alan Moffat Racing Mustangfrom 1968. A limited edition of 3500 pieces, thisis a nice TransAm to find.

C2829 Ford BF FalconC2829 Ford BF FalconC2829 Ford BF FalconC2829 Ford BF FalconC2829 Ford BF FalconCraig LowndesCraig LowndesCraig LowndesCraig LowndesCraig Lowndes

C2830 Ford BF FalconC2830 Ford BF FalconC2830 Ford BF FalconC2830 Ford BF FalconC2830 Ford BF FalconSteven RichardsSteven RichardsSteven RichardsSteven RichardsSteven Richards

C2831 Ford BF FalconC2831 Ford BF FalconC2831 Ford BF FalconC2831 Ford BF FalconC2831 Ford BF FalconJames CourtneyJames CourtneyJames CourtneyJames CourtneyJames Courtney

The annual release of the Australian V8s isalways worth waiting for and the Ford BFFalcons do not disappoint. They are a brandnew mould and are beautifully decorated asusual. The Chris Lowndes car has a red andsilver Vodafone livery, the Steve Richards carhas a red, green and white Castrol livery and theJames Courtney car has a beautiful blue andyellow Jeld Wen livery. There are 1500 of eachcar available.

I was lucky enough this year to pick up mycars in person in Australia from Stanbridges inPerth. Stanbridges is a huge model shop with alarge slot car section along with trains, radiocontrol stuff, diecast and an exciting rocketsection to name just a few departments. Peter,the owner, was most pleasant and helpful andwas pleased to show me around the shop andextensive warehouse. They will do mail orderworldwide and more information can be foundat http://www.stanbridges.com.au.

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C2789 Subaru Impreza “C2789 Subaru Impreza “C2789 Subaru Impreza “C2789 Subaru Impreza “C2789 Subaru Impreza “The SunThe SunThe SunThe SunThe Sun”””””It is hard to believe that this is only the secondrelease of the fourth version of the Impreza andSubaru have already announced its replace-ment. This release is the Mobil 1 and Scalextricsponsored car campaigned by The Sun in 2007.Prominent is the Scalextric 50th Anniversarylogo on the roof and the appropriate racingnumber of 50. This white car is complete witha weathered finish of a real rally car which I like.What do you think? Should Hornby producemore weathered cars?

C2812 PC2812 PC2812 PC2812 PC2812 Porsche RS Spyder No6orsche RS Spyder No6orsche RS Spyder No6orsche RS Spyder No6orsche RS Spyder No6Another brand new model is the Porsche RSSpyder which promises to be blisteringly quickon the track. Finished in the yellow and redcolours of DHL this is a great looking model.The louvres over the front wheels areparticularly fine as are the details at the back.Perhaps surprisingly the Porsche does not carrythe special motor and axle carrier first seen onthe Lister LMP. I wonder if we have seen the lastof that innovation.

C2809 Audi R10 TDI Power No 8The other brand new LMP model is the 2006Le Mans winning Audi R10. This is the Biela,Pirro and Werner number 8 car finished in silverand grey with the red detailing of Shell’s V-Power diesel fuel. Like the Porsche this is sure tobe an exceptionally quick Scalextric car on thetrack with a wide wheelbase and track and a flatchassis. The bodywork is complex with a varietyof complex shapes, grilles and intakes thatcapture the details of the real car very well. Thiscar is reviewed elsewhere in the Journal thismonth.

C2783A Celebrating Mille MigliaC2783A Celebrating Mille MigliaC2783A Celebrating Mille MigliaC2783A Celebrating Mille MigliaC2783A Celebrating Mille Miglia19551955195519551955

C2827A MercedesC2827A MercedesC2827A MercedesC2827A MercedesC2827A Mercedes-Benz-Benz-Benz-Benz-BenzSLR McLaren 722SLR McLaren 722SLR McLaren 722SLR McLaren 722SLR McLaren 722

C2828A MercedesC2828A MercedesC2828A MercedesC2828A MercedesC2828A Mercedes-Benz SLR 300-Benz SLR 300-Benz SLR 300-Benz SLR 300-Benz SLR 300The Mille Miglia 1955 twinpack is beautifullyproduced in a silver box with a prominent red722 on the lid. It is a limited edition of 8000 withthe familiar credit card certificate stuck to thetray beside the cars. Both cars carry the small ➳

5January 2008

Limited plaque on their base and are unique tothis set.

The SLR McLaren 722 differs from thegeneral SLR release in two main ways. It has asuperb set of grey wheels and a more aggressivefront spoiler. Minor details include a tiny 722logo by the side air vents and different badgingat the rear.

The beautiful SLR 300 varies considerablyfrom the Fangio solo release as it carries twofigures. Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinsonfamously won the event with the use of pacenotes stored in a scrolling map. ThereforeC2828A carries both figures which do have apassing resemblance to the real personalities – asterling effort one might say. Each figure has anaerodynamic headrest and the car has a fullwidth windscreen.

C2817 Honda F1 No 7C2817 Honda F1 No 7C2817 Honda F1 No 7C2817 Honda F1 No 7C2817 Honda F1 No 7C2840 Honda F1 No 8

Although the digital version of Button’s Hondacame out back in October, the analogue versiontogether with team mate Barrichello’s car haveonly just become widely available.

The complex technique of applying such alarge decal suspended in a bath with the carpassed through it works really well and the carslook fantastic. Hopefully they have better slottrack performance than in real life!

Slot City GSlot City GSlot City GSlot City GSlot City GT40T40T40T40T40The online Slot car retailer Slot City has anexclusive GT40 livery for delivery in March orApril. The reference is C2490 and it can be pre-ordered from their website.

The real GT40 is driven and co-driven byAlain Schlesinger and Jean-Claude Andruet, thefamous drivers, whose experience in Le Mansracing is world renowned. Their victoriesinclude the prestigious Monte Carlo and SanRemo Rallies, and they have dozens of stagewins and podium finishes around the world. ■

6

RRRRRear Viewear Viewear Viewear Viewear View

Before pulling away into the New Year, it’salways nice to take a look in the rear viewmirror to see what’s behind… As always,

Ninco managed to produce some landmark carsover the past twelve months with a number oftotally new models, unique to the world of slot-cars, as well as some beautiful liveries on bothnew and existing bodies.

With the exception of Go-Karts, Nincoreleased vehicles for all categories with thehighest number of new releases going to the fastand furious GT class.

The Need for SpeedThe Need for SpeedThe Need for SpeedThe Need for SpeedThe Need for Speed2007 started off with a re-liveried McLaren F1GTR (one of my personal favourite car types) whichwas followed later in the year with someattractive Mégane Trophy cars and racingversions of the Supra and Nissan. The FerrariF50 saw a welcomed return to the circuit but thistime in the form of a kit. It was joined by selfassembly kit versions of the Ferrari 360 “LeMans” and an official ProDriver kit with plainand Ninco decorated body shells. The GT classalso saw the addition of two totally new cardesigns from Ninco; the stunning Ascari and thestylish Porsche 997. For me, in the GT class,2007 will be remembered for the Ascari… whata car! Ninco chose this model for their very own“Club Car No.4” which was offered to ClubNinco members with a digital chip for racing onN-Digital tracks. Just before Christmas, fourPorsche 997s were released as N-Digital readycars, offered in different colours and carryingnumbers 1 to 4.

When the Mosler was launched, it quicklybecame recognised as one of the fastest GT carsavailable to race straight from the box. Notcontent with this, Ninco decided to release a“Lightning” ProRace version of the car suppliedon a luminous yellow base – needless to say itdidn’t need to rely on bright base-plate to benoticed, as the addition of ProRace parts suchas lightweight wheel hubs, gears and race-tunedNC-6 motor guaranteed this car would geteveryone’s attention on the race track! ➳

7January 2008

Timeless ClassicsTimeless ClassicsTimeless ClassicsTimeless ClassicsTimeless ClassicsNot many models released in this category lastyear but all were true classics. The first FerrariTestarossa to be released as a self assembly kitappeared to complete the line-up of Nincoproduced Ferraris to be released in this form. Inmy opinion, the one which really stood out wasthe gorgeous Jaguar XK120. Mounted on the“Classic” brick road base, the silver ‘big cat’ withchrome wire-wheels and fine print detail looksalmost too good to race!

On the ROn the ROn the ROn the ROn the RoadoadoadoadoadNotable road-going versions include the all-newcrisp white Porsche 997 and of course the BMWM3 from the love-it-or-hate-it “Tuning” series,again re-painted in white rather than orangefrom the previous year. Before really getting intothe “off-road” category, the awesome Hummerhas to get a mention as the first two to bereleased were the plain yellow and the Policeversions… these massive cars meant that Nincohad to re-design the display base to allow thebeast to be contained within the standard crystalcover!

… and Off-RoadRally cars have always been popular both herein the UK and abroad. The most notableaddition to the Rally class during 2007 has to bethe new Ford Focus which was immediatelycompetitive with the already established WRCstable of Subaru, Lancer and Peugeot 307. Therelatively new Raid category has also managedto gain popularity and enables more challenging

circuits to be designed and conquered usingquite unique body-styles. Aside from the abovementioned Hummer, another wholly newdesigned vehicle from Ninco was born in theguise of the Schlesser. With an appearance morelike a buggy than a ProTruck, this model reallyis at home on the off-road surface tracks,especially the Dune sections!

Keeping the brand aliveKeeping the brand aliveKeeping the brand aliveKeeping the brand aliveKeeping the brand aliveSome years ago, I volunteered to run a Nincotrack at my daughter’s primary school at theirannual Christmas Fair. The event proved sopopular that I was asked to return the followingyear and have been going back ever since! Eachyear I try to offer something a little different andhave set up circuits based on asphalt, off-roadand a combination of the two. Last Christmas(2007), I decided to offer two separate tracks, onerally and one road.

Both accommodated a continuous stream ofchildren for three and a half hours, withoutfault, even though some of the cars took abattering when launched from the track onto theclassroom floor. This kind of reliability is atestament to the durability and robustness of theNinco product, track, cars and accessories.

With the Nuremberg Toy Fair taking placenext month all manufacturers will be able toshowcase their current and future products. I amsure Ninco will announce more innovation andgreat new models for us all to look forward toduring 2008. ■

8

email: flyonthewall@nscc.co.uk

Happy New Year to you all and here goesfor another 12 months of slot carmayhem. This month there are 10 new

models to report on, which includes the first ofthe long awaited “Playboy” collection.

Standard RStandard RStandard RStandard RStandard ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesAlfa Romeo Giulia GTAj

“Jagermeister” #83 (88312)DRM championship 1972, driven by RainerMaschke. The Alfa Romeo Giulia is one of theunsung heroes in the Fly range and looksespecially good in this livery. It is decorated inorange with a pale orange nose and finished offwith gold wheels. Although a standard release,it should prove to be very popular due to thesponsorship on the car.

March 761 “Jagermeister” #34(88286)

This model represents the car driven by HansStuck competing in the German F1 GP at theNurburgring, which was Race 10 of the 1976season. This must be one of the most famousraces of all time and all for the wrong reasons,as it was here where Niki Lauda suffered his

terrible burns. Stuck failed to finish the race ashis March suffered with clutch problems. Themodel is decorated in orange, except for thesilver rear wing and is presented in a crystal casewith a grey plinth.

BMW 320i “Hasseroder” #22(88287)

Another in the Evo racing series, which requiresassembly with all extra spares included tocustomise the car’s set-up to suit your circuit.The body shell is fully detailed with a lexaninterior and decorated in yellow. It representsthe car driven by Thomas Winklehockcompeting in the 2003 DTC series.

Porsche 934 “Meccarillos” #60(88291)

24hr Le Mans 1977, driven by Claude Haldi,Angelo Pallaviccini & Florian Vetsch. This andthe sister #59 car of the Schiller racing teamboth failed to finish the race. The model isdecorated in an attractive livery, althoughmainly white it does have some fancy yellow andred harlequin graphics around the wheel arches.It is fitted with covered head & spotlights andcomplimented by gold & silver BBS wheels.

MAN Truck “Paga” #3 (08053)Modelled on the truck driven by Alfonso deOrleans-Borbon, competing in the FIA ETRCat Jarama in 2004. It is decorated predominantlyin yellow with a few minor graphics andpresented in a crystal case with a picture backingcard. ➳

9January 2008

Special EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsBMW M1 “CharlyM” #84 (99086)

A specially commissioned model for La Estaciondel Hobby of Spain, limited to 1300 units. Themodel represents the car that took part in theDRM championships in 1981, driven by WalterMaurer. It is decorated in maroon with sunsetgraphics adorning both sides, complimentedwith white rear window slats and wing mirrors.Presentation is in a crystal case mounted on agrey plinth with a numbered picture backingcard.

Kremer PKremer PKremer PKremer PKremer Porsche Set (99065)orsche Set (99065)orsche Set (99065)orsche Set (99065)orsche Set (99065)Kremer are a former motorsport team based inCologne, Germany. It was founded by racingdriver Erwin Kremer, together with his brotherManfred. They both competed internationallydriving Porsches and were backed by the factoryfor many years. The team was also known fortheir tuned Porsche race cars that they both

raced and also sold to other teams who could notgain the best equipment from the factory.Amongst their greatest achievements werewinning the Le Mans 24 hours in 1979 withtheir own 935 K3, and later winning the 1995Daytona 24 hours in a K8 spyder.

This set is a continuation of Fly’s team setseries and represents two of the cars thatKremer have raced and tuned. Both cars aremounted parallel to each other in a hinged cardbox and is a limited edition.

Porsche 911S #28Driven by Erwin Kremer, Günther Huber &Juan Carlos Bolanos, competing in the Sebring12 hours in 1972, finishing 12th overall aftercompleting 201 laps. The model is decorated indark red with burnt orange swirly graphicsbordered in blue. It also features spotlights onthe bonnet which are tampoed to simulate ducttape.

10

Porsche 935 “Malardeau” #43Driven by the all French driver line-up of XavierLapeyre, Jean-Louis Trintignant & Anny-Charlotte Verney, competing in the 24 hour LeMans in 1980. Not one of Kremer’s successstories, as the car failed to finish due to gearboxproblems on lap 217. The model is decoratedentirely in yellow and is very striking in itsappearance.

Playboy CollectionPlayboy CollectionPlayboy CollectionPlayboy CollectionPlayboy CollectionThe first two models are now available in thislong awaited collection. It’s been nearly a yearnow since the series was first announced and Ifor one was beginning to think it was not goingto happen. Despite being late it is nonethelesshere and I must say both cars look extremelygood. An unusual feature of this series is that all12 cars in the collection are and will be availablein two different display packaging formats. Thecheaper version is mounted in the standardcrystal case with a picture backing card, whereasthe other slightly more expensive version is

mounted in the larger hinged card box, whichincidentally is the same size used for the teamsets. To my knowledge there is no differencebetween each pair of cars. Each version willfeature a particular cover issue from the “Play-boy” publication archive. The first cataloguereference number quoted below on each modelrepresents the crystal case version:-

01 - Ferrari 512 CL (99017) &(99032)

Decorated in black with the cover issue ofJanuary 1974, which is of the iconic “Playboy”bunny on the bonnet.

02 - Porsche 911S (99021) & (99033)Decorated in silver with “Playboy” bunnyhologram graphics all over and the cover issueof June 1997, featuring the former SwedishOlympic skier and model Victoria Silverstedt onthe bonnet.

At the time of writing, the more lavish cardbox version has only been released in Spain, butshould be widely available by the time you readthis. ■

11January 2008

Since my last column a great deal of newproduct (relative to H:O terms) has beenannounced. Life-Like have announced

more Nascars, as expected, including for the firsttime cars of Dale Earnhardt Jnr, which was notso expected. With the change of team and themove away from Budweiser as principal sponsor,I suspect the Walthers owned company couldnot resist the chance to model Nascar’s mostpopular driver (by some margin) even thoughthey had to no doubt expend a large amount ofcapital to get that right.

Whilst the Car of Tomorrow (CoT) may notbe to everyone’s taste, I am glad that Life-Likehave also announced that, from August, theywill be releasing models of these cars (includingtwo Earnhardt cars) as it shows a higher level ofcommitment to tool a new body shape rather

than just put new liveries on the existing shell.The Earnhardt cars, the AMP and NationalGuard Chevy Impalas, look very striking in themetal, time will tell how good the Life-Likeversions look but they are sure to be big sellersalmost regardless.

Additionally, as expected, Life-Like haverisked incurring the wrath of the hard-lineNascar ‘fans’ by modelling the Toyota Camry.Despite the fact that the road version of theCamry is made in the USA and all the otherroad cars in the series are not, the presence ofthe Japanese make in Nascar continues to beheralded as the end of the series/world (takeyour pick based on how extreme you are) insome quarters. Clearly Life-Like have decidedthat not to release any Camrys would be foolish.Exactly which ones will be released has not ➳

Email: howorld@nscc.co.uk

12

been announced but a re-visit to their HomeDepot and Cat colour schemes on the newbadge (formally it was Chevy and Dodge) wouldseem likely.

For me the best H:O car of 2007 was the redGT40 (see large picture) from Racemastersreleased under the Tomy AFX brand. Thesewere released at the beginning of Decemberalong with three other GT40s and followed onfrom the superb Champcars announced lastApril and reviewed in the September Journal.With such high standards being set, Race-master’s plans have been met with muchexcitement amongst the H:O crowd. In Octoberit was announced that the Control Station(basically a lap counter/timer), for many yearsdiscontinued, would be updated for a newrelease in 2008, no doubt partly to counter theAFX Australia remake of the existing unit.

I would not like to guess how manythousands of laps the original units haverecorded at UK H:O races, for the most partfaithfully and with few problems. Even in thisage of PC programmes the units continue to beused as they give the raw data needed whilstremaining very easy to use (something thatcannot always be said about PC systems, eventhe really good ones). Nonetheless, there areareas for improvement and it does seem thatRacemasters are looking at them.

Improvements under consideration includemaking it mains powered (the current unit usesfour C Batteries) and a lot smaller, rather thanlooking like an ersatz grandstand. In addition,the display might show the gap to the car infront and your average lap time. A pause buttonis also being considered for those times a floorcrash or pile up halts the racing. Another strongpossibility will be the means to colour code thescreen surround for each lane to match the trackcolours, but the most anticipated change focuseson the track interface, probably the biggest faulton the current unit.

The current design uses reed switchesembedded in a white base, which clips under thetrack. The problem is that the base raises thetrack far too much which can cause cars to ‘golight’ and crash or miss laps being counted. In

addition the sides of the base prevent, orcertainly make it tough, you putting two side byside on a four lane club track, and staggeringthem is not only unsatisfactory you have to cutchunks out of the track pieces to do so. If thenew units address this, they will sell very well.Whatever other changes are made would thenbe a bonus. Time will tell.

If the new timer is good news then that ofa new chassis is major news. When you considerthe part previous Aurora and Tomy chassis haveplayed in the development of the hobby, a newchassis promises much. Racemasters have so farsaid the chassis will be lower and narrower thanany current design, as well as lighter andpossibly longer (or adjustable) which has onlyadded to the anticipation. Given that all H:Ocars are held back a little by their chassis, asmaller design has been on every H:O fan’s wishlist for years.

Open wheel cars won’t have to be so highsided and generic (a new Panoz Champcar bodyhas already been announced by Racemasters)and closed wheel ones won’t be so stunted. Theresin casters out there will be able to copy die-casts directly and fit them without modification(not that such an illegal activity goes on ofcourse). More details on the new chassis willbecome available as the year progresses andhopefully by the summer everything Race-masters plan will be revealed and on schedulefor release in the autumn. Start saving themoney now!

Scalextric sent me some info on their 2008cars just prior to Christmas. For me the highlightlooks to be the G2077 Ferrari F430 ‘Scuderia

13January 2008

Ecosse’, and there will also be a ‘Ferrari GT set(G1024) containing two further F430s in plainsilver and red. There will also be a set, G1050,featuring one yellow and one red FiatCinquecento (the new Panda-based version setto be a big hit next summer), and a set (G1044)themed around the next James Bond movie duein November. Current box art features a modernAston Martin motoring past Big Ben, fingerscrossed for an iconic DB5 as well.

In addition, two of the Nissan 350Zs sold inthe Argos set ‘Supercar Showdown’ will beavailable on their own. The red version

(pictured) is listed as G2071 and the white/greenmodel as G2070. The silver version looks likelyto remain as a set-only car, and with the set itselfnow appearing to have been discontinued byArgos, it will rise in value. Meanwhile Round 2,releasing product as Autoworld, have been, incontrast to all the new models covered here,somewhat quiet of late, although their Dukes ofHazzard set (which uses Tomy-compatible track)has been selling well in the USA.

Christmas came and went without the muchanticipated Super 3 chassis or Nascar bodiesappearing and now it would seem that theywon’t be seen until April. Given that the Nascarsare 2005 shapes when Life-Like will be releasing2007 and 2008 ones in the Autumn, if thelicence for the colour schemes is equally datedI fear that AW could crash and burn on these. Ihope I am wrong on that, as up to now they haveserved the hobby really well, and they could stillcome out well if the Nascars they do are uniqueto them and well executed. ■

14

email: kitsnbobs@nscc.co.uk

First up on Kits N Bobs this month is notcars but scenery and accessories. Many ofus spend time and money on cars without

much thought to what the track looks like. I havebeen fortunate enough to obtain exciting newproducts from three companies. First I havebeen speaking to the nice folks at Slot TrackScenics based in Warwick. They are developingsome great stuff to enhance your circuits ordioramas with tyre walls and covers, safetyfencing, marker boards, advertising hoardings,spectator embankments and rumble strips.Hopefully we will incorporate these into ouradditional new five lane wood track planned for2008/9 at Wolverhampton to bring it to life.

The next company is Slot City who areselling some excellent track lighting productswith various styles of illuminated signs and streetlights, these are elegantly simple with a base unitto fix to the trackside with two screws (provided)

and then a plug in lamp post or sign that simplypush fits into the base units jack plug. With 6-12volts either by battery or transformer they givea very realistic lighting level for 1/32nd scale.Finally on the scenery side I have bought somegreat cast trackside figures from Tarn ModelFoundry, in the shape of orange clad marshalsand various “British forest weather” rallyspectators. These figures are some of the best Ihave seen and the weight being cast metalmeans they don’t fall over each time a slot cargoes past on the track. I have produced a picturewith sample items from all three companies, andincorporated them into this month’s dioramashots.

Staying for the moment with accessories,although this time for the cars themselves,Penelope Pitlane have produced their newvintage wheels and photo etched inserts, suitablefor the Birkin Bentley and as replacements forthe older Scalextric and Pink-car vintagemodels. They also have some great new Bugattieight spoke vintage cast inserts, which really lookthe part. I have also finished their new side-winder chassis, which is fitted under the new AABodies’ Lancia D24. I ran this at Wolves andfound the smooth handling to be very sweetindeed, even though I was on standard Nincoclassic rubber rather than Ortmanns and hadfitted a stock Mabuchi rather than somethingwith a bit more fizz. You will have to wait for thepromised head to head review with Rob Hill’snew sidewinder chassis which, while completedand running well enough, doesn’t have a suitablebody fitted to it yet. In a similar vein the AABodies’ Ginetta is running but is waiting for meto find the lilac paint I need to finish the car inits proper colours. One car I did finally completethis month is Maxi Models’ magnificent Can-Am Ferrari 612P as driven by Chris Amon atWatkins Glen in 1969.

Scenery and accessories from Slot TScenery and accessories from Slot TScenery and accessories from Slot TScenery and accessories from Slot TScenery and accessories from Slot Trrrrrackackackackack

ScenicsScenicsScenicsScenicsScenics, Slot City, Slot City, Slot City, Slot City, Slot City, and T, and T, and T, and T, and Tarn Model Farn Model Farn Model Farn Model Farn Model Foundryoundryoundryoundryoundry.....

15January 2008

From OCAR / World Classics Limited thismonth we have a glut of kits with the promisedLink-Aston V8, and the NART Ferrari P2 long-tail both finished and pictured below. Thesehave been replaced on the workbench by thenew Aston Martin DB2, and Alfasud Ti kits. Iwill hopefully have these up and running toshow you next month. Also via World Classicsthe latest four MMK / Slot France are nowhere, these being the Facel Vega MK 500, DeTomaso Panterra LM72, CD Peugeot LM68,and the Cunningham C2R LM51. These fourare all lovely looking slot cars, but do suffer frommechanical frailty as on all four I have alreadyhad to change slipping pinions for tighter fittingones. Also on release in France but yet to hit theUK are the TKP pre-painted kits of the Saab 96Monte Carlo 1962, and the Alpine RenaultA310.

Slot Classics of Spain have now releasedtheir Rob Walker / Stirling Moss Ferrari 250GTSWB for those who had pre-ordered them. Theyhave also announced their next planned releasefor Spring 2008, which will be a road version ofthe Jaguar MK II. Sadly, if you didn’t have astanding order with Slot Classics within days ofthe announcement all five hundred plannedunits had been pre-sold. Moving on to plasticcars I have very little to bring you this monthexcept that the Sloter Opel Mantas are now onsale in the UK in both red “Bastos” and white“Opel Euro team” liveries. These cars feature anangle-winder SCX pro-turbo motor and drop

arm for the pick up and seemed very rapid rightout of the box on both the Slotfire and coppertape tracks at Wolves, I can’t give you any timeshowever as our computer system had thrown amajor wobbly. The tyres, bearings, axles, guide,and the crystal display box all appear to be pureSCX, further evidence of the tie in betweenthese two manufacturers. Lastly for this month,the new Carrera Peugeot 908 Hdi, PorscheGT3, and ’07 Camaro appear to be on releasein the States and should, like the two OpelCommodores released Stateside last month, bewith UK dealers in the not to distant future.Carrera have also released limited editionMercedes GL Class but these seem to have beendone for various German dealers and non-German buyers will probably have to rely oneBay if they want one. ➳

MMK Cunningham C2R and AA Bodies LanciaMMK Cunningham C2R and AA Bodies LanciaMMK Cunningham C2R and AA Bodies LanciaMMK Cunningham C2R and AA Bodies LanciaMMK Cunningham C2R and AA Bodies Lancia

D24 with Pitlane sidewinder chassisD24 with Pitlane sidewinder chassisD24 with Pitlane sidewinder chassisD24 with Pitlane sidewinder chassisD24 with Pitlane sidewinder chassis

Maxi Models 612PMaxi Models 612PMaxi Models 612PMaxi Models 612PMaxi Models 612P, and the OCAR NAR, and the OCAR NAR, and the OCAR NAR, and the OCAR NAR, and the OCAR NART P2 andT P2 andT P2 andT P2 andT P2 and

Link Aston V8Link Aston V8Link Aston V8Link Aston V8Link Aston V8

MMK DMMK DMMK DMMK DMMK De Te Te Te Te Tomaso Pomaso Pomaso Pomaso Pomaso Panterranterranterranterranterra and CD Pa and CD Pa and CD Pa and CD Pa and CD Peugeoteugeoteugeoteugeoteugeot

16

Very finally, this year’s MRE Classic LeMans event for cars up to and including 1961 tobe held on Sunday May 11th 2008 at Wolver-hampton has now sold out, we are running astand-by list but already have four names inaddition to the forty-eight registered drivers.The good news is that the World Classics /OCAR European Saloon Classic for pre-1980cars has now been set for Sunday 19th October2008 and we are taking pre-paid entry bookingsat £7 per entrant. This event will be split forsmall and large saloons based on wheelbase,track and width. I have a full set of details forthose who are interested. ■

MMK FMMK FMMK FMMK FMMK Facel Vacel Vacel Vacel Vacel Vega HK 500 and Slot Classic’ega HK 500 and Slot Classic’ega HK 500 and Slot Classic’ega HK 500 and Slot Classic’ega HK 500 and Slot Classic’s 250GT SWBs 250GT SWBs 250GT SWBs 250GT SWBs 250GT SWB

Sloter Opel Mantas with TSloter Opel Mantas with TSloter Opel Mantas with TSloter Opel Mantas with TSloter Opel Mantas with Tarn Model Farn Model Farn Model Farn Model Farn Model Foundryoundryoundryoundryoundry

rrrrrally spectatorsally spectatorsally spectatorsally spectatorsally spectators

17January 2008

The Southeast Essex based GT Racewaywas founded by Graeme Thoburn andIan Newstead in 1999. In the early days

meetings were held in the hall of a local snookerclub every fortnight and at each meeting thetrack had to be set up and put away again at theend of a night’s racing. The club found its firstpermanent home in 2001 at Progress Road inEastwood and stayed there for one year beforebeing forced to re-locate and return to its rootsfor a time, with meetings being held in a Scouthall and the track having to be set up for everymeeting. Two further relocations have beenforced on the club, but since 2004 it has beenbased in its present location, an industrial uniton a farm complex near Benfleet.

Membership levels have varied over theyears but the club has generally retained a coremembership of around 12-14. As with mostclubs, members come from a wide variety ofbackgrounds.

There is no formal organisation to the club,a three person committee is in place to resolveany issues that cannot be settled by discussionand agreement by members but is rarely, if ever,called upon.

The club runs a members’ championshipeach year. Championship rounds are held foreight of the classes raced and points are scoredbased on finishing positions in the A final, B finaland heats finishing positions. Championshipevents are spread across the year.

What WWhat WWhat WWhat WWhat We Racee Racee Racee Racee RaceAs a result of having an established, thoughsmall, core membership for some years, thenumber of classes raced grew by the year asmembers proposed and agreed new types of car,peaking at 17 in 2006/7.

For 2008 this has been reduced to a total of12, with eight of those comprising the clubchampionship. These are:- ➳

GGGGGT Raceway Slot ClubT Raceway Slot ClubT Raceway Slot ClubT Raceway Slot ClubT Raceway Slot ClubBy Bob Wiles

18

Fly Classics* Open GT*Fly Trucks SCX F1*Ninco Classics* Scalextric Indy/F1*Ninco Angle Winder/GT* SCX GT/LemansNinco Rally SCX Rally*Ninco Touring Slot.It GT/LeMans*

(*denotes championship class)

All classes, with the exception of the OpenGT, are raced in standard or near standard trim.It is an aim of the club to have simple rulesgoverning car preparation that can fit on asingle side of A4. The rules and a list of eligiblecars for 2008 can be found on the club’s website.

Two classes are raced each meeting. Thesetake the form of heats, semi-finals and final.Races are over 10 laps. Whilst this formatmaximises the amount of racing that membersenjoy, it does mean that drivers have to be readyto present their cars as soon as a race is called toprevent late finishes to meetings.

Every six weeks or so the club runs a mini-endurance race instead of sprints. These areteam events where members use their own car(rather than a single car) and run on each lanein turn with the team completing the most lapsbeing the winners. Driving stints are usually 10or 15 minutes duration and lap counts ofbetween six and seven hundred are typicaldepending on the type of cars being raced.

What WWhat WWhat WWhat WWhat We Race One Race One Race One Race One Race OnThe track is a six lane Ninco with a lap lengthof around 135 feet. A couple of members whoare old-time slot racers reckon it’s similar to theold American made King wooden slotcar tracksin its layout. The track is positive wired so thatelectronic controllers work correctly.

The racetrack has recently been fitted withwhite LED track lighting that allows ‘night-time’ and ‘day-night’ endurance racing for GTcars.

Where and When?Where and When?Where and When?Where and When?Where and When?The club is based in Benfleet. Meetings are heldevery Monday except on bank holidays when

racing is moved to Wednesday.The last meeting before Christmas is a fun

event. Recent formats have included a‘Scalextric Metro Challenge’, a ‘Crash andBurn’ whilst running the track in the oppositedirection and also a ‘Handicap Challenge’ withcars of all different classes racing together usinga time-based handicap system.

The club opens at 18.45 for practice withracing starting at 19.45. Meetings usually finishbetween 22.30 and 22.45

New members are always welcome andspare cars and controllers are usually availablefor anyone who wants to come along and havea try.

Contact DetailsContact DetailsContact DetailsContact DetailsContact DetailsAddress; Phone;GTRSC 01702 551225Unit 3 07789764950Nashlea Farm Email;Benfleet graeme@gtmodels.Essex SS7 2XF fsbusiness.co.uk

website;

19January 2008

To round out the “Classic Events” seasonat Wolves we held the Penelope Pitlanesponsored 1.5 litre Grand Prix meeting.

Given the somewhat specialist interest nature ofthe 1.5 litre Formula One period, I had expectedaround twenty entrants and was somewhatpleasantly surprised to receive thirty four pre-paid entries. As ever with these events, fourdropped out due to various last minute crisis butstill thirty was a decent turn out. We held amuch needed practice day on the Saturday asthese cars are very light and narrow withrelatively skinny tyres. Come Sunday and anearly practice session soon showed the aces andhome driver Mac Pinches looked the pick of thebunch with his well sorted Ferrari.

Excellent models were to be seen every-where you looked and David Wisdom even hadan excellent period pit display to present his carsin. Given all this quality the Concours result waslikely to be very tight indeed. Points wereawarded by each entrant for every car excepttheir own and the top five were all fabulous.

However Dave Jones’ magnificent Ferrari Aerostood out from the rest earning him the richlydeserved laurels. Second was tied between JohnPrince’s Lola Mk IV and David Wisdom’sFerrari 158, with John taking second havingscored more perfect scores in the voting. So closewas the event that fourth and fifth were each justone point behind second place with DavidLawson’s Lotus 25b fourth, and newcomer toWolves, Bryan King, fifth with his Cooper. Asnormal all Concours cars had to race in at leastone qualifying heat.

Onto the racing and, as normal, we had ascratch built class, and also one for unmodifiedPenelope Pitlane SM1 Chassis cars. In thequalifying heats both classes were mixedtogether with the distances from all four of thedriver’s heats determining which finals theyended up in. Qualifying caused a bit of a shockfor Mighty Mac as Dick Smith’s Porsche 804qualified over a lap ahead of Mac with a totaldistance of 87.48 laps from Dick’s four runs.Mac, Mick Kerr and Robbie Davies all passed➳

Penelope Pitlane HalfTonner 1.5L Grand Prix

By Phil Insull

DDDDDavid Wisdom’avid Wisdom’avid Wisdom’avid Wisdom’avid Wisdom’s period pit box displays period pit box displays period pit box displays period pit box displays period pit box display

20

the 85-lap mark to make up the four scratch Afinalists. In the Pitlane class I had lent youngAndy Tyrer my Porsche 804, while using myown Ferrari Aero. Andy stormed the Pitlanequalifying and won the Penelope Pitlane award

with 82.5 laps and seventh overall, while thenext best was David Wisdom on 76.9 andmyself on 76.8 having switched to the Porschefor my last two heats. Completing the Pitlane Afinal line up was Lewis Ward.

The Concours 1-2-3 shown herThe Concours 1-2-3 shown herThe Concours 1-2-3 shown herThe Concours 1-2-3 shown herThe Concours 1-2-3 shown here in De in De in De in De in David’avid’avid’avid’avid’s grs grs grs grs great displayeat displayeat displayeat displayeat display

DDDDDavid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’s Scrs Scrs Scrs Scrs Scratch B Final winner and fouratch B Final winner and fouratch B Final winner and fouratch B Final winner and fouratch B Final winner and fourth placed Concours carth placed Concours carth placed Concours carth placed Concours carth placed Concours car

21January 2008

The finals were run to three minutes exceptfor the B finals at 25 laps, and the A finals at 50laps. The Scratch final winners were - E FinalCharlie Prince, D Final, John Prince, and CFinal Bill Charters. In the 25 lap B Final DavidLawson, who had run his Concours carthroughout the entire meeting, won beatingChris Adams and Eddie Grice after a very tightrace. If we thought this was close however wehad underestimated the skills of the Scratch AFinalists. All four drivers completed the fifty lapswith just seven seconds covering them after oneof the most enthralling races I think we haveseen so far at the Wolves Classic events. Thefinishing order was Dick, from Mac, Mick andRobbie but it could so easily have gone to anyone of the four, Mac in particular having hauledhimself in front a couple of times and thenskidding off.

The Penelope Pitlane B final was won byMalcolm Scotto from Dave Sykes and RossTroman. Malcolm using my somewhat crabbingLotus 21, but only after poor Tom Reynolds

retired from a comfortable lead. Sadly Tom wasalso using my Lola MK IV and I felt awful thatmy poor car preparation had let him down. IfI felt bad for Tom, worse was to follow as Idecided that I didn’t want the 50 lap A final tobe a walkover for Andy so I took the Porschewith its Ortmann tyres and made Andy use theFerrari with its less grippy NSRs figuring thatAndy’s superior driving skills should be sufficientto compensate for the slower Ferrari. Sadly I wastotally wrong and the Ferrari’s grip disappearedafter about five laps leaving a slip sliding Andyto finish third some two laps down on DavidWisdom and myself. More shameful was thateven with the quickest car of the four I kepthauling myself in front and then binning it,while David drove a cool, calm fifty laps to sealhis victory.

Finally with Penelope Pitlane’s Steve Wardon hand to present the trophies and prizes,including magnificent ready built Pitlane Lotus18s for the A final winners, it was time to bringa close to the 2007 Wolves classic meetings. ■

Dick Smith’Dick Smith’Dick Smith’Dick Smith’Dick Smith’s Scrs Scrs Scrs Scrs Scratch A Final winning Patch A Final winning Patch A Final winning Patch A Final winning Patch A Final winning Porsche 804orsche 804orsche 804orsche 804orsche 804

22

Audi R10 TDi PAudi R10 TDi PAudi R10 TDi PAudi R10 TDi PAudi R10 TDi Power #8ower #8ower #8ower #8ower #8C2809C2809C2809C2809C2809

By The EditorBy The EditorBy The EditorBy The EditorBy The Editor

AARRGH - it’s a diesel! When it comes tomotive power for race cars I am firmlyin the Jeremy Clarkson camp - diesel

engines are for vans. Who, in their right mind,allowed the things to take part in the Le Mansseries? Apart from which - I don’t much like thecurrent generation of open LMP cars. I thinkthey are ugly and, stripped of their sponsorslogos, only a sports car aficionado could tellthem apart.

Not a good start to a review of Scalextric’slatest offering then - the 2006 Le Mans winningAudi of Biela, Pirro and Werner. So why am Iwriting this? Simple - it arrived just beforeChristmas and I didn’t have time to send it outto a member for review. My garage track is alsofunctioning at last so, in the interests of research,I felt obliged to give it a bit of a go!

The ModelThe ModelThe ModelThe ModelThe ModelFirst though - the box. As you are probablyaware, Hornby have recently introduced a newdisplay case and this is used for the Audi. It isreminiscent of the 70s ‘Super Formula’ itemsand, in my opinion, is a great improvement overthe previous type. No more picking up the thingby the lid only to have the plinth detach itselfand plunge to the floor with the usual disastrousconsequences! It shows off the car very well andstacks neatly - the only addition I could ask foris an inlay card with details about the real car.

I am not the world’s leading expert on LMPcars but a quick web search revealed that thecolour scheme and sponsors logos were, to allintents and purposes, spot on - no doubtsomeone will advise me that the Shell logo is afraction too large and placed 1cm too far backbut no matter, I am not a rivet counter andeverything looked good to me.

23January 2008

Interior detail is somewhat sparse and thedriver suffers from the usual amputated legsyndrome but everything you need to viewwithout taking the car apart is just fine.

On the (Sport) TOn the (Sport) TOn the (Sport) TOn the (Sport) TOn the (Sport) TrackrackrackrackrackAs Scalextric products are designed to run ontheir own track it would be unfair to ignore thecar’s performance in this area so I climbed up tothe loft for an initial test on the plastic stuff. Theresults were fairly predictable - like all similarcars it has a low centre of gravity and a bit of arear overhang so, with the aid of the magnet, itcould be hurled round at an ever increasing paceuntil the rear end let go and it had a largeaccident. No change there then! What didsurprise me was that it emitted an awful noise,similar to the racket that an unsorted SCX carmakes.

On a (proper) trackOn a (proper) trackOn a (proper) trackOn a (proper) trackOn a (proper) trackI soon got bored with that so went down to thegarage to give the thing a serious thrashing ona routed MDF/copper tape track. As the circuithas only been running for a short while it is not‘rubbered in’ yet and, as expected, the standardScalextric tyres gave virtually no grip at all. I wasprepared for this and had a set of Ortmanns tohand - why don’t slot car manufacturers fit themas standard? Even on plastic track they give aserious performance advantage.

At the recommended 12 volts the Audi wasrelatively slow in a straight line but nicelycontrollable round the twisty bits with asatisfying degree of tail out oversteer. Naturallythe garage track is fitted with a decent regulatedpower supply so I whacked the voltage up to 15volts which produced a marked increase instraight line speed and acceleration but acorresponding increase in noise and some rearend tyre chatter in the bends.

At this point the car lost all drive so I had totake it apart to investigate. Fortunately, afterremoving the obligatory six screws, the bodyactually came off without the usual half hourstruggle! The cause of both the noise andtraction loss was soon discovered - the contrate

was a bit loose on the axle and had slippedsideways until it was no longer connecting withthe pinion which was also in the wrong position.

While relocating the various pieces to theirproper places I took the opportunity to lube thegears before returning the car to the track.Everything now functioned properly, althoughthe gear noise was still quite noticeable, and Ispent a pleasant hour or three comparing it toother cars in my stable. Its performance wasroughly on a par with other cars of the sametype and, although it was relatively competitivein a straight line, its cornering powers were notquite in the Slot.It league.

ConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsI don’t know if I copped a rogue car but thestandard tyres were a bit loose and even slippedoff the rims during a particularly hard corneringeffort on the Sport track. I have also not comeacross a Scalextric car that makes as much noisein recent times - even after attending to the gearsit still made a racket. Unless, of course, it isintended to replicate the awful rumbling of adiesel engine - in which case, top marks for scaleaccuracy!

On the plus side - nothing broke off thebody even after several spectacular rolls. At longlast Scalextric have come to their senses andmade the rear wing detachable so it doesn’t snapoff in the first minor accident! Likewise themirrors and aerial are made of a flexible rubbermaterial and will survive almost all off trackmoments. In fact, despite a number of suchincidents, the car survived with hardly a scratch.

Buy it or win it?Buy it or win it?Buy it or win it?Buy it or win it?Buy it or win it?Personally I wouldn’t pay real money for it butthat is down to my own prejudices and nothingto do with the quality of the car. If you like thistype of thing then it is definitely one for theshopping list. The review model is now surplusto requirements so I will give it away to anybodywho can give me some sort of reason why dieselengined cars are the future of motor sport!

Entries to the usual address - post, fax oremail - closing date March 15th. ■

24

Last year the model world celebratedanother anniversary, the Golden Jubileeof G & R Wrenn Ltd of railway fame.

Although the family company was formed inNovember 1950 when George and RichardWrenn signed a deed of partnership, it did notbecome a limited company until 1957, so happy50th Birthday Wrenn.

Now Wrenn is probably best known forrailway items but they were also one of the earlymanufacturers of slot cars with the introductionof the Wrenn 152 Triple Electric Racing Systemin late 1960 ready for the Christmas market.The system was a very unusual 1/52 scale,smaller but very much a competitor to theScalextric system, which was by then owned bythe Tri-ang Group.

Imagine the scene in Christmas 1960through a child’s eye staring through a toy shopwindow. Scalextric were offering 1/30 scale carssuch as the C 54 Lotus 16 and C55 Vanwall withoversize drivers’ heads and minimal detailingusing a large rubber track. Victory Industriescould offer a heavy and complex to assemble tinplate track system running an MGA and AustinHealey, both 1/32 scale cars were very ‘toy like’in design. On to the scene arrives the new boywith very well detailed, tiny Cooper and Ferrariracing cars that can not only race on a table topcircuit…. but overtake with three cars racingindependently on a two lane circuit. The desireto have one must have been overwhelming andI suspect many a child wrote 152 on theirChristmas list.

The Wrenn 152 system started life as a 16volt alternating current (AC) system usingminiature vibrator motors and it sold well, itsbasic price compared favourably with thecompetition.

Some may ask - why design such a uniquesystem? Well, the 1-52 scale would provide a

model that could be raced realistically obeyingthe laws of physics and displaying characteristicssuch as tail slides, yet small enough to have acomparatively large circuit in a suit case. The152 cars could run on direct current (DC) butAC reduced the amount of carbonisation on thecontacts on the vibrator motor points and thepower supply was already in use for the railwaymarket for operating relays and track lights.There may well have been other reasons, but wedo know that George Wrenn considered 152 asone of his greatest achievements.

The vibrator cars were a complex piece ofengineering with very small components andthey were difficult to maintain and keep atoptimum performance, especially for littlefingers and thumbs! As 1-32, 1-24 and H:Oracing models became the established racingscales and grew in popularity, sales of Wrenn152 began to fall. This was possibly supportedby the lack of accessories available for that scale.If you wanted 1-32 scale accessories they wereavailable from several sources such as Airfixmodel car kits. An attempt to halt the declinewas made by introducing the DC motor andmore up to date models such as the beautifulStovepipe BRM and Porsche 804, but salescontinued to fall. The DC motor was aningenious design with a permanent magnetarmature rotating inside an electrical coilmagnetic field.

Wrenn became part of the Lines BrothersGroup and in 1965 took over the production ofHornby Dublo locomotives under their ownname. There appeared no economic sense incontinuing with formula ‘152’ and productionwas finished. Wrenn 152 sets were offered athalf price direct from the factory advertised inModel Cars magazine in November 1966.

This was not the end of the little Wrenn carsthough, later a product named Grand Prix ➳

ItItItItIt’s Not Just 50 years of’s Not Just 50 years of’s Not Just 50 years of’s Not Just 50 years of’s Not Just 50 years ofScaleScaleScaleScaleScalextric!xtric!xtric!xtric!xtric!

By Andy Carmichael

25January 2008

Push and Go was produced, the cars were aMaserati and Vanwall with a modified base totake a rather crude looking magnetic armaturemotor. The bases of these cars were markedWrenn and ran on the same track, but thevoltage was now 9 volt and a push was requiredto start the car! This feature may well have beenthe consequence of using a weak simple motorbut regardless it was used as a marketing feature.I can find little information on this last range ofcars although some unsupported informationsuggests the sets were marketed in Woolworthsas a budget slot car set.

G & R Wrenn is now a privately ownedcompany producing limited editions andproviding spares for the original railway models,some of which uses old parts and stock from theoriginal company. Sadly most of the tools for theslot cars have been lost and only threeproduction moulds are known to exist, yet thisis still not quite the end of 152! In April 2005 theCompany released a Lowmac railway truck witha resin copy of a Wrenn 152 Racing Car as aload. These models were very limited andsuffered some production difficulties causingdelays in release. Most recently, on 7th October2007 to mark the 50th Anniversary, a furtherLowmac was released which carried a goldFerrari Dino as its load, only 50 were producedand again the car is predominantly a resinmodel but this time with cast metal wheels andtyres.

I intentionally have tried not to go into therailway side of Wrenn, if you wish to know morethen have a look at the company website atwww.gandr-wrenn.co.uk which traces thehistory and shows the current product range.

A final thought, today we see digital setsracing six cars to a two lane circuit which usessome pretty complex electronics, yet Wrenn 152could race six cars, albeit with restrictions, 47years ago! Come on Hornby keep up with thetimes! ■

26

Happy New Year to you and I hope youpicked up a few sale bargains on eBayor elsewhere on the internet over the

holiday period as I hint at below. Digital setprices seem to remain buoyant in general whichis to be expected I guess at this time of year. Ithas been fairly quiet in terms of numbers oflistings towards the end of December withnumbers only at the 4500 level in the UK as Iwrite this, having hit some 11000 odd earlier inthe month with a cheap 10p listing day thatbrought out a load of Christmas Buy It Now(BIN) items. Elsewhere, the US is showing 9000listings closely followed by Germany just underthis figure. Of the other main slot markets Spainis just above the 2000 level and France at halfthat amount.

TTTTTop Gearop Gearop Gearop Gearop GearThe trend I have picked up on this month is thata number of sellers have caught on to the factthere are some cracking deals out there frommajor retailers, who do not specialise in slots,making it very attractive to buy sets in particularfrom their sites to sell on again on eBay either asis or split down. Whilst this splitting goes onmost of the year anyway, this month the specialoffer on Scalextric Top Gear themed sets andDigital Ignition sets has seen a flurry of theseauctions to cash in on the Christmas trade andI am sure many more will have been put asidefor a rainy day. As the Top Gear set contains theexclusive and quite attractive white Porschebeing driven by “The Stig”, this has provedpopular fetching around £40 at BIN prices as apair with the Ford GT over the month, thoughactual auctions of the car has seen significantlyhigher and lower figures realised for the Porschealone. Even the exclusive track pieces andcontrols have been selling at slightly more than

one would have expected for standard accessoriesliberated from sets with the six curves making£10. Interestingly enough one seller did not doso well as they only got £33 for the whole set, stillsealed, but then I guess if you spell it Scaletrix notso many were looking at that set, and no I did notmanage to get that bargain. As I write there areoffers on the Scalextric Subaru and Focus sets soI expect to see a few of them early in the New Yearon eBay as well.

Rare DepartmentRare DepartmentRare DepartmentRare DepartmentRare DepartmentOn the rare car theme - the supply of ScalextricBond cars and Auto Union cars seems to havedried up this month though I reckon we couldsee a few more Bond cars surface some-how nextyear if the whispers I hear of 2008 range detailsare correct. Let’s wait and see… Incidentallycontinuing the rare and Modelzone Mustangtheme from previous months, $200 BIN wasachieved in the US with a slightly morepalatable price of £77 for another buyer in theUK. Thanks to some feedback following myreports of black road LE models last month Ihave learnt on the Carrera front there should bewhite versions to look out for shortly as well. ➳

email:ebaywatch@nscc.co.uk

27January 2008

FakFakFakFakFake?e?e?e?e?It is always interesting to see something that looksa bit different and a potentially rare collectorspiece but sometimes you never know whethersomething is a genuine factory issue item or not.There was obviously some concern over oneparticular item that was a red Aston Marshall’scar that attracted a top bid of only £167.However the interesting part was in thedescription where the Spanish seller, on EnglisheBay, was indicating that he thought itpotentially a fake but named the previous sellerwho had sold it. Shall I just say this led to someconsiderable dialogue on the auction in thequestion and answers section between theinterested parties so check out auction310008688033 if you want further details – justtype that number in the search box and thatshould bring the completed auction up whichgoes back further than just by searching bydescription on completed listings. In fact what Iwill do in future is include the odd listingnumber in my prices to make it easier for peopleto search out particular auctions.

SCXSCXSCXSCXSCXThanks to a cheap listing day early in the monthcoinciding with the release of the fabulouslooking Mk 2 Escort, there were many of theseSCX cars listed that day and eagerly snapped upby buyers, particularly the dirty version that islimited to only a 1000 models. Many weresnapped up within minutes at sub £30 BINprices. However, you may have missed the boat,especially by the time you read this, as the goingrate for the dirty Escort seems nearer £40 nowand has even reached £50 in the odd case. Theclean version can still be secured including P&Pfor less than £30 though.

Slot.ItSlot.ItSlot.ItSlot.ItSlot.ItWell the top dollar, so to speak this month in theUK, goes to an Audi SICA01D which broke the£150 barrier closely followed by an early modelSICA01A that made £123. Over the pond inthe US, $800 was all a single bidder needed tosecure eight of the earliest released Porsche

including the Newman car as well as the KourosMercedes and a “free” Vanquish MG car.Several of the earliest Audis hit the £100 markparticularly for the “EU” models. However, it isnot all rosy in the garden selling Slot. It carsthough. It is a bit hit and miss with many of thelatest models being left on the shelf particularlyif listed above the £30 mark as a quick count upshowed only actually around a quarter of the270 Slot. It listings being sold by my reckoningon the UK site. Of interest to those collectorswho like a desirable limited edition number ontheir prize car was a three car Porsche set thathad a reserve of at least $350 for set number4000/4000. However this went unsold havingnot met the reserve price.

PricesPricesPricesPricesPricesPrices as listed and spelt on UK eBay unlessstated, with the time and auction ending day.Note the misspelling theme this month:SCALEXTRICS DUCATI LORISCAPIROSSI C6008 $19.99 (UK eBay sellerlisted in $ on Sunday midday).scaletric 75 bits classic track some unusual rareold £26 (Included pitstop plus £15 P&P onThursday night).Scaletric Mega sound £26.51 (Jaguar Challengeset on Saturday lunchtime).SCALETRIC CATALOGUE 8th EDITION1960,s £4.99 (No bidders on Sunday evening forvery good condition example).old rare slot car and scaletrix 2 new £12.50(three boxed cars - I guess the SCX F40 Totipwas the rare car sold alongside a BrabhamQXR and Mercedes Promarket on Sundaynight).Spanish Scaletrix (superslot) Maserati 250(1957) £25 (Mini Auto LE attracted only 1 bidon a 10 day listing ending Wednesday night).scaletrix truck sisu sl 250 fia etrc 2000 £10 (UsedFly truck model that “goes like a dream on thetrack” on Monday afternoon).Scalextrics rare Aston Martin C57 , originalbox. £27.85 (Blue boxed example possible faintbrown mark on wing on Thursday night).

28

Scalextrix £10.75 (Excellent looking Scalextricstarter man boxed on Thursday night).Very Very Rare Scalextric McLaren SennaC462 Read Why $168.50 (US eBay on Sundaynight).TRIANG SCALEXTRIC A/228REFRESHMENTS KIOSK BUILDING. £97(Unboxed with canopy, step and drainpipemissing but lovely flag on Sunday night).Rare Refreshment Kiosk £46 (Complete apartfrom drain pipe on Thursday morning – a bitcheaper than above!).SCALEXTRIC MEGA RARE JAGUARXJ220 NEW £165.10 (Gold wooden plinthmodel on Sunday night).Scalextric Tinplate Rare 1950’s? Austin HealeyRed 5 £560.50 (Looked like good completeexample but no driver on Sunday night).

Scalextric Batmobile BRAND NEW ANDBOXED #6351 £4.99 (Sunday night andanother from same seller went for £6.05 4 dayslater and yet unboxed examples fetched threetimes as much at different times in the month).Scalextric - 12 genuine Motor Cycle Tyres W/504 £52.56 (Unopened pack of early tyres onSunday night 260191969948).TRI-ANG TRIANG SCALEXTRIC 12 PCbrush & brush arms R X $51 (Unopened packon US eBay on Wednesday night160187957698).SCALEXTRIC RARE SHADE BLUEROTHMANS MARCH FORD 240 C129 £92(Light blue Rothmans car but with paintedairbox on Sunday night).RARE VINTAGE SCALEXTRIC C/65ALFA ROMEO 1933 BOXED £530.99(Sunday morning 320187381048). ■

29January 2008

So far we have prepared the test car (T Car)and experimented with motors, increasingits power so much that it is hard to drive.

This month we are going to be working ontraction, and hopefully get the T Car back topole position.

Traction is about the grip and frictionbetween the track and the tyres of the car.Traction affects how well the car can transfer thepower of the motor to the track, how well thecar can accelerate and decelerate. Grip alsoworks laterally, sideways, and determines howwell the car corners, whether the back end willfollow the line of the road or whether it will slideout. Traction is a vital factor that determineshow the car handles and performs.

Cleaning tyresCleaning tyresCleaning tyresCleaning tyresCleaning tyresOne vital step before each race is to clean yourtyres. Tyres work by having a high level offriction with the track, so that the energy appliedto the wheels is used to move the car forwardsinstead of just spinning the wheels and the carstaying still.

Because tyres are designed out of grippysubstances, they can pick up dirt off the trackvery easily. Dirt has not been chosen for itsgrippy qualities, and so greatly reduces thefriction between your tyre and the track.Cleaning this dirt off will return your tyres totheir original condition and performance, andcan yield a surprising performance andhandling difference.

I have been cleaning the tyres before eachtest run to ensure consistent results. There aretwo main methods for this process, using tape orusing petrol lighter fluid. If you are club racing,check with the club in case there are restrictionson the cleaning method.

I have been using the tape method, whichrequires a roll of ‘gaffer’/’duct’ tape. Themethod is very simple and quick – I fold back acouple of inches of tape on itself and roll therear tyres of the car over the sticky side of thetape. Dirty tyres will leave a trail of dark muck,and I keep rolling until the wheels leave nomarks, pulling back fresh tape if needed.

The alternative method involves squirting afew drops of petrol lighter fluid onto a Jaycloth,and wiping the dirt off with this. With bothmethods, be careful if your tyres have decals orprinting on them, because either method mayremove the detail. If using lighter f luid,remember it is flammable and use in a wellventilated area, and also be careful in case itreacts with the car’s paintwork.

Grip is a function between the tyres and thetrack, so keeping the track clean is equallyimportant. The best way to clean a track is torace on it a lot.

TTTTTyre truingyre truingyre truingyre truingyre truingThis is probably the most fundamental part oftuning that can be done to a slot car and canoften make a tremendous difference to how thecar performs and handles.

It is basically the process of sanding the tyresdown to make sure that they are round and thatfrom the front, they are flat across the profile ofthe tyre. Slot car tyres are small and massproduced in moulds, and once stretched over thehubs are rarely perfectly circular. It is vital thatthey are as perfectly circular as possible for yourcar to drive well.

To illustrate, imagine that your wheel isslightly oval, it has a raised lump on one side.When the car drives slowly, the corner of the carwith this wheel will raise and lower. This is not

The Great NSCC TThe Great NSCC TThe Great NSCC TThe Great NSCC TThe Great NSCC TuninguninguninguninguningExperimentExperimentExperimentExperimentExperiment

By Dave ChangPPPPPart 3: Tart 3: Tart 3: Tart 3: Tart 3: Traction (tyres)raction (tyres)raction (tyres)raction (tyres)raction (tyres)

30

going to help the stability of the car, but the realproblems occur when you drive quickly. Whenthe wheel is spinning fast, the car is lifted up bythe lump, but it does not have time to drop downbefore the lump has come round again. Thiseffect can be seen quite clearly on a rolling road,with the back of the car spending most of thetime floating with no rubber on the road. Whilstthe car is in the air, the tyre cannot transferpower or offer lateral grip for cornering.

Making sure the profile is flat from the frontis equally important, and generally is solved atthe same time. Most hubs have a central ridgeto hold the tyre in place, but usually this is eithertaller or shallower than the tyres need. Thismeans that in most cases the tyres either bulgeor sag in the middle, resulting in only 50% ofthe tyre making good contact with the track. Ifyou sand off the bulge in the middle or ridges atthe edges, you can double your contact patchand grip.

When you look at the Gallardo’s tyres on thetest plate, you can see that they are mainlymaking contact on the inner ridge. Light can be

seen under the central part of the tyre, and thetyre appears to be supported on the mould lineon the outer ridge. The tyre needs some work.

Checking the Gallardo’s wheels forroundness on the rolling road suggests that thetyres are already circular from stock. The backend seems stable with out any bounce orvibration, and there is no sign of the back end‘floating’ as it would if the tyres were oval orlumpy.

To be thorough, the first task is to removethe tyre and true the hub. Here there is a slightsprue irregularity, but it is not raised much. Onsome cars, these and mould lines can be largeenough to affect how the tyres sit, so they arebest sanded flat.

Truing can be performed with dedicated tyretruing machines, where you remove the wheelsor axles from the car which are then driven by astrong motor. These are great for accurately truingtyres, but as long as you are careful, you canachieve similar results without one. Mostmachines are not very suitable for the standardpress-fit wheels that come with most slot cars.

➳TTTTTyryryryryre before before before before before truing - note how little rubbere truing - note how little rubbere truing - note how little rubbere truing - note how little rubbere truing - note how little rubber

touches the trtouches the trtouches the trtouches the trtouches the trackackackackack

Hub irrHub irrHub irrHub irrHub irregularityegularityegularityegularityegularity

31January 2008

I simply use a powerbase track piece whichis not connected to a circuit. It is also easier tosort out the wheels with the body removed: youcan see what you are doing, and the body doesnot get full of bits of sanded off plastic andrubber. To sand off mould lines and lumps fromthe hubs, I removed the rear tyres, positioned therear of the car off the track with the guide in theslot and applied some throttle. Then I used acardboard emery board (nail file) and brought itto the hub’s ridge. The spinning hub sands itselfagainst the board, with high lumps and ridgesbeing removed. This usually takes a few secondsper wheel.

With the hubs sorted, I replaced the tyres andgot a piece of 100 grit general purpose sand paper(people use between 60 and 200 grit, try somedifferent sorts to see which suits your tyres ortemperament best). The only difficult part of theprocess is having enough fingers and hands tohold everything at the same time. You can tapethe sandpaper to the track to make it easier, but Iusually manage without. I span the wheels up andlowered the rear of the car onto the sandpaper,whilst making sure I had good hold on the frontto stop it driving away. Using mainly the weightof the car to apply even pressure on the wheels, Islid the back of the car from side to side a bit (only

SSSSSanding the hubanding the hubanding the hubanding the hubanding the hub

32

a centimetre or so) as the wheels span against thesandpaper. The ridges become sanded andscuffed first, and you can see the areas of truedtyre become wider as the process continues. If thetyres were not round, I would expect to feel theback of the car hopping a bit against thesandpaper until they were true.

I stopped every few seconds to check howthings were going. I also checked thetemperature of the motor and controller, whichcan get hot. Some of the electrical components– particularly the chokes in Carrera cars – canget extremely hot very quickly. Also be carefulnot to melt the rubber of the tyres. If thishappens, your tyres end up coated in a layer thathas less grip than the natural rubber. Allowthings to cool if they get hot to avoid damage.➳

Once you can see that the whole surface of

TTTTTruing the tyrruing the tyrruing the tyrruing the tyrruing the tyreseseseses

The finished jobThe finished jobThe finished jobThe finished jobThe finished job

33January 2008

the tyre has been sanded, the tyre is trued and theprofile flat. I also like to bevel the edges of thetyres. Once the tyres are trued, they can have avery sharp corner at the edges as seen from thefront. This edge can act like a pivot point whenthe car corners and the car is more likely to roll.If these edges are rounded, the car is more likelyto slide, which can be controlled.

To round the edges, I raise the back of thecar and apply throttle, and then use thecardboard emery board to take off the corner.

Finally, I cleaned the tyres and cleaned off all

the bits of rubber from the chassis, andrelubricated the axle and motor. Time to seehow the car performs on the track!

Unfortunately the high speed and balanceof the T Car meant it was not registering lapsproperly on lane 1 – I would normally tune thecar more to sort this out, but that would addanother factor into the equation. Instead, Itested on lane 2, which is a trickier drive.

Lap Times (lane 2):

PPPPProfiling the tyrrofiling the tyrrofiling the tyrrofiling the tyrrofiling the tyreseseseses

34

Std Car (untrued) 6.83sT Car trued tyres 6.51s

The T Car is back in the lead, but that is justpart of the story. Just to get the sub 7s lap times,the Std Car was really on the edge and crasheda lot. It did not get on well with the cambers ofthe corners. The T Car had been hard to drivebefore, but now it was transformed. The T Carnow handled beautifully and predictably, evenon the difficult lane; it was a pleasure to driveagain despite the greater power.

An added benefit of tyre truing is that itmarginally lowers the car’s ride height. This alsolowers the car’s centre of gravity, and brings themagnet closer to the rails, helping withcornering. I retested the T Car’s gauss, whichwas now reading 255 instead of 242: anoticeable increase, and now greater than theStd Car’s 253. The braking was definitelysharper now, down to the ride height. It shouldbe noted that some people do grind their tyresdown more than necessary to simply true themin order to get a lower centre of gravity andgreater magnatraction.

I cannot say how much of the difference isdue to the tyres and how much to magnetism,but the process has made an impressivedifference to the car.

AdditivesAdditivesAdditivesAdditivesAdditivesIn high performance brass chassied sponge tyredracing – which is beyond the scope of thesearticles and my experience – tyre additives area necessity and a big part of preparing the carand the track. The tyres are often made stickyto the touch. Many racers have alsoexperimented with ways of softening the tyres ofconventional ready-to-race cars, using suntanlotion, tigers milk, WD40 or oil.

This procedure is frowned upon by someclubs, others stipulating that the tyre may betreated but must be dry – i.e. leave no residue onwhite paper.

If you have enough of the liquid you are

using as an additive, you can fill a small pot withit and dunk the tyres in. The rubber compoundsare not very absorbent, so it will take between anhour and a few days for there to be a difference.Some combinations of lubricants and tyre canbe much faster than others, and I have heardreports of tyres swelling so much that theybecome unusable, so monitor the processregularly if you take this approach.

My preferred method is to coat the tyreswith a few drops of oil, let that soak in for a fewhours, then recoat, and so on. Every so often Irotate the tyres because the surface oil collects atthe lowest point.

After applying five coats over twenty fourhours, I cleaned the surface with lighter fluidand trued the tyres again. The rubber feltgrippier than before, but not sticky. Now time fortesting:

Lap Times (lane 2):Std Car (untrued untreated) 7.05sT Car treated trued tyres 6.18s

The track was a bit slower today, judging bythe Std Car’s times, but the T Car laps havedropped from 6.51s to 6.18s. The treated tyresyielded a remarkable leap in performance, withthe car much more confident around corners. Ifrules allow, this is a valuable tweak.

Better tyresBetter tyresBetter tyresBetter tyresBetter tyresAs with real cars, different slot tyre compoundsand materials will affect grip and performance.Some companies offer their tyres in a range ofsoftness. Softer tyres generally give better grip.

Beyond this, there are other materials fortyres. Silicon tyres are popular offeringtremendous grip. Some silicon tyres do not truevery well, but since they are quite soft and offerso much grip, the advantages may outweigh thisissue. Silicon tyres can also pick up dirt readily,needing to be cleaned to return their grip. It hasalso been noted that racing with silicon tyres hasan effect on the track where conventional tyresbecome slower than before. The most ➳compelling theory for this is that normal tyres put

35January 2008

down a thin coating of rubber on the track whichhelps them grip. The silicon tyres are so sticky thatthey remove this coating from the track, makingit too clean for normal tyres.

Also available are polyurethane tyres, mostnotably ‘Ortmanns’. These can be trued likenormal rubber, but offer a grip level similar tosilicon. They do not pick up dirt quite as readilyas silicon tyres either, although some people havefound that they adversely affect the track forconventional tyres similar to silicon.

For this reason some clubs do not allowsilicon or polyurethane tyres. If your club doesallow these tyres, it would be a double advantagefor you to use them too: the tyres are better, andnormal rubber will suffer.

The standard tyres on the Gallardo arepretty soft and feel grippy to the touch, but Ishall be trying some Scalextric Sport Plus tyres.These are said to have some silicon content, andhave the shine of silicon tyres, but they trueeasily and it is claimed that they do not affect thetrack in the way silicons do.

A pair of Le Mans Sport Plus tyres were puton and trued. These are stretchier than rubber,and expand a lot under full throttle – so muchso that I suspect in a club race they may not onlylose you performance, they may come off thecar altogether. These really need to be glued tothe hubs with superglue, but I shall try withoutglue to start with. If you glue your tyres,remember to wait for the glue to fully dry beforerunning the wheels, otherwise glue will fly off.

Lap Times (lane 2):Std Car 7.08sT Car Sport Plus trued tyres 6.01s

The Sport Plus tyres have again upped theperformance. Cornering speed is faster andgenerally more predictable; I can use more ofthe car’s power. Magnetism is down a little to250 gauss. This is still more than the T Car’soriginal reading, but close to the trued value.

Front tyresFront tyresFront tyresFront tyresFront tyresMost slot cars are rear-wheel driven. In a rearwheel 1:1 car, the front wheels provide steeringand must have enough grip to guide the car. Ina slot car, the steering is performed by the guideblade in the slot. It is generally agreed that in arear wheel driven slot car, the last thing you wantfrom the front wheels is traction or grip. Theyjust add friction and will slow the car down.

Things are made even worse in cars likethese Lamborghinis where the front wheels arefixed to a common front axle. When the car goesaround a corner, the outside wheel must covermore distance than the inner wheel – yet theyboth turn together. One or both of the wheelsmust be slipping, which is wasting your car’senergy and possibly destabilising the car.

One school of thought is that the frontwheels should not even be there – that a slot carworks best as a tripod – resting on the two reardrive wheels and on the guide. If the guide issupporting the front of the car, the braids will bepressed firmly against the rails making betterelectrical contact. Check your club rules beforepursuing this approach. To achieve this set up,the simplest thing to do is simply remove thefront tyres. If you don’t like the look or rulesstipulate the need for front tyres, you canpurchase ‘skinnies’ or very thin tyres fromspecialist slot retailers. The other alternative isto grind down the front tyres using tyre truingtechniques until they are thin enough not toreach the track.

Not everyone likes the tripod approach.Some feel these are slot cars and as such shouldbe supported on all four wheels. Others feel thatthe tripod approach means that the cars are notas stable as cars supported at four corners, anddo not handle as well. For this set up, the aim isto reduce the friction of the wheels so that theytouch the track firmly but can easily slip.

Depending on the car, it may still be wise tofit skinnies, or thinner tyres than those that camewith the car. Even if the tyres support the car,you want the guide as deep in the slot as possible,and the front as low as possible for a bettercentre of gravity.

36

A harder compound of rubber will have lessgrip, so if available this is a sensible choice.Where rules allow, a common technique toharden the surface of the stock tyres is to paintthem with clear nail varnish. The shiny hardcoat has very little friction and will let the wheelsslip.

The other common method is to slip an o-ring around each front tyre. These are like smallrubber bands with a circular cross section. Whena car has these on the front tyres, the o-ringcontacts the track instead of the tyre. The o-rings are much narrower than the wheel andtyre, so the contact patch and therefore frictionis reduced.

Lap Times(lane 2):T Car standard front tyres 5.97s

T Car tripod: no front tyres 5.54sT Car varnished front tyres 5.38s

The tripod arrangement has the leastfriction at the front and allows the car to sit aslow as possible, and gave a major boost to thecornering and handling of the car. Some carsmay become destabilised without front wheels,and liable to tipping over, but the Gallardoworked well with this set-up displaying howmuch the friction at the front end had beenholding the car up. The car worked even betterwith varnished front wheels, indicating that theGallardo benefits from the extra stability thatthe front tyres give.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionIncreasing traction with trued tyres and differenttyres has transformed the T Car from anunmanageable beast to a pleasure to race, andhas had significant effects on the lap times. Iwould recommend always truing your tyres, thecars are much nicer to drive, and it is onemodification which is normally allowed in boxstandard club racing.

If you are a speed demon, then you alsoneed to consider additives or upgrade tyres.They do make a considerable difference and letyou get a lot more out of your car.

Do not overlook the front wheels and tyres,work here also makes a considerable difference.Cumulatively, work on the tyres and traction hasknocked a good second off the lap times andtamed a very high revving motor on amoderately twisty circuit.

Next month we will look at transmission andgearing to see whether we can get even more outof the car. If you can’t wait, read more in ‘TheSlot Car Handbook’ published by Crowoodpress. ■

37January 2008

High performance is not a term onewould normally associate with SCXslot cars, so when I happened upon a

plea from our very own Gareth Jex to reviewsuch a item, I was more than a little intrigued –especially as the car on offer was none otherthan one of my favourite Le Mans Prototype(LMP) cars – the Audi R8, the latest offering inthe SCX Pro range of slot cars.

First ImpressionsFirst ImpressionsFirst ImpressionsFirst ImpressionsFirst ImpressionsThis offering from SCX into the ‘performance’niche in the slot car racing market comespackaged in an attractive glossy cardboard boxwhich gives little away as to the contents. Thesecomprise of a clear (transparent) body shell ofthe Audi R8 LMP – a proven race winner in theLe Mans 24 hour annual event and AmericanLe Mans Series races (ALMS) worldwide, -complete with driver or at least half a driver,plastic chassis with SCX Pro Speed motorattached, spare pick-up guide, length of braid,spare motor cradle, hexagonal wrench andbrake assembly. The chassis already has alloywheels attached front and rear together with aplastic 26 tooth crown gear and 10 tooth pinion.These are all held in place in a foam rubber

inner container and prevented from falling allover the carpet on opening by a transparentcellophane cover- quite a ‘professional’appearance but one that most racers wouldprobably do without if this is to be a pure racerand not just a pretty boxed ‘shelf queen’

Lifting the foam tray out of the box revealsa comprehensive ‘Driving and MaintenanceGuide’ in no less than nine different languages,none of which included my local language‘Black Country’! - Still ‘yo cor hav ev’rythin’.SCX Tecnitoys are therefore presuming that thislatest offering in the Pro range will be a hit acrossEurope and most of the Western world if thebooklet is anything to go by.

The guide gives general advice on- guesswhat? - driving and maintenance – but also goesinto specifics appertaining to the setting up andracing of the Audi contained in the box. Forthose of us that sometimes need a reminder ofjust how to drive a scale automobile at speedaround a track (I definitely include myself in thiscategory) the booklet contains some reasonablyuseful material- albeit in a ‘loosely ‘translatedform. The tips explore the bodywork, wheelassemblies, ‘dynamic braking’ (more of whichlater), transmission ratios, pick up guide, motoretc, etc. This is then followed by a couple ofpages on how to drive a circuit and the pitfallsthat many of us succumb to all too frequentlywhen going for that extra quick lap. So all in allnot a bad little booklet for those of you that mayneed a gentle reminder or those of you new tothe hobby but wishing to avoid the embarrassingquestions you feel you need to ask of the ‘hotshot’ in your local club who can make evenRevell and Carrera cars seem competitive onrace night.

So having read the booklet, (missing outseeing the film and buying the tee-shirt), we feastour eyes on the contents of the box. Thetransparent body, weighing in at an impressively

SCX Audi Pro GlassworkSCX Audi Pro GlassworkSCX Audi Pro GlassworkSCX Audi Pro GlassworkSCX Audi Pro GlassworkRRRRRef 50570ef 50570ef 50570ef 50570ef 50570

By PBy PBy PBy PBy Paul Leyshonaul Leyshonaul Leyshonaul Leyshonaul Leyshon

The attrThe attrThe attrThe attrThe attractivactivactivactivactive ‘boxed’ package that concealse ‘boxed’ package that concealse ‘boxed’ package that concealse ‘boxed’ package that concealse ‘boxed’ package that conceals

the Audi R8 Glasswork and its associatedthe Audi R8 Glasswork and its associatedthe Audi R8 Glasswork and its associatedthe Audi R8 Glasswork and its associatedthe Audi R8 Glasswork and its associated

sparsparsparsparspareseseseses

38

svelte 16gms looks to my eye to be a reasonablyaccurate portrayal of the full size car – here Imust digress - I have to admit that I am aparticular fan of this type of sports car the LeMans Prototype (LMP), which I have observedat close quarters at Le Mans, on severaloccasions come rain or shine (mostly rain). Inmy humble opinion these classes of sportprototypes bring to the fore what racing is allabout – speed, aggression, aesthetic lines andpure noise, (before the advent of diesel power)giving the racing fan a real adrenalin rush atclose quarters – these beasts cost megabucks andthe drivers fortunate enough to be given a raceseat are usually the best of the best - a certainDTM driver by the name of Tom Kristensenwill vouch for that.

So given the racing pedigree of the real carhow does this offering from SCX shape up?

The kit chassis plus motor and wheels plustyres etc weigh in at 60g which, for those astutemathematicians amongst the readers, gives acombined weight of 76gms. Comparing this toa similar car, in this case a Spirit Dallara racingversion we find that the SCX Audi is actuallysome 6gms lighter, so it’s no heavyweight. Themotor cradle, of which there are two provided– one for long can, one for Mabuchi typemotors, seems reasonably sturdy. The axle,crown gear and rear wheels are held in place onthe motor cradle by spherical brass bearings andthe whole unit is able to move back and forth inthe chassis by means of three lugs that fit intocut-outs on the chassis ( a little like the ProSlotPorsche/Ferrari.) A small grub screw positionedabove these slots allows one to reduce or evennegate the amount of travel of the motorassembly. The spare motor cradle included inthe box allows for the use of most aftermarketmotor upgrades, so it all looks reasonablypromising.

As mentioned earlier a feature of the kit is‘dynamic braking’ – this consists of a smallflexible quarter circle device with a retaining lugthat fits onto the chassis directly behind thecrown gear. It is held in place by a screw whichallows lateral (forwards/backwards) movementof the device to be regulated. Thus if the motorcradle and attached crown gear are allowed tomove freely backwards and forwards underdeceleration/acceleration, then this ‘dynamicbrake’ is allowed to come into effect- just howmuch so depends upon the positioning of thedevice relative to the crown gear – this accordingto SCX allows for greater braking force than themotor alone would provide.

The transmission ratio provided (26 toothcrown gear - 10 tooth pinion) gives greaterspeeds and higher torque on bends, againaccording to SCX but I am led to believe thatthey intend to produce a range of tuning upparts to supplement their Pro range, allowingthe racer to chose particular gearing setups fora particular track.

The Pro series motor fitted has been re-designed internally – new windings and partssubject to wear are designed to last longer and➳

The contents – see thro’ body shell, chassisThe contents – see thro’ body shell, chassisThe contents – see thro’ body shell, chassisThe contents – see thro’ body shell, chassisThe contents – see thro’ body shell, chassis

with aluminium wheels attached, sparwith aluminium wheels attached, sparwith aluminium wheels attached, sparwith aluminium wheels attached, sparwith aluminium wheels attached, spare motore motore motore motore motor

crcrcrcrcradle and ancillariesadle and ancillariesadle and ancillariesadle and ancillariesadle and ancillaries.....

Close up of dynamic brClose up of dynamic brClose up of dynamic brClose up of dynamic brClose up of dynamic braking craking craking craking craking cradle – to theadle – to theadle – to theadle – to theadle – to the

rrrrrear of the crown gear which engages theear of the crown gear which engages theear of the crown gear which engages theear of the crown gear which engages theear of the crown gear which engages the

device as the motor crdevice as the motor crdevice as the motor crdevice as the motor crdevice as the motor cradle movadle movadle movadle movadle moves backwares backwares backwares backwares backwardsdsdsdsds

under decelerunder decelerunder decelerunder decelerunder decelerationationationationation

39January 2008

wear better- time will tell! No variables can beadjusted on the motor – the only thing possibleis to attach it firmly to the chassis next to thepinion by means of a screw to prevent unduemovement. As mentioned, the rear axle andwheels are held in place by the hemisphericalbrass bearings which click into place on themotor cradle. The aluminium wheels are held inplace by means of the familiar grub screwswhilst the front wheel assembly/axle iscontained within two plastic extensions to thechassis. The amount of ‘free play’ can bereduced by means of grub screws located in theunderside of the chassis and able to be screwedup into the axle to reduce/stop any up/downmovement. The aluminium wheels themselveshave plastic inserts which, however, bear littleresemblance to those on the full size car. Thefront tyres/ wheels measure 16x9mm, the rears18x9mm and are shod in what appears to bereasonably grippy, if rather narrow, slicks.

The Driving ExperienceThe Driving ExperienceThe Driving ExperienceThe Driving ExperienceThe Driving ExperienceSo we have a lightweight GT with no paint/decals on the shell to add extra weight with allthe bells and whistles to make it a quick runner,perhaps even to match those cars that mostserious racers include in their garage, namelythe hugely successful and incredibly quick

Slot.It, NSR and Ninco Pro Race stable mates.Only one way to find out- a trip along to mylocal club track and one that many of you willknow and perhaps some may have even racedupon - namely Wolverhampton, the home ofthe Wolves International Track –a four lanerouted track and the newer Slot-fire three lanerouted track, machined with Germanicprecision affording a lovely smooth racingexperience. The International track is used forthe various events that our club hold throughoutthe year – Mac Pinches hosts his Early Birdsextravaganza, Phil Insull invites us to competein early GT/Le Mans endurance races andSaloon car classes and we hold a round of theever popular Slot.It challenge –so these tracksare not for the faint hearted. First problem wasthat on the night I turned up to test the package,our juniors night, it seemed to be rather wellattended and as well as the regular club racing,many juniors were taking the time to set up carsfor the next round of the aforementioned Slot.Itchallenge.

Never mind, pack the pit box back up afternoticing just how fast some of the Wolvesjuniors really are and I decide to try again laterin the week. Friday is the club’s league night- allthe serious racers (plus me) gear up for hotlycontested heats in whatever racing category we

The assembled car – rThe assembled car – rThe assembled car – rThe assembled car – rThe assembled car – ready to ready to ready to ready to ready to raceaceaceaceace

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have decided, according to our race programmewhich is announced post Christmas and workedout for the entire 12 months’ racing. Now those‘serious’ racers reading this will realise thattrying to prise some folks off a track to test someso called ‘wacky racer’ when there are points atstake is not an easy task – last minute tyre andmotor changes plus trying to knock an extra 1/10 of a second from lap times is understandablyof utter importance and who am I to interfere.

Biding my time and not to be put off, I gavethe previously assembled Audi a quick oil using3in1 (pinion, crown gear and axle bearings) andinduced some tyre grip by means of a roll ofduck tape. A few tentative laps first around theSlot-fire track proved quite surprising – the carwas reasonably quiet (unusual for the SCX carsI had raced before) and showed a surprisingamount of grip despite the aforementionednarrowness of the rear tyres, not glued andtrued in any way and, as I mentioned, only givena quick rub over the duck tape. After about 20laps I felt reasonably ‘in the groove’ and gave thecar another liberal dose of oil, cleaned the reartyres again and set off again. Using thecomputer assisted race management system Iput in 30 laps and managed a best time of 8.162seconds. During this time I wasn’t aware thatthis ‘see-through’, racer wasn’t any moredifficult to follow on track than a ‘solid’ car. Tocompare like with like I then gave my SpiritDallara lightweight package a try- again oilingthe running gears/bearings and cleaning therear tyres. I quickly completed another 30 lapsand found that the best time was 8.110 seconds– this achieved with a Scale Auto 25.000 rpmmotor fitted. So, on first impressions the Audilap times weren’t too shabby- skinny tyres(noticeably narrower than those on the back ofthe Dallara, standard motor etc. etc).

I had also employed the use of the dynamicbraking effect – or so I thought - but driving theAudi around I didn’t really notice much of anenhanced driving style, it didn’t noticeably brakequicker or later into a corner than when I latertried to repeat the times with the brake effect notin situ (at the rear limit of its travel in relationto the crown-gear).

Noticing a gap in proceedings on theInternational track again, I went for the same setup as before- oil, tyre clean and dynamicbreaking in situ- again after about 30 laps Imanaged to squeeze my lap time down to 8.8seconds (the Wolves International track beingsomewhat longer in length than the Slot-fire).The Dallara was running around 8.2 secondswhich many of you will know from your ownexperience on the track isn’t mighty quick butsteady. I cheekily asked one of our ‘young guns’Andy Tyer to see what he could manage and hesoon had the Audi lapping around the 7.9second mark – embarrassing or what? I put itdown to my age and failing eyesight – so what’she doing reviewing an out and out racer I hearyou say! After a few minor adjustments I stillfailed to achieve the time set by Andy and soretired gracefully from the track, kicked theguide dog and collected my white stick on theway out!

What does it all mean?What does it all mean?What does it all mean?What does it all mean?What does it all mean?A good question I hear you say- especially forthose of you who have managed to get this farwithout falling asleep, dying of boredom ordeciding that I’m a failed boy-racer trying toregain his youth. If you were spending £39 ona pocket rocket would you be sufficientlyimpressed to buy this SCX high performancecar, say over a Slot.It McLaren GT1 or Nissan390 – no sane racer would forgo the lure of thelatter over a car which costs 10% more at least(depending on which dealer you can negotiate adiscount with) and then probably having tospend more money on replacing the motor forthe latest super fast NSR Shark, Slot.It or ScaleAuto and then to induce some grip splash out onsome fatter rims and rubber to leave sizeableskid marks (rubber- not the underpants variety)on the track. Then of course the overridingdecision to be made would be is it worth theextra money just to be able to barely see theAudi zooming around the track before decidingthat you need to paint it – usually in a favouritescheme that no manufacturer has come up with.That is until you spend a great amount of hoursperfecting the finish, lovingly adorning it with ➳

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decals only to read that Fly, Ninco, Scalextricand Uncle Tom Slot Car Cobbley and all arebringing out the very same scheme. Yes, the carcan be made competitive but why would youbuy one when the market place is awash withofferings from other manufacturers. It is truethat even Slot.It cars on race day bear little orno resemblance to the car initially purchased.Slot.It parts could and will fit into the SCXpackage so take your pick.

You see I still believe that despite mymisgivings about this offering from SCX theyproduce some very fine cars, notably Rally, andthe detail and finish on most of the range isimproving with each new model and those arethe cars I have grown up with and love to race.They were noisy to start with, had incredibly outof true grooved rubber shod wheels but once runin were a great deal of fun to race and gave somereally quite close and exciting races on Scalextrictype tracks – but only against similar SCX cars.In those days, the more astute were not slow tofit the Pro Turbo motors that gave the extra‘humph’ and to true wheels and tyres to improvegrip. I believe that SCX are trying to break intoan extremely competitive market with severalwell established pure racing brands already firmfavourites with many diehard racers. I don’tthink there are sufficient club racers out thereprepared to spend a not inconsiderable amountof money on this kit, and then some more,purely to be on par with the likes of thecompetition.

We also have other new manufacturerscoming into the market, such as Avant Slot andSloter whose products are comparable andfaster without the cost of additional accessories.Then we have that clear body shell – could youpaint in your own particular scheme from theinside out aka the Lexan body type of racer –probably, but very fiddly to do and is it worth theeffort? To the serious racer and enthusiast I don’tsee that it holds any attraction. The ‘dynamic’braking effect, perceived by SCX to be a strongselling point for the club and competition raceris of little benefit, since most racers prefer toutilize a controller that regulates braking,

acceleration and speed in measured amounts,that can be adjusted mid-race if necessary –something that you just cannot do with theinbuilt, so called, dynamic braking set-up. Tosum up I must applaud SCX for entering intothe spirit of competition in launching the range(of which the Citroën Xsara and Audi R8painted body versions were the first) but I feelthat unless they intend to produce cars that noother manufacturer is planning to produce, thenthey will have serious problems convincing theslot racer to buy them. I have no doubt thatthere are racers out there who may be readingthis review who will disagree with myjudgements or think it too harsh – I can onlyconvey to the reader my honest opinion, forwhat it’s worth. I would be interested to hearfrom anyone that is able to make this review caras quick in a race as say a Slot.It Nissan or NSRMosler without scrapping the majority ofcomponents and starting again. ■