SCX Mercedes SLS AMG - GT3 #7

Review by Keef921

The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG, replacement for the Mercedes McLaren SLR, is one of the latest offerings from SCX. F1 fans will recognise it as the current safety car and computers gamers from the cover of Gran Turismo 5.

The review model is based on the Black Falcon teams entry to the 2011 Dubai 24H race. It is quite a nice looking car, though when I first saw it in its box I didn't think so. Once the box lid was removed and the car taken off its stand it seemed different, not quite so bulky. Having studied the real car SCX do seem to have a pretty good representation of the gullwing Merc, but there are a few things I have spotted that are not quite right.

The side vents on the model have a divide which is on the road car, but not on the race car. Also the rear diffuser, to my eyes, sticks out more on the SCX car.

The livery is accurate apart from the yellow part of the sun visor which comes down a little too far, so let's give it 8/10.

The model is supplied in the standard display case. After removing it and detaching the body shell one of the first things I noticed was that it is fitted with an RK42 motor. This is one of the new types of motor designed to allow for digital racers. The old RX SCX motors were just pulling too much current for the digital chips to handle. The RK 42 motor is slightly shorter in length to the old motors so a direct swap isn't possible. I haven't tried to exchange the complete motor pod, so that might be feasible.

The chassis is attached to the body with 3 screws, 2 at the front and 1 at the back. These shouldn't need to be loosened to allow for body roll when racing due to the motor pod. The front wheels are attached to the chassis via stub axles to allow room for a digital chip to be installed at a later date. The interior is a flat driver tray and the car has front Xenon headlights as well as rear lights.

While the body was removed I took note of a few vital statistics, the front wheels are 19.75mm x 9.75mm and the rears are 20.75mm x 11mm. The wheelbase is 83.6mm and guide to rear wheels is 100mm. Rear track is 62.5mm.

The wing mirror s and the rear spoiler are made from solid plastic and would be very precarious in a high speed 'off'.

SCX GT cars are a popular class at the local clubs I race at and the Corvette C6R has proved to be one the most dominant of the pack, although a well run in Ferrari 550 gives them a good run for their money. It just so happened that when I received the car to review it was 'Alton and Winchester slot car clubs' race night so I thought I'd take the Merc along for a test drive.

Well move over you Vettes and prancing horses, there's a new kid on the block! The Mercedes was placed in white lane, notoriously the slowest lane on the track. This didn't seem to matter as the SLS just romped off into the distance. It even managed to lap the rest of the field within 8 laps of a 10 lap race around a 70' MDF track. That's straight out of the box, nothing done and all the other cars are well run in. Another thing that we noticed was that the RK motor has none of the natural braking of its predecessor and rolls on into the corners, as the tracks we race on are not wired for brakes this makes it a very different drive to earlier SCX cars.

I know what car I will be using next time SCX GTs are picked and if you want to wipe the floor with the opposition then you'll get your hands on one quick.

December 2011