Review of the Team Slot. Renault Alpine A110 No.34 - 'Jagermeister'. 

By bleep. 

Team Slot are based in Spain and have been producing a wide range of cars since 1993. They produce both plastic and resin body shells, though the resin shells are limited to 1000 units of each model and are hand painted. The finish on these cars is not up to that of other manufacturers but it does add to the character. They are desirable models. This Renault is a plastic one. 

Brief history of the 1:1 Car 

I tried to find some history on the "Jagermeister" Renault A110 but after fifteen pages of Google I gave up. I can find no real life images to prove this is other than a fantasy by Team Slot. If there really was one, will you let me know. Though the A110 itself has a great rally pedigree. The Alpines history can be traced back to just after World War 2. It had early success at Le Mans and Sebring. The name came from success in the “Coupe des Alpes” and the firm was named Alpine in the late 60’s the company worked very closely with Renault and Renault Sport was born. As the car was developed in 1962 the A110 (Berlinetta) was created. This had a 956cc engine of 51bhp, by 1974, the little car was handling 1800cc engines developing 180bhp+: with a competition weight for the car of around 620Kg, producing a performance that was very high! It had attained outright wins in the Coupe des Alpes and other international events, including two 1,2,3 wins at the Monte Carlo Rally. In the late 70’s it was replaced with the A310.

. Along with "Jagermeister" having it's own history, I'm just not sure that they were ever put together as one. 

Out Of The Box

 I got this car for Christmas, at the time I only had my digital track, so I chipped it immediately and got it running just like a kid with a new toy! I had to have it working straight away. It performed OK on the track for a few laps then it would only work if it had a push start! Now I can remember having a 1:1 Simca of this era that behaved in this fashion but this was taking modelling too far! But what could I do, I'd drilled a hole in the chassis stuck glue all down one side, there was no way I could send it back to the retailer? What did I do, I mentioned it in passing on the Slot Forum, this was not a ploy on my behalf, at the time I was quite frustrated, I got a PM from "Jimmy in Greece" he was willing to have a look at it for me, he was familiar with these motors, what could I say, it was in the post the next day! I had never spoken to Jimmy before, it just shows what a tremendous group of people populate this site. By the end of the week I had it back! Jimmy had found the fault; no it wasn't a new alternator and battery that was the Simca! All it had been was a touch of grease in the wrong place, but he had bench tested it and it was now fine. I got it back but in the mean time I had used the chip in another car, I needed another track, an analogue rally track and you all know what happened yes, the idea for the "Hawaiian Tropic Rally" had been formed. This little car has a lot to answer for. 

On track Performance 

Testing on a rally track was a long time in coming, but sure enough this was one of the first cars I used. I was not disappointed either, rear wheel drive it stuck to the track like glue, It has a magnet in it of course but on wood it is useless, the motor works well even with the standard Scalex power and throttles, around my rally track it is the car that I am most confident with I can't give exact timings as I do not have any timing mechanisms installed YET! But this is the environment for this car it looks and feels right. I've also run it on Classic Scalex track, zipp's "Box Mountain" and it likes classic track. Fun factor! I wish there was a means to measure this as this car would certainly score high in my book. It has the latest TS-6 motor which revs nicely, though for SSD use I would ensure you fit motor suppression as from conversations I have picked up that Team Slot tend to be electrically noisy. It has brass bearings in the back but the front wheels just float.

What would be its running partners? Well think back a few years and pick any rally car, I would stick with cars of the same ilk, 2WD it will compete well with Lancia Deltas or Stratos so they will have to be added to my shopping list, maybe some Alfa's too, and guess what they are made by Team Slot as well. 

What's Under The Body 

This is a basic model inline motor, flat chassis, floating front wheels, no working lights, nothing but plain and simple, there is something to be said but this is built to the K.I.S.S. school. I have had one problem solved so there is nothing left to go wrong (I hope). The front wheels do rattle, and the body and chassis could do with a better fit as they are only held together with two screws. I have done no other work to it yet. I do intend to add some silicon rear tyres, and somehow stop the rattling but that's slow time for me, as long as it works I'm happy. 

Interior 

The interior of the car is like the rest of it simple. No finishing touches on the dash board, the driver and co-driver dressed in white fireproofs with slight facial coloration, is as far as it goes, but it is something any modeller could and would probably enjoy putting right that's anther task I have set myself One day!

Exterior

Well I can find fault with the exterior too, but it is justified. The two front fogs just seem to be dropped on. I didn't think they would last a smash but its amazing this car has been "thoroughly" tested to the limit and beyond, it has been into the barriers loads of times and they are still there. Everything on the car just seems a little crude, BUT it works it looks just right. I have always been a "Jagermeister" Colours fan in any-case but this just reinforces that feeling, there is some thing special about this car that isn't immediately obvious but the look grows on you.

Overall

So what do I think of the car overall, I am sure you have already got the picture it's not the first car anyone would go out and buy, but it would make a valuable contribution to any Rally car collection. I like it as it evokes memories of an era of rally cars that I recall fondly. It looks right. Despite its faults it is one I would buy another of? Well I already have! I would recommend them to most people but they are not going to blow your socks of on the "Sport" track. They are amazing fun on a twisty rally track. As for the Simca these are available from "Team Slot" too but that's another review!

Thanks for reading my review, if you have any comments or questions I would love to hear from you.