1/32 Vintage Revell comes back to life

13813 Views 66 Replies 16 Participants Last post by MrFlippant, Oct 22, 2011

Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · Jul 31, 2011 (Edited by Moderator)

I'm reviving my 40 year old 1/32 scale Revell set. 55 feet of track on a light weight 5'X12' torsion box table in my garage. The table will be on an electric winch that will raise up to the ceiling. I've selected a layout and am now about half way finished building the table.

Track layout

Test of 1/4" Ventura tape on track

Test of soldering brass strip into track for power tap

I pulled the stock Revell contact rail out of the track and cut a notch in it

Brass strip under track. From here I can solder a wire on

Track numbered and awaiting table

Baltic birch plywood for table top and bottom

Taping tool for laying down tape. Sweet!

Pins on bottom of taping tool slide in track to assure easy alignment of tape on track

Laying out the 5'X12' torsion box table

Ripping the ribs for the torsion box. I don't have a table saw so I built a sled for my circular saw. Now I get nice straight consistent cuts

Pile of ribs. Main ribs (2 - 12' and 5 - 5') are 1X 1 3/4" KD pine. Secondary ribs will be 1/4" ply.

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Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · #61 · Sep 23, 2011

It has been a while since I posted photos. Lots of work on the track has been done. Not all of it is so obvious. But now the track is up and running though I haven't copper taped it yet. I wanted to get it going and test the layout first. I made supports for the elevated parts out of 1/8" and 1/4" BB ply. the overpasses are screwed to 1/8" veneer. White high-banked walls are 1/4" foam board that I scored every 2 1/4" to help make the bend. I attached the walls with 3M double sided foam tape. It ends up looking like formed cement walls at NASCAR tracks. I am also making borders out of black foam board on some of the turns.

It is a blast to drive and feels good after 30 years.

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loosesalute

· #62 · Sep 23, 2011

That`s really impressive Mike.
You`ve made an awesome track & I`ve enjoyed watching the layout develop.
Do you really have to copper tape it though?
Your layout is so original, & that old Revell track looks lovely as is.
Cheers,
Kev.

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Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · #63 · Sep 23, 2011

Thanks Kev. Yeah, I really like the look of the track too. So glad I didn't clean the rubber off. I'm going to run it as is for a while and see how it goes. Right now I have some weak connections that pop up since it isn't all screwed down. I was quite surprised how well it worked after I cleaned the rails.

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Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · #64 · Sep 24, 2011

Sealevel - nice work chopping down that track. Very creative.

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Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · #65 · Oct 7, 2011

Finished cutting all the borders out of black foam board. Starting to screw the track down so I had get the grass mats cut so they could slide under the track. Sticking down the borders with double sided foam tape. It has been fun racing even in the unfinished state and it has helped determine where to put the boarders and what shape they should be. More ARMCO barriers to come and a few of the cement barriers. The larger white walls will still get some trimming now that I see where they are not really necessary.

Finally settled on a name - Mancavia Motor Speedway

Gratuitous truck shot

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Mike Buettner

Discussion Starter · #66 · Oct 22, 2011 (Edited by Moderator)

I am so happy I am doing this project. I have had more fun the past few weeks than I ever would have imagined. Even without the taping the track works nicely. Layout is good and challenging with lots to still learn. Sorting out the right voltage and controllers is still going on. So far I have just been running old bare Parma Womp Womp chassis with new sponge tires. They scream. But I want more true 1/32 scale with a retro look. Seems fitting of the track. I did decide to get silver colored (tinned) copper tape per recommendation by a few posters. That tape is Venture 1660 and is tinned on both sides. Same spec otherwise to the all copper tape. I'm also collecting some 1/32 hard body scale models for scratch building. Scenery still needs a lot of work.