Jamie, I think it is more hit and miss than the fact they are ALL bad, there are reports in the USA - Gene Molson for example, says his run great out of the box.
I have to clear something up and eat abit of humble pie here (but only a little!
..
In my review I stated these were shelf queens, designed and built as such, with not alot of chance for running on a slot track.
That was hasty and ill conceived - sorry Fly, I did you no favours there - here is why..
I raced my Number 9 last night in Zürich and won 7 out of 8 heats outright. Not bad for a car I said was a dog
how?
Ok, first I DID have to do some work on the car (all cars have to be worked on to be competitive, regardless of make or series), but the simplest actually gave the best overall result - I shaved a little from the inside of the front arches and stopped the wheels binding.
The GT40 requires way more than any other Fly Classic and this is why I say only a little humble pie is to be consumed.
Apart from the usual tuning tricks - oil running gear, glue loose parts, true tryes some etc etc..
I did the following..
1 - Replaced the oversized (oversized for racing NOT looks - they lift the guide height as is) front tyres with Pink Kar low profiles. Part Number - RV-003
2 - I fitted a 'cut down and shaved to fit' Slot.It guide. Part number SICH06
3 - Apart from gluing the loose rear wheel on, I trued the rear tyres which was alot more effective and alot easier with the new compound rubber. I DID find I also had to glue the rubber to the rims and they were slipping though.
4 - I also added 7 grams of weight behind the guide, easy access for which is given by the neat (also missed in the review) removeable front scoop assembly..
5 - One thing I did point out in the review as a weakness was borne out during my racing fray - The interior tray detached from the bodywork at the rear (see pic above), meaning the chassis was held via two seperate parts of the car. I had removed the interior tray earlier to do the cockpit and chassis mods Nuro talks of in the review, I also removed the front nose lip that seated the chassis and trimmed some from the sides, front and rear of the chassis all round. This gave a little extra body roll, enough to compliment the built in rear roll.
So, with all this work I have a sure winner with a balanced, stable and fast car, showing great breaking ability.
However the work above is over and above the usual so for now, for the layman, I think the GT40 remains a shelf queen. I hope the rumours of a new chassis on the next issue are true and that they address the downsides.
