[sacesta]

Just got my new Olympus E-1 in the mail today so I figured I'd begin to get acquainted with it by taking some snaps of WTR.
I'm leaving in a few days for a 2 month drive across Canada and the US and haven't got time to do these pictures justice. When I get back in November I'll light the track up right and get some good pix.
Just wanted to give you some idea of the progress over the past few months.
Click my 'Gallery' link at left to see the pix.
Best Regards,
Steve

 

[Slotrace.dk]

Looks okay to me!
But I need a layout of the track.

 

[Wankel Ickx]

Very nice looking track. Great trees.

Did I just type that?

I'll ditto the track plan request.

 

[shaunbmx]

Amazing layout. Elevate the chicane..

Amazing Trees.

Did you buy those or make them yourself.??

 

[BEEJAY7]

Great Steve. I like the S section at the far end of the track.
Have a great Holiday.

Regards

Alan

 

[Ghost]

That's a darn neat track you've worked yourself into!
Not overworked, almost simplistic; very nice!

 

[sacesta]

Thanks for the comments guys.
I wish I could post a diagram of the layout, but I don't have track planning software.
The layout is basically a long oval with a dog leg at one end (the wooded section) and esses at the backside.
It's set on two tables 8 ft by 5 1/2 ft and one table 4 ft by 8 ft at 90 degrees to the two larger tables and offset slightly from it so I have access to my home's circuit breakers.
The buildings are made from matboard (the kind you'd use to frame a photograph) and from balsa and basswood. Signs are made in Adobe Illustrator.
Spectators are... I hate to admit it... Homies bought on Ebay. Figures are just too damn expensive in the quantities I want. And the Homies figures do have a lot of character although many are not suitable for the track (I could use only about half of the ones I purchased, but even so it works out to less than 50 cents per useable figure). There are approximately 360 figures in the grandstands at the back end of the track. And I need? many more.
Trees are made from dead twigs (boxwood works well), Woodland Scenics 'foliage' and spray adhesive. The ground is made from the cork of bulletin boards and Woodland Scenics ground cover products.
Still a lot of work to do.
I am considering a second incarnation with elevation changes and a crossover.
Regards,
Steve

 

[sacesta]

Since the Track & Scenery Index that Taxi created so many years ago (Thanks Rob!) links to this thread I thought I'd update it. The circuit - Woodland Trace Raceway - bears the same name as my previous 4-lane Ninco circuit. I finished routing it in August of 2010 but still have much work to do landscaping the layout. I'll post a few pics here but more can be found in my gallery - http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?...key=*&st=25

These photos were taken over the course of the past few months and are already out of date. I'll update the gallery periodically. You'll notice that the track differs a little from the drawn plans most notably in the elevation changes and the location of the corkscrew.

 

[tycoarm]

Nice track...I'm digg'n the killer elevations.

 

[sacesta]

Hi all,

It's been a very long time since I've posted anything substantial on SlotForum although I have been active in the hobby for almost two decades. I've always enjoyed the camaraderie of SF's members and so I thought it was indeed time to renew my subscription and post some pics of the most recent incarnation of Woodland Trace Raceway.

This is the third version of Woodland Trace Raceway, the first being a four lane Ninco circuit and the second my first routed track. Unless I relocate, this version is unlikely to be deconstructed anytime soon. I've got too much work in it. Woodland Trace Raceway is sometimes referred to as Laguna Trace Raceway on Stateside forums, or sometimes, as simply The Trace. This circuit is heavily influenced by Laguna Seca - distorted to fit my highly rectangular cellar. I've managed to reproduce a fair representation of the Andretti Hairpin and the Corkscrew. And these two features are every racers favorite parts of the track.

Here's an abridged photo history of what has transpired over the past three years:

The drawn plan

Modifying the benchwork a bit for the new circuit

A view of the corkscrew's supporting structure. After many gyrations of thought and a few trial and error attempts I settled on the simple approach of screwing some scrap pieces of 3/4" plywood to the edges of the table. Because there is a turn marshall access cut-out on this section of table it allowed me to screw the two scraps at 90° angles to one another. The corner where the two scraps meet extends almost completely across the width of the track. The plywood is thick enough to grab a few wood screws and the structure is simple, clean and rock-solid. There are a few pieces of scrap 2x4 and 1x4 lying on the table and a remnant temporary support that are not part of the permanent support. To further strenghten the thin piece of severely undercut 3/8" mdf I'm gluing 1/8" plywood to the underside. That's what the line of small clamps are doing. The larger clamp is fixing a short split in the mdf. We pushed the mdf to it's limit with this turn but the split is at the edge of the mdf and perpendicular crosscuts prevented it from traveling further. I was lucky - there were remnant slots routed on the underside of this sheet from my last circuit. If you are planning to flex mdf this much it turns out that a few crosscuts perpendicular to your radial crosscuts are a good idea. They will prevent cracks from traveling too far if you twist the mdf too much.

Grafting the 3/8" mdf of the corkscrew to the 1/2" mdf used elsewhere throughout the circuit.

Routed, primed and painted

Early scenery work

More recent pics

The track today

 

[MrFlippant]

That looks fantastic, Steve. I don't travel much, but if I'm ever in the area, I know who's door I'll be knocking on.

 

[Chappy]

One word AWESOME.
Sure glad your back, with some great inspiration to boot.
The track looks so real, and not overdone.
Sometimes less is more, and I think you've proven it.
Kudos Sacesta
Bob

 

[Rick Sirrom]

QUOTE (MrFlippant @ 11 Oct 2014, 02:21) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That looks fantastic, Steve. I don't travel much, but if I'm ever in the area, I know who's door I'll be knocking on.

Copy That MrFlippant ~ What an AMAZING TRACK

,

,

.
What's with the spectators~ How do you do that!

I have some Carrera grid girls & spectators, but only enough for a small party, & in total Carrera make only a few different looking characters.

On my *Bucket List* is doing a State'Side Tour of Slot'Tracks & Clubs.
You guys appear to have the space, knowledge, expertise etc, to make OUTSTANDING tracks.
I'de LOVE to go & see Ray up in Alaska at MotorLeague too.
His routed tracks are mind blowing, the man comes across as a Routed'Slot'Track Genius to me.
I'm still just connecting bits of Scalextric Sport together!
I do have SH*T Loads of Carrera Evolution track though, but I have a small house, so at some point, I'll experiment
with an Out'Doors'Garden Carrera'Evo Track. Stainless Steel Rails = All O.K

.

*Steve*s track is BRILLIANT.
Cheers guys~ R

.................

 

[Bigtone]

Great looking track, I love the elevation changes
Tony

 

[Transmission]

What a great track! I love the layout and the scenery looks really good. I like the way you combined old and new style scenery.
Great work!

Cheers

René

 

[Stepe]

Fantastic piece of work.

I love it. I guess there are more than 400 spectators at the stand. Please reveal us who was the "crazy person" who has painted them?

Stephan

 

[sacesta]

QUOTE (MrFlippant @ 10 Oct 2014, 22:21) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That looks fantastic, Steve. I don't travel much, but if I'm ever in the area, I know who's door I'll be knocking on.

Thanks Greg. It was a pleasure meeting you on Monday. I thoroughly enjoyed racing with you and the other guys from EMSA. There is a chance I may show up again for the 24 Hours of Tacoma next month.
Steve

 

[sacesta]

QUOTE (Chappy @ 10 Oct 2014, 22:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>One word AWESOME.
Sure glad your back, with some great inspiration to boot.
The track looks so real, and not overdone.
Sometimes less is more, and I think you've proven it.
Kudos Sacesta
Bob

Thanks for the kind words Bob. Not overdoing it is difficult to do. Because we race hard on this track I have to be careful about sight lines, interference with marshaling and potential damage to the scenery. It's a balancing act.

I'm currently working on a Dunlop bridge that will measure 3 x 9 x 48". From the drivers' stations it will be viewed along the 3" width and so, large as it is, it shouldn't cause any line of sight issues.

I created the graphic in Adobe Illustrator and am awaiting a shipment of basswood sheet with which I will construct it. Once I have the structure completed I will make the graphic available on SF for anyone else who may be interested.

Stay tuned&#8230;

Steve

 

[sacesta]

QUOTE (Rick Sirrom @ 11 Oct 2014, 01:13) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Copy That MrFlippant ~ What an AMAZING TRACK

,

,

.
What's with the spectators~ How do you do that!

I have some Carrera grid girls & spectators, but only enough for a small party, & in total Carrera make only a few different looking characters.

On my *Bucket List* is doing a State'Side Tour of Slot'Tracks & Clubs.
You guys appear to have the space, knowledge, expertise etc, to make OUTSTANDING tracks.
I'de LOVE to go & see Ray up in Alaska at MotorLeague too.
His routed tracks are mind blowing, the man comes across as a Routed'Slot'Track Genius to me.
I'm still just connecting bits of Scalextric Sport together!
I do have SH*T Loads of Carrera Evolution track though, but I have a small house, so at some point, I'll experiment
with an Out'Doors'Garden Carrera'Evo Track. Stainless Steel Rails = All O.K

.

*Steve*s track is BRILLIANT.
Cheers guys~ R

.................

Thanks for the MotorLeague cue Rick. I hadn't seen the site before. Yes, the tracks are mind blowing.

If you ever make it to North Carolina send me a PM. The door's always open for any visiting slot heads.

Steve

 

[sacesta]

QUOTE (Bigtone @ 11 Oct 2014, 03:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Great looking track, I love the elevation changes
Tony

QUOTE (Transmission @ 11 Oct 2014, 05:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What a great track! I love the layout and the scenery looks really good. I like the way you combined old and new style scenery.
Great work!

Cheers

René

Thanks guys! I've made many compromises with this track René. Combining old and new is one of them. I like the look and feel of vintage circuits but I wanted something that modern cars would also look at home racing on and so I decided to go for a look of a track that is maybe a few decades old and hosting historic events in a more modern era. I don't mind mixing old and new. It's all good. The important thing to me is to recreate the "feel" of a race track. In many ways all scale circuits are inaccurate and so it doesn't bother me to take liberties in decoration.

Cheers,
Steve