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New Resin Bodies

12K views 37 replies 27 participants last post by  13davek 
#1 ·
Over the past couple of years there has been a great upsurge in the amount of 1/32nd scale resin bodies and kits released onto the slot car market. Prices vary hugely primarily due to quality and detail. I need your help with a little market research to see if there are corners of the resin kit market which are still unexplored. My main questions are.
What cars would you like to see modeled, eg (F1, CanAm, Classic Touring etc etc)?
More specifically which models would you like to see?
Do you prefer a custom fit resin chassis or a readily available plastic chassis to be used as a donor?
Using the following kits as examples of quality would you like to see more kits released with the quality and pricing of say - A2M, Top Slot or Slot Classics?
Pre-Painted or unfinished resin?
Thanks for you help in advance, your answers may just make a difference

Sean
 
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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Capri 3 litre mk1

Hillman Avenger Tiger

Chevette HSR

Fiat x19

Triumph 2000 /2.5 pi mk1 and 2

Then at least I can have models of my old rally cars even if I am too old and decrepid to compete in real life

Chassis and fittings are irelevant to me but im sure would be a big help to many

On the price versus quality thing the OCA bodys are a perfect middle way the quality is exelent and the price is right ,and besides my ferrari just finished 3rd in austalia and its still in one piece, so that in its self speaks volumes for the quality of the resin
 
#3 ·
Hi Sean.
My answers would be;
1. F1 and LeMans cars of all periods, Can-Am cars, and 50s-60s sports cars in general.
2. Specifically an Aston DB3S, Alfa T33, Spice, Alfa GTZ and on and on.
3. I prefer to make my own chassis, so prefer not to have to pay for a resin chassis included with the shell. As long as it doesn't compromise the scale dimensions, make them fit either an existing chassis, or the large range of adjustable chassis now available.
4. Let's have them available unfinished, so that you can modify them without ruining an expensive paint job, and get them cheaper!

My main issues with currently available shells are scale accuracy, and the quality of transparent parts. Sometimes the fit is awful. And it is nice to have proper headlight lenses and covers.

Otherwise I'm very happy with the Classic shells which are basic but cheap enough to experiment with and convert, and generally accurate.
 
#4 ·
Sean, Great idea.

Le Mans cars not covered by others.

A decent P3/P4

Matras of all years

Japanese GT cars of the current series.

Like Graham I have several of the OCA bodies, which are fair value for money and finished very well, also very strong. Not fussy about a chassis as I make my own, although mounting points would be handy.

Regards

Alan

PS A Morgan Aero 8 would be nice!.
 
#5 ·
I would like to see more F1 cars from the mid to late 70's and 80's: cars like the Brabham BT44, Ferrari 312T, T2, Wolf WR1, McLaren M26, Lotus 78, Ligier JS11/15, Alfa Romeo 179, etc. - scale and with decal sets too if practical.

Again I'm not too bothered about chassis and, like howmet, I would not want to see scale dimensions compromised just to make a shell fit onto a RTR chassis. And yes, well fitting glass all round too please!
 
#6 ·
I'd like the kits supplied with chassis and stuff, but also with painting and topcoat brand recommendations to suit decals as this combination often proves problematic to combine well without fouling up a sometimes VERY pricey car. Supplies of suitable decals could also be provided if they don't come with the cars.

More reviews, also. The recent ones are very objective and honest and really help make a kit attractive (or not!). It's so rare to find really open-minded and detailed reviews of slotcars these days. One for each new kit should be a must.

Main thing that's always put me off buying some nice looking bodyshells is the price. Why do resin shells cost so much?

As far as cars go more classic cars are tops in my book. The whole range of classic TopSlot bodies are always attractive to me and the wide range of dates and styles of cars is tremendous, but the prices puts me off. It's cheaper to buy a slotcar, strip it, and paint it yourself.

Finally, Pendle need a big slap on the back for stocking such an excellent and varied range of shells and spares for them. Number one in my book.
 
#8 ·
Cut & paste my post from Pendleslot's board:-

I suspect that modern F1 cars would be too fragile and complex in resin, but of course the older F1's would be fine. However, IMHO the market is already sufficient in this area.
Classic touring cars, and saloon car racers would be great, especially the thundersaloons in the 80s and early 90s. 8 litre Lotus Esprit anyone? 8)

I'd prefer a plastic chassis (provide details with kit), possibly even include the chassis with the kit if the manufacturer of the chassis has spares available, unless a custom one was required due to scale issues.

Pre-painted cars would be great too, although I suspect that they wouldn't be tampo printed. Detail is always gratefully accepted, be it either cast in or via metal parts.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
#9 ·
QUOTE Using the following kits as examples of quality would you like to see more kits released with the quality and pricing of say - A2M, Top Slot or Slot Classics?

I have several of the A2M bodies, and, with the possible exception of the W-196 streamliner, it is unlikely that I will build them. The D-Jag appears to be a repro Strombecker - far too large and with severely compromised shape and the Porsche ( 550 I think) is even larger than the Jag! They are also thick and heavy. The Top Slot bodies are well made but may, in some cases, be compromised to fit stock chassis. The Slot Classics are beatiful with excellent detailing but need a lot of grinding to reduce the top hamper!

So - What I want - Slot Classics scale shape and details, Top Slot molding technique and good decals - and, to top it off, I want some of the detail bits as spares (they can get lost in racing) and decal sheets as spares as well ( for repaint, body repair or clumsy application)

No chassis, thank, you - I'll roll my own (but will willingly pay for good wheels and inserts, again, with spares available so I can set up different mounted and trued tires for different tracks)

More 50's and 60's cars - the modern stuff is, to my mind, well looked after by the RTR manufacturers. A particular interest would be good bodies for some of the older sedans, particulary the MK II Jag, Hudson Hornet, Chrysler 300 etc.

EM
 
#10 ·
Whatever is made, IMHO, I think it should fit a current Ninco chassis and be able to be screwed on using the existing holes. It might need to be cut down, but it's great to just buy "replacement" bodies, which could race like extra Ninco cars...

Just a thought.

Lotus
 
#11 ·
Thanks Sean, for giving us the opportunity to air our views in this way. Firstly I would like to second the suggestions for mk1 capri, jap gt cars (current and old), Morgan aero 8, corvette c1, and lotus esprit. To those I would add the following -

Karmann Ghia
Landrover bowler wildcat (or any top flight rally raid machines)
Lotus elan (60s)
Lotus exige
Mazda rx7 (1st shape 1980?)
Porsche 928
Renault 4cv (mille miglia)
Saab 93 (the old 50s version)
Triumph TR2
Triumph TR7 (correct 1/32 scale)
... and many more, especially 60s saloons and GTs.

I agree with Graham that Oca currently provide the best price/quality combination. Ideally they should have at least vac formed windows (any chance of a vac window for my A2M mk11 jag? I can't cope with the acetate ones) and if possible, clear resin headlights. I tend to use off the shelf chassis (mrrc, ninco) so a chassis would only need to be provided where the body is too narrow for a readily available item. For me scale is very important, not necessarily down to the millimetre, but a car should look right when placed next to another car of the same scale. Of course the proportions have to be right - easy to say, but I guess very difficult to do.

As for painted or not. My max spend on an unpainted body would be about £20, this would only rise to about £25 for a painted one unless it was one of my favourite cars in a colour scheme impossible to for me recreate at home in which case I might go up to £30. So if you can add a good paint job for £5 or so then go ahead.

That's my contribution over for now,

mdhnn
 
#12 ·
My vote?

60s - 70s Formula One
60s - 80s Le Mans & other Sports Prototypes

No chassis, I will build my own.

Accuracy to (reasonable) scale proportion is paramount. Like Howmet, transparent parts (lenses, windscreens) and other add-ons must actually fit the shell!

Quality resins, and quality molds.

No paint needed.

for asking!
 
#14 ·
Personally, I'd prefer white polystyrene bodies over resin. They can be made to look as good, if not better, and being vacuum-formed are cheaper to make.

Polystyrene also sands and sprays / paints nicely (its a similar but more flexible and resilient material than used for injection-moulded plastic glue together kits) and is of course much lighter than resin. They can also be produced in various thicknesses and 'under-cuts', as with vacuum-forming PETG, are not a problem.



For those who prefer using screws to mount bodies, body-mounting posts can easily be glued into the shells.

Ask Victor Ferguson to make the moulds for you, Sean!

Kind regards

Russell

PS: 1970s Le Mans, Can-Am and F1 / F5000 / Indy bodies, please.
 
#16 ·
Hmm, everyone listed cars that are either already done or so similar to cars already done that the average neophite can't tell it's a different car.

F1 and Indy cars are all the same, open wheel cars. Seen one you've seen them all

Can Am cars, done already.
Corvettes, done.
BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris etc, done already.

I'd like to see something new. Something recent, something that hasn't been done already. Something that stands out from the previously produced cars. I'd like to see stuff like a 2003 Mustang Cobra, 1996 Lincoln MK VIII LSC, 2000 Mustang Cobra R, Cadillac 16, 1996 Mclaren, 2004 Cadillac CTS-V, 2004 Pontic GTO etc. There are loads of cars out there. It's time to move away from the rehashed stuff and move onto some new stuff
 
#17 ·
With all due respect, Russell and Victor, those flat-sided cars look great in vacformed styrene, and I love 'em for all the reasons you state, but faced with something like a Ford 3L or a 50s sports car with lots of roll-under, a resin cast is surely the best solution. Seriously- how close could you get to a F3L in vacform? Or my current lust-object, an Aston DB3S- or a Testa Rossa with those undercut front wings? A challenge even for Victor, I'll bet! And weight is not so much of an issue if you are making a historic car whose dimensions are not really suited for competitive racing anyway.
Mind, I'll have a Lancia LC2 or a Jaguar XJR in any material you like.
And cheers again, Sean- I hope this is a serious bit of market research which will result in a welcome supply of cheap, accurate resin shells. Oh- and I'd like a Mirage GT40, an M8F, M20 too...
 
#19 ·
"With all due respect, Russell and Victor, those flat-sided cars look great in vacformed styrene, and I love 'em for all the reasons you state, but faced with something like a Ford 3L or a 50s sports car with lots of roll-under, a resin cast is surely the best solution. Seriously- how close could you get to a F3L in vacform? Or my current lust-object, an Aston DB3S- or a Testa Rossa with those undercut front wings? A challenge even for Victor, I'll bet!"

Here are a couple of styrene bodies that were moulded by my friend Derick Thesnaar. I don't think that styrene is limited any more than resin in terms of capturing the shape of the bodies:-





"Your opinions are all welcome, i understand the virtues of plasticard but ideally i would like to keep to the subject of resin bodies as ultimately your opinions will have a bearing on future releases, so come on Russell lets hear what you have to say about resin bodies."

Unless the bodies are up to the quality of those produced by the likes of Top Slot, Slot Classic and LMM, they usually require a lot of finishing, which the average slot racer is probably not prepared to do.

Kind regards

Russell
 
#20 ·
Harrumph...
Those plasticard bodies need a lot of TLC too, Russell! Especially if you need to make up all the undercuts, intakes, screens and airfoils!

I do wish those vacforms would come WITHOUT moulded in spoilers, rollbars etc- they always look so crude. If you cut them off, you're left with big holes on the shell that make it even more fragile and flexible, but they're easily added to a plain shell from flat stock.

Sorry Sean. Didn't mean to sidetrack. A Lotus 19, 23? Lola Mk6GT? Peugeot 905?
 
#21 ·
Hi Sean

here is my 2 cents worth
Chapparal 1
AC Cobra 289
Ford Galaxie 66
Gt 40 x 15
Matra 630
Cunninghan C4R
Maserati 300s
Lola Mk 6
Ferrari 250TR (accurate)
Ferrari 250 GT
ferrari 330TRi
Ferrari 330LMB
Alfa Romeo GTZ/TZ2
Ford G7A
Porsche 910
Ferrai 612 (all the can am variants)
Ferrari 312p 70-71
Ferrari 312p 72 - long tail LM version

Lotus 11
Lotus18
lotus 24
Harvey Aluminium special
Lotus 33
Honda F1 - 66

thats all I can think of now.......


Hope to see you market these.... oh yes with vacuformed screens, chassis not necessary (but that depends on your market as I guess there is a BIG market for those who cannot yet make a chassis)

Anthony
 
#25 ·
QUOTE (Russell Sheldon @ 17 Jun 2004, 11:21)Here are a couple of styrene bodies that were moulded by my friend Derick Thesnaar.
Russell,

can you explain me how your friend mould those bodies?
i would be very pround to do the same moulding!

elicend
 
#26 ·
Hi Sean, Great Idea - hope some of the suggestions made will see the light of day!!

A few ideas - Porsche 908 coupe , Porsche 907 Long Tail and Porsche 910.
Porsche types will be then be fairly comprehensively covered then!!


Lola T212 Sports car.

Someone has mentioned F1 of the 60's and 70's - I heartily agree. Especially the Cooper BRM of 1968, Yardley BRM of 1971 and the McLaren Cosworth of 1969.

How come nobody has ever mentioned the very successful sports car of LeMans type fame around the early 1980's - the Rondeau M379. To my knowledge there isnt a single version of this available anywhere!! My vote would be for the pretty yellow car that retired, driven by among others -Quick Vic.

Any Can-Am cars to fill in the gaps.

Any of the Matras ( sports car or F1 ) although they seem to be already in the pipeline by Protoslotkit.

Any Alfa sports cars in the T33TT series from around 1972.

Personally I am not so clever in making chassis etc ( awful in fact ) and if the bodies were made to fit other chassis - along the lines of the current Protoslot kits etc - then so much the better. I know that there are some very clever people out there but commercially I think a broader appeal would generate higher sales.
Therefore , in the same vein , ready made screens and decals would be essential.
Trouble is that there are so many liveries to be made from each ' type 'of car so as long as there is a set of decals to cover perhaps the most well known or popular version , others can source alternates from elewhere.Patto is my favourite and I use his decals extensively.
 
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