OK, so here's how it started……'twas shortly before Xmas 2004 and Mrs AeroHOT and I were in JLewis in gift buying mode and she says…. "what am I going to get you for Xmas?" In a moment of flippancy I said "what about one of those then?" pointing at a Scaley boxed set. "Be a bit of fun over the hols….." You won't be surprised to hear that it was an absolute hoot for all the family and we became confirmed "rug racers" over the next nine months. Grazing the internet, I found Slotforum and was blown away by the permanent layouts in the posts as well as the open sharing of tips, how-to's and other invaluable stuff. Many questions were answered and thoughts of a permanent layout of my own were spawned. However, despite the smart ways that many of the designs made use of space, there was no way for me to dedicate room to a permanent layout……..until Miss AeroHOT decided that the time for her independence had come and she no longer required permanent assignment of her quarters at the top of the house. A couple of months of decorating other rooms to cater for daughters visits home allowed for some time to plan….
The space available is approx 3.8m x 2.4m, but has an intrusion half way along the back wall which impacts the track layout options that can be considered. Also access would only be available from the front as there is a wall to the right and to the rear and a staircase to the left. This then results in a kind of L-shape to the layout. For a permanent track it was important to me to incorporate certain features ; as long a track as possible to maintain driving interest; keep the rear of the layout accessible for de-slots; allow space for a pit-lane and create scenic potential. I also wanted to incorporate compound radius curves and use the whole range of R1, R2, R3 and R4 to vary to driving challenge. I was (am still) undecided about Digital so I tried to keep the option open in the final design. Track is Scaley Sport. Many hours were spent playing around with Slotmanager software and of course "rug racer" trials were held to test the potential layouts. Eventually this is what we came up with. Two lanes equal in length at 18.3m, driving direction is clockwise.
There are more pics in my gallery, the first album is the table and track construction, album 2 shows how we (me and Mrs AeroHOT) have gone about creating the scenery. It is very much a work in progress and a good part of the fun, for me, will be in the detailing and finishing off. An objective with the scenery was to get creative in the use of materials readily available or easily gathered as opposed to buying from specialist suppliers/shops. So the framework is 3" x 2" CLS timber, pretty hefty in size as I wouldn't be relying on the table top for rigidity, scenery base is wire mesh and papier mache ( although I did try some plaster bandage too) flock is coloured sawdust and ground oasis, lichen and moss are used for bushes, trees are from twigs and ground foam, pit-lane is mdf and wood strip and the buildings will be scratch-built. The project was started at the end of November 2005 and there is still much to do - a rockface will run across behind the pits/paddock to the start of the hill section - but I am tempted to start work on the pit buildings! I am pleased with the way it has gone so far but, shamelessly, nearly everything we have done stems from ideas we have gained from posts on Slotforum - so it's a big thanks to all for the inspiration (too many of you to mention names - I would only miss someone out and feel bad!!) and hope you can recognise where your contributions are. I will be happy if my interpretations provide some inspiration for others.
Standing on the shoulders of giants!!
Stewart
The space available is approx 3.8m x 2.4m, but has an intrusion half way along the back wall which impacts the track layout options that can be considered. Also access would only be available from the front as there is a wall to the right and to the rear and a staircase to the left. This then results in a kind of L-shape to the layout. For a permanent track it was important to me to incorporate certain features ; as long a track as possible to maintain driving interest; keep the rear of the layout accessible for de-slots; allow space for a pit-lane and create scenic potential. I also wanted to incorporate compound radius curves and use the whole range of R1, R2, R3 and R4 to vary to driving challenge. I was (am still) undecided about Digital so I tried to keep the option open in the final design. Track is Scaley Sport. Many hours were spent playing around with Slotmanager software and of course "rug racer" trials were held to test the potential layouts. Eventually this is what we came up with. Two lanes equal in length at 18.3m, driving direction is clockwise.
There are more pics in my gallery, the first album is the table and track construction, album 2 shows how we (me and Mrs AeroHOT) have gone about creating the scenery. It is very much a work in progress and a good part of the fun, for me, will be in the detailing and finishing off. An objective with the scenery was to get creative in the use of materials readily available or easily gathered as opposed to buying from specialist suppliers/shops. So the framework is 3" x 2" CLS timber, pretty hefty in size as I wouldn't be relying on the table top for rigidity, scenery base is wire mesh and papier mache ( although I did try some plaster bandage too) flock is coloured sawdust and ground oasis, lichen and moss are used for bushes, trees are from twigs and ground foam, pit-lane is mdf and wood strip and the buildings will be scratch-built. The project was started at the end of November 2005 and there is still much to do - a rockface will run across behind the pits/paddock to the start of the hill section - but I am tempted to start work on the pit buildings! I am pleased with the way it has gone so far but, shamelessly, nearly everything we have done stems from ideas we have gained from posts on Slotforum - so it's a big thanks to all for the inspiration (too many of you to mention names - I would only miss someone out and feel bad!!) and hope you can recognise where your contributions are. I will be happy if my interpretations provide some inspiration for others.
Standing on the shoulders of giants!!
Stewart