Fabulous and interesting work, and most worthwhile. I drove several of these cars years ago, and rate them as the best post War BMWs.
Look forward to seeing your car complete with decals.
Look forward to seeing your car complete with decals.
Scalextric C128 BMW 3.0 CSL
I'd always liked the look of the 1970's BMW 3.0 CSL 'Batmobile', but the Scalextric C128 model of it somehow looked all wrong to me. After a lot of thought and study, I figured out that the model, although quite a good representation of the basic shape, was much too short and also too narrow over the front wheel arches. I presume this was another result of the infamous Scalextric banked track of that era, with its extreme curve and camber. The model also represented the later IMSA car with its wheels-arch vents and overhung rear wing. I decided there was hope of improving the model and I designed a rather radical cutting pattern, adding about 7mm to the length, widening the front arches and shortening the rear wing.
The cut-about body looked like a big improvement to me, so I continued with the conversion, using 2mm acrylic to extend the front arches and body sides and 1mm acrylic for the deeper front air dam/splitter. Apart from being much too short, the Scalextric chassis was too high off the ground. I had a scrap Fly Panoz GT front-engine chassis in my spares box, along with a motor from a 3-volt radio-control car. The wheels are Fly Viper wheels which, although not exactly like the period BBS wheels on the original racing BMW, were close enough for a first attempt. The Panoz chassis was, surprisingly, about right for wheelbase and only needed a little trimming to get the width correct.
After a lot of filing, filling and sanding, I sprayed the body with some discount grey automotive primer, then a finish coat of Rustoleum black aerosol from Wilko. I cut the original one-piece Scalextric glass in two, leaving the side windows unglazed for the time being. I also extended the original rudimentary Scalextric driver platform, with the intention of eventually using it as a basis for a proper interior and roll cage. The model is intended to represent the Peterson/Stuck car from Nürburgring 1973, subject of the famous 'flying' picture you can easily find on the internet. The decals for this are complex, so I'll tackle them later while I allow the paint to dry properly.
I'm pretty happy with the improvement to the car's appearance. With its long wheelbase, it handles pretty well, too, with a magnet on Scalextric Sport track, but these old Scalextric shells are heavy - the complete car weighs 89 grams - and the motor I fitted struggles to drag it along. I'll probably need to upgrade it one day.
Any thoughts and comments welcome.
Mike
The cut-about body looked like a big improvement to me, so I continued with the conversion, using 2mm acrylic to extend the front arches and body sides and 1mm acrylic for the deeper front air dam/splitter. Apart from being much too short, the Scalextric chassis was too high off the ground. I had a scrap Fly Panoz GT front-engine chassis in my spares box, along with a motor from a 3-volt radio-control car. The wheels are Fly Viper wheels which, although not exactly like the period BBS wheels on the original racing BMW, were close enough for a first attempt. The Panoz chassis was, surprisingly, about right for wheelbase and only needed a little trimming to get the width correct.
After a lot of filing, filling and sanding, I sprayed the body with some discount grey automotive primer, then a finish coat of Rustoleum black aerosol from Wilko. I cut the original one-piece Scalextric glass in two, leaving the side windows unglazed for the time being. I also extended the original rudimentary Scalextric driver platform, with the intention of eventually using it as a basis for a proper interior and roll cage. The model is intended to represent the Peterson/Stuck car from Nürburgring 1973, subject of the famous 'flying' picture you can easily find on the internet. The decals for this are complex, so I'll tackle them later while I allow the paint to dry properly.
I'm pretty happy with the improvement to the car's appearance. With its long wheelbase, it handles pretty well, too, with a magnet on Scalextric Sport track, but these old Scalextric shells are heavy - the complete car weighs 89 grams - and the motor I fitted struggles to drag it along. I'll probably need to upgrade it one day.
Any thoughts and comments welcome.
Mike
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Encouraged by the kind comments from Matt and David and after a long foreign trip, I've get sufficiently motivated to make some progress with the BMW. The decals were probably the most complex I've made, and took ages to apply. I'm sure many of you have experienced similar. I used a Molotow chrome marker for the first time for the details and found it easy to use. Overall, I'm reasonably happy with the results although the car isn't perfect by a long way. I still need to finish the interior and a couple of other small details.
It's quite good and progressive to drive, but the toy car motor I fitted as a misguided economy move is not at all satisfactory - no power until nearly at full throttle and very little torque. I'll have to look at replacing it.
Mike
It's quite good and progressive to drive, but the toy car motor I fitted as a misguided economy move is not at all satisfactory - no power until nearly at full throttle and very little torque. I'll have to look at replacing it.
Mike
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Nice work. Can't tell that it started out as the Scalextric version
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Well; as requested by Trisha, I've finally got around to putting an interior in the BMW. Ronnie Peterson and the roll-bar and seat came from a Scalextric BMW Mini, with the original Scalextric head from the BMW 3.0 CSL replacing the odd-shaped Mini driver's head. It definitely improves the look of the car, although my camera and photographic skills are insufficient to show the interior well.
I've also replaced the 3V toy motor I originally installed with a standard modern Scalextric motor, which has improved the performance a bit. The car is still too rigid to be really fun to drive, though; it tends to snap suddenly from no sliding to roll-over (the results of which are beginning to show on the paintwork.....) A rear-engine sidewinder chassis and/or a lot of weight low down might improve it, but then I'd need an even more powerful motor. The shell is so heavy, with such a high CG compared to my usual GT cars, that I'm not sure I want to spend any more time on it.
Hope you've enjoyed watching the build,
Mike
I've also replaced the 3V toy motor I originally installed with a standard modern Scalextric motor, which has improved the performance a bit. The car is still too rigid to be really fun to drive, though; it tends to snap suddenly from no sliding to roll-over (the results of which are beginning to show on the paintwork.....) A rear-engine sidewinder chassis and/or a lot of weight low down might improve it, but then I'd need an even more powerful motor. The shell is so heavy, with such a high CG compared to my usual GT cars, that I'm not sure I want to spend any more time on it.
Hope you've enjoyed watching the build,
Mike
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