Some cars just look good..capturing another time..

Hi Ferrari 550

Some time back I bought a Bugatti from the Radtrax sale and on recieving it I decided to fit a 60's Scalex RX motor I had. I had rewound it and remagnetised it as it was burnt out. The motor fitted into the Bugatti with no extra work.

I then decided to give the front end a little bit of sideways roll to take the stiffness out of it by trimming the sides of the front axle mount in the body. This gave the front wheels about 5-7mm side rock. The car drives a dream, it has beautifully controlled drift and clean pull out of corners. The RX motor being quite heavy, is just right for most tracks.

As and when the new Scalex vintage F1's come out, I hope they are realistic from the point of track/ground clearance and don't have too powerful a motor in them. I think something like an NC1 is ample. I am sure, too, that the driver figures will be more suitable than those of the recent past. A simple trick like moving the drivers head makes all the difference to the presentation of a model.

The pictures below are of an A2M W196 I built up using an SCX RX41 motor with a 10z pinnion and a 27z contrate. It also drives very well and has no vices or bad habits. Being a resin body I expected it to drag its heels a bit but the SCX motor has plenty of low down grunt and pulls it very well. I also moved the drivers head for effect.

"Getting into cars like that must add a whole new dimension to slot car racing and collecting."

Well, yes, it does! I'm surprised more people are not aware of Mac Pinches' fantastic line of vintage F1 resin bodies. He offers several cars from the 30s -- Mercs, Auto Unions, Alfas & Masers, as well as newer models from the 50s -- Talbot Lago, BRM V16, Ferrari 375, Maser 4CLT and I hear, the Lancia D50, Merc 196 and Ferrari Squalo soon to come. These are very fine body kits with cast metal details and are reasonabley priced. They are a bit heavier than plastic, but look absolutely great when broadsliding around corners -- no magnets of course! Check out Mark Gussin's site for pix (http://www.mgussin.freeuk.com/).

For me, the 1950s epitomize auto racing -- for both open-wheeled and sports cars. Great, easily recognizable, powerful machines being wrested around by manly men. Makes modern computer-controlled cars seem cookie-cutter and sterile.

mp

Wix..beautiful work! I have not yet worked a resin kit and look forward to it. I received an airbush kit for Christmas and can't wait to improve my paint detailing skills. Thanks teaboy they perform quite well, not a Scaley F1 but smooth and requiring more touch on the throtle. The motor in the Auto Union is a Scaley standard can about 3 years old but the Bug has a standard SCX RX41. What I do John is remove the HO type PinkKar motor and trim the bracket down to two arms to help position the new motor. Line everything up and epoxy! I have also modified the front ends with Scaley pickups as PinkKars idea of sort of draging wires and steering just is not effective. Both these motors give the cars much better performance on par with say a Ninco NC1( about 15,00 rpm.) I use a botton magnet (Scaley small F1 type) to stabalize things as my layout (The Autodrome) is a Scaley classic and a bit bumby in places(that prewar paving was rough)! Turisimo is right as the feel and pace of the race or drive is completely different than other cars. Both cars can't be described as slow but they get the job done at a more relaxed rate(cornering is slower and you need to adjust.) The Vanwall is standard MRRC but the change of wheels and tires have lead to dramatic improvements. The car is faster again than the other two but not up to todays standards. I need that new Scalextric Masser and Vanwall quick.
I run a couple of other 60's F1s I'll post later when I work out some more "moody atmosphric shots." John I used the shrink o later ray to reduce myself in size and when I stepped out of the bar the Bug ran over my toes!

Good day, eh!