[woodcote]

Excellent stuff - I like it

That big white space in the bottom left is asking to be filled with a wiggle, and it would give you a slightly wider turn to cut back to the start/finish line (I like where you've put the bridge). Unless - of course - you've got some landscaping designs for that space...

I would suggest not letting me drink the Guinness until the wiring is finished. That would just be asking for trouble

Another classy slot car and cats pic too - there was a cool thread a couple of years back with more...

 

[woodcote]

Let's see those designs

QUOTE (Gareth @ 5 Jun 2011, 17:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>If someone could explain to me how to get the track out of UR so I can put it into a post

Save As - then choose a graphic format.

 

[woodcote]

That looks great

The next test is running on it and doing a final tweak.

I think it'll be challenging with all the cars you intend to run.

 

[woodcote]

What you talking about - there's plenty of space in the spare room

Looks great. All you need is a laptimer

 

[woodcote]

With optical sensors it really needs to be on a straight. If a car is tail sliding (or barrel-rolling) across the start line, it may well trigger several lanes. Ideally, it needs to be far enough away from a corner for cars to have crashed plenty beforehand and cars that stay on are running in a straight line. The tail-sliding is particularly an issue for the pancake cars.

If you put the light sensors in a 9" straight you can experiment with the timing set up in various spots around the track - drive in one lane at a time and see if there are any ghost laps

 

[woodcote]

What's the news on the West Hill Raceway?

Any photos ready to be uploaded?

Can't wait til it's finished

 

[woodcote]

QUOTE (Gareth @ 20 Oct 2011, 12:48) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I think I can do it all in around 4 or 5 days.... Once the track is done I can get round to holding a race meeting

The Rock County Raceway needs a decent bit of time spent on it and then it will be ready too. I learned a few things about track painting this week, but things are progressing (the build thread is where people Talk about their Hobby).

A few weeks ago, I tarted-up one of the straights to give a flavour of what it will look like when finished:

BTW it's a 12ft bullring oval, 4 lane, Tyco track on a 6x2 board. Running Like Like Ms, X-tractions and T-jets

 

[woodcote]

It has nothing to do with bulls or with Birmingham

Some real short short-tracks in the States got the name Bull Ring, because that's what they looked like. They were usually dirt tracks - and sometimes in a stadium - and some, like the Bowman Gray stadium in Winston Salem, were built round the edge of a football field. Generally anything around 1/4 mile or less can be called a Bull Ring. That's 20 feet in 1/64 scale.

I'm getting impatient to get it finished - or at least finished enough to race

 

[woodcote]

Gareth and me have both been encouraging each other - and there's a certain amount of shame over not getting the job done like Jon has (twice). So it's good that we might inspire that door and box of track to get put together.

That straight was done up as a backdrop for the latest contribution to SlotCar Mag (see abbo's preview here). But I also learned some stuff about painting the track surface that I can pass on to Gareth for the West Hill Raceway.

That final layout is looking good

 

[woodcote]

That's looking good

It really is a lot more work than you expect when you start.

It's going to be worth it in the end though

 

[woodcote]

Just cut down the sticky-out bits to the right length for the knobs fit over them. Probably a big pair of scissors will do - or the cutting edge on some pliers.

I vote for black - given that I don't remember seeing a dark grey primer at Wickes. Light grey looks like concrete, but I can't think of many concrete road courses.

And can add another piece of advice:

3. Accept that life will regularly get in the way

 

[woodcote]

Looks great

Getting some cars running will soon show up if you need to do any extra work on the track surface. My hunch is that any imperfections will be merely cosmetic - and that just adds character

Did you check for paw prints this morning?

 

[woodcote]

You want the cars lined up just behind the sensors. So maybe the start line goes just before the sensor holes?

With the kerbing, you could mask around the area as you suggest, paint the entire strip white. Then - when it's dry - use strips of masking tape (or even sticky labels of the right size) to mask off the bits you want to stay white and paint the exposed bits red. I remember seeing that done somewhere, can't remember where...

 

[woodcote]

It was a fun day helping Gareth get the track ready for action.

And it was a brilliant track to drive, it flows really well

 

[woodcote]

Great pics

Those Turbos were a joy to drive, as were the Life Like M Nascars, SGs, X-tractions, my T-jet. In fact, what wasn't good to drive?

Top time of the day was your MR-1 at just under 3 seconds?

You've really nailed it with that infield - it flows perfectly and is completely awesome with the pancake cars