Slot It Chassis Surprise!!!!

BREAKING NEWS-seen first here on SCNews BTW...

Maurizio gave us a hint of a surprise a while ago but I sure wasn't expecting this:


And if you look closely the Ferrari appears to have been raced quite a bit already.



The new Ferrari and McLaren will come with the 21.5k motor inline but will be compatible with the anglewinder.

"Starting from the upcoming Nissan SICA05C R390 Clarion, the Nissan
chassis will change, mantaining compatibility with all the existing
motor mounts, to make space for a new motor mount: the Slot.it
anglewinder. This new motor mount, available early in September and
patent pending, can be used with any motor like the Slot.it boxer, or
similar."

Thanks to Maurizio from Slot.It for the good news about these new products.

DaveK

1/43 Proxy Race-UPDATE!!!

Thanks to A.C.King for emailing me an update on their 1/43 proxy race.

"We have raced 2 events, with 4 remaining. The points leader has only a 2 point advantage over second place. The series standings can be found on our website here: Slotcarking.com "

It sure sounds like these guys are having quite a series. I love proxy racing in all its forms and scales and it's cool to get the word out about what's going on no matter what the scale. Thanks for the update!

EDIT-A photo of the field, provided by A.C.King.


DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News

Ninco World Cup Super GT

Do you think you've got what it takes to race with the worlds best? Then Ninco has the race for you.

MRC is excited to provide the following information about the world's greatest Slot Car event of 2006, and the largest sponsored slot car events in the USA.

The NINCO World Cup Super GT 2006 Event will take place in Verona, Italy December 2-3, 2006. There's nothing else that come close to this annual Slot Car event. It will also be one of the most important activities of this years Model Expo Italy (Verona). MRC will hold a USA World Cup Super GT Event in Atlanta, Georgia to select racers to compete for the USA in this international event.

Also, MRC is sponsoring regional NINCO races around the USA. This document provides initial information and contacts for these races.

What is the NINCO World Cup Super GT Event?

The NINCO WORLD CUP SUPER GT is an international championship organized by NINCO, one of the largest worldwide slot hobbyist manufacturers. Teams from all over the world race with the most popular 1/32 NINCO slot cars in order to select the 16 best drivers who will compete at the grand final in Verona, Italy, December 2-3 to win the championship.

USA World Cup GT Event: We will have our USA team qualifier on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at the world's largest permanent slot car track, the 457 foot, six lane NINCO track: JD Model Raceway in Atlanta, Georgia, (678-847-0110) to select two team members who will go to Italy to represent the USA. We look forward to having racers coming to JD Model Raceway who feel they can race at a world level with other 1/32 slot racers.

The race will be an endurance race. The cars to be raced can only be the NINCO Honda NSX's, Toyota Supra's, Nissan 350Z's, or Renault Megane Trophy cars with NC-6 motor, NINCO Shore A25 rear tires and no magnet! Racers can bring their own cars, or purchase cars and accessories at the track. Only NINCO components (standard or ProRace) can be used. Cars will be inspected and motors and tires will be issued by draw at trackside. Considering the level of competition and reason for the race, a nominal entry fee will be charged. The racing and car rules are strict and will be adhered to.

Each of two winners will accompany MRC's "NINCO Bob" (aka NINCO1) to make up the three person USA team. (Winners must be over 18 and be able to travel to Italy for the World Cup Event). I will be at JD Raceway for the USA Event. The First Place winner receives a Trophy, Free airfare to Italy, 2 nights stay in a hotel and $200 to offset expenses. The Second Place winner receives a Trophy, Free airfare to Italy, 2 nights stay in a hotel and $100 to offset expenses.

Regional NINCO races: MRC will sponsor USA regional races, and use the NINCO World Cup Super GT 2006 regulations as a way of promoting NINCO racing and racing products. The individual racetrack owner will promote his/her regional event. The race should be run during August, September, October or November on a day that will maximize local and regional participation. MRC must be notified of the planned date. Pictures and race results must be forwarded to MRC within the week following the race.

The cars to be raced can only be the NINCO Honda NSX's, Toyota Supra's, Nissan 350Z's, or Renault Megane Trophy cars. Considering the prize money, an endurance race will be run. A nominal entry fee can be charged to offset racetrack expenses, and MRC will provide the track with additional financial support. Similar racing rules as in the World Cup event will be followed.

MRC will provide a trophy, $100 first prize and $50 second place prize. The regional races are not connected to the USA Team Qualifier in Atlanta. While promoting their individual regional races, track owners will also promote the USA Team Selection Race in Atlanta.


Regional races will be held at the following locations:


132 Slot Car Raceway (formally, Port Angeles Slot Car Raceway), Tacoma, Washington 360-452-7264

Al's Hobby Shop, Elmhurst, Illinois, 630-832-4908

Fast Lane Hobbies, Loveland, Ohio, 513-248-2345

Grand Prix Model Raceway, Schenectady, New York, 518-357-2596

JD Model Raceway, Atlanta, Georgia, 678-847-0110

Mr. Model Car, Santa Monica California, 310-393-3735

Scale Auto Racing, Houston, Texas, 281-807-4026


MRC will hold the Qualifier Races for USA team selection, October 29, 2006 on the World’s Largest, permanent Slot Car racetrack, the 457 ft., six-lane NINCO circuit, at JD Model Raceways, located in the Discover Mills Mall, in Atlanta, Ga.* (678)-847-0110

To read more please visit Slot Car Illustrated's thread on this great event.
And thanks to Alan at SCI for allowing reuse of images and info!

DaveK

El Diablo Rojo

I give you the Diablo Rojo Chassis by Hobby Slot Racing:

This is NOTmade by Slot.It...but it sure looks like the HRS chassis,eh? This is a Spanish company currently looking for distribution is the US. A quick look around their site results in many, many parts that look very familiar to those conversant with the Slot.It catalog.

DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News

Fly Ferrari GTO part two

Here is a photo credited to S. Morliere, which is the closest I could find to the point of view in the Fly graphic below. Compare and contrast. Talk amongst yourselves.

Fly News!!!!!

Well the day has come... pix of the Fly Ferrari 250GTO have been released. This ad comes courtesty of GetSlotted.co.uk and thanks to them for allowing reuse of this shot!

I do have some reservations about the design though (yeah here we go). The tail wing shouldn't extend out to the edges of the body as it does. Shots I've seen of the real car didn't have the fin extended out as far as this body does. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll get this car, but I'm always looking for the designs to be correct.

And I've just gotten pix from MRE.co.uk of the new Fly Racing 911!!! And as always a huge thanks for MRE for the images.


This car should be a killer! Inline motor pod, the motor is as low as it should be...AND IN FRONT OF THE REAR AXLE!!!!! Sorry lost it there for a minute. I'll take the yellow one please. Ok, now I'll shut up about 911's...for at least 10 minutes...


....is it 10 minutes yet?

DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News

MMK Maserati 151

Until now, the only Maserati 151 I could find was this 1/24 one, salvaged from the trash can of history:


But now, MMK of France has released a limited production, hand built Maserati 151 in 1/32 scale, a fine model:


I obtained mine from Electric Dreams. Here, an East New York mechanic inspects the body work. Decals are good, and flaws in the finish are few.


What's inside? A standard Mabuchi, a slightly off center brass pinion, and a medium-quality crown gear. The motor is loose in the cast-resin chassis, and a few dabs of Goop are needed to ensure a solid mount and optimal gear alignment. The guide shoe fractured where the leads are inserted, necessitating a quick change to a blue Scalextric guide (same size as original). The axles and wheels seem true, and the tires are appropriately grippy on my painted wood track:


Now down to business. The car competes successfully in "NC1" class, against the other early-'60's types. In real life, the Ferrari 250 GTO was the intended target of the big Maser. Racing showed that the real Maser could not compete, although it was fast in a straight line. The MMK model is a pleasant drive, and holds its own due to its good balance between power, weight, center-of-gravity, and traction. Although the mechanical parts are not first rate, they are entirely adequate, with a little tuning. Is it worth $165? Sure, if you want a Maserati 151 bad enough!

Scaleauto Boxer Toyota

Bantuslot is showing images of a new version of the Scaleauto Toyota GT1.

The Scaleauto-011:
Scaleauto SC-011(Boxer, large motor)
RPM: 19000 rpm @ 12V
180 g/cm @ 12 V
200 mA

The body is the same with a new motor pod assembly and new motor as an option for those that like their slot cars with TONS of torque.

Thanks to Miguel at Bantuslot for use of the image.

The Corvette of your dreams

Carrera's new C6.R Corvette might slip under the radar of the average slotter unless you're a fan of the 'Vette but this is a car not to be missed. If I hadn't seen the real C6.R racing during last year's American LeMans Series race at Lime Rock Park I might not have been waiting for this car...

And if I hadn't also seen the prototype that was on display at the New York Toyshow I might not have been waiting with a small string of drool cascading from my lip. Seeing both the real car and the model made this car one of the top 5 cars to be purchased this year EVEN before I got the word via the internet grapevine that this car was not to be missed.

All too often reviewers (myself included) fall all over themselves to talk about how great a car is...well let me start by picking myself up off the ground and tell you that THIS CAR IS GREAT!

The Carrera 'Vette is 98 grams of race-ready slot car. If you're into magnets, great, it's got 2 in place both totaling enough downforce to lap my Artin American Thunder test track at a sub 3 second lap. The car's got the usual sliding magnet in the center toward the front at the second mag on the rear.

The tires do lack as much stick 'em as I like and for that we slip on a set of Ortmann's for Slot It 20x11's. Now we're really cookin'. The car leaps around the track now that it can take advantage of all the E200 has to offer.

On the center lane of my wood track the car clearly the smoothest Carrera I've driven to date. Either with the Ortmann's or totally stock if there's something, ANYTHING wrong with the wheels/tires/motor that might give a hint of being wobbly or out of round even I can't find it.

The same story is told on the ENYR, the car will turn 5.45's all day long (with Ortmann's). And it even dipped down into RAA '06 contender status with an impressive 5.35 lap! I kid you not, this car moves out.

Inside we find nothing that's surprising. Lots of wires (some have to be pushed aside so the front axle can rotate smoothly) and the plastic gears that most RTR company's use. I'd love to see Carrera go out on a limb and get some nice brass gears, but then maybe the car wouldn't be as silent as it is out of the box, eh?


The interior features a half pan design. Many of Carrera's cars have this and I think it's the way to go. I don't go in for details that can't be seen easily. Especially since a full interior adds weight that's a performance killer. Kudos to whoever made the decision to not go with the current trend of the heavy, unneeded interior details. And hey, I bet it keeps the cost down as well.

The lights on this car are bright but the holes for the front lights don't allow the best projection of that light, I'd like to shave out the plastic just a bit to allow those lights to show the way.

The contours of this car are wonderful. To my untrained eye they look enough like the real car to satisfy me. The paint near the rear NACA vents is a bit thin but you really need to be looking for it (so I guess I'm picking a nit that most won't either car or see in their car maybe). The paint overall is really nicely done. Yellow can be hard to do and with Carrera's recently released 512BBLM they didn't apply as much base yellow as I'd like, but on this car it's opaque and beautiful.


Thanks to Gene from Slot Car Place for the car for this review!
Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

Racing Roo?

Inspired by the DUPR...

DUPR results, OUCH!!!!

My entry in the DUPR, illegal chassis and all! But the tires seem to be the limiting factor.

The field courtesy of Jamie on Auslot.

Results from the latest round of racing in the DUPR. Not even an illegal chassis could help out tires that don't stick I guess. Great win for SCN reader PeteN95!!! Congrats.


RankName Total Laps Quickest Lap Points
1 PeteN95 95.10 6.83 100.00
2 Smokeio 95.10 6.89 100.00
3 Wet Coast Racer 91.05 7.19 95.74
4 Fangio 90.95 7.24 95.64
5 Vinno 90.75 7.35 95.43
6 Itelectrical 90.65 7.38 95.32
7 SteveStewart 90.65 7.38 95.32
8 Racersolo 89.50 7.32 94.11
9 Oldslot 89.40 7.20 94.01
10 Mexico 2000 89.00 7.76 93.59
11 KalbfellP 88.45 7.49 93.01
12 Decraigs 87.35 7.58 91.85
13 Davenic 87.25 7.30 91.75
14 SportsRacer 87.25 7.36 91.75
15 Beejay 87.00 7.30 91.48
16 Phoeno 86.95 7.44 91.43
17 Parky 86.80 7.46 91.27
18 LennyBroke 86.60 7.41 91.06
19 Gman 86.15 7.54 90.59
20 DaveKennedy 85.75 7.50 90.17
21 JohnBatich 84.95 7.89 89.33
22 McGregor168 84.90 7.71 89.27
23 Hmcsat 84.05 7.86 88.38
24 RhysFilbee 83.15 8.07 87.43
25 Hoffy 82.05 8.00 86.28
26 DaveGray 81.45 7.84 85.65
27 RecklessRacer 80.40 7.14 84.54
28 Slotbaker 79.10 8.51 83.18
29 Nimrod 75.60 8.05 79.50

The overall points:

RankName Rnd.1 Rnd.2 Total Points
1 PeteN95 100.00 100.00 200.00
2 Smokeio 98.31 100.00 198.31
3 Vinno 99.21 95.43 194.64
4 Oldslot 98.65 94.01 192.66
5 Itelectrical 93.81 95.32 189.13
6 DaveKennedy 97.98 90.17 188.15
7 KalbfellP 94.04 93.01 187.05
8 Wet Coast Racer 91.11 95.74 186.85
9 SteveStewart 91.45 95.32 186.77
10 LennyBroke 94.71 91.06 185.77
11 Racersolo 91.56 94.11 185.67
12 Parky 93.36 91.27 184.63
13 Fangio 88.98 95.64 184.62
14 Mexico 2000 90.89 93.59 184.48
15 Decraigs 92.58 91.85 184.43
16 Beejay 92.46 91.48 183.94
17 Davenic 91.00 91.75 182.75
18 JohnBatich 93.36 89.33 182.69
19 Phoeno 90.89 91.43 182.32
20 Gman 91.68 90.59 182.27
21 RhysFilbee 92.01 87.43 179.44
22 McGregor168 89.99 89.27 179.26
23 RecklessRacer 91.00 84.54 175.54
24 DaveGray 88.86 85.65 174.51
25 Hmcsat 85.04 88.38 173.42
26 Hoffy 85.94 86.28 172.22
27 SportsRacer 80.20 91.75 171.95
28 Slotbaker 87.51 83.18 170.69
29 Nimrod 82.23 79.50 161.73

Thanks to Jamie at Itelectrical.com for a great race.

And thanks to Martin for a cool Proxy series.

Link to photos and descriptions of the whole field.

One howlin' Coyote

New from Beardog Racing.

#14 –‘SHERATON THOMPSON SPECIAL’ COYOTE
Built by A.J. Foyt and the 1967 Indy Winner, this superb, limited production resin kit enshrines all the character of the real car.
A superbly moulded kit in resin with additional resin and white metal parts + excellent quality decal sheet allow you to build this historic car to a high standard.

This great kit (designed by Chris Wright) comes as illustrated, complete with full instruction sheet and car history. Parts detail is superb. Build this as a full concourse display and run model complete with full length driver, or as a fast home set racer or ballistic, competitive track racer, the choice is yours! Just pick the add on packs you require to complete this model the way you want!
The complete body kit comes boxed and ready to assemble @ £41.00

Thanks to AB Slotsport for use of their images and description of the car! Also you can order this car by going to the link!

What month is it anyway?

I'll give you one guess which of these cars is still not out..... even though "June" to some doesn't mean the month that a car will actually be released. One sure way to make customers upset is to announce a product and then not deliver. Most of these cars shown still aren't available for sale anywhere. Now, sure there are photos of these cars "for sale" online, but I seriously doubt they're actually being sold. I realize many of these company's aren't very large, but if you can't deliver DON'T PROMISE!

BTW, a "Pooh" M1 BMW? "Pooh"...sounds like just about the worst livery you could make. Look for this one in the mystery specials sooner rather than later.

The soapbox is now free....

DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News

AWD...I wonder?

SCX has stepped up their game recently and now they offer up an Audi Quattro. A dominant rally car in it's day, I'm not a huge fan of rally cars but this one might be worth a look. It sure looks nice from the photo! I wonder if this one will be AWD...

"SCX have announced a new Limited Edition car for release in October 2006.

The Audi Quattro A2 is from the 1981 RAC Rally, driven by Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz. The car is released to celebrate the 25th anniversary and is a Limited Edition model."
Image and ad copy courtesy of MRE.co.uk

Artin's "Thunder"ous set!

The price of everything is going up. You have less money to spend on extra stuff...in my house the first thing to go (as it should be) is spending on non essentials. Slot cars fall squarely into that catagory. But this Artin American Thunder set puts a set back within the reach of many slot racers.

I was piecing the track together (not as the directions or box show you to...I'm such a rebel! Or is it dork?) but trying to get the most track on the floor as I could as quickly as my grubby little fingers could. Soon the track stretched around the dining/living room. I was whizzing around the American Thunder track as fast as the brakeless little Stockers would let me. What fun! I was struck by the lighter, non-neo magnets and how much I preferred them to their more sticky cousins. They hold the car just enough but not too much that you get a false sense of magnetized security.


So the wifey came down the stairs and saw me in my slot car induced stupor...laughing as carrying on with the red Stocker (one of four...yes 4) and she sits down on the floor and grabs the controller and says she wants to race too! "Which one?" I ask..."the red one of course!" so ever the dutiful husband "the red one" is handed off. I grab the blue Stocker and now it's "Days of Danbury", we're racing side-by-side, laughing and trying to nerf the other into the fireplace. Damn this is entertaining! Yes folks, this one gets the wifey seal of approval.

I took the red car to Rob's today and did some hot laps on the East New York Raceway, the tires stuck like crazy as they did on my track. You'd want your aftermarket tires to stick this well, but in this car...no mod's needed. They work as well as tires should on my circle of tracks.

Can you put a price on fun? Well, yes you can. Did you spend twice the money on track that doesn't lay flat? Not fun. Does this power supply work well with the track? Yes, more than adequate. The surface grippy, but not overly so. The pieces fit well together, and come apart easily when you want to disassemble the track. And the slot around the edge of the track makes it easy to put in thin pieces of plastic or cardboard and make your own fences! Again, don't know if this was a thought in the design process but it's a way to keep costs down so who cares!

Sometimes it's about just having fun, not being a "serious" racer, actually it should always be about having fun... this set reminded me that fun is what it's about. I don't mean to overstate the issue of price the point is that the set is probably as inexpensive as sets should be, not everything has to cost tons of money to be worth it...and this set is worth it!

And none of this review would have been possible without the support, and of course, the track from Frank at Slot Car World/Artin North America.

A side note. If you'd like to know even more about this set, Harry at Home Racing World did a great review that goes into more detail about aspects of the set I only touched on.

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

Wet Coast on the podium!

Well I couldn't help but post these pictures taken by fellow RAAcer Super2ner. He finished a distant third to Smokeio and I in the latest RAAce (RAAce #9) at the home of team Orange Crush in Colorado.

Congrats Paul, but don't get too comfortable there...I think "Bugs" is gonna take it away!

DaveK

BTW, Happy Birthday to Marc (2ner) as well!!!!! And a well run race!

Share with the class!

Do you have a slot car you just can't get to work no matter what you do? The Fly 911 is mine.

As I contemplate this purchase:

(thanks to MRE.CO.UK for use of their image)

I wonder whether I'll ever be able to get these cars to work the way I'd like. I love 911's, and the Fly 911 especially. But how many of these cars to I need to get before I actually get them to work?


I have 4 bodies already and I'm really making a push to get at least 1 of these to work. I'm thinking of entering 1 in the GPR.

I've tried moving the motor ahead of the front axle, where it should be and adding tons of weight:

But still the car doesn't work quite the way it should. If I didn't love this body so much I'd give up and sell 'em all.


So, do you have a slot car you just can't get to work, no matter what you try? Email me pix, and a description of your struggle and I'll post them here...so we can all laugh at you! Or is it cry?

DaveK
kennedyphoto@sbcglobal.net

Flames

Flames, originally uploaded by orange27.

Beetleicious

Beetleicious, originally uploaded by zippy_monster.

Goodwood festival of speed

Goodwood festival of speed, originally uploaded by mr_lovebucket.

San Francisco Grand Prix pix updated

Some pix of my track, The San Francisco Grand Prix.

The streetcar stop.

Justin Herman Plaza from overhead.

Red's Java House, a favorite place of mine in the "real" San Francisco.

This building was made from the Scalextric tower. I cut the walls out of the sides and glued it together. It was my first slot car building I made and I still consider it my favorite work.

Dave