1April 2006

EditorEditorEditorEditorEditorBrian Rogers

27 Paige CloseWatlington

King’s LynnNorfolk

PE33 0TQTel/Fax:- 01553 813090

e-mail:- editor@nscc.co.uk

TTTTTrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade AdvertisingAdrian Leggett

RosevilleWestwood Lane

NormandyGuildford

SurreyGU3 2JG

Tel:- 07773 967333 day01483 810102 evenings

e-mail:- sales@nscc.co.uk

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents

NNNNNOOOOO. 289 A. 289 A. 289 A. 289 A. 289 APRILPRILPRILPRILPRIL 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006

Swapmeets.................................2Diary Dates................................5Messages From Margate............7Ninco News................................9Fly On The Wall......................11H:O World...............................15Slot Rally GB...........................17Letters......................................20Ebay Watch.............................21Ramsgate Weekend.................23Kits ‘N’ Bobs............................30Slot.It Review...........................31Scalextric Review.....................34MRRC Review........................35Fly Review................................39Kitchen Disaster.......................46Lotus 15...................................47Adverts.....................................49

ItItItItIt’s the taking part that counts.......’s the taking part that counts.......’s the taking part that counts.......’s the taking part that counts.......’s the taking part that counts.......allegedly!allegedly!allegedly!allegedly!allegedly!

I have attended every single NSCC/Hornby Weekend since I havebeen editor, thoroughly enjoyed every one but, until this year have

never won a single thing. Not a touch in the raffle and never higherthan mid table in the racing. The quiz? You must be joking and asfor the auction, let’s just say that I have never been inclined toincrease the mortgage in order to buy the items on offer!All change this year though - Quiz champion! Well, sort of - as theracing was a team event I figured that my best chance in the quiz wasto persuade our entire dinner table to pool their resources. My fellowdiners included Andy Carmichael and Jon Hewitt, Scalextricanoraks both, so it only needed a little help from the rest of us toensure first prize - a special car used in some recent TV adverts byBT. This of course was where my cunning plan fell to the ground -do you cut the car into eight pieces? So we did the decent thing andreturned the car for sale in the charity auction.

The racing, as usual, was a total disaster. Having taken anovernight lead in excess of 150 laps our team managed to snatchdefeat from the jaws of victory and ended up in 3rd place nearly 100laps adrift of the eventual winners. My lips are forever sealed as tothe identity of our team captain (no, it wasn’t me) who managed toreplace the Subaru’s magnet in the wrong place! Have you ever trieddriving a Scalextric rally car with Magnatraction at the front? It isnot a pretty sight believe me.

As always though, it was great to meet with fellow members andargue into the night over a pint or six - particularly Pete Emery ofthe “Racer” club. Anyone who knows about the finer points ofLambretta scooters and agrees that Villeneuve (G) was a true racingGod is OK in my book!

And Finally - Sincere thanks to Rob Smith for an excellently runweekend and all at Hornby for their whole hearted support of theevent. Here’s to the next one!

Till next monthBrian

2

Oh dear! What on earth am I going towrite about this month? With onlyONE new model on general release in

the past month news is very thin on the ground.

C2734 Ford GC2734 Ford GC2734 Ford GC2734 Ford GC2734 Ford GT RT RT RT RT Road Voad Voad Voad Voad VersionersionersionersionersionThe one new release is a 3rd coloured version ofthe Ford GT. This one is yellow with bold blackstripes from front to back.

C2734N Ford GC2734N Ford GC2734N Ford GC2734N Ford GC2734N Ford GT PT PT PT PT Pace Carace Carace Carace Carace CarHowever, we mustn’t forget the ultra-rare carkindly produced by Hornby for the annualNSCC / Hornby weekend. This is a variationon the road version with NSCC Pace Car 2006down the side instead of the usual Ford GT. Only48 of these cars have been made and eachcomes with a numbered certificate signed byAdrian Norman at Hornby with the name ofthe attendee on it.

Sport+ TSport+ TSport+ TSport+ TSport+ Tuning Shopuning Shopuning Shopuning Shopuning ShopAs you will read elsewhere in this issue we all hadgreat fun trying the new Sport+ Tuning Shopparts at the NSCC/Hornby event and the carsgot faster throughout the weekend.

Your local retailer should now have theseparts in stock. A full kit comes in a large flat boxcontaining six each of the available parts. Someretailers have found that the cost of the whole kitis too high and if they ask Hornby really nicelythey can order the spares in much smallerquantities. With the kit comes a leaflet whichdescribes all of the parts available and theirapplication – so I won’t list them all here. Eachpart comes in a square tube clearly marked withthe contents.

Motors: There are 20, 25 and 30K motorsin both the normal (SP) and small (FF) sizes.Each is colour coded to help scrutineering. ➳

3April 2006

Gears: There are two sets of pinion gears,one each for the SP and FF motors and there arefive different ratios available. They can be usedin either sidewinder or in-line configurations butnote that for sidewinders you have to match thespur gear too. There are five different ratios forthe spur gears. For in-line configurations thereare five contrate gears giving 25 different gearratios to play with.

Axles: To fit the new gears you must alsochange the axles to the new tubular 3mm items.There are five different lengths in each packfrom 45 to 55 mm in length.

Wheels: Because the axle diameter hasincreased from the standard 3/32nd inch newwheels are also required. These come in packsof two in four different sizes. The wheels comewith tyres.

Tyres: Tyres can also be bought in sets offour and there are six different sizes available.These tyres can be fitted to the standard wheels.

General: There is a sprung guide availableand the amount of travel can be governed by thescrew fitting. A silicon wire pack, body screwspack and an additional magnets pack make upthe full set.

Two items not yet released are the motorcarrier for the Lister LMP or Maserati MC12and the Gear Puller; this should be a great tooland contains compartments to store all of yourspares too.

I know from some of your letters that youhave been trying the parts with great success andmember Brian Mitchell achieved amazingresults with his Ferrari F2004 and a 20K motorand revised gearing. Please keep your feedbackcoming in.

Coming SometimeComing SometimeComing SometimeComing SometimeComing SometimeThere are two changes to the catalogue in theA1GP range. I wonder what happened to poorold Brazil and Portugal.C2709: A1 GP Team Brazil - Change to A1GPTeam Switzerland.C2742: A1 GP Team Portugal - Change toA1GP Team Canada.

In addition there have been 10 new modelsannounced. I need to stress that these newmodels are only tentatively announced and thatthere is no guarantee that they will actually bemade. However a number of the bigger dealersare taking orders for them. Obviously these arenot the final names for these models.

C2758 Aston Martin DBR9 (red nosed)C2757 Ford Escort Mk1 (new livery)C2756 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (safetycar)C2759 Chevrolet Camaro (New Zealand livery)C2760 Ford Mustang (new livery)C2755 Ford GT40 (new livery)C2761 Jaguar Performance XKR (new livery)C2762 Séat Léon (new livery) 1C2763 Séat Léon (new livery) 2C2764 Séat Léon (new livery) 3

I wonder if the Séat Léons will be onlyavailable in Spain???

SpellingSpellingSpellingSpellingSpellingI always enjoy receiving your emails and yourcomments do get passed on to Hornby butplease spell the email address correctly. Theaddress is hhliaison@nscc.co.uk. If you spell itincorrectly it goes into a huge spam filter at ourservice provider and may never see the light ofday. I have just discovered that a couple ofRamsgate weekend applications ended up thereso please spellcheck carefully! ■

4

In August 1994, Ninco produced their very firstspecial edition car. It was a 1/32nd scale replicaof the Renault Clio 16V that raced in thepopular Clio Cup from that era. Moulded inyellow, only 500 units were made, all of whichcould only be purchased by members of “themost prestigious slotters club in all of Europe”.That club was (and still is...) the NSCC. Notsurprisingly, the car sold out very quickly and isnow one of the most sought-after cars fromrecent times.

Now, some twelve years on, Ninco will againdesign, build and supply an exclusive club car forNSCC members. For the past few months, theyhave been busy working on the design of this carand all has now been agreed with a launch dateset for the end of this summer. An official orderform will be sent out with the May issue of theJournal but just to whet your appetite here aresome preliminary details...

Only 500 units will be produced. Thedecoration is exclusive to the NSCC. Each carwill only be available to NSCC members, (one permember). Here is a snippet of the car... Do you knowwhat it is yet? ➳

ExExExExExclusive!clusive!clusive!clusive!clusive!

5April 2006

April CoolApril CoolApril CoolApril CoolApril CoolFor those of you who love to tinker with yourcars searching for that optimum set-up, thismonth sees the release of two kits just for you;ProRace Mégane GT (50406) and Lancer Rally(50407). Both are supplied with two bodies, onefinished and ready to fit to the chassis, the otherplain white and unassembled with a lightweightinterior. The chassis is fitted with an NC-6motor and each kit includes a variety ofProRace axles, gears, pinions and wheels.

Two of the three Nissan 350Z Super GTseries cars are also due for release this month.These totally new body/chassis cars look set tocause a stir in the JGTC grid, so far dominatedby the Toyota Supra and Honda NSX.

Shock and AwesomeShock and AwesomeShock and AwesomeShock and AwesomeShock and AwesomeThe last of the car releases for this month is thebeautiful black, white and gold livery of the“Koni” sponsored Mégane GT Trophy car(50414). Koni are recognised worldwide asmanufacturers of high quality shock absorbersand ride systems, not only for cars but also forbuses, trucks and trains! This is the fourth liveryof the popular Mégane Trophy series and isfitted with the NC-5 angle-winder motor.

And FinallyAnd FinallyAnd FinallyAnd FinallyAnd Finally...............The “asphalt” MasterTrack system (20125) isreleased this month in a large, robust plasticcarry-case.

This ‘professional box’ is the same as thatproposed for the N-Digital Master Track system.The set comes complete with sixty-seven piecesof track made up of different length straightsand different curve types, allowing circuits up to12.8m long to be built. Bridge supports, crashbarriers, a transformer and two throttles are alsoincluded... just add two cars from your owncollection and away you go! ■

6

I had a slight scare this month when my wifeinformed me there was a bird flutteringaround in the loft. My first reaction was of

my collection and circuit being deposited on. Irushed home from work and, after a 30 minutestand-off, managed to lure the winged assassinout using some bread as bait.

Further details of the 10th Anniversarycollection have been released. Many are soughtafter liveries of models that had previously soldout and now difficult to find without paying apremium. This collection may have an effect onthe value of the original models, but willobviously depend on your point of view. Also, acompetition to win some Fly limited editions. A

little thought and deduction is required, butshouldn’t be too taxing. The idea came from acolleague at work by the way, so blame him if it’stoo difficult.

RRRRRecent Recent Recent Recent Recent ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesThe remaining models from the February flyerare now available: -

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” (A658), 6hrWatkins Glen 1974. This is a very colourfullivery in red, yellow and green, with red wheels.Like most of the Daytonas in the range, neitherthe plinth nor label mentions the fact that it isa Ferrari! ➳

7April 2006

Chevron B19 (GB25), Japanese grandchampion series 1971. Driven by HiromuTanaka in a very attractive orange livery. Thisis the first Chevron to be fitted with rear finaerofoils. A very similar arrangement to theFerrari 512 Coda Lungas.

Chevrolet Corvette C5 “Tuning” (A752).This model is much better viewed in black andwhite. The colour is rustic gold, with purpleflame graphics decorating the bonnet and bothsides. The interior, wiper blades and wheel rimsare purple, whereas the seats and steering wheelare yellow. Try and picture this briefly, thenmove on swiftly. Being synonymous with therange of road car Corvettes there is no driverfigure. Only the “cabrio’s” have ever had driverfigures fitted.

Porsche 911 GT1 98 “Jever” white (Fly 113),Ochersleben 1998. Driven by Armin Hahneand Michael Bartels. Another in the ever-growing line of Evo-3 lightweight racers, fittedwith the spring mounted engine cradle. Thislivery has not been previously released instandard form, so should appeal to the collector.This particular version has no magnet but couldeasily be fitted with one if required.

WhatWhatWhatWhatWhat’s Ne’s Ne’s Ne’s Ne’s Next?xt?xt?xt?xt?The following cars listed on the March flyershould be available by the time you read this: -Ford GT40 Mk.II, blue (A765), 24hr Le Mans1966.BMW M1, white/blue (A1304), Procar 1979.Porsche 917LH “Martini” silver (A1403), 24hrLe Mans 1971.Porsche Carrera 6, blue (A1502), 24hr Daytona1966.Marcos 600LM, blue (A2001), 24hr Le Mans1995. First of the anniversary collection.Team 13 “Team Brumos”, Porsche 911 and934, 24hr Daytona 1973 and 1977 respectively.Saleen S7R “Coronita” yellow (Fly 11) in theLightweight Evo racing series taking part in theFIA GT 2003 championship.

Schedule for AprilSchedule for AprilSchedule for AprilSchedule for AprilSchedule for AprilFly have announced their line-up for April.They are as follows: -Porsche 917/10 “Martini” silver (A170),Interserie 1974. At last I hear you say.Dodge Viper GTS-R “Playstation 2” blue(A210), 24hr Le Mans 2002.Alfa 147 GTA Cup, red/yellow (A745), Ceskychallenge cup 2004.Porsche 934 “Pink Piglet” (A936), 24hr Le Mans1981.Joest Porsche, blue (A2002), 24hr Le Mans 1996.Second of the anniversary collection.Mercedes-Benz Atego truck “Hasseroder”(Truck 37), FIA ETRC 1998Porsche 911 GT1 98 “Vaillant” green (Fly 114).Evo-3 racing series.Looks better in B & WLooks better in B & WLooks better in B & WLooks better in B & WLooks better in B & W

8

1010101010ththththth Anniversary Collection Anniversary Collection Anniversary Collection Anniversary Collection Anniversary CollectionUpdateUpdateUpdateUpdateUpdate

Fly have now released further details on the line-up for this limited edition series. Remember thatall of these cars have been previously releasedunder a different catalogue number. I havequoted the original numbers in brackets, as areference, and the month in which they arescheduled for: -A2001 (A22) – Marcos 600LM, blue #70 –MarchA2002 (A41) – Joest Porsche, blue, Le Mans1996 winner – AprilA2003 (A54) – Porsche 911 GT1 evo, gold #25,Le Mans test car 1997 – MayA2004 (A145) – Ford Capri RS Turbo“Jagermeister” – JuneA2005 (SM3 and Team 03) – Porsche 917K“Gulf ” #20, Le Mans 1970 – JulyA2006 (C27) – Ferrari 512 CL, Red #5, LeMans 1970 – AugustA2007 (C31) – Lola T70 Mk.3B “Sunoco” #6,Daytona 1969 winner – SeptemberA2008 (A121) – Corvette C5R, silver/black“Goodwrench” – OctoberA2009 (A101) – Lister Storm, blue/white“Datasonix” – NovemberA2010 (A85) – Dodge Viper GTS-R, white/black “Playstation” – December

Competition Time!Competition Time!Competition Time!Competition Time!Competition Time!Courtesy of Monarch Lines and GaugemasterControls, there are three prizes up for grabs, allof which are Fly limited editions:E903 Porsche 911 “Trece”, E1501 PorscheCarrera 6 “Nurnberg special” and E651“Gaugemaster” twin set containing BMW 3.5CSL/Ferrari 365 GTB/4 . All you have to do iswork out the model number of the Fly car I amdescribing from the clues given in the followingparagraph. To make things easier, the model inquestion has been released within the last 12months.

“I’ve managed to scrounge a little sleep anda much needed break from this long, gruellingrace. The headlines in the morning newspaperare that of the Apollo 14 mission returning to

earth, and the UK going decimal. Looking outfrom the motorhome the sun is rising frombehind the Dunlop Bridge and in turn is glintingon the big wheel at the fair. I must return nowand take my next stint behind the wheel. Afterqualifying in pole position, the pressure is on usto deliver a good race result. Many race fans thatrecognise me instantly greet my walk back to thepits. The car is easy to spot coming down the pitlane with its very distinguishable livery. She isnot looking good with what looks like oildripping from the engine. Pedro gets out of thecar and is shaking his head, which could meanthe end of the race for us. The German teamboss signals the end, and now it’s up to the #19sister car to take the honours, and give ourAmerican sponsor some more exposure”.

Closing date for entries is 20th May. You canenter by email to simon.moss60@ntlworld.com,by telephone on 01480 350818 (evenings after 7,weekends when I’m in), or by post, addressed to1 Ouse Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE273FT, UK.

The winners names and prizes will be drawnat random and announced in the June issue -Good luck! ■

9April 2006

Hollywood is often slated for some of itsmore dubious endeavours and rightly so. Sometimes though it can get it

right and last summer’s blockbusting ‘BatmanBegins’ (which took $352 million at the boxoffice) is a case in point. The film’s makersseemed determined to halt the slide which hadseen each sequel from the original 1989 film getprogressively more laughable, box office successnotwithstanding. As such, they brought in adirector and cast meaty enough to get that jobdone. Coupled with a proper budget and decentscript, all the ingredients were in place. Wellnearly all, the other things would all have beenin vain if Batman himself and his vehicle hadnot ‘worked’.

Within the framework of the film, the 2005Batmobile (or Tumbler to give it its correctname) works extremely well. So much so that itbecomes one of the stars of the movie. But itonly takes one look at it to see it would beextremely challenging to make into a slot-car,something faced by both Mattel and Scalextric.Coupled together with a Gotham Police DeptCruiser, the tumbler is the star turn of sets fromboth companies with the Hornby set coming outas comfortably the better of the two. TheScalextric set comes with dark purple track, notthe choice I would have made personally. It maylook good as part of the set but, with noexpansion pieces available, you are faced withextending the layout with standard black pieces.

Looking at the set in terms of its target‘audience’, Scalextric give purchasers prettyreasonable value for their £30. The box art isfirst rate but there is no misrepresentation as the

set itself is clearly shown from several angles andthere are side on pictures of the two vehicles.The contents are well laid out and the tracksnaps together on its playmat in 3-4 minutes.Whilst there might not be many straights, thereare three types of curve and a squeeze track.The hairpin is a lovely, solid piece of kit and Ihave long thought it one of the best pieces ofH:O track by any manufacturer. The split trackworks OK, but I would have liked it to befollowed by another squeeze to increase thechallenge. ➳

FFFFFrom nothing to this in six minutes!rom nothing to this in six minutes!rom nothing to this in six minutes!rom nothing to this in six minutes!rom nothing to this in six minutes!

WWWWWell designed, classy box arell designed, classy box arell designed, classy box arell designed, classy box arell designed, classy box arttttt

10

The cardboard tunnel looks OK for what itis (a more substantial item would have cost moreand required a bigger box) and I was able tomake the hairpin more of a challenge by re-positioning it slightly, thus making the corner‘blind’. The controllers are solid enough (muchbetter than past Scalextric controllers I haveused) and there is plenty of power. Like themovie though, everything comes back to thetumbler, does it cut the mustard? Scalextric musthave realized early on that they would have tomake a bespoke chassis and seem to haveembraced the fact. The chassis is longer, thinnerat the rear, has no front axle (this is mounted inthe body, an ingenious solution) and includes thecar’s exhaust. The wheels are unique as are thetyres, even the traction magnets sit very slightlylower. All this effort results in a good lookingvehicle which performed just as well as otherMicro Scalextric cars on my own test track.

The detailing of the Tumbler is quite high,and the matt black finish flawless. If you haveseen the movie you will know the Tumbler looksvery different the first time we see it, and I dothink Scalextric missed a trick not bringing outtwo versions. Nonetheless, a very good model ofa difficult subject.

The police cruiser is mounted on a standardwide chassis with stock components and looksclose to the movie car, the flashing purple lightbeing a nice touch. It does, in my mind, look toobig – I don’t think it should be longer than theTumbler. All in all a nice set that ticks all theright boxes, shame they could not have includedtwo more 15” straights (but then I say thatabout nearly all H:O sets!) By contrast theMattel Batman items are poor. I thought theylooked good until looking more closely at thereal things on DVD and, now, seeing theScalextric versions. The cruiser has a decentenough paint job but they simply lifted anexisting Camaro design for it and it lookscompletely wrong. The Batmobile is even worsewith bad proportions (which really shows in aside-by-side with the Hornby effort), too muchgold paint and terrible wheels.

Look closely and you will see the rear wheelsare actually plastic covers, these hide the skinnywheels behind which drive the car (badly). It isthese vehicles more than anything that showhow well Scalextric got the job done. ■

Cruiser is a little ovCruiser is a little ovCruiser is a little ovCruiser is a little ovCruiser is a little oversizedersizedersizedersizedersized

Mattel show how Mattel show how Mattel show how Mattel show how Mattel show how notnotnotnotnot to do a B to do a B to do a B to do a B to do a Batmobileatmobileatmobileatmobileatmobile

11April 2006

Thanks to those who have already sent intheir application forms for the Slot RallyGB, so far so good. Try not to leave it

too long please as I know there are a number ofnon-members who are waiting to get a place.

As I mentioned last month our new Web-master Mark has been very busy building awebsite specifically for the weekend eventincluding the class lists, pictures of all the RTRcars, maps, details etc, etc.For those of you who do not have web accesshere is the current list of RTR slot rally cars ineach class.

Classic Pre 1970Classic Pre 1970Classic Pre 1970Classic Pre 1970Classic Pre 1970Alfa Giulia FlyAlfa Giulia TeamslotAlpine A110 Scalextric (Fr)Alpine A110 Teamslot

Austin Healey 3000 NincoAustin Healey 3000 ScalextricAustin Mini Cooper SCXAustin Mini Cooper ScalextricAustin Mini Scalextric (Fr)Austin Mini Scalextric fwdFerrari 250 GTOR Pink KarFiat 850 Coupe SCXFiat 1000 ReprotecFiat 1000 SCXFord Cortina RevellFord Mustang Carrera

Jaguar XK120 NincoLancia Fulvia TeamslotMercedes 230SL CarreraMercedes 250SL ReprotecMercedes 250SL ScalextricMG MGA VIPMG MGA RevellPorsche 356 NincoPorsche 904 CarreraPorsche 904 ScalextricRenault Dauphine TeamslotSaab 96 Hobby

Classic

Saab 96 MMKSunbeam Alpine ScalextricVW Beetle Pink Kar

Historic Pre 1980Historic Pre 1980Historic Pre 1980Historic Pre 1980Historic Pre 1980Alfa GTV V6 GOMAlpine A310 V6 Scalextric (Fr)Austin Mini Clubman ScalextricCitroen 2CV Pink KarDatsun 240Z ScalextricFiat 124 Abarth SCXFiat 124 Abarth TeamslotFiat 131 Abarth Scalextric (Fr)Fiat 131 Abarth TeamslotFiat 131 Abarth PolistilFord Escort Mexico ScalextricFord Escort Mk1 ScalextricFord Escort Mk2 Carrera ➳

UpdateUpdateUpdateUpdateUpdatefrom Gareth Jefrom Gareth Jefrom Gareth Jefrom Gareth Jefrom Gareth Jexxxxx

12

Ford Escort Mk2 TeamslotFord Fiesta Mk1 SCXLancia Stratos SCXLancia Stratos Teamslot

NSU TTS RevellOpel Ascona CarreraPorsche 911 CarreraPorsche 911 ScalextricPorsche 911SC FlyPorsche 911SC SCXPorsche 911SC NincoPorsche 911T FlyPorsche 914 CarreraRenault R12 Gordini Scalextric (Fr)Seat 124 2000 TeamslotSeat Panda SCXSeat Panda TeamslotSimca Rallye TeamslotTriumph TR4 ScalextricTriumph TR7 V8 Scalextric

Rally Super Car Pre 1990Rally Super Car Pre 1990Rally Super Car Pre 1990Rally Super Car Pre 1990Rally Super Car Pre 1990Audi Quattro ScalextricAudi Quattro SCXAudi Quattro Sport TeamslotAudi Quattro TeamslotBMW M1 FlyBMW M1 SCXBMW M1 ScalextricBMW M3 SCXBMW M3 ScalextricFerrari 288 GTO ScalextricFerrari 288 GTO SCXFord Escort XR3i ScalextricFord Fiesta XR2i ScalextricFord RS200 SCXFord RS200 Scalextric

Ford Sierra Cos ScalextricFord Sierra Cos TeamslotLancia 037 Fly

Lancia 037 ScalextricLancia 037 SCXLancia Delta Integrale SCXLancia Delta Integrale TeamslotLancia Delta S4 PolistilLancia Delta Safari TeamslotMG Maestro ScalextricMG Metro 6R4 ScalextricMG Metro 6R4 TeamslotMG Metro ScalextricOpel Manta TeamslotPeugeot 205 T16 SpiritPorsche 928 CarreraPorsche 959 ScalextricPorsche 959 SCXRenault 5 SCXRenault 5 Spirit

Renault 5 Turbo FlyRenault 5 Turbo TeamlsotRover 3500 ScalextricToyota Celica 4WD SCXVW Golf GTi Carrera

13April 2006

Modern PModern PModern PModern PModern Post 1990ost 1990ost 1990ost 1990ost 1990BMW Mini NincoBMW Mini ScalextricCitroen C2 JWRC SCXCitroen Saxo NincoCitroen Xsara Kit TeamslotCitroen Xsara WRC Auto ArtCitroen Xsara WRC SCXFiat Punto NincoFord Escort Cos ScalextricFord Focus WRC Auto ArtFord Focus WRC SCXFord Focus WRC ScalextricFord Focus Evo SCXHyundai Accent WRC CartrixHyundai Accent WRC SCXMitsubishi Lancer Evo4 SCXMitsubishi Lancer Evo7 ScalextricMitsubishi Lancer Evo7 SCXMitsubishi Lancer WRC NincoPeugeot 206 Auto ArtPeugeot 206 SCXPeugeot 306 NincoPeugeot 307 WRC NincoPeugeot 307 WRC ScalextricPeugeot 307 WRC SCXPeugeot 307 WRC CarreraPorsche 911 GT3R NincoRenault Mégane ScalextricRenault Mégane NincoRenault Mégane SCXRenault Clio Mk1 NincoRenault Clio Mk2 NincoSeat Cordoba NincoSeat Cordoba SCXSeat Ibiza SCXSeat Ibiza TeamslotSkoda Fabia ScalextricSkoda Octavia SCXSubaru Impreza ScalextricSubaru Impreza SCXSubaru Impreza WRC Auto ArtSubaru Impreza WRC NincoSubaru Impreza WRC ScalextricSubaru Impreza WRC SCXSubaru Impreza WRC TeamslotToyota Celica GT4 TeamslotToyota Celica GT4 GOM

Toyota Celica GT4 NincoToyota Celica GT4 SCX

Toyota Corolla WRC NincoToyota Corolla WRC ScalextricToyota Corolla WRC SCXVW Golf GTi Ninco

Raid DakRaid DakRaid DakRaid DakRaid DakarararararBMW X5 NincoFord Pro Truck NincoHummer H1 CursaMitsubishi Pajero NincoMitsubishi Pajero Evo NincoNissan Patrol SCXPeugeot 405 T16 SCXVW Touareg Ninco

Don’t forget this is the list for the RTR cars only,not the scratch built. Anyone wanting to build aspecific car and is not sure or cannot prove rallyprovenance should get in touch well before theystart building, to give you some ideas JaguarSS100, MGB, Austin A40 etc, etc.

Those of you who can help in the construction,decorating of the rally track for Goodwoodplease get in touch, we have confirmed thefollowing specific dates Saturday May 20th,Saturday 10th June, Sunday 11th June andSaturday 17th June. If you can come down to theUxbridge area and lend a hand you are mostwelcome. ■

14

Sir, I was intrigued to read your editorial in theFebruary Journal. I too remember the eager waitfor the new Scalextric Catalogue and the hoursspent musing over each page. However, unlikeyourself, I was totally enthralled by the latestcatalogue, which I believe to be the best ever. Ihave spotted at least six ‘must haves’ and wascompletely surprised by the A1GPs, AstonMartin, Jaguar and yellow GT40 – thankgoodness I have not managed to procure one ofthe German ones on Ebay yet! Perhaps there isan advantage in not being too closely involvedwith the manufacturers as you, and the rest ofthe hard working committee at the NSCC,obviously need to be.

Finally, with reference to your notedspelling error. My son, who is into bikes, pointedout that the set information on pages 12/13 isincorrect for the picture and track plans. I hopeanybody wishing to purchase these sets looksmore closely in the shops.

I am, yours etc, Pete Wilson..............................................................................

Sir,I was sorry to read that Colin Spark has retiredfrom the Carrera Corner column. His articleswere always the ones I looked forward to themost - mainly in the hope of being informedthat they (Carrera) were going to take the UKmarket seriously. ➳

They can’t even send their club newsletterout in English so I can see why Colin felt he hadan uphill struggle.

Carrera have had some top cars (1/32) andit’s a shame that they don’t recognise thebenefits of the NSCC and its audience.

I am, yours etc,Andy Clarke..............................................................................

Sir,It is with deep sadness that I have to announcethe sudden death of popular Wolverhamptonclub member Chris Jurkowski. Chris, 51, whosuffered a heart attack last Saturday 18thMarch. He will be sorely missed by all at theclub, particularly by his close friend andcolleague Phil Parkes and all of the Thursdaynight regulars.

Chris was a great supporter of the club andwas looking forward to the two upcoming classicevents so as a mark of respect we will be holdinga minute’s silence before we commence onSunday May 14th and awarding a ChrisJurkowski memorial trophy during the event.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris'sfamily and to Phil as they face a difficult time inthe coming weeks and months.

Goodbye Chris, one of the nicest guys I'veever had the privilege of knowing, may you restin peace.

Phil Insull

15April 2006

Another month has shot by and it onlyseems a couple of days since I have seenthe March issue and now need to do my

next report. I hope I am doing my bit to add abit of variety to the Journal which I think is stillever improving and not a reprint of a year agoas one contributor suggested in a post onSlotforum this past week!

This last month I was lucky enough toattend the recent Hornby weekend at Ramsgateand I must say a big thanks again to all involved,particularly Rob Smith and Adrian Norman. Agreat occasion, it was interesting to compare theauction at the end of the weekend with auctionson Ebay. There were a number of different lotsthat appealed to the collector mainly. Thisresulted in some serious big money bids onexclusive items and the odd bargain just like I seeon Ebay. I think I got the bargain of this auctionwhen I got one of the Sport track layouts of 40bits of track and 40 borders for £35. Now I justneed to get my SportWorld set to make the mostof it!

March has seen the main Ebay sites withsimilar or slightly lower numbers of slot-carlistings to that reported last month. However acouple more of the cheap listing days in UK haskept these numbers a bit above last month’slevels, but in my opinion has started to softenprices that are being realised for run of the millitems. Why this conclusion you may ask?

Well, one particular listing from a majorseller had 250, yes 250 pairs of Batmobile/Police Car ex set cars for £20 and the samenumber of Orange Hot Pursuit Subaru at atenner each. Before anyone writes in, yes I knowyou could have got this Batmobile deal at the lastMilton Keynes swapmeet, but as Nigel reportedthere was only just over 200 people who saw thatdeal. (Stop Press! Just before sending in thisreport the remaining unsold pairs were relisted

at £19 along with the Scooby at £9 and ex setStarsky and Hutch cars at £18 for the pair).Whilst these deals are great news for vigilantbuyers at the moment, a quick look at the globalBatmobile slot market shows some people justdon’t look hard enough before buying and endup paying almost the same price for just theBatmobile itself. Looking deeper and morewidely, the Batmobile market was dominated inthe UK by these twin sets at £20 to £35. Morethan 100 Batmobile listings in the USA weredominated mainly by Aurora T-Jets with thebest price by far being a whopping $560 for 2mint examples. Germany saw only 9 listings at25 Euros or less split between the recent C2635boxed Scalextric version and Johnny Lightning(JL) Thunderjet 500, but surprisingly noCarrera 1/32 Batman “Hush” cars.

I can’t recall these models being mentionedin the Journal, so a quick mini review. Thismodel (ref 27110) was commissioned especiallyby the German store chain Idee + Spiel andmodelled on the DC comics Batmobile. It wassold at a higher than normal retail price forCarrera cars of 60 Euros and only 3000 werereportedly made. A shiny black finished model,it comes with some unique features includingtwo LED lighted “Bat Eyes” which shine outfrom a Batmask on the front of the car and therocket exhaust at the back. Nicely detailed handpainted Batman and Robin figures sit in linebehind a fully glassed engine compartmentwhich shows off the chrome and colouredengine detail. Innovative removable rubber“Batwings” on the rear wheel arches finish themodel off and hopefully enable these to be racedwithout damage. I have not raced the exampleso I have got to prove this theory though! Thewhole item comes in an attractive DC Comicsliveried sleeve. ➳

16

Moving on but continuing the “SuperHero” theme there was a pair of “lights down”Spiderman TR7s included in a collection of 17TR7s that did not attract any bids after startingout at £599. The lot included a plain red C130car and most cars were boxed examples. Onecar missing from that collection though was a“Gold Triumph TR7 promo race winner from1978” that fetched £77.77 earlier in the month.It seems to me that there is an increasing sell offof some collections as well lately, following onfrom the big £30k listing reported previously. Aswith the TR7 collection not many are gettingsold as a job lot like the full set of 27 ScalextricGT40s, including an NSCC limited weekendcar, which ended at £1105 but with the reservenot met. On German Ebay a collection of 30Fly Porsche 917Ks, including the team sets,remained unsold after a starting price of 3200Euros failed to attract any bids. This may havebeen a bit of over optimistic pricing though!

On my Ebay surfing travels this month Ihave come across some rather different items(well to me anyway) listed. A vintage 60s Slot-carDynamometer made in 1966 by “SouthernEngineering Products” of Canton, MA sold for$245 (BIN price) particularly caught my eye. Itprovided “Theoretical Horse Power” on ananalogue gauge from measuring the torque bythe motor. A testimony from vintage slot-carauthor Philippe de Lespinay said he was notaware of this item before and suggested that acar could be nicely displayed on top of the dynowhich I would have to agree with looking at thepictures of the item. More items from the USincluded a boxed 1971 Aurora “Wheelie Trike”green machine that fetched $228, a “JamesBond 007 race set Gilbert Aurora O Gaugescale” (unboxed) with BIN price of $699, and aVintage Strombecker Racing HeadquartersClock/Sign that made $304. The sign was fromlate 50s or early 60s and had been rescued fromthe bin in the late 70s by the vendor who hadworked at the hobby store in Kansas where ithad been hanging. In the UK a “Nichimo Slot-car Racing set super rare mint boxed 1:24”probably from the 70s fetched £134. With anexcellent box and seemingly very well built

Ferrari and Porsche F1 cars looking in almostmint condition this seemed to be a very goodbuy to me. (Should have bid a bit more on thisone!)

A few prices to finish with descriptions aslisted, including some NSCC connected items:

Very rare Scalextric NSCC 2000 weekend TVRslot-car £300 (BIN - remained unsold).Rare NSCC Alpha Romeo 8C C306 1 of only128 MB £390 (BIN - remained unsold).Scalextric rare C380 Datsun 260Z Bison LtdEd? £9.99 (seller was suggesting that this mayhave been NSCC limited edition model in listingdescription!)Ninco Clio NSCC Amarillo y verdadero 285Euros (Spanish Ebay)Scalextric Kit £20.01 (MB K704 marshal postkit)1960s K704 Control Tower kit £33.58 (sold forspares or repair)Scalextric NASCAR #36 M&M’s Pontiac £51(this same model went for $113 in US and 38Euros in Germany during the month so younow know where to look for cheaper Nascarcars!)Scalextric Mini gold and silver plated rarepromo cars £362 - (reportedly made for a BMWMini dealership 2005 sales campaign).Vintage Scalextric sponsor sticker £11 (70ssticker sponsoring of John Bright racing).jermy mcwilliams 99 new £5.51 (liked thatdescription! A new boxed bike and even with £4P&P shows that motorbike prices are severelydepressed).Scalextric Catalogue number 13 1972 £36Scalextric Catalogue 12th Edition Early 1970s£2.25 (looked VGC but had a couple of priceswritten in).Triang Scalextric Catalogue No 1 January 1960£70.

Tip of the month - if you win the lotteryand money is no object, have a look at auctionsby “geronimotomas” – no wonder the slot-carEbay novice thinks everything is worth a fortuneif they do a search in this shop! ■

17April 2006

Planning for the 2006 weekend started onthe way home from the 2005 event – howdo we make it better, what will be the

theme, what will the car be? Of course, thereisn’t much that can be done so soon and it wasSeptember before serious consideration wasgiven to the event.

The two most pressing items were to decidethe date so that it did not clash with any ofHornby’s Toyfair commitments or Mothers’Day. The hotel was most accommodating so thisdate was soon fixed. The second decision wasthe car. Hornby give us 48 models so there canbe no demanding on our part but the offer of ayellow Ford GT with NSCC down the sides wasclearly a no brainer and the design was soonsigned off. The next thought was a theme andwith the Sport+ range of tuning parts due to be

released this would be an excellent opportunityto test them thoroughly amongst a criticalaudience.

At the September committee meeting apreference for team racing was expressed buthow could this be achieved? Hornby were keenon using the SportWorld system and so acunning plan was hatched to have an eight lanetrack running from a single Sport-World unit.This was achieved by using computer patchcables to move the lane extension pieces apartand four identical two lane tracks could be builtnext to each other acting as an eight lane track.Of course, there are no throttle extension cablesfor SportWorld or SportDigital so appropriateplugs, sockets and cable had to be acquired fromMaplin Electronics and an evening of solderingensued. ➳

2006 NSCC Hornby2006 NSCC Hornby2006 NSCC Hornby2006 NSCC Hornby2006 NSCC HornbyWWWWWeekeekeekeekeekendendendendend

By Rob Smith

SorSorSorSorSort that lot out Sport that lot out Sport that lot out Sport that lot out Sport that lot out Sportworld!tworld!tworld!tworld!tworld!

18

The eighth NSCC Hornby weekend wasonce again held at the Comfort Inn in Ramsgatewhich provides us with just the right balance offriendliness, good food and facilities for anaffordable price so the 48 club members canenjoy a weekend of Scalextric.

Setup started on Friday afternoon and it wassoon apparent that some of the track wasmissing. Panic set in but R3 curves were foundat the factory and some borders at the localstockist. Everything worked perfectly in testingbut this obviously couldn’t last. Everyone wasrandomly allocated to one of eight teams whohad to divide the racing equally amongst theirteam members. As the participants arrived onFriday evening there were introductions allround as people tried to find their team mates.

The racing took the form of an endurancerace running from Saturday morning untilSunday lunchtime. We briefly toyed with theidea of letting the teams run all night butdecided it wasn’t fair to the hotel. If one of themain purposes of the weekend is to have fun, theother is to provide feedback to Hornby on theirproducts. Over the course of the weekend eachteam had to have a minimum of six pit stopswhere the main items of the car were exchangedfor the Sport+ tuning parts – motor, guide,drive-train (axles, wheels, bearings, gears), tyres,gears and magnet removal.

Racing began promptly and extra laps couldbe won or lost for cheating, sporting or un-sporting conduct and bribing me. Our esteemededitor also lost laps for driving under the

influence of Red Bull. Only one problem inSportWorld was apparent and that was anoccasional power overload that stopped thesystem. With no resume function the lap counthad to be hastily scribbled down and the systemrestarted – here was our first recommendationback to Hornby. Fitting the Sport+ tuning partsalso caused much discussion and some greatfeedback for Hornby. Although there are someissues for them to address the cars were definitelygetting faster throughout the weekend.

The Saturday night dinner was a welcomerelaxing break and featured the quiz preparedby Jim Moyes and Adrian Leggett to puzzle andperplex the so-called experts who thought theyknew everything about Scalextric. Everythingthat is except the questions that were beingasked! Who actually does know the name of thevillain in the comic book catalogue? AndyCarmichael, with the help of his entire table,was declared the winner and very generouslydonated his prize back to the raffle and auctionto be held on the Sunday. Chris Morgan,Hornby’s QA manager joined Adrian Normanfor the first Q&A session where all manner oftopics were raised.

As the Sunday morning dawned cold andclear the attendees staggered down for breakfastto face a morning of racing and new parts fortheir Subaru Imprezas. As an added distractionthe teams also had to assemble a Scalextricbuilding - as can be seen below not all wereentirely successful!

Pit stop timePit stop timePit stop timePit stop timePit stop time

19April 2006

In spite of everyone’s efforts the racing wasconsistently competitive and nearly 4000 lapswere completed by finish time. Eventually the“Purple” team came through to win by a smallmargin and won a SportWorld set for all theteam members.

This session was finished with another Q&Asession and Adrian was joined by the designer ofthe SportWorld software and Frank Martin theHornby Hobbies plc CEO. Other Hornbyvisitors over the weekend include Mike Walters,the Technical Director and Paul Chandler, theScalextric brand manager. It is a measure ofhow much Hornby value the opinion of NSCCmembers that so many senior people give uppart of their weekend to come and see us andhear our comments. Design work has alreadybegun to implement some of our feedback aboutthe Sport+ tuning parts.

The racing element of the weekend closedwith a “Ladies” race where green VW Beetleskindly donated by Hornby were turned intosomething surreal by the editor’s and secretary’spartners, Christine and Sandi. The cars werecovered in glitter and feathers and featuredsuitably enhanced drivers. This racing wassupported by all with suitable comments on thecars - the eventual winner being Juliette Torres,the youngest competitor present and all the wayfrom France.

As usual Hornby donated all manner ofitems for the charity raffle and auction whichalso included some extra items courtesy of MikeRonald, Steve Baker and Bob from the localScalextric shop of B&D Collectables. Theyincluded unique Scalextric prototypes, cars usedin the BT TV adverts, a Range Presentation car,as well as Micro cars, a Cummins Jaguar, Pointof Sale material, track, cars, spares and two ofthe four layouts. The prototypes included a firstshot of the McLaren Mercedes SLR and pre-production versions, sprayed silver of theCooper Climax and the Ferrari F2004. The BTtelly advert cars were Ford GT40s, ChevroletCamaros and a classic Maserati and Vanwallsprayed by BT in pale blue or yellow.

The raffle raised over £500 and the auction,where the Chairman extracts as much money aspossible, provided a magnificent sum with over£4000 being realised in total. All of theproceeds from the raffle and auction will go toHornby’s nominated local children’s cancercharity.

Everyone departed on Sunday afternoonwith an IOU from Hornby – the Ford GTs werestill on the slow boat from China!

Thanks to Adrian Leggett and RichardWinter who helped me throughout the weekend,Jon Hewitt and Andy Carmichael for managingthe display cabinets and putting on a superbdisplay, Kirsty Sanderson and Pete Emery whotook the photos and to every member who madethe weekend such a success.

So what do we do next year? ■

Amazing what you can do with a grAmazing what you can do with a grAmazing what you can do with a grAmazing what you can do with a grAmazing what you can do with a green beetle!een beetle!een beetle!een beetle!een beetle!

Q & A timeQ & A timeQ & A timeQ & A timeQ & A time

20

DDDDDeep wallets needed for these protoypes at auction timeeep wallets needed for these protoypes at auction timeeep wallets needed for these protoypes at auction timeeep wallets needed for these protoypes at auction timeeep wallets needed for these protoypes at auction time

21April 2006

Bugattis galorBugattis galorBugattis galorBugattis galorBugattis galore and a GT40 used for a BT adve and a GT40 used for a BT adve and a GT40 used for a BT adve and a GT40 used for a BT adve and a GT40 used for a BT adverererererttttt

22

So what exactly is an NSCC/Hornbyweekend and what is like as a first timer?

The NSCC/Hornby weekend is now inits eighth year and I have no idea what mighthave taken place in the previous seven events butI have heard stories.

Some say that the invited NSCC membersdance naked at midnight after anointing eachother with secret oils.

Some say that a crude altar is built forworship by the acolytes from versions of theBugatti and Auto Union models (but only in thatvery rare brown/orange colour combination).

Others say that they have heard weirdchants and strange music after midnight at theComfort Hotel Ramsgate on THAT weekend.Even stranger is the story of half dog, half wolf-like animals patrolling the corridors of the hotelat dead of night and giving vent to a howl ofanguish that, if you lean your head just so tolisten it, sounds like someone saying, “I almostbought a James Bond set MIB in 1973 for only£4 arrrggghhhh”.

So with these and other, even weirderstories, ringing in my ears I was really surprisedto hear myself saying to Rob Smith on thetelephone, “Great, thanks Rob, I am so pleasedI have been allocated a place at the 2006 NSCCweekend, of course I can come”.

Help - what have I done?And, and, and dammit, I was to share a

room with Gareth ‘only here for the rally cars’Jex.

And I don’t do room sharing. I really do notdo room share.

No really, it’s just not fair on the otherperson, not with my snoring…..

OK here we goOK here we goOK here we goOK here we goOK here we goSo dear readers I mounted my Italian Stallion*and rode like the wind to sunny Ramsgatearriving at Ye Olde Comfort Inn in time for

breakfast. *OK, OK I drove my Alfa Romeo toRamsgate.

I have to say at this point that on arriving atthe Comfort Inn I was surprised how much itlooked like me. No really, absolutely superfriendly and pretty solid but starting to look,well, just a little careworn and lived in.Anyway, with breakfast over it was time to listento Richard, Rob and Adrian addressing thetroops and outlining the plan for the weekend.It would appear that we were to be split intoteams to contest a multipart endurance raceusing Subaru Impreza models and the newSportworld system and the Sport+ tune upparts. Four identical, small, but beautifullymarked and very entertaining Sportworld tracksgreeted us. All of the four tracks had beenplumbed into a single Sportworld base. By somedigital trickery Adrian Norman had convincedthe said Sportworld base that these four circuitsconstituted one eight lane raceway – hey, don’tyou just love getting one over anything thatcounts in binary!

Mind you, it (the Sportworld unit) really gotits own back on us during the weekend.

RacingRacingRacingRacingRacingI was pleased to find that after a break of aroundthree years from regular club competition someof my old pace began to put in an appearanceover the weekend. The racing was unfortunatelya little sporadic as glitches with the Sportworldsystem made themselves felt. The racingincluded mandatory pit stops to refurbish theScalextric Subarus with Sport tuning parts.Suffice it to say that the parts provided lots offeedback for the Q&A sessions later. The racingwas great fun and now I KNOW that I have toget back to regular competition. Oh, and myapologies to the members of the White teamwho got a fair (unfair?) number of nerfs from meas I settled back into competitive slot-car racing.

A VirginA VirginA VirginA VirginA Virgin’s tale’s tale’s tale’s tale’s taleBy Pete Emery

23April 2006

DinnerDinnerDinnerDinnerDinnerWe were served some kind of an orange lump inorange sauce that I thought was one of myGoldfish but actually turned out to be foul, sorryfowl of some kind. I have to say that thevegetarian ‘wraps’ looked pretty appealing.Thankfully it tasted better than it looked.During dinner the assembled throng turnedtheir attention towards the Quiz. This should befun I thought, I have been interested in slot-carsfor forty years so I should be able to answer afew.

Ahem. No. I think that there were aboutforty eight questions. I answered six. I got one ofthose wrong........... Eeeeeek!

Q&AQ&AQ&AQ&AQ&AThroughout the weekend Adrian wheeled invarious members of Hornby staff who enjoyed(endured?) a lively exchange with the NSCCmembers. I was particularly impressed withHornby Super Boss Frank Martin who was veryopen in his session. I guess I was a little surprisedthat Josep, ex-SCX marketing top honcho, nowHornby Marketing boss was a no-show.

The AuctionThe AuctionThe AuctionThe AuctionThe AuctionIf there was one element of the weekend thatwas nothing like my expectations it was theauction.

You have to remember that only 48 NSCCmembers attend the weekend. You have toremember that they don’t accept telephone bidslike a Christies auction.

And you have to remember that when youread that the 43 lots raised a total of £3845! Asa slot enthusiast who has a collection rather thana collector of slot-cars I had decided that Iwould only bid on a couple of items. One wasa prototype F1 2004 Ferrari. I thought thatmaybe I would bid to £100. Crikey - it startedsomewhere around there and in the space of afew minutes topped out at £500!

I was definitely shaken and stirred by theresolute behaviour of serious collectors with arare item in front of them.

Home timeHome timeHome timeHome timeHome timeAfter listening to a quick roundup from Richard,Rob and Adrian it was time to bid adieu tosunny Ramsgate and finish my Far East trip bywending my way home to Worcestershire. Don’ttell PC Plod but I managed to wend my waypretty darn quickly taking no prisoners on myway home in a record three hours……. Wow. Soby 7:35pm I was sitting down to watch theBahrain GP! And the GP gave me a great endto a great weekend.

And finally - my huge thanks to all of theguys’n’girls involved in making the weekendhappen and to the super helpful staff at theComfort Inn for err, making it very comfortable,they were a great bunch.

Oh, and please, please can I come againnext year, pretty please? ■

HerHerHerHerHere’e’e’e’e’s to the next one, folkss to the next one, folkss to the next one, folkss to the next one, folkss to the next one, folks

24

A bit thin on the ground this month but Ido have pictures of some of the items announced last month such as the

pretty OCAR Ferrari 166MM Berlinetta, andAston Zagato.

In terms of new stuff Le Mans Miniaturesare due to release the 1978 Renault Alpine A443in both RTR and Kit form, Sloter have a newlong tail version of their 312PB (Ferrari) asdriven by Brian Redman and Arturo “LittleArt” Merzario in 1973, and World Classics havere-released their BMW 2002 having re-tooled toenable the kit to use the highly popular PendlePCS32 Chassis. I also see that the popularRedline Aston Martin DB9Rs are back in stock

at a number of outlets in both RTR and kit formversions, and finally BMC/Highway 32 have aslot version of the old “Austin” pedal car fromthe 1950s. I’m not sure what scale they are in butthey certainly brought back some memories forme as my two older brothers used to push mearound the garden at (what then seemed) highspeed in one when I was a child. As an aside Ialso hear that while the same company’sFabulous Dino 246 may be out of productionnow, there may still be one or two examples stillavailable.

Not exactly cars, but I see that Carrera arenow selling grid girl and pit babe figures tobrighten up our 1/32nd world, how times havechanged from Scalextric bloke in his duffle coatand bobble hat. On that subject it was sad to seethe last of Colin Spark’s excellent CarreraCorner features last month, but I’ll try and keepyou posted on any new Carrera releases throughKits N Bobs.

On a final note you may recall last month Ihad pictures of the 1/24th Pro Stock brasschassis, well I thought as a closing picture thismonth I’d show you what these chassis look likewith some bodies fitted to them, here are my1965 Ford Galaxie, 1970 Dodge Challenger,and 1975 AMC Matador converted for slotusing this great new chassis. ■

Kits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releases

By Phil Insull

OCAR FOCAR FOCAR FOCAR FOCAR Ferrerrerrerrerrari 166MM Berlinetta,ari 166MM Berlinetta,ari 166MM Berlinetta,ari 166MM Berlinetta,ari 166MM Berlinetta,

PCS32 ChassisPCS32 ChassisPCS32 ChassisPCS32 ChassisPCS32 Chassis.....

Galaxie, ChallengerGalaxie, ChallengerGalaxie, ChallengerGalaxie, ChallengerGalaxie, Challenger, Matador on P, Matador on P, Matador on P, Matador on P, Matador on Pro Stockro Stockro Stockro Stockro Stock

ChassisChassisChassisChassisChassis.....

OCAR Aston MarOCAR Aston MarOCAR Aston MarOCAR Aston MarOCAR Aston Martin Zagatotin Zagatotin Zagatotin Zagatotin Zagato

25April 2006

When first announced around a yearago the Slot.It Jaguar XJR9 raisedquite a buzz among slot enthusiasts,

particularly those of us in the U.K. who recallthe struggle TWR/Jaguar had through theeighties, which finally led to a much-coveted LeMans win in 1988 with the XJR9LM driven byLammers, Wallace and Dumfries. Pre-launchphotographs of the Slot.It version were of theSilk Cut sponsored machine, however, as is oftenthe way with slot-car releases, the first version issomething different. Slot.It have instead chosento launch their new Jaguar XJR9 in the strikingwhite green and red Castrol livery of the #66car driven to third place by Cheever, Dumfriesand Watson at the IMSA Daytona 24 hours in

1988, some fifteen laps behind the winning #60sister car of Brundle, Boesel and Nielsen. Thereal car was an awesome mid-engine groundeffects machine developed by Tom WalkinshawRacing on behalf of Jaguar and for 1988sported a 60° V12, 5996 cc. normally aspiratedmotor rumoured to produce in excess of 700bhp. and possibly some of the most spinetingling exhausts notes ever.

Thanks to the UK Slot.It distributorsPitstop Distribution I was able to obtain one ofthe first arrivals into the U.K. for testing andreview, which, as normal, took place on the threetracks at my home club at Wolverhampton.

The box is the normal Slot.It crystal displaytype, with the orange outer sleeve bearing a ➳

Slot.ItSlot.ItSlot.ItSlot.ItSlot.It®®®®® Jaguar XJR9 Jaguar XJR9 Jaguar XJR9 Jaguar XJR9 Jaguar XJR9

By Phil Insull

The Slot.It JThe Slot.It JThe Slot.It JThe Slot.It JThe Slot.It Jaguar XJR9 Daguar XJR9 Daguar XJR9 Daguar XJR9 Daguar XJR9 Daytona 1988aytona 1988aytona 1988aytona 1988aytona 1988

26

Jaguar logo on the back as this is an officiallylicensed product. The base colour is white withgreen, red, black, blue, gold and yellow tampoprinting providing the eye catching livery, whichis pretty much spot on to the car as it ran atDaytona in 1988. The tampo printing is mostlyexcellent with clear crisp lines and even some ofthe tiny lettering being legible without the needof a magnifying glass. However, on my examplethere were one or two areas with slight blemisheson the green printing where the colour had notquite gone all the way to the end of a panel, butthese are very minor and took some looking for.Detail features are great as we have come toexpect from Slot.It, with detail parts includingmirrors, roof aerial, roof indicator light, wiper,grilles, lights, back wing support, exhaustassembly and removable wheel spats coveringthe rear wheels.

The cockpit features a full driver figure;although it looks a bit like Watson’s helmet I

always thought his was silver and red not whiteand red, but maybe he changed it once hestopped racing in F1. The rest of the cockpit ispredominantly black (as was the real thing)however, nice touches include rivet detailspicked out on the spare seat, dashboard dials,and even proper ventilation holes in the sidescreens. Behind the cockpit, seen through thehuge roof air intake, is the top of the enginewith all twelve-inlet trumpets being visible andagain with proper ventilation holes present onthe rear bodywork. The rear wing is made up ofthe support, mounting plate and the main wingitself and again is accurate to the Daytona car,being mounted higher and having larger endplates than the later Le Mans car which featureda low level wing for reduced downforce. Anothernice touch is that Slot.It, knowing that theirproducts are designed to race, have includedwith the car a second plain black one piece rearwing that can be fitted instead of the more

The underside of the JThe underside of the JThe underside of the JThe underside of the JThe underside of the Jaguar body with wheel spat raguar body with wheel spat raguar body with wheel spat raguar body with wheel spat raguar body with wheel spat removemovemovemovemovededededed

27April 2006

detailed one when racing. This is a great ideaand should be applauded, although one minordown point is that the full detail wing is not easyto remove and there is a risk of causing the verydamage in changing them over that you hope toavoid by racing with the spare plain wing.

Underneath the chassis is held by thenormal two screws front and rear, with themotor cradle/axle carrier held by four screwsthat can be adjusted to allow the motor to rock.As always this can be replaced by the magneticsuspension motor cradle for the really seriousracers. Axles are calibrated and the rear hubsare aluminium, with a bronze pinion andaluminium/nylon contrate, the guide is slightlydeeper than on the Porsche or Sauber and hasthe normal Slot.It soft copper pick up braids.However, mine was very stiff and I had to openthe guide hole a fraction with a round file to getit to swing as freely as I normally like. Power issupplied by the normal in-line Slot.It 26,000RPM motor, although this can be changed forvarious other motors for those who feel the needfor it. The wheel inserts are black five spokeswith tiny yellow Dymag logos printed on themand the soft compound tyres have the Dunloplogos on the sidewalls.

On The TOn The TOn The TOn The TOn The TrackrackrackrackrackI tried the Jaguar out on Wolverhampton’s threetracks, firstly on the new Slot Fire circuit. Withits magnet still in place I managed to producesome consistent laps with no more than a fewhundredths of a second separating the Slot.ItJaguar from its Sauber and Porsche sistersrunning a standard set up. Without a magnet onthe Slot Fire produced much the same result, laptimes being around 1.5 seconds slower for allthree cars than I’d managed with the magnet.Next up came the Ninco plexy circuit, first of allwith the magnet and again lap times wereincredibly close for all three cars. While theJaguar’s speed was not a problem it was makingan occasional clunking noise over some of therougher track joints. This noise was beingcaused by the rear wheel spats catching over

some of the track joints, partly because the frontedge of the spats sit fractionally lower than therest of the bodywork. The solution was simple- run with the spats removed. Taking themagnets out of the three cars did make achange; while the Jaguar and Sauber wereproducing similar times the Porsche somehowmanaged to lap 0.25 seconds quicker and for thelife of me I can’t explain why, equally strangewas the return of the clunking noise when Irefitted the spats even though the back of theJaguar was not now being pulled down by themagnet, in fact on one occasion this caused theJaguar to de-slot on the bumpy Ninco straights.Finally, on to the copper tape-routed trackwhere the first notable thing for all three cars isthe need to change the standard guide for a deeptrack version to stop them de-slotting. Havingdone this I found that yet again I was able toproduce lap times within a few hundredths of asecond with all of them. I was able to producesome slightly quicker times by changing thefront tyres for low profile zero grip ones andremoving the spats, which probably sheds acouple of grammes in weight and stopped thewheels rubbing against them slightly underheavy acceleration out of the corners, but we areonly talking tenths of a second, and changingthe front tyres on the Porsche and Sauber hada similar effect.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionIn summary this is very quick and highlydetailed slot-car, and provides a great stablemate to the Slot.It Sauber and Porsche. Ipersonally think the Jag is the best lookingalthough, as a Brit, I’m probably biased and I dohave to say that for robustness I’d stick to racingthe Porsche in competition as the Sauber andJaguar back wings are likely to suffer in the eventof a rear end shunt. While the racing wing is avery nice touch the Jag just doesn’t look rightwhen fitted with a plain black wing. Unusuallyfor a reviewer I tend to purchase my own cars forreview so I can honestly answer the question“Did I think the Slot.It Jaguar XJR9 was worththe money?” My answer is honestly yes I do. ■

28

This is the machine ridden to the BritishSuperbike Championship Title by thehighly consistent John Reynolds in

2004. A vastly experienced rider of 500cc GPand Isle of Man fame. He took the title in 1991then the BSB title again in 2001 with the RedBull Ducati Team. So far he has clocked up atotal of 37 wins, 13 poles and 43 fastest laps.

This machine with its in-line four enginedelivers 210 bhp - good for about 200mph anda kerb weight of only 162 kg less fuel tank.

The BSB championship came about afterdeclining attendances forced the circuits to takeback the championship in 1995. The formationof the MCRCB (Motor Cycle Racing ControlBoard) presented a united front to drive the sportforward as the compelling spectacle that it hasbecome today. After an initial pilot programme,regular TV coverage followed on Sky, Eurosportand ITV. With the attraction of star riders likeNial Mackenzie, Championship sponsors suchas Cadbury, Aiwa, Toshiba, Red Bull, Virgin,INS, Rizla and Halls among them helped adegree of professionalism also.

Top bike manufacturers were attracted bythe series and the sales it could produce. In 2003rule changes allowed in 1000cc machines whichmade the series more attractive. In 2004 DornaSports, commercial rights holders of the MotorGP, signed an agreement with the MCRCB totake over the rights until 2008 thus giving theseries the stability it needs.

Shortly before Christmas the phone rangawakening me from a pre-bedtime nap, “Brianhere, would you like to review.....”? Cutting himshort I replied, “Just send the Ferrari P4 expressdelivery”. “Sorry, it’s a motorbike”. Urrgh!

It duly arrived a few days later and I mustadmit my disappointment did not last long.Being a partial motorbike fan and former Foggy

fan club member it impressed me straight away.A look on the BSB site confirmed that the boysdown at Margate have got it just right with allthe decals in the right place even down to theMichelin printed on the tyres. It would not lookout of place in a collector’s cabinet. Now, on tothe important part - does it handle better thanthe old ones?

The answer is Yes! This brand new mouldis a lot more defined than the earlier examplesand modifications have been made to improvethe handling. This is done firstly with the newmagnet holder under the motor towards therear. This enables the round magnet to bepositioned in any one of the three openings.Also obvious is the addition of a pair ofstabilisers, which come out from under themagnet holder and face rearwards. They aremade from black wire with the ends beingcoated in plastic. Once in motion they are barelynoticeable. They do clearly have a dramaticeffect on the handling; in the main it stops theguide from lifting out of the slot. This nowenables the bikes to corner rather well instead ofvisiting the scenery every time a corner wasapproached.

These new magnet holders and stabilisersare available as a spare part from the factory andcan easily be fitted to the earlier bikes, with onlya small locating hole to be made in the enginecowl. So get your old ones out of the loft and fitthese parts and your unloved bikes will betransformed into very enjoyable racers. So muchso that a couple of clubs are running classes forthem.

So if you fancy a change, switch onto ITVthis year as the programmes are scheduled forSunday afternoons and the three Bank HolidayMondays. For more thrills and spills and a bit ofovertaking it’s definitely worth a look. ■

C6014 John RC6014 John RC6014 John RC6014 John RC6014 John ReynoldseynoldseynoldseynoldseynoldsSuzuki GSXR1000Suzuki GSXR1000Suzuki GSXR1000Suzuki GSXR1000Suzuki GSXR1000

By Dave Yerbury

29April 2006

On a hot sunny afternoon a man in awhite driving suit and a white Stetsonis sitting in the shade provided by one

of the open stalls down in the bottom paddockat Goodwood House. He has a Texas drawl andis talking enthusiastically to a thirty-somethingEnglish race fan about some of the beautifulwhite cars sitting beneath those open stalls.These cars were some of the most fantastic,innovative racing machines ever built, and theywere the product of the fertile mind of the manin the Stetson hat.

The cars are Chaparrals, the man in theStetson is Jim Hall, and the Englishman is me.That day was fantastic as I got to meet a legendand to see his creations blast up the GoodwoodHill, amazing too was the fact that Jim Hall

seemed happy to talk to someone too young tohave seen his cars in their heyday. Jim createdthe high aerofoil wing, movable wings, and eventhe first fan “ground effects” car long beforeGordon Murray’s Brabham BT46.

Of all Jim Hall’s Chaparrals (a Chaparral ismore commonly known as the Road Runner –yes like in the cartoons, hence the cartoon logowas often carried on Jim’s cars) perhaps the moststriking was the 2F coupe built to contest the1967 Championship of Makes. Following onfrom the open cockpit 2E with its adjustablehigh aerofoil, the 2F was powered by a 427 cubicinch (7 Litre) aluminium Chevrolet V8. Thewing was mounted on two long struts directly ontop of the suspension uprights and featured afoot operated mechanism that flattened the ➳

MRRC Chaparral 2FMRRC Chaparral 2FMRRC Chaparral 2FMRRC Chaparral 2FMRRC Chaparral 2F

By Phil Insull

The MRRThe MRRThe MRRThe MRRThe MRRC ChaparrC ChaparrC ChaparrC ChaparrC Chaparral 2F prototypeal 2F prototypeal 2F prototypeal 2F prototypeal 2F prototype

30

wing on the straights, and pushed it up for moredown-force in the corners. The car debuted atDaytona in February and led for the first fourhours before Phil Hill clipped a wall and the carsuccumbed to chassis damage. There followed aseason plagued by gremlins and problems for the2Fs but finally at the last round of the season,the BOAC 500 held at Brands Hatch, the carcame good with Hill and Mike Spence winningby over a lap from Jackie Stewart and ChrisAmon in a Ferrari P4 Spyder. At the season’send the prototype rules were changed to amaximum three litres and the 2F was consignedto history.

Some months ago MRRC announced theywould be producing a 1/32nd 2F, and at the 2006London and Nuremberg Toyfairs the prototypesfinally appeared. I for one was itching to get myhands on them and was delighted when Seanfrom Pendle Slot Racing offered me the chanceto test and review one of the pre-productionprototypes.

This is a super looking car - details includewire type wheel inserts, side air intakes, exhaustsexiting through the rear panel and, of course,that striking tall rear wing. The predominantlywhite livery may not be everybody’s cup of teabut it is authentic to the #4 car that ran at the1967 Nurburgring 1000 Kilometres and, asMRRC themselves have told me, the car I wasloaned was a version two pre-production one.They are now on a version five prototype thatincorporates a large list of detail improvementsto the bodywork, interior, chassis and runninggear, all of which should mean that the finalproduction version is even better looking andbetter performing than the one provided for thisreview.

Underneath the Chaparral sports a newlydesigned chassis using a slim line boxer typemotor (similar to the Scalextric F1 and Motor-bike motors), magnet for those who like them,and adjustable side pans with integrated weights

The rThe rThe rThe rThe rear panel detail showing the exhaust exitsear panel detail showing the exhaust exitsear panel detail showing the exhaust exitsear panel detail showing the exhaust exitsear panel detail showing the exhaust exits

31April 2006

so that the car’s centre of weight can be movedto suit a driver’s preference. The guide assemblylooks similar to the one used on the ToyotaCelica GR5 but is slightly deeper and kept thenose firmly in the slot on the Wolverhamptonrouted track.

Off then to Wolves to give the Chaparral achance to stretch its legs. I ran the car as it camewith just a spot of oil on the rear contrate andbearings. Straight from the box on the routedtrack the car felt sharp and well balanced. I didhowever find myself worrying about the frailtyof that tall rear wing, particularly as this is aprototype and I didn’t fancy explaining to Seanor MRRC if I trashed it, so sensibly after a fewlaps I removed it. (It simply pushes into twomounting holes). I just hope MRRC will also dothe rear wing as a spare part because the carlooks great with it on, but I can see a fewbreakages when the production versions areraced in anger. As an aside MRRC are evenplanning to produce different wing supportprofiles to match the real cars where some wereround and others were ovoid in shape. Feelingsomewhat bolder I now began to explore thelimits of the car and began lapping consistentlyquickly. I had set base times with my unmodifiedScalextric GT40 and Ferrari P4 and found I wasinstantly able to beat these by around 0.25

seconds per lap with the Chaparral, mainly dueto the terrific punch out of the corners anddown the straights provided by the slim linemotor. Most satisfying however was the fact thatthis car was a pleasure to drive on the routedtrack, and I just kept on lapping with it at adecent pace not wanting to stop. Finally I had todrag myself off to the Ninco track where I triedthe 2F in its magnetised form; here the carseemed looser than the rival Scalextric cars, nothaving quite the same level of magnetic grip, butthe straight line speed nearly made up for thetime lost in corners. Lap times were around 0.10seconds down on average and the car did notfeel quite so good to drive in magnet form.Fiddling with the magnet and weights wouldprobably give improved times, but I didn’t wantto mess too much with the prototype, so Iheaded back to the routed track where I couldreally enjoy the handling, lopping off another0.30 seconds from my previous best in theprocess.

Impressions from other members wereinteresting, most seemed to like it althoughsomeone did comment that it looked a littleundersized compared to the Scalextric cars.There is some justification in that commentalthough I don’t know if the 2F is undersize orthe Scalextric cars are oversize, but once they’rerunning it becomes far less noticeable. Itcertainly now means you can re-enact the battlesfrom that 1967 season and I have to say I reallydid take to the Chaparral, so much so that it wasa real wrench to have to send it back. It justremains for me to thank Sean (Pendle SlotRacing) and John (MRRC) for the loan of theprototype for this review and with the detailedimprovements that I know have been built intolater prototypes and will be carried forward intothe production versions this should be a crackingslot-car, I know I’ll be buying a few!

A late breaking piece of news regards therelease of a two car Le Mans set with only 1800of these available worldwide through authorisedMRRC distributors, should be well worthconsidering a pre-order. ■

The all-new chassis devThe all-new chassis devThe all-new chassis devThe all-new chassis devThe all-new chassis developed for theeloped for theeloped for theeloped for theeloped for the

ChaparrChaparrChaparrChaparrChaparralalalalal

32

Let’s get this clear right from the start - Ilove Porsches, and given the choice (andthe readies) would take one over a Ferrari

any day of the week. And yes, that does includethe glorious 250LM, 250GTO, 275GTB4, 575etc. Complaints on a postcard to the editorplease! I also love (most) Fly cars. I do, however,HATE magnets on slot-cars, and now have ahuge collection of magnetic dots. The only usefor these is to hold the grocery list on the fridgedoor. I also go off at tangents, so please bearwith me!

The subject of our review this month, dearreader, is the aforementioned A1401, Porsche917LH, Le Mans 1970. This is race #25, chassis#917-042, as driven by Elford and Ahrens,entered by Porsche Knostruktionen (Austria).Tech specs: Rear mounted flat 12 air-cooled4907cc engine, with bore and stroke of 86 x 70.4mm. Transmission was 5 speed. Prior 917s hada displacement of 4494cc, bore/stroke of 85 x66mm and a 4-speed tranny.

But, before we get into the bowels of thereport, here’s a bit of a history lesson. Porsche

and Le Mans. Two words that conjure up abottomless pit of history and passion, and areforever inexorably linked. Porsche’s Le Mansrecord was already impressive. No marque hashad more entries and won more times, and by1970 had achieved almost 120 entries and morethan 50 finishers. They had scored 30 class wins,four Index of Performance wins, an Index ofThermal Efficiency, a Biennial Cup and successin every category from GTs to sports cars toprototypes. In 19 visits Porsche drivers had onlygone home empty handed once, in 1959, whenall six Porsches DNF’d. Up to ’70 their bestoverall results had been 2nd and 3rd in 1968 and2nd in 1969 with the 907 and 908. In 1969 they’dlost out in the closest finish yet seen at Le Mans.1970 promised to crown 20 years of determinedeffort with outright victory.

The 917 was a formidable machine, withearly versions being described as “un-drivable”by its pilots. It was revolutionary for its time,much like Colin Chapman’s Lotus 25/33/49/72 models had been in Grand Prix racing up tothis time. It also shocked the FIA, but they had➳

Fly A1401, PFly A1401, PFly A1401, PFly A1401, PFly A1401, Porsche 917LHorsche 917LHorsche 917LHorsche 917LHorsche 917LH,,,,,Le Mans 1970Le Mans 1970Le Mans 1970Le Mans 1970Le Mans 1970

From our CanadianCorrespondent Gary Clift

33April 2006

left the loophole in the regulations - a productionof a minimum of 25 cars might have soundeda lot to the blazer brigade at Place de laConcorde, Paris, but to Porsche it was simply alogical progression, having already built similarnumbers of its predecessor, the 907 and 908. Sothe 917 showed their ambitions, and for 1970they arrived at Le Sarthe with the biggest fleet,nay armada, ever seen. They brought 24 cars,including seven 917s in various guises, as well as907s, 908s, 910s, eleven 911s and a singleton914-6. Ferry Porsche flagged the race away, andso began Porsche’s show…

Of further historical interest is that the 1970event was immortalised on celluloid by thefilming of “Le Mans”, starring Steve McQueen.Steve is not only forever remembered for hisPorsche and Le Mans links but, thanks to theother petrol heads classic movie “Bullitt”, withanother iconic automotive classic, the FordMustang. And yes, I love these too! These twomovies have been available on DVD for a whilenow, being in widescreen and 5.1 DTS surroundsound, and are a ‘must have’. One of myfavourite scenes, shot inside the cockpit of a 917,with a near driver’s eye view, is heading downthe Mulsanne Straight and seeing the tacho-meter steadily increasing, but in a ‘ticking’ ratherthan ‘sweeping’ motion. Awesome! (or sad,depending on your gender). Steve McQueensaid at the time: “It was a bloodbath, thatpicture. It was the most dangerous thing I’d everdone and I’m lucky I’m still alive”. This from aguy who did his own stunts!

The RaceThe RaceThe RaceThe RaceThe RaceFerdinand Piech was convinced that if Porschewished to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, a new carshould do it. Knowing very well that Wyer (ofGWA/Gulf fame) distrusted the 917LH - beingthe body Wyer replaced in 1969 by the 917K,and describing the 917LH as having ‘theaerodynamics of a grand piano with the lidopen’ - Piech developed a new version of the917LH. He called it the “streamliner”. Mountedon the new chassis 042, the 4.9 Porsche 917LHof KG Salzburg set pole time in qualifying:3’19"80 at 242.68 kph. In 1971 Piech was“fired” from Porsche AG after he built a 755HPengine without the approval of Ferry Porsche(Piech’s uncle). It was a defining moment whenWyer used the same #042 chassis with an(improved) LH streamliner to qualify again onpole at Le Mans 1971, now in 3’13"9!

The 4.9 KG Salzburg Porsche 917LH withchassis 042 not only took pole at Le Mans, thecar was also leading the race after the first andthird hour. Then, when some wipers werealready going, the team made the mistake not togo for wet tyres when Elford came in forrefuelling. It offered Jo Siffert of JWA Gulf thelead, pulling away from the #25 and setting anew race lap record in 3’22"6. With a superiorpit crew Siffert and team mate Brian Redmansucceeded in increasing their advantage over the#25 streamliner.

After 820 kilometres, the difference wasalready a complete lap. Problems with a slowpuncture, followed by headlight problemsresulted in the #25 losing four more laps. Afternine hours and 1,634 kilometres Siffert/Redman led the Ickx/Schetty Ferrari 512SCoda Lunga by four laps and the #25 by five.Struggling with deficient grip in the wet the #25failed to take over the lead when both theSiffert/Redman and Ickx/Schetty machineryretired. At mid-race the other KG SalzburgPorsche, the #23 led by three laps over the #25LH, followed by the two Martini Internationalentries: the other 917LH (#3) and the 3.0L908/03LH. Those positions were maintaineduntil 8.30 Sunday morning...

34

When Ferry Porsche woke up, after 16 hoursof racing he found four Porsches in the first fourplaces, the first two being the KG SalzburgPorsches of nephew Ferdinand Piech. For theambitious Austrian engineer it was his ultimatemoment of glory, especially now the three917Ks of John Wyer were no longer there. Butat 8h30 the #25 - chassis 042 - came in with abroken inlet valve. For Elford/Ahrens the racewas over. The race was won by 917K #23,chassis #917-023(C53!) of Attwood/Herrmann,after completing 2863.16 miles (4998 km) at anaverage of 119.29 mph (191.992kph)

Ferdinand Piech moved to Audi, where hecreated the racing version of the Audi Quattro,changed the standards in rallying, and laterbecame the boss of Volkswagen. He and uncleFerry were never close friends... In 2002Ferdinand Piech retired from VW, havingrealised his ambitions.

The SlotThe SlotThe SlotThe SlotThe Slot-----carcarcarcarcarUpon receiving an email from both Simon

Moss and our esteemed editor saying the 917LHwas on its way to (at that time) sunny Alberta, Ithought either they know I’m a confirmedPorsche nut and this was a stroke of genius, or

it was purely luck. Suddenly, memories ofGoodwood, Silverstone and Milton Keynes(!)came flooding back, and I could smell theCastrol R. Excellent choice guys, and thanksvery much. “Be objective”, said Brian, check outits nose…

First impressions when hurriedly openingthe packet on Feb 6th were of the by nowstandard, and thankfully still correct-sized, Flyclear crystal case with black base, and dark bluerear card. I did notice the plastic screw holdingthe car’s floor pan to the base was held in placeby a small plastic clip so as to avoid its loss. I laterdiscovered that a lot of the releases in the pastcouple of years have had this, just that I hadn’tpreviously noticed it. A nice touch, however.

On first inspection, 917-042 looked to beright, with Vic at the wheel, sponsors’ decals inthe right place and in the right proportion, etc.So far, so good. Closer inspection shows the race#25 on the right hand door to be outlined by asilver ‘roundel’, but not the left hand door. Upondelving into my numerous books on Le Mansand Porsche, this can be confirmed as correct.

As usual with Fly, the tampo printing is highquality, with the two Marchal ‘black cat’ decalsabove the headlamps looking particularly ➳

35April 2006

sharp with minimal ‘bleeding’ of the redbeneath the black/yellow lettering. The redstriping around the headlamps is faithfullyreproduced, with the angular look of the whitetape of the full size machine surrounding (andretaining) the plastic lamp covers in place.

I was disappointed that the review modelhas some tampo defects: the top red stripe on theleft door has a gap near its end; ‘Shell’ on theright lower body in front of the rear wheel issmudged. Whilst Le Mans 1970 was a dry/wetrace, these two details are not authentic. Theyare relatively minor, but should they pass QC?On a model of this price (see later), and intoday’s ultra-competitive/crowded slot market,then ‘no’ is the answer to that one.

So then, what of the nose? Well, I can say onfirst glance it looks right. However, whenstudying the model and period photos, then it’s95% right. Please see the photos of actual car,and my comparison photos of this and the917K.

From these, it can be seen that Fly has totallyreshaped the nose. From above, the nose is moredepressed into the body, moulding around theradiator far more closely. Instead of the singlerad exit, there is a twin exit set further back. Theremovable panel (on full size car) covering this

area is also larger. The NACA ducts remain, andare slightly smaller. Also correct is the re-shapingof the rad inlet and brake cooling ducts.

When viewed from above it can also be seenthat the LH has a slightly truncated nose incomparison to the K, in that the distancebetween the bottom edge of the headlights andthe tip of nose is shorter on the LH. Ah, theheadlights….

This is where, unfortunately, the model losesits 5% accuracy. The headlamp covers are thewrong shape, and should be wrapping aroundthe sides of nose more than they actually are.Please see photo of actual car for comparison.Does this matter? Well, if you’re a perfectionistrivet counting type of guy, then yes by golly itdoes. If, however, you’re happy that a beautifulmodel of a wonderful beast of precision builtracing machinery can whiz around your scale LeMans track and look the mutts in doing so, then,well, not so much. You pays your money andtakes your choice.

Various on-line forums have slated Fly andthe model due to the nose thing. Bear in mind,though, that this particular model is of the 1970entry, and is about 95% there, and is the onlysubject of this review. The Gulf 1971 entry,however, is another thing altogether…

36

TTTTTrack Track Track Track Track TestestestestestThe car was tested on my 3-lane Scalex 1/24track, being presently a basic figure of 8, withsome standard curve esses for the tricky section.Timing to the 1000th with a DS lap counter;power from 3 Ninco 17.2V 800ma power packs(110v remember!), 1 per lane; wired for brakeswith 3-pin plugs and choice of 15/30/45/60ohm Parma throttles (60ohm used in this case);approx 60’ lane length. Most Flys, with magnets,zap around in the mid to high 3 second mark,and the LH proved to do the same. Future plansinclude use of variable output transformers, ie6/9/12/14V, so as to bring down speeds ofmodels like this to a more acceptable scalespeed.

This bit was totally predictable: it’s a Fly; it’sgot a magnet. In other words, too fast (in scalespeed terms) and too boring. Cars of this era donot corner as if on rails. They had body roll, andthe tails hung out when cornered. This is howthe model should handle! Scale speeds of over300mph do not belong here. If you want this‘thrill’, go buy an H:O set. (Complaints on apostcard to the editor…)

The body is held to the pan by four mainscrews, two at front either side of the guide, andtwo either side of the motor cradle at rear. Therear of the separate motor cradle is held in byone screw at the same point as the exhaust/gearbox assembly (which is minimal, due toextent of rear bodywork). The front of the

motor cradle has a lug, which fits into acorresponding slot in the pan, and houses thesidewinder motor as well as the familiar Fly-stylecircular magnet.

The front wheels are mounted on the nowtraditional Fly plastic stub axles, one per side,with rear axle being supported by plastic bushes.All standard Fly stuff.

So after numbing the brain, and after aboutten installation laps, out came the trustyscrewdriver, and away goes the magnet. Now wehave the proverbial 1/32 scale mattress. Afternot completing one lap through continual de-slotting, I again removed the body and installeda weight behind and above the guide mount.This improves things tremendously, but the feelis still not right, although speed is a bit morerealistic. Off with the body, and one moreweight installed on top of the magnet housing.I initially put two on the underpan either side ofthe motor, but without trimming they fouled onthe interior moulding when reassembling. Nowwe’re talking! This is way better, the weightshelping the rear stick a bit better, but due to theirpositioning also aiding the rear to drift out inbends in a beautifully smooth manner.

All so far without any tyre truing or axlelubing, so into the pits again for the latter. Resultis an even smoother, drifting style that brings asmile to the face, and only results in about halfa second drop in lap times, but a significantincrease in the fun/drivability factor. ➳

37April 2006

At this point, look at the comparative photoswith the K. You can see that the running gearand floor pan are exactly the same, but look howmuch longer the tail is. This aids in stabilitydown the Mulsanne (Big LH), and drift factor(small LH), and when modified from boxstandard is a pure joy. These mods have onlybeen a quick fix, using self-adhesive weights fromSean @ PSR in their standard shape/size. Witha few more hours of tinkering, fettling andtrimming then the result should be an evensmoother cornering, non magnet fun fest.

So what is it withSo what is it withSo what is it withSo what is it withSo what is it withmagnets?magnets?magnets?magnets?magnets?

We all know that the older slot-cars had muchheavier, lower revving motors, like the TriangRX, 16D Mabuchi, etc. So when the ubiquitousMabuchi small can was introduced in the 70s,with its higher revving nature, we then had slot-cars which were much lighter and with morepower. Whilst in the full-size world this is theRacers’ Dream, in the scale world it resulted inevil handling, de-slotting beasts, hence theaddition of magnets to aid the grip to the track.Some of Scalextric’s earlier Magnatraction carsare still great fun; think Williams FW11 andLotus Honda/Renault and you know what Imean. These have just enough magnet power togive grip, but not induce magna-coma to thegrey matter.

Now we’re in an era of high revving motors,so manufacturers assume:

a) that’s what everyone wants, ‘cos they wantto beat the other manufacturers products, soeveryone wants one; and b) by putting in a highrevving motor and high power magnet itproduces a faster-easier-to-drive model thathides the deficiencies in its real design of beinga non-handling mittful without a magnet. So ifenthusiasts like us can rip their efforts apart,fiddle around with weights in strategic points,and make them far more enjoyable, why can’tthey produce them this way from the start? Theearlier Ninco DTMs are a joy to drive and,whilst being underpowered by today’s standard(use a lower resistance throttle), had no magnetsat all. With the old style floorpan you could alsoinstall the SCX RX4 motor which was heavierand more torquey and is a marvellous bit of funto race. Modern Ninco are nowhere near asgood, with high revving hi-power magnets…inan AC Cobra or an Austin Healey! Please! SCXhave a nicer set up, with the heavier style motor,and ADJUSTABLE magnet. Why don’t theother manufacturers opt for this? A combinationof this running gear set up with the crisper bodymouldings and tampo printing of Ninco/Fly/Slot-It would be the ultimate in my humbleopinion. Like I said, I go off at a tangent a lot!

38

SummarySummarySummarySummarySummaryNot the ultimate slot-car on the market,especially in this price range (£37 approx retail,though way cheaper at swapmeets). This in mymind is an expensive slot-car ($75-more than adays skiing, or four days camping!) and shouldbe produced to handle right as well as look rightstraight from the box. After about 300 laps, myexample was suffering from axle-tramp as aresult of the tyres rubbing on the end of themotor pinion shaft. I know I didn’t true the tyresfor this test, but at this level/price this should nothappen. Would I buy one? When all said anddone, it’s a Porsche 917LH, it looks 95% right,it can be made to drive properly (which is a bitof fun too), it goes with an increasing fleet of Flycars from the same race, so yes.

But will I buy the 1971 Gulf version?…Mmmm, not yet. I’ll do my usual thing thesedays of buying the stuff I really want on release,and then wait for the ‘special offers’ when

certain models are about 40-50% cheaper. Thelatter is a gamble and doesn’t always pay off !The bottom line though, is Fly have done amarvellous job with the 917 in the past, but mayhave dropped the ball with this one. And havingsaid all that, no doubt these will be flying out ofdealers’ doors before you can say,“…there’s no‘F’ in magnet”!

Now, when’s the Carrera 6 arriving? ■

39April 2006

Some time ago I obtained a yellow C65Alfa on Ebay quite cheaply - tip - buy theoverpainted cars, you never know what is

underneath! Needless to say the front wingswere missing and they are not so easy to comeby!

I decided to have a go at dying a blue pairyellow and set about finding a suitable dye.Apparently the best one for the task in hand isonly available in the United States and guesswhat........ I did not bring any back from ourhoneymoon.

A suitable replacement was eventually foundalthough you don’t get a good match withoutmixing several different shades. This was goingto be trial and error so, armed with variouscolours of dye, the next job was to buy asaucepan.

On arriving back home ‘she who must beobeyed’ was nowhere to be seen (or heard) sointo the kitchen with the magic ingredients. Thedye was added to the saucepan with the correctamount of water and was put on the gas hob tosimmer; then the blue Alfa wings were addedand left for 10 minutes .......... disaster............they had been sitting on the bottom of the panand had started to melt. This was going to be abit more complicated than I had thought.

Having figured out that I needed some wayof keeping them up in the pan so they couldmove freely without the plastic touching thebottom and the dye could circulate properly, Iwent hunting around the house for suitable toolsfor the job. I came back armed with a pair ofTina’s tights. My first plan involved putting thewings inside them but even I could figure out

that she wouldn’t be best pleased walking aboutwith yellow legs so they were returned to thedrawer.

Plan B involved some cotton looped aroundthe plastic wings and held up in the water by thesaucepan lid - this idea was OK until the gas hobset the remaining pieces of cotton at the end onfire so I used a piece of wood across the top ofthe pan to tie the cotton onto and this worked atreat. All was going well until the wife comehome and wanted to know what I was doing; herfirst thought was that I was cooking her a mealbut then she spotted the yellow blobs on thedraining board and worktop and was not toopleased. She also thought I was using one of hersaucepans and although I explained that I hadpurchased a new one for the job she maintainedI should have bought a complete new set andused the old ones for my experiments (soundsexpensive).

Whilst I was getting the third degree I forgotabout the plastic parts in the dye and, uponretrieving them from the pan, they had turneda rather nice shade of brown. So I had a choice- either blue front wings or (limited edition)brown ones! Since the first attempt I have foundthat the little bags you get in the Persil Tabletsbox work a treat and have a loop on the cord towrap over the stick.

Don’t try this at home children unless yourparents are there to supervise. Remember tocover up all surfaces with kitchen towel anddon’t tip the excess dye down the sink..........Ooooopps!

Perhaps it would have been more sensible topaint them yellow instead. ■

Kitchen DisasterKitchen DisasterKitchen DisasterKitchen DisasterKitchen DisasterBy Karl Cornell

40

The Lotus 15 was really an upgraded 11with a multi-tubular space frame with astressed prop tunnel and floor. It differed

from the 11 by having the engine canted over tothe right to lower the frontal area of this sleekFrank Costin design. With the wrap-aroundwindscreen and the flared in headrest theaerodynamics were greatly improved. Threetanks in the rear housed oil, fuel and battery.Spare wheel was carried in the driver’s headrest.It was offered to customers with a 1.5 litre unitbut the works cars ran the 2 litre CoventryClimax FPF engine.

The car I have modelled is the 1958/1959series 2 with a revised engine installation withthe engine canted only 17 degrees to the left.Unfortunately this resulted in the need for abonnet bulge that disrupted Costin’s smoothdesign.

Although a beautiful car it was not verysuccessful and suffered the early Lotus reliabilityproblems, failing to finish a lot of races withniggling faults. In May 1958 Hill managed towin at Silverstone and set a lap record of97.56mph. At Le Mans, Hill and Allison’s carwas out after three laps with gasket failure. Theother car of Chamberlin /Lovely suffered amisfire, spun into a bank and was rammed byPicard’s Ferrari.

The most successful car was Coombs’ 2 litredriven by Salvadori who finished second to Mossat the British G.P meeting at Silverstone. InSeptember Salvadori won the Gold Cup race atOulton Park with a lap record of 86.28mph.The works cars were struggling and failedmiserably in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood.Coombs’ success showed up the works cars asunder prepared as Lotus struggled trying to dotoo much by racing sports and single seaterswithout proper development and preparation.

For 1959 the series three version wasintroduced as a customer car with stiffenedchassis and suspension changes. The 2 litre

engine still canted over at 17 degrees driventhrough a BMC 4 speed box . A 5 speed boxavailable as an extra. Sales would be hard tocome by as Coombs was now armed with aCooper Monaco and began to dominate sportscar events in 1959.

Team Lotus did enter some British eventsbut results were miserable. Le Mans ended infailure when the Hill/Jolly car over revved afterjumping out of gear and the Ireland/Stacey carblew its engine. 1959 was not all disappointmentand Hill won at Mallory then at the British G.Psports car race at Aintree. Two wins at BrandsHatch followed - one on August Bank HolidayMonday and another at the InternationalMeeting later in the month. By 1960 it wasraced only by a few privateers with moderatesuccess as Lotus effort was now fully behind the18 F1 cars. It’s a pity such a good looking carwas not successful. Had Lotus put their fullweight behind it things could have been verydifferent.

This body is quite shallow so I used a PCS32chassis with a Mabuchi motor which just fitted.There is not enough room for Ninco spokes soat present it’s on Scalextric minilites from an FJLotus with low profile tyres. You could use oldAirfix F1 wheels but the tyres are a bit thin. Thechassis is fixed to the body with square sectionplastic instead of the usual pegs, as the body isso shallow. Finished in BRG or, in this case,Pequot Conifer which is fairly close it is not abad likeness. All in all I think it came out quitewell and would make an ideal companion forthe Cooper Monaco. ■

Lotus 15Lotus 15Lotus 15Lotus 15Lotus 15By Dave Yerbury