1April 2007

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 967333between 09:00 - 18:00

01483 810102 eveningse-mail:- sales@nscc.co.uk

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContentsEvents.........................................2Membership Update..................4Diary Dates................................7Messages From Margate............8H:O World...............................11Fly On The Wall......................13Kits ‘N’ Bobs............................17Chairman’s Chat.....................19NSCC/Hornby Weekend.......21Ebay Watch..............................32Letters......................................34Ninco Review...........................36Kit Review................................38Bits & Pieces.............................41Formula Slot............................43Adverts.....................................45

NNNNNOOOOO. 301 A. 301 A. 301 A. 301 A. 301 APRILPRILPRILPRILPRIL 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007

WWWWWork days never go this quickork days never go this quickork days never go this quickork days never go this quickork days never go this quick

Amazing how time flies when you are having fun. I have longheld the theory that the rich people buy up all your good times

and leave you with the interminable drudgery of work days and, sureenough, the annual NSCC/Hornby Ramsgate Weekend passed inthe blink of an eye.

Once again the event was organised superbly by Rob Smith andall the usual traditions were observed - the racing was chaotic attimes, the quiz was nigh on bloody impossible and the auction pricesfor coloured bits of plastic made my eyes water! I also stayed up waytoo late and drank more alcohol than was good for me. We had asignificant number of new attendees this year and, as far as I can tell,they all enjoyed themselves immensely. I share Rob’s puzzlement asto why more members don’t want to go. 70 odd applications fromnearly 1000 members is not large by any standards.

The racing was very interesting this year, taking place on a clubsized Sport Digital track and, although my experience of the systemis still very limited, I am warming to it. I have finally worked out thedifference between the brake button and the lane change thingy, sowho knows, in another few years I may even get hooked. Iunderstand from Adrian Norman that digital sets outsold analogueones at Christmas so it would definitely seem to be the shape ofthings to come. Now if they could just get the cars to go as fast astheir analogue cousins.........!

Our thanks go to Adrian and all at Hornby for their unstintingsupport of the event. Here’s to the next one.

And Finally - might I draw your attention to the fact that youreditor was part of the victorious white team, despite our usualdesperate attempts to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! MrsEditor also amazed me by coming second in the ladies race - mindyou I had placed her with our main rivals in the expectation that shewould do badly and lose them some laps! You can’t trust anybodythese days.

Till next monthBrian

2

Well, the new range releases got off toa great start last month and thenimmediately stalled with only one

brand new general release.

C2805 Mini Cooper RC2805 Mini Cooper RC2805 Mini Cooper RC2805 Mini Cooper RC2805 Mini Cooper Road Car Blueoad Car Blueoad Car Blueoad Car Blueoad Car BlueThis nice metallic blue Mini Cooper has twinwhite stripes from front to rear and is the firstrelease of the new low detail version. Thismeans that it has a one piece body shell with nowindows or lights. The windows are cleverlydone with black frames and dark grey windowglass which looks much better than other cars

with no interior such as the Aussie V8s. I askedHornby if this was a modification of the originalmould but was told that it was, in fact, a brandnew moulding. The body details are identical tothe standard releases which they would be as itis the CAD data that has been modified toremove all the bits which normally break off.The chassis is identical to previous releases anddoes not feature the new Digital Plug fitments.

One point of interest is that these low detailversions are made in a completely differentfactory to their high detailed counterparts.

3April 2007

C2815B Ford GC2815B Ford GC2815B Ford GC2815B Ford GC2815B Ford GT NSCC 2007T NSCC 2007T NSCC 2007T NSCC 2007T NSCC 2007C2816 Ford GC2816 Ford GC2816 Ford GC2816 Ford GC2816 Ford GT ScaleT ScaleT ScaleT ScaleT Scalextric Clubxtric Clubxtric Clubxtric Clubxtric Club

20072007200720072007The Hornby/NSCC Weekend car and theScalextric ‘Racer’ Club’s car have a lot incommon with each other and C2815, the 2007Range Presentation car described last month.All three are blue Ford GTs with yellow stripes,the 50th anniversary laurels on the roof andScalextric logos front, rear and either side. Onthe top of each wing and the sills our car has theNSCC script and 2007 and the Racer club carhas Racer 2007.

Coming SoonComing SoonComing SoonComing SoonComing SoonSeveral of the 2007 new releases are nearingcompletion. Firstly I have been playing with thenew Police Range Rover. There will be twoversions of this as the set car has a drift chassisand the solo car has the normal guide bladearrangement. The body detail is great and itdwarfs many other cars as it should. I wonder ifthe Chancellor will raise the tax on slot 4x4s too!Disappointingly the Police version has nointerior and therefore has black windows.Although all of the electronics for the flashinglights are low down, the siren has a huge speakerunderneath the roof. Personally I would removethis annoying device and put in a driverplatform from the road going version. On thetrack the Range Rover handles well given itsgreat height. The huge wheels and sidewinderarrangement dictates a large contrate gear andtherefore the overall speed is reduced.

The Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 car hasreached a running prototype stage. Interestinglythe early version is without all of the finer

bodywork details of wings and ducts as these willbe added later when the basic shape is approved.Being quite wide and low this is bound to beblisteringly fast.

Several people have asked me about theforthcoming Ferrari 375. The version in the 50th

Anniversary Ferrari twin pack will have atinplate body and the solo car will have a plasticbody. Both have the same plastic chassis anddecoration. It is not intended to be identical tothe very first Scalextric release in 1957 andmodels a completely different car.

Down UnderDown UnderDown UnderDown UnderDown UnderEarly information about this year’s Australianonly cars is circulating. These will include:C2775 Allan Moffat Trans Am Mustang1969 limited edition of 2500.In 1969 a little known Canadian, Allan Moffat,entered the Australian Touring Car Champion-ship in the bright red corporate colours of bigtime sponsor Coca Cola. From 1969 to 1974Moffat won a staggering 101 races from 151starts in this amazing Mustang.C2829 Ford Falcon 2007 V8 driven byCraig Lowndes limited edition of 1500.C2830 Ford Falcon 2007 V8 driven bySteve Richards limited edition of 1500.There may be a pair of Holden Commodorestoo.

Design a Set CompetitionDesign a Set CompetitionDesign a Set CompetitionDesign a Set CompetitionDesign a Set CompetitionThank you to all of you who took the trouble toenter Hornby’s design a set competition. Someof you must have just too much time on yourhands as the quality of many of the entries wassuperb. My special mentions go to Ken Baileywhose Land Rover set with off-road obstaclesmust have taken weeks of work to put together,Dave Chang with a set comprising of classiccurves from various circuits around the world,Paul Blows with an Escort Mk1 drift set andMark Hatton with an Ultimate Rally Rampageset where you choose your own cars.

However, the winner as chosen by Hornbyis Alan Murrell with his Mini Madness set. Thisis a three car SportDigital set with three driftingMini Coopers and two crossovers. ➳

4

Hornby will be setting up a demonstrationtrack (with digital drift Nissans) to test thefeasibility and get feedback from the salesdepartment whilst considering whether to put itinto production. Congratulations to Alan and aSportDigital set will be on its way to you shortly.

Hornby/NSCC WHornby/NSCC WHornby/NSCC WHornby/NSCC WHornby/NSCC Weekeekeekeekeekendendendendend20072007200720072007

By the time you read this the 2007 event will beover and there will be a write-up elsewhere inthis edition of the Journal. I thought I shouldadd a note about the selection process and howit all works. This year was no different from theprevious three events that I have organised andwas oversubscribed with 72 people applying for47 places. Why 47? Well, Hornby give us twocases of cars as a gift. Each case contains fourtrays of six cars each and one car is kept by theNSCC for the archives. Incidentally there arealso two Quality Assurance cars which areretained by Hornby for their own archive.

Of the 47 available applications, eightplaces go the Committee Members who areattending. 24 places were then allocated to

members who had never attended a weekendbefore and a further nine places to memberswho had only ever attended once before. Thisleft just six places to be allocated by lottery fromthe remaining applications. Of course it is neverquite that simple as there have been a couple ofcancellations and shoe-horning everyone intothe available hotel rooms is always a challenge.

I hate turning anyone away and I am sorryif you were unsuccessful this year. Assuming wehold the weekend next year please try again andif you have never applied – please do!

New Email AdressNew Email AdressNew Email AdressNew Email AdressNew Email AdressPlease note that I have a new email address forclub communications:

factory@nscc.co.ukfactory@nscc.co.ukfactory@nscc.co.ukfactory@nscc.co.ukfactory@nscc.co.ukThe old liaison@ address will continue tofunction for a while but will eventually bedefunct so please change the entry in youraddress book now. Experience has shown thatthe spelling of the old one has proved somewhatchallenging(!) for several people and mail hasbeen going astray, leading to applications for theHornby weekend being lost in cyberspace. ■

5April 2007

Whilst I am no clearer this month as tohow involved Tomy is in the slot carproducts that bear its name, I have

made a very useful contact within Racemasters(the US distributor) and some exciting productshave been announced.

Racemasters announced a slew of new carson February 19th, the main theme being a multi-year deal with OWRS, the body that runsChampcar (formerly CART) racing. The initialproduct line will consist of four cars and a set,Long Beach Grand Prix (afx9949), which willretail at $150 approx and contain the four cars,as well as a new curve with an 18” radius. Therewill be five of these in each set which, togetherwith the price tag, suggests the set will be quitelarge by H:O standards. Several online retailersalready have the cars, and two ‘’Shelby” GT40s,listed. EAHORC is putting together a deal tobuy direct so UK racers should try us first -(eahorc.com). There is also an all-new police car,this time an NYPD version, in the works. Pleasenote all the images printed here are of pre-production versions, the items themselves will bereleased in June/July. The deal between Racemasters and OWRS

is ongoing so I guess there will be up to four carsreleased each year. For now the concentration isunderstandably on the four best known drivers,Paul Tracy, Will Power, Justin Wilson andmultiple champion Sebastian Bourdais. Theseries is, of course, not as high profile as it wasbefore the split with the also diminished Indycarracers, so it is hoped that new stars emerge thisyear or defections occur from other series ratherthan to, as has become the norm. ➳

6

The GT40s - the #1 black car of BruceMcLaren and the #2 of Ken Miles - will be onSRT chassis, and the OWRS cars will be fittedto SG+ chassis. The latter has received a boostdue to a re-tooling of the moulds which hasresulted in a new material being used, the endresult being a much better product, moreaccurate to the original spec and also strongerand more durable. Consideration is currentlybeing given to dumping the strange wheel andtyre design of the SG+ for the SRT equivalent,which should make the car considerably quickerout of the box.

Not to be outdone, the Australian distributorfor Tomy AFX, Toy Trader Pty, have startedselling new versions of the much-loved Tomy‘’Electronic Control Station” complete with newpackaging showing a pair of standard Cobras.Crazy prices are already being seen on eBay butif you shop around you can get them for £40including shipping to the UK. The station canrightly be considered the jewel of the range backin the days when their track and cars ruled theroost. There are many more timing and lapcounting solutions available to both home racersand clubs than there used to be but, in H:O atleast, stand alone units are used pretty mucheverywhere even today. Having a good, provendevice that cannot be held ransom by Bill Gateshas proven a big draw and the ECS does

everything you could need. It has even woven itsway into the fabric of club racing, making itpossible to be penalized by one lap for jumpingthe start. The unit is very ‘vocal’ about this,much to the amusement of everyone except thejumpee, reminding me of our esteemed editor’scomment in a past editorial that everythingnowadays beeps at us. In addition to timing to0.01seconds and counting both timed and lapraces, the unit beeps once every minute, with 10seconds of the race remaining, makes atriumphant little tune at the end of the race,beeps every time a faster lap is set, and has botha sound and visual start countdown. If this allsounds a bit much it actually works like a charmand adds a layer of professionalism to the racing,especially as the units can be plugged into eachother for 4,6,8 and even 10 lane scoring. ■

7April 2007

A fairly quiet month, with six releases toreport on. At the time of writing thereare four other models available in Spain,

but I will report on them next month as I don’thave any photos. Despite this, there are twospecial editions this month and some collectable/desirable liveries. Also, Fly has now releaseddetails of their release schedule up to June.

RRRRRecent Recent Recent Recent Recent ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesAudi Quattro A2 “Audi Sport” #3 (88245)RAC Rally 1983, driven to victory by StigBlomqvist with co-driver Bjorn Cederberg.Decorated in white with red/grey/black stripes.

A very similar livery to the previously releasedA1901 car, driven by Hannu Mikkola.

Renault 5 Turbo “Marlboro” #5 (88246)Rally du Var 1982, driven by Alain Prost withco-driver Jean Marc Andrie. Supplied with thismodel are five decals taped to the underside ofthe base which, when applied, enable you todisplay the car in its full tobacco sponsored guise.This model is presented with a colourful backingcard which displays a picture of the Renault 5and a Renault F1 car that Alain Prost drove in1982. ➳

8

Porsche 908/2 “Playboy” #12 (88248)12hr Barcelona 1969. Not to be confused withthe forthcoming Playboy collection, this is agenuine livery and is a standalone standardmodel. The car is white overall with “Lo de hoyPlayboy” sponsorship with the Playboy bunnyand drink bottle graphics. The car was driven byAlex Soler-Roig and Jorge de Bagration to 7th

place.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Castrol GTX” #18(88251) 6hr Watkins Glen 1972.Driven by Tony Di Lorenzo and CharlesReynolds to 13th place. This car is also mainlywhite, but has two parallel stripes in green andred running off-centre down the driver’s side.There are also some red stripes running alongthe door sills and around the wheel arches.

Porsche 911RS green/orange #9 (99018)This is a limited edition of 1200 units producedfor the German importer “HandT”, with smallquantities available to other Fly importers.Gaugemaster, the UK importers, have been

allocated 90 for example. It is decorated in anattractive livery of orange with green swirlystripes and is virtually identical in pattern to theyellow/red Porsche 911R (88242) detailed lastmonth. The real car won the GT class atHockenheim in 1972 driven by Wolfgang Grossand Reinhardt Stenzel. The model comescomplete with a numbered picture backing card.

Historic RallyHistoric RallyHistoric RallyHistoric RallyHistoric RallyLancia 037 “Martini” #00 (99040). IVRally Costa Brava Historic 2007. Following inthe footsteps of the two previously released redPorsche 911s (E931 and E932) comes a Lancia037 decorated in the popular “Martini” livery aspart of the rallyclassics.org series. Like the twoPorsches, this too is limited to 500 units and notgenerally available in any shop. Producedexclusively for the historic event, this model ispresented in the usual crystal case and comescomplete with a colourful numbered backingcard. The car was driven in the event by MarkkuAlén with co-driver IIkka Kivimaki.

9April 2007

AnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsFly have announced their production schedulefrom April to June. This includes one extramodel that has been added to the Marchschedule not listed in last month’s Journal.

In catalogue reference number order, theyare as follows: -88255 – Porsche Carrera 6 – Nurburgring 19681000km (March)88256 – March 761 – Italy GP 1976 (April)88257 – Lancia 037 – Rally Costa Brava 1985(April)88258 – Audi Quattro A2 – Safari Rally 1984(May)88259 – Alfa Romeo 147 GTA – Valencia 2004(May)88260 – Saleen S7R – 1000km Spa (May)88261 – Porsche 911S – Rally Montecarlo 1980(May)88262 – Ford Capri RS Turbo – Racing kit withextra accessories (May)88263 – Ferrari 250 GTO – Nurburgring 19631000km (June)88264 – March 761 – Germany GP 1977 (June)

88265 – Lister Storm – Albacete 2001 (June)88266 – BMW M3 GTR – Laguna Seca 2006(June)88267 – BMW M3 GTR – Laguna Seca 2006– Racing kit with extra accessories (June)99023 – Lister Storm “Playboy” (May)99026 – Chevrolet Corvette C5R – Worlddesign winner (April)99034 – Lister Storm “Playboy” (May)99035 – Porsche 908/2 “Live Fast Die Young”with DVD (April)99036 – Ferrari 250 GTO “Cobra FerrariWars” with DVD (June)99042 – March 761 – British GP 1976 limitededition (April)99045 – BMW M3 E30 (X2) - CET 1993 teamset (April)99046 – Porsche 917K/Ford GT40 – Gulfedition set (May)99047 – Ford GT40 “Playboy” (June)99048 – Ford GT40 “Playboy” (June)99061 – Dodge Viper GTS-R – Nogaro 2005 -Alain Prost (June)08050 – Buggyra Truck – Racing (May) ■

10

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

Starting off this month are pictures of theOrtmann 1/24th scale Lotus 38, BRMP261, and F512, these are the complete

kit versions with the Scholer chassis, Fox Motorand Ortmann wheels and tyres. I have writtena full review, which hopefully should also appearin this issue.

Last month I mentioned the Slot Iberia resinkits, well I have now managed to complete theLancia Stratos Bertone show car and theCitroën DS Paris-Dakar, both required a fair bitof work and, without instructions, the ratherbasic pictures on the box have meant that someof the decals may not be correct but they bothlook quite reasonable. In performance terms theresin chassis makes them both a bit pedestrianand the Citroën is very top heavy.

New from MMK this month are the FordGT40 LM in 1/32, and a static resin LagoTalbot type T26GS in 1/24th scale. Sticking withthe Lago Talbot T26GS, Dave Yerbury of AAbodies has produced a fine 1/32 version of thisfor his fibreglass body range. Also new thismonth from AA bodies is the Stirling Moss ➳

OrOrOrOrOrtmann’tmann’tmann’tmann’tmann’s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24s 1/24ththththth Lotus 38, F1512, and BRM P261 (abov Lotus 38, F1512, and BRM P261 (abov Lotus 38, F1512, and BRM P261 (abov Lotus 38, F1512, and BRM P261 (abov Lotus 38, F1512, and BRM P261 (above)e)e)e)e)

Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’s Citroën DS Ps Citroën DS Ps Citroën DS Ps Citroën DS Ps Citroën DS Paris Daris Daris Daris Daris Dakar and Lancia Strakar and Lancia Strakar and Lancia Strakar and Lancia Strakar and Lancia Stratos Beratos Beratos Beratos Beratos Bertone (belowtone (belowtone (belowtone (belowtone (below, right), right), right), right), right)

11April 2007

Maserati 300S from 1956, details of which canbe found at WWW.Slotcarportal.com and a fullreview of both will be included in a future issue.Another new issue is from Reinecke MotorSport who have just released their 1965Plymouth Fury body kit. As with a number oftheir previous issues this is designed to fit onto aslightly modified Carrera NASCAR Chassis.Sticking with over the pond, the Beardog Eaglehas landed here in the UK courtesy of AB SlotRacing although my understanding is that thekit has already sold out.

Talking of sold out cars, the new Ferrari 250TR 1960 Le Mans winner is now issued by SlotClassic of Spain but, in spite of the increase toa 500 production run, these highly desirablemodels are all gone. More readily available fromOCAR / World Classics are the new Mercedes300 SLR and Pegaso Z102 kits, both designedto fit the PCS32 chassis. I am in the process ofbuilding these two and should have picturesready next month. Similarly in mid productionon my cluttered workbench are three new kitsfrom Proto Slot. These are the new Spyker C8Spyder GT2R LM2005, Alpine Renault A220,and Porsche 917/30 “Sunoco Panzer” althoughthe latter is available exclusively through ElectricDreams in the USA. Again I hope to have allthree built up and photographed for nextmonth. Proto Slot are also expecting to releasetheir 1967 Paxton STP Turbine kit and a newmetal chassis to go with it, and also an AlfaRomeo 33/3 LM70 kit by the end of nextmonth.

On to ready to run slot cars and this monthsees three new releases from Revell hit the UKshelves with the Simca 1000 Rallye, Porsche904GTS, and Chaparral 2C. Also now actuallyavailable from UK stockists are the Auto ArtBugatti Veyron and Bugatti Chiron, and thenew Slot.It McLaren F1GTR long tail streetversion should be available by the time you readthis.

I must mention that Wolverhampton SlotCar Club are running a fourth classic meetingthis year called the “Half Tonner” Grand Prixfor 1.5 Litre GP. cars from 1961-65. This willtake place on Sunday 25th November 2007 andwill feature cars like the David Jones bodied /Penelope Pitlane chassis Lotus 25. Entry is bypre-paid booking only and we are already overhalf full, anyone wishing further details pleasecontact me at jt004b2112@blueyonder.co.uk . Iam also pleased to announce that we now havea full entry list for the upcoming MRE Le MansClassic meeting in May, and just a few spacesavailable for the World Classic historic EuroSaloons meeting in October. Finally for anyonewho missed this year’s Early Bird 50 meeting,Wolverhampton have commissioned a DVD ofevent highlights and some interesting interviewswith well known slot celebrities; again pleaseemail me for further details. ■

BearBearBearBearBeardog’dog’dog’dog’dog’s Eagle and Maxi Model’s Eagle and Maxi Model’s Eagle and Maxi Model’s Eagle and Maxi Model’s Eagle and Maxi Model’s McLeagles McLeagles McLeagles McLeagles McLeagle

Auto ArAuto ArAuto ArAuto ArAuto Art’t’t’t’t’s Bugatti Vs Bugatti Vs Bugatti Vs Bugatti Vs Bugatti Veyron and the Deyron and the Deyron and the Deyron and the Deyron and the Davidavidavidavidavid

Jones’ bodied Lotus 25Jones’ bodied Lotus 25Jones’ bodied Lotus 25Jones’ bodied Lotus 25Jones’ bodied Lotus 25

12

It’s been a busy few weeks. The Committeeballots were counted on the day before theMilton Keynes swapmeet for which I’d

booked a table. I set off at 6:30 but within fiveminutes I’d, ahem, de-slotted. Once the car hadbeen recovered to the mender’s, I had a verynice drive up in our “toy” but that was neverdesigned for lugging much of anything so I wasnot only two and a half hours late but alsototally stock-less. Still, it did mean I could meetand chat to many people which is alwaysenjoyable and it was nice to relax a bit at aswapmeet.

Vic is a lovely place about an hour and ahalf from Barcelona and used to host one or twoswapmeets every year. I’d been there severalyears ago after which they rather faded away. Iwas delighted to see that they’d organisedanother this year and when I discovered I couldfly there from Bournemouth (barely 30 milesfrom home) I immediately booked my tickets.The Bournemouth part of the trip was amistake; its “International Airport” manages tocombine high charges with facilities that wouldshame many third-world countries. I won’t usethat again in a hurry.

Vic was worth it though. The swapmeet wasin the main square - I’d guess about 60m x 80m.Tables were arranged in two rows along twosides. There we were, buying and selling cars,with pavement cafés and bars to keep us fuelledthrough the day, in the open air, in March. Notsurprisingly there were plenty of Spanish

dealers including many old friends. The UK waswell represented with some Frenchmen too.There was way too much choice but I did spotsome Scalex and Startex cars in goodishcondition but mostly short of steering wheels.

Aside from all the slot cars, the organisershad arranged for anyone bringing an old car topark it in the square itself. Around 20 peoplebrought a variety including a Seat 500, Mini,Mk 2 E-type coupé, Mk2 Jaguar saloon, RollsRoyce, MGA, Abarth, M3, etc. This was reallythe icing on the cake and the whole event wasquite brilliant. It was a close call though; ithammered down on Monday and rain like➳

13April 2007

that would have put a serious damper on things.I hope they do this again next year, perhaps alittle later in Spring. If they do, think aboutgoing yourself – and if you have an old car, tryto go in that. I can’t see how anyone could bedisappointed (unless you fly from Bourne-mouth).

A week after Vic, it was time for the Hornbyweekend at Ramsgate. I’m writing this the dayafter so we haven’t looked at the feedback yet butmost people seemed to have enjoyed themselves;I know I did. We raced in teams on a club-sizeddigital circuit. Everything worked very well,which was a tribute to the product as well as theorganisation by Rob Smith for the Club andAdrian Norman for Hornby. Andy Carmichaeland Jon Hewitt pitched the quiz at just the rightlevel. We raised around £3000 for charity fromthe raffle, sales of racing spares and the auction,which saw some heroic bids for rare pre-production pieces. If you’ve not been yet, do tryto go when you can - it’s great fun. It would beeasy to get used to Rob’s good organisation ofthis event and take it for granted. This year’s wasparticularly good given the distraction of hiselection and the calls on his time from his family.Well done Rob.

So, aside from pranging m’car, it’s been agood few weeks. In between Milton Keynes andVic, some urgent Club affairs that needed swiftattention were followed by my first Committeemeeting. This was a good, constructive session.Apart from the inevitable routine and how wemight bring the Club’s constitution up to date,we started to look at ways to improve the Club.It is here that I would like to hear frommembers. We need ideas; we have some but I’msure that nearly 1000 members can think ofmany more ways for the Club to add to yourenjoyment of the hobby. All our contact detailsare in the Journal so let us know what we coulddo. We don’t have a bottomless pit of resources,time or money but if it’s a good idea and we cando it (or try it) we will. Nothing can happenunless someone has the idea first, so do let usknow.

While I was in Spain, I was taken to a newshop. Many have heard of Palau in Barcelona orCric-Crac just outside but I think this one is evenbetter. It’s not the largest emporium but it isstuffed to the rafters with a wide stock of justabout all the contemporary brands and thebiggest selection of deleted and collectable cars,etc. that I’ve ever seen in one place. I reckon it’sprobably the best slot car shop in the world. Asa small inducement to come and enjoy aswapmeet, if you’re interested in finding outmore about this shop, I’ll tell you all about itwhen I see you!

Finally, I must thank all the members whotook the trouble to vote in the election. TheClub is important to me and it is gratifying to allthe Committee that so many of the membersdemonstrated its importance to them. It is up tous now to develop and run the Club so that itcontinues to help all members enjoy the hobby.Talk to us; let us know what you want and we’lldo what we can. ■

The best slot car shop in the world - probablyThe best slot car shop in the world - probablyThe best slot car shop in the world - probablyThe best slot car shop in the world - probablyThe best slot car shop in the world - probably

14

A dark and wet Ramsgate harbour isn’tthe most glamorous of places to find yourself late on a Friday evening after

a journey lasting just over three hours but, afterentering the bar (where else?), at the KentInternational Hotel I was greeted as if I had justarrived home. This time however, I had a newattendee with me, nervous of the reception hemight receive being an outsider. He needn’t haveworried as he was immediately greeted byfriendly faces, recognisable from slot meets andthe like, and soon the conversions flowed fromthe latest eBay success, to whether England willever win a football match again.

One great story told was of a guy going intohis local model shop to find last year’s MaseratiRange Presentation car on the shelf with thestandard cars. After a quick glance round hefound his luck was in, as only the shop assistantwas present, so asked how much this car was.“Oh the same as all the rest - £28”, came thereply. “OK I’ll have that one”, he replied in ashaky voice. “Well don’t forget there is 40% offall the cars as we are closing down”. £16.80 hasnever come out of someone’s pocket so fast.

Next morning anticipation for the racingspreads through the breakfast room as fast as thesmell of sausage and bacon. What form will theracing take, what cars will we be using, will Icomplete a lap without crashing? - no bloodychance. 10:00 arrives and all eyes are on thedisplay cabinets arranged with this year’s newreleases in prototype form, God, the Ferrari 375(all be it in plastic) looks superb. Then the seriousbusiness begins and the chatter subsides as therules of the race event are read out. Rule one -Rob Smith’s rules are right. Rule two - refer torule one. I know the racing is covered elsewherebut just to say it is carried out in a light heartedmanner and confusion reigns as ever.

After the crashing, I mean racing, hasfinished for the day Mike Walters, Hornby’stechnical director, has kindly taken time to cometo the event to take and ask questions. If youhave ever wanted to know why your favouritethree wheeler has never been made then this is➳

NSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby Weekeekeekeekeekendendendendend20072007200720072007

By Paul Atkins

Q&A time with Mike WQ&A time with Mike WQ&A time with Mike WQ&A time with Mike WQ&A time with Mike Waltersaltersaltersaltersalters

15April 2007

the time to find out, it also gives you a goodinsight to what other people think is importantin the hobby. Some people would like to seemore specialist track pieces while others wantfront wheel steering. Hornby would like to knowwhat we think would make good products forthem. There is even a suggestion that if themembers can decided on a new GT car to gowith the Aston Martin and it is produced, theNSCC would be given credit in futurepublications.

During the evening meal the traditional quizhad been set by Andy Carmichael and JonHewitt. Not only was the quiz hard because Ididn’t know the answers, in most cases I didn’teven understand the question! But, in the spiritof the whole weekend, this is a team event andwith the not so little help from Rob Smith,Adrian Leggett, and Paul Chandler, Scalextric’sBrand Manager, and others around our table wescored a creditable 3rd. As the conversationscontinued throughout the evening I must havespoken to everyone and learnt something fromeach of them and, before I knew it, it was timeto reset our watches which meant I was going tobe late for breakfast again.

Day two started where day one left off, witha quandary - what was a black Aston MartinDB4 Marshal’s car doing with a removablesunroof as displayed in the showcase? We leftstill unsure of an answer - the closest we camewas perhaps that it may have been around thefactory when they were prototyping theremovable sunroof and chopped it up, perhapssomeone knows different. Quote of the weekendfrom Adrian Norman, “What’s so special aboutthat Marshal’s car then?”

With the boys’ racing finished it was the turnof the ladies to have a go (yes, girls are allowed)with their cars adorned with pink stickers ofshellfish, seaweed, and plastic fish - courtesy ofMrs Editor and Mrs Secretary. Where else couldyou see a flying fish doing laps on top of an AudiTT with added somersaults?

Now with all the racing finished it was timeto draw the raffle which had some great prizesincluding complete sets, test shot plain bodies,clothing, and some nice logo stickers all donatedby Hornby.

The final item was the auction which AdrianLeggett covers elsewhere - I suggest wives andgirlfriends are prevented from reading this partof the Journal!

All too soon it was time to go home but,before you are allowed to leave, you must collectyour free car, only available at the event andworth the cost of the weekend alone in myopinion.

It was great to see some faces from overseasas they travelled from as far as the South ofFrance and Switzerland, I still can’t understandhow Rob gets less than 100 applications eachyear. I hate to say it because it means I have lesschance of going next year, but if you have everthought of going to this event and have, forwhatever reason, decided not to go there aremore than double the amount of reasons to go.

And finally my thanks have to go out toHornby, Adrian Norman, Rob Smith, theNSCC Committee and the other 40 membersthat listen and make me feel welcome every timewe meet. ■

I ’I ’I ’I ’I ’d like to be......under the sead like to be......under the sead like to be......under the sead like to be......under the sead like to be......under the sea

16

Firstly an apology to the attendees of theweekend, regarding the total raised forHornby’s Cancer Care Charity. The

amount of approximately £5600 announcedimmediately following the auction was incorrectdue to my error with the spreadsheet I used torecord the items. I managed to include a subtotal of £2600 which was hidden from my viewin the amount column. The actual total was£2920.50 which is still a very good achievementfrom only sixty people Add £550 from theproceeds of the raffle and a further £60 fromthe sale of Scalextric Sport + spares used toimprove the cars during the racing, means wehave a very healthy sum for the charity.

Highlights of the auction included a firstrunning sample of a BSB Superbike in blue andcreamy white – a colour never used for theproduction version. This achieved an amazing£410 after some very careful and consideredbidding. Another first running sample, this timethe recent Ford Taurus NASCAR, in black witha plain underpan, fetched £310. A McLarenMP4/16, also in black with a grey stereo

lithography base and standard spoilers had thegavel, well mallet, fall at £300.

Some interesting body shells raised somegood prices too with the paint approval sampleof the Racer/Range Presentation/NSCCweekend Ford GT reaching £120 and anorange Holden Commodore obtain £90.

Another oddity was a Sport World Digital 6car power base with blue plastic covers. AdrianNorman from Hornby considered this to be thehigh spot of the auction so, considering its rarity,it was surprising to see it only reach £115.Something of a bargain I think. There were alsomany display boards, some of which were testpieces used to try out car combinations orcolours for the set box designs of future sets.

Finally, from a total of 60 lots, some of thecars used during the weekend were sold off andthree of the Audi TTs used and decorated in atropical fish tank theme(!) by the ladies, for theladies race, sold for £80.

Thank you to all the bidders and winners ofthe auction and raffle items, for giving sogenerously. I’m sure the total will be wellreceived by Hornby’s charity. ■

Auction RAuction RAuction RAuction RAuction ReporteporteporteporteportBy Adrian Leggett

TTTTTense bidding for the Superbike prototypeense bidding for the Superbike prototypeense bidding for the Superbike prototypeense bidding for the Superbike prototypeense bidding for the Superbike prototype

17April 2007

RamsgateRamsgateRamsgateRamsgateRamsgate

18

ScrapbookScrapbookScrapbookScrapbookScrapbook

(Above) The victorious white team

(Below) The weekend car

19April 2007

I arrived on the Friday night for my firstNSCC/Hornby weekend having only avague idea of what to expect. I understood

that the aim was to provide feedback toScalextric on their current and future products,so I guess I imagined that there would beelectrodes attached to us as we were sent in to beexperimented upon.

Despite not arriving until midnight, therewere still a few members chatting in the hotelbar and I was able to get a bit more of an ideaabout the proceedings. It turned out that ourresponses would be analysed by conducting anendurance tournament over the two days – youcould think of the whole thing as a weekend forracing!

We all convened in the hotel’s conferenceroom at 10am the next morning to see a largedigital layout, and to receive colour coded namebadges. We had been divided randomly into sixteams of eight or nine, and the colour of ourbadge denoted which team we were in.

Apparently in past years, the racing hadscored on individuals instead of teams but, sincesome of the attendees were seasoned racers,others were keen collectors and some were homeracers or people quite new to Scalextric, the topracers got very competitive and the rest felt likethey had no chance. Randomly selected teamshelped spread the skills around, and also helpedpeople socialise with each other, especially goodfor those of us new to these meetings.

Once we had managed to sort ourselves intoour teams (I was in red team), each team was topick a captain and the captains were sent off torace control (Adrian Norman from Hornby/Scalextric) for the briefing. I should note herethat the following account inevitably is writtenfrom the perspective of a member of the redteam, and I have not been able to cover all thedramas, laughs and tears that other teamsundoubtedly experienced.

NSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby WNSCC/Hornby Weekeekeekeekeekend:end:end:end:end:The RacingThe RacingThe RacingThe RacingThe Racing

By Dave Chang

WWWWWake up at the back - drivake up at the back - drivake up at the back - drivake up at the back - drivake up at the back - drivers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefingers’ briefing

20

The rulesThe rulesThe rulesThe rulesThe rulesThe main aspect that Hornby wanted to findout was how might Digital work in a club racingenvironment, and how we thought it might bebetter adapted or developed for that application.The weekend racing was to be divided into foursimilar digital endurance sessions plus a ladies’race. Laps for each team would be addedtogether to give the final result. Laps would beadded for quiz results, good questions andsuggestions in the Q&A session and other things,they would be deducted as penalties as necessary.

The layout was Scalextric Sport Digital. Itwas powered by the six-car powerbase, with theauxiliary port connected to a computer runningnon-Scalextric race management software ‘PCLap Counter’ written by an independententhusiast Guy Langenakens. It provided a liverace board which was projected onto a screen.The 35 metre circuit was mainly a two lanelayout featuring about three of the straight |X|lane change pieces, a pit lane with pit bays foreach team and a section after the start which

split into five lanes. These all converged back totwo lanes again – offering a scary possibility ofextreme carnage.

The sessions were to last for an hour or two,depending how much time there was betweenthe start and the next thing on the agenda(lunch, the Q&A or whatever). The teammembers should drive in strict rotation, soeveryone had equal track time irrespective ofskill or experience. Each driver of the team wasto race for two minutes, then drive the car intothe appropriate pit bay and hand the controllerto the next driver of the team. Laps would bededucted for incorrect pitting.

Each racing session would have a differentclass of car, box standard. We could buyupgrades to the car from the Sport+ range oftune up parts, but we would have to install theupgrades during the race, so we would have tocarefully evaluate whether we thought the timeto install the upgrade would be worth the extraperformance we would gain. Money that wespent on upgrades was donated to charity. ➳

The complex pitlaneThe complex pitlaneThe complex pitlaneThe complex pitlaneThe complex pitlane

21April 2007

The racingThe racingThe racingThe racingThe racingThe first session was using the ‘super resistant’Porsche Boxters which were one of the modelsprovided with the first digital sets. These are thecars with a one-piece body shell, with thewindows and lights painted on. Not only arethey robust, having no parts to break or fall off,these are also cheaper than standard Scalextric(super-detailed) cars and have a reputation forbeing fast and fun to drive.

The colours of the cars were matched up toteam colours as much as possible, but there wereless liveries than teams, so some cars weredistinguished by having coloured stickers on thewindshields. This resulted in one of our driverswatching the incorrect car for part of his stint,and thus not getting the optimum lap times.

All the teams seemed to be managing theirrotas and driver changeovers smoothly, with thesix drivers racing and the next six lined upbehind them ready to take over. Not all theteams managed to get their cars into the pit baysfor the driver changes, so Adrian was kept busy

applying penalty laps as appropriate.The first observation that many of us found

was that the cars were quite slow compared towhat we might be used to at a club. Part of theproblem in the first race was that the powerbasewas designed to be powered by two transformerswhen racing six cars, but one of the plugs hadfallen out. Considering the system was not beingproperly supplied, it performed remarkably well.

The next issue was that the cars did notperform the same as each other. This is notunusual with box standard cars, and in ananalogue race you would also expect this. Withdigital, there would often be a ‘train’ of three oreven four cars driving nose to tail up and downthe long straights, held up by the slowest car.This was most noticeable during the first racingsession, so I would guess that it was partly causedby many of the racers not being used to digitalor lane changing. As we all gained moreexperience during the weekend, perhaps we allgot better at overtaking and avoiding the slowercars.

Giant scorGiant scorGiant scorGiant scorGiant scoreboareboareboareboareboarddddd

22

The other phenomenon we found was that if wewere stuck on the tail of a slow car and pressedthe lane change button – the car in front wouldalso change. The solution was simple but notintuitive – if you want to overtake a slow car,drop back a bit and then take the lane change.

Some people have thought that digitalracing would lead to lots of uncontrollablecrashes spoiling the fun and flow of the racing.There were crashes, and there were fast carsploughing slow cars off the track by drivingstraight through them. But marshalling was veryquick since you did not have to worry aboutwhich lane to put the car back in. Any additionalcrashes did not seem to reduce the fun of racingat all, and the more we raced, the more controlwe gained over the events on the track.

The traffic of other cars did mean that youcould not get into the ‘rhythm’ that you wouldon an analogue track, but it was not clearwhether this difference was a disadvantage ofdigital racing or added realism to the racingexperience.

Our team upgraded to the Sport+ high griptyres. We reasoned that it wouldn’t take too longto change the tyres, and so the improvedcornering would help. By the end of the firstsession, our red team and the white team werepretty much neck and neck. Were these teamsleading due to good drivers, good organisationor fast cars? The rest of the weekend might tell!One of the teams (sorry, I forget which) – hadn’tgot the hang of the pits at all, and so werepenalised on every driver change.

Afternoon sessionAfternoon sessionAfternoon sessionAfternoon sessionAfternoon sessionAfter a break for lunch, the next race was withNissan drift cars. Again these had a one piecelow detail body, and the drift guide was restrictedso that the cars could not turn 180 degrees. Thesecond power supply was now correctly attachedto the power base, so we were expecting somefast racing. How wrong we were!

Our car could be mostly driven around withthe throttle fully depressed, and blipped quicklyfor three of the sharper corners. The slownessof the cars evoked wry chuckles from themembers. Presumably difference was due to the

extra weight of a slightly bigger body shell anddrift guide mechanism, plus the different gearingon the sidewinder compared to the Porsche’s in-line transmission.

This session probably did help us learn howto use the lane changers and how to deal withslower cars better, and how to conduct the pitstops better. I should also note that whilst thespeed seemed inadequate on the long clublength straights, it may be plenty on a hometwisty circuit. Scalextric are aware that digitalwould be better if it was faster and are workingon the issue, and they explained (in some depth)how it was not a simple matter of plonking abigger power supply on!

There were a few overloads where the braidsof a reslotted car shorted the rails. An overloadcauses the power base to beep and cut power tothe rails. The marshals were given the procedureof removing all the cars, checking the braids,and replacing the cars. Then the overload iscleared and racing continues. Most of thepeople who were not racing were surroundingthe track and acting as marshals, so suchoccurrences were dealt with quickly, and did notinterrupt the racing appreciably.

Driver stints were increased to threeminutes. In the morning race some of us had feltthat we were just getting to grips with the feel ofthe car when we were called into the pits for thenext driver.

It was still a fun session, and the cars wereprobably still driving a lot faster than a realisticscale speed, but the driving challenge wassignificantly reduced. The red team were able topull ahead and establish an eighteen lap leadover the white team.

An evening race was planned using the AudiTT, but an excellent Q&A session overran andso the race was cancelled.

Sunday drivingSunday drivingSunday drivingSunday drivingSunday drivingA twist was added for the morning race: fuel pitstops would be added via the race managementsoftware. This was a feature that the racecontroller had not tried before, and seemed toresult in chaos in the driver area as people werecoming to terms with the new procedures ➳

23April 2007

after a night of socialising and clocks goingforwards. One of the teams had not beenproperly entered so their laps were not beingcounted, it was decided to restart the racewithout the fuel pit stops.

This race featured the high detail GT class.The teams did not have identical cars, our teamhad the Dodge Viper, green had a PorscheGT3R, blue a Maserati MC12, white aMercedes GT1, yellow an Aston Martin DBR9and orange a BMW Mini (can’t say I rememberthat at Le Mans!). The teams had to startwithout magnets and pit to install them.

Of course – the speed of a Scalextric car isnot relative to the speed of their 1:1 counter-parts, so orange’s Mini was not necessarily ahandicap. The BMW Minis are known to be apopular and fun car to drive. Sadly in this racethe Mini was vastly outclassed, and on manyoccasions was scooped off the track by thepointy nose of a much faster GT car coming upfrom behind. Orange team were already at theback of the standings, and the Mini seemed toadd insult to injury. Fortunately the teamseemed to be taking the racing in the fun spiritthat was intended and made a valiant effort inthe race.

Red team were surprised to note that theireighteen lap lead had somehow evaporatedovernight. It turned out that in full accordancewith the rules, white team had been given atwenty lap bonus for donating a rather rare carto the charity auction. Red team were furtherdismayed to see their Viper spluttering slowlyaround the track, and took numerous pit stopsto try and find the fault in the car. A few theorieswere explored, tyres changed, but eventually ourteam made the decision to buy a replacementcar (our old Porsche Boxter from the first race)and continue the race with that.

Being light, the Boxter was a shade quickerthan the other GTs on the field and our teamwas able to claw back some of our losses.Unfortunately this lightness was also itsweakness for, in a collision with a heavier car,ours inevitably lost! Nevertheless we managed toclaw our way back, but not enough and finished

nine laps down on the white team. There wasstill the ladies race to go – might that make upthe difference?

The ladies were racing the Audi TT. Thiscar normally comes in plain street colours, butfor this race the cars had been given race liveriesusing a sticker set. Plastic sea creatures and treeswere also attached with Blu-tack to aid theaerodynamics. A five minute endurance racewas conducted, and although many of theentrants were not frequent racers, it wassurprisingly close. Juliette Torres won for thesecond year in a row, with Mrs Editor taking aworthy second.

After the race, a second Q&A session hadbeen planned, but unfortunately Frank Martincould not attend. Instead we were to have anadditional half hour race session, this time usingthe open wheeled A1 GP cars. There were onlythree cars, so the leading team was combinedwith the trailing team, the second with the fifth,and the middle two, to form three bigger teams.

This was an interesting race for a number ofreasons. It was the first race with only three cars,and to me the track looked quite empty. It’ssurprising how quickly you get used to seeing sixcars racing on two lanes. Secondly, these carswere quick and tail happy. The first set of driversdiscovered this at the first corner where all thecars came off. It was the first time in theweekend that we had something which was verychallenging to drive, and sadly the challenge wasa bit much for me as I crashed a lot! Red teamwatched the scores as white team – with the helpof orange – increased their lead.

The A1 GP cars are tougher than F1 cars,but still have exposed wings. These cars survivedthe race really well, I did not notice any damageon them by the end.

Race resultsRace resultsRace resultsRace resultsRace resultsWhite 1142 lapsRed 1120 lapsGreen 1105 lapsYellow & Blue (tied) 1044 lapsOrange 1035 laps

24

Congratulations to the white team whoseteamwork and level headed driving earned thema comfortable win after a weekend of closeracing.I thoroughly enjoyed the racing and liked thenot-too-serious atmosphere. It was very wellorganised and, whilst the teams may not havebeen evenly matched, it was a good effort atmaking the racing competitive.

Although I have played on small digitallayouts before, it was my first experience ofproper racing on it which was very interesting.My preference is for super detailed fragile cars,but I would be tempted to buy the low detailresistant ones if I switched to digital, since thecars do tend to collide more. Having said that,the detailed GT cars and the A1 open wheelerscame through surprisingly well.

The race management software ‘PC lap-counter’ performed admirably, and it has manyadditional features which we did not explore.Software such as this was definitely vital for anevent such as this.

The marshalling went amazingly well. Iwould have imagined that there would be a lotof incidents where cars crashed into the back ofthe car a marshal was reslotting. In practice thisrarely happened, marshals would whip the carout of the way if they saw another on the samelane. We were lucky enough to have a lot ofmarshals though!

It was interesting to see the overtaking skillsdevelop over the weekend. Even by the end, Idid find each change as an event to overcome aspecific obstacle, rather than a natural part ofdriving. I guess I need more practice.

It was common for passing to be done by thefaster car bashing the slower one off the trackrather than by using the lane changes. If yourcars are tough enough and you have enoughmarshals, this seemed to work! (best done whenrace controller is looking the other way though).A stricter enforcement of penalties andinstructions to the teams may have eliminatedthis.

That is not to say that the lane changerswere ignored. There was also some greatovertaking, and many drivers were using thechangers to follow the optimum lines of thecircuit.

The big question was how would digital bein a club environment? This weekend showedareas which needed more work, especially thespeeds of the cars. But overall it felt like aweekend of slot racing. The fact it was digitalhad not taken away the fun or changed it into adifferent sort of activity. Scalextric have goneaway with the impression that this sort of racingcan have a future in clubs as well as for homeracers. ■

Competitions UpdateCompetitions UpdateCompetitions UpdateCompetitions UpdateCompetitions UpdateAll the prizes for the Christmas competition have now been posted. If any winner has not receivedtheirs then please let me know.

Issue 300 competitionIssue 300 competitionIssue 300 competitionIssue 300 competitionIssue 300 competitionYes, I know the question was difficult - it was meant to be! The prize is a very good one so you haveto work for it. The answer can be found in a back issue of the Journal though. Just to clarify - I amnot looking for the generic bits on the Bugatti - tyres, guide, motor, gears etc.

I have received very few entries - and even fewer correct ones - closing date is 20th April so youshould still have some time left to enter.

Brian

25April 2007

Firstly, just in case you were wonderingabout last month’s prices, I spotted onlyone C282 motorbike at £53.95, not two

as may have been implied in the column, if youread the article carefully! With that cleared upI can get into my usual ramblings for the month.

As per last month the numbers of listingscontinue to be steady despite only one incentivelisting day, with around 5000 current listings inthe UK. However, it is becoming increasinglydifficult to compare numbers on a like for likebasis as eBay tinkers with the rules for listingsappearing or being visible in other countries’sites as well.

This month has seen the change of stoppingitems that are listed on the UK site fromappearing in the default search results on theeBay.com site. This potentially limits the buyingaudience for UK sellers who normally list onlyon UK eBay, so is something to bear in mind forsellers if you are trying to attract a big spendingUS buyer. I guess this will now mean you haveto make the decision whether to list on the UKsite or US one for the international buyers.Strangely though, eBay is doing further testingin the next few months whereby the US or“.com” listings appear by default in a fewselected categories on the UK site, though notin slot cars at present.

I guess eBay is the only potential winnerhere and sellers need to be on their toes to thesechanges. A well known “watch out” phrasesprings to my mind there though! Looking at theother major sites in terms of listing numbers forslot items available worldwide, the numbersshow the UK listings jump to just fewer than10,000. This is just behind Germany who inturn is behind the US at 12,000 listings.

BentleyBentleyBentleyBentleyBentleyThis month I thought I would look closely at theBentley, particularly the black one having justacquired one myself, to show the differences inprice achieved. At the time of the report aSpanish seller was offering an excellent examplefor £400 BIN (Buy It Now) in the eBay shopformat on UK eBay whilst a couple of wellknown UK dealers outside of eBay had verygood examples marked up between £175 and£225 for comparison. I found an unboxedincomplete example with missing frontmudguards that fetched £68 in UK whilst incomparison a similar condition made 79€ onGerman eBay. A complete boxed example withtwo Formula Juniors and a 1966 Scalextriccatalogue made £139. On Spanish eBay anexcellent condition French example, but withrepro parts and boxes, was listed at 600€. I willlet you guess which one I went for! Still on theBentley theme an “Extremely rare Chromeexample” one of 128 made for the NSCC(according to the seller!) fetched the best part of£300. Incidentally there are still several modernLe Mans Bentleys available in Germany atcheaper prices if you are looking for one ofthem. Linking in with the vintage theme still,and following on from last month, the yellowBugatti mentioned then outstripped the greenone reaching £621, and a yellow Alfa inexcellent boxed condition made 774€ inGermany.

Another trend that has developed thismonth is the splitting up of the new ScalextricHunt/Lauda historic F1 twin sets whereindividual cars are fetching anything fromaround £20 to £25 currently. This is being doneby one of the big sellers who is always splittingsets down. One lucky buyer managed to bag aFerrari including P&P for less than £19 though,

26

so have a search under “C2558A” if you are justafter one of these cars and look in the eBayshops section if you want a BIN price.

Incidentally the same seller is selling theempty presentation boxes as well for a fiver ifyou just want that! With patience I guess youcould build your twin set up at a cheaper pricethan buying the whole thing in one go. No Ihave not done that – well not yet anyway!

This monthThis monthThis monthThis monthThis month’s prices’s prices’s prices’s prices’s pricesPrices as listed and spelt on UK eBay unlessstated, with the time and auction ending day.

RARE!! Scalextric PORSCHE - C125 - GREY- exc condition £35.57 (Plain grey not spraypainted. Monday night)Scalextric Ford Focus RARE Silver Plated PrizeCar 1/32 £48.50 (Ford dealership prize from2004 according to listing ending Sundaydaytime)Scalextric Very Rare Colour YELLOWCOOPER C81, France! £104.99 (Sundayevening)Scalextric Very Rare Colour ORANGELOTUS C82, France! £103.00 (Same seller andtime Cooper above)NEW SCALEXTRIC CAR C2558A JAMESHUNT McLAREN F1 1976 £19.99 (Split fromnew twin pack). Several sold from this price upto £25 or so at various times during the monthas well as the Ferrari in other auctions.Scalextric EXIN TT 4x4 Racing System set7001 NEW/ MINT £160 (Still sealed setSunday night)Scalextric C678 TrackBusters Set - TrackBusters £29.99 (Excellent condition set Mondaynight. Only one bidder, a club member but notme!)Scalextric C.380 NSCC Ltd Edition GreyDatsun 260Z mint £103.01 (Chrome bumperversion with unused decal sheet Monday night)SCALEXTRIC FRENCH 3RD EDITIONCATALOGUE £16.66 (very good to excellentexample Tuesday night)Scalextric Classic Rare Black Lap counter,working! £19.50 (early version of the halfstraight red counter Tuesday night)

SCALEXTRIC PORSCHE 911 TURBO -FULLY CHROMED £14.19 (rare car with 500made according to seller Sunday night)Scalextric Rubber Drive Belts 12MM/S186$51.30 (Mint bagged set of 12 belts for motor-cycle US eBay Thursday night)ULTRA RARE SCALEXTRIC CK2 KITPORSCHE 904 MIB £820 (Still sealed Tues-day night)Vintage Scalextric tri-ang, Spares kit no 100n.i.b $262.99 (90% complete spares set fromclosure of Local Hobby shop on US eBayTuesday night)scalextric car £24 (Black Sport GT40 barelyused in box still. Sunday night)Scalextric Vintage James Bond 007 C.97 & C.75set £640 (reportedly an HP4 set the sellerthought as he only ever had the cars andaccessories but no set box. Thursday midday)FLY LANCIA 037 RALLY LTD EDITIONTO COSTA BRAVA RALLY!! £56.51 (new500 made LE on Sunday afternoon.)FLY E2 DODGE VIPER 1996 Indy 500Official Pace Car. M/B £510 (Sunday night)SLOT CLASSIC MORGAN +4 LE MANSCAR £241 (MB example Saturday night)Scalextric A/269 - Flying Leap - Complete(RARE) £13.55 (Unboxed Wednesday night)

Addict?Addict?Addict?Addict?Addict?Lastly, a note for you hardened eBay addicts and“techies” out there. If you are looking for a newmobile phone why not take a look at the “3”network where you can get eBay on your mobilefor free without any download costs. The serviceis a cut down version of your normal viewingscreen, but you can access your account andplace bids away from your computer. For thosewho may want to do this, make sure you checkthe 3G coverage in your area and get a phonewith a good screen to get the most out of thisservice though. I have used the service andwhilst this is slower than a broadband deskcomputer or laptop, it does work OK. A goodidea perhaps if your work has banned internetaccess for personal use, and you want to makethe occasional bid, but not a real substitute fora proper computer- well not yet anyway! ■

27April 2007

Sir,Having returned from the NSCC/Hornbyweekend at Ramsgate this weekend I would justlike to say what a terrific event it has been.

A whole heap of thanks must go to RobSmith for organising what has been a well run,fun weekend, which obviously took a hugeamount of work to organise. But, as a first timer,I would like to say a big thank you to ALL themembers there this weekend for making myselfand all other newbies to the event so verywelcome and encouraging us in the racing etc.A nicer bunch of people you couldn’t hope tomeet and I trust that they all had as much funas I did.

For anyone there who was concerned as tomy welfare upon returning home after the veryexpensive auction purchase, I would like toassure them that I am well and unharmed andthe model was appreciated after a sit down anda large G&T.

I am, yours etc.Richard James..............................................................................Sir,Although I have retired from racing, there hasbeen interest from at least three clubs as towhether or not I will be running the 24-hourrace this year. I am considering this but need toplan now as work commitments are over-stretching resources and time available!

If you are interested in entering a team,please let me know. The race is likely to be eitherthe 6th/7th October or 13th/14th October and willmost likely feature Ninco GT cars but this is notcast in stone.

There are a number of options so pleaseeither give me an indication of your preferencesor let me know if you are not interested.1. Would you like the race to be at theoriginal venue, the Ruislip Scout Hall or atYeading Football Club?2. Would you like the track to be 8 or 12/16lanes?3. Would you be more or less interested if therace was 8-lanes N-digital?

I can be reached on 020 8868 4478 or emailbrian@pitstoppromotions.co.uk

I am, yours etc,Brian Steptoe..............................................................................

Sir,I was fortunate to receive a Scalextric Drift setfrom Santa and I have a few observations whichmay help other owners.

The two Nissan cars operate most effectivelywith the magnet in the forward position - this isfine for 180° spins but actual drifting is less easy.I tried the cars without magnets and the driftingwas much improved but the guide blade thenlost downforce and the cars became very jerkyrunners. The contact between the tiny wipersand the rings on the floor pan is critical forsmooth running so I reluctantly had to replacethe magnet. Has anybody found a cure for thisproblem?

I am, yours etc,Clifford Rustage

28

Sir,I am writing not just on behalf of myself but, Iam sure, on behalf of all of the NSCC membersand their partners who were fortunate to attendthe recent NSCC/Hornby Weekend. I wouldlike to extend my heartfelt congratulations andthanks to Rob Smith for having organised suchan enjoyable weekend, it was the best NSCC/Hornby Weekend we’ve had for some years. Itwas great to welcome and meet so many newfaces and there was a really friendly, warmatmosphere over the whole weekend. The racingwas fun, the display of members’ cars andaccessories spanning the 50 years of theexistence of Scalextric very interesting, JonHewitt and Andy Carmichael produced achallenging(!) quiz for the Saturday eveningsupper, and the Question and Answer sessionwith Mike Walters (Hornby’s DevelopmentsDirector) and Adrian Norman was the mostinformative and engaging one that I can recall.

It was also a real pleasure to have RogerGillham present, he found himself signing manymembers’ books and catalogues as well as, ofcourse, ‘A Race Through Time’. Our newChairman, Peter, conducted the auction withgood humour and aplomb, and managed topersuade many people to place decent bidswhich helped to achieve a good figure forHornby’s nominated charity, Cancer Care. Hewas very ably assisted by Rob, who had us allentertained by his amusing descriptions of someof the smaller items. He, Adrian Leggett andAdrian Norman were the early arrivals on theFriday afternoon and got the large and fun-to-

drive Scalextric Digital track assembled,checked and running, so that by the time Sandiand I arrived with the NSCC display cabinetslater on Friday afternoon, they were all intent onracing and testing the track, and had to bedragged away from it to help assemble thedisplay cabinets. Rob deserves everybody’sspecial thanks because he had gone ahead andconscientiously and diligently organised theevent, putting everything into it, even though wewere in an election period. I hope that he willnot mind me expressing special thanks to himbecause he has also done this whilst having beenobliged to deal with some testing familycircumstances. I am sure that I speak on behalfof all the attendees when I say that Rob hasorganised a splendid weekend, for which hedeserves everybody’s thanks and applause.

I am, yours etc,Stephen Barber, NSCC Secretary...............................................................................Sir,Just a note to say a big thank you to the NSCCand Pendle Slot Racing for the excellent MRRCChaparral Christmas competition car. It reallyis outstanding and couldn’t have come at abetter time since illness has prevented me fromtravelling to swapmeets for the last few monthsor so.

A real tonic - I’ve always said that Archie isa cat of impeccable taste and judgement.

I am, yours etc,Phil Lanham

29April 2007

In my opinion rallying is the purest form ofmotor sport, pitting man and machineagainst the road with tenths of seconds

separating the best drivers over many miles ofstages. The World Rally Championship (WRC)is the pinnacle of rallying and tests the driver’sskill and car’s resilience over a huge array ofsurfaces and environments. To win the driver’sor manufacturer’s title is no easy feat and bothman and machine need to master 16 verydifferent events, including the twisty tortuous carbreaking boulder strewn roads of Cyprus, theincredible fast and flowing stages of Finland, thesnow and ice of Sweden, the grippy tarmacroads of France, the slippy mud tracks of Walesand the marble gravel surfaces of Australia – dothis and you might win the coveted driver’s ormanufacturer’s championship of the world.

In 2006 Ford managed to accomplish theirlong held goal and won the manufacturer’sworld championship after a 26 year barren

period since they last won it with their infamousEscort RS1800 MkII. They won with their latestincarnation of the Focus driven by the hugelyaccomplished double World ChampionGrönholm and the young Hirvonen. They didnot win the driver’s title with Grönholm missingout by 1pt to the brilliant Loeb in the CitroënXsara – 1pt sounds extremely close but in realityLoeb missed the last two events with a brokenarm. However, even if Loeb did compete in thelast two events, Ford would have still have wonthe manufacturer’s title.

Ninco have released a good range of WRCcars over the recent few years with the SubaruImpreza, Peugeot 307 and Mitsubishi Lancer allbeing available. They are all very quick cars andon my rally track the Peugeot and Mitsubishihold the lap record of 13.7 seconds with theSubaru about a second off the pace. However alleasily beat my SCX and Scalextric cars. Howwould the Focus match up?

50425 Ford Focus WRC50425 Ford Focus WRC50425 Ford Focus WRC50425 Ford Focus WRC50425 Ford Focus WRC

By Matt TBy Matt TBy Matt TBy Matt TBy Matt Tuckuckuckuckuckererererer

30

The livery is that of the car driven byGrönholm in the 2006 Finnish rally – Nincohave captured the lines and stance of the Focusalthough the wheels are too small (but theyprovide best slot car handling). The tampoprinting is crisp and accurate but there are someareas of paint fade and a couple of small patchesaround the exhaust that the paint missedaltogether. If you are after an accurate replicafor sitting on your shelf then these niggles willaffect your enjoyment of the car but if the car(as it should be) is for hammering round yourtrack then the slight defects do not affect itsdesirability one bit.

I did not even bother trying to run the carwith the magnet in place and I removed thebody to get rid of it. I noted the car has a singlebelt driven 4WD (I find a double belt systembeneficial), NC5 motor, small Oz style wheels,sprung guide, independent suspension (hard atfront; soft at rear) and well lubricated gears.

With no tuning I put the car on my rallytrack and set off to get used to the car – it onlytook a couple of laps and then I tried sometimed stages. I was quickly reeling off 14.5seconds laps and, as I got more used to the car,I managed a 14.0 seconds lap. This is with notuning and I’m sure with gluing and truinganother few tenths and the lap record will easilybe found.

I tried it on my Sport track and found aquick but controllable car that handled verywell, was difficult to de-slot and gave excellentdrifts.

The Focus is quick and a good stable matewith the Lancer and 307 although the Imprezawill struggle to keep up (just like the 2006 seasonwas in reality!). This is a great car, it looks mean,low and aggressive and performs exceptionallywell – nice one Ninco, just need an updatedImpreza and the Citroën C4. ■

31April 2007

I’m not easily surprised these days, but I mustadmit I was surprised at this year’s EarlyBird 50 event. I had pitched my racing box

and cars next to Colin Spark and Bob Rackhamof RS Slot Racing who, along with competing,had also brought along some of their wares,including a wide selection of Ortmann tyres. RSSlot Racing is a sole importer into the UK forMichael Ortmann’s huge range of slot tyres,and these little beauties are both popular andeffective on the Wolverhampton routed track.What surprised, however, was the discovery thatOrtmann also produce 1/24th scale slot car kits,with some examples on display at Early Bird’sbeautifully made up by Bob Rackham.

1/24th scale racing is big in Germany, withmainstream producer Carrera producingstandard track wide enough for both 1/32 and1/24 scale slot cars, and obviously Ortmannhave predominantly aimed for the Germanmarket. Designed to fit onto the multi adjustableScholer slimline steel chassis the body kits areavailable in the UK exclusively through RS SlotRacing and may be purchased as just body kits,or with chassis, or with MRRC/Sigma guide,

axles, bearings, gears, wheels and Ortmann tyresas a complete rolling kit. As a bonus, buyers ofthe complete rolling kit also get a Fox motor topower it along. There are a number of kits withthe Jim Clark Indianapolis ‘65 winning Lotus38, Dan Gurney’s Yamaha sponsored Lotus 38,John Surtees’ 64 World title winning F1512, andthe 65 BRM P261.

I opted for the full rolling kits of the ClarkLotus, Surtees F1512 and BRM P261, and gotan additional bonus along with the Fox motor.The bonus is a biggie as the Scholer chassis hadbeen pre-assembled for me by Bob saving mewhat looked like a bit of a fiddly job. The reasonfor Bob’s kind pre-assembly partly stems fromthe fact that Scholer don’t put any spare screws,nuts, bolts or washers in the chassis kits. Withtypical Teutonic efficiency Scholer seem tobelieve that no one will drop one on the floor oraccidentally chuck them out with the packaging,they clearly haven’t met someone as clumsy oruntidy as me! All I needed to do was simply fitthe MRRC/Sigma bearings, contrate gearaxles, and guide, followed by the alloy wheelsand Ortmann tyres, solder on the motor wiresand the chassis was ready to run.

Ortmann 1/24Ortmann 1/24Ortmann 1/24Ortmann 1/24Ortmann 1/24ththththth Scale Kits Scale Kits Scale Kits Scale Kits Scale Kits

By Phil InsullBy Phil InsullBy Phil InsullBy Phil InsullBy Phil Insull

My works Lotus 38 not quite up to BobMy works Lotus 38 not quite up to BobMy works Lotus 38 not quite up to BobMy works Lotus 38 not quite up to BobMy works Lotus 38 not quite up to Bob

Rackham’Rackham’Rackham’Rackham’Rackham’s standars standars standars standars standardsdsdsdsds.....

The Scholer Chassis from underneathThe Scholer Chassis from underneathThe Scholer Chassis from underneathThe Scholer Chassis from underneathThe Scholer Chassis from underneath

32

Next onto the body kits, these are nicelycrafted but do have quite a lot of excess flashingon them, which needs trimming off andcleaning up. The body material is incrediblylight but strong, seeming more like a plastic thana resin and being big makes them very easy towork on. All three come with a driver figure, theLotus being a three quarter length one, with asimpler head and shoulders bust for the othertwo. The Lotus kit also has the long tunedIndianapolis exhausts, and the inlet trumpetcovers, the F1512 has a separate rear gearboxcasing, and all three have appropriate wheelinserts and clear plastic windscreens.

The three bodies were given a quick rubdown with P1200 wet and dry before beinghand painted with Tamiya acrylic. The bodieswere lightly tacked onto the chassis with acouple of spots of epoxy glue and the detailparts painted and fitted. To complete the kits I

used some Maxi Model inlet trumpets andfashioned my own roll hoops and suspensionrods out of some scrap plastic. Finally the decalswere applied, along with a coat of clear lacquerto protect them.

OK. So far so good but how do they run?Packing the three into my race box I headed offto Wolves to give them a shake down. I also tookwith me my EJ’s re-issues of the sixties Revell-Monogram 1/24th scale Lotus 25 and 62 BRMto compare them against. Running on the Nincotrack was not possible as the guide flags wouldhave required trimming down, so I stuck to thewooden routed track for the test runs. First of allto set a benchmark I tried the two EJ’s cars, bothbeing equipped with a Pitman 26d. The Lotusproved to be the slightly quicker of the two atexactly twelve seconds per lap using a plungercontroller with a 15ohm MRRC resistor. NextI ran the three Ortmann cars, and was ➳

My BRM P261 with moustachioed GrMy BRM P261 with moustachioed GrMy BRM P261 with moustachioed GrMy BRM P261 with moustachioed GrMy BRM P261 with moustachioed Graham Hillaham Hillaham Hillaham Hillaham Hill

33April 2007

immediately running at around ten seconds perlap with all three. In spite of the Fox motorhaving less power than the 26ds, the Scholerchassis are nicely balanced and the Ortmanntyres clearly gave far better mechanical gripthan the rubber ones fitted to the EJ’s cars. Itried a set of rears on the EJ Lotus andimproved by a second per lap just through theadditional grip. Back to the three Ortmann cars- I cleaned the tyres and braids, re-oiled thebearings and gears and decided to go for it. TheBRM and F1512 were still very closely matchedgetting down to 9.90 seconds per lap but the

clear winner was the Lotus 38 which I managedto hustle round in 9.75 seconds on its best lap.The reason the Lotus was quicker I have putdown to the fact that I assembled the car withslightly offset suspension as per the real thingand this definitely seemed to help on some of thetighter corners.

My only criticism would be that all threecars were a bit light at the front leading to theoccasional de-slotting under hard cornering, butthis can be cured with a bit of lead inside thenose cones. I was particularly impressed with theresistance to impact damage having thumpedthe barriers nose first at high speed with allthree, and managing to roll the Lotus on theWolves Esses without any visible damage. If 1/24th scale takes your fancy then you should reallytry one of these; they do require a somewhatsmoother driving style to 1/32nd slot cars but,once you get used to that, they really are greatfun. Finally if, like me, your eyesight gets worseeach year then you will find that painting a 1/24th scale car is easier than a 1/32nd and you canstill see the 1/24th at the far end of your slotcircuit. ■

My F1512 in the works colours of John SurMy F1512 in the works colours of John SurMy F1512 in the works colours of John SurMy F1512 in the works colours of John SurMy F1512 in the works colours of John Surteesteesteesteestees

34

Bugatti updateBugatti updateBugatti updateBugatti updateBugatti updateRRRRRoger confesses alloger confesses alloger confesses alloger confesses alloger confesses all

Further to last month’s excellent article aboutthe Scalextric Bugatti and regarding mysupposed purchase of the red Bugatti from an extoolmaker in Havant - this was the story I putaround at the time but the Bugatti and the blue/red Auto Union were given to me by Hornby’sRichard Lines. I also obtained a number ofoverseas catalogues at the same time which Ieventually gave to Steve de Havilland. However,at the time Scalextric certainly did not want thisknown as they were concerned that they maystart to get calls from other collectors hoping toget some nice pieces.

Your comment about the discovery of aBugatti mould test run brought back somememories. I am not too sure whether this wasactually at the time of the 1982 England vTrinidad competition, being a serious collectormyself then I would have been onto the ‘case’had the Bugatti been seen at the time. A morelikely answer was that, as the NSCC FactoryLiaison officer at the time, I usually arranged acouple of visits a year to Margate when hugediscounts could be obtained in the factory shop,I think that possibly the Bugatti was seen at thetime of one of these visits but it is all a long timeago and memories fade.

Regarding the competition I was the overallEngland Team Manager, please see the imageof both the Trinidad and England teams, thefinal England team all seem to have come fromthe Molesey club. Martin O’Reilly is notpictured which was strange, he was undoubtedlythe best driver around at the time. I thinkpossibly that the Cheam and Hadlow clubs alsoparticipated and it was a knock out competitionto see which club represented England.

I do remember obtaining one of my threeBugattis from the Harrow Model Shop inMiddlesex. I walked in one day and the owneradvised me that a customer had brought in anunusual Scalextric car but wanted a lot ofmoney for it. It turned out to be a race tunedversion and the price required was £25 -probably the equivalent of £200? now. I haveabsolutely no recollection where my otherBugatti came from, it certainly did not cost a lotof money, maybe an exchange for some mint/boxed Sunbeam Tigers that I managed toobtain. The Bugattis are all in good hands nowwith the same owner who bought my collectionmany years ago.

Roger Gillham

Jump JockJump JockJump JockJump JockJump Jockey Setsey Setsey Setsey Setsey SetsAs a result of several requests Roger will beincluding the 1970 Jump Jockey system in his7th edition book. Has any member any sets andaccessories that Roger can photograph please?Hopefully within reasonable travelling distanceof Windsor, Berkshire where he now lives.Email address is: scalextric@rogergillham.co.ukThere will be a free copy of the book and aname check for the provider of course.

1982 England and T1982 England and T1982 England and T1982 England and T1982 England and Trinidad teamsrinidad teamsrinidad teamsrinidad teamsrinidad teams

35April 2007

Formula One - for many years the pinnacleof world motorsport. Some will still arguethat this is the case today, but I am one of

many who would describe it as more ridiculethan pinnacle.

I enjoy many aspects of motorsport and alarge part of that is a love of historic racing. Themajesty of the sixties provided a fantastic arrayof powerful and elegant racing machines which,at my youthful age, can only imagine tearinground some of the legendary tracks nowassigned to folklore. Throughout the decadesuntil recently, there have always been somethingthat you can consider a ‘cool F1 car’. I grew upevery Sunday watching Nigel Mansell andAyrton Senna race wheel to wheel around someslightly less legendary tracks that also don’t existany more, and F1 was good.

By the time I became more involved withthe slot car hobby, F1 was terrible. The only carthat won was red, and piloted by you-know-who.

For this reason, I never bought any F1 slot cars.I bought what I liked at the time, sports cars andsaloons. I saw a few Scalextric F1 cars with largemagnets going very quickly indeed around a fewtracks which impressed me for ten secondsbefore I decided I preferred driving slot carswithout magnetic aids. Formula One in 1/32was never given another thought…

Until. I began club racing at a decent leveland part of seniors night was the F1 class. At thetime three cars worked. And one broke down.This unreliable participant was the ProSlotFerrari which I disliked immensely because itreminded me exactly of what real Formula Onewas like, and how it had been since the late 90s.However, choices #2 and #3 are the ever clichédFerrari F1/87 and McLaren MP4/4 made bywhichever Scalextric brand had the moulds atthe time. When ProSlot quietly disappeared andeveryone’s Ferraris split their last chassis, onlythe Scalextric offerings were left. ➳

Formula SlotFormula SlotFormula SlotFormula SlotFormula SlotBy Gary Skipp

36

Subsequently I found an F1/87 but morerecently I’ve been thinking about Formula Onein terms of slot cars. Now that I understand a bitmore about the hobby, and I’ve the money tobuy the cars I like, I’ve started getting hold of theolder F1 cars I was captivated by as a kid. Thelate eighties and early nineties were wellsupported by Scalextric and I’ve acquired a fairfew to turn into good cars with a bit of ‘studioengineering’. I’m lucky; these cars lend theirdimensions well to slot car performance.They’re long, low, excessively wide. Many runlike a dog out of the box but, once fixed, they’regreat. I thought about how cool it would be if,in 40 years time, the guys at Wolves are doingtheir retro events for this period of car. I’d be inF1 heaven.

However. The idea of a Formula One event,a modern one, for cars with wings and sidepods,didn’t sit right in my head. It seems strange andalien. Then I realised, nobody actually runslarge scale events for these cars at all. Few runit at club level. Most competition events are forsports cars, because of their high performance.I mean, nobody wants to race slow cars and,besides the aforementioned ‘gruesome twosome’(Ferrari/McLaren), all F1 cars in slot form,unless scratch built by a maestro, are rubbish!Well, without the magnet.

You only need to look at modern cars to seewhy. They’re much narrower than they used tobe, and all that crazy bodywork leaves no spacefor a motor. Scalextric sidestepped this with theMoto GP unit which would have been a goodsolution if the motor was actually any good.There’s no body to float either because it’sclamped to the chassis around several curvysurfaces. SCX persist with steering front wheelsand plain wrong wheel/tyre sizes, as did Ninco(steering, anyway). The only modern single-seater racer with potential is the IRL Indycar,but nobody likes IRL so it doesn’t have enoughappeal.

It seems, that in certain aspects, slot F1follows real F1. It was good in the past, now it’sa bit poo. I imagine that in 1988 racing thebrand new Ferraris and McLarens was

enormous fun but I can’t imagine the idea ofracing near-on 20 year old cars sits well withmost club racers. I love the two cars personally,they’re good ‘n’ proper F1 cars. What I stared aton the TV screen for hours in my Babygro. Butit even grates on me to see a grid of six carswhich are exactly the same, starting every racewith my fellow competitors praying to slot godthat their pro-turbo will not fill the room withsmoke on lap nine. But, with no competitivealternative and F1 cars of the 1:1 worldbecoming ever stranger in shape, there is littlehope for the future.

Fly, are of course, releasing the March 761as previewed at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, but it’llbe a bit of a one off until a few more seventiescars are released for it to compete with. Thereare the Vanquish models but the over scale issueis an all too familiar one. And there’s still nopromise it’ll run well…

So roll on 85-95 F1 fest, open rules butemphasis on scale models, and I’ll be there forFriday qualifying! Cigarette advertising allround and sparks flying from those low diffusers.1/32 tyre warmers anyone? Just kidding.Maybe… ■