Saturday 28 December 2013

LEGO Technic Jet

David got me the LEGO Technic Jet for Christmas.  I hadn't built a Technic set for years (decades?) and this was a big one.  Really nice looking model with some clever moving mechanisms.  Lots and lots of parts, and instructions over two books...


The completed model has retractable undercarriage, opening canopy, swing wings and ailerons operated by stick in the cockpit.


Here's a video (not by me) of it being constructed (speeded up to 2.5 minutes - so about a minute an hour).  Start at this point (or skip to 2m04s)to see the moving parts demonstrated.



Not Scalextric but of a similar scale (about 50 cm in length) to my Spitfire so it may end up flying over the layout.

Saturday 21 December 2013

Scalextric-scale Motorbikes

I've blogged before about motorbike models that work on slot tracks.  They are inevitably a larger-scale than the cars and so look out of place if left on the layout.  I found on eBay some 1:32 scale motorbikes for a couple of quid each that, although they don't run on the track, do look good as part of the scenery on the layout.


I bought the models to match the Scalextric MotoGP bikes I have.  Nicky Hayden's Repsol Honda (right hand side) is a perfect clone.  The colour schemes of the bikes on the left are a reasonable match, even though they aren't exactly the same bike.  Amazing models for the price.



Thursday 19 December 2013

1:1 scale Scalextric

This is great (especially for electric car drivers, Kieron!).



Saturday 7 December 2013

Jaguar Mk2 number 2

Andy bought me a Jaguar Mk2 to race against the one I built last year.  I'd spotted the very nice Jaguar XJS produced by GeorgeTurnerModels and I thought the 1980s TWR paint scheme and livery would make an appropriate (although twenty years early!) design for the Mk2.

George Turner's XJS model 

The bodyshell was prepared, primed and painted before I remembered to photograph it, so here it is with the interior, windows, and Ninco Jaguar XK120 chassis that this Pendle kit comes with.


The waterslide decals provided by George Turner were very sharp and detailed, easy to apply, and I'm pleased with how the car turned out.  It races well too.






Monday 25 November 2013

Fiat Bartoletti Ferrari Transporter

This limited edition model has just been released by Racer.  It's a reproduction in 1/32 scale of the Fiat Bartoletti Ferrari Transporter that was used in the fifties and sixties to transport up to three Ferraris to races.  It is a working slot car model with two motors and the rear ramp can be lowered.  I won't be buying one (RRP £450!) but I do think it's a beautiful model.




You built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?

Continuing the theme of modelling slot cars on famous Film & TV vehicles, I proudly present the DeLorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future.


I bought the resin bodyshell from a Spanish eBay seller and adapted a chassis from a Scalextric Lamborghini Diablo.


I painted the body with a brush rather than spray as I thought that would give a better representation of the brushed stainless steel bodywork.  Marty McFly was painted with his jeans and red body warmer.


I fitted some mounting posts and then put it all together, adding the final touch of a little sticker with the number plate from the movies.



The model reflects the car in the second film, with the addition of the Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor (installed in 2015) which replaces plutonium as the primary power source of the DeLorean's time travel capability.

In the third film, the car goes back to 1885 but can't get back because the time circuits are not functioning correctly.  The DeLorean is hidden in a mine for 70 years because suitable replacement parts to replace the destroyed microchip would not be invented until 1947.  The car is recovered from the mine on November 14, 1955 and restored to working order by replaced the microchip by a tray of valves and other 1950s electrical components.  This tray was included with the bodyshell I bought and so I've painted it up too.


Great Scott!

Wednesday 23 October 2013

"Lordie, Lordie, Lordie. If you can drive like that, Rosco, how come you can't ever catch them Dukes?"

At the Slot Car Festival earlier this year, I spotted that Gareth of Chase Cars had converted one of his gangster cars into Boss Hogg's car from the Dukes of Hazzard.  With the General Lee and Rosco's police car (on a Chase Car chassis) already in the collection, I had to follow suit.


First task was to remove the windows from the original bodyshell and then turn it into a convertible.


Then the bodyshell was undercoated and then sprayed with a couple of coats of gloss white.


Next I extended a PCS32 chassis to match the extra long dimensions of the bodyshell, and painted the interior.


Instead of gangster heads, Gareth supplied three heads in cowboy hats, so I have Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane driving, Deputy Enos Strate riding shotgun, and Jefferson Davis ("JD" or "Boss") Hogg in the back seat.


One of my cattle from my 28mm Wild West town donated his horns to adorn the front of the car.


With the Confederate flag on the front, I gave Boss Hogg a personal plate at the back.


And I'll leave the last words to Rosco:
Oh, Boss, if you ain't the sneakiest, low-down double dealinist little fat rascal, coo!


Sunday 22 September 2013

Highwood Pre-War Classic

The Highwood Pre-War Classic is a new series of races that Andy and I have set up.  We're racing sixteen of our handbuilt 1930s racers (four are mine, the rest are Andy's - and he still has a few more!) with strict rules to help keep them all in good condition.  Only two deslots are allowed - if you have a third, your car is out of the race.  Similarly, if you run out of fuel, no little top-ups to let the race continue - you're out.


We're using a World Cup heats approach - four heats of four cars, with the winner and runner-up of each heat going into the semi-finals, with the winner and runner-up of each semi-final forming the line up for the four car final.  In each race, it's three points for a win, one point for second, nil points if you don't finish, plus a bonus point for the fastest lap.

Our first heat earlier this week was between a Bugatti, a Bentley, an Austin 7 and the Jones Stutz Special.


The Bugatti was fast, stayed in the slot and stormed it.  The Bentley was slow and got nowhere.  The 7 was quick but (with James driving) had a propensity to roll and failed to finish half its races.  The Jones put in a respectable showing, and with the Bugatti is now on to the semi-finals.

Saturday 21 September 2013

American Muscle Car Challenge

I had some close racing with Stuart this morning and we decided to capture it in a short video.


We had the usual calamities - and seemed to lose more the average number of wheels this session:


We also managed to collide at the Carousel cross-over, flipping the Lancia 037 and catapulting the Ford RS200 onto the lower track and over the barrier near the grandstand.  No plastic people were harmed.

Friday 13 September 2013

"I don't make mistakes. I make prophecies that immediately turn out to be wrong."

I finally got round to painting the two packs of figures I bought from Slot Track Scenics earlier this year.  They also sell the camera crew and tower, and the fencing I've used around the track.

The first is another camera crew and photographer, with two commentators - pretty clearly the classic F1 commentary combination of Murray Walker and Martin Brundle.


They are now installed by the pit garages, with the MRRC camera figures relocated to the Folly Carousel.


The second set are paramedics with an injured driver...


...and they are now setup alongside a rolled BMW on the approach to the first hairpin.


Saturday 31 August 2013

Take the scenic route (part two)

I sprayed and dry-brushed the rock walls and re-installed all the pieces today.


A big improvement on the temporary grass paper solution.


I also recently finished off a few more figures, some drivers and pitcrew - with an important message for racers approaching the last corner ;-)


...and some more spectators and another programme seller.


I still have a dozen unpainted figures but only a little bit of space left now on the layout.  I'll squeeze them in somewhere and then stop.  Possibly.

Monday 26 August 2013

Take the scenic route (part one)

The far side of the track has various elevations and constructing scenery around the different levels was always going to be complicated.  So I cheated with a roll of grass which I just used to cover the gaps:


It's been like this for a couple of years although I did replace some of the grass paper when I built the big screen, but the rock wall wasn't very convincing.


So my Bank Holiday project was to build some proper rock walls using some pieces of insulation foam I liberated from a neighbour's skip over a year ago (I knew it would come in handy eventually...).


It's a nice material to work with, much easier than the chicken wire and plaster method I used for other parts of the track.  I used a normal saw to roughly cut the pieces and then shaped and added detail with a dremel (rotary hand-tool).  It does make one hell of a mess though.  And I lost count of the trips between the garage and the loft today.


But the end result is a significant improvement.  This is the first piece I did between the two hairpins:


And then I got carried away and ripped out the paper mache rocks I'd created behind the big screen, and shaped pieces for the whole stretch.  As the rock wall acts as a natural barrier, I was able to remove a lot of the armco barriers.


Next job is to paint it and to re-grass & re-plant around the big screen.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Racing Seats

Racing standing up takes a toll after an hour or two, so from now on we'll be racing in comfort - following the purchase of a pair of padded height-adjustable bar stools.  Seat belts not included.


Saturday 17 August 2013

Tiny Twin Cams

Andy bought me a couple of Austin 7 Twin Cam kits from George Turner models for my birthday.  GT makes high quality resin bodies with chassis, and Andy sourced all the additional bits I needed to construct the car.


I primed the drivers, cars and others parts in white, grey and black respectively, with the exhausts in different colours to contrast with the body paintwork.


Painted up and partly constructed:


The car doesn't have a separate chassis - instead the motor and rear axle clips into the body, with the front axle and guide the only thing screwed into the body.


A few photos of the finished cars - number 5 in red with black exhaust, number 6 in green with white exhaust - all snapped in the latest gadget from Louise's parents - a photo light box:





Here's a final photo to show just how small these cars are, dwarfed by the NASCAR racers on the track:


Andy came round for an afternoon of racing today.  Lots of close races, including this spectacular finish, where Andy (driving as Steve McQueen) drove into the finish post and bounced back, but I lost control of the baddies' car too and rolled over both the detectors - fortunately over mine a fraction of a second before Andy's.


But the final accolade goes to Andy who got a new fastest lap for the circuit (under seven seconds).