The following three photos provide close-ups of the details:
And lastly, a video of the track in use, either embedded below or click here for YouTube.
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Top Gear Test Track - Part Five: Detailing (Final)
The track is now finished. Using the satellite imagery of the test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, I've now painted on the airfield markings and suggestions of the painted lines that indicate the test track route. These three images show the steps from satellite, to plan, to final product.
The following three photos provide close-ups of the details:
And lastly, a video of the track in use, either embedded below or click here for YouTube.
The following three photos provide close-ups of the details:
And lastly, a video of the track in use, either embedded below or click here for YouTube.
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Top Gear Test Track - Part Four: Shaping & Painting
I re-routed the track between Chicago and the Hammerhead, and filled over the mistake.
The cars run much more smoothly around the extended curves. Just some detailing and labelling to do now.
I then shaped the 4x2 board, rounding off the corners and adding a carry-handle, before painting the grassed areas.
The cars run much more smoothly around the extended curves. Just some detailing and labelling to do now.
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Top Gear Test Track - Part Three: Electrics
I've now laid all the copper tape. It goes down very easily and I used a small wallpaper roller to flatten the creases where the tape goes around corners.
I soldered in connectors to continue the power beyond the cross-over points, running the wire under the board in recessed channels. You can see the soldered wires in this close-up of the main cross-over:
I took apart a Scalextric Sport power supply and wired some female bullet connectors to it, with the male connectors wired to the copper tape.
You can see the first test footage on YouTube or below if you're reading this in a browser.
A Merry Christmas to all my readers!
I soldered in connectors to continue the power beyond the cross-over points, running the wire under the board in recessed channels. You can see the soldered wires in this close-up of the main cross-over:
I took apart a Scalextric Sport power supply and wired some female bullet connectors to it, with the male connectors wired to the copper tape.
You can see the first test footage on YouTube or below if you're reading this in a browser.
It runs pretty well but it's not good enough. The two corners in the middle and far end of the main runway are a little bit too tight to get the slot cars driving through smoothly. So I think I may get the router out again and rework the part of the track indicated by the red dots below.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Top Gear Test Track - Part Two: Routing
Phil, a colleague of Louise's, has kindly lent me his router over the Christmas holidays. After some experiments on an old piece of chipboard this morning, I decided that the best way to route would be to create templates that the router could follow.
I cut the shapes from another piece of MDF and gently nailed them to the main board. The first tight corner:
Over halfway...
Finished:
I had to fill the little holes left by the nails and then I painted the runways and side roads.
And with the masking tape removed, it looks like this:
I hope to make a start with laying the copper tape either side of the slot tomorrow. I remain worried that some of the corners may still be too tight for the slot cars, but then this is a test track in all senses of the phrase.
I cut the shapes from another piece of MDF and gently nailed them to the main board. The first tight corner:
Over halfway...
Finished:
I had to fill the little holes left by the nails and then I painted the runways and side roads.
And with the masking tape removed, it looks like this:
I hope to make a start with laying the copper tape either side of the slot tomorrow. I remain worried that some of the corners may still be too tight for the slot cars, but then this is a test track in all senses of the phrase.
Top Gear Test Track - Part One: Design
Welcome to the Christmas Project!
When I'm testing and checking cars in the "games room", I've often thought it would be handy to have a small test track rather than running up and down the loft ladder when I want to run the car. Using some spare Scalextric track to make a very simple loop would be too easy - I wanted to make my own track this time...
So I started researching the slot car forums and scribbling different designs for a test track. And then I remembered that Lotus had already designed the perfect test track for Top Gear. A quick google and I had the satellite imagery with the track marked up:
I then printed a graphic version to fit the MDF board I wanted to use - 2 feet by 4 feet so it can be slid under the games room sofa when not in use.
I drew a grid over the paper and copied the track onto the grid I'd drawn on the MDF.
You can see in the image where I had originally drawn this lower down in the hope of making the board two-thirds the width but this wouldn't have provided enough space for the cars to get their back ends out, so I had to re-draw it into the centre of the board.
This is an accurate representation of the Top Gear Test Track but on the small scale I was using (not just 1:32, it's much smaller than that) the corners would be far too tight for the slot car guides. So I had to use some artistic licence to keep the same basic shapes but adapted to ensure slot cars could get round it.
When I'm testing and checking cars in the "games room", I've often thought it would be handy to have a small test track rather than running up and down the loft ladder when I want to run the car. Using some spare Scalextric track to make a very simple loop would be too easy - I wanted to make my own track this time...
So I started researching the slot car forums and scribbling different designs for a test track. And then I remembered that Lotus had already designed the perfect test track for Top Gear. A quick google and I had the satellite imagery with the track marked up:
I then printed a graphic version to fit the MDF board I wanted to use - 2 feet by 4 feet so it can be slid under the games room sofa when not in use.
I drew a grid over the paper and copied the track onto the grid I'd drawn on the MDF.
You can see in the image where I had originally drawn this lower down in the hope of making the board two-thirds the width but this wouldn't have provided enough space for the cars to get their back ends out, so I had to re-draw it into the centre of the board.
This is an accurate representation of the Top Gear Test Track but on the small scale I was using (not just 1:32, it's much smaller than that) the corners would be far too tight for the slot car guides. So I had to use some artistic licence to keep the same basic shapes but adapted to ensure slot cars could get round it.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Caterham Clash
Someone at work was flogging a Scalextric Set called Caterham Clash. It was such a bargain it seemed rude not to buy it.
The two Caterham cars are in good working order but need a bit of TLC. They've both lost their rollcages so I'll see if I can get some replacements. When brand new they look like this:
As well as the cars, this has provided a load of spare track in excellent condition including the curves I needed to replace some of the cross-overs (so eBay will be seeing the brand new replacements I bought at the Hornby Visitor Centre last month). I've replaced the cross-overs at three of the existing points on the track but added one at Folly Carousel.
This seems to reflect alternative racing lines pretty well - come in wide, cut the apex and exit wide - or come in tight, run out wide, and then tuck in tight again.
Practising with a single car suggests this has sped up the laps a little (because the cross-overs contributed to de-slotting even without an opponent) but the real test will be next time I race against another driver. The track was delivered today, so unfortunately I wasn't able to test the new configuration with John and his son Tim when they came round yesterday for a racing session - along with some of John's cars from when he was Tim's age!
The two Caterham cars are in good working order but need a bit of TLC. They've both lost their rollcages so I'll see if I can get some replacements. When brand new they look like this:
As well as the cars, this has provided a load of spare track in excellent condition including the curves I needed to replace some of the cross-overs (so eBay will be seeing the brand new replacements I bought at the Hornby Visitor Centre last month). I've replaced the cross-overs at three of the existing points on the track but added one at Folly Carousel.
This seems to reflect alternative racing lines pretty well - come in wide, cut the apex and exit wide - or come in tight, run out wide, and then tuck in tight again.
Practising with a single car suggests this has sped up the laps a little (because the cross-overs contributed to de-slotting even without an opponent) but the real test will be next time I race against another driver. The track was delivered today, so unfortunately I wasn't able to test the new configuration with John and his son Tim when they came round yesterday for a racing session - along with some of John's cars from when he was Tim's age!
Thursday, 8 December 2011
NSCC/Hornby Weekend Car
All those who attended the NSCC/Hornby Weekend received a commemorative car. This is the Audi R8 LMS, a race car with a V10 engine producing 493 bhp.
Here's the real thing at the Nurburgring. The Scalextric version is a very accurate representation.
Although this is a limited edition of 72 cars, the same car (without the NSCC logo on the roof) is available to anyone who joins the Scalextric Club so there are probably thousands. But the logo is a big deal for collectors. Another version of this car, a limited run of 200 with another different logo on the roof, sold for £131 on eBay this weekend, so I think I better look after mine!
Here's the real thing at the Nurburgring. The Scalextric version is a very accurate representation.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
NSCC/Hornby Weekend 2011
I attended the National Scalextric Collectors Club annual Weekend at the end of November. I joined the club towards the end of last year so this was the first opportunity to go along. The weekend was hosted at Pegwell Bay, just outside Ramsgate, in a hotel with comfortable rooms and excellent food.
There were around 70 members there - a mixed group from across the UK and several European countries - and we were grouped into a dozen teams named after British racing drivers, and issued with matching polo shirts.
On Saturday morning, six of the teams competed on a 6-lane analogue track, with the other six running six cars on a two lane digital track. My team (Team Button) started off on the analogue track.
As the first race was about to start, the saloon cars were suddenly removed and replaced with lorry cabs...
...but fortunately the saloon cars came out after the first heat. In the afternoon, we visited the Hornby Visitor Centre at the site of the old factory (all manufacturing these days done in China).
The visitor centre included a small museum on the history of Hornby, Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi. A few of the highlights...
A side door was then unlocked so we could buy items at reduced prices. There were boxed sets that were quickly snapped up but disappointingly no cars. I bought just 8 pieces of track as I've been thinking about replacing my cross-over pieces with normal corners. This may remove some tension in the racing but it also reduces the chances of cars crashing into each other and slow-moving cars getting stuck on the cross-over join. I'll swap the track pieces over and see how it goes.
Also that afternoon, we had a Q&A session and a heads-up on new products from Adrian Norman, Consumer Promotions Manager for Scalextric. After dinner there was a raffle - sadly nothing won by me - and a minor auction, where I watched the bidding open-mouthed.
On Sunday morning, the teams swapped tracks and we raced Ford RS200s on digital track. This was the first time I'd raced on a digital track where multiple cars run on the same lanes but can't switch lanes at sections rather like railway points. It was good fun but too much slamming into the back of other cars - I'll stick with analogue.
I've posted a short compilation video of the racing on YouTube here.
During Sunday afternoon, there was a major auction. By this time, I'd seen how much some of these guys were prepared to pay for cars and prototypes, so I walked along the cliffs down into Ramsgate instead. The weather was fantastic and I enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours.
We were presented with our commemorative car (subject of the next blog) and a poster (see below - now up in the loft) and then I made my way home. I enjoyed the weekend - the racing was fun and good-natured, the people were friendly and I started to understand the mind of keen collectors. But although I enjoy collecting small numbers of affordable cars, I think I can keep it under control.
There were around 70 members there - a mixed group from across the UK and several European countries - and we were grouped into a dozen teams named after British racing drivers, and issued with matching polo shirts.
On Saturday morning, six of the teams competed on a 6-lane analogue track, with the other six running six cars on a two lane digital track. My team (Team Button) started off on the analogue track.
As the first race was about to start, the saloon cars were suddenly removed and replaced with lorry cabs...
...but fortunately the saloon cars came out after the first heat. In the afternoon, we visited the Hornby Visitor Centre at the site of the old factory (all manufacturing these days done in China).
The visitor centre included a small museum on the history of Hornby, Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi. A few of the highlights...
A side door was then unlocked so we could buy items at reduced prices. There were boxed sets that were quickly snapped up but disappointingly no cars. I bought just 8 pieces of track as I've been thinking about replacing my cross-over pieces with normal corners. This may remove some tension in the racing but it also reduces the chances of cars crashing into each other and slow-moving cars getting stuck on the cross-over join. I'll swap the track pieces over and see how it goes.
Also that afternoon, we had a Q&A session and a heads-up on new products from Adrian Norman, Consumer Promotions Manager for Scalextric. After dinner there was a raffle - sadly nothing won by me - and a minor auction, where I watched the bidding open-mouthed.
On Sunday morning, the teams swapped tracks and we raced Ford RS200s on digital track. This was the first time I'd raced on a digital track where multiple cars run on the same lanes but can't switch lanes at sections rather like railway points. It was good fun but too much slamming into the back of other cars - I'll stick with analogue.
I've posted a short compilation video of the racing on YouTube here.
During Sunday afternoon, there was a major auction. By this time, I'd seen how much some of these guys were prepared to pay for cars and prototypes, so I walked along the cliffs down into Ramsgate instead. The weather was fantastic and I enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours.
We were presented with our commemorative car (subject of the next blog) and a poster (see below - now up in the loft) and then I made my way home. I enjoyed the weekend - the racing was fun and good-natured, the people were friendly and I started to understand the mind of keen collectors. But although I enjoy collecting small numbers of affordable cars, I think I can keep it under control.
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