Counter-clockwise

Andy and I were messing around with the Nissan 350Z drift cars a couple of weeks ago.  The cars have 360 degree rotation in the guides so they can spin round and drive in the opposite direction.  We were enjoying the challenge of approaching familiar corners from an unfamiliar direction, when we had a light bulb moment - why not wire up the track so we can switch direction and race the other way?

It's six years (to the week) since I started this project, and I don't know why that hadn't occurred to me earlier.  So I ordered a couple of heavy duty double pole switches and wired them so I could select the polarity of the power going to each track.  I fitted them to the wiring board under the table.

The various electrical projects have grown over time and this is now looking rather unkempt.  But then again, it's behind the curtain so can't usually be seen, so it's a low priority.  However, I have done some rewiring where a connection was a bit dodgy - I spliced the wires from the start lights into an Ethernet socket, and then wired a plug from the Phidget board, so that connection is now reliable.

I've set up a Highwood Reverse circuit in Ultimate Racer, my race management software, so we'll start creating a new set of lap times and data separate from the original clockwise circuit.  This will give a new lease of life to the layout.

Italian Job Alfa

Another kit from Pendle, this time the Alfa Romeo Guilia Ti Super used by the police in the original Italian Job film.

I wanted the car to run on Andy's digital layout so as well as the chip, I had to wire up a bridge rectifier (four diodes in a particular configuration) to get the correct power to the flashing blue LED I bought for the roof.

I painted the interior to match the film, including the shades on the passenger.

And the body was primed in grey before a test fitting.

I sprayed the body a pretty good match for the green and painted up the lights, grille and bumper, as well as a tiny Alfa Romeo badge.

Final additions were the number plates.

Ready to chase some Minis...

Outside Broadcast Vehicle

I wanted to do something special with this Land Rover kit from Pendle.

I'd seen a resin mould of a TV outside broadcast vehicle based on a Land Rover and thought I'd scratchbuild something similar.  I built a box for the rear from plasticard, and found an old Scalextric cameraman and camera, which were mounted to a disc cut out of the roof (thanks Phil!) so they could be rotated to face any direction.

The Land Rover and box were sprayed in a dark blue and I added BBC Sport livery.

The finished article:

It all comes apart so that the Land Rover can be raced on the track.

And then put back together to record the action...