Tarting up the Marcos LM600

This Marcos Le Mans car is very popular in slot car circles - Fly produce lots of different versions.  Andy bought me this one last Christmas but I've always had trouble with the gears.

It's from a range called Fly Poly Starters and they are aimed at the younger driver who crashes a lot - hence no wing mirrors or aerials, with fewer transfers and a robust wing.  After going through one gear, I've fixed the driveshaft and replaced the gear and pinion, and now it runs very quickly.

But I always thought it a shame that the driver was so plain, so I painted him and the interior.


Looks good fitted back in the car, but perhaps I need to get some more stickers for it now...

(Updated 25 October 2010)  I've now painted the alloy wheels, front grille, exhaust and bonnet catches:

Testing, testing...

Louise bought me The Slot Car Handbook for Christmas which has lots of useful information about getting the best out of slot cars.  One recommendation was not to put new cars straight on the track but instead to run the motors in at various increasing voltages.  This is to prevent arcing at high voltages which vaporises bits of brush or commutator inside the motor.  I bought a variable voltage transformer and wired it up to a modified Scalextric Powerbase to act as a testbed.  A piece of MDF prevents the cars shooting off the front and pieces of foamcard underneath lift the driving wheels away from the track.

The other purpose of the testbed is to true the tyres.  Instead of the foamcard lifting the rear wheels clear, a piece of sandpaper is placed underneath and so any bulge in the tyres can be rubbed away.

On the testbed above are two Christmas presents from Andy - both in Martini colours.  In silver is the Porsche 917/10 Turbo Interserie 1974 and in black, a Marcos LM600.

I also got a car from Kieron for Christmas as well, a rather tasty Ford GT40 in silver and black - a Mark II from 1966.

I am, of course, now running these cars in...