A long weekend's work

Roof space almost there now.  I've attached high-tech foil insulation...

 
...added battens to create another airgap...

...and fixed plasterboard.

Next job is to insulate the lower rafters of the loft and then I can finally start re-assembling the track.

Painting the wall

Before...

...and after...

Awkward to paint since the bricks were never pointed, so there are gaps between some bricks and mortar sticking out of others.  But the pale grey wall now looks more uniform and makes the room lighter still.

Goodbye Loft, Hello Attic Room

The windows were fitted today and they have transformed the loft space.  Loads of light - and fresh air - means the space now feels like a proper room.  Next task is to paint the wall.

Plus I finally get to use my window sticker!

Ugly Duckling

This was hard to do... I've taken the track apart in preparation for some work in the loft.  I'm having a couple of Velux windows fitted to improve the light and ventilation, and I also intend to paint the exposed brick of the party wall.  So the table is currently looking pretty bare...

...and here's all the scenery in the spare room...

Hopefully, there will be some photos of the transformation in a couple of weeks.

30 Years of the NSCC

The third and final purchase at this weekend's slot car festival was the car commissioned by the National Scalextric Collector's Club to commemorate its 30 year anniversary.

The car chosen is a Jaguar XKR GT3 in British Racing Green with black bonnet and rear wing, plus NSCC logos and the Jaguar cat image picked out in gold.  The car comes in a special presentation box with the limited edition numbered card and a booklet detailing all of the special cars commissioned by the NSCC over the years.

Bullitt

I went to the UK Slot Car Festival today with Andy and bought (and sold!) some more cars.  I'd been interested in Pioneer slot cars since trying out their 68 Mustang Notchbacks at a show last year.  The Notchbacks are nice but what I really wanted was this pair...

... Steve McQueen as Bullitt driving the 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT...

...and the assassins driving the black Dodge Charger R/T.

These cars famously raced around the streets of San Francisco in the 1968 film "Bullitt".  They are highly detailed cars.  The assassin even has his gun half-covered by his coat...

...and it's a pretty good likeness of Steve McQueen...

They are both very quick and make another great pair to race on the Highwood Circuit - although no petrol station for the Charger to crash into and explode!

Reach for the Skylines

A trio of very fast Nissan Skylines.  These are manufactured by HPI Racing - currently the only slot car they make, the rest of their extensive range is all radio-controlled cars.  The Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R is one of the iconic Japanese supercars and the Skyline models have always showcased the latest driving technologies that Nissan engineers could fit into a road-going car.  The GT-R continued this tradition, with up to 500 horsepower coming out of a 2.8-litre, dual-turbo 6-cylinder engine.

I bought the red and white models a few weeks back, and after a thorough testing with Stuart this weekend, I decided to get a third for a bit more variety and as a backup.  These cars are very fast and stable, with high levels of detail.  The exterior details like radiators, disc brakes, brake calipers, mirrors, wings, exhaust, headlight buckets, mirrors, tow hooks and radio antennae combine (along with lots of decals) to make the models extremely realistic. Inside is a fully painted and detailed interior, steering wheel, and dashboard.