www.slotcarmag.co.uk
ISSUE 9 • VOLUME 2 •AUGUST 2012
FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS
Eating Dust:
Explore the DAKAR track of Hub Habets
SlotCarMAG NASCAR: Richard Bennett works through the last stages of our car re-livery
Champion Slot Cars: A manufacturer forgotten by some and fondly remembered by others
HONK HO Club:
HO North Kent lays claim to the first UK permanent club track. Andy Player sets the pace on this large layout
Scalex Aston Martin:
Part 2 from Rob Smith and the Scalextric Aston Martin
Mag SLOT CAR
Contents
FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS
ISSUE 9 • VOLUME 2 • AUGUST 2012
visit: www.slotcarmag.co.uk
In This Issue:
2 4 9 13 17
Pit Board: Another Dirty Issue... ...from all corners of the world; Dust of the Dakar Rally, green grasslands of Aus, Dilworth battling the French, SCS from Sweden and plenty of course from home soil. Enjoy!
Eating dust: DAKAR: by Hub Habets Hub is a renowned for his rally tracks and this issue we let him reveal his build secrets of one of the world’s most famous races.
Show time: SlotCarMAG NASCAR comes alive! At last... Richard Bennett concludes the re-livery of the Scalextric NASCAR with the final episode concerning the assembly.
Watching grass grow: Realistic grassland The thought of “planting” individual grass blades seems daunting... until you read Lynne Haine’s easyto-follow guide. The effect is fantastic.
Champion: Motor racing by Playcraft Toys Ken Owens remembers an old favourite – Champion. Gone but not forgotten, this blast-from-the past deserves a mention in any slot car literature.
SlotCarMAG is an independent magazine for the Slot Car enthusiast. It is produced bi-monthly and available to purchase from either: www.pendleslotracing.co.uk (hard-copy, hi res digital) www.lulu.com/uk (hard-copy, print-to-order hi res digital with laminated cover) www.slotcarmag.co.uk (hi-res pdf download) For further information, please contact the publisher via email. Address opposite.
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HONK...
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The Scalextric Aston Martin:
25 27 28
...if you want to go racing! Andy Player drives the 230-foot HO North Kent (HONK) circuit home to its new premises and reveals a track worthy of champions. Part 2 by Rob Smith Part two of a history lesson from Rob Smith – The Scalextric Aston Martin, continuing this issue with the DBR9, DBS, LMP1 and DB5 models.
Crying Wolf: A Wolf WR1 creation Ian Howard is a major force in the Heart of England Championships and has created some great models. Here we see a Wolf hiding in a Renault’s clothing.
Questionable Character: Steve Ward Most know of his ward, Penelope Pitlane. Yet Steve Ward is the man behind the ample frontage of this famous body of slot car shells and chassis.
Dilworth: There is nothing this man won’t do for England It’s building to be a face-off between our intrepid hero and the larger-than-life French TV presenteur. There is a plan... at least we think there is...
PUBLISHING / WEB: Wayne Tooke: info@slotcarmag.co.uk EDITORIAL: Ric Woods: ric-woods@slotcarmag.co.uk ART & DESIGN: Marc Abbott: marc-abbott@slotcarmag.co.uk SlotCarMAG is printed digitally by LDP Ltd
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Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to accurately compile the information contained herein, SlotCarMAG or any of its contributors or advertisers accepts no liability for any errors and omissions or any inadvertent disclosure of any information not meant for publication. SlotCarMAG neither endorses or accepts responsibility for the reproduction of material supplied that is of sub-standard quality, such as photocopies, laser prints, pre-printed photographs, low resolution digital images etc, and reserve the right to refuse the use of such material, products or services of advertisers in this publication. Opinions expressed shall not necessarily be that of the SlotCarMAG. All information should be verified before being acted upon. Copyright: Contents of this magazine or our web site, cannot be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written permission of the publishers.
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1
Eati E
leven years after SCX had stopped the rally-raid TT Series, Ninco filled the gap by starting a whole new range of rally-raid cars and special sandy-coloured track pieces. Using them would be the easiest way to build a desert track, but to get it even more realistic, the track should be integrated into the landscape. This could be done by building with MDF. At first I made a little test track, to try the material and discover how small the bends could be made. It soon became clear that a radius should be a minimum of 100mm (4") to get a smooth passing by the cars, including the bigger ones. I decided to make the track portable, to store it under another track. A 12mm (1/2") multiplex baseboard, sized 2.44mx0.9m (8'x3') on two tubular welded frames on wheels, would be big enough to get a total track length of about 10m (32') and would still be manœuvrable in the garage. The track should contain some steep mountain sections and a typical African village by a little stream. To get some ideas and inspiration, I looked for pictures of the Dakar Rally in rally books and on several web sites. With the minimum radius of 100mm (4") for a bend still in mind, I started drawing the track and the village on the multiplex baseboard. The result was a figure-of-eight track shape, with one crossing. Vertical supports, made from 9mm multiplex pieces matching the contours of the mountains, were glued and screwed 20 centimeters apart onto the baseboard. On top, the 8mm MDF track was glued and screwed, which resulted in a sti construction. The 8mm thickness enabled the bending of the track, even on the steep hairpins. With two blades of a pendulum saw, soldered to each other, I sawed the slot gap of 3mm. I used the pendulum saw to get the steep sections right, but otherwise a router would also do the job. In some places the slot is positioned to the inside of the bends, so the inner wheels will get airborne, like the real thing. Now the outside borders were glued and screwed onto the baseboard and the vertical supports. With a chisel, potholes were cut in the track surface. To avoid tyre wear and rear axle damage, some sanding of the sharp edges was done next. A wooden bridge was made by sawing and cutting with a chisel just about 2mm into the MDF, to imitate the wooden beams. After the first layer of surface was in place, the copper tape was laid.
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
ng Dust:
Dakar Track by Hub Habets
Back in 2004, the idea of a desert track started while driving the then-new Ninco Mitsubishi Pajero on my Scalextric track. For the usual rally cars, the track was ok, but this car deserved more. To get any benefit from the Proshock suspension and drop-arm guide, it simply needed the bumps and big potholes of the African desert roads.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
5
Show Time It’s...
Part 8: Assembly
by Richard Bennett
B
y now, after what seems an eternity, you have your car decalled and lacquered. Now it’s time to put it all back together, but unfortunately it’s still not too late to muck it all up. The key here is remembering how you took it all apart; if you are using one of the superb Slot.it white kits then you won’t even have that luxury or foreknowledge. Everyone has their favourite glue and will swear by it. In my experience it is probably best to use a variety of glues, as each has its own pros and cons. Use whichever adhesive is most suitable and which you are most comfortable using. I use a combination of superglue, hot glue, Klear & XXX. The main advantage of superglue is that it dries fast and sticks like... well... superglue, but it is very unforgiving, and in the hands of the wrong person can be disastrous and end very badly.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
Another downside is that it can react badly with paint. The Klear lacquer can protect the paint to some extent, but superglue can melt a paint job, and if you get it on your fingertips and transfer it to the car body… well that’s it, game over. So if you feel you have to use superglue, use it inside the body. Use it where it is not close to any clear parts and use it very sparingly. I tend to use it for small parts which fit through openings in the body, for example a roof aerial or air intake. Where the mounting post pushes through the body, glue it from the inside. Don’t be tempted to apply the glue to the mounting post then push it through the body, it could get messy. Also, if you think you might have used a drop too much, soak it away with some kitchen towel, but give the superglue a chance to get up and into the joint first.
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s s a r g w o gr d n a k c a b t Si e h t h watc
ines a H e n n y by L
H
aving finally taken the plunge on track painting, it was probably time to get to work on another task that I’d been delaying for a while. The intention had always been to have some grass covering on the Tyers Targa. But of course, being wild open country rather than manicured raceway, there was always the question of how to achieve the right affect. Static grass seemed the obvious starting point...
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
13
K N O H
ck a tr b lu c O H t n e n a m r a first pe
Conventional wisdom tells us that every slot car club has a permanent layout. Each week the club bigwigs unlock the door, switch on the power and everything is ready to roll. That’s not been the case for HO clubs here in the UK. Partly due to a lack of premises, we set up a track for each fortnightly or monthly race and then pack everything away again when the racing is over. It is a lot of work, but the benefit is a new track each time and therefore a new challenge for every racer...
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
by Andy Player
Main pic: The HONK track Above Pic: The first national race, October 2012 (photo: Marc Townsend)
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& Aston Martin Scalextric
Part 2 – by Rob Smith
A
ston Martin featured at the very start of Scalextric, but after the 1960s there ensued a long wait before Aston Martin resurfaced in the Scalextric catalogue with the introduction of the DBR9. This was followed by the DBS, again with a Bond theme. The Bond theme continued and an action-packed DB5 was added to the range, whilst Aston Martin enjoyed success on the tracks with the Le Mans prototype Lola-Aston Martin LMP1. The DBR9, DBS, DB5 & Lola are still in the Scalextric range and new versions are expected in 2012 and further into the future. Part 2 of the Scalextric and Aston Martin story covers the modern era, both on the road and racetrack. These notes are based on models in the author’s collection, with reference to Roger Gillham’s excellent ‘Ultimate Scalextric Guide’ and help from a number of expert Scalextric dealers. The author would appreciate any additional information, such as DBR9 livery variations or special releases.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
Aston Martin DBR9 In 2005 Aston Martin and Prodrive formed a partnership to return Aston Martin to the forefront of international motor racing. The new DBR9, named in homage to the Le Manswinning DBR1, was designed to run in GT1, the highest-performance class, where the cars are based on standard two-seater and coupe road models. With some significant re-working and the introduction of high-performance modifications, the cars are capable of racing over long distances – anywhere between 200 and 3,000 miles. The DBR9 used the DB9 road car’s aluminium chassis and also the production V12 engine’s cylinder block and heads. After this the car was comprehensively re-engineered for competition use. The gearbox on the DBR9 was a 6-speed Xtrac sequential unit. The double wishbone suspension was purpose-built and, being a GT1, there were large-diameter carbon brakes front and rear. The forged magnesium wheels were also specially designed for the car by OZ Racing. In the cockpit, a carbon composite dashboard, lightweight racing seat and the driver’s instrument panels replaced all the original car’s trim. The engine is an Aston Martin Racing V12 based on the Aston Martin DB9 V12, with a capacity of 6 litres and producing approximately 600bhp @ 6500 rpm.
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Crying I
’ve always been a huge fan of the 1977 WR1 Wolf, driven to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1977 by Jody Scheckter. Polistil and various vacform body companies have had a stab at building the car, but I wanted to build my own car which conformed to the Heart Of England Grand Prix series regulations and looked truer to the original car than any of the previous attempts. After a good rummage through my spares box I found that I still had a scrap Renault RS01 bodyshell that I had for Christmas way back in the very early 1980s. It was in a very sorry state and I must say I felt that it had languished for too long in the spares box and deserved a new lease of life.
WOLF!
Building Scheckter's 1977 Monaco WR1 Wolf winner by Ian Howard
During the build I always find it useful to temporarily assemble the car to look at proportions. From this picture you can see that the roll bar is in the wrong position, as is the front axle location. Luckily you can see that I’ve no need to scratch build a rear wing, as the WR5 Scaley version is already a perfect fit.
After looking long and hard, I thought that it was possible to “cut and shut” the RS01 into a WR1. I started work on the bodyshell by cutting the top surfaces on the sidepod and joining them together. I also trimmed down the bodywork behind the driver and added some filler around the windscreen to emulate the basic shape of the WR1. I then ‘cut in’ the chassis pan to the body shell and moved the front axle forwards, as well as cutting out the existing front radiator housing to make way for new one. The front axle will be held in position using a 1/8” axle tube, which will also improve handling immeasurably.
I filled the inside of the side pods with Milliput and in this image you can see where I've reprofiled the left-hand side pod to give a more ‘Wolfish’ appearance. The excess filler on the inside of the body was machined back later on in the build to save weight.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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BRM – LIMITED EDITION CARTRIX –
C
artrix have issued a 200-car limited edition run of the BRM piloted by Hans Hermann at the 1959 German Grand Prix. The ill-fated number eleven car is probably best known for its involvement in a horrific crash that saw Hermann walk away virtually unscathed. The inner sleeve shows a picture of the actual crash and also has a brief description of the race, plus a small plan of the circuit that was feared by all the drivers. The Automobil-Verkehrs-und Übungsstraße was basically a public road – or essentially just two long straights (part of a dual carriageway), with a hairpin corner at one end and steep banking at the other. The disastrous weekend saw the death of Jean Behra in a support race on the previous day and then the crash of Hermann during the Grand Prix itself. The race was split into two heats and after the aggregate times were calculated, the overall winners were Ferrari, claiming the first three places with Tony Brooks, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill. Images and film footage of the race are easy to find on the ’net and the crash involving the BRM is well documented, showing just how lucky Hermann was! Visit: www.cartrixgpl.net for more details.