www.slotcarmag.co.uk
PROMOTIONAL ISSUE
FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS
PR O M O
The ultimate Slot Car bi-monthly magazine
CO PY
No.1 UK Slot Mag:
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lot car history goes back as far as 1912 when a system was marketed in the USA by Lionel (USA), and throughout the following years various attempts were made to kick-start the hobby. It was, however, mainly a pastime of the enthusiast, usually with a rail system rather than a slot, until the late ’50s saw the tinplate “Scalex” cars adapted to run on a rubber track with a basic on/off switch to control the cars. This was the birth of slot racing as we know it today. During the 1960s slot racing boomed across the world and many manufacturers started producing sets and accessories. The glory years were numbered, however, and most of the industry collapsed with the advent of competition from other toys at the decade’s end. Scalextric, however, survived and has become a generic word to the public for slot car racing. After a number of wilderness years, the hobby is now back in full swing and perhaps we have never had it so good. 1/32, 1/24 and HO are still the main scales, but with computer technology advancing at a fast pace, digital sets are the new big deal.
The club scene still thrives and racers still travel to other countries to test their skills against fellow competitors. Tracks are made by such companies as Scalextric, SCX, Ninco and Carrera, and of course the more dedicated choose to rout their own from wood or occasionally polymer materials. SlotCarMAG has been created as an informative independent magazine to look at the hobby from the inside out, but not just focusing on the main manufacturers.; we also look at the small cottage industries producing small runs of car bodies made from resin or acetate – individuals who painstakingly research a car to produce as close-as-possible an exact replica in miniature of their favourite racing machine. Basically, this magazine is what’s been missing from the English-speaking public’s coffee table – a good afternoon read. Oh, and perhaps the chance to win a fantastic prize! SlotCarMAG is produced bi-monthly and is sold as a hard copy or pdf file. Visit our web site at: www.slotcarmag.co.uk for more details on how to purchase your edition.
FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS
SlotCarMAG is an independent magazine for the Slot Car enthusiast. It is produced bi-monthly and available for purchase via our on-line store at www.lulu.com/uk and printed in hi- resolution digital format. It is also available to purchase as a pdf download from the SlotCarMAG web site.
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
For further information, please contact the publisher via email. Address opposite.
Cover photo: Cars supplied by Paul Bizzell, photographed by Marc Abbott
Disclaimer: Whilst every eort 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: FIND US ON FACEBOOK 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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Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Pit Board Hello! Firstly let me say “welcome” and “thank you” for looking at this online promo copy of the magazine SlotCarMAG. In each issue we will endeavour to bring you features covering many areas of the slot car hobby: club focus pieces, scratch building, scenery how-tos, news from abroad and anything else we can squeeze in. In issue one we saw an article by Adrian Norman, all about the history of the Scalextric GT40. We also ran the Graymalkin step-by-step guide on how to repaint and decal a car. Over the months, this morphed into a SlotCarMag NASCAR! Slot cars have a diversity of individuals who lay claim to be part of this hobby: club racers, rug racers, collectors and the builders. Hopefully, whoever you are, you’ll enjoy reading this mag. Whichever label or title you give yourself, we are sure that you will find our pages of interest and, more importantly, a good read. To the right of this column, you can see the covers of the first three editions of SlotCarMAG, and by examining the headlines you will note that we have stories from around the world and also across time itself. Happy reading and thank you for looking! Wayne Tooke
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Past issue covers:
The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
Page examples from issues 1, 2 and 3:
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Page examples from issues 1, 2 and 3 continued:
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Great photos Our writers are always encouraged to supply hi-quality photos at the highest resolution
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
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ith the advent of digital photography, taking a decent photo has become easier - if it’s no good just delete it and try again! However, composition stills requires care and thought and, perhaps most importantly, high resolution for a magazine such as ours is paramount. For photographs to reproduce at a double-page spread (that’s an A3 size) file sizes are going over 70mb. This is essential to capture the small models we are looking at and bring out the finer points (or indeed imperfections) of a car or kit that is under review. It also helps readers with their own projects... It helps give confidence and the thought that, if so-and-so managed to do that and make it look good, I can too. These pages show a Ford Anglia, designed, built and painted by George Turner.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Club Focus Each month we let a club have their say.
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here are many clubs around the world and each makes its own unique stamp on our hobby. Some race standard Scalextric, others shy away from magnets whilst some race bullet-fast hand-built metalchassis blobs that barely resemble a “real” car. They may also favour 1/24 or HO over the favoured British/European 1/32 scales. We aim to try and cover everything by giving focus to a different club each month and let them tell the story of how their club was formed and the style of racing which is preferred. If you would like your club featured, send us an email – but there is a waiting list!
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Car Customising Follow our step-by-step guide on stripping back the paint and starting with something new
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
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hroughout our issues we are featuring the step-bystep process of customising existing models. Perhaps you have bought a plain-white kit from Slot.It or, as in our case, a rather horrid looking Nascar that really does need a spruce-up. Richard Bennett (AKA Graymalkin) is revealing all the secrets of relivery. This includes stripping back the original paintwork, priming, painting, making and applying decals, sealing and finishing. The actual physical time to do these works of art is not too bad... it’s the waiting that is the key. Patience whilst that paint dries for 24 hours! These pages feature two cars by Richard.
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Tricks Some models look just too plasticky! Have you ever thought about making your car appear to have really raced?
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
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kay, so you’ve bought that brand-new Scalextric Beetle or Slot.It GT40 and it looks great... as a showroom exhibit. Real racing cars (and road cars for that matter) get dirty and damaged. Rally cars get covered in mud, dust and sometimes snow. Le Mans cars are taped up to help them finish races. There are certain tricks to help out and these pages show how editor Ric Woods, produced this battle-weary Ford from NSR. “One car which really captured my imagination was the 1967 4th-placed Ford Mark IV. It finished the race in a rather sorry state... the engine cover had come adrift, become damaged and various bits of tape (plus a trouser belt!) had to secure it down.”
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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Scenics There’s nothing worse than a circuit sitting blandly on a carpet. Learn some tricks to bring your racing alive!
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG
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ynne Haines is a master with scenery and will use anything to try and make her circuits look life-like. In issue 2 we saw how basic dirt from the garden can be filtered and then scattered to produce a stunning effect. As the issues come out, hopefully she’ll reveal more about making other items such as buildings, rocks, fences etc etc. Lynne is resident in Australia and is full of ideas – so why not tap into her thought processes via SlotCarMAG?
Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders
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About Us SlotCarMAG sprang from an idea first mooted on SlotForum by Wayne Tooke (sunsetman). Wayne, a fairly recent returnee to the hobby, bemoaned the lack of allencompassing slot car magazines and was wondering how difficult it would be to start one. He is in the process of finding out, as he has been joined by Marc Abbott (abbo) and Ric Woods (Mooster). Marc, as well as being a very experienced slot car racer, is extremely accomplished in graphics and layout, as well as website design, and he has a number of books to his credit. Ric, another experienced racer, has been writing on a wide range of subjects for many years and found himself with SlotCarMAG when he suggested they should find a proof reader…
Put simply, SlotCarMAG aims to cover all aspects of the hobby of slot car racing. The idea is that there should be something in there for everyone, whether they are new to it all or a race-hardened veteran. SlotCarMAG will initially be a bi-monthly publication, available via the website (www.slotcarmag.co.uk) as a magazine or as a PDF copy.
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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG