State-of-the Art Tech:

More Power For Digital Racing?
83
September/October 2015
$6.95
State-of-the Art Tech:
• Controlled Four-Wheel Drive
• Front Wheel Differential
www.modelcarracingmag.com
Design Your Own Wood Race Track
Formula 1:
•1955
•1971
•1975
•2014
Ferrari-Lancia D50
Tyrrell 003
Brabham BT44B
McLaren MP4
Flip to Page 7
to compare with the real car!
The Audi Sport Team driver Joest: Marco Bonanomi driving the Audi R18 e-tron quattro on June 9th at the LeMans “Test Day” two months before the 24 Hour
race where the Audis finished 1-3. — LAT Photo
83
Model Car Racing 3
83
CONTENTS
15 TRACK TEST
Sedan Racing
Ninco Seat Leon Cup Racer
by Marc Purdham
15 TRACK TEST
Supertuned Racers, Part 122:
Magnet-Free Sedan Racing
Ninco Seat Leon Cup Racer
by Marc Purdham
ON THE COVER: ON THE COVER: The Flyslot (Slotwings) 1/32 scale
replica of the Brabham BT44B at the Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos
Aires January 12, 1975. — LAT Photo
1/32 SCALE MODEL CAR RACING:
7 Formula 1
Flyslot (Slotwings) 1975 Brabham BT44B
by Robert Schleicher
9 Historic Racing
1975 Formula 1 Grid In 1/32 Scale
10 TRACK TEST
LeMans
Slot.it 4WD 2013 Audi R18 e-tron quartto
by Marc Purdham
10 TRACK TEST
LeMans
Slot.it 2-Wheel Drive 2013 Audi R18 e-tron quattro
by Marc Purdham
13 Tech Tips
Changing the Front/Rear Drive proportions
by Robert Schleicher
14 Tech Tips
One-Way Front Wheels For Any 1/32 Scale Car
by Robert Schleicher
4 Model Car Racing
17 Digital Racing
More Speed?
by Robert Schleicher
19 Race Tracks on a Tabletop
2-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit for Scalextric Sport,
Classic, SCX, Ninco or Carrera (with optional lanechanging) on a 5 x 9-foot ping-pong tabletop
by Robert Schleicher
20 Real Race Track Plans
2-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit for Scalextric
Sport, Classic, SCX, Ninco, Carrera (with optional
lane-changing) on a 10 x 18-foot tabletop.
by Robert Schleicher
42 Home Racing
Build A Wood Race Track
Part 2: Planning the Track
by Robert Schleicher
45 Tech Tips
Design Your Own Racetrack
by Robert Schleicher
46 Tech Tips
23 Home Racing
How To Use Track Plans for Plastic Track
To Build a Wood Raceway
by Robert Schleicher
Buildings For Your Race Track
by Robert Schleicher
51 Your Track
28 Formula 1
HO MODEL CAR RACING:
Scalextric 1971 Tyrrell 003
by Albin Burroughs
32 Formula 1
Scalextric 2014 McLaren MP4
by Bill Wright
Slot Mods 9 x 13-foot Four-Lane Wood Vernola Raceway
25 Home Racing
Innovative Hobby Supply Building Kits
49 Track Plans
4-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit for 4 x 8-Feet
by Robert Schleicher
DEPARTMENTS:
6
48
50
54
Editorial: The Ultimate Race
Club Directory
Pit Board
New Stuff
On Your Tablet:
34 Vintage Racing
Formula 1
Strombecker 1954 Maserati 250F
by Robert Schleicher
35 Formula 1
Cartrix 1955 Ferrari-Lancia D50
by Albin Burroughs
39 Historic Racing
1955 Formula 1 Grid In 1/32 Scale
40 TRACK TEST
Supertuned Racers, Part 123:
Magnet-Free
Flyslot/Avant 1980 BMW M1
by Marc Purdham
Model Car Racing is now available for iPad or Kindle. Just click on the
Apple iTunes icon and search for Model Car Racing to order individual
issues, subscriptions or a limited number of back issues. There’s more
information on page 56 of this issue.
Where To Buy Model Car Racing Products:
Dealers: A listing of the addresses, phone numbers, email addresses,
and websites of all the dealers that carry Model Car Racing magazine
appears on our website at www.modelcarracingmag.com
Manufacturers: A listing of the addresses and websites of firms that
manufacture model car racing products appears on our website at
www.modelcarracingmag.com:
More Information:
There is an Index of all of the past issues, a Digest of the results of the
first 257 cars in our Race Track Test series, Pros and Cons of plastic
track by brand, the Pros and Cons of the four digital systems, Pros and
Cons of 1/43 scale and an index of the 157 previously published track
plans, by size, on our website at www.modelcarracingmag.com.
Model Car Racing 5
The Ultimate Race ������������������
There is a wide range of opinions among us racecar fans
there about what constitutes the most exciting racing.
There is probably a near-equal mix of fans who believe
nothing is more exciting than NASCAR, those who
favor Formula 1 or fans who live for LeMans or… I
believe that mile flat-track motorcycle racing is the
most exciting racing on the planet, followed closely by
MotoGP motorcycles, then the World of Outlaws. You
may notice a common theme here; all three of these
machines do drift through the corners (yes, MotoGP
machines do drift---look closely). Since none of my top
three really exist as tabletop racers, I can pick or choose
among NASCAR, Formula 1, LeMans and more without ever betraying my faith in my favorites.
If you want to start a fight at a bar or Starbucks, among
race fans, however, just express you opinion that one
type of race car is the ultimate machine. For most of the
previous century, the cars that raced in Formula 1 were
the most sophisticated machines on earth. The rules
limited little except engine size and turbocharging specifics. As Formula 1 cars’ flanks became the “facade” for
some formidable corporations' logos, however, the Formula 1 rules became more and more restrictive. Today,
a Formula 1 car is the most-finely-controlled racecar in
history. That is also true of NASCAR, however, no one
looks at a NASCAR car as pinnacle of sophisticated engineering---the rules are designed make the cars as equal
as possible (regardless of the sponsor’s images). Formula
1 claims to be the pinnacle of racecar engineering.
No Limits
Colin Chapman, who created Lotus cars (with the help
of dozens of equally talented people), was an innovator. Chapman is credited with introducing monocoque
body/chassis (on the Lotus 25), wings, carbon fiber and
ground effects to Formula 1 racing, Argue as you wish
about how much he created, the cars that followed Lotus machines were forced to use those basic principles
and they are still the core of Formula 1 and LeMans and
Indycar racing half a century later. Chapman abhorred
rules and the establishment met him head-on, his Lotus
23 was disqualified from LeMans in 1963 because the
rear wheels had five bolts and the front had four. His
innovative Type 88 Formula 1 car had a separate chassis
and body with the body suspended much like a modern over-the-road truck but the regulators never allowed the car to compete. I believe that, if Colin Chapman were to compete today, it would not be in Formula
1 because the regulations limit just about everything,
which does explain why all recent Formula 1 cars are
nearly identical mechanically and in their appearance.
Today, Chapman would likely have chosen the LeMans
LMP1 class to test his design ability.
Le Mans 2015
Porsche, Toyota and Nissan are challenging Audi’s
dominance of the LeMans LMP1 class in 2015. This
is certainly joy to the engineers, but the money for the
projects arrives from marketing powers who obviously
believe that most of the world understands that it is the
engineering that wins LeMans, not the sponsor logos.
With the exception of the four wheels (which are vastly
different on the Nissan), these four LMP1 cars have
little in common. The FIA rules for LMP1 class are the
least-restrictive of any,
The FIA (www.fia.com) rules for the LMP1 class define
the car’s size and weight. Only one internal combustion
engine is allowed. The engine is limited to two valves
per cylinder and electromagnetic valve actuation sys-
6 Model Car Racing
tems, variable valve timing and variable valve lift profile
systems are not permitted. That engine can only drive
the rear wheels but the “Motor Generator Unit" (MGU)
can drive any or all of the wheels. That’s about it. The
mechanical specifications and the appearance of the
2015 LeMans Audi, Porsche, Toyota and Nissan LMP1
racers reflect just how far an open-end set of rules can
be implemented, from diesel to gasoline engines, four
wheel drive to front wheel drive, and much more.
it, a belt drive to the front wheels. The possible adjustments for the motor pod alone are complex (see the
“6-Screw Hop-Up” in the number 69 issue, which is
also on www.modelcarracingmag.com under “Sample
Issues”), and you have the option of swapping-out the
entire pod to replace the anglewinder with an inline
(but the interior will need to be cut away—there’s not
enough room beneath the rear deck of this Audi for the
sidewinder motor and pod).
Engineering For 1/32 Scale
There are no rules about 1/32 scale model car racing
design so, given the constraints of tracks and power, the
Ninco Seat Leon and Slot.it Audi 18 e-tron ultra 4WD
represent the extremes of design in mass-produced
models. If you consider yourself a possible reincarnation of Colin Chapman, you will certainly want to play
(whoops, experiment) with the Slot.it Audi and its range
of adjustments. If you’re a “tuner”, see what you can do
with the Ninco Seat Leon. Replace the motor in the Ninco car with a Slot.it motor to provide equal power, then
spend a maximum six hours tuning and adjusting both
models and you may be surprised at which of these two
cars is the quickest.
Model racecars are essentially simple machines with little
differences in their size or performance. They are toy cars.
Accept that they are toys and you can enjoy the range of
pleasure that “toy” includes, which begins with my green
car beating your red car (because I am, of course, the superior driver and builder/tuner). But today’s toys are often
replicas of real cars and very precise replicas at that. Modern production techniques have allowed the manufacturers to produce exact replicas for very little more cost than
just ejecting a lump of plastic (which a was what toy cars
looked like a half-country ago). So you get an exact scale
replica of, for example, The Mirage G8 that won LeMans
in 1975---the Avant Slot 1/32 scale replica of Mirage G8
is correct in every detail from the colors on the driver’s
helmet and the patterns of the wheels with the marking
so fine you need a magnifying glass see that, like the fullsize car, the names of both drivers are painted behind the
doors. So whether you care or not, you have something
more than just a simple toy---you have very complicated
toy that is a smaller replica of a very specific real racecar.
It’s comforting to know, too, that you have the choice of experiencing all the visual and mechanical complexities that
toy offers or of just using it as a blue and orange toy car.
1/32 Scale Design Spectrum
The essential engineering of a slot car means that there
is not a lot of leeway in the design of model. There have
been hundreds of variations on the theme but the ones
that work best are the ones that are standard on all of
today’s 1/32 scale cars; a pivoting guide or pickup or (as
Carrera calls it, a “keel”) guides the car in the slot, with
woven copper wire brushes conducting 12 volts (give
or take a couple of volts) of DC current to the motor
then that power is converted into speed through gears
to drive the rear wheels.
There are examples of two extremes in slot car design
in this issue, Ninco’s Seat Leon (on pages 15-16) and
the Slot.it Audi R18 e-tron ultra with 4WD (on pages
10-14). The Ninco Seat Leon has a new chassis that will
be fitted to most of the new Ninco cars. At a glance, it
looks like a toy but the Seat Leon’s chassis is the most
rigid chassis available, essentially a monocoque box
(like the full-size Lotus 25) that houses all of the mechanical elements and keeps the axles, gears and motor in solid alignment with no flex to amplify tire hop.
The body on the Ninco Seat Leon is mounted with four
pegs-in-sockets to keep it aligned but the pegs are a
loose fit so the body will rattle enough to isolate it from
amplifying the chassis vibrations. Nothing is adjustable
and nothing needs to be adjusted—spend some time
getting the wheels and tires round and true and running the motor and gears to minimize friction.
The Slot.it Audi, is at the opposite end of the engineering complexity spectrum with a six-screw-mounted
pod housing the motor and rear axle and a front axle
that is adjustable for ride height, with one-way ball
bearings in each front wheel to provide controlled independent front wheel rotation and, in case you missed
Volume 14, Number 5 (issue number 83)
September/October 2015
Publisher:
Robert Schleicher
Technical Editor:
Chris Walker
Editor:
Robert Schleicher
Track Test Editor:
Marc Purdham
Layout & Design: Aaron Tipton - aaron@atgd.net
Contributing Editors:
Mark Gussin
Jeremy Dunning Jason Boye
Dan Wilson
Alan Schwartz
Dan Esposito
Brad Bowman
Bernard Sampson Pat Dennis
Editors Emeritus:
Rocky Russo
Bill Sipple
Jose Rodriguez Jim Russell
Bob Braverman Ron Klein
Albin Adams
Circulation & Dealer Contact:
email: modelcarracingmag@hotmail.com
Model Car Racing Publications, Inc.
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Boulder, CO 80301-3346
website: www.modelcarracingmag.com
Model Car Racing (USPS 020-443, ISSN 1538-9170) is published bimonthly by Model Car Racing Publications, Inc., 6525 Gunpark Drive,
Suite 370-142, Boulder, CO 80301-3346. Copyright 2015, Model Car
Racing Publications, Inc.
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Digital Racing
More Speed?
Racing is about speed. However, the real thrill of racing is to be able to
control that speed to complete more than just a single lap without flying
off the track. The thrill of racing really lies in keeping the car at the
very edge of its traction, in other words keeping the car under control.
■■Robert Schleicher
With analog racing, your car is going to follow that
single slot until you give it too much power and
it deslots. That’s true of digital racing as well but ,
with digital, you have the option of changing into
the other lane. Digital racing requires more skill
because your mind has to process additional sets of
data that include watching out for slower cars, trying find a “quicker” lane to get around near-equal
cars and taking advantage of any lane-changes that
can produce quicker lap times even without any
other cars---added to that perception is the need
to remember when and where to push the lanechanging button.
if all other cars are governed by that same limit. So
slow all the cars down to a matching speed. The
Scalextric Digital and Carrera Digital 132 systems
make that speed-matching absurdly simple, just
press buttons and change the program. Both systems offer a wide choice of car speeds. If you followed the instructions, you probably set the car's
speed (for each of the cars) at the fastest possible--it’s racing, after all, so why would you want anything less than 100-percent speed? Reset the system
to about three-fourths or less and try digital racing again. Don’t just do a dozen laps and decide
this is stupid---“I need to go faster.” Run a dozen
or more 50 lap races with at least four cars on the
track. Learn what digital racing offers; the chance
to actually race. With analog racing you are really
just running unmolested qualifying laps, perhaps,
side-by-side with another car, but there’s little need
to pass or pick a line---just drive. Digital racing is
much more like racing a full-size car because you
cannot just sit there, you have think about where
to pass, when to pass and which racing line to take--If you really want racing for real, digital has that
and then some…
You are certainly trying to use all your skill to keep
the car in the slot. If you really are using all your
skill and concentration, there’s no concentration
left for thinking-out and responding to lane changing. That’s why digital requires more skill and more
concentration. Race all-out and you won’t have
time think about lane-changing. But you will, eventually, find a slower a car in front of you so you will
be forced to make a lane change.
One of the reasons why dome long-time slot car
racers do not switch to digital is that they have discovered that they simply do not have the concentration or skill to go as fast on a digital track as they
do on an analog track. If they are using 100-percent
of their concentration there’s nothing left except to
slow down---which is, of course, not in their options list. But, speed is only relative to the other
cars. It is not the track that you are trying to beat
but the other drivers and their cars. If all the drivers and all the cars are equal, you have just as much
chance of winning on a digital track as on an analog
track. You simply have to face the realty that your
powers of concentration and driving skill are not
enough to maintain the same speeds with digital as
you do with analog.
There is, then, a simple solution to making digital
racing more enjoyable. Slow down! Well you can’t
win races by slowing down. Actually, you can win
The current Carrera Digital 132 and Digital 124 systems have the option of 10 speed settings for each car. If you
are careful to set the speed to exactly the same setting for each car, their performance should be nearly-equal. To
set the speed, “…Place the cars to be adjusted on the track and press “SPEED” once. A certain number of LEDs
will now light, showing the speed level last used. Push the “SPEED” button as many times as necessary until you
have reached the speed desired. Confirm by pressing “ENTER/START”. There’s more information on the Carrera
Digital 132 system in the March/April 2011 number 56 issue (which is also on www.modelcarracingmag.com under
“Sample Issues”).
Model Car Racing 17
Most Scalextric Digital sets do not offer a speed option and they are designed for only four cars. If you are racing Scalextric Digital I would strongly advise you to try the best
of digital, buy the Scalextric C7042 Powerbase and the P9303 15V Power Supply. If you are upgrading an existing Scalextric Digital track you will need the C7042 and the
P9303 Power Supply but you can use your Scalextric Digital throttles (analog throttles will not operate the system). This is the least expensive digital system that also allows
you the option of racing any brand of analog car. The C7042 has adjustable speed as well as dozens of other features (there’s an article on C7042 in the November/December
2010 number 54 issue (which is also on www.modelcarracingmag.com under “Sample Issues”). You must set the power for each car but you can set each car with the same
percentage. The C7042 offers four power options: 50, 75, 88 or 100-percent power. The throttle response can also be adjusted but that does not really effect the performance
of the cars, just how quickly they react to the movement of the trigger.
18 Model Car Racing
Race Tracks on a Tabletop
2-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit on a 5 X 9-Foot
Ping-Pong Tabletop with (Optional) Lane-Changing
for Scalextric Classic, Sport, SCX, Ninco or Carrera
This Hockenheimring Circuit is designed to fit on a 5 x 9-foot Ping-Pong table. There’s an
index, by size, of all the previously published track plans from Model Car Racing magazine
and from the four books by Robert Schleicher on our website www.modelcarracingmag.com.
■■Robert Schleicher
These plans are much-modified versions of the
Hockenheimring Circuit on pages 20-24. The significant curves are retained but the length of the
straights are reduced to squeeze into a 9-foot long
tabletop.
The Scalextric, SCX and Ninco version utilizes as
many of the outer and outer-outer curves as possible in such a relatively small space. Turns T6 and
T11 are broad enough so that, even with magnetfree cars, you should be able to drift through with
about ¾-throttle or more. Turn T6 begins with a
tight standard curve but opens up into an outer-size
curve so you can begin to accelerate through the
turn and onto the main straight. Turns T1 through
T12 will present a smooth right/left ess bend with
enough straight between to get car straightened out.
The Carrera version has mostly their smooth “outer” curves with just over a full circle of the tighter
“standard” curves. Turn T12 and tucks-in as a decreasing radius but rest of curves can be taken at
a smooth throttle setting, swinging from a right to
left drift through ess bend and whipping around
turns T1 and T11. It should be one of most enjoyable tracks to drive.
The plans are designed so they can be lengthened
at the points marked “L” and there are four parallel
straights so any increase in table length will result
in four-times that length added to the lap length. If
you have room for another half of a ping-pong tabletop, for example, the plan would fill 5 x 13 ½-feet
and the lap length would be increased by 18-feet.
½½ Digital Racing Systems
There is room on the plans for Scalextric, SCX and
Ninco track for two of the double lane-change track
sections at “X” on the plan.
TRACK PLAN
2-Lane Hockenheimring
Circuit on a 5 X 9-Foot
Ping-Pong Tabletop
List of Scalextric Classic, Sport, SCX or Ninco
Track Required
TRACK PLAN
2-Lane Hockenheimring
Circuit on a 5 X 9-Foot
Ping-Pong Tabletop
List of Carrera Track Required
Key
Quantity
Description
H
4
20577 1/2 Inner Curve R1
1/2 Standard Curve
S
10
20571 Inner Curve R1
10
Standard Curve
O
7
20572 Middle Curve R2
O
16
Outer Curve
OO
0
20573 Outer Curve R3
OO
4
Outer-Outer Curve
OOO
0
20578 Outer-Outer Curve R4
F
2
“Short” Straight
E
8
20612 1/4-Straight
E
1
1/4-Straight
D
2
20611 1/3-Straight
D
5
1/2-Straight
B
4
20509 Full-Straight
B
7
Full-Straight
2
20583 Connector Track (analog)
A
2
Connector Track
Key
Quantity
Description
H
2
S
L
Track can be expanded in length by adding
matched pairs of straight track sections here.
A
L
Track can be expanded in length by adding
matched pairs of straight track sections here.
T Turns on the model versions of the track
T Turns on the model versions of the track
X If you are assembling the track with Scalextric
Digital, 1 1/2 straights at this point can be
replaced with the C7036 double-crossover
straight lane-changer plus a half straight.
If you are using NINCO N-Digital, the 40207
double Lane-changers can be substituted for any
standard straight.
To build the plan with NINCO track you will need
about 10-percent more space and you may need
some additional short straights to get everything
to line up properly.
The Carrera plan also has room for two of the Carrera Digital 132 number 30347 double lane-changers.
Model Car Racing 19
30 Model Car Racing
Jackie Stewart on his way to winning the 1971 Spanish Grand Prix. Montjuich Park, Barcelona
(and 1971 World Championship) in his Tyrrell 003-Ford Cosworth.---LAT Photo
Model Car Racing 31
Vintage Racing
Strombecker 1954 Maserati 250F
The Strombecker replicas of 1954 Maserati 250F were, effectively, the first mass-produced 1/32 scale slot cars
made in America. The first 250F cars in 1960 had a white frame with strip metal pickup brushes. By 1961 the
frames were grey, the pickup brushes were braided copper and the motor was a grey round Mabuchi. That’s the
car in the photos. In 1961, the grey motor was replaced by a faster but nearly-identical motor painted red that
became know as the “Red Bomb” (not for speed, but because they overheated quickly and melted the commutators
to produce an unforgettable uric acid odor). The short life just might have been exacerbated by many of us
disassembling the motor to remove a dozen or more turns of the fine copper wire from each of the three armature
segments (a speed-secret know as “dewinding) to produce an even quicker and much shorter-lived bomb.
■■by Robert Schleicher
The early Strombecker Maserati 250F (and D-Type Jaguar and Testa Rosa Ferrari with the same frame) had the
motor mounted in front, apparently to leave more room for a driver figure. Strombecker revised the frame so the
round motor was now in the rear of the chassis. The first motors were those same red bombs but with a shorter
armature shaft. In 1963 the Maserati was fitted with Strombecker’s later chassis that had an open-frame motor
like that in Steve Burkey’s number 1 car. The new motor fit the older frame. An accessory for the car was steering,
again like that on Steve Burkey’s car. The frame fitted most the contemporary Strombecker cars including the DType Jaguar and Ferrari Testa Rossa that were introduced in 1961 (as illustrated in the May/June 2002 number
3 and November/December 2002 number 6 issues of Model Car Racing).
The Strombecker round can motor responded nicely
to the removal of some of the “excess” turns of fine
copper wire from the armature segments but its track
life could be measured in minutes---quick while it
lasted, but what lingered in my nostrils (even today)
was the sharp uric acid smell of the burnt plastic
commutator inside the motor that melted when the
motor overheated.
Strombecker produced replicas of the 1954 Maserati 250F from about 1960 into the late sixties.
The later Strombecker 250F models had an openframe motors and you could buy a bolt-on steering
front axle like that on Steve Burkey’s model. There’s
more on Steve’s Strombecker Maserati and his even
earlier Scalextric stamped-tin 250F in the July/August
2005 number 22 issue.
34 Model Car Racing
One of my first slot cars was this Strombecker 250F
purchased in about 1961. The 250F was one of my favorites
but the fact that it was about a scale foot too long for 1/32
bothered me enough so I eventually sectioned about ¼-inch
out of the body and shorted the chassis to match.
It is not apparent in the photograph, but the
Strombecker Maserati 250F (number 1) is about
10-percent larger than Pre-Add body (out of
production) on the Scalextric chassis (in the number
28 issue). A similar exact-scale 250F (with even more
louvers) is available from Dave Jones Body Shells
(johndjones10@gmail.com) J. D. Jones, 10 Park Rd.,
Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 4HT UK.
Track Test:
Supertuned Racers, Part 123:
Slotwings/Avant 1980 BMW M1
The Slotwings division of Flyslot is expanding their new series of high-performance
cars that are fitted with high-rpm Avant Slot motors. The first car in the series was
the Ferrari 512BB LM with an SP-size “mag" motor as a sidewinder that was Race
Track Tested in the July/August 2015 number 82 issue. This 1980 BMW M1, however,
is fitted with a Flat-6 " Boxer" size motor mounted in a separate inline motor pod.
■■Track Test by Marc Purdham
The 1978 M1 was the first BMW mid-engined "supercar". BMW wanted to enhance the car’s image as a racer and upgraded about ten-percent of the production to Group 4 specifications with a stiffer monocoque chassis and with the
horsepower increased from 286 to 470. BMW contested the under 2-liter class
in 1980 with turbocharged M1 racers and finished second (with 59 points) to
Lancia (200 points). The ultimate development of the M1 was for the FIA "Procar" Series in Europe in 1980, a "spec" series for BMW M1 Procar racers, and for
the IMSA Camel Pro GTO Series in 1981. The Procar M1 BMWs were built with
a tubular frame and even larger rear fender extensions not unlike those on the
320i sedan racers and were fitted with 3.5 liter 6-cylinder engines.
The Slotwings model is a replica of Group 5 cars that contested the GT class at
LeMans and other races, competing against the Ferrari 512BB LM racers. Fly has
been producing these models since 2007 with a one-piece chassis and an SP sidewinder motor. For this new high-performance “AV” series Flyslot's Slotwings division has teamed with Avant Slot and this new BMW has a completely different
chassis with a separate Avant Slot motor pod, motor and gears. However, to keep
the price as low as possible, the rear wheels are plastic-press-on. If you want to
change the crown gear, it would be wise to replace the wheels with aluminum setscrew-mount items and install a new rear axle. You can, of course, change the gear
40 Model Car Racing
ratio by replacing the stock 9-tooth pinion gear on the motor with an 8 or 10-tooth
to leave the rear axle intact. The new chassis has holes above and below the front
axle slots allow Allen screws be used to adjust upward and downward travel limits
(the “Ride Height”) of the chassis. The motor pod has four attached screws so the
car can benefit from most of chassis-tuning adjustments for potentially lower lap
times described in the “6-Screw Hop-Up” in the number 69 issue (which is also
on www.modelcarracingmag.com under “Sample Issues”). If you want to race the
car without the two downforce magnets, you can regain most of the lost traction
by replacing the rear tires with number 1007 silicone Super Tires, which are about
1/16-inch narrower than the Slotwings tires. The model has a simple vacuumformed interior and a plastic driver head (both unpainted) to minimize the weight.
You can use the number 1007 tires on the stock wheels but the wheels hang out
of the fenders too far---most club racing rules stipulate that both wheels and tires
must be no wider than flush with the sides the body. We replaced the rear axle
with a Slot.it SIKK07B Axle kit, inline and 1405RC silicone Super tires for this
Race Track Test and reduced the track width so the tires are no wider than the
outside edges of the body. The car is a major improvement over previous Flyslot/
Avant Slot Ferrari 512BB LM (in the July/August 2014 number 76 issue) primarily because the BMW has a much quicker motor and that separate motor pod.
With the pod, you have the choice of tightening-down all four screws to stiffen
the relatively flexible chassis or of leaving some screws loose to isolate vibrations.
Given the model’s relatively light weight, wide rear track and massive tires, it easily
outperforms even the fastest GT-class cars on both the rough-surface Scalextric
Classic and the smooth-surface Carrera tracks.
Slotwings/Avant Slot 1980 BMW M1
SPEC SHEET
The Prototype
(the real car):
The size the model
The dimensions of the
should be in 1/32 scale: _______ model:
Length:
174.7 in. *
5.46 in. (138.6 mm
5.34 in. (135.7 mm)
Width:
71.8 in. *
2.24 in. (56.9 mm)
2.49 in. (63.2 mm)
Height:
44.9 in.*
1.40 in. (35.6 mm)
1.35 in. (34.3 mm)
Wheelbase*
100.8 in.
3.15 in. (80.0 mm)
3.22 in. (81.8 mm)
Track, Front:
61.0 in.*
1.91 in. (48.4 mm)
2.08 in. (52.7 mm)
Track, Rear:
62.0 in.*
1.94 in. (49.2 mm)
2.00 in. (50.9 mm)
Tires, Front:
NA
NA
9.6 x 18.1 mm
Tires, Rear:
NA
NA
13.0 x 19.8 mm
Weight:
1.026 kg.
NA
83 grams (3 oz.)
Weight on Front Tires:
35 grams (1 1/4 oz.)
Weight on Rear Tires:
48 grams (1 ¾ oz.)
Magnetic Downforce on Carrera:
NA
Magnetic Downforce on Scalextric:
NA
Ground Clearance on Carrera:
1.8 mm (.075 in.)
Ground Clearance on Scalextric:
1.7 mm (.070 in.)
Pickup Lead (pivot to rear axle):
84.2 mm (3.31 in.)
Gear Ratio:
3.00:1 (9/27)
The new Slotwings chassis for the BMW M1 has a separate motor pod with an Avant
Slot motor and gears.
The interior in this Slotwings/Avant high-performance car is a simple vacuumformed sheet of plastic with a white plastic driver’s head.
SOURCE: ROAD & TRACK'S ROAD TEST ANNUAL & BUYER'S GUIDE 1981 lists specifications
for the production version, the racing M1s were somewhat longer and wider.
*NOTE: Dimensions are for the production BMW M1 body, the race car is
significantly longer and wider.
Model Car Racing Track Test:
36-foot Scalextric
Indy F1 Course:
36-foot Carrera
Indy F1 Course:
Flyslot/Avant 1980 BMW M1 (inline)
4.70 sec.
4.16 sec.
Flyslot/Avant 1972 Ferrari 512BB LM (sidewinder)
4.95 sec.
4.72 sec.
"Magnet Free" Lap Times
Magnets removed and silicone tires fitted:
Slot.it “Reloaded” 1999 Audi R8C
5.22 sec.
4.34 sec.
Sloting Plus 2003 Reynard 2KQ LM
0.17 sec.
4.62 sec.
ScaleAuto 2008 Radical SR9
5.52 sec.
5.02 sec.
NINCO 2007 Honda NSX Super GT
with NC-6 motor and Slot.it 3.60:1 gears
5.52 sec.
4.26 sec.
Fly 1996 Ferrari F40
5.83 sec.
5.56 sec.
Avant Slot 2006 Audi R10 TDI LeMans
5.24 sec.
5.27 sec.
SCX Audi R8 PRO LeMans
5.38 sec.
4.96 sec.
NOTES: The lap times and other test results for all of the track tests in the first 78 issues
are available on the website under “Model Resources”, then click on the link “Race Car
Test Results”. The Flyslot/Avant 1972 Ferrari 512BB LM (sidewinder) was Race Track
Tested in the July/August 2015 number 82 issue, the Flyslot 1970 Ferrari 512S in the
September/October 2012 number 65 issue, the Slot.it “Reloaded” 1999 Audi R8C was
Race Track Tested in the May/June 2012 number 63 issue, the Sloting Plus 2003 Reynard
2KQ LM and Scaleauto 2008 Radical SR9 in the March/April 2011 number 56 issue,
the NINCO Lamborghini Gallardo with 2.38:1 gearing in the September/October 2010
number 53 issue, the NINCO Honda NSX Super GT car with Slot.it 3.60:1 gearing in the
September/October 2006 number 29 issue, the Fly Ferrari F40 in the September/October
2008 number 41 issue, the Avant Slot Audi in the November/December 2007 number 36
issue, and the SCX Audi R8 PRO in the July/August 2007 number 34 issue.
The rear wheels were spaced about ¼-inch
too far apart, protruding too far past the
edges of the fenders so we replaced
the rear axle with a Slot.it SIKK07B
Axle kit, inline (which includes):
SIPA09B Plastic wheel inserts
• SIPA62-Als 17.5 x 9.75 mm
aluminum wheels
• SIG128-AL 28-tooth
crown gear
• SIPA01-51 51
mm axle
• SIPA02 Bronze bushings
• We also fitted
1405RC silicone Super
tires for this Race Track Test.
Model Car Racing 41
Club Directory ���������������������
Most model car racers prefer to race at home on their own tracks with a few
friends. There are hundreds of model car racing clubs in the world but some
of them are groups who race very highly modified cars on tracks routed from
wood or PVC. The model racing cars you see on the pages of this magazine are
all designed to be raced on plastic tracks (although they can be raced on most
wood or PVC tracks) from Scalextric, Sport, Carrera, NINCO, SCX, Riggen or
Artin or the older Strombecker, Revell or Monogram tracks 1/32 scale tracks or
Tomy AFX or Mattel/Tyco HO tracks.
class where extra magnets are allowed or different bodies. We try to NOT list
the clubs that primarily race cars with hand-made metal chassis and clear plastic
bodies---those clubs are listed on various internet sites or you can find most of
them through the Old Weird Harold site at http://www.oldweirdherald.com.
There are hundreds of dealers in the country that have operating tracks in the store.
We cannot list them all, but you can contact the ones in your area from the list of
dealers that carry Model Car Racing magazine www.modelcarracingmag.com.
The clubs that are listed here are groups whose main interest is to race out-ofthe box cars and mostly on plastic tracks (although the club may also race on
one or two hand-routed wood or PVC tracks). The group may have a modified
If your group races out-of-the-box 1/32 scale or HO scale cars, with only occasionally events for modified cars) send us the information at www.modelcarracingmag.com and we’ll try to include your club in the next issue.
California, Los Angeles (Glendale): OTHG – Farrout
Slot Car Club. Contact Stephen Farr-Jones
818-416-9188, www.farroutslotcars.com/
Illinois, Central area: Hotslots 1/32 Slot Car Shop,
1809 A. Philo Road, Urbana, IL 61802 (217) 3552277, info@hotslots132.com
Missouri, St. Louis area: (Carl Shorle) gsra@
swbell.net
California, Fresno area: Insane SCRC,
Joe Cabral Joe_Cabral@comcast.net
Illinois, Chicago area: Bolingbrook Speedway, Karl
Staehlin, karlstaehlin@gmail.com
California, North San Diego County: Nomad Slot
Racing Club, Jim Cunningham (760)492-4619
jim@NomadRaceways.com www.NomadSlotRacing.com
Illinois, Chicago area: Great Lakes Slot Car Club,
contact:
www.greatlakesscc.com
California, North San Diego County, Escondido
- “The Slot Outlaws” 760-747-4511 or email:
rick_houston@hotmail.com
California, San Jose area: Devin Mauldin web@
flyinghump.com
California, South Bay (Los Angeles): Stan Smith
(310)812-1866
stan.dsmith@tw.com
California, South Bay (Los Angeles): ITG - In The
Groove Slot Car racing, 324 W. Florence Ave.,
Inglewood, CA 90301. Contact: Marc Natividad
(310) 200-6300. ftnzguru@aol.com
Colorado, Denver area: Rocky Mountain Slot Car
Club (RMSSC)
http://rmscclub.proboards.com/index.cgi
Colorado, Denver Area, Colorado Slot car Club,
contact:
http://coslotcarclub.proboards.com/
Illinois, Chicago Area: JYD Racing, contact www.
toys4slots.com
Illinois, Peoria/ Metamora area: Peoria Model Car
Raceway,
(309) 573-1027, historybuff.stange@gmail.com,
(309)712-3299 butterbean722004@yahoo.com
Indiana, Indianapolis area: (Jeremy Dunning)
jeremydunning@hotmail.com
Indiana, Terre Haute area: Otter Creek Slot Racing
Association,
Bob Redman rredman427@aol.com
Iowa, Cedar Rapids area: Iowa Model Area Racers,
http://imar.us/
Indiana, Fort Wayne area: Wallace Dale Monroe,
wallmonroe@aol.com
Iowa, Cedar Rapids area: ERASR (Ecurie Road
America Scale Racers) Art (319)626-6374
Iowa, Swisher area: IMAR (Iowa Model Auto Racing), Jerry Hightshoe lowboot2@hotmail.com
Colorado, Denver area: Front Range Vintage
Slotcar and Historical Racing Club, http://monovell.
proboards.com/index.cgi
Kentucky, Louisville area: Derby City Slot Car
Club, www.derbycityslotcarclub.proboards.com/ Mark@derbycityspeedway.com
D.C., Washington area: The Capital Racing
League,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tcrl, contact:
Warsteiner42@aol.com
Louisiana, Lake Charles area: Lake Area Slot Car
Auto Racing, Julian Guillory, http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/LASCAR
D.C., Washington area (Alexandria): Classic Slot
Car Association (CSSA), John Roberts, (703) 5825504, jonrob-1@msn.com
D.C., Washington Metro area: Old Dominion Slot
Car Club, 5322 Graystone Rd., Warrenton, VA
20187, contact: Chris Bowles (540)341-1405 or,
info@nascarslots.com,
www.nascarslots.com or www.metalracer.com
Maryland, Baltimore area: (Allan Schwartz)
compass@bellatlantic.net
Michigan, Grand Rapids area: Rivershore International Raceway, Alto, Michigan, Stephen Thomas,
(616) 891-1632. email: sbbthomas@aol.com
Michigan, Kalamazoo area: West Michigan
Slot Car Group, John Lacko (269) 344-5588,
jalacko@aol.com https://www.facebook.com/
groups/205657316120426/
HO Clubs: The majority of HO racing on a club level in the US is home
sectional tracks, using hard bodies and largely stock equipment. The majority
are Thunderjet focused, although many do run the Life-Like, Auto World, Playing Mantis, G-Plus and Mattel/Tyco cars, these mass produced magnet cars tend
California, Bay area: M.S.C.R.C. - Model Slot
Car Racing Club www.mscrc.orgemail: info@
mscrc.org
California, Bay area: Shaunadega Racing www.
shaunadega.com
California, South Bay (Los Angeles): ITG - In The
Groove Slot Car racing, 324 W. Florence Ave.
Inglewood, CA 90301. Contact: Marc Natividad
(310) 200-6300. ftnzguru@aol.com
Colorado, Denver area: Front Range HO (FRHO)
48 Model Car Racing
Missouri, St. Louis area: Monaco Grand Prix
Miniature Racing Club, www.mgpmrc.org, email:
mgpmrc@mgpmrc.org
New York, Binghamton Area: Tri-County Slots,
Contact: gjtecza@yahoo.com
New York, Watkins Glen area: The Slot Car Club
Of The Twin Tiers, Contact: Frank Spena, Jr., sccottt1@yahoo.com
North Carolina, Winston-Salem area: Road
America Racers, King City, North Carolina, Tom
Brooks, (336) 985-3867 or mrnova@alltel.net
Ohio, Columbus area: 1/32 Slot Car Racers of
Central Ohio, Randy Horton, http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/1-32SlotCarRacersOfCentralOhio
Oregon, Portland area: Beaverton Area Slot Car
Club (B.A.S.C.C.),15430 SW Gull Ct., Beaverton,
Oregon 97007, 503-330-6907
Pennsylvania, Allentown-Reading area: Allen &
Allen Motor Speedway Racing, (610) 520-7247,
Jallenenterprises@verizon.net
Pennsylvania, Chambersburg area.
Sherman Collings modelersc@comcast.net (717)
377-1435
Pennsylvania, Harrisburg area: Homestead
Speedway, Landisville, Pennsylvania. Ken Falco at
KFalco@Studio5architects.com
Pennsylvania, Manheim area:
D & B Raceways, Don Noll don_nll@yahoo.com
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area: Mt. Airy Racing
Association, Herbert Bigelow (215) 868-4464,
herb310@juno.com
Texas, Eastern area: East Texas Slot Car Association,
Tyler , TX 75771, (903)882 0965 ETXSCA@
hotmail.com
Texas, Houston (Northwest Harris County): Houston Scale Auto Racing Club (HSARC), www.hsarc.
net, (281)807-4026.
Northern Virginia-Metro DC area: Northern
Virginia Digital Slot Racers, contact: Hayes Lewis,
hayeslewis@yahoo.com
Vermont, Burlington area: Burlington Slot Dorks,
Daniel, aircooled@pbfoot.com
Williamsburg Virginia area: The Barn Burners”
Contact: Joseph Brimer vagators@yahoo.com
Washington, Auburn area: Rainier Raceways,
Greg Gaub ggaub@ggaub.com
Washington, Seattle/Tacoma area: PSSRA (Puget
Sound Slot Car Racing Association) http://pssra.
webhop.net/ or Tony Kuljis,
kuljis2@msn.com
Washington, Seattle/Tacoma area: NMRL (Northwest Model Racing League). John MacKenzie
(206)295-9980, jicemanmac@msn.com
Toronto, Canada area: Scale Sloters 1/32,
chris.w@rogers.com
Vancouver, Canada area: (Luf Linkert) luf@
telus.net
1/24 scale racing clubs:
Oregon, Eugene area: Pelican Park Speedway
(541)349-0917 htm210@comcast.
Digital Racing Clubs:
Phoenix, Arizona area: DSCRC-Phoenix, Carrera
1/32 & 1/24 only, email lewbr2002@yahoo.com
Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre Area: NEPA Slot Car
Club, 570-903-9182, nepaslotcars.com
Ohio, Mansfield area: Mid-Ohio 1/32 Scale
Racing Club, chorp@ohio.net, John Chorpening
(419) 289-6563
Pennsylvania, Wyoming Valley Area: Wyoming Valley Slot Car Association, Nanticoke, Pennsylvania,
wvsca.blogspot.com
Northern Virginia-Metro DC area: Northern
Virginia Digital Slot Racers, contact: Hayes Lewis,
hayeslewis@yahoo.com
to be utilized by small round robin groups by invitation or as groups of friends.
There are some excellent clubs across the US racing basically stock hardshell T-Jet
cars for the most part on sectional home tracks. This is only a partial listing. If you
have an active group racing hard-bodied T-Jet-style cars, let us know.
club. http://www.scaleracers.com/FrontRangeHO/
default.asp
Missouri, Kansas City area:
http://home.kc.rr.com/jhabernal/mahor/
Illinois, Chicago area: http: nitro-racing.4t.com/
Missouri, St. Louis area: gsra@swbell.net
Indiana, Fort Wayne area: Wallace Monroe,
wallmonroe@aol.com
Ohio, Columbus area:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colohhoscc/
messages
Kentucky / Virginia area: http://www.thunderjetracing.com/
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area:
http://vintagehoracing.mr-bigstuff.com/
Michigan, Lansing area: NASAR, Richard Leeper
(517) 290-9952 or lansingNASAR@myway.com
Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre Area: NEPA Slot Car
Club, 570-903-9182, nepaslotcars.com
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area: Mt. Airy Racing
Association, Herbert Bigelow (215) 868-4464,
herb310@juno.com
Winston-Salem/Greenville, South Carolina area:
Upstate HO Slot Car Club, 403 Hill Lane, Mauldin,
SC 29662 - (864) 967-7865 Richard Tabb at
mrnova@alltel.net or Steve Lorch at youneedjesus@juno.com
United Kingdom, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Burning Rubber, www.burningrubber.net
Race Tracks For
Your Home:
HO 4-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit
for a 4 X 8-Foot Tabletop
■■Robert Schleicher
This plan is based on the full-size Hockenheimring Circuit on pages 20-24 of
this issue. This plan includes the longest possible straight with a tight 9/12 curve
at each end. When the race cars exit the 225-degree hairpin turn at Turn T11
they can immediately receive nearly full throttle swinging into 270-degree Turn
T12 before diving into hairpin turn T1. The broad ess bend through turn T3
tucks into a tighter left at turn T5 to recreate some of most realistic action of
full-size racing.
The AFX terminal/connector section can be substituted for any of the 15-inch
straights on the track. You can install one on the bottom side of the track and the
second on the opposite side of the track so the drivers can also serve as corner
marshals.
The majority of the HO plans in the magazine cram as much track as possible
into that 4 x 8-foot area. Any of them would be more enjoyable to race on with
the straights longer than the typical six-feet or so. It can be difficult to design a
plan for, say, 4 x 16-feet that can be shrunk to fit a 4 x 8-foot area. So we present
them as compact as possible and hope that you’ll expand them to 4 x 10 or 4 x
24-feet to get those exciting 20-foot straightaways. Most of the plans are marked
with “L” letters indicated just where to insert the additional sets of straight track
sections to expand the track to any length.
TRACK PLAN
HO 4-Lane Hockenheimring Circuit
to fit a 4 x 8-foot area
AFX Track Sections Required
Quantity
Description
Quantity
Description
2
3-inch Straight
2
9-inch 45-degree Curve
4
6-inch Straight
8
9-inch 90-degree Curve
4
9-inch Straight
28
12-inch 45-degree Curve
12
15-inch Straight
9
15-inch 45-degree Curve
0
6-inch 45-degree Curve
0
18-inch 45-degree Curve
Model Car Racing 49
Pit Board #83 ���������������������
Motor Brushes
One of the slot car magazines from the seventies had an article about
adjusting motor brushes. The motor they showed did not look anything
like the motors in the cars I have. That older motor had two parallel steel
pieces with a block of iron (which I assume was the magnet) between
them and a round armature wrapped with bare copper wire spinning
between two brass end pieces. There were visible copper strips that were
rubbing on the armature with a coil spring to keep them in contact. Do
today’s motors have brushes like that?
Thank you, Norm Stallman
Yes, all of the motors in today's 1/32 (and 1/24 and 1/43 scale and AFX
HO scale) cars have motor brushes as well as an armature and magnets.
There’s a photo of one of the early Strombecker open-frame motors in
a Maserati 250F on page 34 of this issue. The motor you describe was
called an “open-frame” motor because you could see inside it---today’s
motors are usually housed in a steel case (usually called a “can” for obvious reasons). There are two molded sintered iron alloy magnets inside
that stamped steel case held against the rounded sides of the case. The
round armature spins between those two magnets. The plastic end of the
motor (called an “end bell”) contains the motor bushes which are simple
1/16-inch (give or take) strips of spring steel with small chunks of sintered
copper staked to the steel strips---the chunks of sintered copper are the
actual brushes---the steel strips serve as both springs and holders. Most
of the motors are held together with two little metal tabs that engage slots
in the plastic end bell. You can bend those tabs out (once, maybe) without
breaking them but it is not worth the risk of breaking them off when you
try to bend them back. Yes, you will get to see what’s inside but any adjustments you make will either burn-out the motor or reduce its speed. The
only maintenance these motors require is an occasional (once every 50
hours or so of operating) drop of oil on each bearing.
Ride Height
I am confused about concept of “ride height”. It seems to describe how far
the front tires are from touching the track. And yet… What does it mean
and how do I adjust it?
Regards, Tom Gozales
On a model race car, ride height usually refers to how far the bottom
of the pickup blade is from the bottom of the slot. If you are using
a stock pickup or guide shoe, the bottom of the blade cannot be too
deep. However, some of the aftermarket pickup blades have longer
(deeper) vertical blades that can rub on the bottom of the slot. With
plastic track, that usually results in the car clicking and clacking over
every track joint and, because the blade is dragging rather than siding,
the car is often slower that with a shallower blade depth. The ideal is to
have the bottom of the blade about 1/64-inch from the bottom of the
slot when: (1) the front tires are touching the track and (2) the spring
from the braid is compressed with only the weight of the car. Most of
the lower-cost cars, including all of the Scalextric and Carrera models
and the Ninco 1-series, do not have adjustable front axles. You can only
adjust the “ride height” by being certain that the braid is not bent down
so much that it is lifting the front tires off the track. Most of the more
complex cars including Slot.it, Avant Slot, NSR, ScaleAuto, Mr. Slotcar
and Ninco Lightning, have adjustable front axles with small holes in
the tops and bottom of the bearing slots to accept Allen screws. Turn
the Allen screws to limit the amount of upward or downward front
axle travel. Start by loosening the bottom Allen screws so the front
50 Model Car Racing
tires contact the track, then gradually tighten the screw to lift the front
wheels until the tires just clear the track, then back-off a turn so tires
just touch the track. Opinions vary on how much upward movement
is best but the goal, here, is to be sure that as much of the weight of
the car rests on the pickup braid as possible---some prefer that the full
weight of the front of car rest on the front tires, others want the car be
able tilt a bit before the front axle supports the car so they leave 1/64inch or more of upward axle travel. Experiment and see which works
best for you.
Crash? Burn? Spin?
The article on handicap racing by Jack Robinson in the May/June 2015
issue described his club’s system of handling cars that deslotted or spunout as a penalty of 30-seconds plus the time it takes for a corner marshal
to bring the car to the driver. That’s a variation that is new to me. Don’t
most clubs just use the waiting drivers as corner marshals to reslot any car
that spins out as quickly as possible? In real racing, especially in modern
times, it is unusual for a car to be so badly damaged when it spins out
that it cannot continue as soon as the spin is under control and the car is
pointed in the right direction. What is your opinion?
Regards, Tim Bellington
Out there in real world, race cars that spin out usually just rejoin the
race but we do not have that spin-out option---if our 1/32, 1/24, 1/43
or HO scale cars “spin” they loose their source of power and are out
the race until the “wrecker” puts them back on the track (in the slot).
The system of having enough corner marshals to get any desloted car
back in the slot as quickly as possible does a fine job of recreating the
“penalty” a racer driving a full-size receives from spinning-out---if the
corner marshals are experienced, the desloted car still has an excellent
chance of catching up before the end of the race. There is a third system
of handling cars that deslot that is called “crash and burn” which means
what it sounds like it would; if you deslot, you are out of the race. There
are several groups that prefer that system because it makes it far more
of a challenge of your skill to drive when you have to contend with the
risk of being out the race if you go too far. Personally, I do not like the
crash and burn system because it favors those that know the track well
enough to stay in the slot and it does not include the most common
real world option of simply spinning-out. And it discourages the drivers from pushing hard enough to learn to drive faster and, specifically,
to learn the track anywhere near as well as the track owner. The major
plus to crash and burn is that you only need a few corner marshals to
get the cars out of the way of the other lanes. The “30 Second” penalty
is a compromise but the penalty, again, is far greater than the time that
is lost when a car spins out on a real race track (but it is more logical
for a spun-out car to just loose a couple of laps or so than to be out of
the race completely). Try all three systems with your group and decide
which one seems to work best for you.
New To The Hobby?
There are some basic tune-up tips that are needed for every model race
car on www.modelcarracingmag.com under the “New to the hobby?”
link. There are 13 tips including: How To Get Started in Model Car Racing, Lap Counting, Two Driving Techniques, Perfect Pickup Braid, Tire
Mounting, Cleaning Track Rails, Cleaning Track, Avoiding Disaster: Oil
& Grease, Race Program Set Up: Color Coding & Racing classes, Reliable
Wires, Chassis Set Up, Carrera Guide Shoe Mods and Gearing setups.
There’s lots more you can do, including changing to silicone rear tires with
better grip, loosening the body-to-chassis screws and more.
Your Track
Slot Mods 9 X 13-Foot 4-Lane
Wood Vernola Raceway
The inspiration for this custom-built Slot Mods Vernola Raceway is Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca. The plan is not a replica of the full-size track but many
of the “signature” features of Laguna Seca are carefully replicated. The famous
“Corkscrew” downhill ess bend is on the far left of the track. The wood and
metal “Mazda” arch bridge is in the lower left, with the pagoda-style scoring
tower in the center of the track. The back straight runs the full length of the
track for all–out speed, from a banked entry turn to the top of the Corkscrew,
with a similar straight with a gentle curve along the front of the track.
The Slot Mods tracks are carefully crafted pieces of entertainment room furniture, with Formica-protected edges.
The Slot Mods track is routed from MDF board with copper braid for the pickups. The Slot Mods crew has developed the scenery-building techniques for
model railroads to withstand more rugged use on a model car raceway. The
scenery is shaped with blue or pink insulation foam, the covered with a layer
of Hydrocal plaster and textured with Woodland Scenics ground foam glued
tightly to the surface.
This is the twelfth Slot Mods track we have featured. All twelve are available at
www.modelcarracingmag.com under top bar “Sample Issues”.
• Jim Farley’s Slot Mods 6 x 12-foot 2-Lane
Wood Corkscrew Raceway, issue #53
• Rick Burr’s 8 x 16-Foot 3-Lane Slot Mods Wood
Vintage Mid-Ohio Raceway, Issue #55
• Slot Mods 14 x 14-foot Wood Ford Global Laguna Raceway, Issue #57
• Slot Mods Four-Lane 10 x 10-Foot Wood
Pebble Beach Raceway, Issue #59
• Zak Brown’s 15 x 25-foot Wood Slot Mods Slag Raceway, Issue #61
• Tom Abrams’ 7 x 30-Foot Four-Lane Wood Slot
Mods Reliable Raceway, Issue #63
• Don Edward’s Slot Mods 8 x 16-Foot Riverside Raceway, Issue #65
• Slot Mods 8 x 20-foot Three-Lane Martin
European Odyssey Track, Issue #67 • Slot Mods 12 x 30-foot LeMay Museum Raceway , Issue #69
• Slot Mods 2-Lane Wood 4 x 15-foot 1969 TransAm Camaro Z28 “Tribute” Track, Issue #71
• Slot Mods “Today” Show 6 x 12-foot two-lane track, Issue #80
Model Car Racing 51
The newest Slot Mods tracks are computer designed so customer can make any changes before construction begins.
Slot Mods’ Chris Blasciuc scratchbuilt the replica of Laguna Seca’s pagoda press
tower from basswood strips.
52 Model Car Racing
Laguna’s “Corkscrew” turns runs downhill along the left side the track. The road
surface as cambered to replicate the original turns.
The Slot Mods tracks are usually populated with hundreds of spectators and worker figures with dozens of scratchbuilt trees and other scenic features.
The guard rails and chain link fences are produced in special jigs and custom-fitted
to each track.
The bridge for the lap counter lights, press tower and grandstands are also
scratchbuilt using styrene sheet and strips. The Slot Mods tracks have built-in wells
(bottom) to safely store the controllers.
A pair of sixties NASCAR cars diving off the top of the Corkscrew. The raised blue and
white curbs are examples of Slot Mods’ superdetails.
Model Car Racing 53
New Cars
These are most recent shipments of new cars and products. Note that nearly all
the cars announced for production in 2015-2016 are on www.modelcarracingmag.
com under the left link “All New For 2015-2015 From The Toy Fairs”.
SRC has shipped “street” versions of the Porsche 914
in red, yellow or blue.
Mr. Slotcar has shipped their all-new 1995 McLaren F1 GT car with a separate anglewinder motor pod and the body
in solid green, orange, blue and yellow. The Le-Mans-winning black “Uneo Clinic” car is due this month. We’ll have
full Race Track Test in next issue.
SRC 01104 Matra 670B 24h Le Mans 73
Slot.it SICA18D Ford GT40 Gulf 24H. Daytona 1967
Winner.
Racer (Sideways) SW21LENAC BMW M1 “Miller Beer” limited to 100 units for the 2015 North American Group 5
Championship from www.electricdreams.com.
Slot.it SICA13E Jaguar XJR12
Castrol 24h. Daytona 1990 Winner.
Scalextric C3661 Bugatti Veyron
SRC 01606 Porsche 914/6 no. 40 Le Mans 1970
Racer SW35 Ferrari 512BB/LM - N.A.R.T. Le Mans
24hrs 1979
Scalextric C3662 McLaren 12C
54 Model Car Racing
Scalextric C3631 MGB
Cartrix made a few of the race versions of the number 26 can as well as the practice (open-numbers) number 28
car from www.electricdreams.com).
1/24 Scale Cars:
Scalextric has shipped three versions of the early
seventies C3635 Ford Escort Mk.I.
Scalextric C3636 Ford Escort MKII
The ScaleAuto 1/24 scale SRT Viper GTS-R #93 in the 2014 Tudor United Sportscar Championship
1/43 Scale Cars (most are also available in 1/32 scale):
Scalextric C3592 Ford Escort
Carrera 61270 Go!!! 1/43 scale Audi A5 DTM M.
Ekstrom #3
Carrera 61274 Go!!! 1/43 scale AMG Mercedes
C-Coupe DTM, J. Green No.5
The NSR 1194AW BMW Z4 (E89) GT3 in red with an
anglewinder motor pod. An inline motor pod, pinion
gear and spur gear are available at additional cost.
The Carrera Porsche 918 Spyder, "No.03" Is available
as an analog car or in Digital 132 with working
headlights and tail lights.
Carrera 30722 Ford Mustang GT "No.49", Digital 132
Carrera 61272 Go!!! 1/43 scale BMW M3 DTM, #1 M.
Tomczyk
Carrera 64004 Go!!! 1/43 scale Aston Martin Vantage
GT3 "Bilstein"
Carrera 61273 Go!!! 1/43 scale BMW M3 DTM, B.
Spengler, No. 7
Model Car Racing 55
Coming Next Issue
The November/December 2015 number 84 issue of Model Car Racing
will be on sale October 15, 2015 and it has the articles you asked for:
• Digital Racing Pros & Cons---All the systems and brands
• Build your own wood track, step-by-step; routing the slots in MDF board
• NSR 2010 BMW Z4 GT3
• Scalextric 1968 Brabham BT26A-3 Formula 1
• Slot.it 2009 Lola Aston Martin LMP1 LeMans
• Track Tests (Magnet-Free):
– Slot.it Four-wheel-drive Audi R18 e-tron ultra LeMans
• Track Test (Our-of-the-box")
Gary Knabe’s three-lane 12 x 18-foot wood recreation of Riverside Raceway (including
optional routes for all three of the track’s configurations) is the featured "Your Track”
in November/December 2015 number 84 issue of Model Car Racing.
• Mr. Slotcar 1995 McLaren F1 GT LeMans
• Race Track Plans:
– 4-Lane Indy F1 as 6 x 12-foot tabletop
Now You Can Have Model Car Racing Delivered To Your Computer AND To Your Mailbox! Both The
‘Paper’ Copy And The Internet Version Of Every Page Are Just $35 — That Sixth Issue Is Just 25 Cents
“Instant” Delivery And A Magazine To Keep:
When you subscribe for $35.00 your sixth issue is just 25-cents---you save $6.70 over the newsstand
price---and you will be notified by email that your Internet copy is ready to view the moment the paper
magazines are printed and ready to be mailed to your door. Subscriptions received after July 15, 2015
will begin with the November/December 2015 number 84 issue which will be on sale October 15, 2015.
Subscribe now!
When you subscribe to Model Car Racing you also have free access to the current issue of the magazine on the Internet. To see a short sample of the Internet version of the magazine click on the words
“Digital Edition” on www.modelcarracingmag.com. The $35.00 yearly subscription now includes both
the “paper” copy and an access code that will be emailed with each issue so you can see the magazine
on your computer the day it leaves the printer. If you prefer only the Internet version (with no paper copy
mailed to your door), the price for 6 issues is just $19.95. This (and the “tablet” edition----see below)
also makes the magazine more accessible to enthusiasts in countries outside the United States.
This Internet version of Model Car Racing cannot be downloaded for security purposes. You can, however, print one or all of the pages of the magazine for your own use, but be aware that the files are large
and will take some time. The paper copies cannot, of course, be sold or distributed because they are protected by International copyright. We would advise you to print any articles you wish to archive because
we can only provide access to the Internet versions for the six issues (12 months) of your subscription.
We can only process orders about the 15th of each odd numbered month so there may be a delay in
your receiving email notification that your first Internet issue is available to you on the web. Mail delivery
of the paper copies can add a week or so to that. You will be notified by email that each of the next five
Internet issues are available on the same day that the paper copies are mailed, which is about the first
of every even month. Note that you will not be able to read this $19.95 internet version or the internet
version offered with the paper copy subscriptions on an iPad, Kindle or Google tablet---iPad, Kindle
and Goggle versions are only available direct from those stores---we cannot “bundle” the paper or the
$19.95 internet versions with any of the tablet editions---if you want both versions you will need to
purchase both versions of the magazine. Now Available for iPads or Kindles
We cannot process orders for ether iPad or Amazon downloads—they must be ordered directly from the
Apple iTunes store or Amazon Kindle….
Paper Edition NOTE: if you do opt for the iPad or Kindle editions and you also want the paper edition,
you must ALSO purchase the $35.00 paper subscription---there are no “bundle” packages that include
paper and iPhone or Kindle web editions.
If you simply want an internet edition that you can read on your lap top, that is included free with the
paper edition subscription but it cannot be downloaded---only read or printed. You also have the choice
of subscribing to only that Internet edition (with no paper copies and no iPad or Amazon Kindle versions)
on our website www.modelcarracingmag.com but that version is NOT downloadable (it can be printed,
however).
Back Issues:
We have no paper copies of any back issue. You may be able to find some paper back issues at some of
our dealers on the www.modelcarracingmag.com website, and Electric Dreams (www.electricdreams.
com) has a few of the number 1 through 6 issues (from 2002) with a Scalextric Limited edition Cadillac
Northstar LeMans car.
Internet versions of issues number 55 through 78 (all the issues from 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) and
#79, #80, #81 and #82 are available for $4.95 each direct from the Apple iTunes store for the iPad, but
only as readable and downloadable copies.
“Instant” Delivery and a Magazine to Keep:
When you subscribe for $35.00 your sixth issue is just 25-cents---you save $6.70 over the newsstand
price---and you will be emailed that your Internet copy is ready to download and the paper magazines
are mailed to your door. Subscriptions received after July 15, will begin with the November/December
2015 number 84 issue which will be on sale October 15, 2015. Subscribe now!
One Year (six issues, plus the Internet replica) mailed to the Continental United States:
$35.00________ Internet ONLY Version One Year (six issues): $19.95__________
Foreign or Canadian subscriptions for the paper version will not be accepted. We are sorry, but
the postal services in most of these countries are taking 8 weeks and more to send magazines
when they deliver them at all. Only the “Internet Only” subscriptions ($19.95) for Foreign addresses (including Canada) will be accepted. We have a network of dealers in Canada, Europe,
Australia and Japan listed on our website at www.modelcarracingmag.com that will be pleased
to supply the paper version of the magazine.
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To order by email, use our secure order form on our web site at www.modelcarracingmag.com or Return Mail To: Model Car Racing Publications, Inc, 6525 Gunpark Drive, Suite 370-142, Boulder CO 80301
56 Model Car Racing
More Ways To Enjoy Model Car Racing
Print
Edition
Print + Digital
Internet
Digital
Internet
Print + Digital iPad,
Amazon. or Readr
There Are Six Editions of Model Car Racing Magazine!
1. The 60-page bimonthly paper edition sold on
newsstands, hobby dealers and to subscribers.
4. The Paid Internet only bimonthly edition.
2. The Apple iPad tablet edition on
the iTunes newsstand.
6. The Free Internet only bimonthly edition (under the
“Internet Edition” bar at the top of the website)
so you can see how the Internet Edition works.
3. The Amazon edition for all the Kindles.
5. The www.modelcarracingmag.com home page
Get SIX issues in print delivered to your door PLUS the digital Internet
version available on you laptop or desktop---both for just $35.00
Get SIX issues of the digital Internet version available
on your laptop or desktop for just $19.95
Get SIX Issues on your tablet (This version must be ordered
direct from Apple, Amazon, or Readr---we cannot bill you
and no ‘Bundle" with the paper version is available.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR iPads and Kindles
We cannot process orders for ether iPad or Amazon downloads—they must be ordered directly from the Apple iTunes store or Amazon Kindle.
Paper Edition NOTE: if you do opt for the iPad or Kindle editions and you also want the paper edition, you must ALSO purchase the $35.00
paper subscription---there are no “bundle” packages that include paper and iPhone or Kindle web editions.
If you simply want an internet edition that you can read on your lap top, that is included free with the paper edition subscription but it
cannot be downloaded---only read or printed. You also have the choice of subscribing to only that Internet edition (with no paper copies
and no iPad or Amazon Kindle versions) on our website www.modelcarracingmag.com but that version is NOT downloadable (it can be
printed, however).
Model Car Racing 57
83
Books & Back Issues:
All of the books by Robert Schleicher are currently out of print.
We have no paper copies of any back issue. You may be able to find some paper
back issues at some of our dealers on the www.modelcarracingmag.com website, and Electric Dreams (www.electricdreams.com) has most of them as well
as a few of the number 1 through 6 issues (from 2002) with a Scalextric Limited
edition Cadillac Northstar LeMans car.
Internet versions of issues number 55 through 69 (all the issues from 2011, 2012
and 2013) and issues number 70 through 83 are available at $4.95 each direct
from the Apple iTunes store for the iPad, but only as readable and downloadable
copies.
We have tried to keep the most significant material in print because photocopying
back issue articles is not an option. The most important tuning and race setup
information is on the www.modelcarracingmag.com website under the left hand
link “New To The Hobby” as well as information on 1/43 scale vs. 1/32 scale. All
of the Race Track Test results from issue #1 through #72 are also on the website
under the top bar link ”More Information” then in the left box “Race Car Tests”
and there is information on selecting a specific brand of track. All of the articles
on digital racing, on visits to “Your Tracks”, 4 x 8 and 5 x 9-foot 1/32 scale plans,
4 x 8-foot HO plans and additional features from issues #44 (March/April 2009)
through the current issue are available on the website under the top bar link
“Sample Issues”. These are readable and printable but cannot be downloaded
for security purposes.
All of the articles from the first 72 issues are indexed under the top bar “More
Information”, then scroll down on the left to “Model Car Racing Index”. The index
58 Model Car Racing
is searchable (with Safari, Firefox and others) under the top bar “Edit”, then scroll
down to “Find”.
However, most of the articles from any of these issue are only available in the
full paper or iPad issues, including the larger plans for “Real Race Tracks On A
Tabletop” and the majority of articles comparing model cars to their prototypes,
with the history and provenance of over 300 cars including the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s
and 90s Formula 1 cars, Jaguars from XK120 to C to D to E to XKR, most of the
GT, sports and Formula 1 Ferraris and Porsches and more.
The majority of the material (including all of the race track plans and visits to
finished home tracks) that appeared in the in the January/February 2005 through
November/December 2007 (numbers 19 through 36) issues of Model Car Racing is in the book SLOT CAR RACING IN THE DIGITAL AGE. Similarly, much of the
material in SLOT CAR RACING, TIPS, TECHNIQUES & TRACK PLANS was first
published in the magazine in the January/February 2003 through November/
December 2004 (numbers 7 through 18) issues but both of those books are no
longer in print and no reprints are scheduled. At present, no additional books are
in preparation.
There are two other earlier books on model car racing (also by Robert Schleicher)
that contain additional material that was not published in this magazine but both
books are long out of print: RACING AND COLLECTING SLOT CARS was published
in 2001 and the SLOT CAR BIBLE in 2002.
To subscribe to Model Car Racing magazine, click on “SUBSCRIBE” on the top bar
the www.modelcarracingmag.com home page.
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