BAracer's Forum Info
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Additional Info About BAracer
Favourite Slot Car:
Scaleauto Porsche 991 RSR
Favourite Race Track:
Goodwood
Gender:
Male
BAracer's Signature
I love puttering with gears
| BAracer's Most Liked Post | |||||
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| RE: Two go on a trip to Abergavenny | 11 | ||||
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| The Road Trip Back The second part of Andy's masterplan for the trip was to make the most of the journey back and visit as many 'bricks & mortar' slot car shops as we could fit into the day. Our target was three...not sure what the maximum could have been, but we like our 'all you can eat' breakfasts and didn't want to rush! So an obvious one to start with, and more 'steel portal frame and insulated composite cladding panels' than traditional building materials... #1 Jadlam (12:40) [attachment=42548] A 90 minute dash over the Severn and across the Somerset Levels took us to Glastonbury and this well signposted building. A multi-hobby retailer which was busy with both male and female customers as it covered all the bases. Pride of place immediately inside the front doors were the RC cars, and they make an immediate impact as you walk in. Next to them was the Scalextric aisle with a wide selection of current and recent models. Most of the other displays covered model making of all types, along with a wide range of paints and tools to assist with making all those models. This box jumped out at me, being a team that I supported in my youth, a livery that will never date, and a car that somehow used to make an appearance at my secondary school fete every year! [attachment=42549] I made my purchase of a spray can of Tamiya Clear Coat, Andy treated himself to a branded bag, and we hit the road to our next destination. Not forgetting to take in the local sights... [attachment=42550] Some traffic heavy rolling roads took us across Salisbury Plain to the actual city itself, where the ring road seemed to avoid the edge of town and took us right through the middle. Our eta at our next destination was starting to drift a touch; things were beginning to get a bit tense in the car as we began to sense we were running on the fumes of our breakfasts from six hours earlier. But we got onto the wide open M27 and M3 and made up a bit of time and safely arrived at our second store of the day... #2 AC Models (15:09) [attachment=42551] Just off the High Street in Eastleigh, North of Southampton, is this traditional model shop. Trains and RC cars shared the prime ground floor displays, with the Scalextric cars upstairs alongside the RC car repair workshop. This was more of your 'traditional' men-only customer based shop. A more limited range of Scalextric cars, but with a few hard to find examples for those in the know. A more limited range of model making kits, but a large select of railway products on offer, the prices of which reminded me of the relative good value of slot cars. Time was definitely ticking on, so once we had made use of the facilities in the nearby shopping centre, it was a quick visit to Iceland for some snacks for the journey, and back on the M27 for our final destination... #3 Gaugemaster Model GIANT (16:50) [attachment=42552] A bit of a 'low hanging fruit' familiar target to finish off our trip, being just twenty minutes or so from Worthing. However, Monday was the grand re-opening and launch of a refreshed 'steel portal frame and insulated composite cladding panel' building, re-branded from Gaugemaster to Model GIANT and we wanted to recognise that event...and we made it with 10 minutes to spare! I don't think I am being controversial in saying that the shop is very much model railway focused, but as you can see in the photo, they do have a simple demo track on the shop floor which helps to maximise what Scalextric presence there is on display. [attachment=42576] Sadly, there was no cake or lemonade left from the ribbon cutting ceremony at lunchtime, but the crowd had left hours earlier and it had all been cleared away, leaving the staff to politely guide us out of the door at closing time. And a brief hour and a half later, having retrieved my car from Andy's, I was back home. Thank you to Andy for driving and for coming up with the idea of how to liven up the journey home. Don't forget to keep visiting your local model shops. Use them or lose them! |
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