I've just acquired a very nice lightly used Slot.it 'Racing' Porsche 962C representing the 1986 Le Mans car. On close inspection it appears to have 'Rothmans' logos under wheel-to-wheel 'Racing' decals along each side.

Is it a correctly liveried 'Rothmans' car cunningly 'PC'd' with 'Racing' decals over the top?

If so, how complete is the Rothmans livery underneath and how easy is it to remove the PC decal without damaging the underlying logos?

I don't want to ruin what is a very nice, clean, car but if it can be turned from a duckling into a swan fairly safely I'd like to  give it a try.     

Anyone confirm my suspicions, has done it and can offer tips please?

Arriving early January 2022 will be my NSR Exclusive Limited Edition McLaren cars limited to 99 cars worldwide. 

I've been lucky to grab mine on 10 of 99 and 24 of 99, pretty stoked about these.

I've gone for one of each in AW and SW, one with gold inserts and soft suspension, the other with black inserts and medium suspension.

Number: 10
Track used: Wood
Engine: King 21K EVO/3
Crown: 33
Suspension kit: Soft
Wheel insert: Gold
Name on the SET: John Clinch 

 
[b]Number: 24
[/b]Track used: Wood
Engine: King 21K EVO/3
Crown: 33
Suspension kit: Medium
Wheel insert: Black
Name on the SET: John Clinch - Shenanigans Raceway


   
   
   
   
   
   

A double sided setup block that's 9mm thick, is smooth on one side and recessed on the other for resting your car between races so it's not sat on it's tyres.

   

   

Setup Block.stl Size: 419.32 KB  Downloads: 13

The Tire Razor and similar truers (I have an RSM machine which is very similar) are great but I always find the pulley is too big in diameter and the O-ring catches the sand paper...so we need a smaller diameter pulley.

16mm Tyre Truer Pulley to the rescue.

   


The two holes are for a grub screw, I use M2 grub screws. 

16mm Pulley.stl Size: 1 MB  Downloads: 19

I drew this up as an experiment and ended up using it loads of times and even made one for a club member who's used it on dozens of motors.

What to do when you have an S-can (130) motor that hasn't got screw holes for a motor mount?...drill two holes and tap them M2

This block has two holes 2.4mm diameter, cut two short lengths of brass tube or stainless steel tube that has a bore small enough for a 1.6mm drill to go down.  The brass or steel tube will prevent wear and tear on the plastic block.

Push the motor in position and simply drill through...a word of caution, a motor can is less than 1mm thick so a good idea is to put a sleeve on the drill so it can only pop through the motor can just enough to prevent damaging the armature windings.

   

   

130 Motor Drill Block.stl Size: 106.04 KB  Downloads: 4

NASCAR is by no means perfect but, leaving aside the fact that you don't want F1 cars racing on banked ovals and some of the following suggestions are not entirely serious I can't help thinking there are a few things F1 could usefully take from NASCAR. Indy car procedures are similar so it can be done with single seaters as well.

Track Limits: An outer concrete wall concentrates the mind. Otherwise their rule with the lower white lines is a good one. You can't take advantage by deliberately going beyond them but, if another driver forces you past them then anything goes and you can overtake on the grass if you wish. If you go straight on at a road course chicane you must come to a full stop before rejoining the track. Penalty for not doing this is a drive through.

Pace car/full yellow procedure: pit lane closed until all cars safely behind pace car then all cars on lead lap can enter if they wish at same time with lapped cars to follow next time round. Damaged cars may enter for repair while it is closed but they go to the rear on restart. No free pit stops, all down to pit lane execution. No such thing as unsafe release but double width pit lanes so cars can avoid each other.

No magic pit lane speed limit button, if you can't manage your own speed then you pay the penalty. To the rear if under yellows, drive through if green.

Lapped cars: the first lapped car gets the lucky dog at a caution and can unlap himself. The rest stay where they are and drop to the back of the pack out of the way. Saves a lot of time waiting for them all to go round and catch up. A car about to be lapped in the race is not obliged to give way and will fight hard to stay on the lead lap although they will not get in the way towards the end of the race.

No marshals on track unless pace car is in full control and incident scene protected by course vehicles. Safest for all.

No silly tyre compounds: same tyre for everybody with an upper limit on quantity. Free to change two tyres or four at pit stops according to desired strategy.

No meaningless time penalties. To the rear, drive through or black flag are the only ones available during the race. Any infringements after the race such as loose lug nuts result in a hefty fine.

Restarts: two by two with a very limited restart zone. No backing the opposition up then clearing off into the distance three corners before the start line.

No team orders: all drivers get the same equipment and opportunity to win. Team mates will work together for mutual benefit during the main part of the race but when it is time to go for the flag they are free to race with no holds barred.

No manufacturer/team championship just a driver one, eliminates inter team bitching over rules interpretation.

NASCAR's decision is final, no arguing the toss or any penalty is increased. Crew chiefs must do what they are told by race control without dissent.

Car specification is totally geared to close racing and rigidly enforced. Bend the rules a bit in pre race technical inspection and you start at the rear. Plenty of aero involved but no huge rear wings so they can follow 6 inches behind or beside another car at 200mph plus without problem. Overtaking is never easy in any form of motorsport but NASCARs can do it multiple times in a race.

Full yellows a few laps from end (like Abu Dhabi) and overtime (green/white/chequered) is used as many times as necessary. Two lap dash to the flag and everybody has the opportunity to change tyres. If the lead driver passes the white flag without incident  then the next flag ends the race even if half the field is in the wall. If the yellows are thrown before the white flag then they do the whole thing over again. Now that would have been something to behold in Saudi Arabia!

Fan involvement: Before the race the drivers are not mostly entertaining sponsors and celebrities but outside the track, up on stage answering fans' questions and signing autographs.

No podium: Victory lane is for the only one who matters. "If you ain't first you're last!"

Driver altercations: nothing that can't be solved by putting your opponent into the wall at the next race or a good old fashioned punch up in the pit lane.

HOW TO PREPARE AND TUNE SCX COMPACT CARS!
A Tutorial by Stepane Parislot.
This week only on the 1/43 SLOT CAR ZOOM MEETING
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Hi fellow racers!

I'm planning to do a live stream on YouTube next Wednesday (22 DEC) in ENGLISH about the SmartRace app and (slot)racing in general. 

I'd like to invite everyone to let me know if you'd be interested in joining the stream and which topics or questions I should cover. Please feel free to comment here and share this with anyone else who could also be interested. Thanks!

Would Wednesday, 4 PM EST (10 PM CET) work for you guys for the stream to start? Or would later be better (5 PM/11 PM)?

Marc

HO manufacturer Racemasters AFX have been teasing their fans on Instagram...

       

When rumours emerged that AFX were redesigning their single-seater body, I think everyone assumed it would be either a Formula One or IndyCar based model. Using the moniker 'Formula N', the new single-seater is clearly based on the current Formula E Spark Gen2 car. With no official license, the Formula N will carry fantasy liveries - something HO enthusiasts are certainly used to. Hopefully there will be unpainted bodies available too.

   

The previous 'Formula' body dates back to 2008 and the debut of the 1.7-inch long-wheelbase Mega-G chassis. The body was a lovely 1:64 scale model of the Panoz DP01 - used in the 2006 and 2007 ChampCar series and then briefly carried over to the 2008 combined ChampCar / IndyCar season. The AFX model was commercially available in four ChampCar liveries and then a handful of fantasy liveries, some giving a definite nod to F1 colour schemes. It was about time for a change.

The couple of images released by AFX on Instagram and Facebook have been misinterpreted as the next generation IndyCar. Although the IndyCar has semi-enclosed rear wheels, the fronts are 'bare' - unlike the covered front of the Formula-E cars and the AFX 'Formula N'. The Formula-E also has a halo, whereas the IndyCar has a windscreen.

The can motor in the 1.7-inch Mega-G+ chassis means the body sits higher than the original Panoz DP01 did on the Mega-G. This does spoil the lines of the Formula-E shape - these care are extremely low from nose through to rear aerofoils. It looks like there's some nice detailing, but that stance isn't great. It's always going to be a compromise with an HO single-seater - especially since toy safety regs ditched the Mega-G chassis.

What the Formula-E bodywork gives slot car manufacturers is a more robust single-seater than the traditional flimsy wings of an F1 or IndyCar. Formula-E is also a global series - including in AFX's key market of North America, with two US teams, one US driver and two races in New York new season.

   

There's a video of the 3D render on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWWpbYyMsPz/

AFX expect the first Formula N cars to be available in January 2022, along with some delayed new models and a restock of the Ford GT40 and heritage GT collectors edition cars.

I'm attaching a mechanic figure.  He's wearing coveralls, laying on his back, holding a wrench. 1/32 Scale, resize by 133.33% for 1/24 Scale.

I am sharing this with the SlotRacer community only, in the spirit of advancing this aspect of the hobby.

License is Attribution-NonCommercial - CC BY-NC

Cheers,

Ash

Edit - File is too big for the forum, so here is a link instead - Mechanic