recently purchased a couple Scalextric C052 escorts 
these cars have both been painted , badly , with what looks like rattle can paint 
would like to try to restore them 
so 1st need to remove the paint 
tried this before , without success , the body turned into a squishy distorted mess

any tips / products to safely remove this paint without shrinking / distorting / ruining the body 

thanks in advance
kev

   

Breaking news today...the scheduled release of two Bastos sponsored Avant Slot Opel Manta Group B rally cars - one of them bundled with the Resinas Maralic GMC assistance van.

Avant Slot 51509 Opel Manta 400 #5 Bastos Texaco Rally Team - Guy Colsoul & Alain Lopes - Ypres 24 Hours Rally 1985. Scheduled Oct/Nov 2021
Avant Slot / Maralic RSV2103 GMC Van + Opel Manta 400 #3 - Guy Colsoul & Alain Lopes - Rallye du Condroz 1985. Scheduled Oct/Nov 2021

A quick trawl of the internet didn't throw up any images of the van, but here are the cars from Condroz and Ypres - both rounds of the European Rally Championship in 1985...

               

This is a similar release to last year's Guy Fréquelin Opel Euro Team Mantas and support vehicle (preview thread here) - although there doesn't seem to be a trailer in the set this time.

Huge thanks to Steve at Staffs Slot Cars UK for sending the image through. I'm sure there'll be more news and photos over the next few months.

After the Chrono version of Henri Toivonen's winning Rallye Monte Carlo 1986 Lancia Delta S4, now SRC launches two more Chrono versions of the Lancia Delta S4:
54002 Winner Príncipe de Asturias 1986 Fabrizio Tabaton/Luciano Tedeschini.
54003 Winner Rally Costa Brava 1986 Fabrizio Tabaton/Luciano Tedeschini.

The latter contains two ballast weights RM1204, different pulleys, hubcaps and springs.
On both new Chrono cars are RN0201 "Grip Zero" tyres fitted and a T2 guide spring.

rallyhub

       
54002 Winner Príncipe de Asturias 1986 Fabrizio Tabaton/Luciano Tedeschini. 54003 Winner Rally Costa Brava 1986 Fabrizio Tabaton/Luciano Tedeschini.

Do these make competitive rally cars without having to swap out components? 

That is, are they worth the premium over the standard Ninco rally cars?

   

Policar CT02a Subaru WRX STI - 24h Nürburgring Presentation 2014. RRP £37.95. Available 14 July 2021.

A rather exciting new release from Policar is this Subaru WRX STI in a 'presentation livery' that showcased the 2015 WRX STI prior to its racing debut at the 2014 Nürburgring 24 hours.

       

Subaru's motorsport arm STI has regularly entered the gruelling race on the Grüne Hölle in the SP3T class - for up to 2-litre 'Special' cars fitted with a turbocharger. The race is a perfect testing ground and an important shop window for new production cars and specialist racing versions. STI pride themselves on using over 90% of production parts on their race cars. In 2013, a WRX STI finished second in class. In 2014 Subaru took the opportunity to use the iconic race to present their new 2015 WRX STI model with plenty of fanfare and media coverage...

   


In the race itself, the car carried the number 118 and was driven by Toshihiro Yoshida, Kota Sasaki, Marcel Lasée and Carlo Van Dam. 

   

The multinational quartet finished 32nd overall and fourth in class, behind three Audi TT RS 2.0s. Subaru produced a superb 20-minute film to commemorate the 2014 race and the battle for SP3T honours...



Policar have produced a smashing rendition of the 2014 presentation livery. Personally, I'd have preferred the Nürburgring race car... However, in terms of an accurate model, there are two big problems and one disappointment for me. Essentially we have the 2015 WRX STI rally car - which is, of course, exciting - but means the rear wing and the interior are wrong for a car racing at the Nürburgring 24 hours. The driver should be on the right and the co-driver shouldn't be in the car. The slight disappointment is the front face of the car - the air intake on the bonnet is just not pronounced enough for me...

       

I understand that this range of Policar models is designed to provide home racers with robust budget slot cars. The rear wing certainly looks like it will last much longer than a flimsy GT version, but it would have been nice to have the option of a single-driver interior.

       

Underneath the body is a similar chassis - but not the same - as that in the Policar Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT86 cars. It has the single piece layout with a 13.5k rpm S-Can motor clamped in, enclosed bronze bushings, Slot.it axles, plastic wheels and C1 tyres - plus the Policar easy-change braid and guide system... which is easy once you figure it out! Unlike the Slot.it cars, there is no provision for adjusting the front axle height or fitting suspension. I expect to see a full Slot.it-spec chassis available on the Slot.it 3D Shapeways shop in due course. There is one available for the BRZ / GT86 that is compatible with Slot.it inline motor pods only.

One big difference compared to the earlier cars is no traction magnet is fitted to the WRX STI. This is a surprise for a home racer oriented model. Having said that, the BRZ and GT86 are really good fun to drive with the magnet removed - much more so than a Scalextric, Carrera or Fly car with their magnets whipped out and no weight added. The low-power motor and quality wheels and tyres do help. The car is set up for a Slot.it Type C universal chip (oXigen, SSD & Carrera) to snap into the chassis - although the cables will require soldering to the pick-ups and motor. The WRX STI is advertised as being fitted with lights, but I can't see any connector from the circuit board on the chassis photo provided.

Retailing around £25-35, these Policar models deserve to be very popular. This one is the pick of the bunch so far - and if some tasty rally versions follow, a lot of people are going to sit up and take notice.

A big thank you to Jo for sending us the photos and release details.


   

   

Slot.it CA48a Maserati MC GT4 #99 - Pirelli World Challenge Road America 2018 - Jeff Courtney. RRP £62.95. Available 14 July 2021.

This is a brand new mould from Slot.it - the Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 is a slightly different shape from the previous CA43 Maserati MC GT3. There will also be a GT4 white kit - product code CA48z. The main external differences are a lower wing, smaller vents and less bulbous wheel arches. That will give a slightly narrower car, although I haven't seen any measurements as yet. The rear track of the GT3 is 62mm. There will also be a Policar version of the GT4 available later in the year, fitted with a Policar chassis and mechanicals that are similar to the 'Home Racers' Subarus and Toyota.

       

The Slot.it Maserati MC GT4 is based on the GranTurismo MC GT4 customer cars, first made available in 2016. GT4 cars are essential 'track day' cars - either factory-built race cars on sale to the public or modified production road cars. All GT4 cars are thoroughly tested and evaluated by the FIA and then specific modifications allowed to give near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified further - keeping development costs to a minimum. The GranTurismo MC GT4 started off as the Trofeo, which had been the bed-rock of popular single-make series for the previous six years.

       

Indeed, the GranTurismo MC GT4 was pretty much unchanged from the Trofeo - with a 4.7 litre V8 engine and paddle-shift transmission. The main modifications were the addition of an air duct to reduce power by 35 bhp, plus a new lower-downforce rear wing and diffuser to conform to GT4 rules. The GranTurismo MC GT4 appeared in the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) in North America, the Competition102 GT4 European Series, the Nova Race EuroSeries and various national GT championships.

   

JCR Motorsports ran a GranTurismo MC GT4 in the GTS class of the 2018 and 2019 Pirelli World Challenge (now GT4 America). Veteran sports car driver Jeff Courtney won the 2018 Sprint Championship. Going into the final race at Watkins Glen with an eight point lead after a win the previous day, it was almost heartbreak for the team...

Quote:Sunday’s race had a little more internal drama than anyone outside the team would have known because twice in the race we had either electronic or gearbox issues.  The car popped into neutral twice during the race, once about a third of the way in and the second time with 2 or 3 laps to go. I thought for sure this was going to be a sad ending to our season but after coasting into turn 1 for what seemed like a minute I got it to recycle and we made it to the end without losing a position.  That was such a relief and maybe a good thing because to be honest I really wanted to make a late run at Mike if possible and take a shot at a weekend sweep with both poles and wins! Maybe this wasn’t the smartest way of approaching it considering I should be protecting the point lead we gained on Saturday, but I think we had everything working and why not, we had a good car and sometimes being cautious can bite you as well.

The Slot.it model is of the car Courtney raced at the Road America (Elkhart Lake) event in June, where he picked up a win and a fourth place over the two races at his home track. For that weekend, the car carried stickers on the side and rear windows for the Patriot Education Fund. The team hosted guests from the charity during the weekend. The livery looks stunning - all very crisp and there's some nice history around the car - but I'm left scratching my head as to why there's a narrower version of the Slot.it Maserati been produced... Wouldn't it have been better with the GT4 as the Policar 'Home Racers' model and the GT3 as the higher-spec Slot.it car? I guess we'll find out when the car is released and head-to-head track tests done with the two cars.

       

Inside, the Slot.it GT4 has a different chassis to the GT3 version of the Maserati MC. There's the same offset sidewinder pod with the 23k MX16m S-can motor. This appears to be the standard layout for the new range of modern GT cars - although the motor pod can easily be changed for an anglewinder or inline version. The chassis also has the necessary fittings to take the Slot.it Type C universal digital chip (oXigen, Scalextric or Carrera) and the motor is fitted with the new SP45 connectors to allow digital conversion without the need for soldering.

This Maserati MC GT4 - and the white kit - are scheduled to be with distributors  next Wednesday and are available for pre-order from your regular Slot.it / Policar retailers.

A big thank you to Jo at Galilieo Engineering for sending us the pictures and release details for this car.

   

Sadly we have lost another driver from a great generation.

Carlos Reuteman

I'm a big fan of NSR cars.
However, NSR focus primarily  on GT cars, modern and classic.

So, how can these cars be adapted to a rally specification?
The big daddy of NSR rally cars is the:

 Porsche 997.
Manufactured by NSR for the Spanish Market (source G.Montiglio)
The  997 was NSR's first drop-arm car, a design that continued through the modern gt cars up until the Mercedes gt which does not have a drop arm.
The NSR 997 was produced as an angle winder with a full interior and as a rally in line long can with a factory fitted 2 man lexan interior (NSR-1380)
Slot retailers no longer stock the inline rally spec 997 but with an inline transmission and a lexan interior, the rally spec can be created.
   
My own 997 rally is pictured here 
https://ibb.co/album/SsGpjV
https://ibb.co/album/cDL4tm

A car that was rallied and can be adapted to a rally spec is the :

BMW Z4.
Never released as a rally spec by NSR
NSR do not make a rally interior for this car but with an inline mount and a 3rd party interior the rally car can be created. 
Its notable that the rally car did not carry a rear wing.

   
I've never adapted these to a rally spec because...

Aston Vantage 
Never released as a rally spec by NSR

NSR do not make a rally interior for this car but with an inline mount and a 3rd party interior the rally car can be created. 
The car pictured is from the Finnish tuner www.MAT.Fi and was raced at snow rallies among others. 
Uk tuning shop "prodrive" also created and raced a rally Aston. 
   
My cars are pictured here 
https://ibb.co/album/SQ43KF
https://ibb.co/album/W0vhzr

Formidable though the NSR is, in a mixed class with touring cars, chipping away at lap times to get closer to the late John Secchi's lap record is a long way off (2 tenths as of last Tuesday)
https://londonslotcarclub.com/circuit/
The sub 8 second cap was done with a slot.it inline Alfa, long can inline 

   

The 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from Thursday (tomorrow) through to Sunday 11 July. The entire event will be streamed live on YouTube...



And via the Goodwood website: https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-cover...ve-stream/

There'll also be two highlights programmes on ITV4 next Wednesday and Thursday evening.

If you're not familiar with the Festival of Speed, it's not unlike a high-class garden party with a motorsport theme. Us plebs get to go if we buy tickets. There's loads to see within the grounds of Goodwood House - plus plenty of action on the 1.16-mile hillclimb that snakes up from the driveway.

   

Expect to see legends of motorsport in attendance, plus some of the cars they drove. Confirmed F1 teams attending this year are McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams and Red Bull Racing - with drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo rumoured to be making an appearance on Sunday.

There's more details of the event on the website: https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-cover...-of-speed/

His site has space to enter a discount code - but how do you get one?