It always amazes me that such a significant annual event barely gets a mention on here. Maybe it's all over social media but in a day or two it will have disappeared into the vastness. At least here it should always be easy to find again so in no particular order - except for the first and last - and with no commentary, are a few photos from Saturday to give you a flavour of the event.

                                                                                          

Hi all,been out of action lately but want to catch up with things. Can anybody advise on where to get 3d printed split rim wheels in 16.9 x 9mm & 16.9 x 10mm size? Thanx in advance

This recently arrived. Looks great out of the box.

   

The bare body is super light.

   

This is a pic of the desired paint scheme (livery?).

   

It's been started.

   

More to follow...

Thank you very kindly for looking,
Ken

Has anyone tried digital in their HO scale cars?

See the title.
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Maybe some members will be around?

   

Up and running in time for the Gaydon show but still requiring 'smoke stack' exhausts, detail painting and signage to be 100% complete, the custom US1 Oshkosh ran cool (what else, being a snow plow?) and faultlessly all day.

The first slot car club I joined did not allow RTR white kits. Everything had to be proper race liveries. So I got into the habit of avoiding white kits.

Rules have since loosened up, and I'm making up for lost time.

I started with a Slot.It Opel Calabri V6. I made the mistake of trying a new paint/colour. It was advertised as "Metallic Orange". It had way too much metallic. Looks more like turd of hurdles. It will be my last can of "Testors Metallic Turd". Tamiya only from now on. Live and learn.

   
   

After clear coat.
   

The next victim was a Revo Slot Porsche 911. Everything went back to normal with Tamiya orange paint.

   
   

A can of Tamiya yellow is stirring for an NSR Porsche 997 rally car to be painted shortly.

Thank you very kindly for looking.
Ken

Seven of eight friends showed up for another evening of pizza and racing. One of the regulars unfortunately couldn't make it.

Up first were the Sportscars. All were scratch built. 14k slow motors, aluminum wheels, and urethane tires.

   
   

Then came the prewar class.

   
   

Slot.It DTM were up next.

   
   

Classic LeMans were the last class to race. Stock 18k motors. Scalex, Fly, SRC, etc. Aluminum wheels and urethane tires.

   
   

Thank you very kindly for looking.
Ken

   

Our May HO Nascar race fell on the eve of the 80th anniversary of VE Day - a time to remember grandparents and parents who lived through the last world war and the 20 million people who lost their lives in Europe.

   

We raced on a Mexican Nascar layout, the Mexico City track being prepared for a real-life Nascar Cup race next month. As with all our Nascar road courses, the 4-lane AFX version is short, simplified and fast. This one proved a challenge. but was immensely quick if hooked up correctly...

   

Eighteen lined up for the heats. It should have been 19, but James only got the go-ahead to stay at about 7.15. Very generously, he stayed to marshal and loaned Stephen his Bulldog to drive. That bolstered the Bulldog contingent to five - Stephen, Steve P, Kev, Kevin and Andy running the new chassis on a layout that really shouldn't have suited the low-downforce set-up. Apart from Keith and Deborah, everyone else was giving their Super-G+ cars one last thrash on a WHO Nascar road course.

Right from the first heat, there were some big scores and fast time. Terry's 28.55 in Heat One was soon eclipsed by Keith's Gen6 Mega-G+ with a 29.8. Keith and Deborah's rapid Mega-G+ cars were comfortably sub-4 seconds, along with the Super-G+ runners. The Bulldogs needed more care and were lapping half a second or so slower.

   

Ollie was the first racer to break the 30 lap mark - his 31.05 in yellow was the best run of anyone in the first pair of heats. However, it was Keith's Mega-G+ who was in provisional pole position at half way, 0.9 of a lap ahead of the chasing pack, led by Terry and Pete's Super-Gs and Deborah's Mega-G+. Andy was the first Bulldog in sixth, after two steady, error-free heats. Ollie was fifth and top junior, Stephen in twelfth and the only rookie - he'd raced a Mega-G+ in red and James' Bulldog in white...

   

As usual, the pace increased across the board during the second pair of heats, but that didn't necessarily translate into improved scores. There were enough challenges around the 55-foot track to punish over-exuberance. Pete and Terry pushed each other to a 32.05 and a 31.25 in Heat 13 and looked to have shaken off the Mega-G+ cars - Keith could only manage a 29.65 two heats later, followed immediately by a disastrous 23.9. In that heat, Andy placed his Bulldog provisionally in the B Final having pushed hard for a 27.55 in red - the best score for the new chassis.

   


However, there were still two heats to go and Oliver, John and Rob all leapfrogged the leading Bulldog, giving us an A Final trio of Pete, Terry and Keith, a B Final of Deborah, Oliver and John, with Rob, Andy and Gareth lining-up in the C...

   

Before the finals, a track clean took place. The grime and rubber of 15 years was mopped up, but would we be looking at more grip or less in the finals?

Marketing emails and the like are an endless source of amusement to me. Book online for virtually anything and you are guaranteed to receive marketing emails for ever more. However, I have suddenly started to receive them from firms/ places I haven't had any contact with in years.

Step forward Balmer Lawn Hotel in the New Forest ---- we stayed there once in 2010, it is an excellent hotel and I couldn't fault it but have never had any contact with it since then. Last month they sent me an email with upcoming offers and I now get them weekly. What on earth prompted them to drag up my address from 15 years ago?

Then there is Loggerhead Marine Life Centre in Florida - visited there in 2015, turtles were cute but had heard nothing from them until 2 months ago when they started sending promotional emails.

Finally Great Rail Journeys - a well known UK travel company that I had a less than satisfactory experience with in 2013.
They completely ignored my subsequent list of complaints and tried to fob me off with a £50 travel voucher so I told them in no uncertain terms that I would never use their services again and to take me off their mailing list. Not  heard a dicky bird since then but this week I received an email and a glossy brochure from them for their 2025 holidays!

Have I slipped into some sort of time warp or does it happen to other people too?