[CMOTD]

No need for apologies. Such things are easily missed because SlotRacer is unlike some other other forums. It is an information website with a forum attached and there is also a linked Facebook page/group.

The Home page has a wealth of stuff to explore and new sections are constantly being added.

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Follow-up to my Polybutler post. Agreed, expensive but ... bought several years ago in a clearance sale from a German online site. It was actually cheaper, even including quite pricy postage from the Continent, than I could get it for from a Bricks & Mortar store in the UK. I originally bought it for use with RC Buggies but it was 'too small'. The soft pit bags I was already using accomodated more, more easily. Next thought was for HO racing (I wasn't running 1/32 back then) but in this case it was 'too big'. The small cars and parts rattled around in there and the drawers were too deep giving a lot of wasted space. However .... a couple of years ago I started with 1/32 and for that it's 'just right'.

                   

Closed, dangling from the handle is a USB memory stick I use for Race Coordinator maintenance and updates. Not needed for a while but there are still some audio files to transfer onto the club laptop down in Bury St Edmunds. The Chesterfield logo is an old U.S. tobacco sticker. On the right, there's even space below the drawers for a Pendles mailing box on the left and a 'parts tray' on the right - a repurposed Tesco 'Mediterranean Platter' tray. The pair fill that void perfectly - and in them?

             

The first-step-tyres for improving a basic Scalextric car. Round, true and more grippy than stock - and cheap. These were for home use before I learned they didn't cut it for club racing  . In front, the basic club rules for each class. Good for reference. To the right that Tesco 'parts tray' in close up. From top left clockwise - Comms drops, fibre pen, precision oiler, cotton bud for overspill   and a pencil to go with a Notebook - see later pics. Craft knife blades and a 'clutched' allen key. Below, GS hypo cement for reattaching bits that 'fall' off, two thicknesses of Pendles self adhesive lead sheet and a 9v battery for off-track testing. Finally - blu-tack, good for cleaning cars and adding temporary weight, temporarily re-attaching 'glass', etc. a pencil eraser, track cleaning rubber and a mini-video camera (the black and grey object).

             

Now for the drawers. The first tier is 'essentials' - various tools in the large compartmentalised drawer - and wheels and tyres in the smaller. To the right 'an 'exploded view' of the smaller drawer, showing a small fishing tackle box with various machine screws and self tappers, etc. for bodies, guides, pods, motors, etc. and behind them some glued and trued wheel tyre/combos as well as various paired Slot.it tyres.

Missing from these pics is my Swiss Army knife The scissors on there have been really useful.

All this might seem as if:

A) I know what I'm doing and 
B) It's a huge investment. 

Well 

A) I don't - but it looks good        
B) apart from the fishing tackle box (new from a local Boyes Department Store) all the rest have been 'bargain budget buys' either from sales or sourced second hand. (All those trued and glued wheels and tyres, the various screws and even some of the tools, including the 'ratchet' allen key, along with loads of other useful stuff were in a huge 'getting out of the hobby' lot bought from a slot car forum.)

A walk through the rest of the case to follow .......

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A close-up of the tool tray (left) and contents more or less from left to right. Right hand pic - Pendles pinion press/pull. Needle nose-ish pliers and Jewellers screwdrivers.

          

Left - not to scale - a composite pic' of the Scale Auto replacement Allen Key bits that normally sit underneath the above tools.  Above them various allen keys and a ziplock bag of car bits waiting to be refitted - sometime. (You can see why I bought the ScaleAuto items. Look at the bend in that individual key! Crazy thing is, although the shaft has twisted the hex shape at both ends have retained their shape and work really well.) To the right - stainless steel grub screws bought in bulk off eBay (M2 & M2.5 sized) - plus in the tubes, various other useful sizes culled from the same 'getting out of the hobby' lot mentioned earlier.

           

On the left, various braids along with some silicone motor leads. I prefer Pendles PSR soft 'racing' copper braid sold in metre lengths. Some I've already cut to size plus there are two spare coils. However, I've found the braid wears very well on the B St E club 'Sport' track. On the right - refills for the glassfibre pen, two  fine cut jewellers files - 'rat tailed' and - erm? flat one side slightly curved on top and tapered. Extremely useful pair. The three anodised handle Phillips drivers are size 000, 0 and 1. I find I use Size 1 the most. The two blue plastic handled tools are Allen keys. The ScaleAuto item at the top is the best quality and has replacable tips - but you need the correct size allen key to change it!  I too have the 0.9(5) 1.3 and 1.5 keys but find I use the 0.95 -95% if the time 

            

Forgot to mention - the little chassis isn't 1/32 - obviously. It's HO - and I can't remember why it's in there! The small red circuit board thing top middle, just visible under everything else is a Digital car programming thing, a gift - and in the lower middle tray are various lengths of s/s axle blanks. (Again, these were all garnered from the 'getting out of the hobby' job lot.)

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Finally - and the main use for me of the Pit Box, the transport element. With two exceptions the cars are mag-less.

            

On the left, the tiers opened to give a hint of their contents. At right, the bottom drawer contains my favourite saloons. The 'Pendle-ised' Revell NSU and Scalextric can-motored Mini. Both have the Pendle alloy wheels and axles with Urethane rear slicks and hard low-profile fronts to get the Pendle-braided guides down into the slot. The Mini also has a ScaleAuto 20k can. They won't win any races but are a bit different, great fun and don't disgrace themselves. Neither have added weight. 

The two Disney cars are Carrera 1/43rd magnet cars and are just for a bit of mad fun when there's free time before the 'serious' racing. They go like stink!!

The ziplock bag contains parts of a Cox Cheetah I really should be restoring during Lockdown!

            

To the left a GT Bentley bought from this very forum, along with a couple of NASCAR's and an 'American Muscle/Saloon' Camaro. The Exide car has been superseded by the Dupont but remains in the case as the latter was prepared just as lockdown brought a halt to travel and social gathering so has yet to be raced in anger.

To the right the Rally cars, three MSC 4WD's, a Scalextric Audi and a Don Stanley prepared SCX Escort. The Metros run Slot.it P6 rears. Other than that they're stock. The RS runs Slot.it's all round, with lower profile fronts.  

           

The ScaleAuto Spyker was the first 1/32 car I bought at Gaydon 2018. The colour scheme first caught my eye, then the extreme shape and a quick look underneath sealed the sale. Having been wowed by the chassis the Honda (blue and white) was the second buy.   To the right is a mix of Sideways and ScaleAuto Gp5's.

            

A Slot.it McLaren bought for that wild colour scheme, alongside an NSR Mosler, another ScaleAuto Honda and a sidewinder BMW M1, also from Scale Auto. Finally, that note book mentioned earlier, for anything worth noting - car damage to be repaired, new club members details, changes for Race Coordinator, track details, etc. Not used a lot but rued when forgotten. Slipped down the side of this tray you can also see the set-up plate and finally again, a vital 'not shown' are a pair of magnifying spectacles   

Twenty five cars in my car transporter then. Tools remain the same - car contents may vary. I can honestly say none of these are 'first owner' cars, all being Slot Car Festival, eBay and Forum purchases to keep costs down.