[CMOTD]

Two classes run today:

Class B SCX - run with full complement of obstacles, I had to reposition a couple as placing them directly after a bend was not the brightest idea!  As expected none of the cars had any problems negotiating them as that is what they were built for. They were very closely matched with only 1.2 laps separating 1st to 5th. Graham's buggy just came out on top but Paul's Touareg ran it very close.

Full results      

On to Class C RTR - removed the plank bridge as these cars weren't totally happy with it. They could manage it about 70% of the time but I thought it best not to tempt multiple deslots.

Phil's Lancer was the class of the field (see what I did there?) with a 1.7 lap advantage over Gerry's similar car. Graham's I-Pace was somewhat handicapped by terminal understeer at the corner after the suspension bridge. It was the fastest round the rest of the track but I had to slow down way too much at that bend. Jim's beautiful RNLI Lancer was somewhat erratic over the bumpy bits but still managed to equal the I-Pace.

Full results:    

I will run the remaining two classes tomorrow.

[CMOTD]

Tel (savage) came over today to lend a hand with the final two stages. He drove the Class A Ninco cars while I did the Class D scratch-builds.

Class A Ninco  - these could not cope with any of the remaining obstacles so they were removed and the only thing they had to worry about was the suspension bridge. Some of the cars coped much better with this as the results show but the top 5 competitors were very closely matched with just 1 lap separating them. In fact there was a dead heat for 1st place between James' Pajero and Paul's Montero.

Full results:    

Class D Scratch - as with the Ninco cars all obstacles removed but these cars caused the only running problems I had all weekend. Every single one went faulty in one way or another.

Pip's Fiesta completed the first run at a fairly slow pace and struggled to get up the bridge then died two laps into the second. The lights worked but the motor wouldn't turn. Nothing obviously wrong but it recovered after a short rest and managed the third at similar pace.

Mike's Pajero popped its motor out of the mounts on the first run. We repaired that but then it would move a few feet and refuse to run any further. We took it apart but could find nothing wrong with the wiring. At this point I suspected we might have a track fault but a test run with a previously run Ninco car proved the track to be fine. I gave it one final go after Tel had left and it spluttered into life for 18 slow laps then died completely. I think the motor may have given up the ghost.

Kevin's pick up truck compounded its drop arm problems by pulling the ferrules out of the braids every time it did a wheely! By driving fairly sedately we managed to avoid this and it was the only car in the class to complete all three runs.

And so to Bernie's Panda car - quite how a two wheel drive police car with the front wheels waving in the air qualifies as a raid vehicle is beyond me but I didn't write the rules. What is even more amazing is the performance of the thing! The first run was nothing to write home about and it died during the second and failed to finish. After a short rest it was rejuvenated and shot round the track like a scalded cat. The bridge was taken at virtually full throttle and it clocked up an astonishing 28.9 laps to win by a huge margin. It was also the only car to complete a clear round with no deslots all weekend.

Full results:    

In conclusion - I have never been involved in a proxy event before and really didn't know what to expect. Suffice to say I found it very enjoyable and would happily host a round of one in the future. I had forgotten how much fun my SCX off road stuff was, I bought a complete set plus extras when the system came out but have lacked the space to play with it much so it was a real treat to get it set up again. My thanks to Graham for organising things and encouraging me to take part. Also thanks to all the entrants for entrusting me with their creations.

[Gpa113]

Good stuff Brian, and Tel 

Sound like you guys had good fun, just as I did last weekend...

Re the Scratchbuilt class.
It seems that the 4 entries do not like the SCX track system.  They all had problems with you,  and all had problems at a previous stage which was also SCX.   Last weekend they gave no issues at all , during any of their runs on my Ninco track.   The cool Datsun Pick up wheeled on tight turns, but got over all Ninco obstacles.  The Lego men in the Pajero have rear axle problems,  my Fiesta needs some proper front wheels, and the Anglia ( I agree, not sure how  its really an off roader) disliked most obstacles,  especially off set ones, but goes quicker than just about anything on the flat.  But all ran fine power wise, never once showing any sort of motor/ power/ electrical issues?   Strange....

Pip

[Qman]

And so to Bernie's Panda car - quite how a two wheel drive police car with the front wheels waving in the air qualifies as a raid vehicle is beyond me but I didn't write the rules

Hmmm.... when it left here the front wheels were on the ground, not sure what has gone wrong, and perhaps they were planning the wrong kind of 'raid'

[Graham]

 Good morning,

well feeling a little conspicuous by my absence yesterday, what started well on the other proxy, quickly came to halt when the power went off 
However it was restored later but rather hindered my time to keep up with events on here.

Panda with it's front wheels in the air ! I think that might be a case of mistaken identity officer 

Here is the official results from yesterday

   

[Graham]

And so to the results for stages 1-8


   

So as a quick review

Class A - Ninco's still seems to be very little in this with only a couple of laps between the first 3.
Class B - looks like a done deal with Paul obviously the "Master" of the SCX's set ups.
Class C- Again looks like a scramble to the finish for the Mitsubishi Lancers, although my I-Pace (Mitoos) had it's moments but sadly lacking some rougher terrain.
Class D- Well who would have believed the Panda would have stolen the show   Mind you still one stage to go

And so next to the final stage back at Harlequin's Ninco track, there maybe a delay of a few days for this stage as I have never assembled it as yet, and also after this weekend being taken over with Le Mans proxy I am wanting to rest up next weekend, so hopefully I will complete the series during the week following next weekend.

Many thanks to Brian and his co-host, it sounds like you really enjoyed it, and I would thank all the hosts who have given up their time to make this happen.

[CMOTD]

Re the Scratchbuilt class.
It seems that the 4 entries do not like the SCX track system.  They all had problems with you,  and all had problems at a previous stage which was also SCX.   Last weekend they gave no issues at all , during any of their runs on my Ninco track. Strange....
Pip

Strange indeed! None of them had wiring faults and the braids were in full contact with the track. I gave them a run on my wooden track this morning and they all functioned normally. The only thing I can think of is that the SCX controllers were causing it. They are fairly rubbish and very much on/off but I couldn't use proper controllers without rewiring the connections. Possibly the ohm rating was so way out that the slightly hotter motors wouldn't talk to them properly.

[Gpa113]

Hello Brian, 

Well, that sounds like a very good theory 

Something is making cars that go fine on most systems go poorly on SCX.  And I rather think you are correct.  I have found the SCX controllers to be the worst I have used, and have had problems with them before. Luckily the Final stage appears to be Ninco,  so let's hope all entries make it to the finish 

[Graham]

When I ran my SCX track on the first stage, I changed the set controller for a DS type that I use on my Carrera layout. I found that the SCX controller was faulty and was sticking, so I gave up on it. But when I get the Ninco track set up for the last stage I will give the standard controllers a try.

[Graham]

 Good morning,  

After taking a break last weekend,  it is time to set up the NINCO track for the final run of the Extreme Slotting Contest.

I will post some pics when the track is ready and hope to run the cars on Wednesday all being good