[BAracer]

#41

Miscellaneous musings...

It started off with Russ showing us an old cardboard box he had bought in an auction. It was interesting in that they printed pictures of the pit crew on the back, and you were meant to cut these out and at the same time, I think, convert the box into a pit. Did these manufacturers not understand how valuable cardboard boxes would be in the future! This one was made by Scalex and so was pre-scalextric. The car inside was a 'pull back and watch it go' type, and was what slot cars were like before slot cars were invented. A fabulous piece of hobby history, and now in the hands of a very happy owner. Then right up to date with another gem from the hands of Dennis...a Policar generic F1 beautifully modelled with Atalaya Decals and an Interlagos Miniatures helmet, turned into a stunning Lewis Hamilton Mercedes. And yes, you heard it right, just $12 for the stunningly painted helmet, that's almost more of a bargain than Russ's cardboard box!

We then were shown a pile of cars by Graham that he has recently acquired. He buys in bulk to get discounts...four Corvettes, two Lolas etc etc, finishing of with two Trabants, which got me thinking. Is this the first time in history that the slot version of a car is made out of better materials than the original?

We then chewed the cud around the "1 Mile Challenge" and how you need to be able to hit the starting line at full speed just as the clock starts in order to gain those little 5/8th of a second...Lloyd looked on bemused.

Then a racer's chant rang out across the screens...."No Shelf Queens, They're All Doomed", although if you are lucky, Russ will buy the bag of loose bits off you at the end of race night for good money.

Then who would have thought the subject of borders would be so fascinating, but then again, why should we be surprised to hear that there was a mad rush to buy up all the smooth black examples by most of the people on the chat a few years ago, which is why Greg is now knocking them out on his 3D printer and why Russ had to leave the Chat as he saw his collection of smooth black boarders plummet in value in front of his eyes.

Phil then took us through his collection of Fake Plastic Trees. He is a skilled exponent of the art of expanding foam sculpture, and a dedicated slot car landscaper, to the point of hacking away at the stud walls of his den with a circular saw to get the right colour wood to make the trunks of his trees. He then mentioned something about landscaping that I had never thought about before; that it's good as landmarks for fixing your braking points around the track. 

And finally, we were shown the complete jumper collection of one of the people on the chat, from the modern day right back to 2016. And was this jumper collection the source of the static electricity that destroyed so many of his digital chips in the past, and does his bag of fried chips have any value to anyone...hold on, I think I might know someone who might be interested...