[BAracer]

#39

Possibly the COOLEST / WOWIEST episode ever!

Everyone ganged up on Greg for the 'Show & Tell' to try and delay his bits till after the 2hr mark, it almost worked. John Kitt showed off his scratch built Porsche...WOW, with wonderfully detailed wheels and poppers on the tonneau...COOL! Dennis then followed that with a COOL lexan wing car where the customer had fallen for his "And of course you want un-necessary front wheels fitted, don't you" tick box. He followed that up with two perfectly finished F1 cars...COOL. And the think about all of these 'shows' was that they were so well done, they transcended their modelness and just looked like small real things...COOL. Then we had a session on vintage Japanese model cars, and they were just so...COOL. But forget the models, "show is the boxes...WOW", just look at those graphics and drawings of other models in the series, they are just so...COOL! 

Then things got really COOL!!! Roving reporter Phil was out and about in a man-cave where everywhere he looked it was just...WOW! From the back lit sign..."look, it's lit up white...now it's blue...now red...WOW! Then forget the routed track, just look at the routed table it's on...COOL, and the display cabinets...WOW, and the old posters and framed newspaper reports...COOL!

And then we were given a potted history Derby HO Club intermingled with stories from the early years of two slot/RC brothers on the chat...COOL. So the club rotate 26 real life circuit layouts on race evenings...COOL. And there is there name on the club championship list...WOW, and there's one of them in the front cover of the club magazine...COOL. 

And then, finally, Greg got to show off his 3D printed chain link fencing...WO...Cut! The two hours is up.

[MrFlippant]

[BAracer]

#40

From doll's house decking to the Interlagos flood plain...not such a 'showy' episode this week, more 'telly' one.

So it started with 101 things to do with wooden spoons/sticks found or stolen from fast food joints and coffee shops. There was the regular 'blue and yellow car' presentation slot, followed by the best F1 front wheel EVER. Then the techies took over!

It started innocuously about the options for fuel usage, tyre wear and weather settings in various race control programmes, and how you can win a race with tactics rather than trick tyres; "win with your brain rather than your finger". And then is ever so seamlessly developed into an hour long masterclass in race car set up, touching on: -

• FC-130 motors vs FC-180 motors: benefits and drawbacks to each when racing on wood or plastic
  
• Chassis clearance to the track and optimising magnetic ground effect
  
• Centre of gravity set up for a car
  
• Tyre temperatures, and how to set up a car to work with these
  
• Optimum slip angles when cornering
  
• Braid set up
  
• Guide selection for different track types
  
• Motor pod rigidity measured using the spaghetti scale, and how and where to reinforce pods
  
• Driving styles to improve lap times...
  

...before drifting seamlessly back to the topic of controller selection and the different trigger position sensing methodologies available, which was nice. 

And then finally, a discussion on the effectiveness of recent drainage works to the town of Interlagos, and the consequences on the layout of the racing circuit there.

[MrFlippant]

And if you were lucky enough to stick around after the recording stopped, there was a lively debate about the effectiveness of weight being placed on a pod, or outside of it. :)


(Deleted old links to avoid accidental clicking.)

[MrFlippant]

[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...

[BAracer]

Just saw this and thought of you Mr F...

   

[MrFlippant]

Interesting. I'd never seen those classic borders in black. I wonder if that's what a recent customer was referring to. Thanks for the write up, as always! :)

(Deleted old links to avoid accidental clicking.)

[MrFlippant]

[BAracer]

#42

In which we learnt about the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything Controller-wise...

After a brief Show and Tell loosely based on the lovely products of SRC, but which also featured toothpick pod reinforcement tips and a wonderfully detailed scratch built front suspension set up for an old F1 car, the majority of the Chat was spend in the company of David Caille from Sillage Racing, creator of BLST.

We were taken through his thought process that drove him to develop a 'next generation' electronic controller during this lockdown. Too technical to summarise here (you need to watch!), but in too simplistic terms, it's a fully adjustable controller with all the usual bells, knobs and whistles...and a screen! So it gives you an instant graphic representation of what the knob twiddling is doing to the shape of the power and braking profiles the controller is configured to. Most people watching reached for their chequebooks at this point, but were sadly disappointed to learn that the first limited production run was an instant sell out. However, future plans involve teaming up with an established manufacturer to increase production, and to develop and sell a digital version of the controller. You saw them here first!

Spoiler Design Alert: a screen would fit nicely where that removable panel is on the back of Slot.it SCP controllers...