25th-Mar-21, 12:05 PM
As part of a little experiment - inspired by an unexpected question - I got a single lane hillclimb working using Scalextric Sport Digital pit entry / exit pieces (thread here). It has now become more than just a technical experiment and I plan to gradually turn it into a scenic layout. I've been looking for ages at ways of having a permanent 'round-the-walls' 1/32 scale track to squeeze in my office - along with the 7-foot timed HO drag strip (thread here) on one wall and a fun 9 x 2.5 ft two-lane HO track that's tucked behind the door, under the strip.
The Crystal Palace-inspired idea (see here) I worked on at the start of Lockdown 1.0 was way too big once I actually laid out the track pieces in the room. That reminded me why I'd down-sized to HO all those years ago... Meanwhile, I updated the drag strip, held lots of proxy races, then did quite a lot of 1/32 scale rug-racing - including 4 stages of the WHO Winter Rally-Sprint proxy. But I did want to have fun with some scenics and have a 1/32 track where I could flip a switch and run some cars any time.
I played with the idea of a modular rally track, with each 4x2 ft routed module representing one of my favourite rallies. They'd all join together like a N-Trak model railway. I routed the little foamboard ice track used in the Winter Rally-Sprint to learn more about the techniques, but realised plastic sectional track was the only sensible way to do the modules. And then the space issue returned - not enough space to keep the modules set up and not enough space to store them...
So the email asking if the Scalextric pit pieces would work in a single-lane hillclimb really got me thinking. I hadn't seen that done with sectional track before. If I could get it to work as a concept, then I might have a solution to my space problem. You can see how I slightly modified the pit pieces and how I reverse the polarity on the main strip in the other, more technical thread here: slotracer.online/community/showthread.php?tid=2047
This is more about planning what the little layout will look like and how it will drive - and any advice and gentle correction of rookie errors are most welcome!
The layout is a single lane between two turnaround loops. It runs along two walls and then doubles back to a detachable lower loop, which doesn't intrude too much into the room, but can be removed and stored if necessary. The elevation from top to bottom is 15-inches. Removing the lower loop does give the option of extending the track into the rest of the room and adding the loop at the end. That would give a much longer track and an elevation of nearly four feet.
I have tweaked the design - and continue to do so the more I drive it. The last change was to remove the half straight before the lower loop, so the outer edge of the loop now sits just in front of the bridge, rather than underneath it. I have cut up a big sheet of 5mm plywood, put all the pieces in place and am gradually working out the angles and gradients before I start fixing the benchwork permanently. That's mostly coming from running different cars, but also considering the scenery...
I thought long and hard about themes - the mosaic of my favourite rallies was still a possibility, but I decided I wanted something more coherent and seamless. A part of the world that means a lot to me - and is home to some of my favourite rallies - is the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea: up the western edge of Italy, round to Valencia in Spain and including the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. A particularly favourite area is the 300 mile stretch of coast, hills and mountains between the ports of La Spezia and Marseille. It's a magical place and has inspired some vivid memories. The areas around Sanremo and Monte Carlo sit very nicely in that theme - as does Antibes - but the geology and scenery is not dissimilar to Corsica and to northern Catalonia. There are bright colours, the mix of ancient & modern, steep gradients, hairpins, tarmac, unmade roads, sun, rain, snow, rocks, trees and lots of people.
I don't want to pin myself down to one place or one event, but the pre-1997 mixed-surface Rallye Sanremo has been a particular inspiration...
I have already begun to mock up - with cardboard, foam strips and crunched up paper - where some of those elements might sit on the layout and whether they work or not...
There's not a lot of room and the track isn't very long, so I want to concentrate on just three detailed scenes and much of the rest will be very low relief or simple backdrops. I'll be scratch-building almost all of it and sourcing some of the details, like figures and furniture - plus a Vespa and a Ducati. It's the sort of long-term project I really fancy and I can immerse myself in for a few weeks every now and again, but have the functioning track to run cars on while the scenics gradually progress.
I really like how two of the key scenes - the village and the farm - are taking on lives of their own in my imagination, rather than remaining static images... The focus of the village suddenly became a tiny local bar / café with a small terrace overlooking the 90-degree bend after the bridge. There will be lights fitted in the bar and the low-relief village backdrop for night running. The farm was very sketchy, but is now stripped back to a few bits of building(s) with bougainvillea growing over the walls and trees around - allowing space for a small service area to the side, perhaps. The hairpin at the bottom of the hill is just lots and lots of people.
The lower loop will have a few people and will be fairly flat - as it'll need to be stored from time to time. The transitions will be simple - more man-made walls than walls of natural rock, plus trees, foliage and a striking, but not overly-complex bridge. Painting (and possibly texturing) the track will come after some experimentation. The surface will be widened a little in most places.
There's a lot to be getting on with
The Crystal Palace-inspired idea (see here) I worked on at the start of Lockdown 1.0 was way too big once I actually laid out the track pieces in the room. That reminded me why I'd down-sized to HO all those years ago... Meanwhile, I updated the drag strip, held lots of proxy races, then did quite a lot of 1/32 scale rug-racing - including 4 stages of the WHO Winter Rally-Sprint proxy. But I did want to have fun with some scenics and have a 1/32 track where I could flip a switch and run some cars any time.
I played with the idea of a modular rally track, with each 4x2 ft routed module representing one of my favourite rallies. They'd all join together like a N-Trak model railway. I routed the little foamboard ice track used in the Winter Rally-Sprint to learn more about the techniques, but realised plastic sectional track was the only sensible way to do the modules. And then the space issue returned - not enough space to keep the modules set up and not enough space to store them...
So the email asking if the Scalextric pit pieces would work in a single-lane hillclimb really got me thinking. I hadn't seen that done with sectional track before. If I could get it to work as a concept, then I might have a solution to my space problem. You can see how I slightly modified the pit pieces and how I reverse the polarity on the main strip in the other, more technical thread here: slotracer.online/community/showthread.php?tid=2047
This is more about planning what the little layout will look like and how it will drive - and any advice and gentle correction of rookie errors are most welcome!
The layout is a single lane between two turnaround loops. It runs along two walls and then doubles back to a detachable lower loop, which doesn't intrude too much into the room, but can be removed and stored if necessary. The elevation from top to bottom is 15-inches. Removing the lower loop does give the option of extending the track into the rest of the room and adding the loop at the end. That would give a much longer track and an elevation of nearly four feet.
I have tweaked the design - and continue to do so the more I drive it. The last change was to remove the half straight before the lower loop, so the outer edge of the loop now sits just in front of the bridge, rather than underneath it. I have cut up a big sheet of 5mm plywood, put all the pieces in place and am gradually working out the angles and gradients before I start fixing the benchwork permanently. That's mostly coming from running different cars, but also considering the scenery...
I thought long and hard about themes - the mosaic of my favourite rallies was still a possibility, but I decided I wanted something more coherent and seamless. A part of the world that means a lot to me - and is home to some of my favourite rallies - is the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea: up the western edge of Italy, round to Valencia in Spain and including the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. A particularly favourite area is the 300 mile stretch of coast, hills and mountains between the ports of La Spezia and Marseille. It's a magical place and has inspired some vivid memories. The areas around Sanremo and Monte Carlo sit very nicely in that theme - as does Antibes - but the geology and scenery is not dissimilar to Corsica and to northern Catalonia. There are bright colours, the mix of ancient & modern, steep gradients, hairpins, tarmac, unmade roads, sun, rain, snow, rocks, trees and lots of people.
I don't want to pin myself down to one place or one event, but the pre-1997 mixed-surface Rallye Sanremo has been a particular inspiration...
I have already begun to mock up - with cardboard, foam strips and crunched up paper - where some of those elements might sit on the layout and whether they work or not...
There's not a lot of room and the track isn't very long, so I want to concentrate on just three detailed scenes and much of the rest will be very low relief or simple backdrops. I'll be scratch-building almost all of it and sourcing some of the details, like figures and furniture - plus a Vespa and a Ducati. It's the sort of long-term project I really fancy and I can immerse myself in for a few weeks every now and again, but have the functioning track to run cars on while the scenics gradually progress.
I really like how two of the key scenes - the village and the farm - are taking on lives of their own in my imagination, rather than remaining static images... The focus of the village suddenly became a tiny local bar / café with a small terrace overlooking the 90-degree bend after the bridge. There will be lights fitted in the bar and the low-relief village backdrop for night running. The farm was very sketchy, but is now stripped back to a few bits of building(s) with bougainvillea growing over the walls and trees around - allowing space for a small service area to the side, perhaps. The hairpin at the bottom of the hill is just lots and lots of people.
The lower loop will have a few people and will be fairly flat - as it'll need to be stored from time to time. The transitions will be simple - more man-made walls than walls of natural rock, plus trees, foliage and a striking, but not overly-complex bridge. Painting (and possibly texturing) the track will come after some experimentation. The surface will be widened a little in most places.
There's a lot to be getting on with
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