Digest 26

Grab yourself a brew, and settle down for a Digest with a difference.

We usually deal with the latest, breaking news here on the Digest, but this week we’re also introducing a new section on the site where we take an in depth look at some of the manufacturers and products that have fallen by the wayside over the years. Of course there is very little sentiment in business, and tough decisions sometimes have to be made. But for the hobbyist there is undoubtedly a nostalgic fondness for absent friends, and for the collector there is an added challenge of assembling and saving historical items.

So we gathered together a team of experts in their respective fields, and locked them away in dimly lit rooms until they catalogued, recorded, and indexed the sum of their vast knowledge for your reading pleasure. We’ve also consolidated material from the Chronicle, and cited sources from the Library and far beyond. This is the story of four lost manufacturers, another that was lost but has now been found, and one surprisingly little known product range.

Lost & Found

• Maxi-Models The lavishly illustrated, and comprehensive history of the beautifully detailed, hand made Can-Am slot cars of Maxi Models. The fine detail, finish and exclusivity of hand built models, plus all the fun of slot cars. Compiled and written by our very own Brian Rogers, with fantastic and authentic source materials from the man himself, Max Winter.

• STS, Super Track System You are probably aware of the off road systems of SCX, but you may not have heard of an earlier incarnation of this type, STS. Based on the Paris-Dakar rally, with rough, sand coloured track, and an impressive range of inclines, and obstacles, STS was a 1/43 scale system with 4×4 cars, which wasn’t widely available outside of Spain. Fortunately we’ve dragged in Peter Zivanovic, an authority on the subject, to tell us all about it.

• VIP, Victory Industries VIP were at the vanguard of slot car development in the early days, and went on to make some of the best cars and track available in the 1960s. VIP may not have been quite the household name that Scalextric became, but the company’s concepts inspired Fred Francis to form it’s more famous rival, and Victory went on to make products that many considered to be superior. By kind permission of Phil Smith, we have Malcolm Parker’s definitive history of VIP.

• Wrenn Formula 152 G & R Wrenn’s Formula 152 was a totally unique system that allowed three cars per lane, and even lane changing. All this in 1/52 scale, and amazingly produced way back in 1960, long before modern digital systems. We’ll point you towards Nigel Robinson’s authoritative site and other sources which detail this innovative system.

• Vanquish MG Brian takes a look at the story of Vanquish MG, a short lived Spanish manufacturer with a tremendous eye for detail and innovative design. Vanquish surpassed even Fly with the interior detailing and the cars were about as close to a static diecast display piece as a slot car could get. This level of interior detail certainly made them stand out from the competition and that wasn’t all as each car had a fully functional rear differential!

• Policar In Italy, Policar was the brand which defined slot cars in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, much like Scalextric in the UK. To the general Italian public, a slot car is simply a Policar, and a slot track is still often referred to as a pista Policar. Of course, the company has now been relaunched, so thankfully this is one brand that may have been lost, but has now been found, and is in the very safe hands of Slot.it.

Slot Cars

• Scalextric James Bond Aston Martin V8 There’s nothing half-hearted about the Scalextric Film & TV range, and this ‘The Living Daylights’ Aston Martin V8 is no exception, having a “a few optional extras installed”. Woodcote reports on a bumper year for Bond fans.

• Avant Slot BMW 635 CSi The two Avant Slot Macau BMWs are now available in Spain and should be arriving soon in the UK. More details on the cars in the News section of the Forum
• Avant Slot Peugeot 207 S2000 The design sheet for the three liveries of the Peugeot has just been made available by Avant Slot, and the cars are expected in the late summer.

• Slot.it Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 – KCMG Fuji 2018 You may have caught the teaser images that Slot.it posted of their KCMG-liveried Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, but now we have the studio shots of this strikingly liveried car.

• SRC Ford Capri 2600LV Tour de France 1973 It was back in October 2021 when we first reported the new SRC Ford Capri, but it’s now here, and Rallyhub brings us the details and photos

• SCX 2022 – New Products Announced Gaugemaster have announced a list of new SCX products for 2022, which continues to expand their analogue (Original), digital (Advance) and 1:43 (Compact) systems at a steady rate. There’s also a re-introduction of an AC2car-based analogue system in 1:43 that allows two cars to lane change – it has been rebranded ‘SCX Action’.

• Transporters Hobbyclassic have a new section dedicated to their fantastic range of transporters. So if you are in need of a truck, van, bus or trailer, head across and have a look.

Tracks & Scenery

• Printable buildings It’s always nice to see our free printable textures being used, as shown above in a lovely diorama with the workshop buildings around the courtyard. There are plenty more available over in the graphics section.

• BTCC Track Plans The British Touring Car Championship is racing at Croft this weekend, and we have Scalextric Sport plans for all the BTCC circuits over in the Track Plans section

Slot Racing

• Summer Grand Prix Proxy Woodland Fort hosted the latest round of the Summer GP Proxy, and the results are in, the videos posted, and the pit lane review completed. Next up is Conington Park on the East Coast, and the reports should be coming in just as we go to press.
• Autumn Endurance – InterSeries Proxy Preparations are also well under way for the third in the Triple Crown Series of Proxies, taking part in October and November

Media

• Magazines e-Pilot has been keeping us updated on all the latest publications, with recent additions including Model Car Racing, N Scale Railroading, Trainini, Más Slot, Car On-line, SLOT, DRS Magazine, Slot Car Mods, and Trackside Model Railroading.

Sad News

RIP Andy Smith

We are very sad to hear of the passing of Andy Smith, Professor Motor. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.