Digest 9

In this week’s Digest…

Stunning new cars in three different scales, an update on Carver’s Goggomobil, the ultimate hillclimb, inspiration for your scenics, slot car racing, a French publication, plus plenty of Motorsport coverage, including a fabulous 1969 film that links in very nicely to our ‘Racing Greens’ archive. We hope you enjoy it!

Slot Cars

• BRM Alfa Romeos for 2022 BRM have released more images of the seven new 1:24 scale Alfa Romeo GTA Juniors they are releasing in 2022. You can see them all – plus the other BRM plans for this year – over in the News section.

• Thunderslot Lola T70 1966 Thunderslot are back with two bona fide Can-Am classics – Mark Donohue’s Penske T70 and the iconic car of ’66 champion John Surtees. But what on earth is the #7 doing on the Sunoco Special? True, it was always #6 or #61 in Can-Am, but Donohue did race that livery and number to win the end-of-season Nassau Trophy. Both cars are due very soon.

• NSR McLaren 720S GT3 Test Cars The NSR McLarens are coming! The four test livery cars have shipped from Salerno, so it’s definitely time to get excited. You can read all about the NSR McLaren 720S project over in the News section of the forum.

• Bauer 1:64 scale Volvo Amazon Station Wagon Bauer slot cars are 1:64 scale works of art. Produced by Motodrom in Germany, they continue the Bauer name and traditions of the Faller AMS system. This latest model – the Volvo Amazon Station Wagon – is fitted with an Auto World Thunderjet 500 chassis and will be released later this week. NJ Nostalgia distribute Bauer cars in North America.

• BRM Capri RS2600 BRM’s next 1:24 scale slot car model will be the Ford Capri RS2600. These first CAD images were released this week and it looks suitably muscular and a perfect fit for the BRM Group 2 range. We’ll be adding to the thread as more information arrives, but you can read a potted history of the RS2600 in the News section of the forum now.

• Racer Sideways Ford Escort Group 5 Zakspeed Both Sideways and Teamslot are releasing Escort Zakspeed models – and it looks like Sideways will win the race to get their car to customers first. News from France is that the Mampe livery is shipping to distributors in ‘early March’ – that could be any day. You can read more about the cars and the Racer model in the News section of the forum.

• More Porsche 911 Rally Cars For collectors of Fly Porsche rally cars, the start of 2022 has proved an exciting – but rather expensive – time. Here are two more on their way – one a Cric Crac exclusive and the other a second ForoSlot car. You can catch up with all the 2022 Fly news over on the forum.

Scratchbuilding

• Carver’s Goggomobil Update Carved from wood, this 1/32 scale 1950s bubble car is a completely left-field scratch-building project. How is the aptly-named Carver getting on with his Goggomobil T250? You can find out on the forum.

Tracks & Scenery

• The Ultimate Hillclimb? In 2006, the NSCC was asked to provide a slot car exhibit for the Toyota stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Over a period of four weekends, a team of NSCC members built what must surely be one of the largest slot hillclimbs ever constructed. You can read the full story in the Chronicle section of our website.

• R&R Figures Tutorial Strap yourselves in for Hub’s latest ‘How To’ thread – this time looking at preparing and painting a batch of R&R figures. You can see some of the Tarn Model Foundry figures (produced from the same moulds as the R&R figures) on Hub’s amazing layouts. If you want to get your own to join Hub’s journey, R&R figures are available via the SlotRacer ‘Traders’ section here.

• Magnetic Racing Containers Magnetic Racing have added four new shipping container buildings to their range, including a toilet block, a burger bar, a cafe, and a double stacked office.

• Austin K2/Y Ambulance Airfix have announced the forthcoming Austin K2/Y Ambulance kit. Like most military models it is 1/35 scale, but it looks nicely detailed, and could no doubt be repurposed as any number of trackside vehicles.

Slot Car Racing

• A Last Call For The American Road Race This is your very last chance – Monday 28th February is the final registration and payment date for the American Road Race. The entry list looks good and we look forward to all the build-up and race coverage in the SlotRacer Proxy Racing forum, starting in around four weeks time.

• Latest News From The SlotRacer ‘Your Club’ Forum Over in the ‘Your Club’ section of the forum, there’s news this week from Southend, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds and Worthing. We also welcome the NSCC, who now have their own club forum.

• Abergavenny Summer Stages There are a couple of Slot Rally events coming up in Wales this year. This one is the inaugural open event for a new dedicated Slot Rally Club in Abergavenny. You can find out about the Summer Stages and the club’s regular monthly meetings in their public Facebook group.

Publications

• DRS Magazine February 2022 If you haven’t looked at this free pdf magazine, you really should. Produced by Dijon Racing Slot, it is far more than a club publication – with great scenic layouts, tutorials and racing tips. The February issue is available now via ePilot’s awesome ‘Magazines’ thread on the forum.

British Racing Greens

• Britain’s Wartime Airfields Become Race Tracks Another hidden gem here on the SlotRacer Online website is the history of Britain’s post-war aerodrome race tracks. This video shows how Rufforth Airfield in North Yorkshire was prepared for a weekend of racing back in 1969. It’s a wonderful trip back to another time – and an homage to some long-forgotten circuits.

Automobiles

• Maserati MC12 Stradale Was the Maserati MC12 simply a Ferrari Enzo in disguise? Or is there more to this eighteen-year-old sports thoroughbred? Federico Fabbri takes look for the Petrolicious website and Rosario Liberti snaps some gorgeous images.

Motorsport

• Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg The 2022 IndyCar season began this week in St Petersburg, Florida. At 26 cars, this year sees the biggest IndyCar field since 2012 and there was plenty of intrigue before the racing even started. How about stock car legend Jimmie Johnson moving to single-seaters, Indy 500 winning duo Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud switching to Meyer Shank Racing – and Tatiana Calderón looking to make her mark in another top flight series… You can follow the season on the IndyCar website.

• WRC Rally Sweden The World Rally Championship moved north to Sweden at the weekend and found plenty of snow and ice. As always, the Scandinavian drivers were on top form – but could someone from warmer climes cause an upset in Umea? Find out at the WRC website.

• NASCAR Auto Club Speedway After winning the Daytona last weekend, rookie Austin Cindric put his Penske Mustang on pole for the Wise Power 400 at Fontana. Could the 23-year-old make it back to back wins? You can find out on the Nascar website.

• Kent Autosolo Hits The Headlines You can’t get much more grass-roots than an Autosolo – motor club members driving their cars round some cones… and there’s no requirement to even engage reverse gear. However, Sunday’s Autosolo in the Brands Hatch paddock made waves for having the most electric vehicles at a national motorsport event in the UK. You can read more on the Motorsport UK website.

• F1 Pre-season Testing No-one knows what to make of last week’s Formula One test in Barcelona. The first impressions of the new 2022-spec cars was positive – although the aerodynamic changes have caused a return to the ‘porpoising’ of the ground-effect era. Will the F1 teams get that fixed before the season starts? They have another test in ten days time.