Monday, June 29, 2009

IMMORTAL: Scalex Mustang

IMMORTAL SLOT CARS
Scalextric Boss 302 Mustang

From time to time, ManicSlots is going to take a look at some of the 'immortal' slot cars that have been produced since the 'Fly' revolution of 1996. In 1996 Fly released the Viper, a slot car that would change the direction of the 1/32 slot car industry forever! Fly let us know that slot cars could actually resemble a racing car and introduced the slot car industry to the 'D' word, detail!

Scalextric really knew what they were doing when they decided to release the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang. The Boss 302 Mustang and Camaro have to be Scalextrics most liveried slot cars and therefore arguably, their most successful.

Of all the Mustang liveries that Scalextric have released, the Parnelli Jones and George Follmer Red, blue and white Mustang from the Trans Am races of the 1960s have to be some of the most popular. Scalextric released both of these cars in Sport and Standard editions, a mint Sport edition, (limited to 4400, this is no. 1874) is becoming quite hard to acquire.

This from Wikipedia: 'The SCCA Trans-Am series (from which the famed Pontiac Trans-Am gained its moniker) was hugely popular in the late 1960s. A version of "stock-car" racing, the five-liter class saw Detroit build some impressive handling sedans to compete. The Boss 302 program was part of an effort by the Ford Motor Company to win the coveted SCCA Trans-Am Championship in 1969 and 1970. The factory effort was headed up by the famed Bud Moore, who fielded two cars in the 1970 season, and won the championship that year, edging out the entries of Roger Penske, who leading driver Mark Donohue lost out to George Follmer. The Penske cars had triumphed in 1968 and 1969. The Boss 302's direct competition in the 1970 series were the AAR Cudas, the Pontiac Trans-Am, the AMC Javelin, and the Penske Camaros. As the cars had to be homologated to compete, the Detroit auto builders came up with interesting models to go racing with. The Ford entry for 1969 and 1970 was the Boss 302 Mustang.'

Graham Smith (Unique Cars May 1998) - 'It exploded into view like a brilliant red starburst and roared past in a blur of colour and noise. It was like nothing ever seen before and along with its driver would rock Australian motor sport to its very foundations in the years to come.'

"The time was April 1969, the place Sandown and the car was a 1969 Trans Am Mustang, the most advanced touring car to race in Australia up that point. At the wheel was Allan Moffat, the first truly professional racing driver to compete here, and on its flanks were Coca-Cola stickers suggesting he had the million dollar backing of the world’s largest soft drink manufacturer.

Rival racers feared the potent Mustang, they feared the determined Moffat, and they feared the Coke money. Their fears were well founded for Moffat and the Mustang would recast the mould of Australian motor racing.

The Sandown meeting was a relatively minor affair, but it pitted the tin-top heroes of the day against each other in a series of three 10-lap sprint races. Against the best Australia could offer, Moffat won all three races in what was a perfect start for a car that would go on to win 101 of its 151 race starts. Sandown was also the world debut of the ’69 Trans Am, and Moffat’s was its first win. Moffat’s rivals were shocked by the ease of the wins and struggled to come to grips with the reality of the car’s potential."

The no. 9 Moffat Mustang was released by Scalextric in 2008 as a limited edition run of 3500, this is car 268. Regardless of its racing history and Australian connection, this slot is one of the most impressive liveries to ever grace my track. If you can acquire one I strongly suggest you do so, the Moffat Mustang is one stunning slot.

The C2574 Scalextric 1969 Street Mustang was released in 2004 and quickly became a collector’s item.

Specifications:

  • Front axle width: 54 mm
  • Front tyre diameter: 19 mm
  • Front wheel width: 8 mm
  • Gear ratio: 11/36
  • Lights: Front only
  • Magnatraction: thick bar magnet, 3 positions
  • Motor orientation: Sidewinder, Rear wheel drive.
  • Motor: Mabuchi-S, 18,000 rpm
  • Overall length: 147 mm
  • Drive: Plastic axle bearings
  • Rear axle width: 54 mm
  • Rear tyre diameter: 20 mm
  • Rear wheel width: 8 mm
  • Guide: Self centering blade
  • Weight: 95 g
  • Wheelbase: 85 mm

You can read more about Allan Moffat Here

ManicSlot's Collectability Score: #9 Moffat Mustang - Extremely High.

ManicSlot's Collectability Score: #15/16 Parnelli/Follmer Mustang - Extremely High.


NEWS: Slot.it Mazda 787B

Slot.it Mazda 787B
Will this be the top selling slot for 2009?

Slot.it will soon be adding the Mazda 787B race car to their already impressive line-up. Slot.it seem to have made an art out of picking the right car to release and the 787B is no exception - I love this car particularly in the famous Renown livery.

The number 55 787B won Lemans in 1991 so we can expect that Slot.it will be releasing this slot in a limited edition box. If you're into collecting slot cars and have the means, I strongly recommend buying one of the Renown liveries to put away and one to enjoy. Engineering looks pretty standard for Slot.it so we can expect the 787B to be impressive on the track, how impressive only time will tell.

In their wisdom, Slot.it have decided to release the Efini livery first. Despite the Efini being what I would class as a rather boring livery, the slot is bound to sell very well as it is the first release of the new Mazda 787B model. Even though I would love to get my hands on the new 787B I think I'll be waiting till the Renown livery is released sometime in September.

Slot.it have also released what will be the third livery for the 787B, the Mazdaspeed number 18 which came 6th (7 laps behind the winner) at Le Mans in 1991.

The 787B is a striking slot car and is bound to be a top release for 2009.

You can view more photos of the 787B at Italia Slot Here

NEWS: Racer 935 Joest

Racer RCR50A&B Porsche 935 Joest
'Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft' 1980

Racer have just released a variation of their ever popular Porsche 935 K3, the Porsche 935 Joest. The variations from the K3 are not immediately obvious without studying the two cars side by side. The most obvious variation between the models is the rear wing and more angular rear profile.

There are also slight changes to the front spoiler, namely the lower lights and intakes, side intake vents are also different on the Joest and bonnet detail is varied from the K3.

The cars look striking as a pair although that would represent somewhat of a significant investment. Detail levels look truly excellent, (as we would expect from Racer) and the racing liveries are impressive too. The cars ran in the World Sports Car Prototype DRM, ('Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft ') series in 1980. The number 6 car was driven by Rolf Stommelen and the number 7 car by Volkert Merl.

You can read more about the World Sports Racing DRM Series Here

You can view more photos of the slots on the Racer Website Here