Thursday 22 January 2009

NEWS: Racer Alfa T33/3


Racer RCR47A/B
Alfa Romeo T33/3 #4 and #6

These photos in from Racer of the just released Alfa Romeo T33/3, enjoy.

Car number 6 (RCR47B) is the Alfa Romeo T33/3 that won the Buenos Aires 200 miles during 1970. It was driven by A.deAdamich and P.Courage.

Car number 4 (RCR47A) is the Alfa Romeo T33/3 that raced in the Buenos Aires 1000kms during 1970. It was driven by N.Galli/R.Stommelen.


As you would expect from Racer, the detail levels and paint finish on these new Alfas looks just amazing. Unfortunately I only have the pleasure of owning a single Racer but you certainly can tell a Racer when you see it. A slot car almost too beautiful to drive, almost. Front grill and intake detail look stunning, you have to love the Alfa Romeo heart and logo on the front grill.

For more information about the T33/3 or Racer slot cars,


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Sunday 18 January 2009

NEWS: Scalextric 2009 Part 2

Scalextric 2009 Range
Presentation - The Modern Enduros

Scalextric recently released their 2009 model line up and it looks like there will be something for everyone. Recently, I showed off some of the planned classic releases for 2009 which look very impressive. I thought it only fair to also feature some of the planned enduro slots Scalextric plans to release in 2009 - Prepare to be impressed. Firstly, the new Jaguar XKR GT3 looks like it will be a great addition to Scalextrics already large GT range of slots.

2009 will see another livery for both the Maserati MC12 and the Jaguar XKRS. The 'vitaphone' MC12 looks good, lets hope they get the green right. The 'rocketsports' XKRS looks like it might be a striking livery although I was never that impressed by Scalextrics XKRS. The model comes with no lights, (like the real car) but still I prefer my Scalextric slots to have lights not stickers, makes them more realistic and fun to drive I think.

For Ford fans, there is great news in that Scalextric is going to finally release Ford GT in full race trim with rear wing. If you ever played Grand Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 you will remember this car from the opening movie. An amazing looking car and one I've been waiting for ever since Scalextric released the road GT all those years ago - Now I just have to wait till the 3rd quater of 2009 to get my hands on it!


For more information about Scalextric's 2009 range,

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Wednesday 14 January 2009

REVIEW: Slot.it Ferrari F40

Slot.it Ferrari F40
'totip' LeMans 1994

In December 2008, Slot.it released the second of its highly anticipated Ferrari F40 kits. The 'totip' LeMans 1994 F40 is the first of many expected and exciting race liveries. Each kit contains approximately 30 pieces and if you've ever played around with slot cars, you shouldn't have too many problems, in theory. As I'll detail, I found the reality to be quite different.

The picture below shows how the F40 kit is packaged, the body of the car comes separately well packed in the standard Slot.it clear crystal box. All additional pieces are also well packed in a individual sealed plastic bags.


Slot.it provide basic instructions on how to assemble the F40, you can find these on the packaging itself. Slot.it also provides some additional important notes (A4 page) regarding a few minor build problems. At first I just thought this was Slot.its usual attention to detail, but these additional notes need to be followed carefully if you are to get the most out the F40.

Firstly the cockpit tray has a tendency to flex towards the chassis which can cause it to interfere with the motor pod. You will need to hot glue the cockpit tray to the body roughly in the centre. See the photo below for exactly where. While the glue is drying, be sure to gently push the cockpit tray into the body to maximise motor clearance. Even after successfully increasing motor clearance, the motor pod does not have the same freedom of movement you will find in a typical Slot.it model. In the end I loosened the body mount screws a few turns to compensate for this.

The next problem is that the body mounting posts are too small for the standard Slot.it body mounting screws. Fortunately Slot.it have provided some smaller diameter screws which you will find in a clear plastic bag attached to the inside of the kit box, (these screws are not phillips head screws which I found a little annoying as the rest of the car uses phillips screws). Unfortunately I found these smaller diameter screws to be still too large so be very careful when screwing them in. If you have ever split a mounting post you will know what I mean.

The picture above shows the fully assembled chassis. When assembling the wheels, be sure to remove the excess plastic flashing with a sharp knife from the plastic wheel inserts. One thing I would add here is that Slot.it still seem to be having trouble with their wheel inserts being slightly too deep for their rims, (particulary the rears). In the above and below photo you can see how the insert sticks out a little which doesn't look very good. You could fix this by sanding down the depth of the insert but I didn't.

I was also unable to assemble the front axle on my F40. I had to drill the front plastic wheels in order to be able to insert the axle. Be very careful if you have to do this as if you increase the front wheel axle hole diameter by too much, the wheels will not attach well and will come off while racing. I used a 3/32 drill bit to slightly increase the diameter, this worked perfectly.

The last complaint I have with the model is that Slot.it still hasn't addressed the issue of the stiff guide post. I assembled my F40's guide and it was just to tight a fit. If you were to leave this, perhaps after several hundred laps the guide would loosen so what. I find it better just too slightly increase the diameter of the guide hole, I use a 5/32 drill bit to do this. Once done the guide will move very freely.

I found the finish and paint quality of my F40 to be excellent and up to Slot.its usual high standard. Detail levels on the car are fantastic with numerous vents and grills (see photo below) which help to make the slot look very realistic on the track.



A very nice touch is the open slide window for the driver which you can see in the below photo. Driver and dash detail are also very high.

One small body complaint I have is that Slot.it haven't used their usual rubber rear vision mirrors. The rear vision mirrors are very small and I can't see them lasting more than one serous 'off'. My mirrors were also attached at quite different angles which was very noticeable from above the model.

Rear window detail is some of the best I have seen in any slot and as you can see from the below photo, the rear detail (lights, exhaust, tow hook, vents, etc.) really look great.





I had numerous quality issues with my F40, something I've never experienced from Slot.it and I have almost twenty Slot.it cars. It's clear that the quality control on this release has suffered and Slot.it will have to do a lot of work on this model before releasing it again. If I know Slot.it, they will be working on these issues as I write this article and we can expect better F40s in the future.

That being said, once these issues were sorted out, the F40 is the fastest slot to have ever run on my track. This is one FAST slot so Slot.it are certainly doing something very well. Tires are very true on the rims and the F40 eats corners for breakfast, lunch and dinner! The slot is a pleasure to drive once set up properly and if you remove the magnet you will find the experience just as impressive. Lets hope Slot.it sort out their quality control issues with the F40 so getting one of these babies together and running well isn't such an ordeal.


For more information about Slot.it slot cars,

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Sunday 11 January 2009

NEWS: Scalextric 2009 Range

Scalextric 2009 Range
Presentation - The Classics

Scalextric recently released their 2009 model line up and it looks like there will be something for everyone. I thought I'd show some of the planned classic releases for 2009. I'm very impressed Scalextric has decided to release some more of the earlier F1 periods. The 1992 F1 Williams and McLaren are a fantastic addition to the Scalextric range. Now if we can just get them to revisit some of their earlier releases like the JPS Lotus and 6 wheel March Ford.

Some great news is Scalextric is going to release the Ferrari 250 GTO during the first quater of 2009. I don't think I'm the only one who will be keen to see what this release will be like. I always liked the Fly Ferrari 250 GTOs but it never reached the stardom of other Fly classic. Scalextric's release will give the 250 GTO front and rear lights which is something missing from Fly's releases. One area Scalextric may have trouble with will be matching the Fly 250 GTOs on-track performance.

The 'Brut 33' Mustang (below) is particularly exciting if you're an Aussie as it was driven by an Australian driving legend, Alan Moffat. I have seen many a Brut 33 Mustang respray so this release will be a VERY popular one Down Under, unfortunately we will have to wait till the third quater to get our hands on it.



For more information about Scalextric's 2009 range,

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Thursday 8 January 2009

NEWS: Slot.it Ferrari F40


Slot.it Ferrari F40
'totip' LeMans 1994


In December 2008, Slot.it released the second of its highly anticipated Ferrari F40 kits. The 'totip' LeMans 1994 F40 is the first of many expected and exciting race liveries. ManicSlots will be featuring this Slot.it kit over the next week and will be examining its assembly and on track performance.


For more information about Slot.it slot cars,


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Sunday 4 January 2009

NEWS: SCX Redbull Fever


SCX Aston Martin DBR9 Redbull
SCX Ferrari 360 GTC Redbull
SCX Skoda Fabia WRC Redbull


I just received these Redbull SCX slots in the mail from Steve at SCX UK, thanks mate. They are impressive looking models and although the Skoda WRC isn't my type of car, I have to say it's very impressive on the track. Over the past few years I have developed a fondness for the 'modern' SCX slot car releases and these 3 slots strengthen that opinion.

Detail levels are high and importantly, these slots are a lot of fun to drive around the track. What's better is when my 4 year old son drives them I don't have a completely terrified look on my face. With the exception of Scalextric slot cars, I think modern SCX slots represent the best value for money on the slot market today.













Of the 3 slots, the Ferrari 360 GTC is hands down the fastest on my track. Times were 6.22, 6.83 and 7.14 for the Ferrari 360 GTC, Skoda Fabia and Aston Martin DBR9 respectively. I was pleasantly surprised by the Skoda as it doesn't have the SCX floating motor pod and is 4 wheel drive but still beat the Aston Martin. The Aston was having trouble keeping it in the slot and a small bit of weight up front may correct this resulting in better times.

You can checkout more lap times HERE

The Ferrari 360 is simply an excellent slot on the track and very enjoyable to drive. This is my second SCX Ferrari 360 and they are both great slots. If you've been thinking about getting a 360, stop thinking.

For more information about SCX products,


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