Over 150,000th visitors to Slot Car Garage!SCG hit this mark on Friday October 20, 2000 at about 4PM EST - Jim Schutt was the 150,000th visitor to the site!!! Thanks to everyone who visits this website, really appreciate it :) |
SCG Email Discussion List? I am thinking about starting a very small email discussion list for people who are into collecting and racing slot cars at home. There are lists already out there but this would mostly cover the segment of the hobby who collects or races at home. It will cover 1/24, 1/32, and HO but will not involve the commercial or raceway or vintage section of the hobby but details about racing / collecting 1/24, 1/32 and HO at home. Also, it will involve working with 1/24 scale slot car parts and model kits to create cars at home for use on Carrera track and many other things. If I do start it, it would only be on a beta or testing phase at first to see how it pans out for us all. Email me with your thoughts or ideas if you would be interested in something like this at webmaster@slotcargarage.com
Review Time Again - This time around SCG takes a look at the FLY Classic Porsche 908/3 1/32 scale slot car.
It's Alive, the '55 :) Model Motoring has finally released another new car for 2000. It is the 1955 Bel Air 210 Sedan HO slot car with a new old stock Aurora Thunderjet chassis. From what I know, four colors will be out at first and more will follow.
More Model Kit Slot Car Conversion Help - New section called the Ferret Model Kit Body Guide tells you what model kit bodies will fit on the various Ferret slot car chassis. This will help you in your quest in converting model kits over into slot cars for running on your 1/24 scale tracks such as Carrera and Sears / Marx.
Sources for Slot Car Items!!! I was in the Value-City Department Store the other day and I found some of the Artin 1/32 GT Champion 2 lane sets there with the GT1 Porsches priced at $50.00 (remember they are in black boxes with the 1/32 cars seen through the window) and the Hot Wheels Electric Racing HO Stunt Jam sets at $20.00 with Custom 40 Ford Pickup and Twin Mill II slot cars. For NASCAR 1/24 slot car fans, they have tons of the old 1998-99 issue 1/24 ProFinish Snap Taurus and Monte Carlo model kits such as Dupont #24, Goodwrench #3, Cheerios #26, Exide #99, etc. for $3.99 each!!!! You can pop these on Parma 4.5 inch wb FCR chassis #578 and use Plafit home set motors or similar to run on your 1/24 Carrera layout :)
New Reviews!!! SCG takes a look at a new slot car game for the PC called Hot Wheels Slot Car Racing and how it compares to 3D Slot Car Racing. Also, test drive of the BUM 1/32 Go-Kart Slot Car.
Electronic Controllers -We take the new Carrera Electronic Thumb Controller and modify it with alligator clips for use on the SCG Custom Carrera 1/24 layout. I don't think it will blow up since the instructions says it has protection against reverse polarity. A direct plug-in for stock Carrera tracks but I have mine custom wired for alligator clips.
Another Project Build-Up Just got my hands on the new Acura Integra Type R model kit from Revell. Follow this how-to for converting the model kit into a slot car using a Parma FCR chassis. Great sports car for home track racing.
I guess wishes do come true :) Slot Car Garage reviews some brand new 1/32 muscle cars from Carrera this month. The 1967 Corvette 427 Stingray and the 1965 Ford Mustang. The new brass front wheel sets from Wizzard also get tested for you HO fans.
Sale! Sale! Sale! Model Motoring is giving away a Free Candy Red Willys or 1967 Camaro body when ordering a Willys or 67 Camaro HO slot car. You can place an order for these in their online store, go there now and get some free bodies for racing. This offer is only available in their online store for new orders only.
Rumors? Playing Mantis is said to be developing their own HO slot car chassis for their line of Thunderjets. One for the AFX chassis type and the Thunderjet body type. I also know that Model Motoring is going to introduce the Thunderplus Aurora Thunderjet type chassis for 2001.
Changes
to Team Racing 4 Lane Set for 2000??? I didn't quite notice it but
from reading the alt.hobbies.slotcars newsgroup postings, the new set as
pictured here includes some different track pieces and borders all around
the course. Looks even better :) JCPenney
has this exclusive Artin 4 Lane 1/32 Team Racing Set in their new Holiday Gift Catalog for
2000-2001 It's on sale for $99.99 until December 26, 2000 and then the
normal price is $109.99 Read some reviews of
the 1999 set. The new item number for this set is RB671-0103A
Another New Gallery Section - I have added a special rotating image gallery to the ever growing Photo Gallery section. QuickTime 4 Plug-in required to rotate and view the images. Check it out :) Hopefully I will get some time to add some more of these special images to the gallery.
2000 RCHTA Show Report - I would love to visit one of
these shows but maybe sometime in the future we can make a trip out to one
of them. For you 1/24, 1/25 scale slot car builders who take model
kits and convert them into slots will really like what they have in store
for 2001. Thanks to Scale Auto
Kingdom for the photos and information from the show.
Some highlights for 2001:
AMT (Photos)
- 1950 Studebaker Coupe, 1958 Plymouth Belvedere (similar to the Fury in
Christine!), 1965 Chevelle Station Wagon Buyer's Choice, and some others.
Revell / Monogram (Photos)
- 1968 Firebird 400, BMW Z8, New Mini Cooper (neat!), Acura Integra Type R
(import fans rejoice!), 1992 Mustang Convertible Lowrider (why?), 1937 Ford Coupe Street Rod, 1940 Ford Convertible Street Rod, and
a line called Black Top Warriors - VW Bug, Jeep Honcho, and Custom Pickup,
the new NASCAR Dodge Stock Car plus a few others.
As soon as these are released, I plan to get my hands on them and see what
slot car chassis will be a direct bolt-on for racing :) There will be
other stuff coming out too so keep watch here for what goodies I find and
get info about.
For October, Carrera is taking over!!! Reviews of the 2000 releases: the 1/32 Mercedes 300 SLR, limited edition chrome 1/24 Mercedes W 125 and we also have reviews of the 1/32 Audi R8R and BMW V12 Le Mans '99 slot cars including the Exclusiv 1/24 BMW V12.
Is this a sign that 1/32 slot cars are getting more popular? I got a color catalog in the mail the other day from Herrington: The Enthusiast Catalog. This catalog contains neat items not relating to slot cars so I was surprised to see 1/32 slot cars pictured for sale on page 19. This includes a Scalextric set and accessories along with extra 1/32 FLY cars you can order. Could this be a sign that it's getting popular again as a mainstream hobby? They have a website for the Herrington print catalog so you can view online what they have in 1/32 slots. We have ads in Scale Auto Enthusiast for SCX and Scalextric-USA. Someone also used an old vintage Aurora AFX AP Corvette in Yellow / Black as a prop on the box photo for a small Tim Allen Wood Garage Construction kit.
Tons of stuff added to Slot Car Garage for September: Reviews of the 1/32 SCX Arrows F-1 and FLY Panoz LMP-1 Roadster slot cars. Also a T-jet Tire Comparison for HO. The 1/24 1971 Dodge Charger R/T Project is now finished! Take a look at the final product and read about how it was created. The various sections of the gallery have new cars added and there is finally stuff posted in the vintage section.
What's new in the HO World? The new HO (can we call them HO?) motorcycle and monster truck sets from Mattel (Formerly Tyco) Electric Racing look hideous. They took new larger size bodies / units and snapped the entire piece onto 440X2 chassis. They have dummy wheels on the bikes and trucks with the X2 chassis underneath a small box under the vehicle. I could live with the bikes but why not buy the molds from Marchon / Empire to do the Monster Trucks the correct way. They could have easily tooled up some new bodies and used the Marchon HO Monster Truck chassis. The sets are getting stranger and weirder each year :(
There is some new stuff coming from Scale Auto and Wizzard HO for the Aurora HO Thundejets. It looks like the folks at Model Motoring Inc. better get their act together and release some more new cars. I think they would do much better if they would only release a few colors at a time like the people at Playing Mantis are doing for their Thunderjets.
Looking for a low-cost start-up set for 1/32 scale? JCPenney still lists the Artin 4 Lane 1/32 Team Racing Set in their new Holiday Gift Catalog for 2000-2001 It's on sale for $99.99 until December 26, 2000 and then the normal price is $109.99 Read some reviews of this set from 1999. A good starter set which allows you to run FLY, Ninco, SCX, Scalextric slot cars and upgrade to a better power supply, controllers if needed. Track is very high quality, cars are ok.
An excellent article for 1/32 scale: Slot Car Tuning Tips For Plastic Chassis by Athina Zarkada and Jim McLaughlin has been added to the Racing / Collecting Tips & Tricks section.
Slot Car Garage is thinking about having a local racing series on the Carrera 1/24 layout using street car model bodies with either FCR or Repro AMT chassis. The racing series section will have complete details about this series shortly.
Some new cars and a track layout added to the respective Enthusiasts sections of the gallery.
Vintage article Tips on Fixing your Slot Car's Handling Problems added to Tips & Tricks section.
Reviews for August - Pro-Track 1/32 Spider chassis, the Ninco Go-Kart, and finally the Cartrix BMW Z3 Roadster.
Playing Mantis has released new color schemes for their Thunderjets line of HO cars. These new color schemes reflect some of the older Aurora Thunderjet (JL Thunderjet500s) and AFX (JL Thunderjets) cars like the Blue / Lime #17 Chevelle, Brown Nomad, etc. Some are pictured in the HO gallery section that I added to my collection.
Updated the SCG Tracks section with new photos of the Carrera 1/24 and Tomy HO layouts.
Received this email from Electric Dreams about their proxy race: [read it now]
Two New Reviews For July: The new FLY 1/32 Porsche 917K Martini #22 LE MANS 1971 slot car gets a shakedown and we take a look at the Pink-Kar 1/32 1954 VW Beetle slot car.
More photos have been added to the Slot Car Garage Gallery under the Fun & Games part.
ER Raceway is selling a new HO Silicone Coated Sponge Tire/Wheel set for Thunderjets just released by Wizzard.
"Just FYI, the Artin set XU671-0412A is *still* available
as of June 20, 2000. As a bonus there is a 15% off sale good until
the 28th, promotional code 2HOT.
This remains the only place I've been able to find any of the Artin 1-32 stuff,
other than spares directly from 1-800-97-ARTIN.
-Bill"
Model Motoring Inc. is going to release their first HO slot car set - this set is due for release in the end of October 2000. If you pre-order the set before July 31st, 2000 you will save $20 off the price of the set. For more details visit www.modelmho.com or order at www.model-motoring.com I plan to review this set as soon as it is released here at Slot Car Garage. The exclusive set-only car is a bonus as well :)
Two new reviews: 1/32 FLY Lola T-70 Sunoco #9 and the brand new MRRC Shelby Cobra 427 1/32 slot car in the RadTrax Reviews section.
I am working on a new multimedia section for the Slot Car Garage Gallery with some videos - one is already there for you to download and view. I plan to add more in the near future.
The 300th site have been added into the slot car racing web ring!!! Thanks to all who joined :)
My Featured RadTrax Review for May is the New VW Beetle 1/32 Slot Car from Scalextric.
Did you know that ProTrack has just released a new 1/32 chassis called the Spider? Check it out on their site.
The World Show 2000 is currently underway for April 28, 29, and 30th Someone already posted a World Show Model Motoring GTO car on eBay Friday night of the show!!!
Take a moment to remember Mitzi (the slot car cat) 1986-2000. She passed away in her sleep on Saturday April 22, 2000
Email I received from MRRC, I reviewed the Chaparral #66 and their Cobra...
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Please find photographs of the Chaparral #66 and 427 Cobra both cars are now released onto the market. We have made 3500 chaparrals #66 and 3000 blue Cobras and the 250GTO kit all these have been allocated to our distributors and we will be starting on a white Cobra and #65 Chaparral next month. Once these have sold out we will not be producing them again. |
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1/32 New Releases - Scalextric has released the New Beetle from VW in Red and Green color schemes. A review of this neat little 1/32 slot car is coming here for May so check back for my complete write-up and test drive about the car in the RadTrax Reviews Section. They can be purchased now from RadTrax's Online Store.
I am getting the odds and ends finished on the rest of my Carrera 1/24 layout. I can run cars on it at the moment but just finishing some custom track borders and other various things. The Tomy HO 2 lane layout will include the special Tomy 2 lane intersection and a Trakmate infrared lap counter. It will be slightly different than before with more twists and turns but still will include a long straight or two to open up the HO slot cars such as the ones from Model Motoring Inc. My Track Section will include photos and info when I get some time :)
More photos added to the gallery
including Dana Marsden's 1/32 scale Rally Track. I finally got down to
run on his track and took second place with Team Mitsubishi and had the
fastest lap time for the night. I never raced on the track before and
the rally style of racing is really fun :)
Two new releases from Model Motoring Inc. in their HO line of slot cars. Take a look at their site www.modelmho.com for more information. They have released a nice Red Alert 70 Chevelle and a Royal Bobcat 1968 GTO.
The new Excalibur 1/32 Chassis from Parma will not fit the shorter wheelbase bodies from Ninco such as the Porsche 356-A Coupe and others. I found this out when I was upgrading the 356-A Coupe for my second part of the review. I am planning on getting another Ninco 1/32 car for testing the chassis.
New chassis design instructions in the SCG Articles Section.
Review of the 1/32 Ninco EVITA #50198 Porsche 356-A Coupe without and with Parma Excalibur Chassis Upgrade
Update to the ProSlot Toyota GT1 Review with a new SlotIt Traction Magnet added to the car instead of the weight.
More to come including more pics of my Carrera 1/24 layout and my new Tomy 2 lane HO layout.
SlotCarGarage.com had received over 100,000 visitors. This happened on Super Bowl Sunday January 30, 2000 at about 9PM EST. The visitor was Thomas J. Stessman ToyRoom@harlannet.com who hit the 100,000th mark.
Added HO slotless info to the FAQ, a new section to the gallery.
I have added some HO slot cars to the swap meet, these are great to run on your layout :) and a new Artin 1/32 layout in the track gallery.
New review has been posted of the ProSlot 1/32 Toyota GT1 slot car.
Slot Car Garage tests the new HO Tomy AFX SRT slot car - review is coming soon !!!
Try out the new Slot Car Garage Bulletin Boards, you may read messages as a Guest but posting or replying requires registration.
The FCR Chassis guide has been updated in the Tips and Tricks section. I plan to include more articles in this section for the future.
The SlotCarGarage Affiliate Store -We are working with Barnes and Noble to offer you various slot car and automotive related books including software and music. Check it out but remember it is under construction. You can still use it for ordering.
Ninco in their 1/32 slot car line is going to be producing a Kart, yes a Kart! Take a look at a photo of the prototype.
Posted Review of the MRRC 1/32 Chaparral 2
Another update Jan 20, 2000: More sources tell me that IT IS indeed available for ordering still from JCPenney. Order it and be patient...
An email from Todd Gamel:
Hi Ken,
Just got off the phone with JCP (1-800-222-6161) and ordered the Artin
4-lane set. The operator told me it would be here Wednesday 19th...In Fact
I got them to give me a discount because of the discontinued foul-up back
in December. I had a $15.00 off coupon good only in December, because of
all the problems, they ave me $30.00 OFF!!!! The total price with shipping
is suposed to be $98.50.
Will keep you informed......
Update Jan 17, 2000: According to some emails I get that this set is out of stock and not available with others stating that they were able to order this. In any event, just give it a try and see what happens. Please be patient...
I received this email from Dan Forsythe about the 1/32 4 lane Artin set sold at JCPenney...
Well I checked the web site and item number XU671-0412A is still working and shows the Team Artin 1/32 4 lane Slot Car Set now listed at $109.95 but hey that's still a very good price. Ed at EJ's Hobbies is even excited about this set and he usually doesn't get excited over the current stuff most of the time :)
I hope that everyone had a nice New Years and Christmas / Holiday season. Hopefully some of you received slot car items as gifts. If you are still in the holiday mood, check out the Snoopy Sleigh slot car by Bob Hartje.
For my current project, I am working on my new Carrera 1/24 Exclusiv layout. I am replacing my Riggen 1/32 track with the Carrera stuff. This stuff is huge! My layout section will include details and photos of the track when completed. I might even include some photos of the construction as well. I am wiring it up to use my 20amp 13.8 or so volt power supply and Parma controllers instead of the stock units. This way, I am safe and can run the powerful stuff as well.
AMT is releasing some interesting model kits for 2000. I just picked up a truly unique model kit. A factory pre-painted Edsel. Yes, everything is pre-painted plastic not diecast. You assemble as you would a normal model kit but it's all painted for you. The body will be used for a future slot car project. More interesting 1/24 1/25 model kits are coming so be on the look-out for them :)
Sincerely,
Ken J Marx - Slot Car Garage
webmaster@slotcargarage.com
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