| January 16, 2006 Review |
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 AutoArt 1/24 Scale 2004 Subaru WRC By Shawn Smith Appearance:  What could be better than one 1/24 scale to play with? Why two of course and thanks to SlotCarWorld.com we got in a pair of 1/24 scale 2004 Subaru WRC cars to check out. Cosmetically the two cars don't differ much, although they are modeled on cars run in different World Rally events, so for the most part we're going to focus on the details that both share as well as the matching performance they offer.  First of all... being used to running 1/32 cars myself there is no mistaking the larger size of these cars. I know in the image above it might be hard to tell which scale you are looking at yet in person, and on the track with a smaller scale car, the size of these cars is unmistakable.  Sitting on the track next to the only 1/32 version of the Subaru I own the 1/24 version from AutoArt dwarfs its smaller cousin when side by side. Measuring close to 7 and 1/4 inches long the 1/24 car is a virtual giant in a 1/32 scale world. Now obviously you need a track with enough to width to run these beats, such as Carrera track, but even with eight inches of track width these 3 inch wide cars begin to take up the room quickly.  One benefit of a larger scale car, besides the 'cool factor', is the level of detail that can be accomplished on a car. For the most part the detailing isn't any more impressive than we are seeing in most of todays 1/32 scale offerings however what is there is a bit easier to see.  Take for example the metal detailing such as the grill and most specifically the hood pins on either side of the car. These 'simulated' hood pins are not painted on but are small multi-part metal details that you wouls swear could be functional. The solid silver circle stays attached to the hood while a tiny silver loop of metal can be lifted and moved on the two tiny bars connected to the hood.   Other notable details such as the hood painted washer jets and windshield wiper arm detailing are typical high quality AutoArt as is the near flawless paint job. Here at the back of the 1/24 AutoArt Subaru we see more of the metal body panel fasteners as well as a hint of chrome-plated plastic exhaust detail and the giant trademark Subaru wing with flat black painted surfaces.   Up on the roof each car gets treated with different decorations, again because they modeled after cars from two different WRC events, however both share an assortment of different length rigid-plastic antenna details that will bend if you manage to roll one of these cars on its top.   Of course with larger cars comes a need for larger driver's and AutoArt does not dissapoint here either. With Subaru logos painted on their helmets and black pupils painted on their eyes these larger driver figures are ready for the road if they only knew where they were going.  And judging by the co-driver's spiral notebook they have no clue where they are going as once again AutoArt has left out detailing this small part even though they went through the trouble of simulating rings on the top of the notebook.  Tires and rims are typical AutoArt with a treaded tire pattern that will be easier to see once we get to performance part of the review and the rims are nicely done with separetly applied brake rotor details that are smaller in the back then in the front and are etched with less 'vents' than the front brakes have.   Finally, an AutoArt just wouldn't seem like an AutoArt without the bright blue glow of simulated XENON driving lights and red tailight details. Just as I noticed in AutoArt's 1/32 offerings the front lights are very bright while the tailights come off a bit more dim yet for 'effect' they perform the task well enough. No brake light feature built in yet but in time who knows.   Performance:  Getting more in to the workings of the 1/24 AutoArt Subaru we're going to see a lot of things that will look familiar from AutoArt's 1/32 collection. To remove the body from the chassis there are four screws you will need to remove, two at either side of the front and two on either side of the back of the chassis.  Unplugging the lights is the same process as used on AutoArt's 1/32 offerings. A small white plug needs to be disconnected to allow the body to be removed from the chassis. In the image below we get a look at how AutoArt mounts the lighting circuit board to the underside of the body and in the case of this all-wheel drive Subaru how they use tape to help secure the wiring up and out of the way of the cars gearing.   And speaking of gearing the AutoArt 1/24 Subaru WRC comes equipped with white plastic pinions and white plastic crown gears fitted to both its front and rear alxes. Ironically this is the exact same gear combination as used on their recently reviewed 1/32 scale Citroen Xsara WRC however don't expect the same acceleration and braking as found on the smaller, and lighter, Citroen car even with the larger can-motor installed on this larger 1/24 scale car.   In fact, don't expect much in the way of braking at all as the additional weight of the 1/24 Subaru simply keeps on rolling long after you've let go of the trigger. This was compounded even more once I properly greased the ungreased gears and lubed both the front drive shaft bushing and four axle-bushings. Lubing the car also made it notably more quiet running although I would deal with a certain amount of noise if it meant a better braking response.   In the downforce department AutoArt again goes with the side by side lengthwise mounting of two bar magnets to help in the traction department although much to my surprise the car is very easy to slide around every turn of the track with both magnets still in position in the chassis. Keeping in mind that these look to be the same size as used on AutoArt's 1/32 offerings we can attribute a lot of that sliding characteristic to the additional mass of the larger scale car on magnets that would otherwise heavily pin down its smaller 1/32 scale cousins.  Something else that might explain much of the Subarus tail-wagging habits is the position of the magnets in relation to the track rails underneath. As you can witness by the image above the magnets sit just to the outside of the rails on both my Carrera test track and NINCO test track rather than directly over the rails. This no doubt keeps the back end more 'free' than if the magnets were placed right over the rails yet because this is a WRC car I found the sliding to feel almost 'correct' for the type of car that it is and I will no doubt leave them where they are.  Yet another similarity to its 1/32 relatives the 1/24 scale AutoArt Subaru comes packing a similar, if not the exact same size, sprung guide. Surpisingly, even though the AutoArt guide has been ridiculed by some as being inadequate for a few of the 1/32 cars, on this 1/24 scale car the guide was never an issue and it felt quite stable in the slot unless the back end was slid too far out to the side.  And man when these things drift you better give them some room as once again the larger size of these cars comes in to play and an eight inch wide section of track dissapears quickly once the back end breaks loose. In the image above you can see how the back end not only swings out to block the lane to the outside but the rear bumper actually hangs slightly over the 4 inch wide Carrera border on the outside of the turn.  You get two of these size cars drifting side by side and a two lane turn easily becomes a one lane turn leaving your passing opportunities on the straights or by diving harder in to the next turn, which due to the lack of brakes happens a lot anyway. Believe me when I say that if you want to really enjoy 'door banging' on your 1/24 scale track you'll get your money's worth with a pair of these cars doing battle.  The Final Verdict:  As with every review there comes the time when you have to put the controllers down and get to writing and every so often I find it harder than other times to stop having fun. In the case of these 1/24 AutoArt 2004 Subaru WRC cars I loved running them simply because they are so cool to watch thunder around a layout that normally only sees smaller 1/32 scale action. I love the detail, the lights and the cars ability to effortlessly slide (even with the two bar mags in place) yet there is almost always one thing I'd like to see improved and in this case it has to be the near non-existence of braking displayed by the cars. That aside they ran nicely at 14 volts and I'm surprised the mirrors stayed in place through my back-to-back chicane track sections so all said and done we had a lot of fun with this pair and we'll have to see about adding a few more cars of this size in the near future. Special thanks go to SlotCarWorld.com for providing the new AutoArt 1/24 Scale 2004 Subaru WRC for review. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions and I will be happy to answer anything that I can. Happy Slotting! Shawn Smith SJSlots@hotmail.com |
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