| October 5 2006 Review |
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 NINCO Safety Walls 'Quick Look' Review by Eric Cropper [Click here to chat about this item on our Forum] Basically, we provide all the information that a speed crazed fool would ever need. However, sometimes caution is thrown to the wind and we forget about safety. I hope to give a little back for safety’s sake with this review.  You’ve lubed what needed lube. You’ve sanded and trued the tires. Maybe, you opted for silicones that will handle the torque of the new power plant you just popped into the chassis. Let’s go to the track and pull the trigger. That shiny new car is barreling down the straightway heading for the turn. “Oh crap!” You drive it to deep into the curve and it comes out of the slot. “Heads up!” It’s heading for your spectators or even worse the edge of your track table and a 3 ft plunge to the floor. This is where Ninco’s safety walls and fences (#10220) can save lives and paint jobs.  I discovered these when I agreed to put up a 4 lane oval for my company’s United Way fundraiser event. I bought 10 of these walls from someone on HRW’s forum. When I got them I knew I had to have more to pull off the booth’s theme of Talladega Nights. (Just for those getting ready to correct me via email. I know Talladega is a tri-oval.)  The ‘Boss’ hooked me up with Ninco Bob’s email address and an email later 5 packs of were on their way to me. I decided to do this review to share my experience using the walls for the first time and to help promote them for MRC.  PACKAGE CONTENTS: Here’s what you get for around $15.00 per pack: 6 wall pieces 6 fence pieces DIMENSIONS:(for one complete section) 4 inches tall 7 7/8 inches long Once a wall section is clipped to the track it’s only 3 1/2 inches tall. APPEARENCE:  Above is what one completed wall section looks like. Now tell me these don’t scream NASCAR walls for an oval track. Just add sponsor logos. The added detail of rubber and scrapes will come from the bumpin’ and bangin’ during the races.  Now when you a placing these walls around the turns don’t worry about flexibility. They are thin, but solid and have ribs spaced down the backside for added strength.   Located on the front of the wall are 3 clips that hold the wall in place. The hook on the bottom wraps under the bottom edge of the track and the peg above the hook slides over the edge at the top of the track. Along the top of the wall you see the 3 slots for the fence tabs to slide into. It’s pretty simple to add these pieces to Ninco track, having them line up and butt up against each other. (Pictured below)  However, I was using Scalextric Sport track with some R3 aprons. These walls fit the track just fine, but when it came to fitting the edge of the aprons they came up a little short. They stayed on, but angled slightly away from the track because of the width of the apron lip. Also, spacing was an issue with how the Sport pieces were molded on the bottom.  I solved the leaning issue when using Scaley aprons by adding pieces of foam core against the back of the walls with hot glue. The outside walls of a NASCAR oval have supports similar looking to mine. So, paint them to match the walls and it’s just more added realism. I will make the recommendation that you spend a little more and buy the black foam core. Why? Because the foam in the black has more density than the white. When you cut it the foam doesn’t rip or pull out like the regular white foam core. A good sharp blade and metal straight edge also add in clean cuts. (Flash back to the art school days)  Here’s a better shot of the fence piece. Check out the detail. You got to love it. PERFORMANCE: After 10 hours of rookie racing and four cars wide they never failed to keep the cars confined to the track. The girl in the picture below raced 4 races in a row with the boys. She got the hang of it quickly and was pushing her car to the point of no return. The DeWalt car finally flew out of its slot, crossed the 2 outside lanes and hit the fence while airborne. All that happened was that the tab on the end of the fence popped out and the car bounced back onto the track. That’s solid. (“As a rock. That’s what our love is.) Sorry, couldn’t resist. Simply put, get some and you’ll love them too.  JUDGEMENT DAY: I love these walls. They add serious detail and realism to any track. The best thing is they’re not just for looks. They function just like the real thing. Without the added strength of the foam core or similar material it is possible for a section to give or pop out of place from a good solid hit from a car or two. If you take the extra step like I did to beef them up with the foam core you will end up with rock solid walls. Simply put, get some and you’ll love them too I personally thank Bob at MRC – Model Rectifier Corp for donating enough packs for me to finish my oval. The track was a hit and our department brought in over $8600 at the end of our event day. The last of the fundraiser days is this week. Between these “festival” days and weekly employee paycheck donations our company will raise $500,000+ for the United Way. This has been an annual event for the past 16 years. Do the math. Eric Cropper AKA legionofone ecropper@hotmail.com |
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