| October 2002 Review |
|
| Honey, I shrunk the slot car. This can't be the "real" slot car, it must be some kind of mistake. Where's the rest of it? Rubberband powered too, I suppose? Is this some kind of joke? | |
| It's no joke, and it is a slot car. It's the Seat 600E made by Reprotec, and I had to chuckle when I first saw it. It's small, even smaller than the recent Ninco Mini release. It's cute, and my daughter called it a |
|
"Bug". It's not a Bug, but it's small enough to be confused for one. It looks similar to a Volkswagen Squareback. But whatever you may want to call it, it is inarguably small. Puny. Tiny. Micro. Small. And it's cute. The driver and passenger appear to be female, the car itself sports a roof rack. Actually, the car is well detailed. Aside from the chrome roof-rack, it also features chrome door handles, windshield wipers, headlight |
|
| bezels and bumpers, as well as a chrome license plate light. There are clear headlight lenses and clear red tail lights. A lot of work went into the creation of this little car, and it deserves a closer look. | |
| Okay, it's not perfect. There is a lot of flash on the chrome parts and body. A little X-Acto knife work would clean everything up nicely. The driver and passenger figures are painted only marginally, but look fine if you don't get too picky. The interior is only a flat tray, but there's not a lot of room to work with here. Did I mention how small this car is? There is a lot to this little car, and detail wise I'd have to say that this car has more than many new releases. Per square inch, well, it's probably equal to FLY quality! |
| The tires are small, probably the smallest 1:32 scale tires I've seen, not counting the Ninco Karts. The wheels look to be a dull silver with a chrome insert, the tires treaded like rain tires similar to SCX Rally tires (only smaller). There is a small bar magnet forward of the motor, but it doesn't feel like it does much. It does little to hold the car on the track. |
|
| I was surprised to find not an HO motor, but a small 1:32 sized can motor. It's a 13,000rpm Reprotec "Mini" motor. AN HO style motor similar to the Ninco Karts might have been enough for this little car, but I gotta respect a large motor in a small car. I am an American, after all. Also under the "hood" we find a plastic crown gear, brass rear axle bushings, the traction magnet and the guide post. By golly, it is a slot car, with everything that a slot car needs, all there in a small little package. |
| After oiling the gears and bushings, I headed for the track. I found that there was an excess amount of noise coming from the car. Upon inspection, I discovered that on the inner portion of the gear there were two mold lines that interfered with the motor shaft when the gear is rotated. A little X-Acto knife work easily removed this flash, and the car quieted down significantly. Truing the tires is a must on this car, and once done the real fun begins. |
|
| Okay, I know what you're thinking... Will it keep up with your FLY Viper? Nope. Will it blow away a Scalextric GT-40? Um, no. How about that Ninco Mini? Not quite. Well, will it at least keep up with an SCX Rally car without magnet? YES! In fact, it blows right past them on the straights. The corners? Well, you gotta slow down a bit more than you might be used to, but this is understandable. Heck, it's only about 3/4 as wide as the SCX Peugeot Rally car. The tires are only about 3/4 the diameter as the SCX, and only half |
| as wide. With all things considered, this car does VERY well. And it's dang cute zipping around the track. I wouldn't have believed that a car this small could be this much fun. It has it's flaws, but what car doesn't? It's not a dog, but you need to drive it. It will slide in the corners, and brakes like a champ. This is a great car in it's own class. If you want something different, look no further. | |
| The Reprotec Seat 600E were available in a variety of colors, including the white shown here. Also available are beige, red, green and a blue Barcelona Centennial version. Good things do come in small packages! |
|
|
Thank you to Jon at Rad Trax for sending me this awesome little car. I recommend you check out his website for Reprotec and other great cars. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to eMail me at ken@slotcarillustrated.com. Ken McClellan |
Back
to the main reviews section for a complete listing or
take a look at some listed below.
About SCG |
Swap Meet | Photo Gallery |
Home | Projects |
Forums |
Email
FAQ | Vintage Slot Cars |
My Tracks | Links |
SCG News | Web Ring Info |
Tips & Tricks
