Lotus 78 ‘Wing car’- Mario Andretti (Flyslot)

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

Welcome again! I’m showing you today one of the most aerodynamically innovative cars of Formula 1 history. The Lotus 78 from 1977 and 1978 designed by the laureated F1 engineer Colin Chapman, and drove by the american F1 World Champion Mario Andretti.

With the wing car he was able to win the world title in 1978, powered by the famous Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine.

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

The underside of both sidepods has an inverted wing profile design so the air is forced to pass through a smaller section being accelerated and therefore decreasing its pressure. That low pressure is maintained beneath the car thanks to a pair of skirts, acting like an endplate of the sidepods, and running almost skidding on the tarmac in order to not let the outside air be absorbed by the low pressure under the car.

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

This pressure difference between the underside and the upperside of the car is what pushes the car strongly against the road, allowing better cornering speed, harder braking, and more traction, all due to higher grip level because of downforce.

Lotus 78 Wing Car – Mario Andretti

Not much to say about the model. Flyslot top level of details as usual, a poor steering effect, bad traction due to barrel tires (the only brand actually using them, which is a valuable point) and some details added like the helmet colours, and a dark green for the bottle on the suspension.

An incredible collectable but not a fast model to race. Anyway, I absolutely like this car and, as engineer, an unforgettable master piece in Formula 1 technical history.

Benetton B195 – Michael Schumacher (Scalextric) Part 2

Hello and welcome again to a new post about the Benetton B195 driven by the seven times Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher in 1995. In this car the German was able to achieve his second F1 crown, in which is considered one of the paceful and relaxing walks along the season GPs of the legendary driver.

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

The car which raised the curtain of the V10 engines era also represented a deep change in technical regulations to improve safety after dramatical facts occurred during 1994 season.

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

Higher nose cone and ride height, stepped floor, smaller rear diffuser and wings, more hidden driver with raised side protections, less power and downforce… That year in the 90s began the Formula 1 as we know nowdays and would keep almost intact until 2006, more than 10 years.

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

But let’s talk about the model. It’s quality, as it usually was in the 90s, is quite poor. I have updated some livery parts all over the car, added some details to the driver and his helmet, and as you have probably notice, a pair of rear-view mirrors, made on metal from a clip and a glued sheet. The most attractive aspect of the model, in my opinion, is the Bitburger yellow-green advertisement on the sidepods, which was missing in the Scalextric original.

Benetton 195 – Michael Schumacher

I hope you like it and see you soon, here!

‘Six-Wheeler’ Tyrrell P34 – Jody Scheckter (Scalextric SCX) Part 2

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

Welcome to the second release of Tyrrell P34 ‘Six Wheeler’. We have previously talk about the history of this amazing single seater in the first part. It’s time to see more cool pics of this beautiful model and know some details about it.

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

When I bought this Scalextric (SCX) car, which is a Scalextric re-release in the 90s, exhaust pipes, roll structure and rear wing were missing. I drilled again two holes to fit a steel wire for the roll structure and also built from an ear stick both two exhaust pipes. The rear wing endplates are made on hard paper, as the top flap of the wing. The main plane is built on wood with the wing support beam seat scratched in the lower surface.

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

As the wing was missing I had to design and print new decals. The original SCX livery didn’t have the two yellow lines on the endplate but I’ve seen some different pictures of the Tyrrell with them. And also the two stripes around the cockpit, which the SCX missed from factory. By the way, the Jody Scheckter helmet design has been made by me, as the model originally has only a red stripe painted on it, and Jody weared an orange center surrounded by two dark blue stripes.

Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler

Honestly it’s not a fast car but really fun to drive as it drifts so easily but under control with resembles quite accurately the performance of 70s cars.

I hope you like it and enjoy the photos. See you next post!

Ferrari F2004 – Michael Schumacher (Scalextric SCX)

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

Two absolute numbers one. Five Driver Championship Titles and five Constructor Championship Titles in a row. Twelve track records still unbeatable nowdays which include most iconic F1 racetracks worldwide like Monaco, Monza, A1, Imola, Nurburgring or Montreal among other.

The letters of Formula 1 are written in red and german. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ferrari F2004 driven by seven times F1 champion, Michael Schumacher.

This single-seater led 2004 F1 circus as a grateful triumphal parade, presaging the 5 years domination end of two legend: the Ferrari Team with Ross Brawn leaving the Scuderia, and the german legend bending in front of a rookie.

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

13 wins out of 18 races in 2004 season say almost everything about de F2004. A lap-record breaker, it’s the fastest F1 car ever designed. Its Ferrari V10 engine, reving over 18000rpm and powering The Kaiser over 950 horsepower remains as the 2000’s F1 era soundtrack.

With this car, the most laureate driver in Formula 1 history secured his seventh and last crown and came the F1 Schumacher era to an end.

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

About my slot model, it’s a Scalextric – SCX almost unmodified car. I consider this model as my first work when I was 13 years old. It’s well known that ‘toys’ are not allowed to show tobacco ads, that means rear wing and engine air intake in white. So I cut from a few cigarette packets the Marlboro logos and pasted them in their places. A short tale.

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2004 Michael Schumacher

I would like to dedicate this post to Michael Schumacher, wishing him my best feelings.

Forza Kaiser!

Red Bull RB7 – Sebastian Vettel (Carrera)

Red Bull RB7 Sebastian Vettel

Four Driver Championship Titles in a row. Four consecutive Constructor Championship Awards from 2010 to 2013. There’s no more introduction letter needed: one of the Adrian Newey‘s master pieces, the Red Bull RB7 driven by quadruple F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

In 2011, the RB7 nailed 18 Poles position out of 19 possible and 12 GP wins. These numbers speak by themselves and are only comparable to 1988 McLaren MP4/4, 2014 Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid and 1993 Williams Renault FW15C, as they four form the Fantastic Four of most laureated F1 cars in history.

It’s well known that Adrian Newey is probably the best F1 engineer in history. Inside Red Bull Racing team he was able to put four cars in the top of the constructor sheet making a skilly Sebastian Vettel impressively quadruple F1 Champion. WOW!

Red Bull RB7 Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull RB7 Sebastian Vettel

The Red Bull RB7 secret was a magificent and perfect combination between car underbody and engine configuration. Sorry, I don’t want you to get bored but… they were able to maximize diffuser efficiency by blocking diffuser sidewalls inner airflow by redirecting exhaust gases thanks to lateral blower exhaust pipes to the diffuser flanks. In order to get this effect not only at straights but also at turns, this gases flows were achieved by retarding spark ignition at low throttle peddal rate until exhaust valves were opened to free the burned gases at high pressure through the exhaust manifold to the diffuser without affecting to engine acceleration as the gases didn’t push the piston. This, combined with a tiny rear bodywork design to allow airflow to go by the upper side of the floor and be accelerated by those exhaust gases extracting more air from the diffuser, and a very low front ride height and a great design of the bargeboards to push away airflow from car floor sides to prevent it to be absorbed by low pressure air from underneath the car and maximize underbody efficiency by keeping very low pressure air under the F1 floor.
That one was exquisite, mate. Outstanding. Bravo.

Red Bull RB7 Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull RB7 Sebastian Vettel

Newey work was impressive, Carrera Toys…not so much. In one hand they offer a good and fine livery but cockpit and rear suspension plastic details are rough and poor. Helmet size proportion is simply ridiculous, if you compare with 1:32 car, it could  match a 10 years old child.

Well, in the other hand Carrera put on the floor the blower exhausts, one of the iconics of this car. Also detailed wings, flaps, endplates and bargeboards. Thumb up.

Racetrack performance is awful. Guide is place too much backward, a few milimeters behind the front wheels. This make the car yaw in a bizarre way as drift is not progressive along the car but the front moves excessively inwards the turn.

This model is a strickly series car, nothing special in it, but Hey! Kinky Kylie loves photos. She likes posing!

Ferrari 312B3 – Niki Lauda (Scalextric SCX)

Ferrari 312B3 Niki Lauda

Put your hands up in the air because I’m showing you today one of the most beautiful Ferrari cars in Formula 1 history driven by one of the finest, the austrian triple F1 champion Niki Lauda. Here it is, the Ferrari 312B3.

Despite not having won any driver or constructor title, this car gave us epic duels with another big one, Emerson Fittilapdi an his Mclaren, in 1974 and 1975.

Ferrari 312B3 Niki Lauda

Ferrari 312B3 Niki Lauda

Ferrari 312B3 Niki Lauda

The car was designed with a flat-12 Ferrari engine, its era-caracteristic tall air intake, an asymmetric chassis to fit the radiator at left side, and front and rear arrow-shaped wings. the B3 was the third evolution from a five years old car project, the 1970 Ferrari 312B so by its time, even with Ferrari lastest technical updates, proved to be obsolete and its handling not good enough to fight for the championship.

Ferrari 312B3 Niki Lauda

Particularly talking about my slot car model, it’s a restoration and modification of a Scalextric SCX Ferrari 312B3. Initially the car was missing the rear wing, which I built in paper and wood and so its arrow-shaped is so special and unique, and the two exhaust pipes, made from a lollipop stick. Also some livery has been added. Next post will talk about the restoration process so stay tunned.

I hope you like this slot car model. I personaly love it and enjoy a lot driving it.

Sauber C22 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Homemade slotcar) Part 2

As I promised, here are more pictures of the Sauber C22 I made from a iron cast toy car.
You can see more detailed about technical components and the rude work on the chassis to fit the motor.

As I said in 1st post, I built it at 19 years old and this is a model that I feel as special and unique.

The original toy car has a cast iron bodywork and plastic chassis, wheel rims and wings. It hasn’t got mirrors, antenna, exhaust and obviously the slot-related components. The first step was to choose a good motor and to fit it inside the chassis. I cut it the best way I could carefully because it has no other support to be fixed than the proper chassis hole. The guide is fixed so it’s only a shaft. That allows the car to spin like a real car, it’s funny.

I used a pinion from a portable fan, the crown gear is a 23 teeth Slot.it (Orange), Ninco Kart tyres ,an old Ninco axel, and a fix plastic guide. Curiously the axel doesn’t wear bearings. The suspension dummy has two half rails in which it rests freely and perfectly. Of course It needs often lubrication with grease for a smooth run. I had to cut some iron cast parts and plastic to fit all this components but the result is far from been ugly or bad. I keep original wheels and front axel, also driver.

‘The Fan Car’ Brabham BT46B – Niki Lauda (Scalextric SCX)

Brabham BT46B Niki Lauda Fan car

In 1978 we could see the most radical solution ever implemented in F1 in its constant search of more downforce and higher cornering speeds. The Brabham BT46B, better known as ‘The Fan car’, was designed with the solely intention of taking the ground effect to a new extreme level.

Based on the design of the Chaparral 2J, the solution primarily justified for cooling reasons so the BT46B had an horizontal radiator above  the engine, consisted of a fan moved by the combustión engine which extracted and accelerated air underneath the car to lower pressure and increase downforce.
It sounds funny but that desing was forced by the impossibility of implement a ground-effect-wing sidepods because of the excesive width of the Alfa Romeo Flat-12 engine.

Brabham BT46B Niki Lauda Fan car

 

Here you are some info about my model. It’s a basic Scalextric SCX Brabham BT46. I’ve removed the rear wing beam, attached to the engine dummy, and then designed and fitted a paper-acrylate-made box, with the 4 exhaust pipes made on plastic, and the rear wing fitting at both sides. The fan and blades are also made on paper.

Some other details include cutting the cockpit windscreen, extending side skirts, changing mirrors by a pair from a Ligier, adding a third pipe to the roll structure and the radiator above the bodywork, made on paper and cloth to ressemble a radiator pattern. And of course, completing the livery with some decals self-designed.

Niki Lauda

Brabham BT46B Niki Lauda Fan car

McLaren M23 – Emerson Fittipaldi (Policar Polistil)

McLaren M23 Emerson Fittipaldi

What can I say about a twice F1 World Champion’s car powered by the most laureate F1 engine, the Ford-Cosworth DFV, winner of seven tittles in a row from a total of 12 wins, and driven by famous former F1 triple World Champion Emerson Fittipladi? Simply the amazing McLaren M23.

16 victories, 14 pole positions, five season in the podium without being a technically outstanding car, it’s the result of continous work and development, and perseverance.

Its desing didn’t change too deeply along the six seasons that was used (1973-1978), and it did mainly in aerodynamic mid and rear parts. Most recognizable changes happened in engine air intake, varying in shape from what you can see in the photos, most beautiful for me, to a pyramidal intake and finally a double L-shape intake.
Also sideway panels, a rude sidepods, were changed in lenght to proper conduct air from radiators and cover exhaust system to improve airflow.
It’s livery also varied as this car was used by several teams until 1978.

McLaren M23 Emerson Fittipaldi

About this slot car, when I bought it, it was absolutely wasted: didn’t work, plenty of dust and grease, yellowy livery and mising one mirror. I was able to fix the motor, I new painted the whole bodywork, engine, wheels and helmet; designed and print a new livery and used two mirror from a SCX Brabham, more likely the M23 original mirrors.

McLaren M23 Emerson Fittipaldi

This is the toughtest restoration have ever made and I’m so proud of it. I think the result is just fantastic and it’s just a beutiful model. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Williams FW26 – Juan Pablo Montoya (Scalextric – SCX)

This is one of my favourite cars, mainly because it’s one of the first I could see racing: the Williams FW26 driven by forever remembered Juan Pablo Montoya, the aggressive, competitive and sometimes daredevil Colombian F1 driver along 2004 F1 season.

I like this car, his innovative nose cone, resembling a warlus head which gave the nickname: Warlus Nose; its absence of bargeboards replaced by two axe-shaped wings in front of the sidepods, its unique front suspension turning vanes… Just a unique piece of pure exquisite aerodynamic.

The BMW powered Williams it’s considered, thanks to its P83 V10 3.0L engine developed by BMW, the most powerful naturally aspirated F1 car in history, peaking over 19200rpm and producing and impressive 940hp.

Despite its atonishing power specs the race success was not as imrpessive. However, due to the extreme cornering and power of that year F1 cars, particularly this one, the FW26 remains as lap record owner of some of the past and current tracks like Sepang and Interlagos.

This Scalextric – SCX models is 100% original. The via of both axels is far wider than the real F1 car, which I’ve never understood why from spanish brand, but this give the car a more aggresive look. Anyhow one of my favourites.

Sauber C22 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Homemade slotcar)

This is a project I began when I was nineteen and, although It was not a successful car, a few points in the 2003 F1 Championship and a podium in USA GP by Heinz-Harald Frentzen; I’ve been loving this car since I watched F1 races on TV, mainly because of its colorful livery. So this is my personal tribute to Sauber Petronas team.
If you are wondering why I chose the Sauber C22, not the C23, C24, C21 or C20 with similar liveries, it’s due to C22 bodywork similarity with the original toy car it was.

The original toy car has a cast iron bodywork and plastic chassis, wheel rims and wings. It hasn`t got mirrors, antenna, exhaust and obviously the slot-related components. The first step was to choose a good motor and to fit it inside the chassis. I cut it the best way I could carefully because it has no other support to be fixed than the proper chassis hole.

I used a pinion from a portable fan, the crown gear is a 23 teeth Slot.it (Orange), Ninco Kart tyres ,an old Ninco axel, and a fix plastic guide. Curiously the axel doesn’t wear bearings. The suspension dummy has two half rails in which it rests freely and perfectly. Of course It needs often lubrication with grease for a smooth run. You will see it perfectly this part in next post. I had to cut some iron cast parts and plastic to fit all this components but the result is far from been ugly or bad.

I keep original wheels and front axel, also driver. I love this slot car because it’s the first one I built with 19 years old and has a special value. And it’s unique! I hope you love it too.

3D Printer Project – Lamborghini 291 #2 Bodywork printing and Resin reinforcement

Touching and feeling in your hand what few hours before was only a image in your PC screen, and days before only an idea in your mind it’s simply unbelievable.

Printing the bodywork was very exciting. There was much uncertainty: Will the complex design be executed correctly? Was the design thickness enough to support itself? What printing supports will be made? Could I remove them without breaking some design parts? Will the components fit inside the bodywork?
Making modifications in the chassis is actually quite simple, but a surface complex design as the bodywork, mate, those’re big words.

Each layer put properly was a success. Some supports failed but it managed itself luckily to continue printing. Those were such great moments.

 

This is the final result. Notice all the supports: holes for front wing, front suspension, air intake and all the rear part. Front and rear wing are overlayed, and the mirrors. All were printed sepparatedly.

You can see it looks a bit taller. Actually the 3Dprinter software due to layers overlapping made it about 5mm taller. I will keep this model and finish it. The imperfect perfect reminder of first time.

As the thickness is 0,8mm, equivalent to two printer layers, it was extremely weak and fragile. So the great idea came thinking about a new composite material: PLA fiber with a resin matrix. The printed body would be the base, and the resin would fill all the spaces between fibers and layers and also leave a workable surface, to smooth steps for painting and heavily reinforce.

  

Now it’s time for long and hard work with the sandpaper and the Dremel. Hope you like this project as I do. See you soon!

3D Printer Project – Lamborghini 291 #1 Design and Chassis printing

The 3D Printer Project was born from a personal challenge one day, after a long time thinking about the idea of applying 3D printers to slotcar bussines; and it started in a conference held at Salamanca University where I could meet commited people who are sharing their knowledges and giving the technical support in this complex field.

So I decided to begin the design of a F1 single-seater. I chose the Lambo 291 mainly because it’s a very unknow car, would be a unique slot model and I love its shape, with those cool sidepods, slanted radiators, and exposed V12 exhaust.

I inicially designed the bodywork and wings as accurate and rigorous to original as possible. Then the chassis with aal the support and holes for screws, motor, axels, pinions and ¡the diffuser! Once I place all the components I had to modify the bodywork to fit them all properly. And finally designed the exhaust around the motor…  So take a look! That was the CAD Lambo!

Ok, virtual model done! Time to export to 3D format go to lab and click print. There we began printing the chassis to check if all components fitted and worked perfectly. It took about 20 minutes to print the whole chassis.

Here is the final result. Everything fitted. Good designer, haha. Removing the supports added by the printer software I broke on of the diffuser walls so I realized I was going to need a kind of reinforcement. So the engineer begin to think. Can’t wait for next posts to see where this amazing project will end.

 

Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans – Chinetti / Étancelin (Scalextric Superslot)

 Stand up everybody! Here comes the only four time 24 Heures du Mans winner in history. The Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, which crossed the worldwide known race finish line in first position in 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934. In fact, it also claimed consecutively two Mille Miglia victories, between 1932 and 1933, and also three Targa Florio, between 1931 and 1933. It is the only car ever to win in four consecutive years one of the most prestigious motorsport events in the world.

In this blue layout, Luigi Chinetti and Philippe Étancelin nailed the 1934 24 Heures du Mans race with an impressive gap of 13 laps in a 13,5km circuit.

As its name suggests is a inline-8 2.3L engine with a roots supercharger, whose 145bhp powered this wonderful steel race car over 185kmh.

Scalextric Superslot made this beatiful model with red wheels and radiator and brown cockpit cover, and a huge problem of front ride height which didn’t allow front wheels to contact the track. This issue was solved as you can see now and could follow on previous posts.

 

Honda RA106 – Jenson Button (Scalextric Superslot)

Scalextric Superslot made this BAR Honda 007 bodywork and painted it as an Honda RA106, both driven by Briton Jenson Button. Anyhow, it’s one of the lastest models to layout in British American Tobacco design, one of the coolest one for me.

Apart from that, there’s nothing remarkable in this car: one pole and GP win and a 4th position in Constructor Championship.

Vanwall VW5 – Stirling Moss (Scalextric Superslot)

If I ask you for the greatest driver who has never became F1 World Champion, sure Stirling Moss is unfortunately the chosen one. With his 16 wins, it’s the only non-world champion in the Top-20 of number of F1 GP victories. All this is due to his co-existence with such a great driver as Juan Manuel Fangio and some bad team choices.

He was active in F1 from 1951 to 1961 and raced for Mercedes, Maserati, Lotus, Cooper and others, one of them: Vanwall, between 1957 and 1958

The car I show today it’s a beautiful british inline-four cylinder, with a pretty exhaust design. As the constructor championship had never been awarded until 1958, this was the first team and car, the VW5, to win the F1 Constructor World Championship, thanks to Moss and Brooks six wins.

Williams FW11 – Nigel Mansell (Scalextric Superslot)

Power. That’s the precise word which describes this fantastic car: the Williams FW11, powered by Honda and driven by the british world champion Nigel Mansell.

There’s no doubt about what era this car belongs as it’s one of the most popular cars of all times. Its clear technical advantages allowed the Canon Williams Honda team to catch both ’86 and ’87 Constructor Championship, ’87 Nelson Piquet Drivers Championship Title, and almost the ’86 by Mansell if last race tyre blowout, one of the most famous F1 scenes, not occurred.

About this model. It’s a modified Scalextric Superslot. In a previous post you could see some improvements on front suspension.

I have also added front wing endplates, cutting the profile of the wing over the old endplates to gain about 1mm per side in width and then glueing new endplates; and some decals (chassis Mobil1, rear wing Canon, and front wing Goodyear); and repainted the golden wheel rims, the anti-roll structure, and of course helmet, body and cockpit details, as usual.

I hope you like it. You could see more pictures in the future.

Lap Counter (Carrera) with Martini – Marlboro Ads. ‘How to design logos’

Today I’m bringing to you a cool improvement on a Carrera 1:32 Lap Counter. Martini is one of the classic and most beautiful sponsors in Formula 1. That’s why I chose this design with the famous Martini stripes.

Further than some sticks to hide the Carrera logo and embellish the panels, I’d like to explain how to design the sticks or decals for cars or accesories.

First of all is to find the logo you are going to print. Be sure of choosing a ‘clean’ logo, I mean, a computer designed logo, so you can refill the background of the logo to the colour you want. Better if you choose a high resolution logo, you will gain resolution at printing.

It’s not necessary a specific software to modify the logo. Windows Paint is a simple and effective tool. In most pictures you will need to correct the contour if refill the background. Use patiently the ‘line’ tool. Be smart, don’t waste your time working on same thing seen from other side. Copy and paste symmetrical parts. Use letters parts to complete other letters like ‘B-R-P’, ‘d-a-u-r-l’… Example: in the Martini logo when the golden contoured red circle meets the blue stripe I only edited one corner to properly fit blue into yellow. Then I used Select, Copy, Paste, Flip Vertical or Horizontal, and fixed it in its new positions.

Now that you’ve got the logo with its bakground it’s time to scale it. There’s no better way to do that than in Microsoft Word. Paste the image in the doc and open its properties to see its real measures. Now measure the site where it must be placed, in height or in lenght, depending on the available space limite. Now write the measure in its box and select ‘keep proportion’. It has now its proper size.

When you’ve finished all your logos don’t forget to convert the .doc to .pdf so you’ll block their sizes and position wherever you open or print them.

The way to print its your chose, depending on the money you can spend and the quality you prefer. Be sure to not modify the scale at printing options or adjust to a paper format, you’ll screw up everything. I use common stick paper in a pro laser printer, sure you’re now disappointed, I’m sorry, a spanish young  can’t spend 12€ on decals, hehe.

I hope you like the lap counter and find this useful.

Renault RS10 – Jean Pierre Jabouille (Scalextric SCX) Part 2

Renault RS10 Jean piere Jabouille Turbo

Promise accomplished. Here are some more pics of the Renault RS10 driven by Jean Pierre Jabouille that I made from a Ligier Scalextric-SCX. You can observe the beautiful rear wing shape, the four exhaust pipes and the rear view mirrors, anti-roll structure and nose cone and engine cover added on putty to the bodywork. As well, on paper, the ground-effect skirts and front wing endplates.

I hope you love it as much as I do, because this is one of my favourite cars of my collection and represents a complex work and effort of rebuilding. Enjoy this turbo RS10!

Narrowing Front Suspension Wishbones of a FW11

The standard suspension wishbones of Scalextric-Superslot F1 cars are too wide for some wide-nose models like this one, an FW11, and that results in too separated front wheels which don’t fit properly in the axel because it’s a standard lenght axel. In the right picture you can see overlayed the nose and the wheels, perfectly fitted in the axel, and notice how much wishbone I had to cut.

After having calculated the angle of the nose to cut the suspension wishbone and calibrated the position to allow the axel to spin and not to rub with brake drums dummies or bodywork walls. So I cut and glued them to the bodywork carefully. On the left you can see the result.

Sure you have already noticed I modified the front wing endplates. I will explain that in a future post.

Guide Replacement to Lower Front Ride Height Part 2: Results

This is the final result of guide replacement in the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300. You can see the white reference line of tyres contact with track surface (left car). On right car I’ve drawn the lowest point of the wheels because they don’t touch the track, there is a gap of about 3mm.

Comparing the relative heights of blinking lamps (upper pic, top lines) you could notice the real front axel ride height difference afterwards (L) and beforewards (R).

As the front wheels axel has a vertical play of about 7mm, the height difference between axels is less pronounced but the relative position with mudguards is clearly more natural and nice-looking.

Moreover, you can observe the car nose inclination apparent difference (R). This is due to front ride height have been lowered, mantaining rear ride height, and balancing that ugly inverse slanted car whose front wheels didn’t touch the track.

Soon you can enjoy the Scalextric Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, 4 times winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Guide and Braids Replacement to Lower Ride Height

One of the biggest issues I had to solve with two Scalextric – Superslot vintage slot cars is to reduce the chassis height. The original guide protruded excessively from the bottom of the chassis not even allowing front wheels to keep contact with the track, and made chassis to seem slanted, an ugly visual effect.

First step was to replace the guide. I used a steel shaft fixed inside a cork which in turn was firmly fitted between the top, walls and bulkheads of the bodywork. The metal wire passes through the original guide hole and about 8mm over chassis reference plane and works in track slot.

Second step was to install  the braids. I needed two plastic sheet, one to fit the pair of braids, and another to twine motor cable, and then tape both sheets. Notice the metal guide hole in the middle of the sheets. That is going to keep braids from moving, and also the pressure of cork against the chassis.

Finally I passed braids through two slots in the chassis and bended them backwards.

As the braids doesn’t turn with the track slot, it’s crucial to set them separate, wide and short to prevent a short because one braid touchs opposite rail when drifting or in an hairpin.

In next posts you will see the big difference in ride height of front axel before and afterwards.

Mclaren MP4-23 – Lewis Hamilton (Scalextric Superslot)

In this car Lewis Hamilton won the World Champion title against Felipe Massa in last lap of 2008 season in Brazilian GP. One of the tightest season end I remember.

The MP4-23 meant the cusp of complex aerodynamic appendix Era. By that time all top F1 teams outfitted thir cars with all kind of aerodynamic devices such as double-decker front wings, nose ears, wingles, horns, fins, sidepod shields, flip-ups, chimneys, shark fins…

Previous year Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton shared box and lost both drivers and constructors championships titles, one due to internal conflict which finally decided victory in favor of Kimi Raikkonen, and Mclaren Mercedes spy scandal that concluded with team disqualification by FIA.

In my opinion, one of the coolest cars in modern F1. Silver and red colours, aggresive shapes, sharps lines and a great driver behind the wheel.

Auto Union Type C – Bernd Rosemeyer (Pink Kar) Part 3: Front brake drums

    

Following the previous posts about Auto Union Type C, this time I want to set apart history and talk a little bit about  ‘How it’s made’.

As the original Pink kar Auto Union Type C had a rude suspension arm and didn’t have the detailed brake drum, I found a easy solution.  The front brake drums were created from some plastic nails used to hang pictures.

Removing the metal nail and sanding the face to glue in the inner part of wheel hub as shown in the photos, you can see that the solution is very close to looks like the real shape of the brake drum.

The best advice I can give is that if you open your eyes you will discover useful things surrounding you. It’s not usually about been a great builder but a smart observer to find what you need.

I hope you find this solution useful.

Renault RS10 – Jean Pierre Jabouille (Scalextric SCX)

Here it is! My most appreciated car. A slot model never built before that I’ve made from a Ligier JS11. I’m grateful to show my Renault RS10, the first Turbo-engine car to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, driven by Jean Pierre Jabouille in 1979.

Although in 1977 and 1978 its predecessor was already powered by the same Renault-Gordini EF1 V6 1.5L twin-Turbo engine, it was not until 1979 when its reliability and power output problems were partialy solved and achieve its first win, the first win of a turbo-car in history of F1.

There is no doubt that Jabouille enthralling victory in French GP held on Dijon-Prenois and the five poles achieved by the Renault RS10 set a new Era in Formula 1. From then on all principal engine suppliers, Ferrari, Honda, BMW, TAG-Porsche and Cosworth began developement progammes of turbo engines. The Turbo Era was on.

I’m very proud of this slot car. Wait for future post to see more pics of it and additional info. I hope you like it.

Scalextric SCX Renault RS10 from a SCX Ligier JS11 Vol. 2: Skirts, Endplates, Rear wing, Engine, Rollover arc, and Rear-view mirrors.

After having sanded the putty added at cockpit cone and engine cover I showed rudely in Vol. 1, was turn to built front wing endplates, sideways skirts and as  complex as beautiful rear wing, whose endplates melt with the base and gearbox attachment from a symmetrical profile in endplates to an inverted airfoil in center drawing a U-shape from rear with a 7-shape outline, a trully masterpiece both in aerodynamics and  in art.

All these aerodynamic component are made of different paper layers pasted each other with cyanoacrilate glue, and afterward sanded to its final shape. The front endplates are pasted to the wings side, the ground-effect skirts are pasted directly on car sidepods also with cyanoacrylate and the rear wing is fixed with same screw that fixs chassis to  bodywork.

The rollover arc it’s made of credit card plastic bended under heat and fits in the original rollover structure holes. Finally the rear-view mirrors are made from two halfs of a plastic piece with one side rounded by sanding.

The toughtest challenge was to conver the Ford DFV V8 into a Renault Gordini V6 Turbo engine. The result is far from being perfect but makes a look quite similar. I had to delete one cylinder per side and rise the bodywork to the middle of cylinder heads until the sparking plugs line. So I decided to add a L-shape piece of paper to simulate the continuity of cockpit side and sidepod.

If you had worked anytime with Scalextric-SCX-Exin models you will know what I’m talking about, they always use the same 4-in-line engine air-intakes, so I cutted one of them to count 3-in-line air-intakes and then rolled over itself to simulate the manifold from the turbo, one per side; hence I had to modify base of air intakes which fitted on the engine to look like air-intakes manifolds.

I also added a pair of exhaust pipes to one original Ligier pair right over the gearbox  and the oil tank right between the engine blukhead in blue and the exhaust pipes, as the RS10 had got. I made it with a lighter gas flow controller ring and a metal circle top.

There is still one thing to add, the sparking plug wires from each plug to a common wire. They were made from a single cooper fiber from a small electric wire. You can see the final result on final Scalextric SCX Renault RS10 post that I hope you like.

Scalextric SCX Renault RS10 from a SCX Ligier JS11 Vol. 1: Cutter, putty and sandpaper

This is a project I decided to star in spring: to make a Renault Rs10, the first successful 80’s turbo F1 car.

The fact that any brand sold this amazing and beautiful car (except a truly expensive SRC model) moved me to find a similar slot car and to modify it deeply. I was pondering the SCX Williams FW07 and the SCX Ligier JS11.

I finally decided to refuse the Williams because it has the engine covered, radiator air layout ahead of its position, engine air intake too exaggerated and no ramps in sideway skirts.

Ligier JS11 was the chosen one. As you can see the first step was to remove sideway skirts, front wing endplates and some parts behind the engine bulkhead, to sharp front suspension roots, to smooth ramps edges and to add the cockpit cone and engine cover with Ceys Epoxy bar (in picture, before sanding). The rear wing was going to be completely rebuilt, using only the two main planes as you will see in next post; the same with rear view mirrors, roll structure, skirts, endplates and engine sideway covers.

One of the most beautiful challenges was to turn a V8 into a V6 Turbo, a Ford-CosworthDFV into a Renault-Gordini EF-Type. You will enjoy the result.

Tatra 607 Monoposto (Faro)

The car  I’m bringing today is a very rare and unknown single-seater. There are many discussions about if it was a Formula 1 or not. It never raced an official F1 Grand Prix but its design and specifications were intended to do it. Anyhow, it must be part of that small and select group of  radical new concept cars. Here it is, the Tatra 607 Monoposto.

Czech manufacturer Tatra created this racing car in 1950 recovering a forgotten concept from 30’s: the rear-mid-engine design. After this little parenthesis there wasn’t any rear-mid-engine car until 1959.

But the point is that this car was fitted with a singular and unique engine cooling system design never seen before and even nowadays: An air-cooled engine, forced convection by ejector exhaust nozzles system that is considered one of the  most innovative invention in terms of engine in history of motorsport.

In future post I will explain more about this fantastic concept and you can see more pictures of this Faro, czech slot car manufacturer,  model.

Auto Union Type C – Bernd Rosemeyer (Pink Kar) Part 2

Today I’m going to continue talking a bit more extended about a car I’ve already posted: The Auto Union Type C.

Further than its unusual appearance by 1936: double rear wheels, mid-engine layout, smooth edges… there are some things you’re missing.

First of all, you can maybe image it if you take a look at the rear. Yes, you’re sight it’s ok, it counts eight exhaust pipes per side. This monster was powered by a 6 litres V16 engine and, wait for it, a pair of superchargers too. It was able to produce an impressive 510 horsepower, for a 830 kg car. This sounds even more scary if you realise there was no electronic components or driving aids. Those four rear tyres could be induce to wheelspining at speed over 150km/h. Keeping this car under control was just simply a crazy challenge.

To improve handling, this car introduced a new concept: the Limited Slip Differential, designed by Porsche previous year, which actuates as a passive traction control.

Together with mid-engine, the relative position of fuel tank in middle of both axles, just behind the driver, and allowed by engine rear layout, was a good solution to improve weight balance and not to modify weight distribuition with fuel usage.

What about the mad men who would want to drive this fatal car,  Bernd Rosemeyer? When he drove by first time this beast he had no experience in racing cars, this meant a fearless man for a radically new racing car, this meant success. It only took him a few races to consolidate as a reference driver. His fame was raising and his public image improving which led him to be chosen for the Nazi Party, an ‘honour’ not ‘recommended’ to refuse, only with the condition of not wearing the SS uniform. His career continued with several victories and finally with the European Championship in 1936. It’s also known as a speedman. He repeatedly broke the speed record on public roads with a streamlined Auto Union, reaching 432km/h, which at the end would cost him his life, attemting a new record of 432,7km/h, still unbeated nowdays.

‘Six-Wheeler’ Tyrrell P34 – Jody Scheckter (Scalextric SCX) Part 1

Unless you have been enclose your whole life you must have seen this wonderful car at least once. Here it is, the Tyrrell P34 better known as “The Six-Wheeler“, considered  the most recognizable design in motorsport world of all times. Together with Brabham BT46b, P34 was one of the most radical entries.

The Six-Wheeler raced the whole 1976 and 1977 seasons even achieving a magnificent victory and a dozen of podiums, raising Tyrrell Team to third step of 1976 Constructors Championship.

The P34 project came from search of a better drag coefficient or air penetration coefficient, and improve of  braking capabilities by increasing tyre surface in contact with asphalt. Although we have seen another six wheels cars in F1, no one even was used in competition, however this one further won in hands of South African driver Jody Scheckter the 1976 Swedish GP. What a success!

Future posts

This blog has just started. In this project I want to review some of the greatest F1 cars in history through my slot cars and also teach some tricks, modifications and historical reasoning of these ones, and ‘how they’re made’.

I’m dividing the blog in different categories, by decades and manufacturing posts. By now I’m only updating with some models and soon we can deepen my box, my workshop.

I hope to see you over here. Thank you very much.

Benetton B195 – Michael Schumacher (Scalextric)

The leyend begins in 1995 when Michael Schumacher and his Benetton B195 achieved, more easily than previous season, his second world champion title, which opened him doors to Ferrari, and his five consecutives crowns.

Not only behind the wheel but also inside the box the history was being written. Two of the most successful engineers began his podium appearance: Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn. Their wins on ’94 and ’95 leading Benetton to two consecutive constructor championship titles launched their careers to Ferrari too.

This car represents a deep change in regulations for 1995 season after tragical deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in 1994, in order to reduce top speeds and cornering, limiting both downforce and engine power by reducing displacement from 3.5L to 3.0L and wings surfaces.

The 3.0 V10 Era had just started.

Auto Union Type C – Bernd Rosemeyer (Pink Kar)

One of the most amazing cars in history: Auto Union Type C driven by german racer Bernd Rosemeyer.

The Type C was introduced in 1936 to race in European Championship and Grand Prix throughout the continent.

Its mid-engine layout, smooth lines and double rear wheels made the Type C one of the most advanced to its time car in history. Mid-engine design was taken by Ferdinan Porsche from another one by Benz and Its well known as the first successful mid-engine car in history of racing. There was no winner mid-engine car again until 1959, the Cooper Climax T51, more than 20 years later.

The Silver Arrows dominance could only be stopped by outbrake of World War II .

In next posts we’ll talk about technical specs of this unusual and extremely powerful car and its successful german-nazi driver Bernd Rosemeyer, a trully speedman.