Latest AutoArt releases

Some photos to show of the latest from AutoArt, and a surprise this time with a pair of Norton 1/12 motorcycles...they sure look great!

AutoArt Ford GT-review

The AutoArt Ford GT's s details are finely reproduced in this 1/32 slot car. The red paint on the car is deep and opaque and the white stripes cover that red base coat well.I saw a real Ford GT at a recent car show I was struck by how well AutoArt has modelled this body. The newer Ford GT is much more square than the old Ford GT40. The wheels are molded nicely but the seams where the halves of the wheels come together has a bit of flash that would be good to sand a bit. But, having said that on the plastic test track the didn't seem to suffer from really much wheel wobble.


The chassis on the car is similar to most of the AutoArt releases with the tab system utilized to get the power from the track to the 26k rated rpm motor. The sidewinder motor sits securely in the chassis and has the usual AutoArt wire loom around it for the lights.

On this car the clips for the axles/bearings were missing. These clips are sort of extra security, if you will, to hold down the bearings but not really needed since the axles are very tightly held in place. The chassis is held in place by two screws at the rear only, the front edge of the chassis is held in place under a small lip which is just under the chin of the car. The arrangement works well and I could see if you wanted to get some chassis rattle you could easily sand the area where the chassis fits into the front of the body and then loosen the screws a bit to get some slight movement.

The 12 tooth pinion and 38 tooth crown gears on this car mesh quite well and are extremely quiet when you're circulating round the track. However the gears could be a little tall for this motor, because they don't seem to provide much braking.

The 94 gram GT raced around my Carrera test track at a speedy 2.5 seconds. The double magnets (one behind the motor and one behind the guide) do still allow a lot of tail-out racing action. The magnets aren't adjustable on this car but still they do provide more than adequate downforce.
It's a supercar not a racer but this AutoArt Ford GT is priced well if you're in the market for a solid magnet racer for yourself or that little racer in your family.

A huge thanks to Lisa at Global Gateway/AutoArt for sending the car for review. It's been a pleasure!

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

New Carrera COT's are in Cincy

Cincy Slots is showing photos of the new Carrera COT's which have arrived here in the US.

Ninco Corvette-NC8 Powered!

Harry Wise has a great review of the new Ninco Classic Corvette, which is powered by the new NC8. Check the review out at this link.

Hamilton gives thumbs down to UK

Image copyright 2007 McLaren.com, no reuse for anyreason.

'69 Chevelle-diecast review

Frank has a review of a 1969 Chevelle from the Franklin Mint at this link.

Video recap of the F1 championship

An interesting video recap from Reuters about the result of the F1 championship.

Jada Toys US Postal Service 18-wheeler

Good scenery pieces are hard to find. This Jada Toys US Postal Service truck fits the bill nicely. The tractor is diecast while the trailer is plastic, the quality of the diecast work is very good as is the plastic molding.
Fine detail on this model is minimal. The doors open fully but are a bit stiff, with a few more months of usage I think this will disappear though. Detail on the interior is adequate, but not great. The seats, dash, and steering wheel are all plain black plastic. The effect of all the interior details being black is that the details that are there inside the cab are quite hard to see.
I have a smaller Grumman Postal Service truck that I paid about $5.00 a year ago and it's a favorite of mine... my son also likes to play with this (and stuff his snacks inside also BTW). This truck caught his eye the moment I opened the box, and he wasn't the only one. The size alone makes this truck have a good "wow" factor and also because of the size offers a solid bang for your "scenery buck." Highly recommended.

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

New Slot It tires announcement!

Maurizio just sent out the following email:

Buonasera.
Sono disponibili le nuove gomme Slot.it nella misura 19x10, in mescola P5, con codice SIPT21. A seguire la misura 20x11 (nuova forma), codice PT22. Sono uno sviluppo della mescola P4 di cui rappresentano un significativo miglioramento in termini di trazione, costanza di rendimento, e resistenza all'usura su pista Ninco.

Tutte le gomme con mescola P1 sono rimosse dal catalogo (SIPT01,
SIPT04)
-----------------------------

Good evening.
New Slot.it tyres made in P5 compound are available in 19x10 size (code SIPT22), to be followed soon by a new 20x11 shape tyre in P5 compound with code PT22. These tyres are a development of the P4 compound, upon which they represent a significant step forward for grip, wearout and constance of performance lap after lap on Ninco track.

P1 compound tyres (SIPT01, SIPT04) are discontinued.

Kind regards
Maurizio

New PowerSlot website

PowerSlot has a new website online. You can see all the models they have and photos of the Polo prototype too.

Cartrix Lotus review

Demo Slot's blog has a review of the Cartrix Lotus at this link. Don't read Spanish? Don't worry, the pictures alone are worth a look.

Dr. Slotcar I presume?

I kid you not...a thesis on SLOT CARS! Frank found this gem online, and I thought it was worth a read. 56 pages of info there about a digital slot car control system, enjoy.

DK

To paraphrase Janis Joplin...

Oh Lord, please buy him a Mercedes Benz,
He's driven a Volvo and must make amends...

New Racer 935...have a Coke and a smile!

New photos sent to Slot Car News today from Racer...a nice looking Porsche!

MotorMint Ford F350-diecast review

Frank has a review of the new MotorMint Harley-Davidson Ford F-350 at this link.

Smart ForTwo receives 4 stars in safety test

The Smart ForTwo supermini received four out of five stars in Euro NCAP’s Adult Occupant protection rating. It was not assessed for child protection as it doesn't have any rear seats.

However, it only received 2 stars for Pedestrian Protection.

Check out Smart's Road to Enlightenment site.

Lifelike Racing Nascar Champions-HO set review

At this link you can read Mike's review of the LifeLike Nascar Champions HO set.

Shelby Hobby & Speedway...Hello BRAZIL!!!!!

Luis Carlos Cardoso from Shelby Modelismo in Sao Paulo Brazil emailed me the other day, he's got quite a nice track and club there in Brazil. This is qhat GSR Magazine said about the club in the Oct. 2003 edition:

"The scale 1/32 slot racing movement is led by pioneering club Shelby Modelismo. This club organizes one of the most longest lasting series of 1/32 slot car championships in the world. Shelby maintains a real focus on realism. The cars must be in nearly perfect 1/32 scale (Replicas), with a hard body, wheels and rubber tires that
duplicate the originals, and detailed driver, etc. In other words, true
miniatures of the 1/1 vehicles, slot racing style."

"The goal was always to emphasize, insofar as possible, the realism and
perfection of the model, all the way to the " pure replica " (only for real
enthusiasts and real purists)."


Uno de los padres de nuestro hobby en todo mundo, vive aún la emoción de la practica en lo clube Shelby Modelismo

Sr. Evaldo , freqüentador del club , com sus compañeros .

Uno de los padres de nuestro hobby en todo mundo, vive aún la emoción de la practica en Shelby Modelismo (Brasil).

Sr. Evaldo de Almeida, mas de 70 anõs, uno de los creadores del slot en los finales de la decada de 50 y início de 60 , uno de los pioneros mundiales , figura historica de lo hobby, Lo maior responsable por lo “autorama” brasilero, y que continua activo en su pasión por las replicas 1:32, em mas de cincoenta años de dedicación.

- Quiero siempre vivir con los "autinhos"( es como Evaldo nombre los mini coches ), y en lo clube Shelby encontro lo verdadero entusiasmo y essência -, declara lo creador..

Viva las replicas! Viva lo hobby! Viva los creadores! Viva Evaldo!

In English:
Mr. Evaldo, frequent partner of the club, with friends.

One of the parents of our hobby in all world, still lives the emotion of practice in the Shelby Modelismo (Brazil).

Mr. Evaldo of Almeida, more than 70 years old, one of the creators of the slot in the ends of the decade of 50 and begin of 60, one of the world pioneers, figure historical of the hobby, The most responsible by the “autorama” Brazilian, and that continuous active in your passion for replicas 1:32, in more than 50 years of dedication.

- I always want to live with those "autinhos" (it is as Evaldo it names the mini cars), and in the Shelby club I see the true enthusiasm and essence. -, Evaldo declares .

Alive the replicas! Alive the hobby! Alive the creators! Alive Evaldo!



Obrigado, Luis for emailing me, you've got quite a club there!
Dave Kennedy
Slot Car News

2008 Porsche 911 GT2-video

It's not a new slot car, it's not a new diecast...but wicked cool all the same!

1/20 Revell Yenko Camaro-diecast review

Read Frank and Bob's review of the Revell 1/20 Yenko Camaro...a nice yellow street racer! Very cool.

SCX Digital F1-newsletter

A newsletter arrived today from SCX and here it is. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Formula 1...no, Formula Student!

Maybe we can convince these Formula Students to work on a 1/32 mass damper?

Demo Slot-a blog of note

If you're making a blogroll for yourself you really should add this one to your list. Demo Slot's blog features superb photos of slot cars, whether you read Spanish or not, you will be able to get a lot out of this website.

SCX Compact website for the Spanish market online

If you're a fan of the Compact line that SCX/Tecnitoys makes and you're in Spain now you've got your own site to visit, Scalextric.es/compact is live!

Autoworld's latest prototypes

Lots of photos of the latest prototypes from Autoworld that were show at iHobby last weekend.