Michigan... hotbed of slot racing!

On the drive back from iHobby I decided to make a stop along the way... ok, 2 stops. I was invited to visit a commercial track owned by Bill Curtis in Belleville, Michigan at TSS Hobbies. Bill and his buddy Nick gave me a personal invite and said I must stop along my way home and I had to take them up on it.

I had a great time at the shop, a huge track with massive banked turns was just the ticket for my BRM Porsche... it was great running the car wide open about the turns! I was lovin' the digs at Bill's new store. A scale quarter mile drag strip for HO and a scale quarter mile for 1/24 as well as the large, twisty road course and a large tri-oval as well... what's not to like! Not to mention the HUGE selection of plastic models Bill has on hand too! Ya gotta love a slot shop that's ONLY a slot shop!
A fun, friendly, well laid out place to hang out and talk and race slots... what a great place.
Here Bill puts a top fuel slot car on the track and storms down the track. Very cool!

And after an afternoon of racing and a great time discussing slots the guys said it was time to visit The Professor... yes, that's right Professor Motor in nearby Livonia. Well if you don't know about Professor motor than it might be hard to impress upon you what a thrill it was visiting the place that's a one-stop-shop for hardcore slot car folks. Need a slot motor... need OLD mix Ortmann tires? Well Andy's got 'em!
And here's the man himself, Andy, the Professor himself! He's feelin' good (which we're all glad to hear) and loves to talk slots. He gave us the 10-cent-tour which during which we snaked around the shelves which were packed with slot-car-goodness. Of course being a complete Ortmann tire nut I was transfixed by the selection of tires he has on hand... evidently so much so I forgot to shoot the boxes of tires he had just to show the tons of tires he's got on the shelves. Suffice to say it...was... COOOLLL!

So thanks Bill, Nick, and Andy for the hospitality!

TSS Hobbies.com is in Belleville Michigan.
Bill Curtis, owner.
tsshobbies@yahoo.com
2055 Rawsonville Rd. · Belleville, MI 48111
734 · 487 · 8410

Spirit Peugeot 406 Digital Special Edition

Photos showing the commemorative edition Peugeot 406 SCX Digital car marking the agreement between SCX and Spirit.

Spirit BMW 635i prototype photos

A few more photos of the prototype of the Spirit 635i BMW I shot recently. The car will have an inline long can motor and this prototype was made without a motor pod, I understand the production car won't have a pod either.

LeMans Miniatures Pescarolo

The LeMans Miniatures Pescarolo will arrive in the US within the next day or so according to REH Distributors.

What is your preferred Motorsports era?

The members on Slot Car Illustrated.com are working on a poll to see what the majority of slotters feel is the greatest area of interest for slot cars. You should go to SCI at this link and let your voice be heard. There are thousands of members on SCI and it would be great if thousands voted to really get a true sampling of slotters out there. Please vote!

BRM Toyota, Porsche, Mazda photos

Photos from iHobby of the BRM Mazda and Porsche prototypes and production Toyotas. The Toyota's will be available this year.


First the new chassis for the Toyota. You can see brass inserts in the pan of the chassis. These are new laser cut brass weights that fit perfectly into the chassis between the reinforcing ribs. These will be sold by BRM to racers that would like to be able to weight the chassis as they see fit. You will be able to place the weights around the chassis in places you feel need weight, an innovative idea.Here you can see the wing of the Toyota. Why show the wing? Well the question was raised at my club asking how durable the wing on the Toyota will be since it's behind the back of the body and mounted very low on the chassis. Guys have been concerned that one good "WHACK" and the wing will be broken. Francesco of BRM (seen below) must have heard this question before. When I asked this, he picked up the Toyota by the wing... AND STARTED TO SHAKE THE WHOLE CAR HOLDING ONLY THE WING! It seems it will be quite durable!

New Sloter Zytek prototype pix

Sloter has a new Zytek on the way. I shot these pix recently at iHobby of the new body they're going to produce. Please note this is a white body and I had to darken it substantially for the contours to show here.

LeMans Miniatures slot cars from IHobby

A batch of photos from IHobby showing the LeMans Miniatures slot cars on display.

Motorhead Miniatures 1/32 figures

Some very nicely detailed Motorhead Miniatures figures were on display at iHobby. These are new designs for the company. Previous figures are on sale here too BTW...

New MRRC Lamborghini's green and yellow

A pair of MRRC Lambo's to show from iHobby.

Speed Alley Racing Veterans Weekend Slot Race

Veterans Weekend Slot Car Race
Date:Saturday, November 8, 2008
Time:Clinics Start at 10:00 am
Location: Speed Alley Racing located at:
Suburbanite Bowl
201 West Ogden Avenue
Westmont, IL 60559

Track:Scalextric Sport 4 Lane Track 55"
Clinics:Car Maintenance/Racing Clinic
Car Class:Scalextric Stock & Modified Cars

Prizes:Cars, Track Sets, Gift Cards, T-Shirts, & More

Entry Fee:Speed Alley Members $8.00/Non-Members $15.00

RSVP:630-493-4100 or bjenkins@speedalleyracing.com
To Enter: "Race Registration" in the subject line of your email


Race Day Schedule
10:00-12:00 pm Car Maintenance/Race Clinic (Youth & Adult)
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch & Youth Practice Heats
1:00-3:00 pm Youth Races (7-12 years old)
3:00-4:00 pm Adult Practice
4:30-8:30 pm Adult Races

General Race Regulations

Cars: Scalextric Stock & Modified Cars
#
1 Stock Magnet
#
Silicone Tires may be used
#
Please call for more details

Car Classes: NASCAR, Trans AM/Muscle Cars, Le Mans, Street Tuner

Pre-Register by November 1, 2008 and receive 2 free raffle tickets to win a Scalextric 1:32 scale Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Car of Tomorrow!

New MRRC Ford GT Mk.IV

An update about the Ford. This car will be available in a twin pack with the #6 Chaparral and it will have a single contact braid configuration not this doubled over braid.