The great hobby
Written by admin on July 30, 2008 – 9:38 am -When buying a slot car you must understand what you are getting yourself into. Slot cars are a great hobby however you must consider the fact that there is a lot of money involved. Further more the hobby really sucks you in and makes you want to buy more expensive and rare cars. This hobby for me got very expensive very fast and when my room was a complete mess i had to get ride of it all! If you are looking to make this a hobby make sure that you are organized and that you have a good means of storage. A great place to buy parts and cars would be ebay, fast and saves money! Read More →
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The Beginnings of Slot Car Racing
Written by admin on July 27, 2008 – 5:13 am -Ron Sharer asked: The slot car is well known by everyone in some form or another. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time when people were able to enjoy all the new and exciting things being introduced for consumption. Along with new music styles and fads like the hula hoop and slinky, there was the arrival in full force of commercial slot car racing. Companies like Revell, Monogram, Cox and Strombecker, took detailed models of popular stock cars, Indy cars, formula 1 cars and sports cars, added rudimentary chassis with motors and the hobby of slot car racing was officially was established. Home sets were sold by the tens of thousands at Christmas time, in HO scale, 1/32 scale and even 1/24 scale. Of course, racing with family and friends... more
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Watch for fakes
Written by admin on July 24, 2008 – 9:36 am -Slot Car Buying Tips 1 I wanted to post a quick heads up to slot car buyers to be aware of fakes or couterfeits. It’s probably my own fault that I got duped recently and I feel pretty stupid about it. I guess my only revenge is to try and alert everyone else to this kind of scam so that no-one else gets ripped off. About a month ago I saw an advertisement on a classified web site that buys and sells a lot of slot cars. Many of you may know the one I’m talking about. The car that caught my eye was a Porsche Boxster that, supposedly, was made and distributed by Porsche themsleves. I paid 699 Euros, about 900 Dollars or 500 Pounds and waited four weeks for delivery. I was overjoyed when the Boxster arrived - gleaming and shining in... more
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Origins of the Remote Control Car
Written by admin on July 23, 2008 – 6:36 am -Riz Davis asked: The beginnings of the remote control car can be traced back to the 1940s, when small, nitromethane-powered engines first entered the market. At the time, the only way to control an engine-powered model car was with a tether. While these cars were fast, they merely ran in a circle from the tether. In the late 1960s, the first miniaturized solid state radio control systems were introduced, allowing model cars to have servo-controlled steering, throttle, and brake functionality that could be remotely controlled from a transmitter unit. Several early commercially viable remote control cars became available by 1966, produced by El-Gi (Elettronica Giocattoli), a company from Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their first remote control car model... more
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1967 - Slot Cars Go Tech
Written by admin on July 5, 2008 – 11:56 am -Ron Sharer asked: The year was 1967. Slot car racing had officially abandoned scale appearance in favor of speed. This was a natural progression but one that would have long standing consequences. The motor of choice until this time was the Mabuchi 16D, a motor popular for its balance of low weight and power. From the factory, these motors were not competitive. To make a competitive motor the internal armature would have to be altered. The easiest way, was to have some of its windings removed to decrease it’s resistance which was called de-winding. The best modification, was to remove all the windings, and replace them with thicker gauge wire with less turns. This was called rewinding and it became a cottage industry of it’s own.... more
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