Hello all,
I want to know the overall height and width of the grille fitted to the early models of DB4/5, typical ref C68 as below.
Would appreciate it if anyone can take a ruler to their beloved Aston. 

The context is that I want to model a DBX and apparently they have the widest Aston Martin grille ever fitted to a production vehicle.  I have a grille from the current Scalextric Aston Martin DB5 range but it is too small for my purposes.

I believe that the older cars are 1:30 scale so the grille should be larger than a 1:32 version.
The spot-lamp/gun holes don't worry me.

Thanks in advance, Leo


   

Recently at Brian's for a friendly race meeting (CMOTD) he very kindly have me a pick from a bag of sorry cases of part cars etc .
I chose a Ford Focus rally car ,needed new tyres and a guide ,a pair of old F1type cars ,new tyres new pinion and guides and braids ,but the best I the lot a pair of sidecar outfits which needed new tyres opinions and braids and I have them a quick repaint just to brighten them up .
All are now running as well as can be expected but a lot of fun to be had I expect 
Many thanks Brian ( will raid your box of bits again) 

Steve

This weekend sees the 99th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. UK readers might be vaguely amused by the title sponsor - it's a local spa resort... The course is 12.42 miles long and cars negotiate 156 corners to the finish line, 14,115 feet above sea level. The record of 7 minutes 57.148 seconds is held by Romain Dumas who set it in 2018 driving a Volkswagen I.D. R all-electric prototype.

   

Dumas returns this year with a modified Porsche 911 GT2 RS that will compete in the Time Attack 1 class, up against an amazing Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen. They'll be out to beat the class record of 9 minutes 23 seconds. If Millen achieves that, he'll give Bentley a third record - they already hold the best times for SUV and Production...

   

That's the headline battle this year, but expect plenty of competition for the overall win - Robin Shute has an outside chance to become the first British winner, driving a 2018 Wolf GB08 open-wheeler.

Live coverage will be streamed on the Mobil 1 Facebook page. The event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/164595129030983/

The start is scheduled for 8am local time (14.00 GMT) and run for 5 hours. That means a 3 o'clock start in the UK. Definitely worth tuning in.

This is the route...

   

And here's Dumas' 2018 record-breaking run...

I noticed how much a Gt40 magnet assisted car slides around whilst the race against the Sport World virtual driver carried on as I recovered my crashed car.

The short video really shows the car sliding lap after lap.

Baz

   

Teamslot TM-12906 Lancia Delta HF 4WD #6 - Winner Monte Carlo Rally 1987 - Miki Biasion & Tiziano Siviero. RRP £57.95. Available very soon.

A frustrating and time-consuming move to new premises has delayed Teamslot's production for 2021. Thankfully, those problems seem to be in the past and it's full steam ahead with an exciting new range (see 2021 Teamslot thread here). The first car out of the new workshop is the winning car from the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally - the debut of the legendary Group A Lancia Delta dynasty...

       

Manufacturers had scrambled to choose and prepare Group A production cars for the start of 1987, just seven months after Group B was brutally scrapped. Lancia had an off-the-shelf option which seemed to fit the bill perfectly - lightweight, four wheel drive and turbocharged. The Delta HF 4WD was a huge step down from the Group B Delta S4 and its rivals. As Rallycourse editor Mike Greasley wrote of the 1987 season "the sight of a 240bhp car struggling up a steep hill was not something to set the adrenaline flowing". However, the drivers quickly learned to wring every last ounce of performance out of these cars and the action was often spectacular - with stage times soon falling into the same ballpark as the 500bhp Group B supercars.

The Group A era began with Lancia domination at Monte Carlo - and plenty of shenanigans. The Delta HF was protested and the result somewhat soured by Lancia imposing team orders and especially by reigning world champion Juha Kankkunen's less than graceful reaction. The Lancia press conference at the Beach Plaza Hotel was a disaster, rather than a celebration of a sensational debut for their new car. Here's the BBC report of the event...



For Biasion, team orders were part and parcel of being a Lancia driver. This was his second season with the works Martini Lancia team and he lined up with two of the best Finnish drivers of their generation - Kankkunen and Markku Alén. Unusual for an Italian rally driver, Biasion was a great all-rounder - as good on loose surfaces and on tarmac - and had a focus and modesty that made him world champion material. Despite the controversy of his Monte win, Biaision was unlucky to not to finish the 1987 season as champion. Instead, Kankkunen successfully defended his crown. The Finn would leave Lancia for Toyota at the end of the season, his relationship with team boss Cesare Fiorio having been damaged by the fiasco at the Monte Carlo Rally. Biasion would win back-to-back championships in 1988 and 89 with the Delta HF Integrale - the HF 4WD's successor.

   

The Teamslot model is the fourth racing livery on the Delta HF, with two more individual cars and a triple pack announced for this year. It is a beautiful model - this one slightly different from the Catalunya, RAC and San Remo versions as it doesn't have the roof flaps. It is fitted with an auxillary light module and the extended sump guard is brown rather than blue. The internal decoration is breathtaking - it is most definitely a 1:32 scale Miki Biasion driving the car.

   

Under the bodyshell, there's the standard 22k rpm long can motor fitted in a pod. Four-wheel-drive is via belt and the rear axle is driven by a 9:27 gear ratio. Front wheels are plastic and rears are aluminium. The wheelbase of the Delta HF 4WD is 79mm and the rear track 50mm. The car weighs in at 90g. There is no traction magnet and no working lights.

The 1987 Monte Carlo Rally winning Lancia Delta HF 4WD is expected in the next week or two and can be pre-ordered at all the usual UK Teamslot retailers - including Pendle Slot Racing, Top Slots 'n' Trains, Weevils Slot Cars, MCslots, and Time Tunnel Models.

   

One of the delights of any UK slot car show or swapmeet is to have a good natter with George Turner and admire the selection of finished models he has on display. Up until now, George has only sold his models in kit form - but recent changes have caused him to ponder some diversification...

Quote:Due to Brexit and the customs duties of stuff going to the EU we have lost about 30% of our work. Also resin has resin in price by about 18% this year alone so far, not helped by resource shortages. So we have to diversify what we do, we will be doing fully painted and decorated models with the option to be unmotorised or RTR. By next week we should have a new section on the website with all the information on each model. These will be one-offs and will have a signature nameplate on the chassis.  

The kits will still be produced - and new models developed - but this new venture adds another revenue stream and a wonderful opportunity for those enthusiasts who are not so confident with building a kit to own a George Turner model. A new section will be added to the George Turner Models website over the next week or so. Each model will have a description and spec so you will know exactly what you are buying. All the finished models can be motorised and made into working slot cars or remain as static, scenic items.

Here are a few pictures that George included, to suggest some of those available soon...

               

George often downplays the quality of the samples he takes to shows, but they are all beautifully finished. And these new ones look sensational. No news on prices yet - so keep an eye on his website for the new section.

   

   

Racer Sideways SWCAR01J Lamborghini Huracán GT3 #100 'Attempto Racing' 24 Hours of Spa 2016. RRP £74.95. Available July 2021.

I'm a big fan of the Sideways Lamborghini - it looks fabulous and is great fun to drive. The real-life Huracán GT3 has been an important part of the international GT scene since its introduction in 2015. Developed alongside Dallara, the GT3 is powered by a 5.2-litre normally-aspirated V10 which sounds utterly sublime. Although never dominating any series, the Huracán has picked up plenty of wins around the world - the highlight almost certainly the GTD class victory for Grasser Racing at the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona. An Evo version was with updated bodywork arrived for 2019, so Racer are confined to the 2015-2019 liveries for their Sideways Huracán models.

       

I make this the tenth livery on the Sideways Huracán. All are pretty special and make a very colourful grid. This latest addition is no exception - another Blancpain entry, this time specifically from the 2016 24 Hours of Spa. The German Attempto Racing team entered the blue NEC-sponsored #100 Huracán into the Pro-Am class, the car driven by Belgian Louis Machiels, Italian Giovanni Venturini, plus Dutch racers Jeroen Mul and Max van Splunteren. Early Pro-Am leaders, the Attempto Racing team ran comfortably in the top half of the field until an unfortunate collision on Sunday morning put them in the pits to repair front-end damage, as you'll see in the highlights video below (4m38s)...



The car rejoined the race and finished in fifty-second place on 415 laps - 116 behind the winners, the Rowe Racing BMW M6 of Alexander Sims, Philipp Eng and Maxime Martin.

   

The livery on the Sidewinder model is nice, but from the photos I've been able to find of the Spa race, it's only an approximation. The light blue areas are too light and should be a chromed/metallic paint. The darker blue areas should be a matt/satin finish. These complex paint jobs are common on the current crop of GT cars and slot car manufacturers successfully recreate them - the mix of different finishes certainly gives a satisfying 'wow' factor. Racer managed it on the wonderful metallic gold/matt black Raton Racing Huracán, so I'm not sure what happened here. The black areas on the #100 car do seem to be a matt finish, but no metallic blue. Putting that aside, there is plenty of detail on the car - and I do like it a lot.

   

Underneath is the the Racer Sideways GT layout that is carried through to the recent BMW M6 GT3, brand new Ford GT GTE and the forthcoming Aston Martin Vantage GT3/GTE. What you get is the 17k 'Baby Raptor' motor in an anglewinder motor mount - the mount has up to 7 anchor points to the chassis. Front axle height and body height (front and back) are easily adjustable - and the chassis stiffness can be adjusted via four clips. Front wheels are plastic and the rears are 'air system' aluminium hubs. The Huracán's wheelbase is 85mm, rear track 64mm and it weighs in at 85g.

The 17k motor is fun to drive on big club tracks - especially in single-make events - but is particularly suited for home layouts. It can be upgraded with any long-can or flat-can motor should you want to. There is no traction magnet included.

The Attempto Racing Huracán GT3 is expected to be with retailers next month. It is available for pre-order in the UK at Top Slots 'n' Trains and Gaugemaster.

I spotted this for sale in NZ on FB... 

   

Does anyone in the UK have something similar they are looking to pass on to a newcomer to the hobby?

I am hosting the first race of the CanAm Proxy sometime in the next week.  I will post the video link here for my qualifying session and link for the race for those that are interested.  This season again the 28 car field is dominated by Thunderslots.  This is to be expected as these cars are so wonderful to tune and race.  Case in point my third place overall stock Thunderslot McLaren the previous season was fitted with NSR tires and tuned the afternoon before I was required to ship the car....awesome cars out of the box.  American BrumosRSR won the Championship and DRW21 from New Zealand came in second overall.  This season I decided to try and beat Thunderslot at their own game with a Slot.it Ford GT40 chassis underneath my Thunderslot McLaren body.  A Tall task with a very very good chance I will fail but why not and try to beat Thunderslot with a Slot.it!   I have to try!!

I cut off the existing posts of the McLaren body and epoxied new posts to fit the Slot.it chassis plus I needed to extend the width of the chassis with plastic as the GT40 chassis is very narrow.  

Here is the 28 car field.

I have been looking into options to create a realistic day/night/day lighting transition for my Le Mans themed track.
There didn't seem to be any affordable options in the model railroad world and then my searches brought me to this controller for aquariums .
TC420

This is the planned configuration using led tape light strips
#1 output:  track lighting and blue nighttime light

#2 output: bright morning light
#3 output: orange evening light
#4 and 5 output daytime
This is purely a plan at the moment and i just wanted to share my findings and see if anybody had any better ideas or reasons this is not a feasible option.