[woodcote]

I think you are all saying very politely that I must be mad to even think of getting one!

Not at all. The Lightning C4 is a great slot rally car. Maybe not the best for a club running a rally class on their usual track... but certainly a very good choice for specialist rally stages. The NC5 motor is a peach for that sort of track.

The Ninco rally cars with suspension and sprung guide are great out of the box. Of course, they benefit from trued tyres - and a tyre swap depending on the surfaces being used. On the standard cars, the plastic wheels could be replaced with Ninco alloys (the Ninco axle is 2.5mm in diameter) and gluing the motor firmly in place stiffens up the rear end - but the Lightning versions have alloy wheels plus some have a stiffer chassis, so those improvements are already done for you.

There are new things to play with - the independent suspension and sprung guide should be tested to make sure they run free and no moulding lines are catching on the springs. A light sanding of the shaft and a smear of oil isn't a bad idea.