Official photos of the SCX Compact Porsche

Official photos of the SCX Compact (1/43 scale) Porsche 911 (997) Cup car. They will be released first in the GT Overtake set then as individual releases in 2009.

Ferrari FXX photos

Photos of the new Ferrari FXX by SCX.

Thingie Fest II to be held following "Black Friday"

The latest nostalgia craze in 1/24 slot racing is so called "Thingie" racing.

Thingies had their genesis in the late 1960's and early 1970's and are remembered as the slot car equivalent of the futuristic idea sketches that any large automobile design studio had on their walls during this period- with a more than little Sci-Fi thrown in.

Some popular "Thingies" of the late 1960's included:

The Asp

The Gamma Ray

The Manta Ray

Last year Mid-America Raceway and hobbies in the Chicago Suburb of Montgomery had the first North American "Fest" for Thingie collectors and racers... called "ThingieFest".

This year the tradition continues with... "ThingieFest II"

Event Schedule for ThingieFest II
November 29th, 2008

Raceway opens at 10 AM for test and tune.
3:00 pm American Line cars 36D motors
4:00 pm Run what ya brung 1/24 and 1/32 Thingie race
5:00 pm Classic Thingie race (36D powered Classic cars)
7:00 pm Retro Can-Am IRRA rules
8:00 pm 4 inch NASCAR
9:00 pm 4.5 inch FCR

10:30 Awards Ceremony at "Poor Boys" next door.

Here are a sampling of cars that have already been entered in "ThingieFest II"



Mid-America Raceway and Hobbies
285 Montgomery Road
Montgomery, IL 60538
Contact the raceway for any questions or class rules clarifications.
630 484 8574

NOTE: Aurora Outlet Malls are nearby! Shoppers in the family can be more than satisfied while we race!

Speed Tuning the SCX Morgan Aero 8

The unusual, long-anticipated Morgan Aero 8 has been released by SCX. Shiny, well-detailed, with fine tampos, accurate shape and contour (except for the rear tires projecting out of the fenders), the car presents an excellent appearance. But, how does it run?

Test laps out of the box revealed a smooth driving feel, on wood, no magnets. The original tires barely gripped my track, so I quickly found a pair of Slot.It S1 silicones, which are a perfect fit on the original rear wheels. The car woke up, and developed a solid feel. A noisy drive train grew slightly more quiet as it ran. Motor is an RX-42B, rated 18,000 RPM on 12 volts, and gear ratio is 3:1 (9:27). Stiff competition from Scalextrics in GT2 class would be expected; on some tracks, a slight decrease in reduction may help (say, 2.8:1 rather than 3:1). The motor pod is a four-post, snap-in rocker, one of the better designs SCX has created.


A few small adjustments to the chassis and the car became more rapid, and very easy to drive near its limit. I removed the small locating pins which project from the body and engage holes in the chassis, under the running boards (just ahead of the rear wheels). I removed the two forward body mount screws altogether. The interlocks in the nose, and the rear body screw, are sufficient to keep the car together. The rear screw was backed out a half-turn. To allow a little more isolation of chassis vibration from the body, I bent the head and tail light contact tabs upward, to lessen the pressure on the chassis slightly. Between the lessened pressure and the loosened body, the lights began flickering as the car ran. But the speed picked up, and soon the car was clicking off lap times in the range of 5.5 sec. per 61 foot lap.

Careful inspection showed one rear wheel was slightly wobbly. Rather than attempting to true it, I installed short-projection hubs from a Slot.It Ferrari 312PB (size 15x8, part #PA17al), with SCX Pro inserts. SCX Pro wheels will not fit, due to their long hubs, and the set screws hitting the chassis. A very slight trim of the plastic chassis was necessary to bring the tires into the body, where they belong. The elimination of wheel-induced vibration resulted in a return to steady, bright lights. Speed improved, and the car was quieter.


The stub-axle front wheels on this car were examined closely, but did not need to be adjusted in any way. One headlight LED was pushed forward, into its "bucket", to eliminate scraping on the tire. Careful smoothing of the braids in the guide resulted in both wheels rolling on the track, providing a stable chassis platform through the corners. The independent-rotating wheels have little wobble, spin freely, and work well without any tuning.

A final upgrade to Slot.It rear axle, SCX Pro bearings, 28 tooth crown, and 10 tooth SCX Pro pinion (2.8:1 ratio), led to a best lap time of 5.387 sec. per 61 foot lap, a substantial improvement indeed. No weight was added or removed. And after a hundred laps of practice, with the motor up to operating temperature, and the brushes starting to bed in, the Morgan turned 5.303.


With increasing interest in GT2 cars, with motors rated under 20k RPM and under 150 gcm torque, this car is a fine competitor in its class. Appearance and handling is excellent, with need for only minor adjustment, as we have come to expect from SCX. Thanks to Dave K of SCX for providing a production sample of the Morgan Aero 8.

Morgan Aero 8 review by Harry Wise

Harry Wise weighs in with his thoughts about the SCX Morgan Aero 8, read his full review at this link.

From the review:
"Perhaps one of the most anticipated releases from SCX has arrived here for review. Ever since the first announcement of the Morgan Aero 8, enthusiasts have been commenting on how much they were looking forward to it and felt this was a great choice by SCX to produce. So let us take a close look at this all new hot rod shall we?

Not everyone will appreciate the looks of this model but we certainly do here. This car has the look and feel of an older roadster but in reality it is a modern race car through and through.

It appears SCX has really done a great job all around with this model. Colors and markings are very accurate and they are very crisp and opaque. The very fine white lettering will draw you in and it is very clear to read. A very adequate clear coat seals all of this in place."

Please read his full review at this link.

AutoArt December releases

SCX Nat's and last chance qualifier info

The SCX National Series Race final will be held Dec. 13th at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania during the Greenberg Trainshow. Doors will open at 10am and racing will start around 11am.
http://www.vfconventioncenter.com/directions.htm

Racers who have qualified and plan to attend should contact Rich Shanfeld at (267)250-1735 or Dave Kennedy at dave@slotcarnews.net to get passes to get free admittance to the show.

Valley Forge Convention Center
1160 First Ave.
King of Prussia
19406

And....
For those racers that would like another chance to qualify there will be a qualifying race Nov. 29th in Edison NJ during the Greenberg Trainshow at the New Jersey Convention Center. This is next Saturday!!!!
http://www.njexpocenter.com/maps-directions.html


There will be no pinion changes allowed for the final race. On the RX-42B (9 tooth) for the Nascar class and the Pro Speed (10 tooth) for the Audi/Porsche Pro class will be used. These pinions come on the motors and those will be supplied in place on the hand out motor. This is being done to keep racing equal, and to speed along tech inspection to make sure racing is being done as quickly as possible.

Also the tires that will be used will be the Maxxtrac M9 tire for the Nascar, and for the Audi it will be the Indygrip IG4101. If the Porsche is used for the Pro class the tire will be the IG3201. Tires will be supplied by Professor Motor and prizes will be supplied for the good Professor as well!

Also I'm pleased to announce that Jim DiFalco has given us a new DD301 controller for a prize. The top 5 finishers will have their names put into a hat, a name will be drawn, and that person will be awarded with the controller.

And, of course, SCX will have cars and parts as prizes as well for the top 3 finishers as well as some prizes to be given out during the course of the day's racing.

November AutoArt releases

New AutoArt Jaguar and Ford Sierra

I should have mentioned the obvious... these are 1/32 slot cars!

MB Slot/BBR 430 Ferrari video review by SCI

Alan Smith of Slot Car Illustrated.com's review of the BBR/MB Slot 430 Ferrari.
A track test.

SCX-D 4 lane start grid

Bryan shows the 4 lane starting grid he made for the SCX Digital system.

And a video showing a 2 lane pit lane.

Spirit Christmas releases...

Sobering view of LA Autoshow

News from the Associated Press

Spirit BMW Nurburgring set

These little BMW's will be arriving soon.

New AutoArt BMW

New Sloter Lola T70 Newsletter

New Sloter Opel Corsa

Racer Abarth 500 "Silver Line"

Very glad to submit to your attention "official" photos relevant to first model of our new RACER SILVER LINE. Models in this line will have, in general, a lower detailing level, allowing a considerable assembly time reduction and a consequent lower price, maintaining anyway all features of a "special" model for collectors.


ABARTH 500 , officially licensed by Abarth, will have a recommended price fixed at Eur 99,00.

Distribution is going to start right next week.

Main technical features as follows:

• Lightweight high resistant resin body
• Dedicated plastic chassis
• flat interior
• Slot.it technical equipment
• inline motor mount
• Slot.it rims (aluminium rear / plastic front)
• Slot.it tires 19x10

Tests performed shown a very good handling in spite of small dimensions and will grant a lot of fun on slot tracks.

At your disposal for any further inquiry

Best regards,
RACER Slot cars

Another Slotfire jewel!!!!

From Rolf at Slotfire:
A Slotfire customer in Germany (Burgdorf near Hannover) builds fantastic scenery with a Slotfire 300. It looks amazing, with many interesting and enjoyable details and a great light system.